Liquid supplying device having tank and cartridge attachable thereto

The present application is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 11,117,382, which claims priority as a continuation-in-part application from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/902,755, filed on Feb. 22, 2018,now U.S. Pat. No. 11,077,668,which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-037642, filed on Feb. 28, 2017. The present application further claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-163493, filed on Aug. 31, 2018. The disclosures of each of these applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

The present disclosure relates to a liquid supplying device having a tank capable of storing liquid therein and a cartridge attachable to the tank, and an image forming apparatus including the liquid supplying device.

Conventionally, there has been known a liquid supplying device provided with a cartridge in which ink is stored, a sub tank connected to a recording head, and a liquid flow passage and a gas flow passage which connects the cartridge and the sub tank. The cartridge is disposed vertically above the sub tank. The liquid flow passage and the gas flow passage connect the cartridge and the sub tank in the vertical direction. The liquid flow passage and the gas flow passage are opened to the lower surface of the cartridge and the upper surface of the sub tank, respectively. Such a liquid supply device is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4934338, for example.

In the sub tank, the liquid flow passage extends below the gas flow passage, and the opening position of the gas flow passage is higher than the opening position of the liquid flow passage. When the cartridge is connected in a state in which there is no ink in the sub tank, such as when replacing the cartridge, the ink in the cartridge naturally drops via the liquid flow passage and is introduced into the sub tank. At this time, the air in the sub tank having the same volume as the amount of introduced ink is introduced into the cartridge via the gas flow passage. Such a gas-liquid substitution is performed until the opening of the gas flow passage is blocked by ink, and the ink is stored in the sub tank.

When ink is ejected from the recording head at the time of executing the recording operation, the amount of ink in the sub tank decreases and the liquid level of the ink in the sub tank decreases. As a result, since the opening of the gas flow passage is opened, ink is supplied from the cartridge into the sub tank via the liquid flow passage. When the level of ink in the sub tank rises due to the introduction of the ink and the opening of the gas flow passage is blocked, the supply of ink from the cartridge is stopped. Ink is replenished from the cartridge to the sub tank so as to compensate for consumption of ink in the recording head, and the height of the liquid level of the ink in the sub tank is kept at the opening position of the gas flow passage. Therefore, by exchanging the cartridge in which the ink is empty with the cartridge filled with ink while the sub tank is disposed in a printer, the printer can be continuously used.

In the liquid supplying device, the cartridge is connected to the sub tank in the vertical direction. When the cartridge is replaced, the cartridge needs to be attached and detached in the vertical direction. Since the cartridge cannot be replaced from the front of the printer, it is inconvenient and operability in exchange of the cartridge is poor. On the other hand, in a conceivable configuration in which the cartridge is attached to and detached from the sub tank in a direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, gas (bubbles) flown from the sub tank into the cartridge may stay or float near the opening of the liquid flow passage. This may possibly cause the gas to return to the sub tank through the opening of the liquid flow passage.

The disclosure has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid supplying device which has good operability in replacing a cartridge and which is capable of suppressing possibility that gas (bubbles) flown into a cartridge will return to a tank.

According to one aspect, the disclosure provides a liquid supplying device including a tank and a cartridge. The cartridge is configured to be attached to and detached from the tank in an attachment-detachment direction crossing a vertical direction. The cartridge includes a first storage chamber configured to store liquid. The tank includes a second storage chamber, a liquid passage, a gas passage, and an air communication portion. The second storage chamber is configured to store the liquid. The liquid passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The liquid passage has a first end, a second end, and a first extending portion. The first end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a first opening. The second end is opposite to the first end and formed with a second opening open to an atmosphere. The first extending portion extends from the second opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The gas passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The gas passage has a third end, a fourth end, and a second extending portion. The third end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a third opening. The fourth end is opposite to the third end and formed with a fourth opening open to the atmosphere. The second extending portion extends from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The air communication portion has an air communication opening allowing the second storage chamber to communicate with the atmosphere. The second opening is at a position different from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. In an attachment state where the first storage chamber is in communication with both the second opening and the fourth opening, the first storage chamber has a portion positioned above the liquid passage and the gas passage.

According to another aspect, the disclosure provides an image recording apparatus including a liquid supplying device. The liquid supplying device includes a tank and a cartridge. The cartridge is configured to be attached and detached from the tank in an attachment-detachment direction crossing a vertical direction. The cartridge includes a first storage chamber configured to store liquid. The tank includes a second storage chamber, a liquid passage, a gas passage, and an air communication portion. The second storage chamber is configured to store the liquid. The liquid passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The liquid passage has a first end, a second end, and a first extending portion. The first end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a first opening. The second end is opposite to the first end and formed with a second opening open to an atmosphere. The first extending portion extends from the second opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The gas passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The gas passage has a third end, a fourth end, and a second extending portion. The third end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a third opening. The fourth end is opposite to the third end and formed with a fourth opening open to the atmosphere. The second extending portion extends from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The air communication portion has an air communication opening allowing the second storage chamber to communicate with the atmosphere. The second opening is positioned different from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. In an attachment state where the first storage chamber is in communication with both the second opening and the fourth opening, the first storage chamber has a portion positioned above the liquid passage and the gas passage.

According to still another aspect, the disclosure provides a liquid supplying device includes a tank, to which a cartridge is detachably attached in an attachment-detachment direction crossing a vertical direction. The cartridge includes a first storage chamber configured to store liquid. The tank includes a second storage chamber, a liquid passage, a gas passage, and an air communication portion. The second storage chamber is configured to store the liquid. The liquid passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The liquid passage has a first end, a second end, and a first extending portion. The first end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a first opening. The second end is opposite to the first end and formed with a second opening open to an atmosphere. The first extending portion extends from the second opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The gas passage is in communication with the second storage chamber. The gas passage has a third end, a fourth end, and a second extending portion. The third end is connected to the second storage chamber and formed with a third opening. The fourth end is opposite to the third end and formed with a fourth opening open to the atmosphere. The second extending portion extends from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. The air communication portion has an air communication opening allowing the second storage chamber to communicate with the atmosphere. The second opening is at a position different from the fourth opening in the attachment-detachment direction. In an attachment state where both the second opening and the fourth opening are communication with the first storage chamber of the cartridge, the liquid passage and the gas passage are positioned below a portion of the first storage chamber.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the disclosure will be described. It is noted that the embodiments described below are merely examples of the disclosure and the embodiments of the disclosure can be appropriately modified without changing the scope of the disclosure. Further, on the basis of the posture (the posture of, and referred to as “use posture” occasionally) in which a multifunction machineand an ink cartridgeattached to the multifunction machineare installed on a horizontal plane so as to be usable, an up-down direction(an example of a cross direction) is defined, and a front-rear directionis defined by a surface provided with an openingof the multifunction machineas the front surface, and a left-right directionis defined when the multifunction machineis viewed from the front side. In this embodiment, at the use posture, the up-down directioncorresponds to the vertical direction, and the front-rear directionand the left-right directioncorrespond to the horizontal direction.

Hereinafter, the multifunction machine(an example of an image recording device) and the ink supplying device(an example of a liquid supplying device) according to this embodiment will be described.

As illustrated in, the multifunction machinehas a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The multifunction machinehas a printer unit, a scanner unit, and an operation panel. The printer unitis located in a lower part of the multifunction machine, and records an image on a sheet(see) in an ink jet recording method. The scanner unitis a device having a scan function and is located in an upper part of the printer unit. The printer unitis provided with a casinghaving an openingthat is opened forward, and an ink supplying devicelocated on a right side of the openinginside the casing. The operation panelis located in a front part of the scanner unit. The operation panelis operated by a user so as to cause the multifunction machineto execute image recording by the printer unitor image reading by the scanner unit.

As illustrated in, a feeding unit, a feeding tray, a discharge tray, a pair of conveying rollers, a recording unit, a pair of discharge rollers, and a platenare disposed inside the casing.

As illustrated in, the feeding traycan be inserted into and removed from the casingthrough the openingalong the front-rear direction. The openingis located on the front surface of the multifunction machineand at the central portion in the left-right direction. As illustrated in, the feeding traycan support a plurality of stacked sheets. The discharge trayis disposed in the upper part of the feeding trayand is inserted and extracted along the front-rear directiontogether with the feeding tray. The discharge traysupports the sheetdischarged by the pair of discharge rollers.

The feeding unitfeeds the sheetsupported by the feeding trayto a conveying path. As illustrated in, the feeding unitis provided with a feeding roller, a feeding arm, and a shaft. The feeding rolleris rotatably supported at the distal end of the feeding arm. Driving is transmitted to the feeding rollerfrom a feeding motor (not illustrated). The feeding armis rotatably supported by the shaftthat is supported by a frame of the printer unit. The feeding armis pivotally urged toward the feeding trayby its own weight or an elastic force of a spring.

Hereinafter, the rotation of the feeding roller, the conveying roller, and the discharge rollerrelated to the conveyance of the sheetin a conveying directionA for conveying the sheetis indicated as “normal rotation”. The rotation of the feeding roller, the conveying roller, and the discharge rolleropposite rotation to the normal rotation is indicated as “reverse rotation”.

As illustrated in, the conveying pathindicates a space which is partially formed by an outer guide memberand an inner guide memberfacing each other at a predetermined interval inside the printer unit. The conveying pathis a path extending rearward from the rear end portion of the feeding tray. The conveying pathis bent forward as making U-turn, while extending upward at the rear portion of the printer unit, and reaches the discharge trayvia the space between the recording unitand the platen. As illustrated in, the conveying pathbetween the pair of conveying rollersand the pair of discharge rollersis provided at the substantially center of the multifunction machinein the left-right direction, and extends in the front-rear direction. The conveying directionA of the sheetin the conveying pathis indicated by the arrow in.

As illustrated in, the pair of conveying rollersis located upstream of the recording unitin the conveying directionA. The pair of conveying rollershas a conveying rollerand a pinch rollerthat face each other. The driving is transmitted to the conveying rollerfrom a conveying motor (not illustrated), and the conveying rollerrotates in the normal rotation or the reverse rotation. The pinch rollerrotates with the rotation of the conveying roller. The sheetis conveyed in the conveying directionA, while being nipped between the conveying rollerand the pinch rollerrotating in the normal direction.

As illustrated in, the pair of discharge rollersis disposed downstream of the recording unitin the conveying directionA. The pair of discharge rollershas a discharge rollerand a spurfacing each other. The driving force generated by a conveying motor (not illustrated) is transmitted to the discharge rollerto rotate in the normal rotation or the reverse rotation. The spurrotates with the rotation of the discharge roller. The sheetis conveyed in the conveying directionA, while being nipped between the discharge rollerand the spurrotating in the normal rotation.

As illustrated in, the recording unitis located between the pair of conveying rollersand the pair of discharge rollersin the conveying directionA. The recording unitfaces the platenin the up-down directionacross the conveying path. The recording unitis provided with a carriage, and a recording headmounted on the carriage.

As illustrated in, the carriageis supported by guide railsandeach extending in the left-right direction. The guide railsandare separated in the front-rear directionand supported by a frame (not illustrated). The carriageis connected to a known belt mechanism provided on the guide rail. Driving force generated by a carriage driving motor (not illustrated) is transmitted to the belt mechanism, and the belt mechanism circulates. As the belt mechanism rotates, the carriagereciprocally moves in the left-right direction, while being guided by the guide railsand. The range of movement of the carriageextends to the right and to the left of the widthB of the conveying path, as indicated by the alternate long and short dashed line of.

The recording headand the four sub tanks(to be described later) provided in the ink supplying deviceare connected by four ink tubes. The recording headis connected to a control board (not illustrated) by a flexible flat cable.

The four sub tanksto be described later are a magenta sub tankM, a cyan sub tankC, a yellow sub tankY, and a black sub tankB. The magenta sub tankM, the cyan sub tankC, the yellow sub tankY, and the black sub tankB are collectively referred to as sub tanks, unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish in this specification.

The four ink tubesinclude a yellow ink tubeY, a cyan ink tubeC, a magenta ink tubeM, and a black ink tubeB. The yellow ink tubeY, the cyan ink tubeC, the magenta ink tubeM, and the black ink tubeB are collectively referred to as ink tubesunless it is particularly necessary to distinguish in this specification. The four ink tubesare bundled together.

The flexible flat cableelectrically connects the control board, on which the control unit is mounted, and the recording head. The flexible flat cabletransmits a control signal, which is output from the control unit, to the recording head.

As illustrated in, a plurality of nozzlesis disposed on the lower surface of the recording head. The distal ends of the plurality of nozzlesare exposed from the lower surface of the recording head. The recording headejects ink from the nozzleas minute ink droplets. In the course of movement of the carriage, the recording headejects the ink droplets toward the sheetsupported by the platen. As a result, an image is recorded on the sheet. Further, the ink stored in the four sub tanksis consumed.

As illustrated in, the platenis disposed between the pair of conveying rollersand the pair of discharge rollersin the conveying path. The platenis disposed to face the recording unitin the up-down directionacross the conveying path. The platensupports the sheetconveyed by the pair of conveying rollersfrom below.

As illustrated in, an openingis formed in the right front part of the casing. An ink supplying deviceis housed in the casing, and the front surface of the ink supplying deviceis exposed from the opening. A covercapable of opening and closing the openingis attached to the casing. The lower end portion of the coveris supported by the casingso as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right directionbelow the opening. The coveris rotatable between a close position (a position illustrated in) for closing the openingand an open position (a position illustrated in) for opening the opening.

As illustrated in, the coverhas a light-transmitting portion. The light-transmitting portionhas translucency so that the internal structure can be visually recognized from the outside of the cover. When the coveris at the close position, the front surface of the ink cartridgeattached to the ink supplying devicecan be visually recognized from the light-transmitting portion.

As illustrated in, the ink supplying device(an example of a liquid supplying device) is provided with a housing case, four sub tanks, an atmospheric communication portion(see), and a magenta ink cartridgeM, a cyan ink cartridgeC, a yellow ink cartridgeY, and a black ink cartridgeB.

As illustrated in, The magenta ink cartridgeM, the cyan ink cartridgeC, the yellow ink cartridgeY, and the black ink cartridgeB are collectively referred to as ink cartridges(an example of cartridges) unless it is particularly necessary to distinguish in this specification.

illustrates a state in which only the magenta ink cartridgeM located at the leftmost side in the left-right directionamong the four ink cartridgesis housed in the housing case.

As illustrated in, the ink cartridgeis provided with a cartridge main bodyand a joint receiving portion. The cartridge main bodyhas a first storage chamberthat stores ink (an example of liquid).

The cartridge main bodyhas a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape. The cartridge main bodyhas a substantially rectangular shape as viewed from the up-down directionand the front-rear direction. The cartridge main bodyhas a protruding portionprotruding downward at the front end portion of the cartridge main body. The cartridge main bodyhas an upper wall, a sub-lower wall, a right wall(see), a left wall(see), a rear wall, a front wall, and a lower wall. The lower wallis located at the front part and the lower end part of the cartridge main body, and is located below the sub-lower wall. The sub-lower wallis located rearward of the lower wall. The cartridge main bodyhas a communication portwhich is opened rearward (an example of the horizontal direction) at the protruding portionand in communication with the first storage chamber. The communication portis an opening which is defined by the sub-lower wall, the lower wall, the right wall, and the left wall. The communication portis an example of a communicating opening.

On the upper wall, an abutment portionprotruding upward is provided at the central portion in the front-rear direction. The abutment portionis a portion that abuts against a lock lever(to be described later) of the housing case.

The upper surface of the sub-lower wallthat defines the bottom surface of the first storage chamberis inclined downward toward the protruding portionin the front-rear direction.

The joint receiving portionhas a cylindrical shape extending rearward from the portion surrounding the communication portin the cartridge main body. The joint receiving portionis a portion into which a joint(to be described later) of the sub tankis inserted.

illustrates an attachment state where the ink cartridgeis attached to the sub tank.illustrates a separated state where the ink cartridgeis separated from the sub tank. The attachment state will be illustrated in detail below.

The joint receiving portionis provided with a plug membercapable of closing the communication port, and a springwhich urges the plug memberrearward. As illustrated in, in a state in which no external force is applied to the ink cartridge, the plug memberis at the position which closes the communication port. The springextends in the front-rear directionbetween the plug memberand the front wall, and can be compressed in the front-rear direction. As illustrated in, when a forward external force greater than the elastic force of the springis applied to the plug memberby the joint, the plug membermoves forward and is separated from the communication port.

As illustrated in, the housing casehas a rectangular parallelepiped box shape having an open front end. The housing casehas an upper wall, a lower wall, a right wall, a left wall, a rear wall, and three partition walls. The upper wall, the lower wall, the right wall, the left wall, and the rear walldefine an internal spacethat has an open front end. The three partition wallsare walls parallel to the right walland the left wall, and partition the internal spaceinto four spaces. Each of the four ink cartridgescan be mounted or attached in each of the partitioned four spaces.

As illustrated in, the housing caseis provided with the lock leverthat holds the ink cartridgein the internal space. The lock leveris a plate-like member extending in the front-rear direction. The central portion of the lock leveris provided on the upper wallso as to be rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right direction. The lock leverrotates between a lock position inclined rearward and an unlock position inclined forward. In a state where no external force is applied, the lock leveris inclined rearward by its own weight and located at the lock position. At the lock position, the rear end portion of the lock leverabuts against the front surface of the abutment portionof the ink cartridgein the internal space, and restricts the ink cartridgefrom moving forward in the front-rear direction. When the front end portion of the lock leverof the lock position is pressed downward by the user's finger, the lock leverrotates from the lock position to the unlock position. At the unlock position, the rear end portion of the lock leveris located above the front surface of the abutment portion. Since the lock leverat the unlock position does not abut against the abutment portionof the ink cartridgewhich moves forward in the front-rear direction(as an example of an attachment-detachment direction), the ink cartridgecan be detached from the housing case.

illustrate a sub tank(an example of a tank). The sub tankis located below the lower wallof the housing case.

As illustrated in, the sub tankis provided with a tank main bodyand the joint. A second storage chamberwhich stores ink is formed inside the tank main body. The sub tankis provided with a liquid flow passage(example of a liquid passage) and a gas flow passage(example of a gas passage) that communicate with the second storage chamber. The liquid flow passageand the gas flow passageare formed inside the tank main bodyand inside the joint. Further, the sub tankis provided with an atmospheric communication port(see) that causes the second storage chamberto communicate with the outside. The atmospheric communication portis an example of an air communication portion.

As illustrated in, the liquid flow passageand the gas flow passageare located in parallel.

The liquid flow passagehas a first opening, a second opening, a vertical portionas an example of a first vertical portion, and a horizontal portionas an example of a first extending portion. The first openingis an opening which is formed on one end side (a rear end side) of the liquid flow passageand communicates with the second storage chamber. The first openingis opened along the up-down direction. The second openingis an opening which is formed on the other end side (a front end side) opposite to the one end side of the liquid flow passageand is opened to the outside or atmosphere. The second openingis opened along the front-rear direction. The second openingis located inside the first storage chamberof the ink cartridgein the attachment state of the ink cartridge. The vertical portionis a portion extending upward from the first openingin the liquid flow passage. The horizontal portionis a portion extending rearward from the second openingin the liquid flow passage. The upper end portion of the vertical portionis connected to the rear end portion of the horizontal portion.

The gas flow passagehas a third opening, a fourth opening, a vertical portionas an example of a second vertical portion, and a horizontal portionas an example of a second extending portion. The third openingis an opening which is formed on one end side (a rear end side) of the gas flow passageand allows communication between the gas flow passageand the second storage chamber. The third openingis opened along the up-down direction. The fourth openingis an opening which is formed on the other end side (a front end side) opposite to the one end side of the gas flow passage, and is opened to the outside or atmosphere. The fourth openingis opened along the front-rear direction. The fourth openingcommunicates with the first storage chamberof the ink cartridgein a state where the ink cartridgeis attached to the sub tank. The vertical portionis a portion extending upward from the third openingin the gas flow passage. The horizontal portionis a portion extending rearward from the fourth openingin the gas flow passage. The horizontal portionis positioned above the horizontal portion. The upper end portion of the vertical portionis connected to the rear end portion of the horizontal portion.

The second openingof the horizontal portionis at a position different from the fourth openingof the horizontal portionin the front-rear direction. Specifically, the second openingis closer to the first openingof the vertical portionthan the fourth openingof the horizontal portionis to the first openingin the front-rear direction. In other words, the second openingis positioned behind the fourth opening. A length L2 of the horizontal portionin the front-rear directionis longer than a length L1 of the horizontal portionin the front-rear direction(L1<L2).

In the attachment state where the first storage chamberis in communication with both the second openingand the fourth opening, the first storage chamberhas a portion positioned above the liquid flow passageand the gas flow passage. In other words, in the attachment state where both the second openingand the fourth openingare in communication with the first storage chamberof the cartridge, the liquid flow passageand the gas flow passageare positioned below the portion of the first storage chamber.

The tank main bodyhas an approximately rectangular parallelepiped outer wall. The tank main bodyhas a substantially T shape (see) as viewed in the up-down direction, has a substantially rectangular shape (see) as viewed in the front-rear direction, and has an L shape as viewed in the left-right direction(see).