U.S. patent application number 13/674877 was filed with the patent office on 2013-03-14 for ink cartridge refilling device.
This patent application is currently assigned to ZHUHAI NINESTAR MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.. The applicant listed for this patent is Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Bing Nie, Lei Qin.
Application Number | 20130061982 13/674877 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43373818 |
Filed Date | 2013-03-14 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130061982 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Qin; Lei ; et al. |
March 14, 2013 |
INK CARTRIDGE REFILLING DEVICE
Abstract
The present invention provides an ink cartridge refilling
device, which comprises an ink container used for storing ink, an
air inlet channel communicated with the ink container and
introduced outside air into the ink container, a suction channel
communicated with the ink cartridge and connected with an aspirator
to suck air in the ink cartridge, an ink injection channel
communicated with an ink injection opening of the ink cartridge and
formed on the ink container and a re-suction channel which is
communicated with an ink outlet of the ink cartridge and connected
with the aspirator to suck ink at the ink outlet after the ink
cartridge is refilled. The ink cartridge refilling device has the
advantage that: air bubbles can be prevented from being attached to
the upper part of a piezoelectric transducer near the ink
outlet.
Inventors: |
Qin; Lei; (Zhuhai, CN)
; Nie; Bing; (Zhuhai, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Zhuhai Ninestar Management Co., Ltd.; |
Zhuhai |
|
CN |
|
|
Assignee: |
ZHUHAI NINESTAR MANAGEMENT CO.,
LTD.
Zhuhai
CN
|
Family ID: |
43373818 |
Appl. No.: |
13/674877 |
Filed: |
November 12, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
PCT/CN2011/072309 |
Mar 30, 2011 |
|
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13674877 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
141/18 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65B 3/22 20130101; B41J
2002/17583 20130101; B41J 2/17566 20130101; B41J 2/19 20130101;
B41J 2/17506 20130101; B41J 2/17546 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
141/18 |
International
Class: |
B65B 3/22 20060101
B65B003/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
May 12, 2010 |
CN |
201020194178.1 |
Claims
1. An ink cartridge refilling device, comprising: an ink container,
in which said ink container used for storing ink to be refilled
into an ink cartridge; and an ink injection channel communicated
with an ink injection opening arranged on said ink container; an
air inlet channel, in which said air inlet channel communicated
with said ink container and used for introducing outside air into
said ink container; and a suction channel, in which said suction
channel communicated with said ink cartridge and connected with an
aspirator to suck air in said ink cartridge. Said ink cartridge
refilling device also comprising: a re-suction channel, in which
said re-suction channel communicated with an ink outlet of said ink
cartridge and connected with said aspirator to suck ink at said ink
outlet after said ink cartridge is refilled.
2. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 1, wherein
one end of said suction channel is directly connected with said ink
outlet of said ink cartridge.
3. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 2, wherein
said air inlet channel and said suction channel are coaxially
arranged.
4. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 3, wherein
said ink cartridge refilling device also comprises: a valve
component which is arranged on said air inlet channel and used for
controlling the on-off of said air inlet channel.
5. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 4, wherein
said valve component comprises: a valve seat, in which said valve
seat is arranged on a sucking opening of said suction channel; an
elastic component, in which said elastic component is sleeved on
the outerwall of said suction channel; and a seal ring, in which
said seal ring is arranged between said valve seat and said elastic
component; and one end of said seal ring is engaged with said
elastic component and the other end of said seal ring is engaged
with said valve seat.
6. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 5, wherein
said valve component also comprises a bushing having: an engagement
section, in which said engagement section is engaged with said seal
ring, and the diameter of said engagement section is equal to that
of said seal ring; and a sliding section, in which said sliding
section is connected with said engagement section; the diameter of
said sliding section is more than that of said suction channel; and
said sliding section is used for sliding along the outerwall of
said suction channel.
7. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 1, wherein
a sealing component is arranged on the end part of said ink
injection channel and comprises: a rubber plug; and a sleeve
connected with said rubber plug.
8. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 1, wherein
said ink cartridge refilling device also comprises: a positioning
component which is connected with said ink container and used for
fixing said ink cartridge.
9. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 8, wherein
said positioning component comprises: a holding section formed on
the outerwall of said positioning component.
10. The ink cartridge refilling device according to claim 1,
wherein said air inlet channel and said suction channel are
separately arranged.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of International
Application No. PCT/CN2011/072309, filed on Mar. 30, 2011, which
claims the priority benefit of China Patent Application No.
201020194178.1, filed on May 12, 2010. The contents of the above
identified applications are incorporated herein by reference in
their entirety.
FIELD OF THE TECHNOLOGY
[0002] The present invention relates to the technical field of
inkjet printers, in particular to an ink cartridge refilling device
for ink refilling under negative pressure.
BACKGROUND
[0003] An inkjet printer is driven by a print signal to eject ink
to a recording medium such as a piece of paper via a nozzle of a
printhead to complete the recording of characters or graphics. With
the continuous development of inkjet technology, the volume of the
inkjet printer is smaller and smaller. Correspondingly, the volume
of the ink cartridge as an ink storage container is also limited.
Therefore, a user needs to replace the ink cartridge continuously
and discard a used ink cartridge. However, the ink cartridge
contains plastics and other parts which cannot be naturally
degraded, which would cause resource waste and environmental
pollution. Consequently, there are a plurality of ink cartridge
refilling devices for refilling ink into ink cartridges on the
market, in which the ink cartridges do not need to be replaced
again but are refilled with ink for reuse.
[0004] Most ink cartridge refilling devices in the prior art
utilize negative pressure to refill ink into ink cartridges. The
device may comprise an ink container for receiving ink for
refilling, a suction channel and a needle cylinder for suction and
pressure reduction. When the device is used, an ink cartridge to be
refilled can be placed on the ink container; the needle cylinder is
connected with the suction channel and stretched by hand to suck
air, so that the volume of air in the ink cartridge can be reduced;
and ink in the ink container can be injected into the ink cartridge
due to the action of gas-pressure balance after the hand is let
go.
[0005] However, the ink cartridge refilling device also has the
disadvantages that: a piezoelectric transducer is usually arranged
inside the ink cartridge to detect whether there is ink in the ink
cartridge in order to remind a user of the in-time replacement of
the ink cartridge and prevent the printhead from being burned down
due to empty print. Due to the reasons such as the refilling speed
and the ink performance, air bubbles tend to gather on the upper
part of the piezoelectric transducer after the ink cartridge is
fully refilled. When the ink cartridge is installed on a printer at
the moment, the piezoelectric transducer cannot convey a normal
response signal to the printer, and then the printer cannot
identify the ink cartridge, and consequently a user cannot
print.
SUMMARY
[0006] The objective of the present invention is to provide an ink
cartridge refilling device to effectively remove air bubbles
gathering on the upper part of a piezoelectric transducer in an ink
cartridge and guarantee the identification effect of a printer.
[0007] The present invention provides an ink cartridge refilling
device, which comprises an ink container, an air inlet channel and
a suction channel, wherein the ink container is used for storing
ink to be refilled into an ink cartridge; an ink injection channel
communicated with an ink injection opening of the ink cartridge is
formed on the ink container; the air inlet channel is communicated
with the ink container and used for introducing outside air into
the ink container; and the suction channel is communicated with the
ink cartridge and connected with an aspirator to suck air in the
ink cartridge. The ink cartridge refilling device also comprises a
re-suction channel which is communicated with an ink outlet of the
ink cartridge and connected with the aspirator to suck ink at the
ink outlet after the ink cartridge is refilled.
[0008] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, one end of
the suction channel is directly connected with the ink outlet of
the ink cartridge.
[0009] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the air
inlet channel and the suction channel are coaxially arranged.
[0010] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the ink
cartridge refilling device also comprises a valve component which
is arranged on the air inlet channel and used for controlling the
on-off of the air inlet channel.
[0011] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the valve
component comprises a valve seat, an elastic component and a seal
ring, wherein the valve seat is arranged on a sucking opening of
the suction channel; the elastic component is sleeved on the
outerwall of the suction channel; the seal ring is arranged between
the valve seat and the elastic component; and one end of the seal
ring is engaged with the elastic component and the other end of the
seal ring is engaged with the valve seat.
[0012] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the valve
component also comprises a bushing having an engagement section and
a sliding section, wherein the engagement section is engaged with
the seal ring; the diameter of the engagement section is equal to
that of the seal ring; the sliding section is connected with the
engagement section; the diameter of the sliding section is more
than that of the suction channel; and the sliding section is used
for sliding along the outerwall of the suction channel.
[0013] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, a sealing
component is arranged on the end part of the ink injection channel
and comprises a rubber plug and a sleeve connected with the rubber
plug.
[0014] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the ink
cartridge refilling device also comprises a positioning component
which is connected with the ink container and used for fixing the
ink cartridge.
[0015] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the
positioning component comprises a holding section formed on the
outerwall of the positioning component.
[0016] According to the ink cartridge refilling device, the air
inlet channel and the suction channel are separately arranged.
[0017] The ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention has the advantage that: as the re-suction channel is
formed on the ink cartridge refilling device and communicated with
the ink outlet on the ink cartridge, air bubbles can be prevented
from being attached to the upper part of the piezoelectric
transducer near the ink outlet, and then the phenomenon that a user
cannot print as the ink cartridge after refilling cannot be
identified when installed on a printer can be avoided.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0018] For more clear description of the embodiments of the present
invention or the technical proposal in the prior art, simple
description is given to the embodiments or the attached drawings
required to be used in the description of the prior art. Obviously,
the attached drawings as illustrated below are only a quantity of
embodiments of the present invention and those skilled in the art
can also obtain other drawings based on these drawings without
providing creative labor.
[0019] FIG. 1 is overall structure diagram of an embodiment of the
ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention;
[0020] FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment of the ink
cartridge refilling device provided by the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the off state of
a first embodiment of a valve component for an air inlet channel in
the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention;
[0022] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating the on state of
the first embodiment of the valve component for the air inlet
channel in the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the
present invention;
[0023] FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of a second embodiment of the
valve component for the air inlet channel in the ink cartridge
refilling device provided by the present invention;
[0024] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use state of
the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention;
[0025] FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use state of
the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention; and
[0026] FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating the use state of
the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE SIGNS IN THE DRAWINGS
TABLE-US-00001 [0027] 11 ink container; 12 air inlet channel; 13
suction channel; 14 re-suction 15 ink injection channel; 16 sealing
element; channel; 18 silicone gasket; 19 sucking opening; 17
gasket; 21 seal ring; 22 elastic 20 valve seat; 24 sliding section;
component; 23 engagement 27 positioning 25 rubber plug; section;
component; 28 holding section; 26 sleeve; 30 aspirator. 29 ink
cartridge;
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0028] For more clear understanding of the objectives, the
technical proposals and the advantages of the embodiments of the
present invention, clear and complete description is given to the
technical proposals in the embodiments of the present invention
with the attached drawings in the embodiments of the present
invention. Obviously, the embodiments illustrated are only one part
of embodiments of the present invention but are not all the
embodiments. All the other embodiments obtained by those skilled in
the art on the basis of the embodiments of the present invention
without providing creative labor shall be all within the scope of
protection of the present invention.
[0029] The main technical proposal of the present invention is as
follows: a re-suction channel is formed on an ink cartridge
refilling device and communicated with an ink outlet on an ink
cartridge and can be connected with an aspirator to suck a small
amount of ink at the ink outlet from the ink cartridge after the
ink cartridge is refilled, so that air bubbles can be prevented
from being attached to the upper part of a piezoelectric transducer
near the ink outlet, and then the phenomenon that a user cannot
print as the ink cartridge after refilling cannot be identified
when installed on a printer can be avoided.
[0030] Further detailed description is given to the technical
proposal of the present invention with the attached drawings and
preferred embodiments.
[0031] First of all, for convenient understanding of the structure
of the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention, simple description is given to the structure of the ink
cartridge first. The ink cartridge is made of plastics; an ink
storage cavity for receiving ink supplied to the printer can be
formed inside the ink cartridge; and the ink cartridge is also
provided with an ink outlet engaged with an ink supply needle of
the printer to convey ink to a printhead of the printer, an ink
injection opening used for replenishing ink to the ink storage
cavity, and an elastic handle engaged with a corresponding
structure on the printer to fix the ink cartridge on the printer.
Wherein, a one-way membrane valve is arranged on an ink flow
channel between the ink storage cavity and the ink outlet and can
be selectively opened or closed according to the pressure
difference between the ink storage cavity and the ink outlet.
[0032] Moreover, a piezoelectric transducer is also arranged near
the ink outlet on the ink cartridge, so that the ink level in the
ink cartridge can be known in real time and a user can be reminded
of the replacement of the ink cartridge in time when the ink is
out, and consequently the phenomenon that the printhead of the
printer is burned down due to empty print can be avoided. The
piezoelectric transducer is mainly made of piezoelectric ceramics
and produces different vibration frequencies based on a fluid
attached thereto. That is to say, the vibration frequency produced
by the piezoelectric transducer is different when the fluid is ink
or air attached on it. Therefore, the consumption condition of the
ink in the ink cartridge at the moment can be determined simply by
the identification of the vibration frequency produced by the
piezoelectric transducer.
[0033] FIG. 1 is an overall structure diagram of an embodiment of
the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present
invention, and FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the embodiment of the
ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present invention.
The ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment can comprise
an ink container 11, an air inlet channel 12, a suction channel 13
and a re-suction channel 14.
[0034] Detailed description of specific structures of various parts
of the ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment is given
below first:
[0035] Wherein, the ink container 11 is used for storing ink to be
refilled into the ink cartridge; an ink injection channel 15
connected with an ink injection opening on the ink cartridge to
inject ink into the ink cartridge can be formed on the ink
container 11, for example, on the top of the ink container 11; and
the air inlet channel 12 and the suction channel 13 can be arranged
inside the ink container 11. Moreover, when the ink cartridge
refilling device is used, the air inlet channel 12 can be
communicated with the ink container 11 and used for introducing
outside air into the ink container 11 to adjust the internal
pressure of the ink container 11; and the suction channel 13 can be
communicated with the ink cartridge and connected with an aspirator
to suck air in the ink cartridge, so that negative pressure can be
formed in the ink cartridge.
[0036] The main characteristic of the ink cartridge refilling
device of the embodiment is the arrangement of the re-suction
channel 14. The re-suction channel 14 can be formed on the ink
container 11 and communicated with the ink outlet on the ink
cartridge, and a silicone gasket 18 can be arranged between the
re-suction channel 14 and the suction channel 13 to seal the ink
container 11. Due to the arrangement of the re-suction channel 14,
the aspirator can be connected to suck a small amount of ink in the
ink cartridge after the ink cartridge is refilled, so that air
bubbles can be prevented from gathering on the upper part of the
piezoelectric transducer near the ink outlet of the ink cartridge,
and then the phenomenon that the user cannot print as the ink
cartridge after refilling cannot be identified when installed on
the printer can be avoided.
[0037] Moreover, a sealing component can be arranged on the end
part of the re-suction channel 14. More specifically, a sealing
element 16 can be arranged. The sealing element 16 is made of
silicone, on which a small hole can be formed; the diameter of the
small hole is equal to that of a needle tube of the aspirator; and
the aspirator can pass through the sealing element 16 via the small
hole and be connected with the re-suction channel 14. When the
aspirator is pulled out, the section of the sealing element 16
passed through by the aspirator can be sealed automatically under
the elasticity of the silicone, so that air can be prevented from
entering into the ink container 11. In addition, in the embodiment,
a gasket 17 can be also arranged above the sealing element 16 and
used for fixing the sealing element 16 and preventing the sealing
element 16 from being pulled out when the aspirator is removed.
[0038] Furthermore, the ink cartridge refilling device of the
embodiment also improves the suction channel. More specifically,
the suction channel 13 can be set to pass across the ink container
11 and be directly connected with the ink outlet of the ink
cartridge. That is to say, the suction channel 13 is positioned
inside the ink container 11 and not communicated with the ink
container 11 but only communicated with the ink cartridge.
[0039] As the suction channel 13 is directly communicated with the
ink cartridge rather than the ink container, only air in the ink
cartridge is sucked and air in the ink container 11 is not sucked
when the suction channel is used for suction, and thus the amount
of air sucked when the ink cartridge is refilled for a plurality of
times can be guaranteed to be constant, namely the amount of ink
refilled each time can be guaranteed to be constant, and
consequently stable user operation can be guaranteed. Therefore,
the problems of unstable refilling quality and poor printing effect
in the prior art due to the fact that the amount of air sucked is
more and more and the amount of ink refilled into the ink cartridge
is less and less when the ink cartridge is subjected to suction and
ink injection for a plurality of times as a communicated closed
space is formed between the ink container and the ink cartridge can
be effectively solved.
[0040] In addition, the air inlet channel 12 and the suction
channel 13 can be separately arranged at different positions of the
ink container 11 and can also be coaxially arranged as illustrated
in the embodiment, and then simple structure and simplified
manufacturing technique can be achieved.
[0041] Moreover, when the air inlet channel and the suction channel
are coaxially arranged, a valve component can be arranged at a
sucking opening 19 in the suction channel 13, so that the on-off of
the air inlet channel 12 can be controlled by the valve component.
Two specific application structures are given below to illustrate
the structural forms of the valve component. However, the structure
of the valve component is not limited by the two forms.
[0042] One structure of the valve component can be as illustrated
in FIGS. 3 and 4 (FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the
off state of a first embodiment of the valve component for the air
inlet channel in the ink cartridge refilling device provided by the
present invention, and FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating
the on state of the first embodiment of the valve component for the
air inlet channel in the ink cartridge refilling device provided by
the present invention). The valve component is arranged on the air
inlet channel and can comprise a valve seat 20, a seal ring 21 and
an elastic component 22, wherein the elastic component 22 can be a
spring; the valve seat 20 is positioned at the sucking opening 19
of the suction channel; the elastic component 22 is sleeved on the
outerwall of the suction channel; the seal ring 21 is positioned
between the valve seat 20 and the elastic component 22; one end of
the seal ring 21 is engaged with the elastic component 22 and the
other end of the seal ring 21 is engaged with the valve seat 20;
and the valve component can selectively open or close the air inlet
channel.
[0043] The principle thereof is as follows: when the ink cartridge
refilling device as illustrated in FIG. 3 is not used, the valve
component is in the off state and the seal ring 21 is tightly
engaged with the valve seat 20 under an elastic force of the
elastic component 22, so that the air is prevented from entering
into the ink container. When the ink cartridge refilling device as
illustrated in FIG. 4 is used for refilling the ink cartridge, a
downward acting force is produced due to the engagement of the
aspirator and the sucking opening 19 and is more than the elastic
force of the elastic component 22, so that the elastic component 22
is driven to be deformed and move down, and then the seal ring 21
is driven to move down and be disengaged from the valve seat 20,
namely the valve component is driven to move down to open the air
inlet channel, so that outside air is replenished into the ink
container along a track as illustrated in the figure. When the ink
cartridge is refilled and the aspirator is pulled out, the downward
acting force produced is canceled. Herein, the seal ring 21 is
tightly engaged with the valve seat 20 again under the action of
the elastic component 22, and the air inlet channel is closed
again, and then the ink leakage can be avoided.
[0044] The other structure of the valve component can be as
illustrated in FIG. 5 (FIG. 5 is a structure diagram of a second
embodiment of the valve component for the air inlet channel in the
ink cartridge refilling device provided by the present invention).
The difference between the valve component in this structure and
the valve component in the above structure is the additional
arrangement of a component, namely a bushing. The bushing can
comprise an engagement section 23 and a sliding section 24, wherein
the engagement section 23 is engaged with the seal ring 21; the
diameter of the engagement section 23 is equal to that of the seal
ring 21; the sliding section 24 is used for sliding along the
outerwall of the suction channel; and the diameter of the sliding
section 24 is slightly more than that of the suction channel 13.
Therefore, the seal ring 21 is tightly engaged with the valve seat
20; the bushing is engaged with the seal ring 21; and the bushing
can slide along the suction channel 13. Preferably, the bushing can
be made of engineering plastics and the seal ring can be made of
rubber or silicone.
[0045] The principle thereof is as follows: when the ink cartridge
refilling device is used, the seal ring 21 may be disengaged from
the valve seat 20 under the action of the acting force produced due
to the engagement of the aspirator and the sucking opening. Herein,
as the bushing and the seal ring 21 are also engaged with each
other, the bushing also moves down along the suction channel 13.
Obviously, the valve component is opened at the moment and the air
can enter into the ink container to adjust the pressure in the ink
container.
[0046] In addition, when only the seal ring is adopted, as the seal
ring is made of materials such as rubber and silicone, the seal
ring has large elasticity and tends to be greatly deformed when the
aspirator is inserted, and then the phenomenon that both sides of
the seal ring are deformed and the air inlet channel is difficult
to open tends to occur. In the embodiment, by adoption of the
bushing, as the bushing is made of engineering plastics, the
bushing cannot be subjected to elastic deformation but directly
slides down when the aspirator is inserted after a force is
conveyed to the bushing via the seal ring. Moreover, as the bushing
and the seal ring are engaged with each other, a force can be also
produced to drive the seal ring to slide down, and then the air
inlet channel can be opened without an overlarge acting force when
the aspirator is inserted, and consequently the control precision
can be improved.
[0047] Moreover, a sealing component for sealing can also be
arranged on the end part of the ink injection channel 15, so that
the ink leakage during the conveying can be avoided. More
specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the sealing component can
be arranged at one end of the ink injection channel 15, which is
connected with the ink injection opening on the ink cartridge. The
sealing component can comprise a rubber plug 25 and a sleeve 26,
wherein the sleeve 26 is made of engineering plastics; the rubber
plug is made of rubber or silicone; and the sleeve 26 is engaged
with the rubber plug and is easy to assemble and disassemble. The
arrangement of the sleeve 26 is for the miniaturization of the ink
cartridge refilling device. As the space on the upper part of the
ink cartridge refilling device, for receiving the ink cartridge, is
relatively narrow, if only the rubber plug 25 is used for sealing,
a user needs to stretch a hand into the narrow space to take out
the rubber plug when the ink cartridge refilling device is used,
which is very troublesome. By adoption of the sleeve 26, the sleeve
26 can be integrated into a whole with the rubber plug 25 and the
length of the sleeve 26 is relatively long but slightly less than
that of the ink cartridge. Therefore, the user can pull out the
rubber plug 25 by pulling out the sleeve 26 when the ink cartridge
refilling device is used, and then the ink injection channel 15 can
be opened, and thus the operation is simple and convenient.
[0048] Furthermore, the ink cartridge refilling device of the
embodiment can also comprise a positioning component 27 which can
have a cavity for receiving the ink cartridge to be refilled. When
the ink cartridge is refilled with ink by the ink cartridge
refilling device, the ink cartridge is placed into the cavity and
then fixed and the ink injection opening and the ink outlet of the
ink cartridge are respectively communicated with corresponding
interfaces in the ink container. The positioning component 27 and
the ink container can be integrated into a whole by clamped
connection and can also be arranged into an integrated
structure.
[0049] In addition, for convenient holding of the ink cartridge
refilling device, a holding section 28 can be further arranged on
the outerwall of the positioning component 27 and can be formed by
a plurality of grooves parallel to the outerwall of the device.
Moreover, the holding section 28 can be also used as a connecting
section between adjacent ink cartridge refilling devices. Herein, a
lug (not illustrated in the figure) of which the shape is matched
with that of the grooves is only required to be formed outside
another refilling device, and then convenience is provided for the
user to connect a plurality of refilling devices for receiving ink
with different colors.
[0050] Further detailed description is given below to the use
process of the ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment in
replenishing ink into the ink cartridge with FIGS. 6 to 8:
[0051] Firstly, the ink cartridge refilling device of the
embodiment can be placed on a plane; the sealing component on the
ink injection channel 15 is pulled out; and the ink cartridge is
placed in the positioning component of the ink cartridge refilling
device. Herein, the elastic handle of the ink cartridge is engaged
with the positioning component to fix the ink cartridge, and the
ink outlet and the ink injection opening of the ink cartridge are
respectively connected with the suction channel 13 and the ink
injection channel 15 of the ink cartridge refilling device.
[0052] Secondly, as illustrated in FIG. 6 (FIG. 6 is a schematic
diagram illustrating the use state I of the ink cartridge refilling
device provided by the present invention), the overall fixed ink
cartridge and ink cartridge refilling device are inverted, so that
the ink container 11 is positioned above the ink cartridge 29. The
aspirator 30 prepared in advance is connected with the sucking
opening 19 of the suction channel 13 to suck air at the ink outlet.
Obviously, due to the pressure difference between the ink storage
cavity and the ink outlet, the one-way membrane valve in the ink
cartridge 29 is opened herein, and air in the ink storage cavity is
also sucked, namely vacuum is produced in the ink cartridge 29.
Herein, as illustrated in FIG. 6, due to the pressure balance
principle, the ink in the ink container 11 is refilled into the ink
cartridge 29; the valve component positioned at the sucking opening
19 of the suction channel 13 is opened; and outside air can enter
into the ink container 11 via the air inlet channel 12, so that
constant pressure in the ink container 11 can be guaranteed. When
there is ink in the aspirator 30, the ink cartridge 29 is fully
refilled and can be used for printing. Herein, the aspirator 30
must be removed first, and the valve component can close the air
inlet channel 12 to seal the ink container 11 under the elastic
force of the spring.
[0053] Thirdly, as illustrated in FIG. 7 (FIG. 7 is a schematic
diagram illustrating the use state II of the ink cartridge
refilling device provided by the present invention), the ink
cartridge 29 and the ink cartridge refilling device are inverted
again, so that the ink cartridge 29 is positioned above the ink
container 11. Moreover, the aspirator 30 is connected with the
re-suction channel 14 to suck a small amount of ink in the ink
cartridge 29.
[0054] Finally, as illustrated in FIG. 8 (FIG. 8 is a schematic
diagram illustrating the use state III of the ink cartridge
refilling device provided by the present invention), the ink
cartridge is removed; the aspirator 30 is connected with the ink
injection channel 15; residual ink sucked in the above step is
injected into the ink container 11; and the aspirator 30 is removed
at last, and the original sealing component is used for sealing the
ink injection channel 15.
[0055] The ink cartridge refilling device of the embodiment has the
advantage that: as the re-suction channel is formed on the ink
cartridge refilling device and communicated with the ink outlet on
the ink cartridge, air bubbles can be prevented from being attached
to the upper part of the piezoelectric transducer near the ink
outlet, and then the phenomenon that the user cannot print as the
ink cartridge after refilling cannot be identified when installed
on the printer can be avoided. Therefore, the printing effect can
be fully guaranteed and the use cost of users can be greatly
reduced.
[0056] It shall be finally noted that the above embodiments are
only used for illustrating the technical proposal of the present
invention and not intended to limit the present invention. Although
detailed description is given to the present invention with the
preferred embodiments, it shall be understood by those skilled in
the art that the technical proposals illustrated in various
embodiments can be also modified or partial technical
characteristics can be subjected to equivalent replacement and the
modifications or replacements shall not allow the essence of
corresponding technical proposals to be departed from the spirit
and scope of the technical proposals of various embodiments of the
present invention.
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