Ink tank and image recording apparatus

Abstract

An ink tank includes: a first liquid storage chamber; a second liquid storage chamber; a detector having at least two electrode rods in the first liquid storage chamber; an injector having an opening supplying liquid to the first liquid storage chamber; an atmospheric communication passage communicating an outside of the ink tank with the second liquid storage chamber; a cap movable between an open position and a closed position with respect to the injector and configured to seal the first liquid storage chamber; a valve mechanism opening or closing the communication passage by moving up and down with respect to the communication passage; a link mechanism moving the valve mechanism up and down; and a guide portion guiding the valve mechanism, at least a part of the guide portion being provided in the valve mechanism.

Claims

1. An ink tank configured to supply liquid to an apparatus having a liquid consumption device, the ink tank comprising: a first liquid storage chamber storing liquid to be supplied to the liquid consumption device; a second liquid storage chamber communicating with the first liquid storage chamber through a communication passage, the second liquid storage having a liquid outlet for supplying liquid to the liquid consumption device; a detector having at least two electrode rods in the first liquid storage chamber, the electrode rods being disposed above the communication passage; an injector having an opening supplying liquid to the first liquid storage chamber; an atmospheric communication passage communicating an outside of the ink tank with the second liquid storage chamber; a cap movable between an open position and a closed position with respect to the injector, the cap being configured to seal the first liquid storage chamber in a case the cap is in the closed position; a valve mechanism having a flat plate portion and configured to open or close the communication passage by moving up and down with respect to the communication passage; a link mechanism configured to move the valve mechanism up and down; a guide portion configured to guide the valve mechanism which is moved up and down by the link mechanism, the guide portion extending from the flat plate portion of the valve mechanism in a direction orthogonal to the flat plate portion and in a vertical direction; and a rib protruding from an inner surface of the first ink chamber and configured to guide the guide portion, the rib extending in the extending direction of the guide portion, wherein at least a part of the guide portion is provided in the valve mechanism.

2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a length of the guide portion provided in the valve mechanism in an extending direction is substantially equal to a length between a part of the valve mechanism provided with the guide mechanism and a wall of the ink tank.

3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein an extension direction of the guide portion provided in the valve mechanism has a horizontal component.

4. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion comprises: a first guide portion provided in the valve mechanism; and a second guide portion not provided in the valve mechanism, the second guide portion being provided in the first liquid storage chamber and is integrally formed with a covering member of the electrode rod.

5. The ink tank according to claim 4, wherein a length of the first guide portion in the extension direction is substantially equal to a sum of a length in an extension direction of the second guide portion and a thickness of the covering member from the wall of the ink tank.

6. An image recording apparatus, comprising: a liquid consumption device; and the ink tank according to claim 1 configured to supply liquid to the liquid consumption device.

7. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a plane of the rib extending in the direction orthogonal to the flat plate portion and in the vertical direction faces a plane of the guide portion.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) Illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail based on the following figures, wherein:

(2) FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of an image recording apparatus, where FIG. 1A illustrates a perspective view of an image recording apparatus 300 with an opening and closing cover 307 open and FIG. 1B illustrates a partially enlarged view of the image recording apparatus 300;

(3) FIG. 2 is a left side view of an ink tank 303 of the related art with a cap 304 in a closed position;

(4) FIG. 3 is a right side view of the ink tank 303 of the related art with the cap 304 in the closed position. However, positions of two electrode rods 331A and 331B and a first guide rib 332 of a sensor are emphasized so that an arrangement thereof, which cannot be seen from a right side surface, can be understood;

(5) FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating only a link mechanism 200 used in the ink tank 303 of the related art;

(6) FIGS. 5A and 5B are schematic views briefly illustrating an operation of the cap 304 of the related art and the link mechanism, where FIG. 5A illustrates a schematic view of a state in which (a valve member is sealed) the cap 304 is separated from the link mechanism and FIG. 5B illustrates a schematic view of a state in which (the valve member is opened) the link mechanism is operated by the cap 304 in a closed position;

(7) FIGS. 6A and 6B are views illustrating a schematic structure of a valve body 207 and a seal member 209 of the related art, where FIG. 6A illustrates a schematic plan view of the valve body 207 and the seal member 209 of the related art and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the VIA-VIA line and FIG. 6B illustrates a schematic side view of the valve body 207 and the seal member 209 of the related art and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the VIB-VIB line;

(8) FIGS. 7A to 7C are schematic views illustrating an operation of the valve main body 207 and the seal member 209 of the related art opening or closing a communication passage 220 and a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220, where FIG. 7A illustrates a state in which the valve body 207 and the seal member 209 of the related art illustrated in FIG. 6A close the communication passage 220, FIG. 7B illustrates a state in which the valve body 207 and the seal member 209 of the related art illustrated in FIG. 6A open the communication passage 220, and FIG. 7C illustrates a schematic view showing an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220;

(9) FIGS. 8A and 8B are views illustrating a schematic structure of a valve body 407 and a seal member 409 of an illustrative embodiment, where FIG. 8A illustrates a schematic plan view of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the line VIIIA-VIIIA and FIG. 8B illustrates a schematic plan view of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the line VIIIB-VIIIB;

(10) FIGS. 9A to 9C are schematic views illustrating an operation of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 of the illustrative embodiment opening or closing the communication passage 220 and a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220, in which FIG. 9A is a schematic partial view of a state in which the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 illustrated in FIG. 8A close the communication passage 220 when viewed from a left side surface of an ink tank, FIG. 9B illustrates a schematic partial view of a state in which the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 illustrated in FIG. 8A open the communication passage 220 when viewed from the left side surface of the ink tank, and FIG. 9C is a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220; and

(11) FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic perspective view of the valve body 407 including a guide member 408 of the illustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(12) In the above-explained related art, since the first guide rib 332 and the second guide rib 333 are provided in the vicinity of the two electrode rods 331A and 331B, there is a risk that the raised air (air bubbles) will be blocked by these first guide rib 332 and second guide rib 333. When the electrode rods 331A and 331B are covered with a large amount of air (air bubbles), the sensor may make false detection.

(13) Therefore, illustrative aspects of the disclosure is made to solve the problem described above.

(14) Hereinafter, an illustrative embodiment of the disclosure will be described. It goes without saying that the illustrative embodiment described below are merely an example of the disclosure and the illustrative embodiment of the disclosure can be appropriately changed without changing the scope of the disclosure.

(15) FIGS. 8A and 8B are views illustrating a schematic structure of a valve body 407 and a seal member 409 of an illustrative embodiment, where FIG. 8A illustrates a schematic plan view of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the line VIIIA-VIIIA and FIG. 8B illustrates a schematic plan view of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 and a schematic cross-sectional view cut along the line VIIIB-VIIIB.

(16) FIGS. 9A to 9C are schematic views illustrating an operation of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 of the illustrative embodiment opening or closing an communication passage 220 and a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220, where FIG. 9A is a schematic partial view of a state in which the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 illustrated in FIG. 8A close the communication passage 220 when viewed from a left side surface of an ink tank, FIG. 9B illustrates a schematic partial view of a state in which the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 illustrated in FIG. 8A open the communication passage 220 when viewed from the left side surface of the ink tank, and FIG. 9C is a schematic view illustrating an arrangement of various members around the communication passage 220.

(17) FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic perspective view of the valve body 407 including a guide member 408 of the illustrative embodiment.

(18) First, the structure of the valve body 407 of the illustrative embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A and 8B. The valve body 407 includes a flat plate portion 407A, a guide portion 407B, and the guide member 408 and has substantially the same structure as a valve body 207 of the related art except for the presence of the guide member 408.

(19) The guide member 408 extends from the flat plate portion 407A of the valve body 407 in a direction orthogonal to the flat plate portion 407A and in a vertical direction. The guide member 408 may be integrally molded with the valve body 407, or a member separate from the valve body 407 may be fixed to the flat plate portion 407A.

(20) Next, an operation of the valve body 407 and the seal member 409 of the illustrative embodiment opening or closing the communication passage 220 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9A to 9C.

(21) An ink tank 500 of the example has the same structure as an ink tank 303 of the related art except for a first guide rib 332. That is, the ink tank 500 of the example is not provided with the first guide rib 332. Therefore, regarding the ink tank 500 of the example, only a part having a structure different from that of the ink tank 303 of the related art will be described.

(22) Also in the ink tank 500 of the illustrative embodiment, similar to the ink tank 303 of the related art, two electrode rods 331A and 331B are horizontally press-fitted into a first ink chamber 301 from an outer surface (side wall extending in an up-down direction) of the ink tank 500. The two electrode rods 331A and 331B are separated from each other by about 5 mm in the up-down direction. In a vicinity of the two electrode rods 331A and 331B, a connecting projection 208 of a first lever arm 206 and a connecting portion of the valve body 407 are arranged. The second guide rib 333 extends in the same direction as the first guide rib 332 from an outer peripheral wall 330B (one example of a covering member) of a lower penetration portion where the electrode rod 331B is press-fitted. Incidentally, the second guide rib 333 may extend from an outer peripheral wall 330A (one example of a covering member) of an upper penetration portion where the electrode rod 331A is press-fitted. The first guide rib 332 is supported by a first support rib 334 at a front side thereof. The first support rib 334 protrudes from an inner surface of the first ink chamber 301 and extends in a vertical direction to partially partition the first ink chamber 301.

(23) As described above, when the valve body 407 moves up and down, only a second guide rib 333 is provided in the first ink chamber 301. The first guide rib 332 of the related art is not provided. As a result, if the valve body 407 hits only the second guide rib 333 when moving up and down, the operation of the valve body 407 becomes unstable. Therefore, the valve body 407 of the present illustrative embodiment is provided with the guide member 408 for stabilizing a moving operation during vertical movement in the flat plate portion 407A. As is clear from FIGS. 9A and 9B, a length L1 of the guide member 408 is substantially the same as a distance L2 between the flat plate portion 407A and a wall of the ink tank 500. That is, the length L1 of the guide member 408 is substantially equal to a sum of a length in an extension direction of the second guide rib 333 and a thickness of the outer peripheral wall 330B from the wall of the ink tank 500. Due to the presence of the guide member 408, the valve body 407 during vertical movement can move up and down stably in cooperation with the second guide rib 333. The first support rib 334 may be configured to guide the flat plate portion 407A and/or the guide member 408.

(24) Further, as is clear from FIG. 9C, there are no members around the electrode rods 331A and 331B which hinder progress of air (air bubbles) like the first guide rib 332 of the related art. As illustrated in a front view and a plan view of FIG. 7C, since the first guide rib 332 of the related art is provided vertically above so as to cover a part of the communication passage 22 and is arranged at a position extremely close to the electrode rod 331B, air (air bubbles) rising almost vertically upward from the communication passage 220 is retained. Therefore, there is a possibility that false detection of a sensor may occur due to the air (air bubbles) staying in the vicinity of the electrode rods 331A and 331B.

(25) However, in the ink tank of the illustrative embodiment, a member such as the first guide rib 332 is deleted and a guide member 408 is provided on the valve body 407 side. As is clear from FIG. 9C, the guide member 408 is not arranged vertically above the communication passage 220 in a plan view. Therefore, as with the first guide rib 332 of the related art, the vertical movement of the valve body 407 is stable and the retention of air (air bubbles) in the vicinity of the sensor can be reduced. As a result, false detection of the sensor can be reduced.

Modification Example

(26) In the illustrative embodiment described above and shown in FIGS. 8A to 10, the guide member 408 extends from the flat plate portion 407A of the valve body 407 in the direction orthogonal to the flat plate portion 407A and in the vertical direction. However, for the purpose of not blocking the rising air (air bubbles), the guide member 408 may extend in a direction intersecting the flat plate portion 407A and in a direction having a vertical component.

(27) Further, the vertical component may have an angle more than a horizontal component.

(28) In addition, although the first guide rib 332 is eliminated and the guide member 408 is provided. However, the first guide rib 332 may be shortened (lower height) to have a larger amount of air (air bubbles) passing through than the ink tank of the related art, and then the vertical movement of the valve body 407 may be stabilized in cooperation with the guide member 408.

(29) In addition, when a diameter of a flange portion which supports the seal member 409 is made larger than the current diameter, the possibility of movement of the seal member 409 will be reduced, and further, by storing air (bubbles) here, the movement of air (bubbles) to the electrode rod can be reduced.