WO2014000634A1

WO2014000634A1 - Ink injection apparatus and ink injection method

Info

Publication number: WO2014000634A1
Application number: PCT/CN2013/077919
Authority: WO
Inventors: 曾诗意
Original assignee: 珠海天威飞马打印耗材有限公司
Priority date: 2012-06-29
Filing date: 2013-06-25
Publication date: 2014-01-03
Also published as: CN102717601A; CN102717601B

Abstract

Disclosed are an ink injection apparatus and an ink injection method. The ink injection apparatus comprises a housing, which houses at least one ink container (1500) and is provided with an ink cartridge seat (1120) and a controller. The controller is electrically connected to a vacuum pump (1720) and an electromagnetic valve (1730), respectively. The bottom part of the ink container (1500) is in communication with an ink cartridge (1110) mounted on the ink cartridge seat (1120) via an ink supply tube (1713), and the top part of the ink container (1500) is in communication with the vacuum pump (1720) via a negative pressure tube (1711), the top part of the ink container being further in communication with the electromagnetic valve (1730) via a pressure relief tube (1712). The ink injection method comprises controlling, by means of the controller, the vacuum pump (1720) to be activated and to perform an operation of withdrawing the ink container (1500) and the ink cartridge (1110) to a negative pressure, and after the operation, controlling by the controller the electromagnetic valve (1730) to be activated and an ink injection operation to be performed on the ink cartridge (1110). The apparatus and the method can avoid ink passage through the electromagnetic valve so as to avoid blocking of the electromagnetic valve, and are also advantageous in shortening the tube length of the ink injection apparatus so as to reduce production cost.

Description

Ink filling device and ink filling method

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of printing consumables, and more particularly to an ink filling device for filling an ink cartridge and an ink filling method.

Background technique

When the inkjet printer is in operation, the ink cartridge is provided with an ink source by using an ink cartridge containing ink, and the ink is transported to the inkjet head via a corresponding ink flow path, and the nozzle provided on the inkjet head drives the ink under the driving of the printing signal. It is ejected onto a recording medium such as paper to complete the description of characters or graphics on the printing medium.

According to the arrangement relationship between the inkjet head and the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge includes two types: an integrated ink cartridge and a split ink cartridge. The ink jet head of the integrated ink cartridge is integrated with the ink receiving chamber, and the ink jet head is disposed on the ink outlet of the ink cartridge. The ink jet head of the split type ink cartridge is separated from the ink containing chamber, the ink is stored in the ink containing chamber, and the ink jet head is disposed on the frame of the ink jet printer.

Since the inkjet head of the integrated ink cartridge is easily damaged and the price of the inkjet head is relatively high, more and more users choose a split type ink cartridge, and the present invention mainly relates to an ink filling device for filling ink of a split type ink cartridge and filling The ink method, therefore, the following ink cartridges are all referred to as split ink cartridges.

The existing split type ink cartridge comprises a negative pressure chamber and an ink chamber, and the two chambers are connected through a conduction port, and a sponge body for generating capillary force to hold the ink and ink supply with the printer are arranged in the negative pressure chamber. The ink outlet of the needle is connected to the ink cartridge, and a chip is mounted on the ink cartridge. Obviously, if the split type ink cartridge is directly discarded after the ink is exhausted, the chips that can continue to be used and the plastics and films which are not naturally degraded on the ink cartridges will be discarded together with the ink cartridges, thus easily causing waste of resources and Environmental pollution. Therefore, whether it is from the user's printing cost saving or environmental protection, it is necessary to refill the ink cartridge that has run out of ink, so that it can be used for secondary use.

The utility model publication No. CN201784252U discloses an earlier ink filling device which comprises a device body having an ink chamber and an aspirator. The aspirator includes a barrel, a handle, a piston, and a piston rod. When the ink refilling device is used to refill the ink cartridge, first, the user installs the ink cartridge into the main body of the device, and then the user pulls the handle so that the piston rod drives the piston to move away from the cylinder body, thereby extracting the ink. The air in the chamber and the ink cartridge creates a negative pressure inside the ink chamber and the inside of the ink cartridge. Then, the user releases the handle, and the piston rod slowly returns to the barrel under the action of atmospheric pressure, causing the ink in the ink chamber to be pressed into the ink cartridge, and thus, the ink filling operation of the ink cartridge is completed once. The user needs to inject the ink cartridge repeatedly several times in order to fill the ink cartridge with enough ink. Therefore, the ink filling device is used to inject ink into the ink cartridge. In the process of filling the ink, it is necessary to manually and repeatedly operate the aspirator, which is time consuming and laborious, and it is also impossible to inject a plurality of ink cartridges at the same time.

In order to improve the working efficiency of the ink filling operation, the utility model patent number CN200954713Y discloses an invention named "quantitative automatic ink refilling machine", which has a vacuum pump, and the vacuum pump communicates with the buffer bottle through the pipeline, and The buffer bottle is connected to the ink filling head through a pipe, and the ink filling head is inserted into the top of the ink cartridge. Moreover, the ink-filling head is also in communication with the solenoid valve through a pipe, and the solenoid valve is in communication with the ink bottle through the pipe.

In the ink injection operation, the vacuum pump is first turned on, and the vacuum pump is used to draw the negative pressure on the ink cartridge. After the negative pressure operation is completed, there is a pressure difference on both sides of the electromagnetic valve, that is, the external atmospheric pressure is higher than the air pressure inside the ink cartridge. At this time, the solenoid valve is opened, and the ink in the ink bottle flows into the ink cartridge under the action of the air pressure, thereby realizing automatic ink filling.

technical problem

However, the above-mentioned ink refilling machine requires a long pipe connecting the vacuum pump, the buffer bottle, the ink cartridge, the solenoid valve, and the ink bottle, resulting in a high production cost of the ink refilling machine. In addition, since the ink flows into the ink cartridge from the ink bottle during the ink filling process, it needs to flow through the solenoid valve, which may cause some of the ink to remain in the solenoid valve. When the ink is dry, ink remains in the solenoid valve. After a long period of use, these solid inks will cause clogging of the solenoid valve and affect the operation of the ink injector. To avoid the clogging of the solenoid valve, the solenoid valve needs to be cleaned frequently, but for the average user, it is not easy to disassemble and clean the solenoid valve. If the operation is inadvertent, it will affect the tightness of the pipe connection, resulting in a note. The occurrence of ink leakage during the ink process is not conducive to the use of the ink refilling machine.

Technical solution

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A primary object of the present invention is to provide an ink filling apparatus that effectively avoids clogging of a solenoid valve and achieves automatic ink filling.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink filling method which is simple and convenient for the ink filling operation and which is not easily blocked by the electromagnetic valve.

In order to achieve the above main object, the ink filling device provided by the present invention comprises a housing having at least one ink container therein, and an ink cartridge holder and a controller are further disposed in the housing, the controller is electrically connected to a vacuum pump, and the controller Electrically connected to a solenoid valve, wherein the bottom of the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge through the ink supply pipe, and the top of the ink container communicates with the vacuum pump through the negative pressure pipe, and the top of the ink container also passes through the pressure relief pipe and the electromagnetic The valve is connected.

A preferred solution is that a vacuum pump control module and a solenoid valve control module are provided in the controller, and the vacuum pump control module is configured to send a vacuum pump control signal to the vacuum pump according to the received signal, and the solenoid valve control module is configured to send the solenoid valve according to the vacuum pump control signal. Solenoid valve control signal.

A further solution is that the controller further includes a residual ink judging module for recording the initial ink value of each ink container, and calculating the ink value of the ink container after each ink filling operation to determine whether the ink value reaches the threshold range. If the ink value reaches the threshold range, an alarm signal is issued.

A further solution is that a position sensor is disposed in the ink cartridge holder, the position sensor is electrically connected to the controller, and the controller further includes an ink cartridge identification module that receives the output signal of the position sensor, and is configured to determine according to the detection signal output by the position sensor. Whether the ink cartridge is in place and signals the vacuum pump control module.

In order to achieve the above other object, the ink filling method provided by the present invention is to fill the ink cartridge by using an ink filling device, the ink filling device has a casing, the casing contains at least one ink container, and the ink cartridge seat is further disposed in the casing. And a controller, the controller is electrically connected to a vacuum pump, and the controller is electrically connected to a solenoid valve, wherein the bottom of the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge through the ink supply pipe, and the top of the ink container passes through the negative pressure pipe The vacuum container is connected to the vacuum pump, and the top of the ink container is also connected to the electromagnetic valve through the pressure relief pipe. The method comprises: after the ink cartridge is mounted to the ink cartridge holder, the controller controls the vacuum pump to start and performs the negative pressure operation on the ink container and the ink cartridge, After the pressure operation is completed, the controller controls the solenoid valve to open the ink cartridge and perform an ink filling operation.

A preferred solution is that after the ink filling operation is completed, the controller executes the residual ink determining step, subtracting the ink filling value of the ink filling operation from the current ink value of the recorded ink container, obtaining a new ink value, and judging the new one. Whether the ink value reaches the threshold range, such as reaching the threshold range, an alarm signal is issued.

A further solution is that a position sensor for sending a detection signal to the controller is provided in the ink cartridge holder. Before performing the vacuum operation, the controller determines whether the ink cartridge is installed in position according to the detection signal output by the position sensor, and if the installation is in place, performing the pumping Press the operation, otherwise, the alarm signal that the ink cartridge is not installed is in place.

Beneficial effect

When the above-mentioned ink filling device is used for filling the ink, the controller controls the vacuum pump to work, and the negative operation of the ink container and the ink cartridge is performed, and the solenoid valve is controlled after the negative pressure is completed, and the ink is supplied from the ink container. The ink channel flows into the ink cartridge, so that the automatic ink filling is completed, and the ink filling operation is simple and convenient.

Moreover, since the ink container communicates with the electromagnetic valve through the pressure relief pipe, and the bottom of the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge through the ink supply pipe, the electromagnetic valve is not disposed on the pipe in which the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge, and the ink does not flow during the ink filling process. Through the solenoid valve, the residual ink is not formed on the solenoid valve, so that ink is not formed, and the clogging of the solenoid valve due to the ink is effectively prevented.

In addition, the ink filling device is provided with an ink supply pipe, a pressure relief pipe and a negative pressure pipe, and the number and length of the pipe are reduced, which can reduce the production cost of the ink filling device.

Moreover, the module for controlling the vacuum pump and the module for controlling the solenoid valve are set in the controller, and the operation of the vacuum pump and the solenoid valve is automatically controlled by the controller, thereby reducing the participation of the user, making the ink filling operation more automatic, and facilitating the user to self-implant. ink.

In addition, the controller calculates the real-time ink value of each ink container, and determines the ink value after each ink filling operation, and promptly informs the user to replace the new ink container when the ink amount of the ink container is low, ensuring each time The filling operation was carried out smoothly.

In addition, the controller can determine whether the ink cartridge is installed in place by the detection signal output by the position sensor. Only when the ink cartridge is judged to be in place, the vacuum pump is controlled to work, and the vacuum pump is prevented from working when the ink cartridge is not installed in place to ensure smooth operation of the ink filling operation.

After applying the above-mentioned ink filling method, after the ink cartridge is installed in the ink filling device, the controller controls the operation of the vacuum pump and the electromagnetic valve, and performs pressure-reduction operation on the ink container and the ink cartridge, and then depressurizes the ink in the ink container. The ink pipe flows into the ink cartridge to achieve ink filling of the ink cartridge. The ink filling process is completely controlled by the controller, and the user can conveniently fill the ink cartridge without the user's participation.

Moreover, during the ink filling operation, the ink of the ink container flows into the ink cartridge only through the ink supply pipe, does not flow through the pressure relief pipe and the electromagnetic valve, and therefore does not form residual ink on the electromagnetic valve, nor does it form ink. To avoid blockage of the solenoid valve.

DRAWINGS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a structural view of an embodiment of an ink filling device of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a structural view showing the upper cover and the lower cover of the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention, in which the respective pipes are omitted.

4 is a structural view showing that the ink cartridge is not mounted with an adapter and the gland and the ink cartridge holder are in a snap-fit state in the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention, and a large-capacity ink cartridge is mounted in the drawing.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of Figure 2 with the two glands omitted.

Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a view showing the ink cartridge in the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention in which the adapter is mounted and the gland and the ink cartridge holder are in a snap-fit state in which a small-capacity ink cartridge is mounted.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the four glands and two adapters of Fig. 7 omitted.

Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line B-B of Fig. 7;

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink container in an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a structural schematic view showing the ink filling of an ink cartridge in the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 12 is a schematic view showing the structure of an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention in which a dummy ink cartridge is mounted.

Figure 13 is a schematic view showing the connection of the ink filling pipe of the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 14 is a bottom plan view of the ink cartridge holder of the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 15 is a perspective view showing the ink cartridge in which the ink cartridge holder of the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention is mounted.

Figure 16 is a schematic view showing four working states of the micro switch of the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention before and after loading of the different ink cartridges.

Figure 17 is a circuit diagram of a single chip microcomputer and its peripheral circuits of an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 18 is an electrical schematic diagram of an LED lamp and a start button in an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 19 is an electrical schematic diagram of a microswitch in an embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 20 is a block diagram showing the principle of a single chip microcomputer, a micro switch, a vacuum pump and a solenoid valve in the embodiment of the ink filling device of the present invention.

Figure 21 is a flow chart of an embodiment of the ink filling method of the present invention.

The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

Embodiments of the invention

Ink filling device embodiment:

[Integration structure of ink filling device]

Referring to Fig. 1, the ink filling device 1100 has a housing composed of an upper casing 1140, a lower casing 1150, an openable upper cover 1160, and an openable lower cover 1170. The casing encloses a closed space. A start button 1911 and a plurality of LED lights capable of displaying the operation state of the ink filling device 1100 are disposed on the top of the upper casing 1140, and include a green LED lamp 1921 and six red and green bicolor LED lamps 1922, which have different working states in the ink filling device. Next, the

LED lights

1921, 1922 may be flashing or long bright.

Referring to FIG. 2, a plurality of ink containers 1500 respectively disposed with ink stagnation bins 1400 are installed in the ink filling device 1100. When the gland 1200 is in the engaged state, the ink cartridges are fixed to the ink filling device 1100 by the gland 1200. Inside.

Referring to FIG. 3, the ink filling device 1100 has a device base 1102 that includes an ink cartridge holder 1120 and an ink container holder 1600. A plurality of bottom slots 1130 and a gland 1200 disposed corresponding to each of the bottom slots 1130 are disposed on the ink cartridge holder 1120. On each of the bottom grooves 1130, there is a silicone pad 1131 as a first sealing member, and a rubber pad 1204 as a second sealing member is provided inside each of the glands 1200. The gland 1200 is rotatable relative to a support shaft 1122 of the cartridge holder 1120 such that the gland 1200 is snapped or disengaged from the buckle 1121 on the cartridge holder 1120. The snap-fit gland 1200 positions the ink cartridge 1110L on the bottom slot 1130.

[ink cartridge]

The ink filling device 1100 is detachably provided with a plurality of ink cartridges. The types of the plurality of ink cartridges are divided into black ink cartridges and color ink cartridges according to the color of the ink contained therein, and the ink cartridges of each color are further divided into a large-capacity ink cartridge and a small-capacity ink cartridge according to the ink capacity. The black large-capacity ink cartridges and the small-capacity ink cartridges have a volume of 34 ml and 24 ml, respectively, and the color large-capacity ink cartridges and the small-capacity ink cartridges have a volume of 17 ml and 12 ml, respectively. A large capacity ink cartridge or a small capacity ink cartridge may be separately mounted in each of the bottom slots 1130.

In this embodiment, a black large-capacity ink cartridge and five color small-capacity ink cartridges are correspondingly mounted in all the bottom slots 1130. The ink colors of the five small-capacity color ink cartridges are black, red, yellow, blue, and gray. A label corresponding to each ink color is attached to each of the bottom grooves 1130 so that the respective color ink cartridges are mounted in the corresponding bottom grooves 1130. The construction of various types of ink cartridges is basically the same, the main difference being the size of the shapes. The ink cartridge 1110L has a sponge chamber 1117A in which a sponge 1117 is disposed, and an ink chamber 1117B, which is separated by a partition wall 1118, and the sponge chamber 1117A and the ink chamber 1117B communicate with each other through a conduction port 1119 opened in the partition wall 1118.

[Gland cover]

Referring to FIG. 2, the gland 1200 is fastened to the ink cartridge holder to mount the ink cartridge in the bottom slot, and the number of the gland 1200 is the same as the number of the bottom slots, and the gland 1200 is in one-to-one correspondence with the bottom slot, so each ink cartridge is Loading and unloading do not interfere with each other.

Referring to FIG. 4, a large-capacity ink cartridge is mounted between the buckled gland 1200 and the ink cartridge holder. Referring to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the black large-capacity ink cartridge 1110BH has a top wall 1113, and the top wall 1113 is provided with an air outlet 1112. The wall 1113 can be pressed and clamped directly by the snap fit 1200 (omitted in Figure 5).

One end of the gland 1200 is provided with a hinge hole 1201, and the gland 1200 is hinged to the support shaft 1122 through the hinge hole 1201. The other end of the gland 1200 is a resilient handle 1210 having a snap portion 1211 and a hook portion 1212 for ease of operation. The other side of the ink cartridge holder 1120 opposite to the support shaft 1122 is provided with a buckle position 1121. When the hook portion 1212 is pushed, the fastening portion 1211 is disengaged from the buckle position 1121, and the pressure cover 1200 is opened around the support shaft 1122 under the action of the thrust. When the pressing cover 1200 is rotated in the reverse direction, the handle 1210 is pressed by the buckle position 1121 to move away from the buckle position 1121. When the fastening portion 1211 passes over the buckle position 1121, the fastening portion 1211 is under the elastic restoring force of the handle 1210 itself. It is close to the buckle 1121 and is engaged with the buckle 1121.

A cover groove 1203 is disposed on a side of the gland 1200 facing the ink cartridge 1110BH, and a rubber pad 1204 as a second sealing member is embedded in the cover groove 1203. When the ink cartridge 1110BH is in place, the rubber pad 1204 seals the air port 1112 of the ink cartridge 1110BH. At this time, the ink cartridge 1110BH and the color large-capacity ink cartridge 1110CH are fixed to the respective bottom grooves under the pressure applied by the respective gland 1200. In 1130, the ink outlet port 1111 is butted against the communication port 1123 (shown in FIG. 3) and sealed by the silicone pad 1123.

[adapter]

Referring to Fig. 7, a gland 1200 that is engaged with the ink cartridge holder mounts the small-capacity ink cartridge in the bottom groove.

See Figure 8, Since the height of the black small-capacity ink cartridge 1110BL and the color small-capacity ink cartridge 1110CL is smaller than the height of the large-capacity ink cartridge, the gland 1200 cannot be directly pressed against the top wall 1113 of the ink cartridges 1110BL, 1110CL. Therefore, in order to fix the ink cartridges 1110BL, 1110CL between the engaged gland 1200 and the bottom groove, an adapter 1300B of the black ink cartridge and the adapter 1300C of the color ink cartridge are respectively mounted between the gland 1200 and the ink cartridges 1110BL and 1110CL, that is, The gland 1200 can press the ink cartridge 1110BL or 1110CL through the

adapter

1300B or 1300C. .

Referring to Fig. 9, a coupling hole 1305 and a rubber pad 1310 are provided on the adapter 1300B, and a coupling pin 1315 on the rubber pad 1310 can be inserted into the coupling hole 1305 to mount the rubber pad 1310 on the adapter 1300B. When the ink cartridge 1110BL equipped with the adapter 1300B is installed between the bottom groove 1130 and the gland 1200, the adapter 1300B under the pressure of the gland 1200, the working surface 1311 of the rubber pad 1310 is pressed against the top wall 1113 of the ink cartridge 1110BL and sealed. Atmospheric mouth 1112.

Of course, the

adapters

1300B and 1300C can be mounted on the ink cartridges 1110BL and 1110CL, respectively, and then loaded into the corresponding bottom slots 1130.

A boss 1320 is provided at the end of the

adapters

1300B and 1300C on the side close to the rubber pad 1310. The boss 1320 is used to realize the mounting detection of the ink cartridges 1110BL and 1110CL, and the detection principle will be described in detail later.

[ink container]

Referring to FIG. 2, seven ink containers 1500 that can be replaced are installed in the ink filling device 1100, wherein the two leftmost ink containers 1500 are used to accommodate black ink, which is considered to be a large amount of ink filled by the black ink cartridge. There is a need for more black ink supply in the ink filling device 1100, so two black ink containers 1500 are provided to simultaneously inject ink into the black ink cartridge.

Of course, it is also possible to use a large black ink container capable of accommodating more ink to supply ink to the black large-capacity ink cartridge. In this case, the ink container 1500 must have two types of molds, and the larger one is used for accommodating black. The ink, which has a small volume, is used to accommodate color ink, which may result in poor versatility of the ink container 1500.

The other five ink containers 1500 of the ink filling device 1100 respectively accommodate a color ink, and the ink in the color ink container 1500 is poured into the ink cartridges corresponding to the colors.

Referring to Fig. 10, the ink container 1500 has a housing composed of a bottom wall 1511, a side wall 1512, and a top wall 1513, and the housing encloses a container body 1510. The container main body 1510 has a thin plate-like reinforcing portion 1514. Therefore, in the process in which the vacuum pump draws a negative pressure on the ink container 1500, the reinforcing portion 1514 can prevent the ink container 1500 from being deformed by the suction force.

The container body 1510 has an ink accommodating portion 1501 and a gas accommodating portion 1502. A pair of opposite side walls 1512 are respectively provided with a groove 1550. The bottom wall 1511 is provided with an ink supply port 1520 communicating with the ink accommodating portion 1501. The wall 1513 is provided with a gas hole 1530 through which the gas passes. A self-closing seal 1560 and a sealing film 1561 at the bottom end of the ink supply port 1520 are mounted in the ink supply port 1520. A self-closing seal 1540 and a sealing film 1541 at the top end of the air hole 1530 are mounted in the air hole 1530.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the ink container 1500 is installed in the ink filling device 1100, the ink supply port 1520 communicates with the ink outlet of the ink cartridge 1110L through the ink supply conduit 1713 (shown in FIG. 11), and the air hole 1530 is internally fitted with a sponge. The ink stagnation bin 1400 is sealed by an opening, and the ink stagnation bin 1400 can adsorb small bubbles or vaporized ink generated by the ink in the ink container 1500 under the action of the negative pressure, and the ink stagnate the other opening of the sump 1400. Also connected to the vacuum pump and the solenoid valve, respectively, the gas accommodating portion communicates with the vacuum pump and the solenoid valve of the ink filling device through the air hole 1530 and the ink stagnation chamber 1400.

The ink container 1500 is obliquely mounted in the ink filling device 1100, and in the vertical direction, the ink supply port 1520 is located substantially at the lowest position of the ink container 1500, so that the ink remaining amount in the ink container 1500 can be reduced. At the same time, the air hole 1530 is located substantially at the highest position of the ink container 1500, which facilitates the vacuum pumping and the pressure relief of the ink container 1500 and the ink container 1110L connected thereto.

[ink cartridge holder]

Referring to FIG. 3, the ink cartridge holder 1120 has a bottom slot 1130 for mounting the ink cartridge 1110L. When the ink cartridge 1110L is installed in the bottom slot 1130, the snap-fit cover 1200 fixes the ink cartridge 1110L, and the ink outlet and the bottom slot of the ink cartridge 1110L. The communication port 1123 of 1130 is butted, and the rubber pad 1131 surrounds the periphery where the two are joined to prevent leakage of ink.

Referring to Fig. 11, the communication port 1123 communicates with the corresponding ink container 1500 through the ink supply conduit 1713.

[Ink Filling Accessories]

Each of the bottom slots 1130 of the ink filling device 1100 is pre-installed with a dummy ink cartridge as an ink-filling auxiliary component. In general, it is not necessary to simultaneously fill the six ink cartridges 1110. Therefore, the user can set one or The plurality of ink cartridges 1110 replace the dummy ink cartridges that have been mounted to the corresponding ink cartridge holders 1120, respectively.

Figure 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a large-capacity ink cartridge 1110H mounted in an ink cartridge holder. In order to install the ink cartridge 1110H, the upper cover needs to be opened first, then the gland 1200 corresponding to the bottom slot 1130 is opened, the emulation ink cartridge therein is taken out from the bottom slot 1130, and the ink cartridge 1110H is installed in the bottom slot 1130, and the gland 1200 is closed. Thereby, the ink cartridge 1110H is fixed between the bottom groove 1130 and the gland 1200. Finally, the upper cover is closed, and other simulated ink cartridges that have not been replaced are still installed in the corresponding bottom slot 1130.

Referring to FIG. 12, the simulated ink cartridge 1740 has a substantially identical shape to the ink cartridge, and the dummy ink cartridge 1740 is fixed between the bottom groove 1130 and the gland 1200.

The simulated ink cartridge 1740 is a hollow body made of plastic having a horizontal surface 1748 and a downwardly extending projection 1749 on the bottom surface. When mounted in the bottom slot 1130, the gland 1200 exerts a force on the emulation cartridge 1740. The horizontal surface 1748 is tightly sealed to block the communication port 1123. At the same time, the projection 1749 is pressed against the negative pressure pipe 1711 passing through the bottom groove 1130, and therefore, the projection 1749 blocks the negative pressure pipe 1711.

In this embodiment, the negative pressure pipe 1711 includes two sections, a first negative pressure pipe 1714 and a second negative pressure pipe 1715, and an eight-way pipe is connected between the first negative pressure pipe 1714 and the second negative pressure pipe 1715. 1716. One end of the first negative pressure pipe 1714 is connected to the ink stagnation bin 1400, and one end of the second negative pressure pipe 1715 is connected to the vacuum pump 1720. As can be seen from Figure 12, the negative pressure conduit blocked by the projection 1749 is the first negative pressure conduit 1714.

When the ink filling device 1100 is in operation, the vacuum pump 1720 cannot perform a negative pressure on the dummy ink cartridge 1740. When the solenoid valve 1730 is opened, since the communication port 1123 is blocked by the horizontal surface 1748 of the dummy ink cartridge 1740, the ink in the ink container 1500 does not leak from the communication port 1123 through the ink supply conduit 1713. Therefore, by providing the emulating ink cartridge 1740 in the bottom slot 1130, it can be ensured that the ink filling device does not properly fill the ink cartridges in the other bottom slots, and does not have the bottom slot 1130 and the corresponding ink container 1500 on which the emulating ink cartridge 1740 is mounted. Carry out the work of pumping negative pressure and filling ink.

[Vacuum pump and solenoid valve]

Referring to Fig. 13, a black ink cartridge 1110B and five color ink cartridges 1110C are mounted in the ink filling device 1100, and a vacuum pump 1720 as a negative pressure generating device, a vacuum pump 1720 and a second, are disposed in the ink filling device 1100. One end of the negative pressure pipe 1715 is connected, and the other end of the second negative pressure pipe 1715 is connected to the eight-way pipe 1716. The eight-way pipe 1716 is also connected to one end of the first negative pressure pipe 1714, and the other end of the first negative pressure pipe 1714 is They are connected to seven ink stagnation bins 1400, respectively. Therefore, the vacuum pump 1720 communicates with the tops of the plurality of ink containers 1500 through the negative pressure conduit 1711. A fluid passage is formed between the vacuum pump 1720, the negative pressure conduit 1711, the ink stagnant chamber 1400, the ink container 1500, the ink supply conduit 1713, the communication port of the bottom slot, and the ink outlets of the

ink cartridges

1110B, 1110C.

The electromagnetic filling device 1100 is further provided with a solenoid valve 1730. The electromagnetic valve 1730 is in communication with one end of the pressure relief conduit 1712, and the other end of the pressure relief conduit 1712 is respectively connected to the seven ink stagnant chambers 1400. Therefore, the solenoid valve 1730 passes A pressure relief conduit 1712 is in communication with the top of the plurality of ink reservoirs 1500. A fluid passage is also formed between the solenoid valve 1730, the pressure relief conduit 1712, the ink stagnant chamber 1400, the ink container 1500, the ink supply conduit 1713, the communication port of the bottom slot, and the ink outlets of the

ink cartridges

1110B, 1110C.

[position sensor]

A pair of position sensors corresponding to each of the ink cartridges are disposed in the ink cartridge holder 1120. Referring to FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, a pair of position sensors are a pair of micro switches arranged up and down, that is, an upper micro switch 1933 and a lower micro switch. 1934. An upper circuit board 1931 and a lower circuit board 1932 are disposed in the ink cartridge holder 1120. The upper circuit board 1931 and the lower circuit board 1932 may be fixed to the ink cartridge holder 1120 by screws or snaps. Corresponding to the six bottom slots 1130, six upper microswitches 1933 are disposed on the upper circuit board 1931, and six lower microswitches 1934 are disposed on the lower circuit board 1932. That is, a micro switch group composed of a pair of micro switches having an upper micro switch 1933 and a lower micro switch 1934 is provided in each of the bottom grooves 1130. The upper circuit board 1931 and the upper micro switch 1933 are mounted at a position relatively far from the center of the bottom slot 1130 as compared with the lower circuit board 1932 and the lower micro switch 1934.

Referring to FIG. 16(a), when the large-capacity ink cartridge 1110H is installed in the bottom groove, the lower micro switch 1934 is pressed by the portion of the front wall 1115 of the ink cartridge near the bottom wall 1116 of the ink cartridge, but the upper micro switch 1933 does not move away. It is pressed by the ink cartridge 1110H.

Referring to Fig. 16 (b), the small-capacity ink cartridge 1110L is smaller in height than the large-capacity ink cartridge, so when the ink cartridge 1110L is mounted, the adapter 1300 is installed in the bottom groove together with the ink cartridge 1110L, and the adapter 1300 is divided into a black ink cartridge adapter and color. There are two types of cartridge adapters. A portion of the ink cartridge front wall 1115 of the ink cartridge 1110L near the bottom wall 1116 of the ink cartridge is pressed against the lower microswitch 1934. When the adapter 1300 is mounted on the ink cartridge 1110L, the front end of the boss 1320 on the adapter 1300 can be pressed to the upper micro switch 1933.

Referring to FIG. 16(c), for the dummy ink cartridge 1740 installed in the bottom groove, in the vertical direction, the dummy ink cartridge 1740 has the same height as the large-capacity ink cartridge, and the front wall 1745 of the dummy ink cartridge 1740 is near the top wall 1743 thereof. A jack 1744 is provided in the position, and a notch 1747 is provided at a position where the front wall 1745 of the dummy cartridge 1740 is near its bottom wall 1746. When the emulation cartridge 1740 is installed in the bottom slot, the jack 1744 can be pressed to the upper microswitch 1933, and the recess 1747 just avoids the lower microswitch 1934, so that the lower microswitch 1934 is not touched.

Referring to Fig. 16(d), both the dummy ink cartridge and the ink cartridge, if not installed or installed, the bottom slot is relatively vacant, and the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro switch 1934 are not touched.

In this embodiment, the plurality of upper micro switch 1933 and the plurality of lower micro switch 1934 are electrically connected to the single chip microcomputer as a controller, and output a detection signal to the single chip microcomputer. Corresponding to each bottom slot, if the

micro switch

1933, 1934 is touched, it outputs a low level signal to the single chip microcomputer. If the

micro switch

1933, 1934 is not touched, it does not send a signal to the single chip microcomputer. The signal is a high level signal.

The high level in this embodiment is represented by "1", and the low level is represented by "0". Thus, corresponding to Figures 16(a) through 16(d), the

microswitches

1933, 1934 produce four different signals in four different operating states. That is, when the ink cartridge 1110H is installed in the bottom slot, the signal of the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro switch 1934 outputted to the single chip microcomputer is "10", and when the ink cartridge 1110L is installed in the bottom slot, the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro The signal output from the switch 1934 to the single chip microcomputer is "00". When the dummy ink cartridge 1740 is installed in the bottom slot, the signal of the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro switch 1934 outputted to the single chip microcomputer is "01", when the bottom slot is relatively vacant In the state, the signals output from the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro switch 1934 to the single chip microcomputer are "11". Therefore, there are four kinds of combinations of signals output by the upper micro switch 1933 and the lower micro switch 1934: "10", "00", "01", and "11", respectively, correspondingly indicating the detection results of four types of ink cartridges: " The bottom slot has been installed with the ink cartridge 1110H", "the bottom slot has the ink cartridge 1110L installed", "the bottom slot has the emulation cartridge 1740 installed" and the "bottom slot is relatively vacant", and the last state can also indicate that the ink cartridge is not installed.

[Control system of ink filling device]

The control system of the ink filling device has a controller, a micro switch group and a start button, and the controller can be a device such as a single chip microcomputer or a DSP (digital signal processor). Referring to FIG. 17, a circuit diagram of the 89C52 type single chip microcomputer and its peripheral circuit of the present embodiment is reflected, and the I/O port is used for receiving information input by the user and controlling the ink filling operation. Among them, 8 pins P1.0 to P1.7 of pin P1 group and 4 pins P3.4 to P3.7 of pin P3 group, a total of 12 I/O ports are used as detection port input. The detection signal outputted by the micro switch group is received as shown in FIG. Pins P0 group 8 pins P0.0 to P0.7 and pin P2 group 6 pins P2.0 to P2.5, a total of 14 I / O ports are user interface input and output ports, as shown As shown in FIG. 18, pins P0.0 to P0.7 and pins P2.0 to P2.4 are connected to a plurality of LED lamps, and pin P2.5 is electrically connected to the start button SW13. Pin P3.2 and pin P3.3 are used as the output ports for controlling the ink filling of the control system, and the operation of the vacuum pump and the solenoid valve is controlled by the switching operation of the triode.

Referring to FIG. 20, the single chip microcomputer 1940 is provided with an ink cartridge recognition die, a first pump, a vacuum pump control module 1942, a solenoid valve control module 1943, and a residual ink determination module 1944. The ink cartridge identification module 1941 is configured to receive the detection signal output by the micro switch group, and determine whether each ink cartridge is installed in place according to the detection signal, and determine whether the ink cartridge type installed in each bottom slot is a black ink cartridge or a color ink cartridge, and then respectively calculate The number of black and color ink cartridges. The vacuum pump control module 1942 is configured to output a vacuum pump control signal to the vacuum pump 1720 to control the operation of the vacuum pump 1720. The solenoid valve control module 1943 is configured to output a solenoid valve control signal to the solenoid valve 1730 to control the operation of the solenoid valve 1730. The residual ink determination module 1944 is used. The amount of ink remaining in each ink container is calculated, and a warning signal is issued when it is judged that the amount of ink in the ink container is insufficient.

According to the identification signal outputted by the ink cartridge identification module 1941 regarding the type and number of the identified ink cartridges, the vacuum pump control module 1942 controls the vacuum pump 1720 to perform the pumping pressure for the first predetermined period of time, and the solenoid valve control module 1943 controls the solenoid valve 1730 to perform the first The pressure is relieved for a predetermined period of time.

In this embodiment, the ink cartridge needs to reach a vacuum of -65 kPa after being subjected to a vacuum, and since the standard atmospheric pressure is 101 kPa, the absolute air pressure in the ink cartridge after the negative pressure is 36 kPa. In order to set a second predetermined length of time having a sufficient length of time, it is assumed that the ink cartridges of the maximum capacity that can be accommodated are installed in all of the bottom slots, and the air pressure values in the respective ink cartridges all reach 36 kPa. Thus, when the solenoid valve 1730 starts operating, the pressure value inside the respective ink cartridges will gradually rise from 36 kPa to the external standard atmospheric pressure value when the air pressure in the gas accommodating portion of the corresponding ink container is balanced with each other. Therefore, by calculating the gas pressure value inside the ink cartridge from 36 kPa to the solenoid valve 1730 during the 101 kPa continuous operation time, the second predetermined length of time for the solenoid valve 1730 to be released can be calculated.

In this embodiment, regardless of the type and number of the ink cartridges recognized by the ink cartridge identification module, the second predetermined time length data stored in the solenoid valve control module 1943 for controlling the running time of the solenoid valve 1730 is set to 8 seconds, and the solenoid valve control module 1943 retrieves the second predetermined duration data to control the operating time of the solenoid valve 1730.

The vacuum pump control module 1942 determines the first predetermined time period by operation based on the received identification signal from the ink cartridge identification module 1941, thereby controlling the vacuum pump 1720 to perform the operation for the first predetermined time period.

In this embodiment, since the volume of the black or colored large-capacity ink cartridges is not much different, the influence on the time required for pumping the negative pressure is small, and therefore, the vacuum pump control module does not distinguish differently according to the capacity of the ink cartridge. The first predetermined length of time is determined.

In the case that the color ink cartridges recognized by the ink cartridge identification module are all 17-ml color large-capacity ink cartridges, if the ink cartridge recognition module recognizes a color ink cartridge, the pressure in a color ink cartridge is set in order to set the vacuum pump. The first predetermined length of time required for the value of 36 kPa is further assumed that the color ink cartridge and the ink container communicating with the color ink cartridge are completely empty, that is, the color ink cartridge and the ink container are filled with air of 17 ml and 100 ml, respectively. And the sum of the air volumes in the ink supply pipe connecting the full-empty color ink cartridge and the all-empty ink container and the negative pressure pipe connecting the vacuum pump and the all-empty ink container is 3 ml. Therefore, the total volume of air in the space including a full-empty color ink cartridge, an all-empty ink container, the corresponding negative pressure pipe, and the ink supply pipe is 120 ml, in order to make the air pressure value in the space reach 36 kPa, the vacuum pump It is necessary to pump out 65% of the volume of gas in the space, ie 120 x 65% = 78 (ml). Further, the evacuation rate of the vacuum pump used in the present embodiment was 2.3 ml/sec, and therefore, the vacuum pump suction time = gas volume number ÷ pumping rate = 78 ÷ 2.3, that is, about 33.9 (sec). Therefore, in the case that the ink cartridge identification module recognizes a color ink cartridge, the first predetermined time period T1 in the vacuum pump control module is set to 34 seconds, and the vacuum pump control module controls the vacuum pump to perform the operation for the first predetermined time period T1 of 34 seconds. .

If the ink cartridge identification module 1941 determines that the color ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge holder is greater than or equal to two, then on the basis of one color ink cartridge, the vacuum pump needs to add one color ink cartridge to the color ink cartridge for each additional color ink cartridge. The ink container and the ink supply pipe that communicates the color ink cartridge and the ink container are evacuated. In this embodiment, the operating time of the vacuum pump 1720 is increased by 22 seconds for each additional color ink cartridge.

If the ink cartridge identification module 1941 determines that a black large-capacity ink cartridge is mounted to the ink cartridge holder, since the black large-capacity ink cartridge volume is twice the volume of the color large-capacity ink cartridge, and the black large-capacity ink cartridge is filled with ink, two blacks are required. The ink container simultaneously draws air, so that when a black large capacity ink cartridge is filled, the amount of air drawn by the vacuum pump is approximately equal to the amount of air that is drawn when the two color large capacity ink cartridges are filled. Therefore, the vacuum pump control module 1941 determines that the first predetermined time period T1 is a predetermined length of time for drawing the negative pressure on the two color ink cartridges, that is, 34 + 22 seconds, which is 56 seconds.

If the ink cartridge identification module 1941 determines that the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge holder includes a color ink cartridge in addition to a black ink cartridge, the working time of the vacuum pump is increased by 22 seconds for each additional color ink cartridge.

[Yu ink judgment module]

The residual ink judging module 1944 is for judging the ink value of the ink container, and in the residual ink judging module 1944, the plurality of ink ml values are correspondingly set as logical operands, which will be further described below.

In the present embodiment, each new ink container contains 100 ml of ink, and therefore, in the residual ink judging module 1944, the initial values of the black ink values of the two brand new black ink containers are correspondingly preset to 200. At the same time, the initial values of the color ink values of the five new color ink containers are preset to 100.

When the ink in the black ink container is filled with ink for the black large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge every time the ink is filled, the black large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge is filled with 19 ml or 17 ml of ink, respectively, and the residual ink judging module is An operation of subtracting 19 or 17 from the black ink value is performed once, and the result of the operation as a new black ink value is stored in the built-in memory of the microcontroller. Of course, the ink value can also be written to an external memory that is independent of the microcontroller. The new black ink value is used to subtract 19 or 17 again in the next operation. Therefore, each time the ink filling is completed, the ink value of the black ink container is subtracted from the ink filling value of the one ink filling operation, thereby calculating a new ink value.

After the ink filling device performs multiple ink filling operations, the black ink value is subjected to a plurality of corresponding

subtraction

19 or 17 operations. When the black ink value is greater than 20 and less than 30, the residual ink judging module judges black. If the ink value in the ink container is low, only the ink filling operation can be completed this time, and a judgment signal is output. At this time, the residual ink judging module drives the red and green bi-color LED lights to flash red, prompting the user that the ink of the ink container will be exhausted. Moreover, after the end of the ink filling operation, the two-color LED lamp will be bright red, and the user needs to replace the new black ink container. Finally, after the user presses the start button for 3 seconds, the MCU will receive an input signal from the start button, and the two-color LED lamp that drives the long red light is turned off, and the residual ink judgment module rewrites the black ink value of the corresponding black ink container. Is the initial value.

The residual ink judging module sets the ink limit value of the black ink value to 20, and when the black ink value is less than 20, the residual ink judging module judges that the ink value is already low, and the ink filling operation cannot be completed. At this time, the residual ink judging module controls the corresponding two-color LED lamp to continue to be bright, and the ink filling device cannot perform the subsequent ink filling operation. After the user replaces the new ink container correspondingly, the user presses the start button for 3 seconds. The red light of the two-color LED lamp is turned off, the ink filling device returns to the starting state, and the residual ink determining module rewrites the black ink value of the corresponding black ink container to the initial value.

Therefore, for the black ink container, the residual ink determination module 1944 sets a threshold range of two ink levels, one is the ink low threshold range, ie, between 20 and 30, and the other is the ink threshold range, ie, 0 to 20 When the residual ink judging module 1944 determines that the ink value of the black ink container reaches the ink low threshold range, the signal sent by the ink filling device 1100 is an ink low alarm signal, that is, the red and green bicolor LED lights flash red. When the ink value of the ink container reaches the ink-out threshold range, the signal sent by the ink filling device 1100 is an ink-out alarm signal, that is, the two-color LED light will be red.

Similarly, when the ink in the color ink container is filled with ink for a large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge every time the ink-filling device is filled, the color large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge is filled with 9.8 ml or 5.7 ml of ink, respectively, and the ink remains. The judging module 1944 performs an operation of subtracting 9.8 or 5.7 from the color ink value, and the operation result is stored as a new color ink value in the built-in memory of the residual ink judging module for subtracting again in the next calculation. Go to 9.8 or 5.7.

After the ink filling device performs multiple ink filling operations, the color ink value is subjected to a plurality of corresponding subtraction operations of 9.8 or 5.7. When the color ink value is greater than 10 and less than 15, the residual ink determining module determines The color ink container has a low ink value and can only perform this ink filling operation and output an alarm signal. The residual ink judging module drives the red and green bi-color LED lights to flash red light, prompting the user that the ink of the ink container will be exhausted, and after the end of the ink filling operation, the bi-color LED light will be red for a long time, at this time, the user A new color ink container needs to be replaced. Then, after the user presses the start button for 3 seconds, the MCU will receive an input signal from the start button, and the two-color LED lamp that drives the long red light is turned off and the residual ink judgment module rewrites the color ink value of the corresponding color ink container to Initial value.

The residual ink judging module 1944 sets the ink exhaust limit value of the color ink value to 10, and when the color ink value is less than 10, the residual ink judging module 1944 judges that the ink value is already low, and the ink filling operation cannot be completed, therefore, The residual ink judging module 1944 controls the corresponding two-color LED lamp to continue to be brightly lit, and the ink filling device cannot perform the subsequent ink filling operation. After the user replaces the new ink container correspondingly, the user presses the start button for 3 seconds, and the single chip drive The red light of the two-color LED lamp is extinguished, and the ink filling device returns to the start state. And, the residual ink judging module 1944 rewrites the color ink value of the corresponding color ink container to an initial value.

It can be seen that for the color ink container, the ink low threshold range is between 10 and 15, and the ink exhaust threshold range is between 0 and 10. The residual ink determination module 1944 uses the corresponding ink low threshold range or ink according to the ink containers of different colors. Judging by the threshold range.

Ink filling method embodiment:

The workflow of the ink filling method of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

After the user presses the start button, the ink filling device starts, the green LED light starts to flash, and the ink filling device automatically fills the ink cartridge.

The method of filling the ink is as follows:

Ink cartridge installation status identification step S1:

The ink cartridge identification module determines whether an ink cartridge or a simulated ink cartridge is installed in each bottom slot. If the micro switch is not touched, and the signal output from the micro switch to the ink cartridge identification module is “11”, the ink cartridge identification module determines “bottom” The slot is vacant, that is, in the corresponding bottom slot, the ink cartridge or the emulation ink cartridge is not installed, and then step S8 is performed, and the ink cartridge identification module sends an alarm signal that the ink cartridge is not installed in place, that is, the control two-color LED light flashes red, prompting the user Need to install the ink cartridge or emulation cartridge. After the ink cartridge or the simulated ink cartridge is installed by the user, the ink cartridge recognition module controls the flashing red light of the two-color LED light to be extinguished, and the ink filling device performs the next step.

Determination step S2 of whether the ink value of the ink container reaches the ink low threshold range:

The residual ink judging module judges whether the ink value of the ink container reaches the ink low threshold range based on the calculated black ink value and the color ink value of each ink container. When the residual ink judging module judges that the ink value reaches the ink low threshold range, the residual ink judging module issues an ink low alarm signal, that is, step S9 is executed to control the corresponding two-color LED light to flash red, and the user is prompted that the residual ink in the ink container has been insufficient.

The determination step S3 of whether the ink value of the ink container reaches the ink exhaust threshold range:

When the residual ink determining module determines that the ink value of the ink container is not within the ink low threshold range, the residual ink determining module further determines whether the ink value has reached the ink empty threshold range. The residual ink judging module judges the black ink value and the color ink value. If it is judged that the ink value does not reach the ink exhaust threshold range, the residual ink judging module controls the green LED lamp to blink, and controls the ink filling device to continue the subsequent operation. If it is determined that the ink value has reached the ink-out threshold range, the residual ink determination module performs step S10 to control the corresponding two-color LED lamp to continue to be bright, and the ink filling device cannot perform the subsequent ink filling operation. After the user replaces the new ink container correspondingly, that is, step S11 is performed, and after the user presses the start button for 3 seconds, the red light of the single-color LED lamp of the single-chip drive is turned off, and the ink filling device returns to the start state.

Ink cartridge identification step S4:

The ink cartridge identification module is used to identify the type and number of the ink cartridges. Specifically, the ink cartridge identification module determines, according to the signal output from the micro switch to the single chip microcomputer, which ink cartridge installed in the ink filling device belongs to the black ink cartridge and the color ink cartridge. The type, in turn, determines the respective numbers of the two types of ink cartridges.

Vacuuming step S5:

The vacuum pump control module controls the operation of the vacuum pump according to the identification signal of the ink cartridge identification module. The vacuum pump control module activates the vacuum pump, and the vacuum pump starts to suck the air in the ink cartridge. When the vacuum pump control module controls the working time of the vacuum pump to reach the first predetermined length, the vacuum pump stops. At this time, a negative pressure having a negative pressure value of approximately -65 kPa is formed in the ink cartridge.

Pressure relief step S6:

The solenoid valve control module controls the operation of the solenoid valve after determining that the vacuum pump control module stops working, that is, after determining that the vacuum pump control module issues a control signal that the vacuum pump stops working, that is, the solenoid valve control module controls the solenoid valve to start, so that the gas of the ink container is activated. The accommodating portion is in an atmospheric pressure state, and a pressure difference is formed between the gas accommodating portion and the inside of the ink cartridge in a negative pressure state, and the ink in the ink container is poured into the ink cartridge by the pressure difference. When the solenoid valve control module controls the control solenoid valve to work for a second predetermined period of time, the solenoid valve stops working. At this time, the air pressure in the interior of the ink cartridge and the air receiving portion of the ink container are balanced with each other, so that the cartridge is filled sufficiently Ink.

Ink container ink remaining amount calculation step S7:

After the pressure relief step is completed, the residual ink judging module subtracts 19 or 17 and the color of the black ink value according to the ink filling condition of the black large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge and the color large-capacity or small-capacity ink cartridge according to the ink filling device. The ink value is subtracted from 9.8 or 5.7, and the calculated black ink value and color ink value are stored in the residual ink judging module for the ink filling device to be used in the ink value judging step of the next ink container.

At this point, the ink filling device completes an ink filling operation, and the ink filling device stops operating.

The technical idea of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and many different specific solutions can be obtained according to the concept of the present invention. For example, the ink filling device can inject only one ink cartridge, so that no dummy ink cartridge needs to be provided; or, ink filling The device can only inject ink of one type of ink cartridge, so that it is not necessary to detect the capacity of the ink cartridge, only need to set a micro switch to detect whether the ink cartridge is installed in place; or, the position sensor is not limited to use the micro switch group. Realizing, it is also possible to use an infrared sensor to detect whether there is an ink cartridge between the lower surface of the gland and the upper surface of the ink cartridge holder, and to judge the volume of the ink cartridge; or use a photoelectric sensor to detect whether the ink cartridge is properly mounted on the ink cartridge holder, etc. The object of the invention can be achieved.

Industrial applicability

When the user needs to fill the ink cartridge 1110H, the user first removes the simulated ink cartridge in the corresponding bottom slot 1130 according to the color of the ink contained in the ink cartridge 1110H, and then installs the ink cartridge 1110H correspondingly into the empty bottom slot 1130.

Referring to Fig. 1, a green LED lamp 1921 and six red and green bi-color LED lamps 1922 disposed on the upper casing 1140 of the ink filling device 1100 can clearly indicate the user's operation and display the operation of the ink filling device 1100. The green LED 1921 is constantly lit to indicate that the ink filling device 1100 has been powered on, and the green LED flashing indicates that the ink filling device 1100 is performing an ink filling operation on the ink cartridge. Six red and green bi-color LED lamps 1922 are respectively used to display the ink filling state of an ink cartridge and an ink container for supplying ink. When the green light is constantly lit, it indicates that the ink filling operation for the corresponding ink cartridge is in progress, when the red light is flashing. It means that the amount of ink in the corresponding ink container is already low. When it is always red, it indicates that the ink in the corresponding ink container has been exhausted.

In the ink filling device of the present invention, the ink container and the ink cartridge are communicated through the ink supply pipe, and the electromagnetic valve communicates with the top of the ink container through the pressure relief pipe, and the ink does not flow through the electromagnetic valve when the pressure is released, and does not form on the electromagnetic valve. Ink, avoid electromagnetic valve blockage. In addition, the pipe connection between the ink cartridge of the present invention and the ink container, the electromagnetic valve and the vacuum pump is relatively simple, and the number and length of the pipes used are short, which is also advantageous for reducing the production cost of the ink filling device.

Claims

Ink filling device, including

a housing, the housing is provided with at least one ink container, and the housing is further provided with an ink cartridge holder and a controller, the controller is electrically connected to a vacuum pump, and the controller is electrically connected to a solenoid valve;

It is characterized by:

The bottom of the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge holder through an ink supply conduit, and the top of the ink container communicates with the vacuum pump through a vacuum conduit, the top of the ink container also passing through the pressure relief conduit The solenoid valve is connected.
The ink filling device according to claim 1, wherein:

The controller is provided

a vacuum pump control module for issuing a vacuum pump control signal to the vacuum pump based on the received signal;

a solenoid valve control module for issuing a solenoid valve control signal to the solenoid valve according to the vacuum pump control signal.
The ink filling device according to claim 2, wherein:

The controller further includes a residual ink judging module for recording an initial value of ink of each of the ink containers, and calculating an ink value of the ink container after each ink filling operation to determine whether the ink value reaches The threshold range, if the ink value reaches the threshold range, sends an alarm signal.
The ink filling device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that:

a position sensor is disposed in the ink cartridge holder, and the position sensor is electrically connected to the controller;

The controller further includes an ink cartridge identification module that receives the detection signal output by the position sensor, and is configured to determine whether the ink cartridge is installed in position according to the detection signal output by the position sensor, and send a signal to the vacuum pump control module.
The ink filling device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that:

The number of the ink containers is two or more, and two or more ink cartridges are detachably mounted on the ink cartridge holder, and the tops of the plurality of ink containers are connected to the vacuum pump through one of the negative pressure pipes, and a plurality of The top of the ink container is in communication with the solenoid valve through a pressure relief conduit.
Injecting method, the ink tank is filled with ink by using an ink filling device, the ink filling device is provided with a casing, the casing is filled with at least one ink container, and the ink cartridge seat and the controller are further disposed in the casing. The controller is electrically connected to a vacuum pump, and the controller is electrically connected to a solenoid valve;

It is characterized by:

The bottom of the ink container communicates with the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge holder through an ink supply conduit, and the top of the ink container communicates with the vacuum pump through a vacuum conduit, the top of the ink container also passing through the pressure relief conduit The solenoid valve is connected;

The method includes

After the ink cartridge is mounted to the ink cartridge holder, the controller controls the vacuum pump to start and perform an operation of drawing a negative pressure on the ink container and the ink cartridge;

After the vacuuming operation is completed, the controller controls the solenoid valve to open the ink cartridge and perform an ink filling operation.
The ink filling method according to claim 6, wherein:

After performing the ink filling operation, the controller executes a residual ink determining step, subtracting the ink filling value of the ink filling operation by using the current ink value of the recorded ink container, obtaining a new ink value, and determining the new ink value. Whether the ink value reaches the threshold range, and if the threshold range is reached, an alarm signal is issued.
The ink filling method according to claim 7, wherein:

The threshold range includes an ink low threshold range and an ink exhaust threshold range;

When the controller determines that the new ink value reaches the ink low threshold range, the alarm signal sent is an ink low alarm signal, and the controller determines that the new ink value reaches the ink exhaust threshold range. The alarm signal sent is the ink exhaust alarm signal.
The ink filling method according to any one of claims 6 to 8, characterized in that:

a position sensor for sending a detection signal to the controller is disposed in the ink cartridge holder;

Before performing the vacuuming operation, the controller determines whether the ink cartridge is installed in position according to the detection signal output by the position sensor, and if the installation is in place, performing the vacuuming operation; otherwise, the ink cartridge is not installed in place. Alarm signal.
The ink filling method according to claim 9, wherein:

The number of the ink containers is two or more, and two or more ink cartridges are detachably mounted on the ink cartridge holder, and the tops of the plurality of ink containers are connected to the vacuum pump through one of the negative pressure pipes, and a plurality of The top of the ink container is in communication with the solenoid valve through a pressure relief conduit;

The number of the position sensors is two or more, and the controller determines the number of the ink cartridges mounted on the ink cartridge holder by the received detection signal output by the position sensor, and the controller is based on the number of the ink cartridges. Controlling the working time of the vacuum pump.