HK1116451B - Ink cartridge, and system including ink cartridge and ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Ink cartridge, and system having the same and inkjet printing apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge, and more particularly, to an ink cartridge having a transmissive optical sensor, which can prevent ink leakage or splashing when the ink cartridge is mounted to or removed from an inkjet recording apparatus from causing erroneous detection by the transmissive optical sensor, and a system including the ink cartridge and the inkjet printing apparatus.

Background

Japanese patent laying-open No. 11-157097 discloses an ink cartridge and an ink jet printer in which the ink cartridge is inserted horizontally. The ink cartridge has an ink outlet on a front surface with respect to a mounting direction of the ink cartridge. The ink jet printer has an ink supply needle inserted into an ink outlet of an ink cartridge and an ink cartridge detector located at a position below the ink supply needle. The cartridge detector detects whether the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer. When the ink cartridge is horizontally mounted on the ink jet printer, an ink supply needle is inserted into the ink outlet to supply ink in the ink cartridge to the ink jet printer, and a cartridge detector contacts one surface of the ink cartridge and detects whether the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer.

In the case where the cartridge detector uses an optical sensor employing a photodiode or the like, for example, the housing of the cartridge is formed to be transparent or translucent so as to detect whether the cartridge is mounted on the inkjet printer or to detect the amount of remaining ink based on the detection of whether ink is present in the cartridge.

Disclosure of Invention

However, if the ink cartridge is repeatedly attached to and detached from the ink jet printer, ink may leak or splash from the ink outlet or the supply needle. When the detection surface detected by the cartridge detector is located in the same plane in which the ink outlet is formed and at a position below the ink outlet, leaked or splashed ink may adhere to the detection surface. Therefore, when the optical sensor detects that the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet printer or detects the amount of remaining ink, the amount of light received by the optical sensor may fluctuate due to the adhesion of ink to the detection surface. Therefore, when the detection surface is formed at a position that is in the same plane as and below the ink outlet port, the detection surface does not accurately detect that the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet printer or that the remaining ink amount is incorrectly detected, which causes erroneous detection.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge having a transmissive optical sensor, which can prevent ink leaked or splashed when the ink cartridge is mounted on or removed from an ink jet recording apparatus from causing erroneous detection by the transmissive optical sensor.

This object is solved by an ink cartridge according to claim 1 and a system according to claim 13. Further developments are specified in the dependent claims.

An ink cartridge is horizontally mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus, and has an ink supply portion and an irradiated portion on a front surface with respect to a cartridge mounting direction. The ink supply portion has an opening into which the withdrawing member enters. The irradiated portion is disposed above the ink supply portion when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer, and the irradiated portion is disposed between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor when the ink cartridge is mounted in the ink jet recording apparatus. The irradiated portion has a pair of opposing surfaces that face the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor, respectively, and the pair of opposing surfaces extend substantially vertically when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus. Therefore, even if ink leaks or splashes from the opening of the ink supply portion or the extraction member and adheres to the irradiated portion when the ink cartridge is mounted on or removed from the ink jet printer, the ink adhering to these opposing surfaces may move downward due to its own weight. This is because these opposing surfaces extend substantially vertically. Therefore, even if ink adheres to these opposing surfaces, the ink adhering to these opposing surfaces moves downward. This suppresses fluctuation in the amount of light received by the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor, and prevents erroneous detection of the transmissive optical sensor. Since the irradiated portion is disposed above the ink supply portion, and most of the ink leaking or splashing from the opening of the ink supply portion or the extraction member falls or flows downward, it is possible to suppress the ink from adhering to these opposing surfaces of the irradiated portion.

The ink cartridge is configured to be inserted horizontally. This allows easy insertion and replacement of the ink cartridge which can thus be inserted from the front side of the ink jet recording apparatus.

The ink supply portion and the irradiated portion are both disposed on a front side of the ink cartridge. This allows a space-saving structure and facilitates the operation of attaching and detaching the ink cartridge.

When the pair of opposing surfaces are planes parallel to a straight line connecting the opening of the ink supply portion and the irradiated portion, this restricts the ink leaked or splashed from the ink supply portion from adhering to these opposing surfaces. Ink leaks or splashes straight from the opening of the ink supply portion. When these opposing surfaces are formed by planes intersecting a straight line connecting the opening of the ink supply portion and the irradiated portion, ink that leaks or splashes straight from the opening of the ink supply portion easily adheres to these opposing surfaces. On the other hand, when the opposing surfaces are formed by planes parallel to a straight line connecting the opening of the ink supply portion and the irradiated portion, the opposing surfaces do not intersect with ink that leaks or splashes straight from the opening of the ink supply portion. This reduces the ink that adheres to these opposing surfaces. Since these opposing surfaces are each formed as a flat plane, ink adhering to these opposing surfaces flows smoothly as compared with opposing surfaces having uneven surfaces.

When the ink supply portion further projects forward from the front surface of the ink cartridge and an opening is formed at a distal end of the ink supply portion, the opening of the ink supply portion is disposed further forward than the irradiated portion. In other words, the irradiated portion is formed closer to the front surface of the ink cartridge than the opening of the ink supply portion. Therefore, the opening of the ink supply portion is disposed relatively distant from the irradiated portion. This restricts the ink leaked or splashed from the opening of the ink supply portion from adhering to the irradiated portion.

The irradiated portion may have a front surface connecting the pair of opposing surfaces, and edge portions where the opposing surfaces intersect with the front surface may be formed to be angular as viewed in cross section. Therefore, the angular edge portion restricts ink from being stored in the edge portion, as compared with the edge portion formed in a smooth shape such as an arc. Capillary force acts on the ink at the edge portion. This facilitates the ink at the edge portion to flow down along the edge portion.

A concave portion is formed on the front surface of the ink cartridge, and the irradiated portion can be disposed at the center of the concave portion. Those opposite surfaces of the irradiated portion are surrounded by the concave portion. Therefore, even if ink leaks or splashes when the ink cartridge is mounted to or removed from the ink jet printer, the leaked or splashed ink is restricted from adhering to those opposing surfaces.

The ink storage member including at least a portion of each of the ink supply portion and the irradiated portion may be covered by the case. When the front surface of the housing is provided with the first through opening that lets a part of the ink supply portion go to the outside and the second through opening that accommodates the irradiated portion, since the irradiated portion is provided in the housing, the ink is restricted from adhering to those opposing surfaces.

A moving member that moves as the amount of ink in the ink cartridge decreases may be disposed in the ink storage chamber, and a portion of the moving member may be disposed within the internal space of the irradiated portion. In this case, when the moving member moves as the amount of ink decreases, the amount of light received by the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor changes. Thus detecting the amount of ink remaining in the ink storage chamber. Those opposing surfaces of the irradiated portion are configured so that ink adhering to the inner surfaces of those opposing surfaces may flow downward. Therefore, the amount of remaining ink in the ink storage chamber can be accurately detected based on the movement of the moving member.

The motion member may have: a shielding member disposed at one end of the moving member and provided in an inner space of the irradiated portion; a floating member disposed at the other end of the moving member and moving according to a remaining amount of ink in the ink storage chamber; and a support member disposed between the shielding member and the floating member. The moving member may be a rotating member that can rotate about the support member. In this case, the shielding member rotates about the support member while the floating member moves as the amount of remaining ink decreases. Therefore, the amount of light received by the transmissive optical sensor changes, and a decrease in the amount of remaining ink is detected. The shutter member rotates about the support member. Therefore, if the support is disposed so that the floating member can move closer to the bottom surface of the ink cartridge, a small amount of remaining ink can be sensitively detected even if the irradiated portion is located on the upper side of the ink supply portion.

An atmosphere introducing portion may be disposed above the irradiated portion. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer, the ink supply portion, the irradiated portion, and the atmospheric air introduction portion are sequentially arranged on the front surface from the bottom to the top. Therefore, an ink suction mechanism, a transmissive optical sensor, an atmospheric air introduction mechanism, and the like are densely arranged in the inkjet recording apparatus. In other words, if the ink supply portion, the irradiated portion, and the atmosphere introducing portion are all disposed on the front surface in the mounting direction, the ink cartridge can be formed in a space-saving manner.

A pair of projecting portions are formed on the front surface in such a manner as to project outwardly from the front surface farther than the ink supply portion and the atmosphere introducing portion. The ink supply portion and the atmosphere introducing portion are located between the pair of projecting portions. If the ink cartridge is dropped, these projecting portions strike the ground, so that the ink supply portion and the atmosphere introducing portion do not strike the ground. Since the ink supply portion is a portion where ink is supplied, ink may be stored around the opening of the ink supply portion. In this case, if the ink supply portion directly hits the ground, ink may leak or splash from the ink supply portion. However, these protruding portions restrict leakage or scattering of ink from the ink supply portion. Thus, the ink is also restricted from adhering to those opposite surfaces of the irradiated portion.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the multifunction device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refill unit.

Fig. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the door of the refill unit has been opened.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the refill unit of FIG. 2 taken along line IV-IV.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the refill unit of FIG. 2 taken along line V-V.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the door of the refill unit.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the color ink cartridge.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing details of the color ink cartridge.

Fig. 9 is a view showing the protector, in which (a) is a top view of the protector in fig. 8 viewed from IXa, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the protector in fig. 9(a) taken along a line IXb-IXb.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an appearance of the black ink cartridge.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view showing details of the black ink cartridge.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a large capacity black ink cartridge.

Fig. 13 is a perspective view showing details of a large capacity black ink cartridge.

Fig. 14 is a view showing the ink reservoir member, in which (a) is a front view of the ink reservoir member and (b) is a side view of the ink reservoir member.

Fig. 15 is a view showing a supply passage forming portion, in which (a) is a view showing an outline of the supply passage forming portion (a side view of a frame portion), (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the supply passage forming portion in fig. 15(a) taken along a line XVb-XVb, (c) is a view showing a state in which an amount of ink has been reduced, and (d) is a view showing an ink-end state.

Fig. 16 is a view showing an atmosphere passage forming portion, in which (a) is a perspective view showing an outline of the atmosphere passage forming portion, (b) is a view showing the atmosphere passage forming portion in fig. 16(a) as viewed along arrow XVIb, and (c) is a view showing the atmosphere passage forming portion in fig. 16(a) as viewed along arrow XVIc.

Fig. 17 is a view showing an injection channel forming portion, in which (a) is a view showing an outline of the injection channel forming portion, and (b) is a sectional view of the injection channel forming portion in fig. 17(a) taken along a line XVIIb-XVIIb.

Fig. 18 is a view showing the vicinity of the detection portion, in which (a) is a view showing an outline of the vicinity of the detection portion, (b) is a sectional view of the detection portion in fig. 18(a) taken along the line XVIIIb-XVIIIb, and (c) is a sectional view of the detection portion in fig. 18(a) taken along the line XVIIIc-XVIIIc.

Fig. 19 is a view showing a sensor arm, in which (a) is a front view of the sensor, and (b) is a view showing the sensor arm in fig. 19(a) seen from the viewpoint of an arrow XIXb.

Fig. 20 is a view showing a part of the ink tank element, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the ink tank element, (b) is a view showing a side of a front portion of the ink tank element, and (c) is a sectional view of fig. 20(a) along the line XXc-XXc.

Fig. 21 is a view showing details of the ink tank element.

Fig. 22 is an exploded view of the ink supply mechanism and the atmospheric air intake mechanism, in which (a) is an exploded view of the ink supply mechanism and (b) is an exploded view of the atmospheric air intake mechanism.

Fig. 23 is a view showing the supply cap, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the supply cap, (b) is a view showing the side surface of the supply cap in fig. 23(a) as viewed along an arrow XXIIIb, (c) is a view showing a plane of the supply cap, (d) is a view showing a bottom surface of the supply cap, and (e) is a sectional view of the supply cap in fig. 23(c) along a line XXIIIe-XXIIIe.

Fig. 24 is a view showing a supply joint, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the supply joint, (b) is a view showing a plane of the supply joint, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the supply joint, and (d) is a sectional view of the supply joint in fig. 24(b) taken along line XXIVd-XXIVd.

Fig. 25 is a view showing the supply valve, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the supply valve, (b) is a view showing a side surface of the supply valve in fig. 25(a) as viewed along a view of an arrow XXVb, (c) is a view showing a plane of the supply valve, (d) is a view showing a bottom surface of the supply valve, and (e) is a sectional view of the supply valve in fig. 25(c) along a line XXVe-XXVe.

Fig. 26 is a view showing the first supply spring, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the first supply spring, (b) is a view showing a plane of the first supply spring, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the first supply spring, and (d) is a sectional view of the first supply spring in fig. 26(b) along the line XXVId-XXVId.

Fig. 27 is a view showing the supply slider, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the supply slider, (b) is a view showing a side surface of the supply slider in fig. 27(a) as seen from the arrow XXVIIb, (c) is a view showing a plane of the supply slider, (d) is a view showing a bottom surface of the supply slider, and (e) is a sectional view of the supply slider in fig. 27(c) along the line XXVIIe-XXVIIe.

Fig. 28 is a view showing a valve seat, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the valve seat, (b) is a view showing a plane of the valve seat, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the valve seat, and (d) is a sectional view of the valve seat in fig. 28(b) along a line XXVIIId-XXVIIId.

Fig. 29 is a view showing a check valve, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the check valve, (b) is a view showing a plane of the check valve, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the check valve, and (d) is a sectional view of the check valve in fig. 29(a) taken along line XXIXd-XXIXd.

Fig. 30 is a view showing the cover, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the cover, (b) is a view showing a plane of the cover, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the cover, and (d) is a sectional view of the cover in fig. 30(b) taken along the line XXXd-XXXd.

Fig. 31 is a view showing the atmospheric cap, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the atmospheric cap, (b) is a view showing a side surface of the atmospheric cap in fig. 31(a) viewed along an arrow XXXIb viewing angle, (c) is a view showing a plane of the atmospheric cap, (d) is a view showing a bottom surface of the atmospheric cap, and (e) is a sectional view of the atmospheric cap in fig. 31(c) taken along a line XXXIe-XXXIe.

Fig. 32 is a view showing an atmospheric joint, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the atmospheric joint, (b) is a view showing a plane of the atmospheric joint, (c) is a view showing a bottom surface of the atmospheric joint, and (d) is a sectional view of the atmospheric joint in fig. 32(b) taken along the line XXXIId-xxxiiid.

Fig. 33 is a view showing an atmosphere valve, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the atmosphere valve, and (b) is a view showing a bottom surface of the atmosphere valve.

Fig. 34 is a partial sectional view showing a state in which the ink supply mechanism and the atmospheric air intake mechanism have been assembled into the ink supply unit and the atmospheric air intake unit.

Fig. 35 is a view showing a manufacturing process before welding the film.

Fig. 36 is a view showing a welding process of the film, in which (a) is a view showing a welding surface of the film to the frame portion, and (b) is a view showing a welding process of the film to the frame portion.

Fig. 37 is a view showing a manufacturing process performed after the film welding, in which (a) is a view showing a connecting process of connecting an ink supply mechanism and an atmospheric air intake mechanism to a frame portion, (b) is a view showing a decompression process, and (c) is a view showing an ink injection process.

Fig. 38 is a view showing a connecting process of the housings, in which (a) is a view showing a process of sandwiching the frame portion by the housings, and (b) is a view showing a welding process of welding the housings.

Fig. 39 is a view showing a manufacturing process performed before the ink cartridge is shipped, in which (a) is a view showing a process of attaching a protective cap, and (b) is a view showing a process of packaging the ink cartridge using a packaging unit.

Fig. 40 is a view showing a method of connecting the ink cartridge to the multifunction device.

Fig. 41 is a view showing a state in which the ink cartridge has been attached to the multifunction device.

Fig. 42 is a view showing an operation of the sensor arm corresponding to the amount of remaining ink in the tank chamber, in which (a) shows a state in which there is remaining ink, and (b) shows a state in which there is no remaining ink.

Fig. 43 is a view schematically showing the operation principle of the sensor arm.

Fig. 44 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge has been attached to the multifunction device 1 in a wrong orientation.

Fig. 45 is a view showing a method of removing an ink cartridge from an inkjet recording apparatus.

Fig. 46 is a view showing a front perspective view of the ink cartridge and a state where it is removed from the multi-function device.

Fig. 47 is a view showing a structure for reducing the adhesion of ink to the detection surface of the detection portion of the ink cartridge, in which (a) shows a state in which the ink cartridge has been removed from the refill unit, (b) is a view showing a surface through which the detection portion is formed on the ink cartridge, and (c) is a perspective view of the ink cartridge.

Fig. 48 is a view showing the front of the case, in which (a) is a front view of the case capable of storing a large capacity of a black ink cartridge or a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartridge, and (b) is a front view of the case capable of storing the black ink cartridge and the color ink cartridge.

Fig. 49 is a sectional view showing an outline of a cross section of the casing, in which (a) is a sectional view showing an outline of the casing in fig. 48(a) taken along a line xxxxxa-xxxxxa, and (b) is a sectional view showing an outline of the casing in fig. 48(b) taken along a line xxxxxixb-xxxixb.

Fig. 50 is a sectional view showing a state in which each ink cartridge has been attached inside the casing.

Fig. 51 is a view schematically showing the combination of the housing members.

Fig. 52 is a view showing an ink cartridge and a refill unit according to the second embodiment, in which (a) is a view showing a side surface of the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment, and (b) is a view showing a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge has been attached inside the refill unit.

Fig. 53 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the third and fourth embodiments, in which (a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the third embodiment, and (b) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the fourth embodiment.

Fig. 54 is a perspective view showing an ink cartridge according to a fifth embodiment.

Fig. 55 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge according to the fifth embodiment has been attached in the refill unit.

Fig. 56 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge according to the sixth embodiment has been attached in the refill unit.

Fig. 57 is a block diagram showing an outline of an electronic configuration of a multifunction device according to the sixth embodiment.

Fig. 58 is a flowchart showing an ink cartridge connection detection process executed by the CPU.

Fig. 59 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the seventh and eighth embodiments, in which (a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the seventh embodiment, and (b) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the eighth embodiment.

Fig. 60 is a view showing an ink cartridge and a refill unit according to a ninth embodiment.

Fig. 61 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an ink cartridge according to the tenth embodiment.

Fig. 62 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink cartridge according to a tenth embodiment.

Fig. 63 is a view showing an alternative process for the ink tank unit.

Fig. 64 is a view showing an ink tank unit according to an eleventh embodiment.

Fig. 65 is a view showing a modified example of the combination of the case members.

Fig. 66 is a view showing a modified example of the combination of the housing members.

Fig. 67 is a view showing a modified example of the combination of the case members.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a multifunction device 1 mounted with an ink cartridge 14 of the present invention.

A printer portion 11 is provided on a lower portion of the multifunction device 1, and a scanner portion 12 is provided on an upper portion of the printer portion 11. The multifunction device 1 is an MFD (multifunction device) in which a printer portion 11 and a scanner portion 12 are provided as one unit, and the multifunction device 1 has various functions such as a printer function, a scanner function, a copy function, and a facsimile function.

The multifunction device 1 is mainly connected to a computer (external PC; not shown in the figure), and the multifunction device 1 records an image or a document on a recording sheet serving as a recording medium according to image data or document data transmitted from the computer. The multifunction device 1 can also be connected to an external device such as a digital camera (not shown in the figure), so that the multifunction device 1 records image data output from the digital camera onto a recording sheet. Also, by using the receiver 2, the multifunction device 1 can communicate with the other party's device and transmit image data to the other party's device. In addition, the multifunction device 1 is provided with a slot portion 23 described below, and by loading various types of recording media such as memory cards into the slot portion 23, the device can record data recorded on the recording media such as image data onto recording paper.

In the multi-function device 1, the printer portion 11 is configured as an inkjet recording device, and a refill unit 13 is provided at the bottom of the front surface of the multi-function device 1, the refill unit 13 storing in advance ink supplied to a recording head (not shown in the figure) for discharging ink droplets. The refill unit 13 has a compact design and is configured so that the ink cartridge 14 can be easily replaced, and this will be described in detail below.

The scanner portion 12 is equipped with a document table 15 serving as an FBS (flat bed scanner), and a document cover 16 disposed on an upper portion (top of fig. 1) of the document table 15. The document cover 16 is equipped with an automatic document feeder (ADF: automatic document feeder; hereinafter referred to as "ADF") 17, and the document cover 16 is attached to the rear side (rear side of fig. 1) of the document table 15 using a hinge so that the document cover 16 can be freely opened and closed. Thus, the document cover 16 is opened and closed by being rotated in the direction of arrow a with respect to the document table 15. In this embodiment, the document table 15 constitutes a part of the housing of the multifunction device 1, and the document cover 16 constitutes a part of the top surface of the multifunction device 1.

The document table 15 is provided with a contact glass plate (not shown in the figure) between the document table and the document cover 16, and the document table 15 is internally provided with an image reading unit (not shown in the figure). A document is placed between the document cover 16 and the contact glass plate, and the image reading unit reads an image from the document by moving along the contact glass plate from the bottom of the contact glass plate.

The document cover 16 is equipped with the ADF17, and the ADF17 is configured so that the ADF17 can continuously feed up to a prescribed number of documents from the document tray 18 onto the sheet discharge tray 19. Also, the ADF17 has a known structure, and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, a structure not equipped with ADF17 may also be employed. In this configuration, the user opens the document cover 16 and places the document on the contact glass plate.

The printer portion 11 is equipped with an image recording portion having an ink jet recording head (not shown in the figure), and this is constituted as an ink jet recording apparatus. The printer portion 11 is equipped with a refill unit 13 on the front side (front side in fig. 1) of the multifunction device 1 and on the bottom side (bottom side in fig. 1) of the multifunction device 1. In other words, the refill unit 13 is built into the front surface 1a side and the bottom surface 1b side of the multifunction device 1. In this embodiment, the refill unit 13 is configured such that it can house and hold four ink cartridges 14, and black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inks are stored in each of the ink cartridges 14 of these ink cartridges 14. The ink of each color stored in the ink cartridge 14 is supplied to the recording head through an ink tube 53 (see fig. 5).

Further, an opening-closing cover 20 is provided on the front surface (front portion in fig. 1) of the refill unit 13, the opening-closing cover 20 serving to open and close an opening 21 formed at an end portion (end portion on the front right side in fig. 1) of the front surface 1 a. The opening-closing lid 20 is constituted so that it can freely rotate between a position where it exposes the refill unit 13 through the opening 21 and a position where the opening-closing lid 20 closes the opening 21 and receives the refill unit 13 by being folded onto the front (front direction in fig. 1).

An opening 22 is formed in the center of the front surface 1a of the multifunction device 1, and a paper feed tray (not shown in the figure) is located inside the opening 22 (in fig. 1, a state where the paper feed tray is detached is shown). After the recording paper conveyed from the paper feed tray is conveyed to the rear side, the recording paper is conveyed to the top and finally fed to the front side, and an image is recorded on the recording paper while feeding the recording paper. The recording sheet is then discharged to a sheet discharge tray (not shown in the figure) provided on an upper portion of the sheet feed tray inside the opening 22.

The operation panel 30 is attached to the top surface (upper part of the front surface in fig. 1) on the front surface side of the multifunction device 1. The operation panel 30 is an operation section for performing operations of the printer section 11 and the scanner section 12, and the operation panel 30 is provided with various operation keys 31 to 34 and a liquid crystal display section 35. The various operation keys 31-34 arranged on the operation panel 30 are connected to a control device (or a control circuit board; not shown in the figure) serving as a control part for controlling main functions through a flat cable not shown in the figure. The control device processes commands from the above-described telephone receiver 2 in addition to commands from the various operation keys 31-34, and controls the operation of the multifunction device 1. In addition, in the case of connecting a device such as a personal computer to the multifunction device 1, the control device controls the operation of the multifunction device 1 in accordance with an instruction transmitted from the personal computer in addition to an instruction from the operation panel 30.

A slot portion 23 is provided on the bottom portion (bottom portion in fig. 1) of the operation panel 30, and a recording medium such as various small memory cards can be loaded through the slot portion 23. The image data is stored on the small memory card, and the image data (or information related to the image data) read out from the small memory card is displayed on the liquid crystal display section 35. The apparatus is configured so that any image displayed on the liquid crystal display 35 can then be recorded on recording paper by operation of the operation panel 30.

Next, the refill unit 13 will be explained with reference to fig. 2 to 6. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the refill unit 13. Fig. 3 is a side view of a state in which the door 41 of the refill unit 13 has been opened. Fig. 4 is a sectional view of the refill unit 13 taken along the line IV-IV of fig. 2, and shows a state in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of the refill unit 13 taken along line V-V of fig. 2, and shows a state in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted. Fig. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the door 41 of the refill unit 13. Fig. 3 and 4 show a state in which the needle forming member 48 is removed.

As shown in fig. 2, the refill unit 13 is mainly provided with a housing 40 and a door 41 connected to the housing 40, and the ink cartridge 14 is inserted into the housing 40 and removed from the housing 40. The casing 40 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and as shown in fig. 4, a housing chamber 50 (housing portion) for housing and holding the ink cartridge 14 is partitioned and formed inside. In this embodiment, the case 40 has four accommodation chambers 50, and four ink cartridges 14 are inserted into and removed from the respective accommodation chambers 50. The inner wall surface of each accommodating chamber 50 is shaped such that it partitions a space corresponding to the outer shape of the ink cartridge 14, and the ink cartridge 14 is held inside the casing 40 without looseness when each ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the casing 40.

As shown in fig. 2, the case 40 is provided with a bottom plate portion 42, side plate portions 43 provided on the left and right sides of the bottom plate portion 42 (the side plate portions 43 on the rear left side are not shown in fig. 2), and a top plate portion 44 provided so as to straddle the space between the respective side plate portions 43, and the inside of the accommodation chambers 50 is also provided with partition wall portions 47 for partitioning each accommodation chamber 50 (see fig. 4). The number of these partition wall portions 47 arranged is determined by the number of the ink cartridges 14 housed in the casing 40, and the positions where they are arranged are determined by the thickness of the ink cartridges 14 in the width direction. As shown in fig. 4, the partition wall 47 is formed in a rib shape provided from the top of the bottom plate 42 and the bottom of the top plate 44. In addition, the partition wall portions 47 do not have to completely partition each of the accommodation chambers 50, and therefore they may have any shape as long as the shape protrudes inward from at least one of the bottom plate portion 42 or the top plate portion 44 and partitions a space between the adjacent accommodation chambers 50.

Also, as shown in fig. 2, a cutout portion 40a (opening portion) that is open is formed on the rear side (rear right side in fig. 2) of the housing 40, and the needle forming member 48 is fitted into this cutout portion 40 a. A needle 49 (a drawing member) for drawing out ink inside the ink cartridge 14 is formed on the needle forming member 48 according to the number of the ink cartridges 14 accommodated in the accommodating chamber 50 of the housing 40.

As shown in fig. 5, in a state where the needle forming member 48 is engaged with the notch portion 40a, the needle 49 extends in the direction of the opening 45 of the housing 40 and in a substantially horizontal direction (ink cartridge mounting direction). This needle 49 is inserted into the ink supply portion 120 (see fig. 8) of the ink cartridge 14 when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the accommodating chamber 50, and forms an ink supply passage when the supply valve 620 (see fig. 22) of the ink supply mechanism 500 (see fig. 22) is pressed. The needle 49 communicates with an ink extraction opening 52 projecting upward on the rear side (right side in fig. 5) of the housing 40, and an ink tube 53 is connected to the ink extraction opening 52. The ink tube 53 is connected to an inkjet recording head (not shown in the figure), and the ink tube 53 can supply ink inside the ink cartridge 14 to the inkjet recording head.

A passage 54 is formed on a side wall of the case 40 forming a top portion (top portion of fig. 5) of the needle 49, the passage 54 introducing atmospheric air into the ink cartridge 14. When the ink inside the ink cartridge 14 is drawn out through the needle 49, the atmosphere corresponding to the drawn-out ink passes through the passage 54 and is supplied into the ink cartridge 14.

Further, a projection 55 projecting toward the ink cartridge 14 side (left side in fig. 5) is formed on the top of the passage 54. The protrusion 55 is a guide protrusion that is fitted into the below-described housing fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b2 (see fig. 8). Also, when the ink cartridge 14 is to be mounted upside down, the upside-down insertion of the ink cartridge 14 is prevented by the projection 55. A detailed description of such prevention of the upside-down insertion of the ink cartridge 14 is given below. A detailed description of the internal structure of the ink cartridge 14 is also given below.

On the rear side of the housing 40, a remaining ink detection sensor 57 for detecting the ink level (remaining ink) inside the ink cartridge 14 is provided between the needle 49 and the passage 54. The remaining ink detection sensor 57 is a transmissive optical sensor having a light emitting portion 57a and a light receiving portion 57b, and the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is provided according to the number of ink cartridges 14 housed in the housing chamber 50. In a state where the ink cartridge 14 is housed inside the housing chamber 50, the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is disposed in a position corresponding to the detection portion 140 (see fig. 8) of the ink cartridge 14, and the position of the ink detection sensor 57 is arranged so that the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b can sandwich both sides of the detection portion 140 of the ink cartridge 14 housed inside the housing chamber 50. (see fig. 18(b)) the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is connected to the control means, and the amount of remaining ink stored in each ink cartridge 14 is constantly monitored by the control means.

The ribs 44a are provided on the top plate portion 44, and this improves the rigidity of the housing 40. Further, the top plate portion 44 is equipped with a swing arm mechanism 44 b. An extension spring is connected between the swing arm mechanism 44b and the top plate portion 44, and the swing arm mechanism 44b is always elastically biased in the direction of the door 41 (front left side in fig. 2; left side in fig. 3 to 5). The swing arm mechanism 44b is constituted such that: for example, those end portions which project into the housing 41 (accommodating chamber 50) are engaged with the latch portions 217a and 227a (see fig. 8) of the ink cartridge 14 in a state where it is elastically biased. The ink cartridge 14 mounted in the casing 40 can be reliably held.

An opening 45 (insertion hole for mounting the ink cartridge 14) is provided on the front surface of the case 40. The opening 45 is provided on each of those accommodating chambers 50. In other words, each of the accommodating chambers 50 is successively provided inside the casing 40 at each of the openings 45, and the four ink cartridges 14 are respectively inserted into the respective accommodating chambers 50 and removed from the respective accommodating chambers 50 through the openings 45.

The door 41 opens and closes the openings 45, and is provided on each opening 45. The position of the door 41 is switched between a position (a blocking position) closing the opening 45 as the first, third, and fourth doors 41 from the rear left in fig. 2 and a position (an opening position) opening the opening 45 as the second door 41 from the rear left in fig. 2, and thereby the opening 45 can be opened and closed. The ink cartridge 14 is reliably held inside the accommodating chamber 50 when the door 41 is in the closed position, and the ink cartridge 14 can be easily inserted into and removed from the accommodating chamber 50 when the door 41 is in the open position.

Here, the structure of the door 41 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 6. The door 41 is equipped with a door main body 60, a pressure holding member 61 provided on the door main body 60, a door lock member 62 (lock lever) that fastens (locks) the door 41 to the housing 40, and an unlocking lever 63 that releases the door 41 from the fastened state. The door main body 60, the pressure holding member 61, the door lock member 62, and the unlocking lever 63 are each molded from resin.

As shown in fig. 6, the door main body 60 is formed substantially as a plate in a long thin rectangular shape. The outer shape of the door main body 60 is formed according to the shape of the opening 45 of the case 40. A rotation shaft portion 64 supported on a lower portion of the front surface of the housing 40 is formed on a bottom end (bottom side end in fig. 6) of the door main body 60. Specifically, a bearing portion 42a (see fig. 2, 3, and 4) is formed on the front end of the bottom plate portion 42 of the housing 40, and the rotation shaft portion 64 is fitted into the bearing portion 42a so that the rotation shaft portion 64 can freely rotate. The door main body 60 can close the opening 45 by standing upright or open the opening 45 by folding.

A pull-out member 65 formed as a unit with the door main body 60 is provided on the bottom end of the door main body 60. The pull-out member 65 is formed substantially in an L-shape, and it has an extended portion 65a and a bent portion 65 b. The extension portion 65a is continuously provided on the bottom end (the rotation shaft portion 64) of the door main body 60, and the bent portion 65b is continuously provided to form an angle of about 90 ° with the extension portion 65 a.

When the door 41 is in the closed position (the state shown in fig. 4), the tip of the curved portion 65b projects further upward than the mounting surface 51 of the accommodating chamber 50 (the bottom surface inside the accommodating chamber 50 that contacts the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 14; see fig. 4). The door main body 60 is rotated about the rotation shaft portion 64 as the rotation center, and thus the pull-out member 65 formed in an L-shape is also rotated about the rotation shaft portion 64 as the rotation center. When the door 41 is changed to the open position (the state shown in fig. 3), the bent portion 65b of the pull-out member 65 is turned around the rotation shaft portion 64 as the center of rotation. At this time, the outer wall surface 65c changes from its substantially vertically erected state (the state shown in fig. 4) to a substantially horizontal state (the state shown in fig. 3) due to the rotation of the curved portion 65 b. The length of the extended portion 65a of the pull-out member 65 is set to a prescribed size, so that the outer wall surface 65c is slightly higher than the mounting surface 51 of the housing 40 and is substantially parallel to the mounting surface 51 when the bent portion 65b is rotated.

The outer wall surface 65c serves as a guide surface that guides the ink cartridge 14 onto the mounting surface 51 inside the accommodating chamber 50 in a state where the door 41 is in the open position. Therefore, the pulling-out member 65 functions not only as a member for pulling out the ink cartridge 14 from the accommodating chamber 50 but also as a guide member when the ink cartridge 14 is inserted into the accommodating chamber 50.

In this embodiment, two pull-out members 65 are provided on each door main body 60. In other words, the pull-out member 65 is constituted such that: they are disposed so as to oppose each other in the width direction of the door main body 60, and support the ink cartridge 14 by sandwiching the ink cartridge 14 in the width direction. Also, in this embodiment, the interval between the respective pulling-out members 65 is set smaller than the width of the ink cartridge 14.

Claws 61a are provided on both sides of the pressing holding member 61 such that the claws 61a protrude from the side surface to the outside, and claw receiving portions 60a for receiving the claws 61a are provided on the door main body 60. The pawl receiving portion 60a is constituted by a groove extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the door main body 60 (vertical direction in fig. 6). The pawl 61a is fitted into the pawl receiving portion 60a so that the pawl 61a can freely slide, and thus the pressing holding member 61 is supported so that it can advance and retract in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the door main body 60. In other words, the pressure holding member 61 can change position between an extended position (the state shown in fig. 3) where it is lifted from the inner side surface of the door main body 60, and a retracted position (the state shown in fig. 4) where it is retracted from the extended position to the door main body 60 side. Further, a coil spring 66 is provided between the pressure holding member 61 and the door main body 60. Therefore, the pressing holding member 61 is elastically biased so that it is always in the extended position.

When the door 41 is in the closed position, the pressure holding member 61 is in contact with the side of the ink cartridge 14, and the pressure holding member 61 is moved to the retracted position side when it is relatively pressed by the ink cartridge 14 (the state shown in fig. 4). Therefore, the ink cartridge 14 receives the elastic force of the coil spring 66 by the pressing and holding member 61, and is pressed against the rear side of the case 40 (the rear side in the direction in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted). Therefore, the ink cartridge 14 is maintained in a state where it is positioned with respect to the casing 40.

In this embodiment, the pressure holding member 61 is formed in a flat plate shape, and a wall surface 61b (a surface that contacts the side surface of the ink cartridge 14 when the door 41 is in the closed position) of the pressure holding member 61 is formed in a flat surface, and a pair of protruding strips 61c are formed on the wall surface 61 b. Thus, when the door 41 is in the blocking position, the bars 61c are in contact with and pressed against the side of the ink cartridge 14.

Further, the pressure holding member 61 is configured such that: in the closed position, the position where the pressure holding member 61 presses the ink cartridge 14 is slightly deviated downward from the center of the ink cartridge 14 in the vertical direction (vertical direction in fig. 4). In other words, the pressure holding member 61 is disposed below the center position where it contacts the ink cartridge 14 in terms of the vertical direction. This is to improve operability in the case where the user operates the door 41. For example, when the pressure holding member 61 is disposed at or above the center position with respect to the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14, the user operates the door 41 by holding the pressure holding member 61 near the lock release lever 63, and thus the distance between the portion operated by the user and the pressure holding member 61 becomes small. Therefore, the force caused by the coil spring 66 pressing the holding member 61 becomes large, and therefore a force large enough to operate the door 41 is required. On the other hand, when the pressure holding member 61 is disposed below the center position with respect to the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14, the distance between the portion operated by the user and the pressure holding member 61 is large, so the user can operate the door 41 with a small force. Moreover, when the position of the pressure holding member 61 in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14 is set too downward, the pressure holding member 61 is pressed against the end of the ink cartridge 14, and therefore the ink cartridge 14 sometimes tilts inside the accommodation chamber 50, so that the ink cartridge 14 cannot be held correctly. However, in this embodiment, the pressing holding member 61 is disposed slightly lower than the center position in terms of the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14, so the ink cartridge 14 can be mounted or held correctly, and can be mounted smoothly with a small force. In addition, slightly lower than the center position in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14 means that the center in the vertical direction of the pressure holding member 61 is set even lower than the center in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14, and a part of the top end (upper edge in fig. 4) of the pressure holding member 61 may be located above the center position of the ink cartridge 14 as long as the positional relationship is maintained.

Further, as will be described later, the ink cartridge 14 of this embodiment is equipped with the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 on the side opposite to the side in contact with the pressure holding member 61, and the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 are equipped with valve mechanisms having elastic forces. In other words, they have biasing forces (the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 and the first and second atmosphere springs 730 and 750) that press the valves (the supply valve 620 and the atmosphere valve 720) outward, so that the valves block communication between the inside and the outside or the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, in order to reliably achieve communication between the ink cartridge 14 and the outside, the elastic force of the pressure holding member 61 of this embodiment is set so that it is larger than the sum of the elastic forces of the valve mechanisms of the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted inside the accommodating chamber 50, the ink inside the ink cartridge 14 is reliably supplied, and the atmospheric air can be reliably introduced into the ink cartridge 14. Also, in the position where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the accommodating chamber 50, the ink supply portion 120 is located on the bottom end, and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 is located on the top, so the pressure holding member 61 is pressed against a position relatively close to the center position in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, compared with the case where the pressing and holding member 61 is pressed against the top end or the bottom end of the ink cartridge 14, the direction in which the momentum acts is stabilized, and therefore the ink cartridge 14 can be stabilized and held.

The door lock member 62 is attached to the top end (top side end in fig. 6) of the door main unit 60. The door lock member 62 has a main shaft portion 62a, a key portion 62b that projects in the inside direction of the housing 40 continuously from an upper end (upper side in fig. 6) of the main shaft portion 62a, and a base portion 62c (contact portion) that projects in the outside direction of the housing 40 continuously from a lower end (lower side in fig. 6) of the main shaft portion 62 a.

The door lock member 62 is supported so that it can advance and retract in the vertical direction (vertical direction in fig. 6) with respect to the door main body 60. The slide rail 60b extends in a vertical direction on the top end of the door main body 60. A slide groove 62d extending in the vertical direction is provided on the main shaft portion 62a of the door lock member 62. The slide rail 60b of the door main body 60 is inserted into this slide groove 62d, and the door lock member 62 is constituted so that it can freely slide up and down.

The claws 62e are provided on both side bottoms of the key portion 62b of the spindle portion 62 a. When the door lock member 62 is fitted into the door main unit 60, the pawl 62e is received in the pawl receiving portion 60c provided on the door main body 60. The pawl receiving portion 60c is formed of a groove extending in the vertical direction by just a prescribed length. Therefore, when the door lock member 62 slides up or down, the pawl 62e comes into contact with the inner wall surface of the pawl housing portion 60c, and thus the sliding of the door lock member 62 in the vertical direction is restricted.

Since the length of the groove constituting the pawl housing portion 60c is set to a prescribed size, the sliding range of the door lock member 62 is limited. When the door lock member 62 is slid upward relative to the door main body 60 and the pawl 62e is brought into contact with the top edge of the inner wall surface of the pawl receiving portion 60c, the door lock member 62 is in a position where it projects upward from the upper end of the door main body 60. When the door lock member 62 slides downward with respect to the door main body 60 and the pawl 62e comes into contact with the bottom edge of the inner wall surface of the pawl housing portion 60c, the door lock member 62 is in a position where it is retracted to the inside of the door main body 60. In this specification, a position where the door lock member 62 contacts with the top edge of the inner wall surface of the pawl housing portion 60c is defined as an "extended position", and a position where the door lock member 62 contacts with the bottom edge of the pawl housing portion 60c is defined as a "retracted position".

A coil spring 67 (elastic member) is provided between the door lock member 62 and the door main body 60. Thus, the door lock member 62 is resiliently biased so that it always has a tendency to project upwardly from the door main body 60 — in other words, in a direction that moves it to the projected position.

The top surface of the key portion 62b of the door lock member 62 is a downwardly inclined surface. Therefore, when the door 41 is changed from the open position to the closed position, the top face of the door lock member 62 is in contact with the top edge of the opening 45 of the housing 40, and when the door 41 is rotated toward the closed position, the door lock member 62 is retracted to the inside of the door main body 60 as it is pressed against the top edge of the opening 45 relatively. When the door 41 is then completely changed to the closed position, the door lock member 62 protrudes from the door main body 60 again, and the key portion 62b engages with the top edge of the housing 40.

At this time, the key portion 62b of the door lock member 62 is in a state of being fitted into the lock member fitting portion 46 (see fig. 2 and 5), the lock member fitting portion 46 being provided on the top edge of the opening 45 of the housing 40. The latch member 62 is elastically biased so that it always has a tendency to project from the door main body 60 due to the coil spring 67, and therefore the latch member 62 is pressed inside the latch member fitting portion 46, but the position of the latch member 62 is an intermediate position, so that the latch member 62 is retracted slightly more to the retracted position side than to the projecting side. The latch member 62 is always elastically pressed against the latch member engaging portion 46 when it is in the intermediate position, and therefore, the latch member 62 is never easily deviated from the latch member engaging portion 46.

The lock release lever 63 is formed in a rectangular plate shape, and it is attached on the outside top of the door main body 60 in a state of being fastened to the housing 40. The door main body 60 is provided with an accommodating portion 60d that accommodates the unlocking lever 63. The accommodating portion 60d is constituted by a concave portion provided on the door main body 60. This will be described below, and the lock release lever 63 is fitted into the accommodating portion 60d when the lock release lever 63 changes position.

A support pin 63a is provided on the bottom end of the lock release lever 63. Meanwhile, a pin support hole 60e is provided on the door main body 60, and the support pin 63a is fitted into the pin support hole 60 e. Since the support pin 63a is fitted into this pin support hole 60e, the lock release lever 63 is constituted so that it can freely turn about the rotational center of the support pin 63 a. Specifically, the lock release lever 63 is configured such that: by moving the lever 63, it can freely rotate and move between a position where it is substantially parallel to the outer surface of the door main body 60, a position where it is inclined by about 45 ° (degrees) (the state of the door 41 on the right side of fig. 2), and a position where it is folded substantially horizontally (the state of the second door 41 from the right side of fig. 2). In this specification, the position of the lock release lever 63 when it is housed inside the housing portion 60d is defined as a "housing position", and the position of the lock release lever 63 when the lock release lever 63 is inclined by about 45 ° is defined as a "neutral position", and the position of the lock release lever 63 when it is folded substantially horizontally is defined as a "folding position".

The bottom end of the lock release lever 63 is an interlock cam 63b, and the interlock cam 63b is used to slide the door lock member 62 up and down when the position of the lock release lever 63 is changed. Since the interlock cam 63b is provided, the door lock member 62 slides from the extended position to the retracted position through the intermediate position when the lock release lever 63 rotates from the housed position to the folded position through the neutral position. Conversely, when the door lock member 62 is in the extended position, the lock release lever 63 is disposed in the housed position and the door 41 is closed, and the lock release lever 63 can freely move between the housed position and the neutral position in a state where the door lock member 62 is in contact with the lock member fitting portion 46 of the housing 40. At this time, the center position of the lock release lever 63 is set such that the lock release lever 63 always moves to the neutral position due to its own weight. Since the lock release lever 63 reaches the neutral position due to its own weight, the operability into the folded position can be improved.

Here, an outline of the operation of the lock release lever 63 will be described. The interlock cam 63b of the unlock lever 63 contacts the base portion 62c of the door lock member 62. In a state where the door 41 is closed (the state shown in fig. 4), the lock release lever 63 attempts to further rotate the door lock member 62 in the direction of being pressed downward past the interlock cam 63 b. However, the latch member 62 is always elastically biased upward by the coil spring 67, so the latch member 62 is not moved solely by the weight of the lock release lever 63, and the latch member 62 is held in the neutral position.

However, when the lock release lever 63 is forcibly rotated, for example, in the case of a user operation attempting to replace the ink cartridge 14 and rotating the lock release lever 63, the lock release lever 63 rotates and moves to the folded position. When the lock release lever 63 is moved to the folded position, the interlock cam 63b rotates and changes the position centered on the support pin 63a, and presses the base portion 62c of the door lock member 62 downward. Accordingly, the door lock member 62 moves downward against the elastic force of the coil spring 67 and moves to the retracted position. When the door lock member 62 is moved to the retracted position, the locking of the door 41 is released, and the door 41 is changed from the blocking position to the opening position.

The door lock member 62 constantly receives the elastic force of the coil spring 67, and therefore, if the rotational force acting on the lock release lever 63 disappears, in other words, if the user releases his hand from the lock release lever 63, the door lock member 62 reaches a position where it protrudes most from the door main body 60, and forcibly moves the lock release lever 63 to the housed position. In other words, when the door 41 is in the open position, the lock release lever 63 is in a position where it is almost completely housed inside the door main body 60. Therefore, at the time of replacing the ink cartridge 14, since the lock lever 92 is almost completely housed inside the door main unit 60, it can be turned to a position where the door 41 is almost horizontal with the rotation of the shaft portion 64 as the center of rotation, and therefore the user can easily replace the ink cartridge 14. Moreover, the two strips 61c provided on the wall surface 61b of the pressure holding member 61 also function as guides when the ink cartridge 14 is housed inside the housing chamber 50 in cooperation with the guide portions between the curved portions 65 b. In other words, when the ink cartridge 14 is to be inserted into the accommodating chamber 50, the user may load the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 14 onto the strip 61c, place the top end portion of the ink cartridge 14 between the bent portions 65b, and then press the ink cartridge 14 in the direction of the accommodating chamber 50. In addition, when the ink cartridge 14 is to be removed from the accommodating chamber 50, the user should remove the ink cartridge 14 until the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 14 reaches the top of the bar 61c from between the curved portions 65 b.

When the multifunction device 1 is normally used, the door 41 of the refill unit 13 is closed, and the lock release lever 63 is set in the neutral position. Therefore, as shown in fig. 1, when the opening/closing cover 20 is opened at the time of replacing the ink cartridge 14, the lock release lever 63 is inclined toward the front surface side. Therefore, there is an advantage in that the user can easily operate the lock release lever 63. Incidentally, as shown in fig. 1, the refill unit 13 is placed on the front surface 1a of the multi-function device 1, and therefore, if the unlocking lever 63 is set at the neutral position (if it is inclined to the front surface side), a sufficiently wide space must be secured inside the multi-function device 1 to accommodate the refill unit 13. Therefore, the refill unit 13 must be disposed further rearward from the edge of the opening 21, resulting in a risk that the outer dimension of the multi-function device 1 will become large. However, in this embodiment, when the door 41 is in the closing position with respect to the housing 40, the lock release lever 63 can freely rotate between the neutral position and the storage position, and therefore the refill unit 13 can be disposed near the edge of the opening 21. This is because, even if the refill unit 13 is provided on the edge of the opening 21, the inner wall surface of the opening-closing cover 20 comes into contact with the lock release lever 63 when the opening-closing cover 20 is closed, and the lock release lever 63 moves to the housed position when it is pressed by the opening-closing cover 20 when the opening-closing cover 20 is fully closed. Therefore, in this embodiment, a compact design of the multifunction device 1 can be achieved.

Next, the ink cartridge 14 used in this embodiment will be explained with reference to fig. 7 to 13. The ink cartridges 14 are used to store ink in advance, and dark blue, magenta, yellow, and black inks are stored in the respective ink cartridges 14. However, as for the structure of each ink cartridge 14, the ink cartridge 14 storing black ink is formed so that it is slightly thicker than the ink cartridges 14 storing other color inks. This is because the demand for black ink is generally highest and the consumption amount is large, and because black ink is made of pigment ink and color ink is made of dye ink, when black ink and color ink are mixed, a large amount of color ink must be consumed in order to perform a recovery process. Therefore, the outer shape of the black ink cartridge is made large, so that the color ink cartridge and the black ink cartridge can be visually confirmed. The ink cartridges 14 storing color ink are all formed in the same shape.

First, the color ink cartridge 14 for storing color ink will be described with reference to fig. 7 to 9. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the color ink cartridge 14. Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the color ink cartridge 14. Fig. 9 is a view showing the protector 300, and (a) is a top view of the protector 300 from an IXa perspective in fig. 8, and (b) is a cross-sectional view of the protector 300 through an IXb-IXb line in fig. 9 (a). In the following description, the X direction refers to the longitudinal direction of the ink cartridge 14 (housing 200, ink tank element 100), the Y direction refers to the height direction of the ink cartridge 14 (housing 200, ink tank element 100), the Y direction being perpendicular to the X direction, and the Z direction refers to the width direction (thickness direction) of the ink cartridge 14 (housing 200, ink tank element 100), the Z direction being perpendicular to the X direction and the Y direction. Arrow B shown in fig. 8 is parallel to the X direction indicating the longitudinal direction of the ink cartridge 14, and arrow B indicates the direction in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted into the refill unit 13.

As shown in fig. 7, the color ink cartridge 14 is equipped with: a case 200 that covers substantially the entire body of the ink tank element 100 (see fig. 8) storing ink; and a protector 300 that is attached to the case 200 and protects the ink tank member 100 when the ink cartridge 14 is shipped. As is clear from fig. 7, the housing 200 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped including a pair of maximum surfaces 210a and 220a opposite to each other (as are the housings 1200 and 2200 described below). In this embodiment, the ink tank element 100, the case 200, the protector 300, and all the members described below included in the ink cartridge 14 are formed of resin materials, and do not include metal materials, so they can be incinerated at the time of disposal. For example, nylon, polyester, or polypropylene may be used as the resin material.

As shown in fig. 8, the ink tank element 100 is mainly equipped with: a frame portion 110 forming an ink tank chamber 111 (an internal space and an ink tank space including the ink tank chamber 111) for storing ink, an ink supply portion 120 supplying the ink stored in the frame portion 110 to the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), an atmospheric air intake portion 130 introducing atmospheric air into the frame portion 110, a detection portion 140 (an irradiated portion) provided to detect the amount of remaining ink stored inside the frame portion 110, an ink dispensing portion 150 dispensing ink into the frame portion 110, and a film 160 welded on both sides (the top and bottom surfaces in fig. 8) of the frame portion 110 to form the ink tank chamber on the frame portion 110. An explanation will be given below of the frame portion 110, the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, the detection portion 140, the ink dispensing portion 150, and the film 160, and a manufacturing process for the ink tank element 100.

The housing 200 includes two housing elements 210 and 220, and the two housing elements 210 and 220 sandwich the ink reservoir element 100 from above and below (top and bottom in fig. 8; Z direction). The first case member 210 is a member that covers the bottom side surface of the ink tank element 100 in fig. 8, and the second case member 220 is a member that covers the top side surface of the ink tank element 100 in fig. 8. The first and second case members 210 and 220 are made of a resin material and manufactured using injection molding. The depths (the lengths in the upward direction of fig. 8 (the lengths in the Z direction)) of the first and second case members 210 and 220 are formed such that they are substantially equal, and they are formed such that the sum of these depths is substantially equal to the thickness of the ink tank element 100. Therefore, the distance between the ink tank element 100 and the inner side surface of the case 200 becomes small (the gap becomes narrow), and therefore, even if pressure is applied inward from the outside of the case 200, the amount of deformation of the case 200 will become small, and therefore, damage to the case 200 can be reduced.

The first case member 210 includes a plate-like portion forming the largest surface 210a, and vertical wall portions 210b to 210e provided in substantially vertical directions (vertical direction and Z direction in fig. 8) from outer edge portions of four sides of the plate-like portion. As for the vertical wall portions 210d to 210e, the vertical wall forming the protector 300 side of the first case member 210 is 210b, the vertical wall disposed opposite to the vertical wall portion 210b is 210c, and the vertical walls connected to the vertical wall portions 210c and 210b, respectively, are vertical wall portions 210d and 210e (the right side of fig. 8 is the vertical wall portion 210d, and the left side of fig. 8 is the vertical wall portion 210 e).

Two case cutout portions 211 and 212 for exposing the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 to the outside of the case 200 are formed on the vertical wall portion 210b of the first case member 210. The case cutout portions 211 and 212 are formed in a substantially semicircular shape from the edge of the vertical wall portion 210b, and the case cutout portion 211 on the right front side of fig. 8 is a cutout corresponding to the ink supply portion 120, while the case cutout portion 212 on the left rear side of fig. 8 is a cutout corresponding to the atmospheric air intake portion 130. A rectangular case cutout portion 213 cut into a rectangular shape is formed between the case cutout portion 211 and the case cutout portion 212, and this is a cutout for inserting the remaining ink detection sensor 57 (see fig. 5) to a position where it sandwiches the detection portion 140. A contact groove 211a that contacts the ink supply portion 120 is formed on an inner side surface that connects with the case cutout portion 211 of the first case member 210, and a contact groove 212b that contacts the atmosphere air intake portion 130 is formed on an inner side surface that connects with the case cutout portion 212 of the first case member 210. Because these contact grooves 212a and 212b are provided, alignment of the ink reservoir element 100 with the first housing member 210 becomes easy.

Further, two housing projecting portions 214a and 214b are formed on the first housing member 210, which project from the surface (the vertical wall portion 210b) where the housing cutout portion 211 and 213 are formed toward the direction of the protector 300 (the front left direction and the X direction in fig. 8). The case projecting portions 214a and 214b are formed on both sides of the first case member 210 in the Y direction (the right front side end and the left rear side end in fig. 8) so that they sandwich the case cutout portions 211 to 213, and the ink supply portion 120 side (the right front side in fig. 8) is the case projecting portion 214a, and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 side (the left rear side in fig. 8) is the case projecting portion 214 b. The case projecting portion 214a has an inclined surface 214a2, and the inclined surface 214a2 is inclined from a portion connected to the outer side surface of the vertical wall portion 210d of the case member 210 toward the edge (protector 300 direction; left front direction in fig. 8) in the direction of the case cutout portions 211 to 213 (inner side direction of the first case member 210). When the ink cartridge 14 is mounted to the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), the ink cartridge 14 is mounted such that the case projecting portion 214a is located on the bottom side. Therefore, in the case where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted, when the inclined surface 214a2 comes into contact with the bottom wall portion 41 of the refill unit 13, the ink cartridge 14 is smoothly guided to a prescribed mounting position due to its inclined surface.

On the case projecting portion 214a, a case projecting cutout portion 214a1 cut in a rectangular shape is formed on the inner side surface of the side face where the case cutout portions 211 to 213 are formed. On the case projecting portion 214b, a case projecting cutout portion 214b1 also cut in a rectangular shape is also formed on the inner side surface of the side face where the case cutout portions 211 to 213 are formed. These case projecting cutout portions 214a1 and 214b1 are provided to prevent natural detachment of the protector 300 in a state where the protector 300 is attached to the case 200, and into which the projecting portions 330a1 and 330b1 of the protector 300, which will be described below, are fitted (see fig. 9).

In addition, a housing fitting groove 214b2 serving as a fitting portion into which a first protector fitting portion 320 (see fig. 9) of a protector 300 described below is fitted is formed on the housing projecting portion 214 b. The housing fitting groove 214b2 is formed across a part of the vertical wall portion 210e from the edge of the housing extension 214b (the edge on the protector 300 side).

Further, the first case member 210 is formed with: a rod member 215a that protrudes in the direction of the second housing member 220 (Z direction) in the vicinity of the vertical wall portion 210d on the ink supply portion 120 side (right front side in fig. 8) and that determines the position of the ink tank element 100 sealed inside the housing 200; and rod members 215b and 215c that protrude in the direction of the second housing member 220 (Z direction) near a vertical wall portion 210e on the atmosphere intake portion 130 side (left rear side in fig. 8), and that determine the position of the ink tank element sealed inside the housing 200. The position of the reservoir element 100 is determined by the three positions of these rod members 215a to 215c, so they can prevent the connection of the reservoir element 100 in the wrong direction.

The second case member 220 includes a plate-like portion forming the largest surface 220a, and vertical wall portions 220b to 220e provided in substantially vertical directions (the vertical direction and the Z direction in fig. 8) from outer edge portions of four sides of the plate-like portion. As for the vertical wall portions 220b to 220e, the vertical wall forming the protector 300 side of the second case member 220 is 220b, the vertical wall disposed opposite to the vertical wall portion 220b is 220c, and the vertical walls connected to the vertical wall portions 220c and 220b, respectively, are vertical wall portions 220d and 220e (the right side of fig. 8 is the vertical wall portion 220d, and the left side of fig. 8 is the vertical wall portion 220 e).

The second housing member 220 has a symmetrical structure substantially symmetrical to the first housing member 210. As with the first case member 210, three case cutout portions 221 to 223 are formed on the vertical wall portion 220b, and a contact groove 221a connected to the case cutout portion 221 and a contact groove 222a connected to the case cutout portion 222 are also formed. The case cutout portions 221 and 222 are formed in the same shape (substantially semicircular shape) as the case cutout portions 211 and 212 of the first case member 210, and the case cutout portion 223 is formed in the same shape (substantially rectangular shape) as the case cutout portion 213 of the first case member 210. Also, case protruding parts 224a and 224b are formed on both sides of the case cutout parts 221 to 223, and the case protruding part 224a has an inclined surface 224a2, the inclined surface 224a2 being inclined toward the edge from a portion connected with the outer side surface of the vertical wall part 220d of the second case member 220 in the direction of the case cutout parts 221 to 223. A housing extension cutout portion 224a1 (not shown in this figure) is formed on housing extension 224a, and a housing extension cutout portion 224b1 and a housing fitting groove 224b2 that spans a portion of vertical wall portion 220e from the edge of housing extension 224b are formed on housing extension 224 b. On the second housing member 220, fitting hole portions 225a to 225c (not shown in the figure) are formed, the fitting hole portions 225a to 225c having holes corresponding to the positions of the lever members 215a to 215c formed with the first housing member 210, into which the lever members 215a to 215c are fitted after passing in the direction (Z direction) of the first housing member 210.

As described above, the first case member 210 and the second case member 220 of the case 200 are formed in substantially the same shape, and when they are in a state of holding the ink tank element 100, substantially circular through holes that expose a part of the ink supply portion 120 to the outside are formed by the case cutout portions 211 and 221, and substantially circular through holes that expose a part of the atmosphere air intake portion 130 to the outside are formed by the case cutout portions 212 and 222. Through holes into which the remaining ink detection sensors 57 (see fig. 5) can be inserted are formed on both sides (the top and bottom sides in fig. 8; both sides in the Z direction) of the detection section 140 by the case cutout holes 213 and 223 and the side wall of the detection section 140. In addition, a protrusion ("first protrusion" or "another protrusion") is formed by the case protrusion 214a and the case protrusion 224a, which helps prevent contamination of ink of the refill unit 13, installation of the ink cartridge into the refill unit 13 in the wrong position, and damage to the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and a protrusion ("second protrusion" or "one protrusion") is formed by the case protrusion 214b and the case protrusion 224b, which helps prevent the above-described installation in the wrong position, and damage to components such as the ink supply portion 120, together with the protrusion formed by the case protrusion 214a and the case protrusion 224 a. These protrusions will be described in detail below. Further, as is clear from fig. 8, the ink supply portion 120 is disposed closer to the projection formed by the case projecting portion 214a and the case projecting portion 224a than to the projection formed by the case projecting portion 214b and the case projecting portion 224 b. A through hole into which the protruding portion 330a1 (see fig. 9) of the protector 300 is loosely inserted is formed by the case protruding cutout portions 214a1 and 224a1, and a through hole into which the protruding portion 330b1 (see fig. 9) of the protector 300 is loosely inserted is formed by the case protruding cutout portions 214b1 and 224b1, while a substantially rectangular parallelepiped-shaped fitting groove into which the first protector fitting portion 320 (see fig. 9) of the protector 300 is fitted is formed by the case fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b 2.

As can be seen from the above description, the first case member 210 and the second case member 220 not only have the same overall appearance, but they are formed such that details such as the case protruding portions 214a, 214b, 224a, and 224b, and the case cutout portions 211 to 213 and 221 to 223 also have the same shape. Therefore, when the first and second case members 210 and 220 are molded from resin, their mold shapes are similar, and therefore the costs associated with mold design can be reduced.

Next, the outer shape of the housing 200 will be explained. On the first and second case members 210 and 220, vertical wall portions 210d, 210e, 220d, and 220e (side faces on both sides) in a direction (Y direction) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B (X direction connecting the rear right side of fig. 8 and the front left side of fig. 8; arrow B in fig. 8) are formed in a concave shape, and steps are formed with respect to the largest surfaces 210a and 220a (surfaces) of the first and second case members 210 and 220. The first and second case members 210 and 220 are welded on these stepped portions, and the ink tank element 110 is fastened to the case 200. With these stepped portions, the stepped portions on the ink supply portion 120 side (the right front side in fig. 8) are first case weld portions 216 and 226, and the stepped portions on the atmosphere intake portion 130 side (the left rear side in fig. 8) are second case weld portions 217 and 227.

In the following description, the longitudinal direction B (direction parallel to the X direction) of the first and second case members 210 and 220 refers to the longitudinal direction of the ink cartridge 14, the longitudinal direction of the ink tank element 100, and the longitudinal direction of the case 200.

Here, the first and second case welding parts 226 and 227 of the second case 220 will be explained. The first case weld portion 226 is connected in the same plane as the case projection 224a, and on the side opposite to the case projection 224a, the first case weld portion 226 has a recessed portion 226a formed in a recessed shape along the inner side direction of the second case member 220, and an engaging portion 226b that engages with the pull-out member 65 (see fig. 6) of the door 41 when the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the refill unit 13 (see fig. 1). The concave portion 226a is an area for securing a swing range when the pull-out member 65 is rotated. The housing welding portion 227 has a latch portion 227a formed in a concave shape in a substantially middle position in the longitudinal direction B of the second housing member 220, and the latch portion 227a is a portion that engages with the swing arm mechanism 44B (see fig. 2) in a state where it is mounted in the refill unit 13.

Although detailed description is omitted here, a concave portion 216a (not shown in the figure), an engaging portion 216b (not shown in the figure), and a latch portion 217a (not shown in the figure) are also formed on the first housing member 210, and these portions are formed with substantially the same shape as the concave portion 226a, the engaging portion 226b, and the latch portion 227a of the second housing member 220.

Next, the protector 300 will be explained with reference to fig. 8 and 9. Fig. 9 is a view showing the protector 300, and fig. 9(a) is a top view of the protector 300 seen from an IXa perspective in fig. 8, and fig. 9(b) is a sectional view of the protector 300 through an IXb-IXb line in fig. 9 (a). The protector 300 is a member for protecting the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 of the ink tank element 100, in particular, when the ink cartridge 14 is transported. The protector 300 is made of a resin material, and is manufactured by injection molding.

As shown in fig. 8, a protector through-hole 310 is formed in the protector 300 in a position corresponding to the atmosphere intake portion 130 side (left rear side in fig. 8) on the bottom surface. This is because a valve opening portion 721a (see fig. 33) for operating the atmosphere valve 720 protrudes outward from the atmosphere air intake portion 130, and the protector through-hole 310 is formed to protect the valve opening portion 721 a.

As shown in the top view of fig. 9(a), a first protector fitting portion 320 is formed near the end of the protector 300 on the protector through-hole 310 side (left side in fig. 9 (a)), the first protector fitting portion 320 fitting into the fitting grooves formed by the case fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b2 (see fig. 8). A second protector fitting portion 330a is formed near an end portion of a side (right side in fig. 9 (a)) opposite to the side where the first protector fitting portion 320 is formed, the second protector fitting portion 330a fitting into through-holes formed by the case body protrusion cutout portions 214a1 and 224a1 (see fig. 8) and fastening the protector 300 to the case body 200, and a second protector fitting portion 330b is provided between the first protector fitting portion 320 and the protector through-hole 310, the second protector fitting portion 330b fitting into through-holes formed by the case body protrusion cutout holes 214b1 and 224b1 (see fig. 8) and fastening the protector 300 to the case body 200.

Also, in substantially the middle position in the longitudinal direction C (Y direction in fig. 8 and 9) of the protector 300, protector loose-insertion portions 340a and 340b are formed, which are loosely insertable into those through-holes formed by the side walls of the case cutout portions 213 and 223 and the detection portion 140 (see fig. 8). The protector loose insertion portions 340a and 340b are connected to two side walls (top and bottom side walls in fig. 9 (a)) formed in parallel with the longitudinal direction C, and these protector loose insertion portions are formed such that they protrude upward (the X direction of the front side of the page in fig. 9(a) and the ink tank element 100 side in fig. 8). A plurality of ribs are formed from the bottom surface of the protector 300, and these ribs maintain the strength of the protector 300.

The first protector mating part 320 is arranged such that it: extends in a direction parallel to a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction C of the protector 300 (the vertical direction in fig. 9 (a); the X direction); and is constituted by a protector vertical wall 321 which is provided from the bottom wall of the protector 300, and two protector vertical walls 322, the two protector vertical walls 322 being connected to the side wall of the protector vertical wall 321 on the side opposite to the protector through-hole 310 (the left side in fig. 9 (a)). As shown in fig. 9(b), each protector vertical wall 322 is constituted by a top portion formed parallel to the protector vertical wall 321 from the top end (top side end in fig. 9 (b)) of the first protector fitting portion 320, and a bottom portion connected to the side wall of the protector 300 from a substantially middle position in the projecting direction (upward in fig. 9 (b); X direction) of the first protector fitting portion 320, and the top portion and the bottom portion have a step.

Therefore, the top of the protector vertical wall 321 and the protector vertical wall 322 are inserted into the fitting grooves when fitted into the fitting grooves formed by the case fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b2 (see fig. 8). When the first protector fitting portion 320 is inserted into the fitting groove, it is inserted while being restricted by both end portions of the protector vertical wall 321 extending in the Z direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction C (Y direction), and end portions of the protector vertical wall 322 in the longitudinal direction C. Here, if the first protector fitting portion 320 is formed with substantially the same shape as the fitting grooves formed by the case fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b2 (see fig. 8), the attachment of the protector 300 takes time and labor, whereas if the protector fitting portion 320 is very small compared to the fitting grooves, the position of the attachment direction of the protector 300 cannot be determined. However, since it is inserted while being restricted by the protector vertical walls 321 and 322 located at one surface (the plane of the protector vertical wall 321) and four points (both side ends of the protector vertical wall 321 and both ends of the protector vertical wall 322), the mountability of the protector 300 is improved, and erroneous mounting can be prevented.

As shown in fig. 9(b), on edges of the second protector fitting parts 330a and 330b in a direction in which the second protector fitting parts 330a and 330b are separated from each other (edges on the top side of fig. 9 (b)) are formed protrusion parts 330a1 and 330b1 that protrude away from each other, and shaft parts 330a2 and 330b2 that are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape are formed from these edges in a direction of the bottom surface of the protector 300 (downward in fig. 9 (b)). The shaft portions 330a2 and 330b2 have elasticity because the protector 300 is formed of a resin material, and the protector 300 is attached and detached while the second protector fitting portions 330a and 330b are elastically deformed in the inside direction.

Here, the black ink cartridge 14 will be described with reference to fig. 10 and 11. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the black ink cartridge 14. Fig. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the black ink cartridge 14.

As shown in fig. 10 and 11, the black ink cartridge 14 is configured such that its outer profile is larger (thickness (length in the Z direction) than that of the color ink cartridge 14). Specifically, the second case member 220 constituting the case 1200 is the same as the second case member 220 for color ink, and the first case member 1210 constituting the case 1200 is formed such that the first case member 1210 is thicker (has a larger length in the Z direction) than the first case member 210 for color ink. The ink tank element 100 has a sufficient capacity for storing black ink, and therefore it is configured to have the same shape as the color ink tank element 100, and uses the same components. Also, the protector 1300 is formed corresponding to the housing 1200, and the protector 1300 is formed such that it is thicker than the protector 300 in the vertical direction (Z direction). Therefore, the black ink cartridge 14 will be explained for the first case member 1210, and the explanation of the second case member 220, the ink tank element 100, and the protector 1300 will be omitted here. Only the depth of the first case member 1210 (the thickness in the vertical direction (the length in the Z direction) in fig. 11) is different from the depth of the first case member 210, and the rest of the structure thereof is the same, so detailed description thereof will be omitted here.

As shown in fig. 11, the first case member 1210 includes a plate-like portion forming a maximum surface 1210a, and vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e provided in substantially vertical directions (vertical direction and Z direction in fig. 11) from outer edge portions of four sides of the plate-like portion. As for the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e, the vertical wall forming the protector 1300 side of the first case member 1210 is 1210b, the vertical wall disposed opposite to the vertical wall portion 1210b is 1210c, and the vertical walls connected to the vertical wall portions 1210c and 1210b, respectively, are vertical wall portions 1210d and 1210e (the right side of fig. 11 is the vertical wall portion 1210d, and the left side of fig. 11 is the vertical wall portion 1210 e). The black ink cartridge 14 is formed such that the vertical wall heights of the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e are approximately twice the vertical wall heights of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first case member 210 for color ink, and thus the thickness of the ink cartridge 14 is increased.

As with the first case member 210, case cutout portions 1211 and 1212 are formed on the first case member 1210 so as to expose the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 to the outside of the case 1200, the case cutout portions are formed in a substantially semicircular shape on the vertical wall portion 1210b, and a case cutout portion 1213 cut in a rectangular shape is formed between the case cutout portion 1211 and the case cutout portion 1212. Two case protruding parts 1214a and 1214b are formed on both sides of the first case member 1210, and the case protruding part 1214a has an inclined surface 1214a 2. Rod members 1215a, 1215b, and 1215c, which determine the position of the reservoir element 100, are formed on the first case member 1210.

In addition, a rib 1218 is formed on substantially the entire inner side surface (substantially the entire maximum surface 1210a) of the first case member 1210. The rib 1218 projects toward the ink reservoir element 100 side in the Z direction by an amount equivalent to the amount by which the outer contour of the first case member 1210 expands relative to the first case member 210 (the difference in height between the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first case member 210 and the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e of the first case member 1210). Since this rib 1218 is provided, a space (gap) formed between the ink tank element 100 and the first case member 1210 can be filled. The strength of the housing 1200 against the pressure from the outside can be maintained.

Further, by making the outer contour of the black ink cartridge 14 larger than that of the color ink cartridge 14, the black ink cartridge 14 can be distinguished from the other ink cartridges 14. Black is a darker color than the other colors, so it is preferable not to be mistakenly loaded into the refill unit 13 for use. However, since the outer profile of the black ink cartridge 14 is made larger, it can be distinguished from the other ink cartridges 14, and therefore erroneous mounting can be reduced. In addition, the housing chamber 50 inside the refill unit 13 is formed according to the size of each ink cartridge 14, and therefore the black ink cartridge 14 is never mounted into the housing chamber 50 corresponding to the color ink cartridge 14.

In the black ink cartridge 14, the first case member 1210 and the second case member 220 differ in thickness in the vertical direction (Z direction), and therefore the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 are disposed in positions (offset positions) that are offset from the center position in the vertical direction.

Next, the large capacity black ink cartridge 14 will be explained with reference to fig. 12 and 13. Fig. 12 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14. Fig. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the large capacity black ink cartridge 14.

As shown in fig. 12 and 13, the outer contour of the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14 is configured such that it is larger (longer in the Z direction) than the color and black ink cartridge 14. Specifically, the vertical wall heights of the vertical wall portions 2220b to 2220e of the second housing member 2220 are formed such that they are approximately twice the vertical wall heights of the vertical wall portions 220b to 220e of the second housing member 220, and only the second housing member 2220 constituting the housing 2200 is made thicker than the second housing member 220 for color and black inks. Also, in the first housing member 2210 constituting the housing 2200, only the ribs 1218 of the first housing member 1210 for black ink are removed. In addition, simply thickening the reservoir element 2100 increases the capacity relative to the color and black reservoir elements 100. Therefore, a detailed description of the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14 will be omitted here. As for the reference numerals attached to the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14, reference numeral 2000 is added to the reference numerals attached to the color ink cartridge 14. The thicknesses of the first housing member 2210 and the second housing member 2220 in the vertical direction (Z direction) are substantially equal, and therefore the ink supply portion 2120, the atmosphere supply portion 2130, and the detection portion 2140 are disposed in the central position in the vertical direction.

In correspondence with the ink cartridges having the above-described three sizes, the refill unit 13 of the multi-function device 1 is preferably configured such that it is equipped with a plurality of housing chambers 50 that house the color ink cartridges 14, and a single housing chamber 50 that selectively houses the black ink cartridge 14 and the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14 (the internal space of the housing chamber 50 has a size corresponding to the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14). This is because the frequency of text printing using only black ink is generally higher than that of color printing. However, it is possible to provide a multi-function device 1 for a user who does not use text printing frequently, in which the refill unit 13 is configured such that it is equipped with a plurality of housing chambers 50 housing color ink cartridges 14 and a single housing chamber 50 housing a black ink cartridge 14. This will be explained again below.

Next, the ink tank element 100 will be explained with reference to fig. 14. Fig. 14 is a view showing the ink tank element 100, and fig. 14(a) is a front view of the ink tank element 100, and fig. 14(b) is a rear view of the ink tank element 100. The state of the ink tank element 100 shown in fig. 14 is a case in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1). As shown in fig. 14, this is a state in which the longitudinal direction (X direction) and the width direction (Z direction) of the ink cartridge 14 (ink tank element 100) are horizontal directions, and fig. 14 is a state in which the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 are located on the side surfaces, the ink supply portion 120 is located on the bottom side, and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 is located on the top side. The ink tank element 2100 differs from the ink tank element 100 only in its thickness (length in the X direction), and therefore a detailed description of the ink tank element 2100 will be omitted here.

As described above, the ink tank element 100 is mainly equipped with the frame portion 110, the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, the detection portion 140, the ink dispensing portion 150, and the film 160. Further, the ink tank element 100 is configured substantially as a flat hexahedron. The pair of surfaces constituting the largest area of the hexahedron are the front surface side and the rear surface side of the ink tank element 100 shown in fig. 14, and the ink tank element 100 is substantially constituted by six surfaces with side surfaces (side walls) provided in four directions connecting the front surface side and the rear surface side. When loaded into the housing 200, the pair of surfaces that constitute the largest area of the ink reservoir member 100 is parallel to the pair of largest surfaces 210a and 220a of the housing 200. In addition, the film 160 is welded to the front surface side and the rear surface side of the frame portion 110, so that the thickness (length in the Z direction) of the ink tank element 100 formed in a flat shape can be reduced as compared with the case where both sides are closed by plate materials.

First, the frame portion 110 will be described in detail. The frame portion 110 is injection-molded using a resin material, and has light transmittance because it is formed to be translucent (or transparent). This is because, as described below: light emitted from the light emitting portion 57a of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 located on both sides of the detection portion 140 is transmitted to the light receiving portion 57b, thereby detecting the amount of remaining ink in the ink tank element 100.

As shown in fig. 14(a), an outer peripheral welded portion 400a that welds the film 160 to the vicinity of the outer edge portion, and a plurality of inner peripheral welded portions 411a to 417a provided on the inner side of the outer peripheral welded portion 400a are formed on the front surface side of the frame portion 110. The outer peripheral welded portion 400a is a vertical wall that divides an inner space of the frame portion 100 (a space on the first chamber 111a side of the tank chamber 111). In addition, the blackened edge portions of the inner peripheral welded portions (ribs or first ribs) 411a to 417a shown in fig. 14(a) are welded surface portions (rib fixing portions or first rib fixing portions), and the front surface side edges (blackened portions) of the outer peripheral welded portions 400a are welded surface portions (fixing portions) on the periphery of the first opening 112 a. The film 160 is welded to the welding surface portion by ultrasonic welding.

As shown in fig. 14(b), an outer peripheral welded portion 400b where the film 160 is welded to the vicinity of the outer edge portion, and a plurality of inner peripheral welded portions 411b to 417b provided on the inner side of the outer peripheral welded portion 400b are formed on the rear surface side of the frame portion 110. The outer peripheral welded portion 400b is a wall that partitions the inner space of the frame 100. The outer peripheral welded portion 400b is a vertical wall that divides an inner space of the frame portion 100 (a space on the second chamber 111b side of the tank chamber 111). In addition, the blackened edge portions of the inner peripheral welded portion (rib or second rib) shown in fig. 14(b) are welding surface portions (rib fixing portions or second rib fixing portions) 411b to 417b, and the rear surface side edge (blackened portion) of the outer peripheral welded portion 400b is a welding surface portion (fixing portion) on the opening periphery. The film 160 is welded to the welded portion by ultrasonic welding.

The insides of the outer peripheral welded portions 400a and 400b constitute an ink tank chamber 111 that stores ink. The region on the front surface side shown in fig. 14(a) is a first chamber 111a of the tank chamber 111, and the region on the rear surface side shown in fig. 14(b) is a second chamber 111b of the tank chamber 111. In addition, the outer peripheral welded portion 400a shown in fig. 14(a) is the first opening 112a of the frame portion 110, and the outer peripheral welded portion 400b shown in fig. 14(b) is the second opening 112b of the frame portion 110.

The frame 110 is mainly equipped with: a supply passage forming portion 420 (see fig. 14(a) and 14(b)) which communicates with the ink supply portion 120 and supplies ink stored inside the ink tank chamber 111 to the outside; an atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 (see fig. 14(a)) that communicates with the atmosphere intake portion 130 and introduces the atmosphere into the tank chamber 111; a plate-shaped joint forming portion 440 (see fig. 14(a) and 14(b)) which is formed substantially at the center of the frame portion 110 (or the ink tank chamber 111) and connects the vicinity of the atmospheric air intake portion 130 to the vicinity of the ink dispensing portion 150; and a dispensing passage forming portion 450 (see fig. 14(b)) that communicates with the ink dispensing portion 150 and dispenses ink into the ink tank chamber 111. Here, the connection member forming portion 440 separates the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b of the tank chamber 111 in a state of communicating with each other, and the connection member forming portion 440 is a connection plate between a virtual plane R (not shown in the figure) in which the film 160 welded to the outer peripheral welding portion 400a extends and a virtual plane S (not shown in the figure) in which the film 160 welded to the outer peripheral welding portion 400b extends, and extends in a plane parallel to these virtual planes. The connector forming portion 440 will be described in detail later. The atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is formed such that it is located only on the front surface side of the frame portion 110 (the first chamber 111a side of the tank chamber 111), and the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is substantially partitioned by a plate portion 438, the plate portion 438 being located between a part of the outer peripheral welded portion 400a and the inner peripheral welded portion 412a and the virtual planes R and S, and extending in a plane parallel to them. The atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 will be described in detail later. In this embodiment, the ink tank chamber 111 (internal space) inside the frame portion 110 is provided as an area including the supply channel forming portion 420, the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430, the joint forming portion 440, and the dispensing passage forming portion 450, but the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is an atmosphere passage for introducing the atmosphere into the ink tank chamber 111, and therefore it may be provided as an area other than the ink tank chamber 111 (internal space) of the frame portion 110. This means that the space (internal space) of the above-described tank chamber 111 excluding the atmospheric communication passage forming portion 430 is basically regarded as a space for storing ink.

In addition, on the outer edge of the frame portion 110, thin plate-like protruding portions are formed in one position on the bottom (the bottom of fig. 14(a) and the bottom of fig. 14 (b)) and in two positions on the top (the top of fig. 14(a) and the top of fig. 14 (b)), and through holes 460a to 460c into which the rod members 215a to 215c (see fig. 8) of the above-described first housing member 210 are inserted are formed on these protruding portions.

First, the inner circumference welded parts 411a to 417a will be described with reference to fig. 14 (a). The inner peripheral welded portions 411a to 417a are constituted by an inner peripheral welded portion 411a provided on the supply passage forming portion 420, an inner peripheral welded portion 412a provided on the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430, and inner peripheral welded portions 413a to 417a provided on the connection piece forming portion 440. In addition, the welding surface portions of the inner circumference welding portions 411a to 417a and the welding surface portion of the outer circumference welding portion 400a are located on the same virtual plane, and the film 160 can be welded on the same plane (virtual plane R).

The inner peripheral welded portion 411a is provided on the supply passage forming portion 420, and it is constituted by a downward inclined vertical wall inclined in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110 (see fig. 8; left-right direction in fig. 14 (a)). The inner peripheral welded portion 412a forms one side wall (vertical wall) of an atmosphere connecting passage 433, which will be described later, in the atmosphere communicating passage forming portion 430, and the inner peripheral welded portion 412a is constituted by a downward inclined vertical wall inclined in a direction intersecting with the longitudinal direction B (X direction) of the frame portion 110. The inner peripheral welded portion 413a is provided in the vicinity of the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the inner peripheral welded portion 413a is constituted by a downward inclined vertical wall inclined in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, and a vertical wall extending from the vertical wall in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110 (vertical direction in fig. 14 (a)), the walls being arranged in a substantially T-shape. The inner peripheral welded portion 414a is formed substantially in the shape of a horseshoe facing the left side, and is constituted by a vertical wall parallel to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, a vertical wall extending from the vertical wall in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, and a downward inclined vertical wall inclined from the vertical wall in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110. The inner peripheral welded portion 415a is constituted by a vertical wall parallel to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, a vertical wall bent from the vertical wall into a substantially vertical direction so as to face in the direction of the bottom of the frame portion 110, and a vertical wall inclined downward from the vertical wall in the direction (Y direction) intersecting the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110. The inner peripheral welded portion 416a is provided in the vicinity of the ink dispensing portion 150, and the inner peripheral welded portion 416a is constituted by a downward inclined vertical wall inclined in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110. An inner peripheral welded portion 417a is provided in the vicinity of the ink dispensing portion 150, the inner peripheral welded portion 417a being constituted by a vertical wall extending in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, and a downward inclined vertical wall inclined from the vertical wall in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110.

In other words, at least a part of the vertical walls of the inner peripheral welded portions 411a to 417a extends in a direction inclined downward or in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110 (in other words, the bottom side of the ink tank chamber 111 in a state where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted), and an end of the bottom side (the bottom side of fig. 14 (a)) is a free end. As a result, even when a plurality of inner peripheral welded portions 411a to 417a are provided inside the outer peripheral welded portion 400a so as to suppress the slack of the film 160 when welding the film 160 to the frame portion 110, these plurality of inner peripheral welded portions 411a to 417a do not significantly impede the flow of ink toward the ink supply portion 120. In addition, the inner peripheral welded parts 411a to 417a are scattered (dispersed into a plurality of cells) inside the outer peripheral welded part 400a, so that these inner peripheral welded parts effectively prevent slack from being generated in the film 160 and avoid blocking the flow of ink.

As shown in fig. 14(b), regarding the inner peripheral welded parts 411b to 417b, the inner peripheral welded parts 411b and 413b to 417b are formed in substantially the same shape as the above-described inner peripheral welded parts 411a and 413a to 417a in positions corresponding to the positions of the inner peripheral welded parts 411a and 413a to 417a, and only the inner peripheral welded part 412b is formed in a shape different from the shape of the inner peripheral welded part 412a in a position different from the position of the inner peripheral welded part 412 a. In addition, the welding surface portions of the inner peripheral welding portions 411b to 417b and the welding surface portions of the outer peripheral welding portion 400b are located on the same virtual plane, and the film 160 can be welded on the same plane (virtual plane S).

The inner peripheral welded portion 412B includes an inner peripheral welded portion 412B1 constituted by a vertical wall extending from the outer peripheral welded portion 400B in a direction (Y direction) substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110, and an inner peripheral welded portion 412B2 similarly constituted by a vertical wall extending from the outer peripheral welded portion 400B in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction B of the frame portion 110. An inner peripheral welded portion 412b1 and an inner peripheral welded portion 412b2 are provided from the plate portion 438, and the plate portion 438 partitions an atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430. This is because the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is formed only on the front surface side of the frame portion 110, and the inner peripheral welded portion 412b1 and the inner peripheral welded portion 412b2 are provided for suppressing generation of slack in the film 160 in a portion corresponding to the rear surface side of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430. In addition, as with the front surface side, the inner peripheral welded portions 411b to 417b become free ends, and are also scattered (dispersed into a plurality of cells) on the rear surface side of the frame portion 110, so that these inner peripheral welded portions effectively reduce the resistance to the flow of ink while suppressing the generation of slack in the film 160.

Since the inner peripheral weld portions 411a to 417a and 411b to 417b (dispersed into a plurality of units) are provided along the scattering orientation, in the case where the case 200 is formed of a soft resin material, even if the case is deformed on the ink tank element 100 side, the case can be restricted from being deformed by the inner peripheral weld portions 411a to 417a and 411b to 417 b. As a result, damage to the case and damage to the film 160 can be prevented. In addition, the outer peripheral welded parts 400a and 400b and the inner peripheral welded parts 411a to 417a and 411b to 417b are formed by vertical walls provided on the front surface side or the rear surface side, so that a very complicated mold is not required in injection molding the frame part 110. The manufacturing cost of the ink cartridge 14 can be reduced.

The supply passage forming portion 420 is described next with reference to fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a view showing the supply passage forming portion 420. Fig. 15(a) is a view showing the outline of the supply passage forming portion 420 (a view on the rear surface side of the frame portion 110), fig. 15(b) is a view showing a sectional view of the supply passage forming portion 420 through the line XVb-XVb of fig. 15(a), fig. 15(c) is a view showing a state where the amount of remaining ink has decreased, and fig. 15(d) is a view showing a state where ink supply has been terminated (i.e., ink has been substantially used up).

As shown in fig. 15(a), the supply passage forming portion 420 is mainly provided with: a first supply communication hole 421 that communicates with the ink supply portion 120; a supply partition wall 422, the supply partition wall 422 being formed into a substantially triangular frame when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 15(a), so that it surrounds the first supply communication hole 421; a plate portion 427 that occupies an area inside the supply partition wall 422 and extends between these planes in parallel to the virtual planes R and S; a second supply communication hole 423 formed when a portion of the supply partition wall 422 is cut away; a supply recessed portion 424 formed by forming a part of the bottom of the tank chamber 111 (the bottom of fig. 15 (a); a part of the wall of a portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111 in the peripheral weld portion 400 b) into a recessed shape (stepped shape); a plate portion 428 that extends from the outer peripheral welded portion 400b and the supply partition wall 422 and extends between these planes in parallel to the virtual planes R and S; an arm holding portion 425 which is provided on a free end of the plate portion 428 and has a sensor arm 470 ("moving member", see fig. 19) connected as a rotating member (described below); and an inner peripheral welding portion 411b provided from the arm holding portion 425 in the direction of the detection portion 140 (see fig. 14 (b)). In addition, the film 160 is welded to the supply partition wall 422, and the welding surface portion thereof and the welding surface portion of the outer peripheral welding portion 400b are located on the same virtual plane (virtual plane S). The space surrounded by the supply partition wall 422 and the plate portion 427 is an ink supply chamber 426, the ink supply chamber 426 temporarily stores ink supplied to the ink supply portion 120, and the space formed by the supply recessed portion 424 and the plate portion 428 is a recessed portion space 424 a. As shown in fig. 14(b), this recessed portion space 424a is lower in the height direction (Y direction) of the ink cartridge 14 than a portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111 (internal space), and it constitutes a portion of space located on the bottommost side (lowermost side) of the tank chamber 111. As shown in fig. 15(a), the first supply communication hole 421 is formed above the bottom 400b1 (at the same height as the top end of the recessed space 424 a), and the second supply communication hole 423 is formed below the bottom 400b 1. In other words, the second supply communication hole 423 is located on the lower side (bottom side) of the tank chamber 111 lower than the first supply communication hole 421. The arm holding portion 425 is formed in a C shape that is opened substantially facing the left side when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 15(a), and a part of the side (the left side of fig. 15 (a)) opposite to the ink supply portion 120 is opened. As shown in fig. 14(a) and 14(b), the above-described welded portion 411b and the welded portion 411a are disposed so that they face each other from the plate portion 428.

As shown in fig. 15(b), the supply partition wall 422 is formed such that: when the film 160 is to be welded, the supply partition wall 422 separates the interior of the frame portion 110 (the tank chamber 111) and the first supply communication hole 421. In other words, the ink supply chamber 426 surrounded by the supply partition wall 422 communicates with the interior of the frame portion 110 only through the second supply communication hole 423. As a result, the ink stored inside the frame portion 110 is supplied from the second supply communication passage 423 into the ink supply chamber 426, and then supplied from the first supply communication hole 421 to the ink supply portion 120 (a passage (ink flow passage) indicated by an arrow D in fig. 15 (c)).

Next, an ink flow passage D through which ink inside the frame portion 110 is supplied to the ink supply portion 120 will be described with reference to fig. 15(c) and 15 (D). As shown in fig. 15(c), when the ink level I stored inside the frame 110 is higher than the supply recessed portion 424, ink is supplied to the ink supply portion 120 through an ink flow passage indicated by an arrow D in fig. 15 (c). In this case, the recessed space 424a is filled with ink, so that the interior of the ink supply chamber 426 surrounded by the supply partition wall 422 is also filled with ink. In other words, in the state shown in fig. 15(c), the ink fills the inside of the ink supply chamber 426, so that even if the ink level I drops below the first supply communication hole 421, the ink can be supplied to the ink supply portion 120 through the second supply communication hole 423. In this embodiment, the ink supply portion 120 is generally cylindrical as shown in fig. 8, and, as described below, a portion of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the check valve 670 are housed inside the ink supply member 116 while the shaft portion 672 (see fig. 29) of the check valve 670 is inserted through the first supply communication hole 421. Therefore, there is a restriction on the formation of the first supply communication hole 421 on the bottom side of the tank chamber 111 (frame portion 110) in view of the space occupied by the ink supply mechanism 500 and the check valve 670. In the configuration in which the supply partition 422 is not provided, when the ink level I falls below the first supply communication hole 421, ink cannot be supplied, and the full use of the ink inside the tank chamber 111 deteriorates. However, by replenishing the supply partition wall 422 and forming the second supply communication hole 423 on the lower side than the first supply communication hole 421, ink can be supplied until the ink level I drops to the second supply communication hole 423, so that full use of ink can be facilitated.

When ink is further supplied from the state shown in fig. 15(c) and the ink level I falls below the upper end of the supply recessed portion 424 and becomes lower than the second supply communication hole 423, atmospheric air flows into the ink supply chamber 426 surrounded by the supply partition wall 422 through the second supply communication hole 423, and as a result, additional ink cannot be supplied any more (the state shown in fig. 15 (d)).

As shown in fig. 15(d), a difference in distance t1 is provided between a portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111 in the outer peripheral weld portion 400b and the lower end of the second supply communication hole 423. Here, if the second supply communication hole 423 is above the portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111, ink cannot be supplied any more after the ink level I reaches the second supply communication hole 423, so that the full use of ink becomes poor. Therefore, the supply recessed portion 424 is provided and configured such that the position of the second supply communication hole 423 is lower than the portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111 by a distance t 1. As a result, as shown in fig. 15(d), in the state where the ink supply has been completed, only a slight amount of ink remains in the vicinity of the bottom of the supply recessed portion 424 (a portion lower than the second supply communication hole 423), and the amount of ink that cannot be supplied can be significantly reduced. In addition, a supply concave portion 424 is formed on the bottommost portion of the reservoir chamber 111 (see fig. 14), so that the ink inside the reservoir chamber 111 flows into the supply concave portion 424 and accumulates in the supply concave portion 424 when the amount of ink becomes small. Therefore, by establishing the supply recessed portion 424, it is possible to facilitate the full use of the ink inside the reservoir chamber 111.

The foreign matter E remains inside the ink remaining inside the supply concave portion 424. This is because a difference t2 is provided between the second supply communication hole 423 and a bottom side wall (a side wall on the lower side of fig. 15 (d)) of the supply concave portion 424. As described above, when the ink level I is lowered below the second supply communication hole 423, additional ink cannot be supplied, so that the ink between the second supply communication hole 423 and the supply recessed portion 424 remains inside the supply recessed portion 424 without being supplied to the ink supply portion 120. Dust or plastic chips remaining inside the frame portion 110 at the time of manufacturing the ink cartridge 14 sometimes remain inside the ink, but such dust or plastic chips have a specific gravity larger than that of the ink, so that it remains near the bottom of the frame portion 110. Therefore, as shown in fig. 15(d), the impurity E remains inside the ink remaining inside the supply concave portion 424. When the foreign matter E is supplied to the ink supply portion 120 and supplied to the multi-function device 1 (see fig. 1), ink clogging may occur, so that accurate printing cannot be performed. However, as described above, since the distance t2 is provided between the second supply communication hole 423 and the bottom side wall of the supply recessed portion 424, the foreign matter E remains inside the supply recessed portion 424, so that the occurrence of ink clogging can be reduced.

The atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 will be described below with reference to fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a view showing the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430. Fig. 16(a) is a perspective view showing an outline of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430, fig. 16(b) is a view showing the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 from the viewpoint of an arrow XVIb of fig. 16(a), and fig. 16(c) is a view of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 from the viewpoint of an arrow XVIc of fig. 16 (a).

As shown in fig. 16(a), the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is mainly equipped with: a first atmosphere communication chamber 431 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape communicating with the atmosphere intake portion 130; a second atmosphere communication chamber 432 formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape communicating with the tank chamber 111; and an atmosphere connection passage 433 communicating with the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 and the second atmosphere communication chamber 432 on the side of the first surface 437a to which the film 160 is bonded (the left front side in fig. 16; the first surface 437a is a surface included in the virtual plane R). When the film 160 is welded on the front side of fig. 16(a), chambers and passages of the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 and the second atmosphere communication chamber 432 and the atmosphere connection passage 433 are formed.

A first atmosphere communication hole 434 communicating with the atmosphere intake portion 130 is formed beside a second surface 437b (the second surface 437b is the surface of the plate portion 438) opposite to the first surface 437a of the first atmosphere communication chamber 431. In the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, a second atmosphere communication hole 435 communicating with the first chamber 111a of the tank chamber 111 is formed beside the first surface 437a, and a third atmosphere communication hole 436 communicating with the second chamber 111b of the tank chamber 111 is formed on the second surface 437b (plate portion 438). A first atmosphere communication hole 434 is formed on a side wall surface 431a of the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 on the atmosphere intake portion 130 side (left rear side in fig. 16), and a communication opening 433b is formed on a side wall surface 432a of the second atmosphere communication chamber 432 on the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 side (left rear side in fig. 16). As described above, one of the side walls (the side wall on the lower side of fig. 16 (a)) of the atmosphere connection passage 433 is the inner peripheral welded portion 412 a.

In the atmosphere connection passage 433, communication openings 433a and 433b that communicate with the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 and the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, respectively, are formed on the first surface 437a side, and these communication openings 433a and 433b have an opening area that is sufficiently smaller than the side wall areas of the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 and the second atmosphere communication chamber 432 (the side wall surfaces 431a and 432a where the communication openings 433a and 433b are formed). Since a portion (so-called labyrinth) having a passage (the atmosphere connection passage 433) for introducing the atmosphere with an extremely small cross-sectional area is provided, the flow passage resistance when the atmosphere passes becomes large. As a result, evaporation of more ink than necessary through the atmosphere connection path 433 can be reduced.

As is clear from fig. 14(a), the atmosphere connection passage 433 is inclined downward from the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 in the direction of the second atmosphere communication chamber 432. Since the atmosphere connection path 433 is inclined downward at a position where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the refill unit 13 of the multi-function device 1, the ink having permeated into the atmosphere connection path 433 can naturally return to the ink tank chamber 111 due to gravity. In addition, since the cross-sectional area of the atmosphere connection path 433 is made small, it is possible to reduce the permeation of ink stored inside the tank chamber 111 into the atmosphere connection path 433. Here, when the ink permeates into the atmosphere connection path 433, a meniscus is formed, and thus the atmosphere sometimes cannot be normally introduced. As described above, since the atmosphere connection passage 433 is inclined downward, even if ink seeps into the passage, the ink returns to the tank chamber 111, and therefore the meniscus can be sufficiently prevented from being formed. In addition, the atmosphere connection path 433 is formed by welding the film 160 so that at least one surface thereof is a side wall that can be deformed by bending. In other words, the atmosphere connection passage 433 is configured such that its cross-sectional area is easily changed. Therefore, even if a meniscus is formed, the meniscus can be easily broken due to the bending and deformation of the thin film 160, so that the atmosphere can be normally introduced. A part of the surface of the second atmosphere communication hole 435 is also formed by the film 160, so that the meniscus can be sufficiently prevented from being formed on the second atmosphere communication hole 435.

In a position (a state shown in fig. 16 (a)) where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), a third atmosphere communication hole 436 is formed on the uppermost portion of the second atmosphere communication chamber 432. Therefore, even in the case where the amount of the stored ink is such that a meniscus is formed on the second atmosphere communication hole 435 and the second atmosphere communication hole 435 is blocked, the atmosphere can be reliably introduced into the tank chamber 111 through the third atmosphere communication hole 436.

A mechanism for preventing ink from leaking from the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 will be described below with reference to fig. 16(b) and 16 (c). As described above, the casing 200 of the ink cartridge 14 is formed in a cubic shape containing a pair of maximum surfaces opposite to each other so that when it is loaded onto the platform, the apparatus can take one of two loading positions in which one of the maximum surfaces 210a and 220a forms a lower surface (bottom surface). At this time, the atmospheric air intake portion 130 is located on the side of the housing 200, but, as described below, it is difficult for ink to leak from the atmospheric communication passage forming portion 430 in either of these two positions.

Fig. 16(b) and 16(c) show the positions of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 corresponding to each of the two loading positions. Fig. 16(b) shows a case where the ink cartridge 14 is disposed such that the atmosphere connection path 433 is located on the lower side (the first chamber 111a side of the frame portion 110 is the lower side, and the first surface 437a is the lower side), and fig. 16(c) shows a case where the ink cartridge 14 is disposed such that the atmosphere connection path 433 is located on the upper side (the second chamber 111b side of the frame portion 110 is the lower side, and the second surface 437b is the lower side).

As shown in fig. 16(b), when the ink cartridge 14 is disposed such that the atmosphere connection path 433 is located on the lower side during transportation of the ink cartridge 14, the ink stored inside the reservoir chamber 111 passes through the second atmosphere communication chamber 432 and the atmosphere connection path 433, and permeates into the first atmosphere communication chamber 431. In addition, as described above, the atmosphere connection passage 433 communicates through the communication opening 433b having an area significantly smaller than the side surface of the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, so that there is a case where the ink inside the tank chamber 111 does not necessarily pass through the atmosphere connection passage 433 and seeps into the first atmosphere communication chamber 431. In the state shown in fig. 16(b), the ink level I does not reach the opening position of the first atmosphere communication hole 434, so that even if the ink cartridge 14 is disposed so that the atmosphere connection passage 433 is located on the lower side, the ink can be prevented from flowing out from the atmosphere intake portion 130 to the outside.

As shown in fig. 16(c), when the ink cartridge 14 is set such that the atmosphere connection path 433 is located on the upper side during transportation of the ink cartridge 14, the ink stored inside the tank chamber 111 flows into the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, but the ink level I does not reach the opening position of the communication opening 433b of the atmosphere connection path 433. As a result, the ink does not flow from the communication opening 433b into the atmosphere connection passage 433, so the ink does not flow into the first atmosphere communication chamber 431. Therefore, even if the ink cartridge 14 is disposed such that the atmosphere connection passage 433 is located on the upper side, the ink can be prevented from flowing out from the atmosphere intake portion 130 to the outside.

As described above, by constituting the first atmosphere communication chamber 431, the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, and the atmosphere connection path 433 as described above, and by establishing the opening position of the first atmosphere communication hole 434 and the opening position of the communication opening 433b at positions symmetrical with respect to the atmosphere connection path 433, it is possible to prevent ink from leaking from the atmosphere air intake portion 130. In addition, by making the cross-sectional area of the atmosphere connection path 433 small, evaporation of ink can be reduced, and inflow of ink into the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 can be prevented.

Here, the connector forming portion 440 will be explained back to fig. 14. The joint forming portion 440 connects the vicinity of the atmospheric air intake portion 130 and the vicinity of the ink dispensing portion 150 inside the ink tank chamber 111, and the joint forming portion 440 is formed at a substantially central position in the ink tank chamber 111. Therefore, the connector forming portion 440 connects two locations opposite to the frame portion 110, so that the connector forming portion 440 is also a reinforcing member maintaining the strength of the frame portion 110. The connector forming portion 440 is also a partition plate that partitions the chamber so that the first opening 112a side and the second opening 112b side are at substantially the same spatial area (the partition plate partitions the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b of the tank chamber 111 in a state where the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b are in communication with each other).

The connection piece forming portion 440 is constituted by an atmosphere side connection portion 441 provided on the atmosphere air intake portion 130 side (the left side in fig. 14(a) or the right side in fig. 14 (b)) with the inner peripheral welding portions 415a and 415b as a boundary, and a dispensing side connection portion 442 provided on the ink dispensing portion 150 side (the right side in fig. 14(a) or the left side in fig. 14 (b)). On the atmosphere-side connecting portion 441, inner peripheral welding portions 413a, 413b, 414a, and 414b are provided on the first and second openings 112a and 112b sides (front and rear sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 14(a), and front and rear sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 14 (b); here, the direction perpendicular to the page is parallel to the Z direction) from the atmosphere-side connecting portion 441, respectively. In addition, the upper end of the atmosphere side connecting portion 441 in the height direction (Y direction) communicates with the inner peripheral welded portion 412a of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430. In addition, on the dispensing side connecting portion 442, inner peripheral weld portions 416a, 416b, 417a, and 417b are provided from the dispensing side connecting portion 442 on the first and second opening 112a and 112b sides (front and rear sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 14(a), and front and rear sides when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 14 (b); here, the direction perpendicular to the page is parallel to the Z direction), respectively.

A first connecting through hole 443 communicating between the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b is formed on the atmosphere side connecting portion 441, and second to fourth connecting through holes 444 and 446 connecting the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b are formed on the dispensing side connecting portion 442. Here, if the connection communication hole 443-446 is not formed on the connection member forming portion 440, the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b do not communicate in the central region of the reservoir chamber 111, so that sometimes a slight difference is generated in the amounts of ink in the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111 b. If there is a difference in the amount of ink in the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b, a difference in the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111 is generated, resulting in an adverse effect that ink cannot be smoothly (or accurately) supplied. However, by forming the connection communication holes 443-446 so that these connection communication holes are scattered on the connection member forming portion 440, the amounts of ink in the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b can be made equal, and ink can be supplied smoothly (or accurately).

The portion surrounded by the atmosphere side connecting portion 441, the dispensing side connecting portion 442, and the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is a first-tank-chamber inner opening 113, the first-tank-chamber inner opening 113 communicating between the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b, and the portion surrounded by the atmosphere side connecting portion 441, the dispensing side connecting portion 442, and the supply channel forming portion 420 is a second-tank inner opening 114, the second-tank inner opening 114 communicating between the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111 b. In other words, without the connection forming portion 440 and without dividing the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b, the portion that introduces the atmosphere into the tank chamber 111 and the portion that supplies the ink stored inside the tank chamber 111 to the outside communicate. As a result, introduction of the atmosphere and supply of the ink can be performed in a stable space.

A connection rib 418a and a connection rib 418b are formed on the link forming portion 440, the connection rib 418a connecting the plurality of inner peripheral welded portions 412a to 417a provided on the first opening 112a side from the link forming portion 440, and the connection rib 418b connecting the inner peripheral welded portions 412b to 417b provided on the second opening 112b side from the link forming portion 440. These connecting ribs 418a and 418b are not shown in the drawing, but they are formed in a thin-walled shape having vertical walls lower than the inner peripheral weld portions 412a to 417a and the inner peripheral weld portions 412b to 417 b. In addition, most of these connection ribs 418a and 418b are formed on the edge of the connection piece forming portion 440. As a result, the connection ribs 418a and 418b connect the inner circumference welding parts 412a to 417a and 412b to 417b, and the connection ribs 418a and 418b are formed on the edges of the connection piece forming part 440, so that the connection ribs 418a and 418b can maintain the strength of the connection piece forming part 440. In addition, the connection ribs 418a and 418b are formed in a thin-walled shape, and they are formed with vertical walls lower than the inner circumferential welding portions 412a to 417a and 412b to 417b, so that it is difficult to prevent the flow of ink.

The dispensing passage forming part 450 will be described below with reference to fig. 17. Fig. 17 is a view showing the dispensing passage forming part 450. Fig. 17(a) is a view showing the profile of the dispensing passage forming portion 450, and fig. 17(b) is a sectional view of the dispensing passage forming portion 450 through the xviiib-xviiib line in fig. 17 (a). In the dispensing passage forming portion 450, in the posture of dispensing the ink, the dispensing passage forming portion 450 is in the highest portion inside the tank chamber 111, and the dispensed ink flows downward in the direction toward the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130.

As shown, the dispensing passage forming portion 450 is mainly provided with: a dispensing cylinder part 451 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, into which the ink dispensing plug 520 (see fig. 21) to be described below is pressed; a first dispensing communication hole 452 that communicates between the dispensing cylinder portion 451 and the inside of the ink tank chamber 111; a substantially U-shaped dispensing partition wall 453 provided upright from the outer surface of the dispensing cylinder portion 451, wherein the upright edge forms a welding surface portion of the welding film 160, and the dispensing partition wall 453 partitions the first dispensing communication hole 452 with respect to the tank chamber 111; and a second communicating delivery hole 454 which forms an opening portion of the delivery partition wall 453. The opening portion of the dispensing cylinder portion 451 is an opening 451a formed on an outer end surface of the frame portion 110, and a surface opposite to the opening 451a is a bottom portion 451b of the dispensing cylinder portion 451. The area demarcated by the distributing partition wall 453 and the film 160 is a distributing partition wall flow passage 453 a.

The dispensing partition wall 453 forms an inner circumferential welded portion of the welding film 160, and the dispensing partition wall flow passage 453a and the second dispensing communication hole 454 are formed in a state where the film 160 is welded. The welded end of the dispensing partition wall 453 is located on the same virtual plane as the welded end of the outer circumferential welded portion 400b, as are the welded ends of the other inner circumferential welded portions 411b to 417 b.

A detailed description will be given below, but when ink is dispensed into the tank chamber 111, the ink is dispensed in a state where the second communicating delivery hole 454 is located at the top and the first communicating delivery hole 452 is located at the bottom (the Y direction is a posture in the horizontal direction in fig. 17 (a)). In addition, the ink passes through the dispensing cylinder portion 451, the first dispensing communication hole 452, the dispensing partition wall flow path 453a, and the second dispensing communication hole 454 in this order, and is dispensed until the ink liquid level I reaches the state shown in fig. 17 (a). The dispensing partition wall 453 is formed substantially linearly from the first dispensing communication hole 452 to the second dispensing communication hole 454. As a result, the ink is stably dispensed without resistance.

When ink is dispensed so that the interior of the reservoir chamber 111 becomes full, the volume of the ink expands, and the membrane 160 may be damaged or deformed depending on the environment in which the ink cartridge 14 is located. If the film 160 is damaged, ink leaks, and if the film 160 is deformed, the volume inside the reservoir chamber 111 changes, so that ink cannot be stably supplied. Therefore, in order to prevent damage and deformation of the membrane 160, ink is not dispensed to the extent that the interior of the reservoir chamber 111 becomes full.

In this embodiment, the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111 after dispensing ink is lower than atmospheric pressure. Therefore, a subsequent decompression process is sometimes performed in which the pressure is reduced by sucking out the atmosphere inside the ink tank chamber 111 from the dispensing passage forming portion 450. This decompression process is performed in order to reduce the amount of atmospheric air inside the reservoir chamber 111 to maintain the degree of ink degassing and to reduce the generation of bubbles inside the ink. The deaeration of the ink is to maintain the viscosity of the ink at a substantially constant level because, in the case of the generation of bubbles inside the ink, when the bubbles are supplied to the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), the pressure required to discharge the ink is not transmitted to the discharge opening (not shown in the drawings), and thus the ink cannot be properly discharged.

In the case where the subsequent decompression process is performed, when the atmosphere inside the tank chamber 111 is sucked out from the dispensing passage forming portion 450, the resulting amount of ink is incorrect regardless of whether the appropriate amount of ink is dispensed. This is not preferable if the amount of ink is reduced, which causes a loss to the user of the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, when the substantially U-shaped dispensing partition 453 surrounds the first dispensing communication hole 452 and the second dispensing communication hole 454 is provided above the ink level I (or the first dispensing communication hole 452) (the upper side of fig. 17 (a)), there is a distance amount between the ink level I and the second dispensing communication hole 454, even if the inside of the tank chamber 111 is depressurized, so that it is possible to sufficiently prevent the ink inside the tank chamber 111 from escaping to the outside through the dispensing passage forming portion 450.

Here, the structure in the vicinity of the detection section 140 will be described with reference to fig. 18. Fig. 18 is a view showing the vicinity of the detection section 140. Fig. 18(a) is a view showing an outline of the vicinity of the detection section 140, fig. 18(b) is a sectional view of the detection section 140 taken along line XVIIIb-XVIIIb of fig. 18(a), and fig. 18(c) is a sectional view of the vicinity of the detection section 140 taken along line xvic-XVIIIc of fig. 18 (a).

As shown in fig. 18(a), the detecting portion 140 protrudes outward (right side in fig. 18 a) from the frame portion 110. The detection part 140 is provided with a surrounding part 141 which surrounds an end part (a shielding arm part 473c) of the sensor arm 470 (see fig. 19) by sandwiching the end part with a pair of wall surfaces and forms a passage through which the sensor arm 470 can move. A bottom face formed by a bottom wall 141a (lower side in fig. 18 (a)) inside the enclosing portion 141, a pair of side faces formed by two side walls 141b provided on both sides from the bottom wall 141a, an inside face formed by an inside wall 141c provided from the bottom wall 141a and connected to the two side walls 141b, and a top face formed by a top wall 141d connected to top edges of the two side walls 141b and the inside wall 141c and located opposite to the bottom wall 141a form the enclosing portion 141 into a substantially box-shaped passage. The detecting portion 140 is further provided with an arm supporting portion 142, the arm supporting portion 142 is provided such that it protrudes upward from the bottom surface formed by the bottom wall 141a and supports the sensor arm 470 from below, and a vertical wall 143 is provided in the vicinity of the detecting portion 140, and is provided from the inner wall (outer peripheral welded portion 400b) of the frame portion 110 such that the vertical wall 143 is connected to the arm supporting portion 142 and extends in the direction of the supply passage forming portion 420. As is clear from fig. 18(b), the arm support portion 142 is formed at the center in the width direction Z of the passage inside the detection portion 140, and the arm support portion 142 is arranged so that the end portion (shielding arm portion 473c) of the sensor arm 470 is also located at the center of the passage inside the detection portion 140. Details will be described below, but the sensor arm 470 rotates in accordance with the amount of ink inside the tank chamber 111, and it is a member for detecting that the ink cartridge 14 has been mounted in the accommodating chamber 50 (see fig. 4) of the refill unit 13 of the multi-function device 1, and that the amount of remaining ink has become small, by detecting the position of the shielding arm portion 473c with the remaining ink detection sensor 57 (see fig. 5) provided on the multi-function device 1. As described above, the detection portion 140 is light transmissive, and light from the light emitting portion 57a can be transmitted to the light receiving portion 57 b. Therefore, when the sensor arm 470 (the shielding arm portion 473c) is located in the optical path between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b, the sensor arm 470 blocks light to be received by the light receiving portion 57b, so that the sensor arm 470 has light blocking properties. As a result, by rotating according to the amount of ink inside the tank chamber 111 (tank space), the sensor arm 470 can change the amount of light received by the light receiving portion 57b and detect whether or not there is remaining ink. In fig. 18(b), the positions of the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 when the ink cartridge 14 is housed inside the housing chamber 50 of the multifunction device 1 are shown, but, as shown in the drawing, the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b are located in the vicinity of the detection portion 140.

As shown in fig. 18(b), the thickness of the arm support portion 142 is formed such that: the second gap t4 between the inner wall (a pair of wall surfaces; inner surfaces of the two side walls 141 b) of the surrounding portion 141 and the outer wall of the arm supporting portion 142 is narrower than the first gap t3 between the inner wall (a pair of wall surfaces; inner surfaces of the two side walls 141 b) of the surrounding portion 141 and the outside of the sensor arm 470. Here, the ink stored inside the detection portion 140 is reduced, and when the ink level I is lowered synchronously with the ink reduction and the ink level I is lowered below the detection portion 140, the ink inside the detection portion 140 is exhausted, but since the first gap t3 between the sensor arm 470 and the surrounding portion 141 is minute, the ink remains inside the detection portion 140 due to the surface tension of the ink, and the sensor arm 470 sometimes rotates abnormally due to the surface tension of the ink. Incidentally, the reason why the minute interval is provided to the first gap t3 is that: when the interval is made wider, the interval between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b is also widened, and thus the detection sensitivity of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is deteriorated. Therefore, by forming the arm supporting portion 142 such that the first gap t3 > the second gap t4, it is ensured that the surface tension of the ink generated between the arm supporting portion 142 and the surrounding portion 141 is larger than the surface tension of the ink generated between the sensor arm 470 and the surrounding portion 141. As a result, the ink remaining inside the enclosing portion 141 is attracted between the arm supporting portion 142 and the enclosing portion 141, so that the ink can be sufficiently prevented from remaining between the sensor arm 470 and the enclosing portion 141, and the prevention of the behavior of the sensor arm 470 can be suppressed. The sensor arm 470 thus acts normally, so that the remaining ink amount can be accurately detected.

As shown in fig. 18(a), the bottom wall 141a on the lower portion (lower side in fig. 18 a) of the enclosing portion 141 is inclined downward in the direction of the tank chamber 111, so that the bottom surface formed by the bottom wall 141a inside the enclosing portion 141 is also inclined downward. Therefore, the ink drawn between the enclosing portion 141 and the arm supporting portion 142 flows downward in the direction of the ink tank chamber 111 (or the supply passage forming portion 420). In addition, as shown in the sectional view of fig. 18(b), the connecting portion (edge) of the bottom wall 141a of the surrounding portion 141 and the arm supporting portion 142 is formed to be angular (substantially right angle) from the cross-sectional view, so that the capillary force of the connecting portion of the surrounding portion 141 and the arm supporting portion 142 becomes strong, and thus a shape that helps to guide ink to the tank chamber 111 (or the supply channel forming portion 420) side is formed. In other words, the connection portion of the surrounding portion 141 and the arm supporting portion 142 forms a fluid guide channel (guide) for guiding ink. As a result, the ink remaining inside the enclosing portion 141 can be efficiently caused to flow downward.

As shown in fig. 18(a), a vertical wall 143 connected to the arm supporting portion 141 is formed on an inclined surface 143a inclined downward from the arm supporting portion 141 in the direction of the supply passage forming portion 420. The inclined surface 143a constitutes a part of the inner wall (outer peripheral welded portion 400b) of the frame portion 110. In addition, as shown in the sectional view of fig. 18(c), the connecting portion of the vertical wall 143 and the inner wall of the frame portion 110 is formed into a corner (substantially right angle) as seen in the cross-sectional view, and the connecting portion is formed so that its thickness is substantially equal to that of the arm supporting portion 141. Therefore, the vertical wall 143 is inclined downward in the direction of the supply channel forming part 420, and a connection part with the inner wall of the frame part 110 is formed at a substantially right angle, so that ink can be effectively guided in the direction of the supply channel forming part 420 by the inclination and capillary force. In other words, the connection portion of the vertical wall 143 and the inner wall of the frame portion 110 forms a fluid guide channel (guide member) for guiding ink. Since the thicknesses of the arm supporting portion 142 and the vertical wall 143 are formed to be substantially equal, the vertical wall 143 is formed continuously from the arm supporting portion 142. As a result, there is no resistance to the ink being guided to the supply channel forming portion 420, and therefore the ink can be guided efficiently.

In the case where the sensor arm 470 is rotated upward, the sensor arm 470 is in contact with the top surface formed by the top wall 141d opposite to the bottom wall 141a of the detecting part 140, and thus the rotation of the sensor arm 470 is restricted. The sensor arm 470 can be prevented from jumping out of the enclosing portion 140 and the behavior of the sensor arm 470 becomes accurate, so that the remaining ink amount can be accurately detected.

Here, the sensor arm 470 will be described with reference to fig. 19. Fig. 19 is a view showing the sensor arm 470. Fig. 19(a) is a view showing the front side of the sensor arm 470, and fig. 19(b) is a view showing the sensor arm 470 seen from the perspective of the arrow XIXb of fig. 19 (a). The sensor arm 470 is a member for detecting the amount of remaining ink inside the tank chamber 111. The sensor arm 470 is manufactured by injection molding using a resin material (e.g., polypropylene), and has light blocking property because it is made opaque.

The sensor arm 470 is a rotary member that rotates in accordance with the amount of remaining ink inside the tank chamber 111, and a part is detected by a remaining ink detection sensor 57 (see fig. 5) that detects the amount of remaining ink stored inside the tank chamber 111. The sensor arm 470 is mainly equipped with: a balance part 471 formed of a material having a specific gravity lower than that of the ink; a connecting portion 472 connected to the frame portion 110 such that the connecting portion 472 can swing; and an arm portion 473 that extends from the connecting portion 472 in a direction (upward direction in fig. 19 (a)) substantially perpendicular to the equilibrium portion 471, extends obliquely upward, and blocks a possible detection range of the remaining ink detection sensor 57. The connection portion 472 is a connection portion connecting the balancing portion 471 and the arm portion 473.

A substantially cylindrical connecting shaft 472a connected to the arm holding portion 425 (see fig. 14) of the frame portion 110 is formed on the connecting portion 472. The connecting shaft 472a is formed to have a diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the arm holding portion 425 but larger than the opening length of the arm holding portion 425. As a result, when the sensor arm 470 rotates, it can operate almost without resistance, and the sensor arm 470 can be prevented from deviating from the arm holding part 425.

The arm part 473 is constituted by a vertical arm part 473a extending in a direction (upward direction in fig. 19 (a)) substantially perpendicular to the balancing part 471, an inclined arm part 473b inclined upward from the vertical arm part 473a, and a shielding arm part 473c serving as a light blocking part that blocks a possible detection range of the remaining ink detection sensor 57.

As shown in fig. 19(b), the arm part 473 is formed such that it is substantially thinner than the balancing part 471 and the connecting part 472. This is because, when the arm part 473 is formed with a thick profile, the scale of the detection part 140 is increased, and as a result, the ink cartridge 14 becomes large, and the resistance when the sensor arm 470 rotates increases, which sometimes fails to detect the accurate amount of remaining ink. In addition, as described above, when the thickness of the detecting portion 140 is increased, the detection range of the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is widened accordingly, and the detection sensitivity is deteriorated, so that an expensive high-performance remaining ink detecting sensor having a good detection performance is necessary. Therefore, the arm part 473 is formed with a thin profile so as to prevent the scale of the ink cartridge 14 from increasing, and to detect the exact amount of remaining ink. Ribs 473d are formed on the perpendicular arm part 473a and the inclined arm part 473b, and the strength is maintained by these ribs.

On the shielding arm part 473c, substantially hemispherical arm protrusion parts 473e1 and 473e2 are formed in two locations (the upper side end and the lower side end in fig. 19 (a)) of the top and bottom of the part housed inside the detection part 140, and these arm protrusion parts 473e1 and 473e2 reduce the possibility that the shielding arm part 473c adheres to the inner wall of the detection part 140 due to the surface tension of the ink and becomes unable to rotate. In other words, because the arm protrusion parts 473e1 and 473e2 are formed in a hemispherical shape, the only parts that come into contact with the inner walls of the detection part 140 are the ends of the arm protrusion parts 473e1 and 473e2, thereby reducing the influence of the surface tension of the ink.

The equilibrium portion 471 is made of a resin material having a specific gravity lower than that of the ink, so that when the ink level I is lowered in synchronization with the decrease in the amount of remaining ink, the equilibrium portion 471 moves in synchronization with the lowering of the ink level I in the bottom direction of the frame portion 110 (the bottom direction of the tank chamber 111; the downward direction in fig. 14(a) and 14 (b)). When the balance part 471 is moved in the bottom direction and the arm part 473 moves in the top direction using the connecting part 472 as the rotation axis, the shielding arm part 473c is deviated from the possible detection range of the remaining ink detection sensor 57, whereby the state of ink depletion can be detected.

With the conventional balance portion, the inside of the balance portion is hollow so as to make the balance portion float on the ink level I, but with this structure, the processing (or molding) of the balance portion becomes difficult. In contrast, in this embodiment, the material of the sensor arm 470 is composed of a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of the ink, so that a process is not required, and a complicated mold does not have to be manufactured, so that the manufacturing cost of the sensor arm 470 can be reduced.

Hereinafter, the positional relationship and the shape of the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 will be described with reference to fig. 20. Fig. 20 is a view showing a part of the ink tank element 100. Fig. 20(a) is a view showing a side surface of the ink tank element 100, fig. 20(b) is a view showing a partial front view of the ink tank element 100, and fig. 20(c) is a sectional view through the XXc-XXc line of fig. 20 (a).

As shown in fig. 20(a) and 20(b), the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 are provided on one of the side surfaces (one end surface; the side surface in the front direction of mounting when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted) of the frame portion 110. As described above, the position shown in fig. 20(a) and 20(b) is a position where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted inside the accommodating chamber 50 of the refill unit 13 (see fig. 1). Therefore, in a state where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted inside the refill unit 13, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, the detection portion 140, and the ink supply portion 120 are sequentially arranged from the top (top in fig. 20 (a)) to the bottom (bottom in fig. 20 (a)). In other words, these elements are arranged along the height direction (Y direction) of the ink cartridge 14.

As shown in fig. 20(a), the width t5 of the detection portion 140 is formed shorter than the diameter t6 of the opening of the ink supply portion 120 (the opening 600a of the supply cap 600 described below (see fig. 34)). In addition, as shown in fig. 20(b), the detection portion 140 is formed to be recessed in the direction of the frame portion 110 (in a position retracted to the ink tank chamber 111 side) with respect to the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130.

As described above, the arm part 473 of the sensor arm 470 is located inside the detection part 140. As will be described below, the optical path of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 (see fig. 5) is opened from the light blocking state due to the rotation of the arm part 473, and thus the remaining ink amount can be detected. On the remaining ink detection sensor 57, the light receiving portion 57b and the light emitting portion 57a are located on both sides (left and right sides in fig. 20 (a)) of the detection portion 140, so that both side surfaces (left and right side surfaces in fig. 20 (a); front and rear side surfaces in fig. 20 (b)) of the detection portion 140 form detection surfaces 140a and 140 b. As is clear from fig. 20(a), these detection surfaces 140a and 140b are parallel to the height direction (Y direction) of the ink cartridge 14 when in the position where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the refill unit 13, in other words, these surfaces are vertical. When ink adheres to the front surfaces of these detection surfaces 140a and 140b, an accurate amount of remaining ink may not be detected in some cases.

For example, in transporting the multifunction apparatus 1, it is not necessary to transport the multifunction apparatus 1 in a horizontal manner. Therefore, the ink supply portion 120 is sometimes located at the top, but sometimes ink leaks out of the ink supply portion 120 at this time and adheres to the detection portion 140. In addition, when the ink cartridge 14 is temporarily removed from the refill unit 13, ink adhering to the needle 49 of the multi-function device 1 may adhere to the vicinity of the opening of the ink supply portion 120, but after the ink cartridge 14 is removed, ink adhering to the vicinity of the opening of the ink supply portion 120 sometimes adheres to the detection portion 140 depending on the position at which the user manipulates the ink cartridge 14. When the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the refill unit 13 again in a state where the ink has adhered to the detection portion 140, since the ink detection portion 140 (the detection surfaces 140a and 140b) and the light receiving portion 57b and the light emitting portion 57a of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 are very close in the mounted state, as described above, there is a risk that the ink having adhered to the detection portion 140 may be transferred to the light receiving portion 57b and the light emitting portion 57a of the remaining ink detection sensor 57. In this way, the ink adhering to the remaining ink detection sensor 57 blocks light, and thus the sensitivity of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is deteriorated. This deterioration in sensitivity is even more prominent in black cartridges using pigmented inks.

In this embodiment, as shown in fig. 20(b), detection portion 140 is provided at a position retracted to the side of tank chamber 111 with respect to ink supply portion 120, so that even if ink drips from ink supply portion 120, it is possible to make it difficult for ink to adhere to detection portion 140. In other words, when the user holds the ink cartridge 14 in a position where the ink supply portion 120 is higher than the detection portion 140 and the end surface of the ink supply portion 120 (the end surface where the opening 600a of the supply cap 600 is formed) is vertical, the ink that has adhered near the opening of the ink supply portion 120 is most susceptible to the influence of gravity and is likely to fall, but because the detection portion 140 is retracted to the ink tank chamber 111 side with respect to the ink supply portion 120, the fallen ink does not advance toward the detection portion 140 and thus does not adhere to the detection portion 140.

Because the detection surfaces 140a and 140b are vertical when the ink cartridge 14 is installed in the refill unit 13 in position, the ink is most susceptible to gravity when the ink cartridge 14 is installed in the refill unit 13 while it is attached to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b, so that it falls quickly. It is therefore possible to sufficiently avoid the ink from being transferred to the light receiving portion 57b and the light emitting portion 57a of the remaining ink detection sensor 57. In addition, the dropped ink does not adhere to the end surface of the ink supply portion 120.

In addition, as shown in fig. 20(c), side walls are formed on the detection section 140, and these side walls form detection walls 140a and 140b from the side surfaces of the frame section 110. Therefore, the edge 140c where the side surface of the frame portion 110 and the detection surfaces 140a and 140b meet is formed at substantially a right angle. When ink adheres in the vicinity of the edge 140c, since the edge 140c is formed at substantially right angles, capillary force of the edge 140c acts on the ink, and the ink may flow to the ink supply portion 120 side through the edge 140 c. The adhesion of ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can be reduced.

The constitution of the components of the ink tank element 100 will be described below with reference to fig. 21. Fig. 21 is an exploded front view of the ink tank element 100.

As shown in fig. 21, the ink tank element 100 is mainly divided into four elements. These four sections are the frame section 110, the ink supply mechanism 500 constituting the ink supply section 120, the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 constituting the atmospheric air intake section 130, and the ink dispensing plug 520 pressed into the dispensing cylinder section 451 of the ink dispensing section 150 (see fig. 17). The ink dispensing plug 520 is made of an elastic member such as Pulci rubber, and once it is pressed into the dispensing cylinder part 451, the ink dispensing plug 520 cannot be easily removed, and even if a needle is removed or inserted, the ink dispensing plug 520 is configured such that the route of the needle is blocked.

The ink supply member 116 formed into a substantially cylindrical shape and the atmospheric air intake member 117 formed into a substantially cylindrical shape are formed as a unit on the frame portion 110, a part of the ink supply mechanism 500 is inserted into the ink supply member 116, and a part of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 is inserted into the atmospheric air intake member 117. In addition, protruding portions 116a and 116b (the protruding portion 116b is not shown in the drawing) protrude in the outer circumferential direction of the ink supply element 116, so as to fasten the ink supply mechanism 500, and these protruding portions 116a and 116b are arranged on the ink supply element 116 symmetrically about the axial center of the ink supply element 116 (on the front side and the rear side in the direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 21). Also, protruding portions 117a and 117b (the protruding portion 117b is not shown in the drawing) protrude in the outer peripheral direction of the atmosphere air intake member 117, and these protruding portions 117a and 117b are arranged symmetrically on the atmosphere air intake member 117 (on the front side and the rear side in the direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 21) with the axial center of the atmosphere air intake member 117 as the center, thereby fastening the atmosphere air intake mechanism 510. The protruding portions 116a, 116b, 117a, and 117b are formed such that the end surface on the ink tank chamber 111 side protrudes in the direction (Z direction) perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply element 116 or the outer peripheral surface of the atmospheric air intake element 117, and these protruding portions are inclined from the protruding edge portion toward the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply element 116 or the outer peripheral portion of the atmospheric air intake element 117. In other words, when the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 are connected to the ink supply element 116 and the atmospheric air intake element 117, easy desorption of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 can be prevented.

The components of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 will be described below with reference to fig. 22 to 33. Fig. 22 is an exploded view of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510. Fig. 22(a) is an exploded view of the ink supply mechanism 500, and fig. 22(b) is an exploded view of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510.

As shown in fig. 22(a), the ink supply mechanism 500 is equipped with: a supply cap 600 mounted on the ink supply member 116; a supply joint 610 made of an elastic resin material such as rubber, into which supply joint 610 the needle 49 (see fig. 2) of the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1) is inserted; a supply valve 620 which blocks the flow path of ink when the supply joint 610 is in contact with the bottom wall; a first supply spring 630 which is accommodated inside the supply valve 620 and is made of a resinous elastic material; a supply slider 640 that covers the open face of the supply valve 620 and is operable in a uniaxial direction, which is the moving direction of the supply valve 620 pressed into the needle 49 (the direction of an arrow O1 in fig. 22(a), hereinafter referred to as "axial direction O1" of the ink supply mechanism 500; with respect to which direction, as is clear from fig. 14, the ink supply mechanism 500 becomes parallel to the X direction when the ink cartridge 14 is loaded); a second supply spring 650 which is accommodated inside the supply slider 640 and is formed of the same material into the same shape as the first supply spring 630; a valve seat 660 which is in contact with the second supply spring 650 and receives a check valve 670; and a cap 680 that covers the check valve 670 between itself and the valve seat 660. The supply valve 620, the first supply spring 630, the supply slider 640, and the second supply spring 650 constitute the actually operated supply valve mechanism 501.

As shown in fig. 22(b), the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 is provided with: an atmospheric cap 700 mounted on the atmospheric air intake element 117; an atmospheric joint 710 made of an elastic resin material such as rubber; an atmosphere valve 720, the atmosphere valve 720 blocking a flow passage of ink when the atmosphere joint 710 is in contact with the bottom wall and in contact with the rear side 56 (see fig. 5) of the multi-function device 1, and the atmosphere valve 720 opening a flow passage (passage) of atmosphere when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multi-function device 1 (refill unit 13; see fig. 1); a first atmosphere spring 730 which is accommodated in the atmosphere valve 720 and is made of a resinous elastic material; an atmosphere slider 740 which covers an open face of the atmosphere valve 720 and is operable in a uniaxial direction which is a moving direction of the pressurized atmosphere valve 720 (a direction of an arrow O2 in fig. 22(b), hereinafter referred to as "axial direction O2" of the atmosphere supply mechanism 510; as clearly seen in fig. 14, the atmosphere supply mechanism 510 becomes parallel to the X direction when the ink cartridge 14 is loaded); and a second atmosphere spring 750 which is accommodated inside the atmosphere slider 740 and is formed of the same material and the same shape as the first atmosphere spring 730. The atmosphere valve 720, the first atmosphere spring 730, the atmosphere slider 740, and the second atmosphere spring 750 constitute an actually operated atmosphere valve mechanism 511.

The supply cap 600, the supply joint 610, the supply valve 620, the first and second supply springs 630 and 650, the supply slider 640, the valve seat 660, the check valve 670, the cover 680, the atmospheric cap 700, the atmospheric joint 710, the atmospheric valve 720, the first and second atmospheric springs 730 and 750, and the atmospheric slider 740 will be described below with reference to fig. 23 to 33.

Fig. 23 is a view showing the supply cap 600. Fig. 23(a) is a side view showing the supply cap 600, the view of fig. 23(b) shows a side view of the supply cap 600 from the perspective of arrow XXIIIb of fig. 23(a), the view of fig. 23(c) shows a plan view of the supply cap 600, the view of fig. 23(d) shows a bottom view of the supply cap 600, and fig. 23(e) is a sectional view of the supply cap 600 through the line XXIIIe-XXIIIe of fig. 23 (c).

As shown in fig. 23(a), the supply cap 600 is formed with a two-step shape from a side view (a view of a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 23 (a)), and an upper side portion in fig. 23(a) is a supply fixing portion 601 which is fastened to the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply member 116 and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a lower side portion in fig. 23(a) is an ink storage portion 602 which has an ink storage space for preventing ink from dropping to the outside of the ink cartridge 14.

Engaging holes 603a and 603b are formed in the supply fixing portion 601 (engaging holes 603b see fig. 23(b)), which are formed from the connecting portion of the ink storage portion 602 to a portion near the top (near the upper side end in fig. 23 (a)) and engage with the protruding portions 116a and 116b (see fig. 21) of the ink supply element 116 when the supply cap 600 is fixed to the ink supply element 116 (see fig. 21).

As shown in fig. 23(b), a pair of supply cap cutout portions 604a and 604b are formed on the supply fixing portion 601 (the supply cap cutout portions 604b are shown in fig. 23(c)), which are formed on a straight line substantially perpendicular to a straight line connecting the engagement holes 603a and 603b (at a position shifted by about 90 ° with respect to the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500, and are cut into a cutout in a direction facing the ink storage portion 602 from the supply fixing portion 601 (the upper end surface in fig. 23 (b)).

As shown in the front view in fig. 23(c) and the bottom view in fig. 23(d), an insertion hole 605 is formed in a substantially central position of the ink storage portion 602 of the supply cap 600, and a needle 49 (see fig. 2) is inserted into the insertion hole 605 (described below). As shown in fig. 23(c), an area from the circle forming the insertion hole 605 to the outward-one-step circle is a first upper wall 606a which forms the upper end face of the ink storage portion 602, and an area from the circle forming the outer side of the first upper wall 606a to the outward-one-step circle is an inclined wall 606b which forms an inclined surface inclined downward in the direction of the bottom face of the ink storage portion 602. An area from a circle forming the outer side of the inclined wall 606b to a circle toward the outer stage is a lower wall 606c which forms the lower end surface of the ink storage portion 602, and an area from a circle forming the outer side of the lower wall 606c to a circle toward the outer stage is a second upper wall 606d which forms the lower end surface of the supply fixing portion 601 and forms the upper end surface of the ink storage portion 602. A portion connecting the lower wall 606c and the second upper wall 606d is a peripheral wall 606e, and the peripheral wall 606e forms the peripheral surface of the ink storage portion 602. The inclined wall 606b forms a cylindrical portion inside the ink storage portion 602, and an outer peripheral wall 606e connected to the inclined wall 606b through a lower wall 606c forms a cylindrical portion surrounding the outside of the inclined wall 606b (inner cylindrical portion).

In fig. 23(d), the inclined wall 606b is inclined downward, and therefore, as shown in the sectional view of fig. 23(e), the insertion opening of the needle 49 is formed in a tapered shape such that its diameter is reduced toward the insertion hole 605, and has the maximum diameter of the opening 600a forming the rearmost outlet of the ink. As a result, the inner peripheral surface on the axial center O1 side of the inclined wall 606b becomes an insertion passage into which the needle 49 (see fig. 2) is inserted. The space of the range t7 shown in fig. 23(c) and 23(e) (in other words, the space formed by the inclined wall 606b, the lower wall 606c, and the outer peripheral wall 606 e) forms an ink storage portion 607, in which ink can be stored (accumulated) in the ink storage portion 607.

When the supply cap 600 is attached to the ink supply member 116 (see fig. 21), the protruding portions 116a and 116b of the ink supply member 116 protrude in the outer circumferential direction, so that the supply cap 600 is attached when its diameter increases in the outer circumferential direction. Since the supply cap cutout portions 604a and 604b are formed, the diameter of the supply cap 600 increases in the direction in which the engaging portions 603a and 603b move away from each other. Therefore, when the supply cap 600 is to be attached, it can be attached without applying strong pressure, so that it is possible to improve the mounting efficiency while reducing damage to the supply cap 600.

Fig. 24 is a view showing the supply joint 610. Fig. 24(a) is a view showing a side view of the supply joint 610, fig. 24(b) is a view showing a plan view of the supply joint 610, fig. 24(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the supply joint 610, and fig. 24(d) is a sectional view showing the supply joint 610 through the line XXIVd-XXIVd of fig. 24 (b).

As shown in fig. 24(a), the supply joint 610 is formed in three steps from a side view (a view in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 24 (a)). The portion shown by the lowermost step (the lower side of fig. 24 (a)) is a joint outer peripheral portion 611 which is a portion that is in contact with the second upper wall 606d of the ink storage portion 602 of the supply cap 600 (see fig. 23) and the inner peripheral surface of the supply fixing portion 601, and forms an outer peripheral portion of the supply joint 610. This joint outer peripheral portion 611 is a portion sandwiched between the second upper wall 606d of the supply cap 600 and the outer end face of the ink supply member 116 when in a state where the supply cap 600 is fixed to the ink supply member 116. The portion shown at the top step of the joint outer peripheral portion 611 is a joint inner peripheral portion 612 that is pressed into the ink supply member 116 (see fig. 21) and arranged inside the ink supply member 116, and forms an inner peripheral portion of the supply joint 610, and an upper portion of the joint inner peripheral portion 612 is shown in fig. 24 (a). In addition, a portion shown at a top step of the joint inner peripheral portion 612 is a joint contact portion 613, which is in contact with the supply valve 620 (see fig. 25). The supply joint 610 is made of an elastic material such as resin rubber.

As shown in fig. 24(b), the axial center of the supply joint 610 is located on the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500, and the joint contact portion 613, the joint inner peripheral portion 612, and the joint outer peripheral portion are formed in order from the axial center 01 toward the outer peripheral direction.

As shown in fig. 24(d), a joint contact portion 613 protrudes from a top surface 612a (a surface on the side in contact with the supply valve 620) of the joint inner peripheral portion 612. The joint contact portion 613 is formed such that it is narrowed toward the tip 613a (the upper end portion of fig. 24 (d)), and the tip 613a is in contact with the bottom surface of the supply valve 620 and blocks the flow passage of the ink. In addition, a joint protrusion portion 614, an opening 612c, and a stepped insertion passage 612d are formed on the joint inner peripheral portion 612, the joint protrusion portion 614 protruding from the inner peripheral surface toward the axial center O1, the opening 612c forming an insertion opening of the needle 49 (see fig. 2) formed on a bottom surface 612b (lower side in fig. 24 (d)) of the joint inner peripheral portion 612, the stepped insertion passage 612d being formed between the opening 612c and the joint protrusion portion 614. As shown in fig. 24(c), the portion of the insertion passage 612d formed in the stepped shape is formed at substantially equal intervals from the axial center O1 along the outer circumferential direction. The inner peripheral surface 614a of the joint protrusion portion 614 is disposed parallel to the axial center O1 direction of the ink supply mechanism 500, and a stepped surface 614b is disposed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the axial center O1.

As shown in fig. 24(d), an ink flow channel 615 is formed on the supply joint 610, the ink flow channel 615 penetrating from the bottom surface 612b of the joint inner peripheral portion 612 to the tip 613a of the joint contact portion 613 (from the lower side to the upper side in fig. 24 (d)). The ink flow channel 615 is constituted by an opening 612c formed on a bottom surface 612b, a stepped portion flow channel 615a divided by a stepped insertion passage 612d connected to the opening 612c, a protrusion portion flow channel 615b divided by an inner peripheral surface 614a connected to a joint protrusion portion 614 of the insertion channel 612d, and a contact portion flow channel 615c divided by a stepped surface 614b connected to an inner peripheral surface 614a of the joint protrusion portion 614 and an inner peripheral surface 613b of a joint contact portion 613 connected to the stepped surface 614 b.

The lower half of the stepped-portion flow passage 615a is formed in a stepped shape in the direction of the axial center O1, and the upper half of the stepped-portion flow passage 615a is formed in a tapered shape toward the projecting-portion flow passage 615 b. In addition, the stepped portion flow passage 615a is formed in a stepped shape such that the diameter is gradually reduced from the opening 612c toward a contact surface with the inner circumferential surface 614a of the joint protrusion 614. The lower portion of the stepped portion flow channel 615a is formed in a stepped shape, and therefore, even if the needle 49 (see fig. 2) is removed and a minute amount of ink flows through the ink flow channel 615, the capillary force due to the corner of the stepped portion holds the ink, so that it is possible to prevent the ink from dropping to the outside of the supply joint 610. When the needle 49 is removed, even if ink drops from the tip of the needle 49 into the ink flow passage 615, the dropping of ink can be prevented as well. In this embodiment, the supply cap 600 is equipped with the ink storage portion 602, so that the portion formed in the stepped shape of the lower half of the stepped-portion flow channel 615a is formed in a tapered shape instead.

The protrusion portion flow path 615b is a flow path having the smallest diameter of the ink flow path 615, and is formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape. The inner diameter of the protrusion portion flow path 615b is formed slightly smaller than the diameter of the needle 49 (see fig. 2). The contact portion flow passage 615c is formed in a substantially hollow cylindrical shape, an inner diameter thereof is larger than that of the protrusion portion flow passage 615b, and the inner diameter is sufficiently larger than the diameter of the needle 49. Since the stepped surface 614b is formed on the boundary of the projecting-portion flow passage 615b and the contacting-portion flow passage 615c, the inner diameter in the direction of the shaft center O1 changes sharply from the projecting-portion flow passage 615b to the contacting-portion flow passage 615 c. As a result, as shown in fig. 24(d), the joint contact portion 613 exhibits a structure cut into a countersunk shape by its inner peripheral surface 613b and stepped surface 614b, and the tip 613a of the joint contact portion 613 is located at the periphery of the cut portion.

The needle 49 inserted from the opening 612c is guided to the upper portion of the stepped portion flow channel 615a formed in a tapered shape, and is inserted into the protruding portion flow channel 615 b. At this time, since the inner diameter of the protrusion portion flow path 615b is slightly smaller than the diameter of the needle 49, the needle 49 is elastically adhered to the inner circumferential surface 614a of the joint protrusion portion 614 forming the protrusion portion flow path 615b and is pressed into the inside, so that the needle 49 expands the protrusion portion flow path 615 b. In other words, the joint protrusion 614 serves to seal the periphery of the needle 49 pressed into the protrusion flow channel 615 b. In addition, if the area of the portion of the supply joint 610 elastically adhering to the periphery of the needle 49 becomes large, resistance when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted on the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1) becomes large, and therefore, smooth mounting cannot be performed. However, in this embodiment, a structure is used in which the joint projection portion 614 is established and the needle 49 is contacted only on the inner peripheral surface 614a, so that the surface contacted with the needle 49 can be reduced and the ink cartridge can be smoothly mounted in the multi-function device 1. In addition, the needle 49 is inserted into the ink flow channel 615, so that the flow channel through which ink actually flows becomes the inside of the needle 49. In addition, since the contact portion flow path 615c is formed in a counterbore shape, it is possible to reduce the movement of the supply joint 610 in the direction of the axial center O1 when the needle 49 is inserted.

Fig. 25 is a view showing the supply valve 620. Fig. 25(a) is a view showing a side view of the supply valve 620, fig. 25(b) is a view showing a side view of the supply valve 620 seen from an arrow XXVb perspective of fig. 25(a), fig. 25(c) is a view showing a plan view of the supply valve 620, fig. 25(d) is a view showing a bottom view of the supply valve 620, and fig. 25(e) is a sectional view of the supply valve 620 through the line XXVe-XXVe of fig. 25 (c).

As shown in fig. 25(a), the supply valve 620 is equipped with: a valve bottom wall 621 forming a bottom surface (lower side surface of fig. 25 (a)) of the supply valve 620; and a valve outer peripheral wall 622 provided from the valve bottom wall 621 in the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500 (see fig. 22).

A pair of valve guide grooves 623 are formed on the valve peripheral wall 622, and slider loose insertion portions 643 of the supply slider 640 (see fig. 27) are loosely inserted into these valve guide grooves 623. As shown in fig. 25(c), the pair of valve guide grooves 623 are formed symmetrically with respect to the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500. Further, as shown in fig. 25(c), a valve projecting wall 624 is formed on the valve peripheral wall 622, the valve projecting wall 624 projects in the direction of the shaft center O1 from the top of the valve peripheral wall 622 in the direction opposite to the valve bottom wall 621, and a valve guide groove 623 is formed from the tip end of the valve projecting wall 624 up to the vicinity of the bottom of the valve peripheral wall 622. As a result, since the distance of the valve guide groove 623 is ensured to be a long distance, the slider loose insertion portion 643 can be prevented from deviating from the valve guide groove 623.

In addition, a pair of valve restricting portions 625 are connected to the valve peripheral wall 622, the pair of valve restricting portions 625 protruding in a direction opposite to the valve bottom wall 621 and restricting the operation of the supply slider 640. Each of these valve restricting portions 625 is provided with a valve hooking portion 626, the valve hooking portion 626 protruding toward the shaft center O1 from the tip end (the tip end of the upper side portion in fig. 25 (a)) of the valve restricting portion 625 and engaging with the supply slider 640.

In addition, four valve protrusion portions 622a are formed at equal intervals along the valve outer peripheral wall 622 on the valve outer peripheral wall 622, and these valve protrusion portions 622a protrude in a semicircular shape along the outer peripheral direction and are formed from the top to the bottom of the valve outer peripheral wall 622. These valve protrusion portions 622a are provided for smoothly performing the operation of the supply valve 620 when the supply valve 620 is inserted into the ink supply member 116 (see fig. 21). When there is no valve protrusion portion 622a, the inner peripheral surface of the ink supply member 116 and the valve outer peripheral surface 622 sometimes come into contact, so that the contact surface with the ink supply member 116 becomes large, and the resistance at the time of operation also becomes large. Therefore, since the valve protrusion portion 622a formed in a semicircular shape is provided, only the valve protrusion portion 622a comes into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the ink supply member 116, and the operation of the supply valve 620 inside the ink supply member 116 becomes smooth.

The valve restricting portion 625 and the valve protrusion wall are formed to extend upward from the valve outer peripheral wall 622. As a result, the supply slider 640 can be prevented from being misaligned in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the shaft center O1. In addition, the operation of the supply slider 640 in the direction of the shaft center O1 is restricted by the valve restricting portion 625, so that the first supply spring 630 can be reliably housed and operated. As shown in fig. 25(c), on the valve bottom wall 621, in positions corresponding to the valve guide groove 623 and the valve restricting portion 625, four ink flow passages 627 communicating in the vertical direction of the valve bottom wall 621 (the direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 25 (c)) are formed in the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500 (the direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 25 (c)). The valve bottom wall 621 projects upwardly from its bottom surface and is provided with a valve support portion 628, the valve support portion 628 being a platform for receiving a spring top 632 of a first supply spring 630 (see fig. 26). The valve supporting portion 628 is made of two plate-like members arranged in parallel on the valve bottom wall 621. As shown in fig. 25(e), the height of the valve supporting portion 628 in the direction of the shaft center O1 is formed sufficiently lower than the valve outer peripheral wall 622. The valve supporting portion 628 is provided for ensuring that the first supply spring 630 does not contact the valve bottom wall 621 when the first supply spring 630 is disposed in the space inside the valve outer peripheral wall 622. This is because, if the first supply spring 630 comes into contact with the valve bottom wall 621, the ink flow passage is blocked and ink no longer flows. Therefore, the valve supporting portion 628 is provided for ensuring the ink flow passage, and this portion is acceptable as long as the first supply spring 630 does not contact the valve bottom wall 621, so that the valve supporting portion 628 is formed to the minimum required height, which prevents the dimensional scale from increasing in the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500.

A valve inner peripheral wall 629 is provided on the outer side of the valve supporting portion 628 and on the inner side of the ink flow passage 627, the valve inner peripheral wall 629 being formed into a substantially circular arc shape that covers the outer peripheral surface of the spring top 632 of the first supply spring 630. The valve inner peripheral wall 629 is provided for restricting the movement of the first supply spring 630 in the direction perpendicular to the shaft center O1, and by restricting the movement of the first supply spring 630 in the direction perpendicular to the shaft center O1, the first supply spring 630 is bent accurately in the shaft center O1 direction.

Fig. 26 is a view illustrating the first supply spring 630. Fig. 26(a) is a view showing a side view of the first supply spring 630, fig. 26(b) is a view showing a plan view of the first supply spring 630, fig. 26(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the first supply spring 630, and fig. 26(d) is a sectional view showing the first supply spring 630 through the XXVId-XXVId line of fig. 26 (b).

The first supply spring 630 is formed in a substantially inverted bowl shape (or a substantially hollow conical shape), and it is mainly equipped with: an annular spring bottom 631 forming the bottom surface (the end portion on the side having the larger diameter) of the first supply spring 630; an annular spring top 632 formed with a diameter smaller than that of the spring bottom 631 and forming the top of the upper surface (the end of the side having the smaller diameter) of the first supply spring 630; and a spring plastic portion 633 that is connected between the spring top portion 632 and the spring bottom portion 631, and the spring plastic portion 633 bends and deforms when a load is applied in the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500 (the moving direction of the supply valve 620 pressed into the needle 49 (see fig. 2; also the biasing direction of the first supply spring 630 and the second supply spring 650). The spring top 632 is in contact with the valve supporting portion 628 of the supply valve 620 (see fig. 25) and forms a pressurizing portion that presses the supply valve 620 in the direction of the supply joint 610 (see fig. 24). The diameter of the spring bottom 631 is formed to be larger than that of the spring top 632, so that the spring bottom 631 forms a base when the spring plastic 633 is elastically deformed.

As shown in fig. 26(d), an ink flow passage 634 is formed on the first supply spring 630, the ink flow passage 634 communicating from the top end (right end surface in fig. 26 (d)) of the spring top portion 632 to the bottom surface (left end surface in fig. 26 (d)) of the spring bottom portion 631. The ink flow path 634 is constituted by a top flow path 634a defined by the inner peripheral surface of the spring top portion 632, a plastic portion flow path 634b defined by the inner peripheral surface of the spring plastic portion 633, and a bottom flow path 634c defined by the inner peripheral surface of the spring bottom portion 631. As shown in fig. 26(d), the opening area of the ink flow path 634 gradually increases from the top end of the spring top 632 toward the bottom surface of the spring bottom 631. In addition, as shown in fig. 26(b) and 26(c), the top flow channel 634a of the spring top 632 is formed in a circular shape from the perspective of the direction perpendicular to the page. When the spring plastic part 633 is bent and formed into a substantially inverted bowl shape that is convex on the side that moves away from the shaft center O1, the spring plastic part 633 can be deformed more easily than in the case where the spring plastic part 633 is substantially conical.

The cross-sectional shape of the top flow passage 634a of the spring top 632 may also be formed in a substantially quadrangular shape. When the opening of the top flow path 634a is formed in a substantially quadrangular shape, the influence of bubbles contained inside the ink can be reduced. Here, the bubbles contained in the ink are spherical, so that when the flow channel is blocked by the bubbles growing larger than the inner diameter of the top flow channel 634a, the ink flow channel (passage) is cut off, and the ink cannot be normally sent to the multi-function device 1 (see fig. 1). As a result, the print quality of the multifunction device 1 is degraded. However, when the opening of the top flow path 634a is formed in a quadrangular shape, even if bubbles growing larger than the opening surface of the top flow path 634a accumulate, those four corners are not blocked, and thus it is possible to reduce the degradation of printing quality by preventing the blocking of the ink flow path. In addition, the opening surface of the top flow channel 634a is not limited to a quadrilateral, and it may alternatively be formed in a polygon such as a hexagon or a star. As in this embodiment, if it is circular, it may be formed with a diameter that will minimize the effect of bubbles.

As shown in fig. 26(d), the spring top 632 is formed in a relatively thick cylindrical shape extending in the axis O1 direction, and it is formed so that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis O1 direction (the biasing direction of the first supply spring 630) is uniform. Similarly, the spring bottom 631 is also formed in a relatively thick cylindrical shape extending in the axis O1 direction, and it is formed so that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axis O1 direction is uniform.

As shown in fig. 26(d), the spring plastic part 633 is formed into a substantially inverted bowl shape (or a substantially conical shape) which is bent (or inclined) in the direction of the shaft center O1 at a predetermined angle. As a result, the strength against the load in the direction along the axial center O1 becomes weaker than the spring bottom 631 and the spring top 632. In addition, the spring plastic part 633 is formed such that its section is thinner than the spring bottom 631 and the spring top 632, thereby also reducing the strength. Therefore, when the first supply spring 630 is elastically deformed, the spring plastic part 633 is plastically deformed.

The second supply spring 650 is formed with the same shape as that of the first supply spring 630, and the composition of the second supply spring 650 is constituted by a spring bottom 651, a spring top 652, a spring plastic portion 653, and an ink flow passage 654 (a top flow passage 654a, a plastic portion flow passage 654b, and a bottom flow passage 654 c). In addition, the first atmosphere spring 730 and the second atmosphere spring 750 are also formed with the same shape as the first supply spring 630, and they are constituted by spring bottoms 731 and 751, spring tops 732 and 752, spring plastic portions 733 and 753, and ink flow channels 734 and 754 (top flow channels 734a and 754a, plastic portion flow channels 734b and 754b, and bottom flow channels 734c and 754c), respectively.

Fig. 27 is a view showing the supply slider 640. Fig. 27(a) is a view showing a side view of the supply slider 640, fig. 27(b) is a view showing a side view of the supply slider 640 from the perspective of an arrow XXVIIb of fig. 27(a), fig. 27(c) is a view showing a plan view of the supply slider 640, fig. 27(d) is a view showing a bottom view of the supply slider 640, and fig. 27(e) is a sectional view showing a line XXVIIe-XXVIIe through fig. 27 (c).

The supply slider 640 is formed of a resin material having a higher hardness than the first supply spring 630 (see fig. 26) and the second supply spring 650, and it is mainly equipped with: a slider peripheral wall 641 forming an outer periphery of the supply slider 640; a pair of slider projection walls 642a and 642b projecting from the slider outer peripheral wall 641 in the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500; a pair of slider loose insertion portions 643 which extend from the slider peripheral wall 641 to the upper tip end (upper side end in fig. 27 (a)) of the slider projection wall 642a and are loosely inserted into the valve guide grooves 623 (see fig. 25) of the supply valve 620; a slider platform portion 644 on both sides of which the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 are disposed, the slider platform portion 644 being formed on the inner side of the slider outer peripheral wall 641 and being in contact with spring bottoms 631 and 651 of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650; and a slider through-hole 645 formed at a central position of the slider platform portion 644 and connecting top and bottom portions of the slider platform portion 644. As is clear from fig. 27(c), the slider projecting walls 642a and 642b are symmetrically disposed so that they sandwich the shaft center O1, and the pair of slider loose insertion portions 643 are also symmetrically disposed so that they sandwich the shaft center O1.

The inner diameter of the slider outer peripheral wall 641 is formed to be substantially equal to the outer diameter of the spring lower portions 631 and 651 of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650, and the slider projection walls 642a and 642b are formed such that they project from the slider outer peripheral wall 641 in the direction of the shaft center O1, thereby restricting the movement of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 in the direction perpendicular to the shaft center O1 when the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 are arranged. As a result, the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 can be elastically deformed reliably in the direction of the shaft center O1.

The slider loose insertion portions 643 are formed such that they extend in the direction of the shaft center O1 of the supply slider 640 (formed on the slider peripheral wall 641 and the slider protrusion portion 642), so that when these slider loose insertion portions 643 are loosely inserted into the valve guide grooves 623 (see fig. 25), these slider loose insertion portions 643 are smoothly moved in the direction of the shaft center O1 of the supply slider 640, and misalignment in the direction perpendicular to the direction of the shaft center O1 can be prevented.

Fig. 28 is a view showing the valve seat 660. Fig. 28(a) is a view showing a side view of the valve seat 660, fig. 28(b) is a view showing a plan view of the valve seat 660, fig. 28(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the valve seat 660, and fig. 28(d) is a sectional view showing a line XXVIIId-XXVIIId through fig. 28 (b).

As shown in fig. 28(a), the valve seat 660 is equipped with: a valve seat bottom 661 forming a bottom surface of the valve seat 660 and contacting the spring top 652 of the second supply spring 650; and a valve seat supporting portion 662 provided on the top surface (upper side in fig. 28 (a)) of the valve seat bottom portion 661. Each seat supporting portion 662 is provided with a seat inclined surface 662a, the seat inclined surface 662a is inclined downward as approaching the center of the valve seat 660, and a check valve 670, which will be described below, is received by the seat inclined surface 662 a.

As shown in fig. 28(b), six valve seat supporting portions 662 are formed at regular intervals along the circumferential direction of the valve seat 660. First valve seat through holes 662b are formed in three of the six valve seat support portions, and these first valve seat through holes 662b pass through the front and rear surfaces of the valve seat 660. These first seat through holes 662b are formed on a portion other than the seat inclined surface 662a of the seat support portion 662 (the horizontal portion of the seat support portion 662). Therefore, since the first seat through hole 662b is formed on a portion different from the portion receiving the check valve 670, it is possible to prevent the blocking of the ink flow passage.

In addition, a second seat through hole 663 passing through the seat bottom 661 is formed between the seat supporting portions 662 of the seat 660. In fig. 28(b), six of these second valve seat through holes 663 are formed left-right symmetrically according to a center line (center line Q shown in fig. 28) passing through the shaft center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500 (see fig. 22). Such a second valve seat through hole 663 forms an ink flow passage through which ink flows.

As shown in fig. 28(c), a recessed seat communication groove 664 connecting the respective second seat through holes 663 is formed on the bottom surface of the seat bottom 661. These valve seat communication grooves 664 connect the second valve seat through holes 663 to each other in a substantially linear manner on the bottom surface of the valve seat bottom 661. Three valve seat communication grooves 664 intersecting at the axial center O1 are thus formed. Further, a pair of valve projecting portions 665 projecting from the bottom surface of the seat bottom 661 are formed. The spring top 652 of the second supply spring is received in each of these seat projecting portions 665, and these seat projecting portions 665 are brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the spring top 652 of the second spring 650, so that the movement of the second supply spring 650 in the direction perpendicular to the shaft center O1 can be restricted.

As shown in fig. 28(d), a gap is formed between the valve seat inclined surface 662a of the valve seat support portion 662 and the second valve seat through hole 663 in the direction of the shaft center O1. As a result, even if the check valve 670 is supported on the valve seat inclined surface 662a, a flow passage of ink is ensured. In addition, even if the end surface of the spring top 652 of the second supply spring 650 contacts the bottom surface of the second valve seat through hole 663, the second valve seat through hole 663 is positioned outside the virtual circumference (virtual line R in fig. 28 (c)) of the valve seat protruding portion 665, so that the flow passage of ink is ensured by the valve seat communication groove 664. The valve seat communication groove 664 connects all the second valve seat through holes 663, so that the ink flow passage can be reliably ensured even if the second valve seat through holes 663 surrounded by the valve seat protruding portion 665 are present.

Fig. 29 is a view showing the check valve 670. Fig. 29(a) is a view showing a side view of the check valve 670, fig. 29(b) is a view showing a plan view of the check valve 670, fig. 29(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the check valve 670, and fig. 29(d) is a sectional view of the check valve 670 through the XXIXd-XXIXd lines of fig. 29 (a).

The check valve 670 is formed substantially in an umbrella shape from a side view (a view in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 29 (a)), and it is constituted by an umbrella portion 671 and a shaft portion 672. The umbrella portion 671 blocks a flow channel of ink by being in contact with the cap 680 (see fig. 30), and, as shown in fig. 29(b) and 29(d), is provided with a connection portion 671a connected to the shaft portion 672, and with a wing portion 671b extending substantially uniformly in the outer peripheral direction from the connection portion 671a and formed with a low profile. As a result, when the umbrella portion 671 is in contact with the cap 680, the wing portion 671b formed with a low-profile is adhered to the cap 680 at the time of elastic deformation, so that the ink flow passage communication between the cap 680 and the check valve 670 can be reliably blocked.

As shown in fig. 29(a), the bottom surface of the umbrella 671 is formed in a curved shape and supported by the valve seat support portion 662 of the valve seat 660 (see fig. 28), thereby opening the flow passage of ink in a state where the umbrella 671 is supported by the valve seat support portion 662 of the valve seat 660 and blocking the flow passage of ink in a state where the umbrella 671 of the check valve 670 is in contact with the cap 680.

The shaft portion 672 is a portion inserted into a second cap through hole 684 (see fig. 30) of a cap 680, which will be described below. The shaft portion 672 is located in the vicinity of the cap 680 in a state where it is attached to the cap 680, and the shaft portion 672 has a spherical portion 672a formed in a substantially spherical shape. The ball portion 672a is formed to have a diameter larger than the second cap through hole 684 of the cap 680, and once the check valve 670 is coupled to the cap 680, the ball portion 672a prevents the check valve 670 from falling down. As a result, the check valve 670 can be reduced from being lost when the ink cartridge 14 is manufactured, and the operability is improved.

Fig. 30 is a view showing the cover 680. Fig. 30(a) is a view showing a side view of the cover 680, fig. 30(b) is a view showing a plan view of the cover 680, fig. 30(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the cover 680, and fig. 30(d) is a sectional view showing the cover 680 through the XXXd-XXXd line of fig. 30 (b).

The cover 680 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape in which the bottom surface side (the valve seat 660 (see fig. 28) side) is open. The cover 680 is provided with: a lid peripheral wall 681 that forms an outer periphery; and a cover top 682 that forms the top surface (upper side in fig. 30 (a)) of the cover 680, and the cover 680 is formed so that the bottom surface side is open. The valve seat 660 is fitted into an opening (lower side of fig. 30 (a)) of the bottom surface of the cap 680, and the check valve 670 is housed between the valve seat 660 and the cap 680. In other words, the space in which the check valve 670 is received is formed by the cap 680 and the valve seat 660.

As shown in fig. 30(b) and 30(c), six first cover through holes 683 are formed in the circumferential direction with respect to the axial center O1, and pass through the front and back surfaces of the cover 680. These first cap through holes 683 form flow passages through which ink flows, and when the umbrella portion 671 (see fig. 29) of the check valve 670 contacts the cap top 682, the first cap through holes 683 are blocked, and thus the ink flow passage is also blocked.

In addition, a second cap through hole 684 is formed in the center of the cap top 682 (a position passing through the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500), and the shaft portion 672 of the check valve 670 is inserted into the second cap through hole 684. The shaft portion 672 of the check valve 670 is inserted into the second cap through hole 684, thereby connecting the check valve 670. Even in a state where the check valve 670 is inserted into the second cap through hole 684, a flow passage of ink is formed on a portion of the inner peripheral surface. However, when the umbrella portion 671 of the check valve 670 comes into contact with the cap top 682, the entire first cap through hole is blocked, thereby simultaneously blocking the ink flow path of the centrally formed second cap through hole 684.

Fig. 31 is a view showing the atmosphere cap 700. Fig. 31(a) is a view showing a side view of the atmosphere cap 700, fig. 31(b) is a view showing a side view of the atmosphere cap 700 from the arrow XXXIb perspective of fig. 31(a), fig. 31(c) is a view showing a plan view of the atmosphere cap 700, fig. 31(d) is a view showing a bottom view of the atmosphere cap 700, and fig. 31(e) is a sectional view showing the atmosphere cap 700 through the XXXIe-XXXIe line of fig. 31 (c).

As shown in fig. 31(a), the atmosphere cap 700 is equipped with: a substantially cylindrical atmosphere fixing portion 701 which forms a side wall of the atmosphere cover 700 and is fastened to the atmosphere admission member 117 (see fig. 21); and an atmosphere cap bottom wall 702 forming a bottom wall of the atmosphere cap 700. Engagement holes 703a and 703b are formed in the atmosphere fixing portion 701 (the engagement holes 703b are shown in fig. 31(b)), which are formed from the bottom (lower side in fig. 31 (a)) of the atmosphere fixing portion 701 to the vicinity of the top (vicinity of the end of the upper side in fig. 31 (a)) and engage with the protruding portions 117a and 117b of the above-described atmosphere air intake element 117 when the atmosphere cap 700 is fastened to the atmosphere air intake element 117.

As shown in fig. 31(b), atmosphere cap cutout portions 704a and 704b (the atmosphere cap cutout portions 704b are not shown in the drawing) are formed on the atmosphere fixing portion 701 at positions shifted by about 90 ° from the positions where the engagement holes 703a and 703b are formed with respect to the axial center O2, and are cut into to form cutouts from the top end to the vicinity of the bottom of the atmosphere fixing portion 701.

In addition, as shown in the plan view of fig. 31(c) and the bottom view of fig. 31(d), an atmosphere cap insertion hole 705, into which a joint skirt 714 (see fig. 32) of an atmosphere joint 701 to be described below and a valve opening portion 721a (see fig. 33) of an atmosphere valve 720 are inserted, is formed in a substantially central position on the atmosphere cap bottom wall 702. The atmosphere joint 710 (see fig. 32) is housed such that it is in contact with the inner surface of the atmosphere cap bottom wall 702 and the inner peripheral surface of the atmosphere fixing portion 701.

When the atmosphere cap 700 is connected to the atmosphere intake member 117, the protruding portions 117a and 117b of the atmosphere intake member 117 protrude in the outer circumferential direction as with the supply cap 600, so that the atmosphere cap 700 is connected when its diameter increases in the outer circumferential direction. Therefore, when the atmosphere cap 700 is to be attached, it can be installed without applying strong pressure, so that it is possible to improve installation efficiency while reducing damage to the atmosphere cap 700.

Fig. 32 is a view showing the atmospheric joint 710. Fig. 32(a) is a view showing a side view of the atmosphere joint 710, fig. 32(b) is a view showing a plan view of the atmosphere joint 710, fig. 32(c) is a view showing a bottom view of the atmosphere joint 710, and fig. 32(d) is a sectional view of the atmosphere joint 710 through the line xxxiiid-xxxiiid of fig. 32 (b).

As shown in fig. 32(a), the atmospheric air joint 710 is formed in four steps from a side view (a view in a direction perpendicular to the page of fig. 32 (a)). The portion shown in the second step from the bottom (lower side in fig. 32 (a)) is a joint outer peripheral portion 711, which is a portion that is in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the atmosphere fixing portion 701 (see fig. 31) of the atmosphere cap 700 and the atmosphere cap bottom wall 702, and forms an outer peripheral portion of the atmosphere joint 710. The portion shown at the top step of this joint outer peripheral portion 711 is a joint inner peripheral portion 712 which is provided inside the atmosphere intake member 117 (see fig. 21) and forms the inner peripheral portion of the atmosphere joint 710, and the top of the joint inner peripheral portion 712 is shown in fig. 32 (a). In addition, a portion shown at a top step of the joint inner peripheral portion 712 is a joint contact portion 713, which is in contact with the atmosphere valve 720. The portion shown at the bottommost step is a joint skirt 714 formed with a low profile, which is a member that covers the outer side surface of the valve opening portion 721a (see fig. 33) of the atmosphere valve 720 and exposes the valve opening portion 721a to the outside of the atmosphere cap 700.

As shown in fig. 32(b), the axial centers of the joint outer peripheral portion 711, the joint inner peripheral portion 712, the joint contact portion 713, and the joint skirt 714 are located on the same axial center as the direction along the axial center O2 of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510. In addition, the atmospheric joint 710 is made of an elastic material such as resin rubber, so that when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), a joint skirt 714 formed with a low-profile comes into contact with an end surface of the multifunction device 1 and is elastically deformed.

As shown in fig. 32(d), the joint contact portion 713 protrudes from the top surface 712a (the surface on the side in contact with the atmosphere valve 720) of the joint inner peripheral portion 712. The joint contact portion 713 is formed such that it narrows toward the tip 713a (the upper end portion in fig. 32 (d)), and the tip 713a comes into contact with the bottom surface of the atmosphere valve 720 and blocks the atmosphere intake passage. In addition, as shown in fig. 32(d), a joint passage 715 is formed on the atmosphere joint 710, the joint passage 715 leads from the bottom surface of the joint inner peripheral portion 712 to the tip 713a (lower side to upper side in fig. 32 (d)) of the joint contact portion 713, and the valve opening portion 721a of the atmosphere valve 720 is inserted into the joint passage 715.

Fig. 33 is a view showing the atmosphere valve 720. Fig. 33(a) is a view showing a side view of the atmosphere valve 720, and fig. 33(b) is a view showing a bottom view of the atmosphere valve 720. In the structure of the atmosphere valve 720, a valve opening portion 721a is added with respect to the supply valve 620, the valve opening portion 721a protrudes from the bottom surface of the valve bottom wall 721, and opens the atmosphere intake passage by contacting with the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1) side. Therefore, detailed descriptions of the valve bottom wall 721, the valve outer peripheral wall 722, the valve protrusion portion 722a, the valve guide groove 723, the valve protrusion wall 724, the valve restricting portion 725, the valve hook portion 726, the atmospheric air intake channel 727 (the portion corresponding to the ink flow channel 627), the valve supporting portion 728, and the valve inner peripheral wall 729 will be omitted herein. Here, too, illustration of a portion that cannot be visually confirmed in the side view (fig. 33(a)) and the bottom view (fig. 33(b)) of the atmosphere valve 720 will be omitted.

The atmosphere valve 720 is provided with a valve opening portion 721a, the valve opening portion 721a projecting from the bottom surface of the valve bottom wall 721. The valve opening portion 721a is located on the axial center O2 of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510, and is formed substantially in the shape of a rod. A substantially semicircular projecting portion 721b projecting from the bottom (lower end surface in fig. 22) to the valve bottom wall 721 in the outer peripheral direction is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the valve opening portion 721 a. The valve opening portion 721a is opened into the joint passage 715 (see fig. 32) of the above-described atmosphere joint 710, and a part of the valve opening portion 721a is exposed to the outside of the atmosphere cap 700 (see fig. 31). When the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), the valve opening portion 721 comes into contact with the end face of the multifunction device 1, and the contact with the joint contact portion 713 of the atmospheric joint 710 is broken, thereby forming an atmospheric air intake passage.

When the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 and the valve opening portion 721a is operated, the joint skirt 714 of the atmospheric joint 710 also comes into contact with the end face of the multifunction device 1 and is elastically deformed, thus blocking communication between the atmospheric air intake passage and the outside of the joint skirt 714. As a result, the atmosphere introduced from the multi-function device 1 side can be smoothly introduced. In addition, even if the joint skirt 714 is elastically deformed toward the axial center O2 and comes into contact with the valve opening portion 721a, an atmospheric air intake passage can be ensured by the bulging portion 721b of the valve opening portion 721 a. It is therefore possible to prevent the atmospheric air intake passage from being blocked and ensure that atmospheric air is introduced into the tank chamber 111 (see fig. 14).

A state in which the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 are connected to the ink supply element 116 and the atmospheric air intake element 117 will be described below with reference to fig. 34. Fig. 34 is a partial sectional view showing a state in which the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 are connected to the ink supply element 116 and the atmospheric air intake element 117.

As shown in fig. 34, the ink supply mechanism 500 is inserted and attached to the inner peripheral surface 800 of the ink supply member 116, and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 is inserted and attached to the inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmospheric air intake member 117.

First, the ink supply mechanism 500 connected to the ink supply member 116 will be described. On the inner peripheral surface 800 of the ink supply member 116, a projecting wall 801 projecting in the inner side direction of the inner peripheral wall 800 is formed on the first supply communication hole 421 side of the supply passage forming portion 420, and the projecting wall 801 is formed in a step shape capable of housing the cover 680. The cover 680 is inserted so that it is in contact with the stepped surface 801a of the projecting wall 801 formed in a step shape, thereby determining the position on the first supply communication hole 421 side of the ink supply mechanism 500.

The shaft portion 672 of the check valve 670 is inserted into the second cap through hole 684 of the cap 680, and the valve seat 660 is disposed such that it receives the check valve 670 inside the cap 680. The second supply spring 650 is disposed on the bottom surface side (left side in fig. 34) of the valve seat 660, and the supply slider 640 is disposed such that it houses the second supply spring 650. The first supply spring 630 is received by the supply slider 640 on an opposite side of the supply slider 640 with respect to the second supply spring 650, and the first supply spring 630 is disposed between the supply slider 640 and the supply valve 620. In addition, the supply joint 610 is disposed such that it contacts the bottom surface of the supply valve 620, and the supply cap 600 is fastened to the outside of the ink supply member 116 such that the supply cap 600 contacts the bottom surface of the supply joint 610. The supply cap 600 is fastened when it engages with the protruding portions 116a and 116b of the ink supply portion 116, so that the position on the outer side of the ink supply mechanism 500 can be determined. Therefore, the position of the direction of the axial center O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500 is determined by the supply cap 600 and the stepped surface 801a of the inner peripheral surface 800 of the ink supply member 116.

The inner diameter of inner peripheral surface 800 of ink supply member 116 is formed slightly larger than the outer diameter of supply valve 620, and inner peripheral surface 800 is constituted so that the operation of supply valve 620 in the direction of axial center O1 can be smoothly performed inside ink supply member 116. As described above, the four valve protrusion portions 622a are formed on the outer circumferential surface of the supply valve 620, and are configured such that the contact surface with the inner circumferential surface 800 is small. Therefore, even if the supply valve 620 is operated obliquely with respect to the shaft center O1 and is in contact with the inner peripheral surface 800, a state in which the supply valve 620 cannot be operated can be prevented. In addition, a gap is formed between the supply valve 620 and the inner peripheral surface 800, thereby forming an ink flow passage that flows through the inside of the ink supply mechanism 500 and an ink flow passage that flows through the outside of the supply valve 620. As a result, the inner peripheral surface 800 of the ink supply member 116 is a space forming an ink flow passage chamber.

As described above, the slider platform portion 644 is in a state sandwiched by the spring bottom 631 of the first supply spring 630 and the spring bottom 651 of the second supply spring 650. On the contact side of the spring platform portion 644 with the spring base 651 of the second supply spring 650, the spring platform portion 644 is engaged by the two valve hook portions 626 of the supply valve 620, thus restricting movement in the direction of the shaft center O1. The space formed between the supply valve 620 and the supply slider 640 is shorter than the length of the first supply spring 630 in the direction of the shaft center O1, so that the first supply spring 630 has been plastically deformed in the position where it is connected to the ink supply member 116.

The atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 connected to the atmospheric air intake member 117 will be described below. On an inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmospheric air intake member 117, a protruding portion 811 protruding toward the direction of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 (leftward direction in fig. 34) is formed on an end surface of the atmospheric air intake passage forming portion 430 on the first atmospheric communication chamber side. The projecting portion 811 is constituted as a pair of plate-like members, and it is in contact with the end surface of the spring top 752 of the second atmospheric spring 750. As a result, an atmospheric air intake passage is formed between the projecting portion 811 and the spring top 752 of the second atmospheric spring 750. In addition, as a result of the second atmosphere spring 750 contacting the projecting portion 811, the position of the atmosphere air intake mechanism 510 on the side of the first atmosphere communication hole 434 is determined.

As with the ink supply mechanism 500 side, the atmosphere slider 740 is disposed on the atmosphere intake mechanism 510 such that the atmosphere slider 740 houses the second atmosphere spring 750, and the first atmosphere spring 730 is housed by the atmosphere slider 740 on the opposite side of the atmosphere slider 740 from the second atmosphere spring 750, with the first atmosphere spring 730 disposed between the atmosphere slider 740 and the atmosphere valve 720. In addition, the atmosphere joint 710 is disposed such that it is in contact with the bottom surface of the atmosphere valve 720, and the atmosphere cap 700 is fastened to the outside of the atmosphere admission member 117, so that the atmosphere cap 700 is in contact with the bottom surface on the outer peripheral side from the joint skirt 714 of the atmosphere joint 710. The atmosphere cap 700 is fastened when it engages with the protruding portions 117a and 117b of the atmosphere intake portion 117, so that the position on the outside of the atmosphere intake mechanism 510 can be determined. Therefore, the position of the direction of the axial center O2 of the atmosphere intake mechanism 510 is determined by the atmosphere cap 700 and the protruding portion 811 of the inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmosphere intake member 117.

In addition, the space formed between the atmosphere valve 720 and the atmosphere slider 740 is shorter than the length of the first atmosphere spring 730 in the direction of the shaft center 02, so that the first atmosphere spring 730 has been plastically deformed in the position where it is connected to the atmosphere air intake member 117, as with the ink supply mechanism 500.

The manufacturing process of the ink cartridge 14 will be described below with reference to fig. 35 to 39. Fig. 35 is a view explaining a manufacturing process before the film 160 is welded. Fig. 36 is a view explaining a welding process of the thin film 160. Fig. 36(a) is a view explaining a welding surface of the frame portion 110 on which the film 160 is welded, and fig. 36(b) is a view explaining a welding process of welding the film 160 to the frame portion 110. Fig. 37 is a view explaining a manufacturing process performed after the welding of the film 160. Fig. 37(a) is a view explaining a connecting process of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 to the frame portion 110, fig. 37(b) is a view explaining a decompression process, and fig. 37(c) is a view explaining an ink dispensing process. Fig. 38 is a view explaining an installation process of the housing 200. Fig. 38(a) is a view explaining a process of sandwiching the frame portion 110 by the case 200, and fig. 38(b) is a view explaining a welding process of welding the case 200. Fig. 39 is a view explaining a manufacturing process performed before the ink cartridge 14 is shipped. Fig. 39(a) is a view explaining a process of attaching the protector 300, and fig. 39(b) is a view explaining a process of packing the ink cartridge 14 in the packing bag 930.

As shown in fig. 35, in the manufacture of the ink cartridge 14, the sensor arm 470 is first attached to the frame portion 110. The frame portion 110 and the sensor arm 470 are respectively injection-molded in a preliminary process (molding process). In other words, they are molded in a first molding process (preparatory process) of injection-molding the frame portion 110 and in a second molding process (preparatory process) of injection-molding the sensor arm 470, respectively.

In the sensor arm 470, the connecting shaft 472a provided on the connecting portion 472 of the sensor arm 470 is connected to the arm holding portion 425 provided in the vicinity of the supply passage forming portion 420 of the frame portion 110 (sensor arm 470 connecting process; preparation process). The arm holding portion 425 opens on the opposite side (top in fig. 35) to the ink supply member 116 side. In other words, the opening of the arm sandwiching portion 425 opens on the second-tank-chamber opening 114 side. As a result, the sensor arm 470 can be connected in a range that allows the first chamber 111a and the second chamber 111b to communicate, so that the sensor arm 470 can be effectively connected with little interference. In addition, the shielding arm part 473c of the arm part 473 is connected to be housed on the inner side (inside the enclosing part 141) of the detection part 140. When the sensor arm 470 is connected to the arm holding part 425, the vertical and horizontal movement range of the shielding arm part 473c is limited by the respective walls 141a to 141d of the surrounding part 141 of the detection part 140. In other words, once the attachment of the sensor arm 470 is completed, the sensor arm 470 cannot be easily detached, so that the manufacturing process of the ink cartridge 14 can be prevented from becoming complicated, and the sensor arm 470 can be prevented from being detached from the detection part 140 when the ink cartridge is transported. As a result, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1, the ink-starved state can be reliably detected, so that the reliability of the product can be improved.

In this embodiment, when the connecting portion 472 (connecting shaft 472a) of the sensor arm 470 is supported on the arm holding portion 425 of the frame portion 110, a supporting portion forming an axis of the rotating operation of the sensor arm 470 is constituted, but a structure in which a connecting shaft is provided on the frame portion 110 side and a holding portion is provided on the sensor arm 470 side may be employed, and a structure in which the sensor arm 470 and the frame portion 110 are connected using a hinge connection is also acceptable. In other words, as long as the sensor arm 470 is connected such that it can rotate with respect to the frame portion 110, its connection structure may take any form.

When the attachment of the sensor arm 470 is completed, the ink dispensing plug 520 is then pressed into the inside of the dispensing cylinder part 451 of the ink dispensing part 150 (ink dispensing plug 520 pressing-in process; preparation process). The ink dispensing plug 520 is pressed down so that the outer end surface 520a of the ink dispensing plug 520 is in substantially the same plane as the outer side surface of the frame portion 110, and it is not pressed to a position where it comes into contact with the bottom portion 451b of the dispensing cylinder portion 451. This is because, as described above, the first dispensing communication hole 452 of the dispensing passage forming part 450 is formed on the side surface of the dispensing cylinder part 451, and when the ink dispensing plug 520 is pressed to the rear of the dispensing cylinder part 451, the first dispensing communication hole 452 is blocked, so that ink cannot be dispensed. Additionally, the ink dispensing plug 520 may be attached prior to attachment of the sensor arm 470.

As shown in fig. 36(a), when the connection of the sensor arm 470 and the ink dispensing plug 520 is completed, the film 160 is then welded (film 160 fixing process). The film 160 is welded to the frame portion 110 so that the film 160 covers the openings of the first and second openings 112a and 112b at the same time. In other words, the film 160 is welded to both sides of the frame portion 110 in two fixing processes including a first fixing process in which the film 160 is welded to the first opening 112a (preparation process) and a second fixing process in which the film 160 is welded to the second opening 112 b.

As shown in fig. 36(b), the film 160 is cut such that: it is larger than the outer contour of the frame portion 110 and the film 160 covers the frame portion 110. At this time, the film 160 is arranged on the first opening 112a and the second opening 112b without wrinkles by sucking the film 160 from the frame portion 110 side by a suction means (not shown in the figure). Then, the ultrasonic welding surface 900 of the ultrasonic welding device (not shown in the drawings) is placed on the film 160 such that the ultrasonic welding surface 900 covers the outer peripheral portions (the outer peripheral welding portions 400a and 400b) of the first and second openings 112a and 112b from the top of the film 160, and the film 160 is welded to the frame portion 110. When the film 160 is welded to each welded part, the blackened portions (the outer circumference welded portions 400a and 400b, and the inner circumference welded portions 411a to 417a and 411b to 417b) in fig. 37(a) are welded.

On the frame portion 110, a plurality of inner peripheral welding portions 411a to 417a and 411b to 417b are scattered on the inner peripheral side of the outer peripheral welding portions 400a and 400b, so that if all the welding portions are subjected to ultrasonic welding, the structure of the ultrasonic welding surface 900 becomes complicated, and the manufacturing cost therefore increases. However, in this embodiment, the ultrasonic welding surface 900 of the ultrasonic welding apparatus is configured to cover all the welding portions (the outer circumference welding portion and the inner circumference welding portion), so that the increase in the manufacturing cost of the film 160 welding process can be reduced.

In addition, the film 160 is made of a double-layered film including a nylon film and a polyethylene film (hereinafter, referred to as "nylon polyethylene"), and the side in contact with the frame portion 110 is a polyethylene film layer. The nylon polyethylene completely blocks liquid but is relatively gas permeable, allowing a small amount of gas to circulate between the reservoir chamber 111, which is substantially sealed by the membrane 160, and a package 930 (see fig. 39(b)) to be described below. As a result, the gas present in the ink inside the tank chamber 111 can gradually pass through the thin film 160 and move into the space formed between the surrounding element 930 and the case 200, so that the generation of bubbles inside the ink can be prevented. Therefore, the occurrence of a decrease in printing quality due to air bubbles inside the ink can be prevented. In addition, the film 160 may be made of any type of material so long as the film 160 retains strength and is relatively breathable. For example, a film in which a nylon film and a polypropylene film are formed into two layers, or a film formed by mixing nylon and polyethylene or nylon and polypropylene may be used.

The frame portion 110 is formed of a polyethylene resin, and is made of the same type of substance as the film 160 on the frame portion 110 side. Since the film 160 and the frame portion 110 are formed of the same material, both the film 160 and the welded portion can be fused and reliably welded at the time of ultrasonic welding. In this embodiment, the thin film 160 has a double-layer structure. The nylon film is superior to the polyethylene film in strength, but the nylon film has a high melting point and is therefore not good enough in welding workability. Therefore, when the film 160 is formed with a double-layer structure made of nylon and polyethylene, strength is ensured, and by using a polyethylene layer as a layer to be welded on the frame portion 110, welding can be performed at a lower heating temperature, thus ensuring welding workability. In addition, the nylon layer does not melt during the welding operation, so that the variation in film thickness in the vicinity of the welded portion is smaller, and the strength of the film in the vicinity of the welded portion can also be maintained.

As shown in fig. 37(a), when the welding of the film 160 is completed, the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 are attached to the frame portion 110. The ink supply mechanism 500 is attached to the ink supply element 116 (ink supply mechanism 500 attaching process; preparatory process), and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 is attached to the atmospheric air intake element 117 (atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 attaching process; preparatory process). In the connection (connecting process) of the ink supply mechanism 500, the component in which the cover 680, the check valve 670, and the valve seat 660 are formed as a unit is inserted inside the ink supply element 116 (the position in contact with the stepped surface 801 a). At this time, the top end of the check valve 670 is inserted into the first supply communication hole 421 (see fig. 34), and it is connected such that it protrudes into the space surrounded by the supply partition wall 422. An assembly in which the supply joint 610, the supply valve 620, the first supply spring 630, the supply slider 640, and the second supply spring 650 are formed as a unit inside the supply cap 600 is inserted inside the inner circumferential surface 800 of the ink supply member 116, and the supply cap 600 is fixed on the outer circumferential surface of the ink supply member 116. At this time, the supply cap 600 is pushed in the direction of the ink supply member 116, and the engagement holes 603a and 603b of the supply cap 600 are engaged with the protruding portions 116a and 116b of the ink supply member 116. In the supply joint 610, a joint inner peripheral portion 612 is pressed inside the inner peripheral surface 800 of the ink supply member 116, and a joint outer peripheral portion 611 is sandwiched between the ink supply member 116 and the supply cap 600. Upon completion of the connection of the supply cap 600 to the ink supply element 116, the connection of the ink supply mechanism 500 is completed, and the ink supply portion 120 is constructed.

As with the ink supply mechanism 500 being connected to the ink supply member 116, the connection (connecting process) of the atmosphere air intake mechanism 510 to the atmosphere air intake member 117 is performed in a process in which an assembly in which the atmosphere joint 710, the atmosphere valve 720, the first atmosphere spring 730, the atmosphere slider 740, and the second atmosphere spring 750 are formed as one unit in the atmosphere cap 700 is inserted inside the inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmosphere air intake member 117, and the atmosphere cap 700 is fixed on the outer peripheral surface of the atmosphere air intake member 117. At this time, the atmosphere cap 700 is pushed toward the atmosphere intake element 117 side, and the engagement holes 703a and 703b of the atmosphere cap 700 are engaged with the protruding portions 117a and 117b of the atmosphere intake element 117. In the atmosphere joint 710, a joint inner peripheral portion 712 is pressed inside an inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmosphere intake member 117, and a joint outer peripheral portion 711 is sandwiched between the atmosphere intake member 117 and the atmosphere cap 700. Upon completion of the connection of the atmosphere cap 700 to the atmosphere intake element 117, the connection of the atmosphere intake mechanism 510 is completed, and the atmosphere intake portion 130 is completed.

As shown in fig. 37(b), at the completion of the connections (each connection process) of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 to the ink supply element 116 and the atmospheric air intake element 117, a decompression process of decompressing the inside of the frame portion 110 (ink tank chamber 111) is performed. In this embodiment, decompression of the inside of the frame portion 110 is performed from the ink supply portion 120 side. In depressurizing the inside of the frame portion 110, first, the suction tube 911 of the depressurizing device 910 is inserted into the supply joint 610 of the ink supply mechanism 500, and the supply valve 620 is pressed by the suction tube 911, thus opening the ink flow passage. Suction pump (P1) is then activated 912 and draws out the atmosphere inside frame portion 110. The atmosphere inside the frame portion 110 is sucked out by the pressure reducing device 910, and when a prescribed pressure (at least a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure) is reached, the suction pump 912 is stopped, and the suction tube 911 is removed from the ink supply portion 120. When the suction tube 911 is removed from the ink supply portion 120, the supply valve 620 is brought into contact with the joint contact portion 613 of the supply joint 610 due to the elastic force of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650, thereby blocking the flow passage of ink, and thus maintaining the pressure-reduced state.

As shown in fig. 37(c), when the decompression of the inside of the frame portion 110 is completed by the decompression process, the ink dispensing needle 920 is inserted into the ink dispensing plug 520, and the ink is dispensed into the frame portion 110 (the ink tank chamber 111) (the ink dispensing process). The interior of the reservoir chamber 111 is depressurized, thus quickly dispensing ink into the reservoir chamber 111, and when a prescribed amount of ink has been dispensed, the dispensing needle 920 is removed and the ink dispensing process is complete. The air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111 after the ink is dispensed is the air pressure p1 (first pressure). Further, the "prescribed ink amount" refers to an ink amount in which the ink level I falls below the second atmosphere communication hole 435 and the third atmosphere communication hole 436 of the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430, as shown in fig. 37 (c). Therefore, when the ink is dispensed, the ink can be prevented from permeating into the atmosphere connection path 433. As described above, at the time of dispensing ink into the tank chamber 111, the feeding of ink is not performed to such an extent that no usable space remains in the tank chamber 111, with the object of preventing damage or deformation of the film 160. Further, the area below the ink level I shown in fig. 37(c) is an ink space in which ink is stored, and the space above the ink level I and the space including the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 are atmosphere communication spaces (reduced pressure spaces), but the shapes and sizes of the ink space and the atmosphere communication spaces vary depending on the state in which the ink cartridge 14 is placed and the amount of remaining ink.

The ink is dispensed in a state where the inside of the tank chamber 111 is depressurized by the depressurizing device 910, and therefore, even after the ink dispensing is completed, the air pressure inside the tank chamber 111 is in a depressurized state (air pressure p 1). Therefore, there is a case where a subsequent decompression process is not required after the ink dispensing process. If the subsequent decompression process is not performed, the manufacturing process can be simplified. However, the air pressure p1 inside the reservoir chamber 111 after ink dispensing is not necessarily within the prescribed range, and therefore, in this embodiment, the subsequent decompression process is performed so as to adjust the air pressure to a level within the prescribed range (so as to confirm that the air pressure is within the prescribed range).

Here, although not shown in these drawings, a subsequent decompression process performed after the ink is dispensed will be explained. This subsequent depressurization process is performed using the ink dispensing needle 920 inserted into the ink dispensing plug 520. In other words, a supply means (not shown in the figure) of ink supply and a decompression means (not shown in the figure) that reduces the pressure by sucking out the atmosphere inside the frame portion 110 are connected to the ink distributing needle 920, and once the ink is completely dispensed, the flow passage is cut off and decompression by the decompression means is started. The air pressure p3 (third pressure) inside the reservoir chamber 111 after the subsequent depressurization is lower than the air pressure p1 inside the reservoir chamber 111 after ink dispensing. Therefore, the amount of gas inside the reservoir chamber 111 is further reduced by the subsequent decompression process, so that it is possible to prevent bubbles from being generated inside the ink, and it is possible to avoid deterioration in printing quality due to bubbles. Also, the ink flowing at the time of the ink dispensing process collides against the inner surface inside the tank chamber 111, and therefore bubbles are more likely to be generated, but the bubbles generated at this time can also be removed by the decompression process. Further, the apparatus may be configured such that: a decompression needle (not shown in the drawing) for performing subsequent decompression is provided separately from the ink dispensing needle 920, and decompression is performed by inserting the decompression needle after removing the ink dispensing needle 920.

As shown in fig. 17, in the dispensing passage forming portion 450, the opening of the second dispensing communication hole 454 is provided above the ink level I (the top of fig. 17 (a)), and therefore, even in the case of subsequent decompression with the decompression means, the ink is never sucked out to the outside through the dispensing channel. Therefore, the dispensed amount of ink never changes due to subsequent decompression, and therefore a prescribed amount of ink can be reliably dispensed.

Although not shown in these drawings, at the completion of ink dispensing (or decompression), the dispensing plug 520 is compressed until it comes into contact with the bottom portion 451b of the dispensing cylinder portion 451 (end face on the ink tank chamber 111 side). Therefore, after the ink dispensing plug 520 is pressed onto the bottom portion 451b of the dispensing cylinder portion 451, the first dispensing communication hole 452 is blocked by the outer circumferential surface of the ink dispensing plug 520, and therefore, even in the case where the dispensing needle is inserted erroneously again, ink is not dispensed. In other words, in the manufacturing process of the ink cartridge 14, the dispensing process can be prevented from being performed twice, and defective products can be prevented from occurring.

As shown in fig. 38(a), upon completion of ink dispensing (or decompression), the manufacture of the reservoir element 110 is completed, and thus the case 200 is then assembled (case 200 assembling process). The housing 200 (the first and second housing members 210 and 220) is molded by injection molding, and the housing 200 is manufactured in advance (a third molding process).

As described above, in the assembly of the cover 200, the rod members 215a to 215c of the first case member 210 are inserted into the three through holes 460a to 460c (the through holes 460b and 460c refer to fig. 14) formed on the outer peripheral portion of the frame portion 110, and thus the ink tank element 110 is mounted in the first case member 210. At this time, the ink supply portion 120 (supply cap 600) and the atmosphere intake portion 130 (atmosphere cap 700) are engaged with the case cutout portions 211 and 212, respectively, and the outer wall of the ink supply portion 120 (outer peripheral surface of the supply cap 600) and the outer wall of the atmosphere intake portion 130 (outer peripheral surface of the atmosphere cap 700) are in contact with the contact grooves 211a and 212 a. The second housing member 220 is then attached so that the housing fitting hole portions 225a to 225c (not shown in this figure) of the second housing member 220 are engaged with the lever members 215a to 215c of the first housing member 210. At this time, the ink supply portion 120 (supply cap 600) and the atmosphere air intake portion 130 (atmosphere cap 700) are engaged with the case cutout portions 221 and 222 of the second case member 220, respectively, and the outer wall of the ink supply portion 120 (outer circumferential surface of the supply cap 600) and the outer wall of the atmosphere air intake portion 130 (outer circumferential surface of the atmosphere cap 700) are in contact with the contact grooves 221a and 222 a.

As shown in fig. 38(b), when the assembly (assembling process) of the first and second housings 210 and 220 is completed, the first and second housing members 210 and 220 are welded to each other (housing 200 welding process). In the welding process of the first and second case members 210 and 220, the first case welding portion 216 of the first case member 210 and the first case welding portion 226 of the second case member 220 are welded together, and the second case welding portion 217 of the first case member 210 and the second case welding portion 227 of the second case member 220 are welded together (the portions shown by oblique lines in fig. 38(b) are welded together). In this embodiment, all of the first and second welding portions 226 and 227 are welded together during the welding of the case 200, but alternatively, some portions may be partially welded. In other words, any welding range or welding method may be employed as long as these portions are welded so that the case 200 does not peel off during transportation and does not easily peel off due to human behavior.

In this embodiment, the first and second case members 210 and 220 are assembled after ink is dispensed into the ink tank element 100, and then the first and second case members 210 and 220 are welded, so vibrations due to ultrasonic welding are absorbed by the ink. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a situation in which the welded portion of the frame portion 110 or the film 160 is damaged or the film 160 is peeled off due to vibration accompanying the welding of the case 200. Also, when the welded portions of the first and second case members 210 and 220 are partially welded, vibration due to ultrasonic welding is reduced, and thus damage to the respective portions or peeling of the film 160 can be further reduced.

As shown in fig. 38(b), case protruding portions 214a and 224a (the case protruding portion 214a is not shown in the drawing) and case protruding portions 214b and 224b (the case protruding portion 214b is not shown in the drawing) protrude outward from the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 14 is to be mounted in the inkjet recording apparatus 1, even in the case where the ink cartridge 14 is dropped, the case protruding portions 214a, 214b, 224a, and 224b hit the ground, and therefore the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 can be prevented from being damaged. In addition, the opening of the atmospheric air intake passage or the ink supply passage can also be prevented, and therefore, ink leakage can be prevented.

As shown in fig. 39(a), when the welding process of the case 200 is completed, the protector 300 is attached to the case 200 (protector 300 attaching process). When the ink cartridge 14 is attached to the multifunction device 1 (see fig. 1), the protector 300 is removed, and therefore the protector 300 is configured so that it can be freely attached and detached. As described above, the protrusion portions 330a1 and 330b1 of the protector 300 engage with the through-holes formed by the case body protruding slit portions 214a and 224a (see fig. 8) of the first and second case members 210 and 220 and the through-holes formed by the case body protruding slit portions 214b and 224b of the first and second case members 210 and 220, and thus connect the protector 300 to the case 200. Since the second protector engaging portions 330a and 330b of the protector 300 are elastically deformed in directions away from each other, the protector 300 can be easily attached and detached.

As shown in fig. 39(b), when the connection (connecting process) of the protector 300 is completed, the ink cartridge 14 is housed inside the packaging bag 930 to transport the ink cartridge 14 (housing process). The interior of the packaging bag 930 is then decompressed by the decompression device 940 (a process of decompressing the packaging space of the packaging bag 930). The packaging bag 930 is a bag member having one open end (the end on the left front side of fig. 39 (b)), and in the packaging process, all other open portions except the opening 931 are ultrasonically welded in a state of surrounding the ink cartridge 14. A suction pipe 941 of the pressure reducing device 940 is inserted through the opening 931 and the atmosphere inside the packaging bag 930 is sucked and reduced by operating a suction pump (P2) 942. The air pressure of the packaging bag 930 is at a level lower than the atmospheric pressure due to this depressurization, but the air pressure of the packaging bag 930 is reduced to an air pressure p2 (second pressure) lower than the reduced air pressure p3 inside the reservoir chamber 111 (or the air pressure p1 when the subsequent depressurization process is not performed). When the decompression by the decompression device 940 is completed, the suction pipe 941 is removed and the opening 931 is welded, resulting in a state where the ink cartridge 14 can be transported. The relationship between the gas pressures p1 to p3 is the relationship p2 < p3 < p 1.

Since the air pressure inside the packaging bag 930 is lower than the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111 by the packaging space decompression process, the film 160 of the ink cartridge 14 can be plastically deformed on the packaging bag 930 side (the case 200 side). If the air pressure inside the package bag 930 is higher than the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111, the film 160 sometimes hardens and loses flexibility or is damaged in a state where the inside of the reservoir chamber 111 is depressurized when the ink cartridge 14 is not used for a long time. When the film 160 loses flexibility, the shape of the reservoir chamber 111 does not change, and the air pressure becomes uneven, so that ink cannot be supplied accurately. Also, when the film 160 is damaged, the ink inside the reservoir chamber 111 flows to the outside of the ink cartridge 14. However, in this embodiment, the inside of the packaging bag 930 is depressurized so that the air pressure is lower than the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111, and therefore the film 160 can be deformed (recoverable) on the packaging bag 930 side. Therefore, even in the case where the ink cartridge is not used for a long time, it is possible to reduce the case where ink cannot be accurately supplied due to the curing of the thin film 160, and it is possible to prevent the thin film 160 from being damaged.

Because the air pressure inside the packaging bag 930 is made lower than the air pressure inside the reservoir chamber 111, the gas remaining inside the reservoir chamber 111 (there is a slight amount of gas remaining due to the subsequent depressurization process performed previously) can gradually move outside the reservoir chamber 111. This is because the film 160 is formed of relatively gas-permeable nylon polyethylene as described above, so the gas pressure in the space inside the reservoir chamber 111 and the gas pressure in the spaces inside the packaging bag 930 and outside the reservoir chamber 111 attempt to transition to an equilibrium state, and thus gas moves from inside the reservoir chamber 111 to outside. Therefore, degassing of the ink stored in the tank chamber 111 is promoted, and it is more difficult to generate bubbles, so that the printing quality can be well maintained.

In this embodiment, in the state where the protector 300 is attached to the case 200, the ink cartridge 14 is packed in the packing bag 930 and depressurized, and therefore, when the packing bag 930 is deformed due to depressurization, it never comes into direct contact with the atmospheric air intake portion 130 (or the ink supply portion 120). The valve opening portion 721a protrudes to the outside of the atmosphere intake portion 130, and therefore, if the packing bag 930 is in direct contact with the valve opening portion 721a, the valve opening portion 721a is operated and the atmosphere intake passage is sometimes opened. If the atmospheric air intake passage is open, ink inside the reservoir chamber 111 leaks. Also, the atmospheric air intake part 130 and the ink supply part 120 are sometimes damaged by deformation of the packing bag 930. However, in this embodiment, the protector 300 is attached to the housing 200, and therefore the atmospheric air intake portion 130 and the ink supply portion 120 can be prevented from being damaged, and the atmospheric air intake passage can be prevented from being opened.

As described above, the ink cartridge 14 is manufactured in a process in which the case 200 is soldered to the ink tank element 100 after ink is dispensed inside the ink tank chamber 111 of the frame portion 110. In the case of some conventional ink cartridges, ink is dispensed from outside the housing after the ink reservoir element is covered with the housing (after the assembly of the ink cartridge is completely finished). In the case of such a conventional ink cartridge, it is necessary to prepare the frame and the case according to the amount of ink stored and the ink color. However, in this embodiment, the case 200 is covered after ink is dispensed into the reservoir chamber 111 of the reservoir element 100, so that a common part can be used for the reservoir element 100. In other words, the ink tank element 100 can be used in common even in the case where the shapes of the housings are different. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the ink cartridge 14 can be reduced.

Also, in the ink cartridge 14, the ink dispensing part 150 (ink dispensing plug 520) is completely hidden by the case 200 so that the ink dispensing part 150 cannot be seen from the outside, and thus it is possible to prevent a problem that ink is splashed to the outside due to the user accidentally removing the ink dispensing plug 520.

Next, a method of installing the ink cartridge 14 into the multifunction device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 40. Fig. 40 is a view showing a method of mounting the ink cartridge 14 into the multifunction device 1.

When the ink cartridge 14 is to be attached to the multifunction device 1, the packaging bag 930 is first broken, and the ink cartridge 14 is taken out from the inside of the packaging bag 930. The protector 300 is then removed from the housing 200. The direction in which each ink cartridge 14 (color, black, and large capacity black) is mounted into the multifunction device 1 is the same.

First, the internal structure of the refill unit 13 of the multi-function device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 40 (a). In the refill unit 13, as described above, the needle 49 is provided at the lower portion of the back surface 56 side of the casing 40, and the needle 49 protrudes in the mounting direction F (arrow F in fig. 40 (a)) of the ink cartridge 14. As is clear from FIG. 40(c), this mounting direction F is parallel to the longitudinal direction (the direction of arrow B; the X direction) of the ink cartridge 14 mounted into the refill unit 13. A remaining ink detection sensor 57 is provided above the needle 49. The remaining ink detection sensor 57 is formed roughly in a horseshoe shape facing leftward, and an open end of the horseshoe shape is a light emitting portion 57a that emits light, and the other end is a light receiving portion 57b that receives light (not shown in the figure). The light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b are inserted into through holes formed by the case cutout portions 213 and 223 and the detecting portion 140, respectively, and are connected such that the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b protrude from the back surface 56. The remaining ink detection sensor 57 is configured such that: when the light receiving portion 57b receives the light emitted from the light emitting portion 57a, no signal is output (or output) to the control device provided on the multifunction device 1, and when the light emitted from the light emitting portion 57a is blocked and is not received by the light receiving portion 57b, a signal is output (or no signal is output) to the control device.

As shown in fig. 40(a), when the ink cartridge 14 (in a state where the protector 300 is removed) is to be mounted in the multifunction device 1, the ink cartridge 14 is mounted so that the ink supply portion 120 is located below the atmospheric air intake portion 130. This state is the normal mounting position (or first position) of the ink cartridge 14.

Further, in a state where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multi-function device 1, the ink supply portion 120, the detection portion 140, and the atmosphere intake portion 130 are arranged in order from the bottom to the top, and the ink supply portion 120, the detection portion 140, and the atmosphere intake portion 130 are formed on a single end surface. As is clear from fig. 40(b), the single end face is one side face of the casing 200 that is disposed forward in the mounting direction F when the ink cartridge 14 is in the normal mounting position. Therefore, since the ink supply portion 120, the detection portion 140, and the atmosphere air intake portion 130 are disposed so that they are concentrated on a single end surface (disposed close to each other), the remaining ink detection sensor 57, the needle 49, and the passage 54 required on the multifunction device 1 side can be merged (disposed close to each other) onto a single surface (the back surface 56). If the ink supply portion 120 is provided on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 14 and the detection portion 140 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 are provided on the side surface of the ink cartridge 14, it is necessary to set up the needle 49 on the bottom surface side of the housing 40 of the refill unit 13 and the remaining ink detection sensor 57 and the passage 54 on the side surface (back surface 56) side of the housing 40, and the scale of the multifunction device 1 is increased by providing these components, so as to be diversified (provided relatively far apart from each other). However, in this embodiment, these portions are combined (disposed close to each other), and therefore the scale of the multifunction device 1 can be reduced.

The ink supply portion 120 and the detection portion 140 are sequentially provided on a single end surface from bottom to top, and by using the sensor arm 470 for detecting the remaining ink, the full use of ink can be improved. This is due to the following reason.

In detecting the remaining ink amount by irradiating a portion of the ink cartridge (corresponding to the detection portion 140 in this embodiment) with a photodetector (corresponding to the remaining ink detection sensor 57 in this embodiment), if a method of directly detecting the presence of ink (a method of detecting the remaining ink amount according to the presence or absence of ink in the optical path of the photodetector) is employed, a structure in which both the ink supply opening (corresponding to the ink supply portion 120 in this embodiment) and the irradiated portion irradiated by the photodetector (the detection portion 140) are provided on a single end face as in this embodiment cannot sufficiently utilize ink. In other words, with the structure in which the irradiated portion is disposed below the ink supply opening, the position of the ink supply opening becomes relatively high, and therefore the ink stored below the ink supply opening remains, and therefore the consumption efficiency becomes small. With the structure in which the irradiated portion is disposed above the ink supply opening, the position of the irradiated portion becomes relatively high, and therefore, a large amount of ink remains when the absence of ink is detected by the photodetector, and the amount of ink remaining when the absence of ink is notified to the user based on the detection result of the photodetector becomes large. However, in this embodiment, the sensor arm 470 is used, and therefore, even if the irradiated portion is disposed in a relatively high position, missing ink can be detected in synchronization with the timing at which the actual amount of remaining ink becomes low, and the ink supply opening is disposed in a low position, and therefore, there is almost no remaining ink (the description is given at an inappropriate position, but a detailed description will be given below of a remaining ink detection method using the sensor arm 470).

As long as the ink cartridge is structured such that the ink supply opening is provided on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge and the irradiated portion is provided on the side surface of the ink cartridge, the ink is fully utilized even in the case of adopting a method of directly detecting the presence of the ink. However, in this case, there is a separate problem that the multifunction device 1 is increased in size. In other words, it is only with the invention described in this embodiment that it is possible to achieve both reduction in the scale of the multifunction device 1 and improvement in the full utilization of ink.

As shown in fig. 40(a), the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the process of inserting the case protruding portions 214a and 224a (the first case welding portions 216 and 226) of the case 200 to slide on the door main body 60, and the back side of the ink cartridge 14 is pushed in the mounting direction F until most of the ink cartridge 14 is inserted into the refill unit 13. Also, as described above, the inclined surfaces 214a2 and 224a2 are formed on the case projecting portions 214a and 224a, and therefore the ink cartridge 14 can be inserted smoothly due to these inclined surfaces 214a2 and 224a 2. As shown in fig. 40(a), a part of the back surface of the ink cartridge 14 is a pushing portion 200a, and this is a portion that is pushed to come into contact with the pressure holding member 61.

As shown in fig. 40(b), when the ink cartridge 14 is in a state where it is pushed in the mounting direction F inside the refill unit 13, the protrusion 55 is fitted into the groove formed by the case fitting grooves 214b2 and 224b 2. In addition, the tip of the needle 49 is disposed inside the supply cap 600 of the ink supply portion 120. The movement of the ink cartridge 14 in the horizontal direction (the direction from the front side toward the rear side in fig. 40 (b)) is restricted by the protrusion 55 and the engaging grooves 214b2 and 224b2, and the movement in the vertical direction is restricted by the bottom plate portion 42 and the top plate portion 44 of the refill unit 13, so that the oblique insertion of the ink cartridge 14 can be prevented, and the remaining ink detection sensor 57 and the needle 49 can be prevented from being damaged.

When the door member 60 is rotated in the arrow direction shown in fig. 40(b) from the state of fig. 40(b), the pressing holding member 61 of the door member 60 contacts the pushing portion 200a forming a part of the back surface of the ink cartridge 14, thereby pushing the ink cartridge 14 in the mounting direction F. As the door member 60 is further rotated, the door lock member 62 of the door member 60 is fitted into the lock member fitting portion 46 of the refill unit 13, whereby the mounting of the ink cartridge 14 is completed (the state of fig. 40 (c)). The midpoint p shown in fig. 40(c) is the center position in the vertical direction (height direction) of the ink cartridge 14. The position at which the holding member 61 is pushed against the pushing portion 200a is a position including and extending below the midpoint p of the ink cartridge 14. In other words, the urging portion 200a is disposed at a position above the ink supply portion 120 and below the atmospheric air intake portion 130 in the vertical direction. Although illustration and explanation of this point will be omitted, when the state of fig. 40(c) is reached, the tip of the swing arm mechanism 44b fits into the latch portions 217a and 227a, and holds the ink cartridge 14.

Once the mounting of the ink cartridge 14 is completed, the needle 49 is inserted into the ink supply portion 120 and ink can be supplied; the valve opening portion 721a of the atmospheric air intake portion 130 contacts the back surface 56 of the housing 40, thereby enabling the intake of atmospheric air; and the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is inserted through the through hole formed by the case cutout portions 213 and 223 and the detecting portion 140, so that the remaining ink amount can be detected. Details of this point will be explained later.

In addition, since the remaining ink sensor 57 is inserted through the through-hole formed by the case cutout portions 213 and 223 and the detection portion 140 when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the refill unit 13, the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 become located inside the case 200. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the remaining ink detection sensor 57 and to prevent erroneous detection due to dirt, dust, or the like adhering to the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57 b.

In addition, since the pushing and holding member 61 is urged by the coil spring 66 as described above, it can stably hold the ink cartridge 14. When the ink cartridge 14 has been mounted (or is being mounted) in the refill unit 13, the elastic forces of the spring members 630, 650, 730, and 750 of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 act in a direction away from the side where the needle 49 is disposed (leftward in fig. 40; in a direction opposite to the mounting direction). As described above, the pushing and holding member 61 is configured to have an elastic force larger than the sum of the elastic forces generated by the spring members 630, 650, 730, and 750, and therefore the ink cartridge 14 can be stably held once the ink cartridge 14 has been mounted. In addition, the pushing portion 200a, which is pressed by the pushing and holding member 61, is provided substantially in the middle between the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130, thereby allowing a substantially uniform elastic force to be applied to the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130. This is because the ink cartridge 14 is held at three points in the mounting direction of the ink cartridge 14, one point in front of the refill unit 13 (pushing the holding member 61), and two points behind the refill unit 13 (the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130), wherein imaginary lines connecting these three points form a substantially isosceles triangle shape. Therefore, holding the ink cartridge 14 by three points allows the ink cartridge 14 to be stably held. In addition, since the elastic force that pushes the holding member 61 serves to hold the ink cartridge 14, the load on the surface of the ink cartridge 14 is reduced as compared with the case where the mechanical structure of the ink cartridge 14 is fixed by engaging with the surface of the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, damage to the ink cartridge 14 due to an excessive load being applied can be prevented.

Further, since the push holding member 61 is pushed below the intermediate position (midpoint p) in the height direction of the ink cartridge 14, a large force is not required to operate the door member 60, and the ink cartridge 14 can be stably held at a predetermined position. The rotation pivot of the door member 60 is located at the lower portion of the case 40, and a user performs an operation of opening and closing the door member by manipulating an edge portion of the door member 60. Therefore, if the pushing portion 200a is disposed at the upper portion of the back surface of the ink cartridge 14, the point of action of pushing the ink cartridge 14 by pushing the holding member 61 will be located at a distance from the rotation pivot of the door member 60, and therefore the user needs to apply a large force to close the door member. On the other hand, if the pushing portion 200a is arranged at the very lower portion of the back surface, for example, below the ink supply portion 120, the user will be able to close the door member with the minimum force, but since the point at the lower portion of the ink cartridge 14 is pushed, the ink cartridge 14 may sometimes rotate and be pushed obliquely, and therefore the needle 49 may be inserted into the ink supply portion 120 inaccurately. However, according to the present embodiment, since the pushing portion 200a is disposed below the middle position in the height direction of the ink cartridge 14 and above the position corresponding to the ink supply portion 120, a large force is not required to operate the door member, so that the ink cartridge can be stably mounted at the prescribed position.

Here, the operations of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 41. Fig. 41 is a view showing a state where the ink cartridge 14 has been mounted in the multifunction device 1. Since fig. 41 is a view for explaining the operations of the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510, the case 200, the projection 55 of the multifunction device 1, and the like have been omitted from this view.

As shown in fig. 41, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multi-function device 1 (inside the refill unit 13), the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b (not shown) of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 are arranged at positions sandwiching the detection portion 140. The detecting portion 140 is formed of a translucent or transparent resin material so as to allow the light emitted from the light emitting portion 57a of the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 to pass through the detecting portion 140 and be received by the light receiving portion 57 b. As described above, since the shielding arm part 473c of the sensor arm 470 is disposed in the enclosing part 141 of the detection part 140, the remaining ink amount can be detected by the operation of this sensor arm 470. The operation of the sensor arm will be described later.

With the ink supply mechanism 500, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1, the needle 49 is inserted through the space surrounded by the inclined wall 606b of the supply cap 600, the insertion hole 605 of the supply cap 600, and the ink flow channel 615 of the supply joint 600 in this order, and the tip of the needle 49 contacts the valve bottom wall 621 of the supply valve 620, thereby pressing the supply valve 620. Accordingly, the supply valve 620 moves away from the joint contact part 613 of the supply joint 610, thereby forming an ink flow passage. The needle 49 communicates with a discharge opening (not shown) of the multifunction device 1 through the suction opening 52 and the ink tube 53. In addition, in the tip end of the needle 49, a cutout 49a is formed for securing the ink flow passage, so that the ink flow passage is secured by the cutout 49a even in the case where the tip end of the needle 49 contacts the valve bottom wall 621 of the supply valve 620.

Here, the operation of the ink supply mechanism 500 when the supply valve 620 is pressed by the needle 49 will be described. As described above, the first supply spring 630 housed inside the supply valve 620 (and the supply slider 640) has the spring flexible portion 633 that flexes slightly. On the other hand, there is no deflection in the spring flexible portion 653 of the second supply spring 650 disposed on the side of the supply slider 640 opposite to the first supply spring 630. This is because the order of deflection of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 is set. In particular, first supply spring 630 with deflected spring flex sections 633 flexes more easily than second supply spring 650, such that upon insertion of needle 49, first supply spring 630 flexes first, and second supply spring 650 flexes later.

Here, the height of the ink supply mechanism 500 in the direction of the axis O1 includes a dimensional error from the manufacture of each component, and therefore, the more components, the more likely the dimensional error occurs. However, since the supply slider 640 is in contact with the valve hook portion 626 of the valve member 610, an error in at least the dimension of the first supply spring 630 becomes irrelevant. Therefore, the dimensional error of the ink supply mechanism 500 is reduced, and the telescopic operation of the ink supply mechanism 500 becomes more stable.

Further, the inner diameter of the valve outer peripheral wall 622 of the supply valve 620 and the outer diameter of the slider outer peripheral wall 641 of the supply slider 640 are formed to be substantially equal. Therefore, misalignment in the moving direction can be prevented from occurring when the supply slider 640 operates in the direction of the axis O1 of the ink supply mechanism 500. In addition, the inner diameter of the slider outer peripheral wall 641 and the outer diameters of the spring bottoms 631 and 651 of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 are formed to be substantially equal. Therefore, misalignment in a direction perpendicular to the axis O1 (up-down direction in fig. 41) when the first and second spring members 630 and 650 are arranged on the slider seat portion 644 of the supply slider 640 can be reduced. In addition, although the valve peripheral wall 622 of the supply valve 620 is formed in an outer shape slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the ink supply member 116, since the valve protrusion portion 622a is formed outward from the valve peripheral wall 622 of the supply valve 620, it is possible to prevent misalignment in the moving direction when the supply valve 620 is operated in the direction of the axis O1. Therefore, the telescopic operation in the direction of the axis O1 becomes more stable.

In addition, when the valve bottom wall 621 of the supply valve 620 is pressed by the needle 49 and moves in the direction of the valve seat 660 (rightward in fig. 41), along with the movement, the first supply spring 630 is flexibly deformed to be compressed, and then the supply slider 640 moves in the direction of the valve seat 660 (the direction opposite to the advancing direction of the first supply spring 630 and the second supply spring 650), and the second supply spring undergoes flexible deformation. This state is the state shown in fig. 41.

Once the ink cartridge 14 has been mounted in the housing 40 of the multifunction device 1, the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 also undergo elastic deformation, thereby forming the ink flow passage K indicated by the arrow K. The ink flow passage K is a flow passage formed between the reservoir chamber 111 (see fig. 14), the second supply communication hole 423, the first supply communication hole 421, the first cover through hole 683 (and the second cover through hole 684) of the cover 680, the first and second valve seat through holes 662b and 663 of the valve seat 660, the valve seat communication groove 664 of the valve seat 660, the ink flow passage 654 of the second supply spring 650, the slider through hole 645 of the supply slider 640, the ink flow passage 634 of the first supply spring member 630, the first spring member 930, and the valve support portion 628, and is a flow passage that leads successively through the ink flow passage 627 of the supply valve 620, the cutout 49a of the needle 49, and the interior of the needle 49. The space between the valve peripheral wall 622 of the supply valve 620 and the inner peripheral surface of the ink supply member 116 is also an ink flow passage.

Here, the operation of the supply joint 610 when the needle 49 is inserted inside the supply joint 610 will be explained. When the needle 49 is press-fitted into the protrusion portion flow passage 615b through the stepped portion flow passage 615a, the joint protrusion portion 614 is pulled by the needle 49 due to friction between its own inner circumferential surface 614a and the outer circumferential surface of the needle 49, and moves (moves into the contact portion flow passage 615 c) in the insertion direction (rightward in fig. 41) of the needle 49. Here, the joint contact portion 613 has a structure cut in a countersunk shape, and therefore, the movement of the joint protrusion portion 614 in the insertion direction of the needle 49 is not directly transmitted to the tip 613a of the joint contact portion 613. In other words, the tip 613a of the joint contact portion 613 is difficult to move in the insertion direction, but moves slightly in the direction away from the needle 49. Accordingly, the shape change of the supply joint 610 accompanying the insertion of the needle 49 causes the joint contact portions 613 to move away from each other. Assuming that the shape of the joint contact portion 613 has a gently inclined surface extending from the inner peripheral surface 614a of the joint protrusion portion 614 to the tip 613a of the joint contact portion 613, upon insertion of the needle 49, the joint protrusion portion 614 will be deformed so as to move in the insertion direction of the needle 49, the deformation of the joint protrusion portion 614 will be directly transmitted to the joint contact portion 613, and the joint contact portion 613 will move in the insertion direction together with the joint protrusion portion 614. Therefore, the insertion stroke of the needle 49 for forming the ink flow passage between the supply valve 620 and the joint contact portion 613 will be lengthened, and therefore the needle 49 will have to be made longer. In addition, since the needle 49 becomes long, it becomes more likely to be damaged by contact with other members, and the length of the ink supply mechanism 500 in the direction of the axis O1 becomes long, thus increasing its size. However, in the present embodiment, since the joint contact portion 613 is moved in the direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion direction of the needle 49, it is not necessary to make the stroke for forming the ink flow passage long. Therefore, the contact of the needle 49 with other members can be reduced, thereby reducing damage and reducing the increase in size of the ink supply mechanism 500.

When the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multifunction device 1, the needle 49 is withdrawn, and then the valve bottom wall 621 of the supply valve 620 contacts the joint contact portion 613, thereby blocking the ink flow passage K. Here, the second supply spring 650 becomes sufficiently stretched, and the first supply spring 630 returns to a slightly deflected deformed state.

When the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multi-function device 1, as the needle 49 is drawn out, the ink present near the ink flow passage 615 (the contact portion flow passage 615c and the protrusion portion flow passage 615b) of the supply joint 610 flows toward the ink cap 600 (leftward in fig. 41) and flows out into the stepped portion flow passage 615 a. However, since the amount of ink flowing out into the stepped-portion flow path 615a is minute, the ink is held by the capillary force of the stepped portion of the stepped-portion flow path 615a, so that the ink outflow to the outside of the ink cartridge 14 can be reduced. In addition, even if ink flows out from the stepped-portion flow path 615a, since the opening portion of the ink storage portion 602 of the supply cap 600 is wider than the opening 612c of the stepped-portion flow path 615a, the flowing-out ink flows into the ink storage portion 607 of the ink supply cap 600. Therefore, the ink can be reliably prevented from flowing out of the ink cartridge 14.

Next, the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 side will be explained. In the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1, the valve opening portion 721a of the atmospheric valve 720 contacts the back surface 56 of the case 40, thereby pressing the atmospheric valve 720. Accordingly, the atmosphere valve 720 moves away from the joint contact portion 713 of the atmosphere joint 710, thereby forming an atmosphere intake passage L as indicated by an arrow L in these drawings. In addition, when the valve opening portion 721a of the atmosphere valve 720 contacts the back face 56 and is pressed by the back face 56, the joint skirt 714 of the atmosphere joint 710 contacts the back face 56, and the joint skirt 714 undergoes flexible deformation so as to expand (or contract) in diameter. As a result, the fitting skirt 714 becomes tightly held on the back face 56, thereby blocking the outside and inside of the fitting skirt 714. In the rear surface 56 on the inner side of the joint skirt 714, a passage 54 for drawing in atmospheric air is formed, and atmospheric air is introduced into the tank chamber 111 through this passage 54.

The operation of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 when the atmospheric valve 720 is pressed will be explained. As described above, the first atmosphere spring 730 housed inside the atmosphere valve 720 (and the atmosphere slider 740) has the spring flexible portion 733 that is slightly deflected, while there is no deflection in the spring flexible portion 753 of the second atmosphere spring 750. Therefore, the deflection sequence is also determined for the first and second atmospheric springs 730 and 750.

The inner diameter of the valve outer peripheral wall 722 of the atmosphere valve 720 is substantially equal to the outer diameter of the slider outer peripheral wall 741 of the atmosphere slider 740. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of misalignment in the moving direction when the atmosphere slider 740 is operated in the direction of the axis O2 of the atmosphere intake mechanism 510. In addition, the inner diameter of the slider outer peripheral wall 741 and the outer diameters of the spring bottoms 731 and 751 of the first and second atmospheric spring members 730 and 750 are formed to be substantially equal. Therefore, it is possible to prevent misalignment in a direction (up-down direction in fig. 41) perpendicular to the axis O2 when the first and second atmosphere springs 730 and 750 are arranged on the slider seat portion 744 of the atmosphere slider 740.

In addition, although the valve peripheral wall 722 of the atmosphere valve 720 is formed to have an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the atmosphere air intake member 117, since the valve projecting portion 722a is formed outwardly from the valve peripheral wall 722 of the atmosphere valve 720, misalignment in the moving direction can be prevented when the atmosphere valve 720 is operated in the direction of the axis O2. Therefore, the telescopic operation in the direction along the axis O2 of the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 is stabilized.

In addition, when the atmosphere valve 720 is pressed by the valve opening portion 721a and moves in the direction of the protrusion portion 811 (rightward in fig. 41) with the movement, the first atmosphere spring 730 undergoes flexible deformation to be compressed, and when the atmosphere valve 720 is pressed, the atmosphere slider 740 moves in the direction of the protrusion portion 811 and the second atmosphere spring 750 undergoes flexible deformation. This state is the state shown in fig. 41.

The first and second atmospheric springs 730 and 750 also undergo elastic deformation when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the casing 40 of the multifunction device 1, thereby forming an atmospheric air intake passage L indicated by an arrow L. The atmosphere intake passage L is a flow passage which successively passes through passages formed between the joint passage 715 of the atmosphere joint 710, the atmosphere intake passage 727 of the atmosphere valve 720, the first atmosphere spring 730 and the valve supporting portion 728; a passage formed between the ink flow path 734 of the first atmosphere spring 730, the slider through-hole 745 of the atmosphere slider 740, the ink flow path 754 of the second atmosphere spring 750, the spring top 752 of the second atmosphere spring 750, and the protrusion portion 811; and a first atmosphere communication hole 434. The flow channel is the main flow channel through which most atmospheric air flows. In addition, a space between the valve outer peripheral wall 722 of the atmosphere valve 720 and the inner peripheral surface 810 of the atmosphere air intake member 117 also forms a part of the atmosphere air intake passage. Subsequently, as shown in fig. 16, the atmosphere passes through the first atmosphere communication chamber 431, the communication opening 433a, the atmosphere connection passage 433, the communication opening 433b, the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, the second atmosphere communication hole 435, and the third atmosphere communication hole 436, and is received into the inside of the tank chamber 111. When the atmospheric air intake passage L is opened, air is drawn in, so that the inside of the tank chamber 111 becomes atmospheric pressure.

As described above, the ink flow passage K and the atmospheric air intake passage L are formed when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1. In addition, the ink supply mechanism 500 and the atmospheric air intake mechanism 510 operate such that they operate smoothly and do not become misaligned with respect to the axes O1 and O2. Therefore, the mounting of the ink cartridge 14 is made easier while allowing ink supply and atmospheric air suction to be performed reliably.

Next, a method of detecting the remaining amount of ink in the tank chamber 111 will be described with reference to fig. 42 and 43. Fig. 42 is a view showing the operation of the sensor arm 470 according to the remaining ink amount in the reservoir chamber 111. Fig. 42(a) shows a state with ink remaining, and fig. 42(b) shows a state without ink remaining (ink shortage). Fig. 43 is a view schematically showing the operation principle of the sensor arm 470.

The rotation direction of the sensor arm 470 is determined by the resultant force of buoyancy and gravity acting on the right side portion (on the shielding arm portion 473c side) and the left side (on the balancing portion 471 side). However, for simplicity of explanation, it will now be assumed that all the forces exerted on the sensor arm 470 act on the balancing part 471. That is, in this description, the buoyancy and gravity acting on the portions of the sensor arm 470 other than the equilibrium portion 471 are ignored. Instead, it is considered that the buoyancy and gravity received by the entire sensor arm 470 act on the equilibrium portion 471. Under this assumption, the rotation of the sensor arm 470 is determined by the buoyancy and gravity acting on the balancing part 471. As shown in fig. 42(a), in a state where a large amount of ink is stored in the tank chamber 111 (in a state where the stored ink is located at least above the level at which the lower ends of the inner peripheral welded portions 415a, 415b, 416a, and 416b are located), since the equilibrium portion 471 of the sensor arm 470 is formed of a resin material having a specific gravity lower than that of the ink, the buoyancy generated on the equilibrium portion 471 is increased, and the equilibrium portion 471 floats in the ink. As shown in fig. 42(a), when the equilibrium portion 471 is positioned inside the ink, the resultant force of gravity and buoyancy generated on the equilibrium portion 471 causes a rotational force to be received in the clockwise direction (the direction of the arrow G1 in fig. 43), but the shielding arm portion 473c comes into contact with the arm supporting portion 143 rising from the bottom wall 141a of the detection portion 140 (surrounding portion 141), and is thus disposed in a position blocking the optical path between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57. This is a state when ink is present, whereby the controller (not shown) of the multifunction device 1 discriminates the presence of ink.

As the ink inside the tank chamber 111 passes through the ink flow passage K and decreases in number, the ink level I falls. As the ink level I falls, the shielding arm portion 473c floats on the ink level I, and then the equilibrium portion 471 also floats on the ink level I. When the equilibrium portion 471 floats on the ink level I, the buoyancy generated in the equilibrium portion 471 to rotate the sensor arm 470 in the clockwise direction (the direction of the arrow G1 in fig. 43) and the gravity generated in the equilibrium portion 471 to rotate the sensor arm 470 in the counterclockwise direction (the direction of the arrow G2 in fig. 43) cancel each other out, and thus the total resultant force is balanced. Subsequently, as the ink level I further drops, the equilibrium portion 471 follows the downward movement of the ink level I, and therefore the sensor arm 470 rotates counterclockwise. This turning operation causes the shielding arm part 473c to move upward away from the arm supporting part 143, and creates an optical path between the light emitting part 57a and the light receiving part 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57. This state is an ink-deficient state in which the controller (not shown) of the multifunction device 1 discriminates that the ink cartridge is deficient.

In the foregoing description, as shown in fig. 42(b), when almost no ink remains, the equilibrium portion 471 is located near the bottom 400b1 (see fig. 15) of the reservoir chamber 111. Therefore, when the remaining amount of ink in the tank chamber 111 has become low, the ink shortage determination can be correctly made.

As shown in fig. 42(b), some ink remains inside the tank chamber 111 in the ink-deficient state. The ink level I at this time is slightly higher than the portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111. In addition, as described above, the tank chamber 111 and the ink supply portion 120 communicate through the ink supply chamber 426 (see fig. 15) defined by the supply partition 422, and the tank chamber 111 and the ink supply chamber 426 communicate through the second supply communication hole 423 located below the bottom portion 400b1 provided on the supply partition 422. When the ink level I becomes lower than the second supply communication hole 423, the atmosphere enters the region inside the supply partition 422, so that ink cannot be supplied. Therefore, in the present embodiment, in order to detect a state in which ink supply is soon impossible due to "ink shortage", the sensor arm 470 is designed to rotate so that the ink shortage state is detected when the ink level I is located above the second supply communication hole 423. In this way, the second supply communication hole 423 is provided below the portion 400b1 forming the bottom of the tank chamber 111, so that running out of ink before a lack of ink is detected can be reliably prevented. In addition, when the ink-lacking state is discriminated, there is hardly any ink on the bottom 400b1 of the tank chamber 111, and ink remains only inside the recessed portion space 424a, which space 424a is a relatively narrow space formed at a portion below the bottom 400b1 in the tank chamber 111, so that the amount of unused ink remaining when the ink-lacking state is detected is very small, thereby eliminating waste.

Once the ink deficiency determination has been made, to indicate to the user that the device is deficient, a deficiency light is illuminated or a sound is used to inform the user that the device is deficient. It is also possible to use a counter provided in the controller to keep track of the number of times ink has been discharged and to detect the amount of ink remaining by additionally employing a software counter for virtually determining that the device is out of ink.

As shown in fig. 42(a) and 42(b), the connecting position of the connecting shaft 472a of the sensor arm 470 and the arm holding portion 425 of the frame portion 110, that is, the center (pivot) position around which the sensor arm 470 rotates, is disposed below the detecting portion 140 and above the ink supply portion 120, and is disposed rearward (to the left in fig. 42(a) and 42 (b)) of the supply passage forming portion 420 in the mounting direction of the ink cartridge 14. In the present embodiment, the ink supply portion 120, the atmospheric air intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 are disposed together on one side of the ink cartridge 14. This allows various mechanisms (the ink supply mechanism, the atmospheric air intake mechanism, and the remaining ink detection mechanism) to be arranged together on the refill unit 13 of the multi-function device 1, thereby preventing the shape of the refill unit 13 from becoming complicated and also reducing its size. In addition, an ink supply portion 120 as a portion for supplying ink by causing ink to flow out to the multifunction device 1 is preferably disposed at the lower side of the ink cartridge 14 so as to use ink more completely, and an atmosphere intake portion 130 as a portion for sucking atmosphere into the ink cartridge 14 is preferably disposed at the upper side of the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, the detection portion 140 is preferably disposed between the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 from the standpoint of space efficiency. In the ink cartridge 14 of the present embodiment thus configured, if the position of the rotation center of the sensor arm 470 is disposed above the detection portion 140 (or at the same position as the detection portion 140), the length of the space between the balance portion 417 and the connection portion 472 will become large and the sensor arm 470 will become large, and therefore the amount of storable ink will decrease. On the other hand, if the position of the rotation center of the sensor arm 470 is disposed below the ink supply portion 120, the movable range of the balancing portion 471 will become very small, making it difficult to detect a lack of ink. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the rotation center of the sensor arm 470 (the "pivot" constituted by the connecting portion 472) is arranged above the ink supply portion 120 and below the detection portion 140. Therefore, as described above, the lack of ink is reliably detected, and the drop in the capacity of the ink tank due to the increase in the size of the sensor arm 470 is avoided.

In addition, in the ink cartridge 14 of the present embodiment, if the balancing portion 471 is disposed near the supply partition wall 422, the balancing portion 471 will be located near the second supply communication hole 423, and vibration caused by the operation of the balancing portion 471 will be transmitted to the ink, thereby hindering the ink flow. Specifically, if the ink level I fluctuates, atmospheric air may enter the inside of the supply partition wall 422 through the second supply communication hole 423, thereby hindering ink supply. Conversely, disposing the balancing portion 471 very far from the supply partition wall 422 would make the arm portion 473 larger, and therefore the balancing portion 471 would also have to be made larger to ensure the buoyancy of the balancing portion 471. Therefore, the amount of ink that can be stored in the reservoir chamber 111 will decrease. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the position of the rotation center of the sensor arm 470 is disposed near the supply partition wall 422, and the equilibrium portion 471 is disposed at the middle of the ink tank chamber 111 in the Y direction, thereby avoiding the above-described enlargement of the sensor arm and the adverse effect on the ink flow.

When the sensor arm 470 is attached to the arm holding part 425 and when ink is available, as shown in fig. 42(a), the tip end face (upper end face in fig. 42) of the shielding arm part 473c is disposed substantially parallel to the ink liquid surface. In this state, when the ink level falls and reaches the same position as the tip end surface of the shielding arm part 473c, the surface tension of the ink serves as a force to hold the shielding arm 473. If the force with which the ink surface tension keeps the shielding arm part 473c larger than the buoyancy of the balance part 473a, the sensor arm 470 will not operate properly.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the tip end surface outside the detection part 140 forming the shielding arm part 473c is given an angle inclined downward, thereby reducing the portion of the shielding arm part 473c that is substantially parallel to the ink liquid surface. Therefore, the force exerted on the shielding arm part 473c by the ink surface tension can be reduced, allowing the sensor arm 470 to operate normally.

Here, a case where the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the wrong orientation will be discussed with reference to fig. 44. Fig. 44 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1 in a wrong orientation.

As shown in fig. 44, when the ink cartridge 14 is inserted into the housing, if the top and bottom are inverted relative to the proper mounting orientation, the top ends of the housing extensions 214a and 224a will hit the top ends of the projections 55. When the top and bottom are mounted upside down from the correct mounting orientation, the ink supply portion 120 will be located above the atmospheric air intake portion 130, resulting in an incorrect orientation (or second orientation) with respect to the correct mounting orientation.

As seen in fig. 44, the total protrusion distance t9, including the protrusion distance of protrusion 55 from back side 56 of housing 40 and the protrusion distance of housing extensions 214a and 224a from housing 200, is longer than the protrusion distance t8 of needle 49 from needle forming member 48. Providing the difference between the projecting distance t8 and the projecting distance t9 prevents contact between the tip of the valve opening portion 721a projecting outward from the atmospheric air intake portion 130 and the tip of the needle 49. The needle 49 is a member for drawing out the ink inside the ink cartridge 14 and supplying the ink to an inkjet recording head (not shown), and therefore if there is a case where the needle 49 is damaged or deformed, the ink is not accurately supplied, and printing is not accurately performed. Therefore, it is not desirable that the needle 49 be damaged or deformed due to collision of the needle 49 and the valve opening portion 721 a. However, as described above, by providing the difference between the projecting distance t8 and the projecting distance t9, collision between the needle 49 and the valve opening portion 721a can be prevented, and therefore damage or deformation of the needle 49 can be prevented, and reliable supply of ink is allowed.

In addition, the through hole (detection window) formed by the detection portion 140 and the case cutouts 213 and 223 is slightly off-centered in the vertical direction (up-down direction in fig. 44), so that when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted upside down with respect to the proper mounting orientation, the remaining ink detection sensor 57 may collide against the outer wall of the case 200, which may damage the remaining ink detection sensor 57. However, since a difference is provided between the projecting distance t8 and the projecting distance t9, damage to the remaining ink detection sensor 57 due to collision with the outer wall of the housing 200 can be prevented, so that the amount of remaining ink can be accurately detected.

Next, a method of removing the ink cartridge 14 from the mounted state in the multifunction device 1 will be described with reference to fig. 45. Fig. 45 is a view showing a method of removing the ink cartridge 14 from the multi-function device 1.

As shown in fig. 45(a), to remove the ink cartridge 14 from the multi-function device 1 (refill unit 13), the lock release lever 63 of the door 41 is rotated forward (leftward in fig. 45 (a)) (rotated in the direction of the arrow in fig. 45 (a)). As described above, when the lock release lever 63 is rotated, the engagement between the door lock member 62 and the lock member engagement portion 46 is disengaged, and thus the door 41 can be rotated forward.

A part of the curved portion 65b of the pull-out member 65 of the door 41 is arranged within the concave portions 216a and 226a of the housing 200 (the concave portion 226a is rearward in fig. 45(a) and thus not shown), and therefore, when the unlocked lever 63 is rotated, the tip of the curved portion 65b of the pull-out member 65 of the door 41 contacts the latch portions 216b and 226b of the housing 200 (the latch portion 226b is rearward in fig. 45(b) and thus not shown) (the state of fig. 45 (b)). When the door 41 is rotated further forward (in the arrow direction in fig. 45 (b)) from the state of fig. 45(b), the latch portions 216b and 226b of the housing 200 are pulled out by the bent portion 65b of the pull-out member 65, and a part of the ink cartridge 14 thus protrudes from the inside of the housing 40 (the state of fig. 45 (c)). From this state, the user can easily remove the ink cartridge 14. Therefore, the operability of the ink cartridge 14 replacement operation is improved.

Here, a mechanism for preventing ink from dripping when the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multifunction apparatus 1 will be described with reference to 46. Fig. 46 is a view showing a state where the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multifunction apparatus 1 and a front view of the ink cartridge 14. Fig. 46(a) and 46(b) are views showing a state change when the ink cartridge 14 is removed, and fig. 46(c) is a front view of the ink cartridge 14.

As described above, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the multifunction device 1, the needle 49 is inserted inside the ink supply portion 120. The ink supply mechanism 500 includes a valve mechanism urged by the first supply spring 630 and the second supply spring 650, so that when the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multi-function device 1 (in a state from fig. 46(a) to a state of fig. 46 (b)), ink may adhere to the protruding tip of the needle 49, or in the worst case, ink may flow out from the ink supply portion 120. Since the valve 620 is moved in a direction such that the valve 620 comes into contact with the joint contact part 613 due to the urging force of the first supply spring 630 and the second supply spring 650 when the needle 49 is removed from the supply joint 610, the direction in which the ink is pushed out causes the ink to flow out from the projecting-part flow channel 615b to the stepped-part flow channel 615a, and therefore some of the ink may stick on the projecting tip of the needle 49 or flow outside the ink supply part 120. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 14 is removed, the ink attached to the tip of the needle 49 may drip in the form of ink droplets, or the ink may flow downward from the ink supply portion 120.

However, in the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 46(b), since the projections (first projecting portions) constituted by the case projecting portions 214a and 224a project further outward (rightward in fig. 46 (b)) than the projecting tip of the ink supply portion 120, even if the ink adhering to the tip of the needle 49 is dropped in the form of ink droplets or if the ink flows downward from the ink supply portion 120, the dropped ink can be made to adhere to the ink supply portion 120 side surfaces of the case projecting portions 214a and 224 a. In addition, since the case projecting portions 214a and 224a and the ink supply portion 120 are disposed relatively close to each other, it is easy to cause ink dropped from the ink supply portion 120 to adhere to the case projecting portions 214a and 224 a.

As shown in fig. 46(c), the insertion hole 605 of the supply cap 600 is an ink supply opening into which the needle 49 is inserted and through which ink flows out, and the thickness t11 of the case projecting portions 214a and 224a in the width direction of the ink cartridge 14 (the left-right direction in fig. 46 (c); the Z direction) is made longer than the diameter t10 of the insertion hole 605. (the diameter of the needle 49 is formed slightly narrower than the diameter t10 of the through-hole 605.) in addition, the insertion hole 605 is completely housed within the area occupied by the housing projecting portions 214a and 224a when viewed perpendicularly (from the Y direction). Therefore, even if ink attached on the tip of the needle 49 drops or ink flows down from the insertion hole 605 when the ink cartridge 14 is removed, the dropped ink can be captured by the case protruding portions 214a and 224 a. In addition, since the case projecting portions 214a and 224a project horizontally (in the left-right direction in fig. 46(a) and (b)) along the mounting orientation of the ink cartridge 14 and the surface on the ink supply portion 120 side is formed to be substantially flat, it is possible to prevent the ink adhering to the case projecting portions 214a and 224a from further dropping downward. Therefore, it is possible to prevent ink from dropping down into the refill unit 13 and soiling the inside of the refill unit 13. If the interior of the refill unit 13 becomes soiled, the ink cartridge 14 may be soiled during installation or removal of the ink cartridge 14, thus making the user's hand dirty. However, these problems can be avoided by preventing the ink from adhering to the inside of the refill unit 13 as much as possible.

Although the above-described structure is desirable to prevent dirtying, the structure is not limited to this as long as the case protruding portions 214a and 224a are at least partially located on a straight line (straight line P in fig. 46 (c; straight line passing through the center of the opening 600a of the supply cap 600) passing through the center of the communication hole 605 in the vertical direction (up-down direction in fig. 46 (c)) of the ink cartridge 14 as shown in fig. 46 (c). This is because much of the ink dropped from the ink supply portion 120 and the needle 49 will be able to take a downward path along the straight line P. Therefore, even if the length of the case extending portions 214a and 224a in the width direction of the ink cartridge 14 is shorter than the length t10 in the width direction of the insertion hole 605, this structure can help prevent the refill unit 13 from becoming dirty. In this case, the ink retaining force of the case protruding portions 214a and 224a becomes weak, and therefore it can be assumed that the ink that has been caught by the case protruding portions 214a and 224a may drip into the refill unit 13. However, in a state where the tip end of the needle 49 has been drawn out from the ink supply portion 120, the ink cartridge 14 to be replaced hardly remains inside the refill unit 13 for a long time, but is quickly removed from the refill unit 13, and therefore such a problem is unlikely to occur. Incidentally, even when the case projecting portions 214a and 224a are formed to be narrow, if the ink cartridge 14 is mounted in the wrong orientation, it will collide with the tip of the projection 55, thereby preventing incorrect mounting. In addition, even if the case protruding portions 214a and 224a are not accurately disposed on the straight line p, as long as they are located below the ink supply portion 120 in the vertical direction, they will be able to capture ink dripping from the ink supply portion 120 to some extent, so that the inside of the refill unit 13 can be prevented from becoming dirty to a greater extent than in the case where the case protruding portions 214a and 224a are not disposed.

Next, a description will be given of a structure for reducing the adhesion of ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b of the detection portion 140 of the ink cartridge 14 with reference to fig. 47. Fig. 47 is a view showing a structure of reducing the ink adhesion to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b of the detection portion 140 of the ink cartridge 14. Fig. 47(a) shows a state in which the ink cartridge 14 is mounted or removed with respect to the refill unit 13 (multifunction device 1); fig. 47(b) is a view showing a surface of the detection portion 140 where the ink cartridge 14 is formed; and fig. 47(c) is a perspective view of the ink cartridge 14. The ink cartridge 14 of fig. 47(a) is shown in a simplified manner, and the detailed structure is not shown, because the drawing is intended to show the outer shape of the ink cartridge 14 and its positional relationship with respect to the detection part 140.

As shown in fig. 47(a), ink may spill from the protruding tip of the ink supply portion 120 or the protruding tip of the needle 49 when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted or removed with respect to the refill unit 13. This is due to two facts: the ink supply mechanism 500 of the ink supply portion 120 is opened and closed with the aid of the elastic forces of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650, and therefore the ink pressure is rapidly changed at the time of mounting and dismounting of the ink cartridge 14, thereby causing the ink reserved inside the ink supply mechanism 500 to forcibly fly; when the needle 49 is suddenly exposed to the outside from a state of being disposed inside the ink supply portion 120 (from a state of being mounted with the ink cartridge 14), the ink may flow back and splash. Now, the ink splash does not occur every time the ink cartridge 14 is installed or removed, and in most cases, any ink does not splash.

In addition, as shown in fig. 47(a), when the ink cartridge 14 is in the mounting orientation, the detection portion 140 is disposed at a position corresponding to the remaining ink detection sensor 57, and therefore the detection portion 140 is disposed above the ink supply portion 120 (or the needle 49). Most of the ink splashed from the needle 49 and the ink supply portion 120 splashes downward (opposite to the direction of the detection portion 140) by its own weight, and therefore it is possible to reduce the adhesion of the ink to the detection portion 140 simply by disposing the detection portion 140 above the ink supply portion 120. In addition, the detection surfaces 140a and 140b are formed in a plane parallel to a straight line connecting the centers of the detection portion 140 and the cap insertion hole 605 (see fig. 47 (b)). Most of the ink splashed from the cap insertion hole 605 is splashed in a substantially linear manner, and therefore, even in the case where the ink is to be splashed from the cap insertion hole 605, much ink is not to be attached to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b, so that the attachment of the ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can be reduced.

In addition, as shown in fig. 47(b), if the ink cartridge 14 is removed during use and is set so that the positional relationship of the ink supply part 120 and the atmospheric air intake part 130 is inverted with respect to the mounting orientation of the ink cartridge 14 (the orientation of fig. 47 (a)), ink may drip from the insertion hole 605 of the supply cap 600 of the ink supply part 120. Since the ink dropped from the insertion hole 605 flows by its own weight, it flows out in a substantially linear manner in the direction of the detection part 140 and adheres to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b of the detection part 140.

However, when the detection part 140 is in a state of being arranged below the atmospheric air intake part 130 and above the ink supply part 120 (a state of fig. 47 (b)), the detection surfaces 140a and 140b of the detection part 140 will be arranged vertically (an up-down direction with reference to a symbol direction of fig. 47 (b)), and therefore, ink adhering to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b will drip to the ink supply part 120 side by its own weight. In addition, since the surfaces of the detection surfaces 140a and 140b are formed of a resin material as smooth planes, the adhering ink can easily flow down. Therefore, the adhesion of ink to the side of the detection part 140 can be reduced. In addition, when the ink cartridge 14 is mounted, the ink supply portion 120 is located at the lower portion and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 is located at the upper portion (the orientation of fig. 47 (a)), and therefore, even if ink adheres to the detection portion 140 during mounting or dismounting of the ink cartridge 14, the ink will flow to the ink supply portion 120 side, so that it is possible to reduce the adhesion of the ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140 b. Further, as described above, the edge portions 140c of the detection surfaces 140a and 140b and the side surface 100a of the frame portion 110 are formed substantially at right angles, and therefore, ink adhering to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can more easily flow downward due to the capillary force of the edge portions 140 c. Therefore, the adhesion of ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can be reduced.

In addition, as shown in fig. 47(c), the detection part 140 is disposed inside the casing 200, and spaces into which the light emitting part 57a and the light receiving part 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 enter are formed on both sides of the detection surfaces 140a and 140b through the casing cutouts 213 and 223. Therefore, the detection portion 140 is covered by the case 200, and therefore, even if ink is to be splashed, it is possible to reduce adhesion of the splashed ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140 b. Moreover, since a part of the ink supply part 120 protrudes outward from the case 200, the distance from the ink supply part 120 to the detection part 140 becomes longer in the mounting orientation of the ink cartridge 14 (the state of fig. 47 (a)). Therefore, most of the ejected ink does not reach the detection portion 140, so that the adhesion of the ink to the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can be reduced. In addition, case protruding portions 214a and 224a and case protruding portions 214b and 224b are formed at the end portions, the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 are located between the case protruding portions 214a and 224a and the case protruding portions 214b and 224b, and the case protruding portions 214a and 224a and the case protruding portions 214b and 224b extend further outward than the ink supply portion 120. Therefore, if the ink cartridge 14 is dropped unintentionally, the ink supply portion 120 can be prevented from contacting the surface on which the ink cartridge 14 is dropped, so that the outflow of ink from the ink supply portion 120 due to contact impact can be reduced. Therefore, the ink adhesion on the detection surfaces 140a and 140b can be reduced.

The housing 40 (see fig. 2) of the refill unit 13 will be described next with reference to fig. 48 and 49. The view of fig. 48 shows a front view of the housing 40. Fig. 48(a) is a front view of the housing 40 capable of accommodating large-capacity black or black ink cartridges 14 and color ink cartridges 14, and fig. 48(b) is a front view of the housing 2040 capable of accommodating black ink cartridges 14 and color ink cartridges 14. In the present embodiment, the housing 40 is disposed in the multifunction device 1, but it is also possible to provide a multifunction device 1 in which a housing 2040 is disposed instead of the housing 40. Fig. 49 is a sectional view showing a simplified cross-section of the housings 40 and 2040.

Fig. 49(a) is a simplified cross-sectional view of the housing 40 taken along line xxxxxa-xxxxxa of fig. 48(a), and fig. 49(b) is a simplified cross-sectional view of the housing 2040 taken along line xxxxxixb-xxxixb of fig. 48 (b). Fig. 49 shows the needle forming member 48 and the ink cartridge 14 in cross section, and other elements constituting the housings 40 and 2040 are omitted from this view. In addition, in fig. 48 to 50, the color ink cartridge is shown as the ink cartridge 14c, the black ink cartridge is shown as the ink cartridge 14k1, and the large-capacity black ink cartridge is shown as the ink cartridge 14k 2.

As shown in fig. 48(a), the case 40 is configured to accommodate four ink cartridges so that the ink cartridges are arranged in the case 40. For the arrangement of these four ink cartridges, the three color ink cartridges 14c are arranged side by side, and the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 or the black ink cartridge 14k1 is arranged adjacent to these color ink cartridges 14 c. In other words, the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 or the black ink cartridge 14k1 is selectively housed in an end position in the arrangement direction of the ink cartridges (the left-right direction in fig. 48 (a)). The casing 40 shown in fig. 48(a) accommodates the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k 2.

As shown in fig. 48(b), the housing 2040 is configured to accommodate four arranged ink cartridges. For the arrangement of these four ink cartridges, the three color ink cartridges 14c are arranged side by side, and the black ink cartridge 14k1 is arranged adjacent to these color ink cartridges 14 c. In other words, the black ink cartridge 14k1 is accommodated at the end position of the arrangement direction (the left-right direction in fig. 48 (b)) of the ink cartridges, just as in the case 40.

Since the case 40 allows mounting of both the large capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 and the black ink cartridge 14k1, it is formed to accommodate the thickness of the large capacity black ink cartridge 14k 2. Therefore, the lateral width t14 of the casing 40 (the width in the arrangement direction of the ink cartridges 14c and 14k2, i.e., the left-right direction in fig. 48 (a)) is longer than the lateral width t15 (the width in the arrangement direction of the ink cartridges 14c and 14k1, i.e., the left-right direction in fig. 48 (b)). The difference between the lateral width t14 of the housing 40 and the lateral width t15 of the housing 2040 corresponds to the difference between the height of the vertical wall portions 220b to 220e of the second housing member 220 shown in fig. 11 and the height of the vertical wall portions 2220b to 2220e of the second housing member 2220 shown in fig. 13.

In addition, the housing 40 allows selectively mounting the black ink cartridge 14k1 or the large capacity black ink cartridge 14k2, while the housing 2040 allows mounting only the black ink cartridge 14k 1. This means that two types of multifunction devices 1 are provided for the user. As has been discussed above, since users whose text printing frequency is low do not need the large-capacity black cartridge 14k2, it is preferable to provide these users with a smaller multi-function device 1, which multi-function device 1 does not allow the large-capacity black cartridge 14k2 to be installed. In addition, since the case 2040 for mounting the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the case 40 for mounting the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 are only slightly different in external shape, most of the used molds can be shared between the two, resulting in cost reduction.

As shown in fig. 49(a), when the ink cartridges 14c and 14k2 are accommodated in the casing 40, the needle 49 pierces into the ink supply mechanism 500 of each of the ink cartridges 14c and 14k 2. The gap t16 between the needles 49 pierced into the color ink cartridge 14c is equal, and the gap t17 between the needle 49 pierced into the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 and the needle 49 pierced into the adjacent color ink cartridge 14c is formed to have a longer distance than the gap t 16. The difference between the gap t16 and the gap t17 corresponds to the difference between the heights of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first case member 210 shown in fig. 8 and the heights of the vertical wall portions 2210b to 2210e of the first case member 2210 shown in fig. 13.

As shown in fig. 49(b), when the ink cartridges 14c and 14k1 are accommodated inside the housing 2040, the needle 49 penetrates into the inside of the ink supply mechanism 500 of each of the ink cartridges 14c and 14k 1. The gap t16 between the needles 49 pierced into the color ink cartridge 14c and the gap t17 between the needle 49 pierced into the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the needle 49 pierced into the adjacent color ink cartridge 14c have the same length as the gaps t16 and t17 of the case 40. This is because the accommodated state (accommodated orientation) of the black ink cartridge 14k1 in the housing 2040 involves the first housing member 1210 of the black ink cartridge 14k1 being disposed on the color ink cartridge 14c side, thereby making the distance between the needle 49 pierced into the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the needle 49 pierced into the adjacent color ink cartridge 14c the same as the distance between the needle 49 pierced into the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 of the housing 40 and the needle 49 pierced into the adjacent color ink cartridge 14 c. In other words, this is because the position of the ink supply part 120 of the ink cartridge 14k1 and the position of the ink supply part 120 of the ink cartridge 14k2 are the same with respect to the position of the ink supply part 120 of the ink cartridge 14 c. Therefore, even though the lateral widths t14 and t15 of the housings 40 and 2040 may be different, the same needle forming member 48 can be provided in the housing 40 and the housing 2040, so that the needle forming member 48 is a common component, and the cost in manufacturing the two housings, i.e., the housing 40 and the housing 2040, can be reduced.

In addition, as described above, the ink supply mechanism 500 is a valve mechanism urged by the first supply spring 630 and the second supply spring 650, and therefore, when the ink cartridge 14 is removed from the multi-function device 1, ink may flow out from the ink supply portion 120 or, in the worst case, ink may splash around. The needles 49 are arranged continuously without any partition plate provided between the needles 49, and therefore, when ink is splashed from the ink supply portion 120, the splashed ink eventually adheres to the adjacent needles 49. These needles 49 are parts that supply ink to the multifunction device 1, and therefore when different ink colors are mixed into the needles 49, color variations will occur during printing, and the printing quality will be degraded. In the present embodiment, the black ink is a pigment type ink, and the color ink is composed of a dye type ink. This is because black ink is mainly used for text printing and is therefore made of pigment-type ink having a lower ability to penetrate into paper so as to sharpen the edges of characters, while color ink is mainly used for image printing and is therefore made of dye-type ink having a higher ability to penetrate into paper so as to make the graininess of dots less noticeable and improve the coloring appearance. Although there is little influence of the color change when the color inks are mixed together, the influence of the color change becomes large when the black ink is mixed with another color ink, and thus it is not desirable that the black ink is mixed with the other color ink. In addition, when it has been confirmed that color mixing with other inks is performed, recovery processing (purging) including forced ink ejection is generally performed, but since ink is wasted in the recovery process, ink use efficiency is lowered. Further, since the black ink is a pigment-type ink, it has higher viscosity than a dye-type ink, and thus cannot be easily removed even if a recovery treatment is performed. However, in the present embodiment, the ink cartridges 14k1 and 14k2 holding black ink are arranged at the ends in the arrangement direction in the case 40, and the ink supply portion 120 (and the needle 49) is offset from the color ink cartridge 14c, and therefore, even if black ink is to be splashed, the splashed ink is unlikely to adhere to the adjacent needle 49. Therefore, a drop in print quality can be suppressed, while a large amount of ink for recovery processing can be suppressed from being wasted.

A state in which the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 or the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the color ink cartridge 14c are mounted in the casing 40 will now be described with reference to fig. 50. Fig. 50 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing, in a simplified manner, the state in which the ink cartridges 14c, 14k1, and 14k2 are mounted inside the casing 40. Fig. 50(a) shows the state of the ink cartridges 14k1 and 14c mounted in the casing 40, and fig. 50(b) shows the state of the ink cartridges 14k2 and 14c mounted in the casing 40.

As shown in fig. 50(a), in the bottom plate portion 42 and the top plate portion 44 of the refill unit 13 (housing 40), there are formed accommodation grooves 42c1 to 42c4 and 44c1 to 44c4 capable of accommodating the housing welding parts 216, 226, and 1216 and the housing welding parts 217, 227, and 1217 of the housing 200 or the housing 1200, respectively. The accommodation grooves 42c1 to 42c4 and 44c1 to 44c4 are all formed in the same shape.

In addition, the space between the accommodating grooves 42c1 and 42c2 and the space between the accommodating grooves 42c2 and 42c3 provide a separation distance t12, while the space between the accommodating grooves 42c3 and 42c4 provides a separation distance t13 longer than the distance t 12. This is because: as described above, the black ink cartridge 14k1 is formed with a larger outer shape than the other color ink cartridges 14c, and therefore the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 of the black ink cartridge 14k1 are located at positions shifted by the difference between the distance t12 and the distance t13 in the direction (the left-right direction in fig. 50) away from the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 of the other color ink cartridges 14 c. The difference between the distance t12 and the distance t13 is the same as the difference between the gap t16 and the gap t17 between the pins 49 described above, and corresponds to the difference between the height of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first housing member 210 shown in fig. 8 and the height of the vertical wall portions 2210b to 2210e of the first housing member 2210 shown in fig. 13, or the difference between the height of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first housing member 210 shown in fig. 8 and the height of the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e of the first housing member 1210 shown in fig. 11.

Further, a predetermined space X is formed between the outer surface of the second casing 220 of the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the inner surface of the side plate portion 43. The prescribed space X is formed for the large capacity black ink cartridge 14k 2. That is, as shown in fig. 50(b), the prescribed space X is used to allow the refill unit 13 to be used for the black ink cartridge 14k1 and the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k 2.

As shown in fig. 50(b), when the large-capacity black ink cartridge 14k2 is mounted in the refill unit 13, a space that would be formed when the black ink cartridge 14k1 is mounted is occupied. In addition, the positions of the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 are the same when the ink cartridge 14k1 is mounted and when the ink cartridge 14k2 is mounted. Therefore, the same case 40 can be used for the black ink cartridges 14k1 and 14k2, so that the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Next, a combination of components constituting the housings 200, 1200, and 2200 will be described with reference to fig. 51. Fig. 51 is a schematic view schematically showing a combination of the case members 210, 220, 1210, 2210 and 2220.

Fig. 51(a) is a schematic view of the housing 200. According to the present embodiment, the housing 200 includes the first and second housing members 210 and 220, wherein the thickness of the first and second housing members 210 and 220 (the height of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e and 220b to 220e of the first and second housing members 210 and 220; the left-right direction in fig. 51 (a)) is t18, respectively.

Fig. 51(b) is a schematic view of the housing 2200. The housing 2200 includes first and second housing members 2210 and 2220, wherein the thickness of the first and second housing members 2210 and 2220 (the height of the vertical wall portions 2210b to 2210e and 2220b to 2220e of the first and second housing members 2210 and 2220, respectively; the left-right direction in fig. 51 (b)) is t19, which is approximately twice the thickness t 18.

Fig. 51(c) is a schematic view of the housing 1200. The case 1200 includes first and second case members 1210 and 220, wherein the thickness of the first and second case members 1210 and 220 (the height of the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e and 220b to 220e of the first and second case members 1210 and 220; the left-right direction in fig. 51 (c)) is t19 for the first case member 1210 and t18 for the second case member 220.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the three housings 200, 1200, and 2200 having different outer dimensions (different internal volumes) are formed by two first housing members having different thicknesses and two second housing members having different thicknesses. In the present embodiment, the thicknesses of the first and second housing members 210 and 220 forming the housing 200 are equal, and the thicknesses of the first and second housing members 2110 and 2220 forming the housing 2200 are also equal, but such that the thicknesses are equal is not a necessary condition for forming the three housings 200, 1200, and 2200 having different outer dimensions.

That is, as long as the thickness of one of the case members (the first case member 2210) constituting the largest first ink cartridge (the case 2200) is larger than the thickness of one of the case members (the first case member 210) constituting the smaller third ink cartridge (the case 200), and the thickness of the other of the case members (the second case member 2220) constituting the largest first ink cartridge is larger than the thickness of the other of the case members (the second case member 220) constituting the smaller third ink cartridge, three cases having different outer dimensions can be configured with four case members. The above condition will be referred to as a first condition. By adding further conditions to these first conditions, four housings can be constructed from four housing members. This point will be described in detail later.

The housings 200, 1200, and 2200 are composed of a resin material, and are manufactured by injection molding. Therefore, a mold corresponding to each of the housings 200, 1200, and 2200 is required, and six kinds of molds are required if molds are constructed for all the housings. That is, since the housings 200, 1200, and 2200 have a space inside them, at least two members are required to configure each of them, for example, a container body opened on one surface and a cover member closing the opening. Therefore, six kinds of members are required for the three cases 200, 1200, and 2200 having different sizes.

However, since the molds are expensive, it is desirable to share them as much as possible. In the present embodiment, the second case member 220 for black is made identical to the second case member 220 for color. Therefore, a special mold is not required for the second case member 220 for black, thereby reducing costs. Also, the first case member 1210 for black involves only making the first case member 210 for darker colors and providing the ribs 1218. Therefore, the tip end sides of the vertical wall portions 1210b to 1210e passing through the ribs 1218 in the first case member 1210 for black have the same shape as the tip end sides of the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e of the first case member 210 for color. Accordingly, the first case members 1210 and 210 can be manufactured by using a common mold for the main portions of the first case members 1210 and 210 and changing between a member corresponding to the first case member 210 and a member corresponding to the first case member 1210. Therefore, the cost can be reduced as compared with when two types of molds are configured. In addition, since the first housing member 2210 for a large-capacity black cartridge has the same shape as the first housing member 1210 for a black cartridge, except for the point that there is no rib 1218, a common mold can be used for the main portions of the first housing members 210, 1210 and 2210. In this way, even when there are a plurality of types of ink cartridges 14c, 14k1, and 14k2, cost reduction can be achieved by using as many common molds as possible.

In addition, in the cases 200, 1200, and 2200 different in size from each other, if the through-holes that allow the ink supply portion 120 and the atmospheric air intake portion 130 to protrude to the outside are made in the same shape, and in the first case member 210, the second case member 220, the first case member 1210 for the black cartridge, the first case member 2210 for the large-capacity black cartridge, and the second case member 2220 for the large-capacity black cartridge, the substantially semicircular case cutout portions 211, 212, 221, 222, 1211, 1212, 2211, 2212, 2221, and 2222 corresponding to one half of these through-holes are formed in the same substantially semicircular shape, a partially shared structure can be used for each mold, thereby reducing the cost of designing the mold.

In the present embodiment, the housing 1200 is made of the second housing member 220 of the housing 200 and the first housing member 1210 formed in substantially the same shape as the first housing member 2210 of the housing 2200. However, as shown in fig. 51(d), the housing 1200 α may also be manufactured from the first housing member 210 of the housing 200 and the second housing member 1220 formed in substantially the same shape as the second housing member 2220 of the housing 2200. Since the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e and 220b to 220e of the housing members 210 and 220 are formed to be substantially equal in height, and since the vertical wall portions 210b to 210e and 220b to 220e of the housing members 2210 and 2220 are formed to be substantially equal in height, the outer dimensions of the housing 1200 a and the housing 1200 are substantially the same.

In addition, a housing made up of a combination of the first housing member 210 and the second housing member 2220, or a housing made up of a combination of the first housing member 2210 and the second housing member 220 may be simply formed as a housing for black. In other words, any type of combination may be employed as long as the combination of the case members allows three cases to be formed — a small case for color, a large case for large-capacity black, and a medium-sized case for black.

Next, a second embodiment will be explained with reference to fig. 52. Fig. 52 is a view showing the ink cartridge 3014 and the refill unit 3013 of the second embodiment. Fig. 52(a) is a view showing a side surface of the ink cartridge 3014 of the second embodiment, and fig. 52(b) shows a sectional view in a state where the ink cartridge 3014 is mounted in the refill unit 3013.

As shown in fig. 52(a), the ink cartridge 3014 of the second embodiment is configured to have a different position of the atmospheric air intake portion 130 compared to the ink cartridge 14 of the first embodiment. In the ink cartridge 3014 of the second embodiment, the atmospheric air is sucked into the ink cartridge 3014 through the atmospheric air intake passage 3131, which atmospheric air intake passage 3131 is formed in a labyrinth shape extending from a through hole 3130 formed on the top surface of the housing 3200.

As shown in fig. 52(b), the refill unit 3013 of the second embodiment is configured to: the position of the push holding member 3061 provided on the door 41 is lower than the position of the push holding member 61 provided on the door 41 of the first embodiment. This is because there is no air intake portion on the side of the ink cartridge 3014 of the second embodiment opposite to the push holding member 3061, and therefore, the elastic force acting when the ink cartridge 3014 is mounted in the refill unit 3013 (the elastic force due to the first and second supply springs 630, 650) acts only on the lower portion of the ink cartridge 3014. Therefore, in order to stably mount the ink cartridge 3014 inside the refill unit 3013, the push holding member 3061 and the ink supply portion 120 are configured to be substantially collinear along the horizontal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 52 (b)). Since the ink cartridges are disposed substantially on the same straight line, the direction in which the elastic force acts is also substantially on the same straight line, thereby reducing the inclination of the ink cartridges 3014 and allowing stable mounting.

The ink cartridge 3014 of the second embodiment may include the ink tank element 100 inside thereof, or may be configured so that ink is stored inside the housing 3200.

Next, the third and fourth embodiments will be explained with reference to fig. 53. Fig. 53 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridges 4014 and 5014 of the third and fourth embodiments. Fig. 53(a) is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridge 4014 of the third embodiment, and fig. 53(b) is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridge 5014 of the fourth embodiment.

As shown in fig. 53(a), an ink cartridge 4014 of the third embodiment has a through hole 4130 for introducing atmospheric air into the ink cartridge 4014 formed in a part of its top surface (the top surface in fig. 53 (a)). The air introduced through this through hole 4130 passes through a labyrinth-shaped intake passage 4131 (a relatively long passage having a small inner diameter), and is introduced into the inside of the ink cartridge 4014. A sealing member 4132 is glued to the ink cartridge 4014 to prevent ink inside the ink cartridge 4014 from degassing and flowing out before use. To use the ink cartridge 4014, the sealing member 4132 is peeled off, and then the ink cartridge is mounted in the multifunction device 1.

The detecting portion 4140 (irradiated portion) is formed to protrude outward from one end surface extending substantially in the vertical direction (up-down direction in fig. 53 (a)) of the ink cartridge 4014, and an ink supplying portion 4120 is formed below the detecting portion 4140. An ink supply opening 4121 into which the needle 49 is inserted is formed on the protruding tip of the ink supply portion 4120. The ink cartridge 4014 of the third embodiment has no structure corresponding to the ink tank element 100, and stores ink directly inside the casing.

On the right side of fig. 53(a), there is a cross-sectional view taken along the two-dot chain line in the figure. As shown in the figure, the ink supply portion 4120 has therein: a joint 4122 forming an insertion portion into which the needle 49 is inserted; a valve 4123 which fills the opening of the joint 4122 and is disposed on the inside of the ink cartridge 4014 in the direction of the joint 4122; and a spring member 4124 that biases the valve 4123 in the direction of the joint 4122. Thus, a valve mechanism that opens and closes the ink supply port 4121 is formed. Further, a partition wall 4125 that divides the inside of the ink cartridge 4014 and the ink supply portion 4120 is formed as a single unit with the ink cartridge 4014 itself. As shown in fig. 53(a), the partition wall 4125 forms a space for storing the valve mechanism.

As shown in fig. 53(b), an ink cartridge 5014 in the fourth embodiment is used to form an ink supply portion 120 of the first embodiment and an ink supply portion 5120 of a similar shape in place of the ink supply portion 4120 in the third embodiment. The remaining structure is the same as that of the ink cartridge in the third embodiment, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The detecting portion 4140 of the third and fourth embodiments can contain a sensor arm 470 inside it, as in the first embodiment. If it includes the sensor arm 470, the amount of remaining ink can be accurately detected in a state where the ink cartridges 4014 and 5014 have been connected to the multifunction device 1. Further, in the third and fourth embodiments, the projection (first projection portion) formed by the case extending portions 214a and 224a and the projection (first projection portion) formed by the case extending portions 214b and 224b have been omitted, but these portions may be included.

Next, a fifth embodiment will be explained while referring to fig. 54 and 55. Fig. 54 is a perspective view of the casing 200 of the ink cartridge 14 in the fifth embodiment, and fig. 55 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge 14 of the fifth embodiment has been attached in the refill unit 13. The housing 200 of the fifth embodiment is constructed such that its edge shape will differ from the housing projections 214a and 224a of the first embodiment. Therefore, the structure of the fifth embodiment other than the edge portions of the case extending portions 214a and 224a is the same as that of the ink cartridge 14 of the first embodiment, and the same reference numerals are used for the same portions as those of the first embodiment, so the description of these portions will be omitted.

The case 200 of the fifth embodiment is formed with second protruding portions 214a3 and 224a3 that protrude toward the case protruding portions 214b and 224b in the direction of the case protruding portions 214b and 224b (leftward direction in fig. 54). By forming these second projecting portions 214a3 and 224a3, the housing projecting portions 214a and 214b will be formed with truncated L (or V or U) shaped steps 214a4 and 224a4 (concave portions) as seen from a side view (as seen from the top of fig. 54 down for the first housing member 210 or as seen from the bottom of fig. 54 up for the second housing member 220) (see fig. 55).

As shown in fig. 55, when the ink cartridge 14 formed with the second protruding portions 214a3 and 224a3 is connected upside down (in the wrong orientation) to the refill unit 13, the front edge of the projection 55 on the side of the housing 40 will fit into the steps 214a4 and 224a4 (the step 224a4 is not shown in this figure). Therefore, when the ink cartridge 14 is connected upside down, since the projections 55 will correctly match the steps 214a4 and 224a4, it is possible to prevent the following problems at all times, for example: the projection 55 passes through the case projections 214a and 224a and advances to the upper side of the case 200 in fig. 55 or to the lower side of the case projections 214a and 224a in fig. 55, and thus the ink cartridge 14 is inserted further toward the rear side (right side in fig. 55) of the case 40. It is therefore possible to prevent the ink cartridge from hitting the needle 49 at all times, and thus prevent the breakage or deformation of the needle 49 and the remaining ink detection sensor 57.

The steps 214a4 and 224a4 of the fifth embodiment are formed in an L shape (or V or U shape) as viewed from the side, but they may be formed to correspond to the edge shape of the protrusion 55. In other words, it may be any desired shape as long as it is a shape that does not become loose when the ink cartridge is mounted in a wrong orientation and the edges of the protrusions are fitted into the steps 214a4 and 224a 4.

Next, a sixth embodiment will be explained with reference to fig. 56 to 58. Fig. 56 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink cartridge 14 of the sixth embodiment has been inserted into the refill unit 13. Fig. 57 is a block diagram showing an outline of a circuit configuration of the multifunction device 1 in the sixth embodiment. Fig. 58 is a flowchart showing an ink cartridge connection detection process executed by the CPU 971. The sixth embodiment has an additional ink cartridge connection detection sensor 960 relative to the multifunction device 1 of the first embodiment. Therefore, the structure of the sixth embodiment except for the cartridge connection detecting sensor 960 is the same as that of the first embodiment, and therefore the same reference numerals are used for the same portions as those of the first embodiment, and therefore the description of these portions will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 56, in the multifunction device 1 of the sixth embodiment, an ink cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is provided. When the ink cartridge 14 has been attached to the correct attachment position, the edges of the case protruding parts 214a and 224a will press the protruding piece of the cartridge attachment detection sensor 960, and by pressing the protruding piece, the cartridge attachment detection sensor 960 will send a signal to the control board 970. The control board 970 is a control device for performing main control of the multifunction device 1.

As shown in fig. 57, the control board 970 includes: a CPU971 as a computing device; a ROM972 as a memory, which cannot be rewritten, and stores a control program and fixed value data; RAM973 as a memory, which can be rewritten, and is used as a work memory; an EEPROM974 as a nonvolatile memory which can be rewritten and stores data even after power is turned off; a PC interface 975 that makes electrical connection between the external PC980 and the control board 970; an ink jet printer 976 that prints by discharging ink in accordance with an instruction of the CPU 971; a liquid crystal display portion 35 which performs various displays; a remaining ink detection sensor 57 that detects the amount of remaining ink in the ink cartridge 14; and a cartridge connection detection sensor 960 that detects whether the ink cartridge 14 has been connected; and an interface circuit 978 that performs input and output of various signals. Although not shown in this figure, various counters and timers are also included, and update of the counter value and the timer value is performed according to processing performed within the CPU 971.

In the EEPROM974, a cartridge connection flag 974a is provided. This ink tank connection flag 974a will appear not only when the ink tank 14 has been properly connected, but also will disappear when the ink tank 14 has been removed. In addition, once the cartridge connection flag 974a has been turned on, it will remain in the present state until it is canceled by the cartridge connection detection sensor 960.

The ink cartridge connection detection process shown in fig. 58 is an interruption process performed at a certain interval (e.g., every 4ms) after an initial setting process (not shown in the figure) is completed after the power has been turned on for the multifunction device 1. In the following description, the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 will be opened when the protrusion piece of the cartridge connection sensor is pressed, and it will be closed when the protrusion piece is not pressed. Further, the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is to be turned on when the amount of light received by the light receiving portion 57b is below a certain level (when the optical path between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b is blocked), and is to be turned off when the amount of light received by the light receiving portion 57b has exceeded a certain level (when the light emitted by the light emitting element 57a is received by the light receiving portion 57 b).

When the ink cartridge connection detecting process is performed, first, it is confirmed whether the ink cartridge connection detecting sensor 960 is on (S101), and if the ink cartridge connection detecting sensor 960 is off (S101: no), there is no ink cartridge 14 connected to the multifunction device 1, so the value of the ink cartridge connection flag 974a is set to 0(S102), the ink cartridge will be displayed on the liquid crystal display section 35 that the ink cartridge 14 is not connected yet (S103), and the process will end. In the case where the new multifunction device 1 is being used for the first time after being shipped from the factory, the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a has been set to 0.

As a result of confirmation by the S101 process, if the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is on (S101: yes), this means that the ink cartridge 14 has been connected, and then the process will confirm whether the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a is 1 (S104). In the case where the ink cartridge 14 is connected from the state of no connection, the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a should be 0 (S104: no), and then the process will confirm whether the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is on or not according to the timing at which the ink cartridge 14 is connected (S105). If the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is off (S105: NO), it means that the ink cartridge 14 in a state where the shielding arm part 473c has been moved away from between the light emitting part 57a and the light receiving part 57b has been connected, or in other words, an ink cartridge with almost no remaining ink has been connected. Therefore, an ink-out display will be displayed on the liquid crystal display portion 35 (S112), and the process will end.

On the other hand, in the process of S105, if the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is on (S105: yes), the process will confirm whether the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 has been on for a longer time (e.g., more than 10S) (S106). If the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 has been on for a time longer than the certain time (S105: YES), it means that the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 has been on for a time longer than the certain time at the time of connecting the ink cartridge 14, and therefore, it is considered that impurities are attached to the surfaces of the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detecting sensor 57, which impurities block the light path between these surfaces, or that the sensor 960 is malfunctioning. Therefore, if the process of S106 is yes, the remaining ink detection sensor abnormality will be displayed on the liquid crystal display portion 35 (S107), and the process will end.

In the S106 process, if the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is not turned on for a time longer than the certain time (S106: no), the process will next determine whether the cartridge connection detecting sensor 960 has been turned on for a time longer than the certain time (e.g., 10 seconds) (S108). As described above, the processing after "no at S104" is a process to be performed in the case where the ink cartridge 14 is connected from the state of not being connected, and if the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 has been turned on for longer than the certain time, the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 may be damaged. Therefore, if the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 has been on for a longer time than the certain time (S108: YES), a cartridge connection detection sensor abnormality will be displayed on the liquid crystal display section 35 (S109), and the process will end.

If the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is not turned on for longer than the certain time (S108: No) during S108, the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a will be set to 1(S110) because this means that the ink cartridge 14 has been properly connected, and the process will end. In other words, the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 and the remaining ink detection sensor 57 will change at about the same timing, and when the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a is set to 1, by detecting the connection of the ink cartridge 14, a state in which printing is possible with the multifunction device 1 will be set.

In the process of S110, when the cartridge connection flag 974a is set to 1, in the processing thereafter, the process of S104 will become yes, and a process of detecting the remaining ink in the ink cartridge 14 will be performed. In other words, in the process of S111, it will be confirmed whether the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 has been turned on, and if the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is turned on (S111: yes), there is ink in the ink cartridge 14, and the process will end as it is, whereas if the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 is turned off (S111: no), an ink-out display will be displayed on the liquid crystal display 35 (S112), and the process will end.

When the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a is 1, in other words, if no error is detected, the multifunction device 1 will allow a printing process (not shown in the drawings) to be performed, and thus can avoid performing a printing process in a state where it is unclear whether the ink cartridge 14 has been connected.

When the respective errors have been displayed, and if an abnormal deletion operation such as an operation of an abnormal deletion button is performed, the cartridge connection flag 974a will be initialized to 0.

As described above, in the sixth embodiment, not only the unconnected state of the ink cartridge 14 can be distinguished and detected, but also any abnormality in various sensors can be detected when there is no ink. Also, when the ink cartridge 14 is replaced, the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a will be set to 0 when the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is to be turned off, so whether the ink cartridge 14 is connected or not is always accurately detected. Also, when the ink cartridge 14 is removed, when ink is attached to the light emitting portion 57a or the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57, any abnormality of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 at the time of connection of the ink cartridge 14 can be accurately detected. Further, when the ink cartridge 14 is removed, if the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is broken, an ink shortage display is displayed even if the ink cartridge 14 is not connected. Therefore, the user can recognize that some kind of abnormality has occurred. If the abnormal deletion operation is performed, since the value of the cartridge connection flag 974a is set to 0, in the case where the ink cartridge 14 is connected next, the abnormality of the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 can be displayed, so that the user can be made aware of this.

As in the first embodiment, if the cartridge connection detection sensor 960 is not present, the remaining ink detection sensor 57 can detect the presence or absence of any remaining ink. The remaining ink detection sensor 57 can also detect that the ink cartridge 14 is connected (or more precisely, that an ink cartridge having a sufficient amount of remaining ink has been connected) if the remaining ink detection sensor 57 is changed from off to on. The printing process may also be allowed to be performed when the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 detects that the ink cartridge 14 is connected.

The seventh and eighth embodiments will be described below with reference to fig. 59. Fig. 59 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridges 6014 and 7014 of the seventh and eighth embodiments, fig. 59(a) is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridge 6014 in the seventh embodiment, and fig. 59(b) is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the ink cartridge 7014 of the eighth embodiment. The ink cartridges 6014 and 7014 of the seventh and eighth embodiments are configured such that the shapes of the sides where the ink supply portions 4120 and 5120 are formed are different with respect to the ink cartridges 4014 and 5014 of the third and fourth embodiments. Therefore, the structures other than the side where the ink supply portions 4120 and 5120 of the seventh and eighth embodiments are formed are the same as the ink cartridges 4014 and 5014 of the third and fourth embodiments, and therefore the same reference numerals will be used for the same portions as those in the third and fourth embodiments, and the explanation of these portions will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 59(a), a concave portion 6100 is formed above the ink supply portion 4120 (above the ink supply portion 4120 in the connected state (state in fig. 59 (a)) of the ink cartridge 4120). A detection portion 6140 is formed in a central position of the concave portion 6100. Therefore, on both sides of the detecting portion 6140, spaces into which the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detecting sensor 57 can be inserted are formed.

As shown in fig. 59(b), a concave portion 7100 is formed above the ink supply portion 5120 (above the ink supply portion 5120 in a connected state (state in fig. 59 (b)) of the ink cartridge 5120). A detection portion 7140 is formed in a central position of the concave portion 7100. Therefore, on both sides of the detection section 7140, a space into which the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57 can be inserted is formed.

Also, the detecting portions 6140 and 7140 of the ink cartridges 6014 and 7014 of the seventh and eighth embodiments are arranged in the recessed portions 6100 and 7100 formed on the side surfaces, so that any adhesion of the ink flowing out of the ink supplying portions 4120 and 5120 to the detecting portions 6140 and 7140 can be reduced.

The surfaces of the concave portions 6100 and 7100 on the ink supplying portions 4120 and 5120 side may also be constituted as inclined surfaces inclined in the direction of the ink supplying portions 4120 and 5120. By using such a structure, if any ink adheres to the detecting portions 6140 and 7140, the ink does not accumulate in the recessed portions 6100 and 7100, so that any adhesion of the ink to the detecting portions 6140 and 7140 can be reduced.

The detecting sections 6140 and 7140 of the seventh and eighth embodiments may also include a sensor arm inside as in the first embodiment. By using the sensor arm 470, the amount of remaining ink can be accurately detected when the ink cartridges 4014 and 5014 are connected to the multifunction device 1.

Next, a ninth embodiment will be explained with reference to fig. 60. Fig. 60 is a view showing an ink cartridge 8014 and a refill unit 13 of the ninth embodiment. The same portions as those in the first embodiment are attached with the same reference numerals, and the description of these portions will be omitted. Further, although the structure of the pull-out member 65 of the door main body 60 in the ninth embodiment is different from that in the first embodiment, the description of the pull-out member 65 will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 60, the ink cartridge 8014 of the ninth embodiment has a pushing portion 8200a configured to contact the pressing holding member 61 of the door body 60 and protrude outward from the side surface 1 of the ink cartridge 8014. In other words, the pushing portion 200a of the first embodiment is one portion of a specific range of the side face 1 of the housing 200, but the pushing portion 8200a of the ninth embodiment has a structure in which there is a specific portion in contact with the pressing and holding member 61. In the ninth embodiment, the pushing portion 8200a is structured such that it protrudes from the side, but it may be formed in a reverse concave shape. In this case, the pressure holding member is configured to protrude from the door main body 61.

A tenth embodiment will be explained next with reference to fig. 61 to 63. Fig. 61 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of an ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment. Fig. 62 is an exploded perspective view showing an ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment. Fig. 63 is a view for explaining a process for replacing the ink tank element. The ink cartridge 14 of the first embodiment has a structure in which the ink tank element 100 is not replaceable because it is soldered into the first and second housing members 210 and 220, but on the contrary, this ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment is structured so that the ink tank element 100 is replaceable.

In addition, the ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment has a structure largely identical to that of the ink cartridge 14 of the first embodiment, and therefore, only the structure different from that of the ink cartridge 14 of the first embodiment will be described, and the same reference numerals are used for the same portions as those in the first embodiment, and the description of these portions will be omitted.

As shown in fig. 61, the ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment has a seal 9100 attached to the outer surface of the casing 200. The sealing member 9100 is attached to the maximum surface 220a and the vertical wall portion 220c of the second case member 220 and the vertical wall portion 210c and the maximum surface 210a of the first case member 210. In other words, the seal 9100 is attached to the side opposite to the protector 300 (opposite to the edge surface where the ink supply portion 120, the atmosphere intake portion 130, and the detection portion 140 are provided). The sealing member 9100 not only has the model number of the ink cartridge 9014 listed thereon, but it also has a color printed thereon corresponding to the color of the ink, so that the color of the ink stored in the ink cartridge 9014 can be visually recognized. Therefore, by attaching the seal 9100, the user can visually recognize the ink color, so that the ink cartridge 9014 can be prevented from being stored in the wrong accommodation chamber 50 in the housing 40.

As shown in fig. 62, in the vertical wall portion 210b of the first case member 210, engaging portions 9200a and 9200b are formed which protrude in the direction of the second case member 220 (in the Z direction, or in the upward direction in fig. 62). On the other hand, in the vertical wall portion 220b of the second case member 220, engagement holes 9201a and 9201b, which are engaged with the edges of the engagement portions 9200a and 9200b, respectively, are formed.

Therefore, in manufacturing the ink cartridge 9014, first, the ink tank element 100 is placed inside the first case member 210, and the engagement portions 9200a and 9200b of the first case member 210 are fitted with the engagement holes 9201a and 9201b of the second case member 920, thereby connecting the first case member 210 and the second case member 220. Then, the sealing member 9100 is adhered along the maximum surface 210a and the vertical wall portion 210c of the first case member 210 and the maximum surface 220a and the vertical wall portion 210c of the second case member 220. Then, the protector 300 is attached, whereby the ink cartridge 9014 is manufactured.

The ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment has been subjected to connection of the first case member 210 and the second case member 220, adhesion of the seal 9100 to the first and second case members 210 and 220, and fitting of the engaging portions 9200a and 9200b to the engaging holes 9201a and 9201 b. Therefore, by eliminating the joint of the engaging portions 9200a and 9200b and the engaging holes 9201a and 9201b, the connection between the first case member 210 and the second case member 220 can be eliminated. Canceling the connection between the engaging portions 9200a and 9200b and the engaging holes 9201a and 9201b can be performed simply by pressing the edges of the engaging portions 9200a and 9200b via the engaging holes 9201a and 9201b from the outside of the vertical wall portion 210b where the case cutout portions 221 to 223 have been formed.

Further, as shown in fig. 63, since one edge surfaces of the first and second case members 210 and 220 are connected by the seal 9100, opening and closing operations (opening and closing operations in the arrow direction or in the X direction in fig. 63) can be performed using the edges of the vertical wall portions 210c and 220c as axes. In other words, the sealing portion 9100 is a connecting member for connecting the first and second case members 210 and 220, and the sealing portion 9100 serves as a hinge material capable of opening and closing the first and second case members 210 and 220. Therefore, replacement of the ink tank element 100 is performed by canceling the connection between the engagement portions 9200a and 9200b and the engagement holes 9201a and 9201b, and when the second case member 220 is opened with respect to the first case member 210, a new ink tank element 100 is inserted, and then the first and second case members 210 and 220 are connected. In the present tenth embodiment, during replacement of the reservoir element 100 with a new reservoir element 100, a product in which ink has been refilled into the reservoir element 100 may also be used.

As described above, the ink cartridge 9014 of the tenth embodiment enables easy replacement of the ink tank element 100. Further, in this embodiment, since the detection of the remaining ink (in conjunction with the connection detection of the ink cartridges) is performed by the remaining ink detection sensors 57 provided on both sides of the detection portion 140 of the ink tank element 100, if the ink cartridge 9104 that does not contain any ink tank element 100 is connected, it will be determined that there is no remaining ink (or no ink cartridge is connected). Therefore, since the multifunction device 1 will not perform any printing process in a state where the ink cartridge 9014 not containing any ink tank element 100 has been connected, the possibility of occurrence of a printing problem can be reduced.

Next, an eleventh embodiment will be explained with reference to fig. 64. Fig. 64 is a view showing an ink tank element 9300 of the eleventh embodiment. The ink tank element 9300 of the eleventh embodiment is fixed inside the first and second housing members, but we will omit detailed explanation and description of the first and second housing members.

As shown in fig. 64, an ink tank element 9300 of the eleventh embodiment is constituted by a hard portion 9301 and a bag member 9302, the hard portion 9301 being formed by injection molding using a resin material, the bag member 9302 having flexibility and forming an ink tank space for storing ink inside, and being connected to the hard portion 9301. The hard portion 9301 has a detection portion (irradiation portion 9303) to be disposed between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detection sensor 57, and an ink supply portion including the ink supply mechanism 500 and a supply cap as in the first embodiment.

Therefore, the ink tank element 9300 of the eleventh embodiment is manufactured using the hard portion 9301 and the bag portion 9302, and therefore can have a simplified structure as compared with the case where the entire ink tank element is formed of a resin material by molding. Therefore, the yield in manufacturing the ink tank element 9300 can be improved, so that reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved.

The ink tank element 9300 of the eleventh embodiment is formed using the bag portion 9302 which forms an ink tank space for storing ink, and therefore, when the ink inside the bag portion 9302 decreases, the bag portion 9302 will contract in accordance with the decrease, and when the ink is depleted, the ink tank space will also greatly decrease. Therefore, a sensor arm (rotary member) cannot be provided to detect the amount of remaining ink in the bag portion 9302.

However, the hard portion 9301 of the ink tank element 9300 is formed to have light blocking property, and since it is disposed between the light emitting portion 57a and the light receiving portion 57b of the remaining ink detecting sensor 57, it will always block the emitted light emitted from the light emitting portion 57 a. Therefore, although the remaining amount of ink in the bag portion 9302 cannot be detected, whether the ink tank element 9300 is contained in the first and second housing members can be detected, and therefore the multifunction device 1 can be prevented from performing any printing process when the ink tank element 9300 is not contained in the first and second housing members.

The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and it is easily inferred that various modifications or changes can be made without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Now, a modified example of the combination of the housing members will be described with reference to fig. 65 to 67. Fig. 65 to 67 are views for explaining a modified example of the combination of the housing members. As described above, in the present embodiment, the three housings 200, 1200 (or 1200 α) and 2200 having different outer dimensions are formed using two kinds of the first housing member 210 and the first housing members 1210 and 2210 having different thicknesses, and two kinds of the second housing member 220 and the second housing member 2220 having different thicknesses. Instead of this combination, the combination of the housing members in the modified example may form four housings (in which the internal capacities are different) having different outer dimensions from four housing members. First, description will be made while referring to fig. 65. As shown in fig. 65(a), the case C1 is formed by the case member 120 and the case member r 21. The thickness of housing member 120 is t20, and the thickness of housing member r21 is t21, which is thicker than thickness t 20. As shown in fig. 65(b), a case C2 is formed by case member l21 and case member r 22. The thickness of housing member l21 is t21, and the thickness of housing member r22 is t22, which is thicker than thickness t 21. In addition, the difference between thickness t22 of case member r22 and thickness t21 of case member r21 is different from the difference between thickness t21 of case member l21 and thickness t20 of case member l 20.

By changing the combination of case members l21 and r22 forming case C2 and case members l20 and r21 forming case C1, case C3 shown in fig. 65(C) and case C4 shown in fig. 65(d) are formed. More specifically, case C3 is formed from case member l20 and case member r22, and case C4 is formed from case member l21 and case member r 21.

Thus, using case members l20 and r21 forming case C1 and case members l21 and r22 forming case C2, small-scale case C1, large-scale case C2, and two medium-scale cases C3 and C4 are formed. In addition, the outer dimensions (thicknesses) of the cases C1 to C4 are different in the relationship of C1 < C4 < C3 < C2. Therefore, four cases having different outer shapes can be formed according to the amount of stored ink using the four case members l20, r21, l21, and r 22.

Thus, additional second conditions need to be added to the above first conditions in manufacturing four cases having different outer shapes using four case members. The second condition is: the difference (t22-t21) between the thickness t22 at the side of the case member (case member r22) forming the largest first ink cartridge (case C2) and the thickness t21 at the side of the case member (case member r21) forming the smallest third ink cartridge (C1) must be different from the difference (t21-t20) between the thickness t21 at the other side of the case member (case member l21) forming the largest first ink cartridge and the thickness t20 at the other side of the case member (case member l20) forming the smallest third ink cartridge. For example, if the first condition is satisfied but the second condition is not satisfied, the thickness will be 10mm for t20, 25mm for t21, and 40mm for t22 (15 mm for t22-t21, 15mm for t21-t20), and the thickness of each case will be 35mm for C2, 65mm for C3, 50mm for C3, and 50mm for C4, meaning that only three sizes of cases can be manufactured, and if the first and second conditions are satisfied simultaneously, the thickness will be 10mm for t20, 20mm for t21, and 40mm for t22 (20 mm for t22-t21, 10mm for t21-t20), and the thickness of each case will be 30mm for C1, 60mm for C5, 60mm for C4, and 40mm for C4, and four sizes of cases can be manufactured.

Next, description will be made while referring to fig. 66. As shown in fig. 66, housing C5 is formed from housing member l20 and housing member r 20. The thickness of the case members l20 and r20 is formed as t 20. The case C2 shown in fig. 66(b) is the same as the case C2 in fig. 65(b), and therefore, the description of the case C2 will be omitted.

By changing the combination of case members l20 and r20 forming case C5 and case members l21 and r22 forming case C2, case C3 shown in fig. 66(C) and case C6 shown in fig. 66(d) are formed. More specifically, case C3 is formed from case member l20 and case member r22, and case C6 is formed from case member l21 and case member r 20. In addition, the difference between thickness t20 of case member r20 and thickness t22 of case member r22 is different from the difference between thickness t21 of case member l21 and thickness t20 of case member l20, so that the above-described first and second conditions are satisfied at the same time.

Therefore, using four kinds of case members l20 and r20 forming case C5 and case members l21 and r22 forming case C2, small-scale case C5, large-scale case C2, and two kinds of medium-scale cases C3 and C6 are formed. In addition, the outer dimensions (thicknesses) of the cases C2, C3, C5, and C6 are all different, and the relationship is C5 < C6 < C3 < C2. Therefore, four cases having different outer shapes can be formed according to the amount of stored ink using the four case members l20, r20, l21, and r 22.

Next, description will be made while referring to fig. 67. Since the case C1 shown in fig. 67(a) is the same as the case C1 shown in fig. 65, the description of the case C1 will be omitted here. As shown in fig. 67(b), a case C7 is formed by case member l22 and case member r 22. The thickness of the case members l22 and r22 is formed as t21 and t 22.

Case C3 shown in fig. 67(C) and case C8 shown in fig. 67(d) are formed by changing the combination of case members l20 and r21 forming case C1 and case members l22 and r22 forming case C7. More specifically, case C3 is formed from case member l20 and case member r22, and case C8 is formed from case member l22 and case member r 21. In addition, the difference between thickness t22 of case member r22 and thickness t21 of case member r21 is different from the difference between thickness t21 of case member l22 and thickness t20 of case member l20, so that the above-described first and second conditions are satisfied at the same time.

Therefore, using four kinds of case members l20 and r21 forming case C1 and case members l22 and r22 forming case C7, small-scale case C1, large-scale case C7, and two kinds of medium-scale cases C3 and C8 are formed. In addition, the outer dimensions (thicknesses) of the cases C1, C3, C7, and C8 are all different, and the relationship is C1 < C3 < C8 < C7. Therefore, four cases having different outer shapes can be formed according to the amount of stored ink using the four case members l20, r21, l22, and r 22.

As described above, in the case member forming each case, when the thickness of the case member provided on one side is different from the thickness of the case member provided on the other side, four cases having different outer dimensions (different inner capacities) can be formed with the four case members.

Next, another modified example of the present embodiment will be explained. In the above embodiment, the supply valve 620 and the atmospheric valve 720 are urged in the direction of the supply joint 610 and the atmospheric joint 710 to block the ink flow passage K and the atmospheric air intake passage L by using the elasticity of the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 and the first and second atmospheric springs 730 and 750. Conversely, it is also possible to utilize the elasticity of the coil spring member formed using a metal material or a resin material to urge the supply valve and the atmospheric valve in the directions of the supply joint and the atmospheric joint to block the ink flow passage and the atmospheric air intake passage. Further, as long as the coil spring is formed such that at least one portion thereof is conical, the scales of the ink supply mechanism and the atmospheric air intake mechanism can also be reduced. Further, in the case where the supply slider 640 and the atmosphere slider 740 are not used, the first and second supply springs 630 and 650 and the first and second atmosphere springs 730 and 750 may be configured such that they are directly adjacent to each other, and the structure may be simplified such that the supply valve and the atmosphere admission valve are located on the bottom plane. By using such a structure, the ink supply mechanism and the atmospheric air intake mechanism can be simplified, so that reduction in manufacturing cost can be achieved. In addition, it is also possible to have a structure in which the first supply (atmosphere) spring and the second supply (atmosphere) spring are connected as one unit. Further, in the case where the valve hooks 626 and 726 are not used in the supply valve 620 and the atmosphere valve 720, the supply (atmosphere) slider 640(740) and the first and second supply (atmosphere) springs 630 and 650(730 and 750) may be connected as one unit, and have a structure that enables free movement of the combined supply (atmosphere) slider and first and second supply (atmosphere) springs.

In addition, when the check valve 670 is constituted by the umbrella portion 671 and the shaft portion 672, the check valve 670 may be constituted by only the umbrella portion 671. The check valve 670 serves to prevent the backflow of ink, and thus it may be configured such that it can block the connection of the first cap through hole 683 and the second cap through hole 684 of the cap 680. Further, cover 680 may be constructed without second cover through hole 684.

Further, in the above embodiment, although the space between the joint protrusion portion 614 and the joint contact portion 613 of the supply joint 610 is formed in the form of a circular base, a groove may be formed around the periphery of the joint contact portion of the supply joint. Since any movement of the joint projecting portion will be absorbed by the groove, the movement of the joint contact portion in the insertion direction as the needle 49 is inserted can be reduced. In addition, by increasing the inner diameter of the joint contact portion with respect to the inner diameter of the joint protrusion portion, it is possible to reduce the transmission of the movement of the joint protrusion portion to the joint contact portion.

Further, in the above embodiment, although the film 160 is welded to both sides of the first opening 112a and the second opening 112b of the frame portion 110, it is possible to close one opening using a side wall and weld the film 160 only to the other opening. In this case, the second opening 112b side is closed by the side wall, and by having a structure in which the thin film 160 is welded to the first opening 112a, the thin film 160 can be formed on the side wall of the atmosphere connection path 433, so that the formation of the meniscus on the atmosphere connection path 433 can be reduced. Further, in the case where the second opening 112b is closed with a side wall, the side wall will become a support substrate, and since this will provide strength to the frame portion, it is possible to have a structure in which a connection forming portion (partition plate) connected within the tank chamber is not used. In this case, the internal soldering portion may be provided only from one surface side of the support substrate.

Further, in the above embodiment, the film 160 welded to the frame 110 is constituted by the nylon layer on the frame portion 110 side, but a waterproof coating may be applied to the nylon layer. By using such a structure, the meniscus can be prevented from being formed on the atmosphere connection passage 433.

Further, in the above embodiment, the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is constituted such that it is inclined downward from the first atmosphere communication chamber 431 toward the second atmosphere communication chamber 432, but since one surface of the atmosphere communication passage 433 is constituted by the film 160, it is possible to prevent the meniscus from being formed in the atmosphere communication passage 433. Therefore, there may be a structure in which the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 does not necessarily incline downward, and there may be a structure in which the atmosphere communication passage forming portion 430 is made horizontal in a state when the ink cartridge 14 is connected.

Further, in the above embodiment, although all the welding processes are performed by ultrasonic welding, in the case where it is possible to perform the connection by using an adhesive, all the connections may be performed by using an adhesive, and the welding may be performed by using a different welding method. For example, welding of the housing 200 may be replaced by attachment using an adhesive, since it is only important to ensure that the first and second housing members 210 and 220 do not separate.

Industrial applicability

The ink cartridge, the inkjet recording system, and the ink cartridge set of the present invention are widely used for home and office use.

Claims (15)

1. An ink cartridge is provided, in which a plurality of ink cartridges are arranged in a cartridge body,

the ink cartridge is configured to be horizontally inserted into the inkjet recording apparatus along a mounting direction;

the ink cartridge includes:

an ink supply portion, arranged on a front surface of the ink cartridge along a mounting direction, for supplying ink from the ink cartridge to an inkjet recording apparatus;

an irradiated portion disposed on the front surface of the ink cartridge, the irradiated portion being configured to be disposed between two portions of an optical sensor of an inkjet recording apparatus in a state in which the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus, and the irradiated portion being disposed above the ink supply portion, and

the irradiated portion includes a pair of opposing surfaces for respectively facing the two portions of the optical sensor, the pair of opposing surfaces extending substantially vertically in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus.

2. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pair of opposing surfaces are parallel to a plane constituted by a center line of the ink supply portion in the mounting direction of the ink cartridge and a center line of the irradiated portion in the mounting direction of the ink cartridge.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ink supply portion protrudes from a front surface of the ink cartridge, and has an opening at a position more forward than the irradiated portion in the mounting direction.

4. The ink cartridge as in claim 1, wherein the irradiated portion has a front surface that is connected to the pair of opposing surfaces, and wherein the front surface of the irradiated portion forms an edge with any one of the pair of opposing surfaces.

5. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein a concave portion is formed in a front surface of the ink cartridge, and the irradiated portion is disposed in the concave portion.

6. The ink cartridge as in claim 5, wherein the irradiated portion has a front surface that is connected to the pair of opposing surfaces, and wherein the front surface of the irradiated portion is in a retracted position relative to the front surface of the ink cartridge.

7. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 5, wherein the irradiated portion divides an inner space of the concave portion into two spaces.

8. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge comprises an ink storage member and a case for covering the ink storage member, wherein

At least a part of each of the ink supply portion and the irradiated portion is connected to the ink storage member, and

the front surface of the ink cartridge is formed by the case having a first through opening through which a part of the ink supply portion extends and a second through opening for accommodating the irradiated portion.

9. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein a moving member is provided in the internal space of the irradiated portion, the moving member moving as the amount of ink in the ink cartridge decreases.

10. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 9, wherein the moving member includes a shielding member located at one end of the moving member and disposed in the internal space of the irradiated portion, a floating member disposed at the other end of the moving member, and a supporting member disposed between the shielding member and the floating member, and the moving member rotates about the supporting member as the amount of ink in the ink cartridge decreases.

11. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 1, wherein an atmospheric air introduction portion is disposed on a front surface of the ink cartridge, the atmospheric air introduction portion being located above the irradiated portion in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus.

12. The ink cartridge as claimed in claim 11, wherein a pair of projecting portions, which project by amounts larger than those of the ink supply portion and the atmospheric air introduction portion, respectively, with respect to the front surface of the ink cartridge, are provided on the front surface of the ink cartridge, and the ink supply portion and the atmospheric air introduction portion are located between the pair of projecting portions.

13. A system including an ink cartridge and an ink jet recording apparatus having an accommodating member accommodating the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge being horizontally mounted to the accommodating member;

the accommodating member includes:

an extracting member disposed in the accommodating member for extracting the ink from the ink cartridge; and

a transmissive optical sensor disposed in the accommodating member and including a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion;

the ink cartridge includes:

an ink supply portion connected to the withdrawing member, an

An irradiated portion that is provided between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor and that is located above the ink supplying portion in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the accommodating member,

and the number of the first and second electrodes,

and the irradiated portion includes a pair of opposing surfaces that respectively face the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the transmissive optical sensor, the pair of opposing surfaces extending substantially vertically in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the accommodating member.

14. The system according to claim 13, wherein the irradiated portion is disposed in a recessed portion in a front surface of the ink cartridge, and the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are projected into the recessed portion with the irradiated portion interposed therebetween in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the accommodating member.

15. The system of any one of claims 13 or 14, wherein the transmissive optical sensor is adapted to detect an amount of ink in the ink cartridge.