Ink bottle

An ink bottle in which ink for use in an ink jet printer is contained, comprising:

• (a) a bottle main body in which ink is contained;
• (b) a bottle joint portion disposed on an upper portion of the bottle main body and attachably/detachably connected to a joint portion having an ink path of the ink jet printer;
• (c) a cap having one end defining an opening, and detachably attached to the upper portion of the bottle main body so as to cover said bottle joint portion from an opening side;
• and
• (d) an attaching mechanism for detachably attaching said cap removed from the upper portion of said bottle main body to a lower portion of the bottle main body.

An ink bottle in which ink for use in an ink jet printer is contained, comprising:

• (a) a bottle main body which has an upper wall, a lower wall, and at least one pair of side walls disposed opposite to each other, in which ink is contained, and which further has an upper groove and a lower groove formed in the vicinity of an outer upper surface and an outer lower surface of said side wall, respectively;
• (b) a bottle joint portion which is disposed on the upper wall of the bottle main body and which has an ejection port connectable to an ink path of the ink jet printer;
• and
• (c) a cap having one end defining an opening, and having a detent projecting from an inner peripheral surface of the cap in the vicinity of said one end of the cap so that the detent can selectively be inserted in said upper groove and the lower groove and the cap is selectively attached to an upper portion and a lower portion of the bottle main body.

An ink bottle attached to a bottle holder of an ink jet printer comprising a joint portion having an ink inflow port, a first guide disposed behind the joint portion, and a second guide disposed behind the first guide, said ink bottle comprising:

• (a) a bottle main body in which ink is contained;
• (b) a joint portion disposed in an upper portion of the bottle main body, detachably/attachably connected to the joint portion of said bottle holder, and having an ink outflow port connected to said ink inflow port when the joint portion of the ink bottle is connected to the joint portion of the bottle holder;
• and
• (c) a spacer which is attached to the lower portion of the bottle main body, and which has a lower end surface,
• wherein the lower end surface of the spacer slides along said second guide and the ink bottle is guided and inserted in an insertion initial stage of said ink bottle into the bottle holder, and the joint portion of said ink bottle slides along said first guide and the ink bottle is guided and inserted immediately before the ink bottle is completely attached to the bottle holder.

A combination of a first ink bottle selectively detachably attached to a bottle holder of an ink jet printer and a second ink bottle having a capacity smaller than a capacity of the first ink bottle, said first ink bottle comprising:

• (a) a first bottle main body which has a bottom surface, and in which ink is contained;
• and
• (b) a first joint portion disposed on an upper portion of the first bottle main body and detachably attached to the bottle holder so that ink in the first bottle main body is supplied to said bottle holder,
• said second ink bottle comprising:
• (c) a second bottle main body which is lower than said first ink bottle, and in which ink is contained;
• (d) a second joint portion disposed on an upper portion of the second bottle main body and detachably attached to said bottle holder so that ink in the second bottle main body is supplied to said bottle holder;
• and
• (e) a spacer which has a bottom surface, and which is detachably attached to a lower portion of said second bottle main body, and
• (f) a distance between the bottom surface of the spacer and the second joint portion being the same as a distance between the bottom surface of said first bottle main body and the first joint portion, when the spacer is attached to the second bottle main body.

An ink bottle attached to a bottle holder of an ink jet printer comprising a joint portion in which an insertion pin constituting an ink inflow port and a press surface pressing an air intake are formed, the ink bottle comprising:

• (a) a bottle main body in which ink is contained;
• (b) an ink bottle side joint portion disposed on an upper portion of the bottle main body and attachably/detachably connected to said bottle holder side joint portion;
• (c) an ink outflow port disposed in said ink bottle side joint portion;
• and
• (d) the atmospheric open valve disposed on said ink bottle side joint portion,
• wherein with insertion of said ink bottle into the bottle holder, the insertion pin of said bottle holder is inserted into said ink outflow port to realize ink supply, and
• said press surface presses said atmospheric open valve, and connects the inside of the ink bottle to the atmosphere.