US 8,025,372 B2Granted

Ink jet printer

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorsTakaichiro Umeda, Fumio Nakazawa, Hirotake Nakamura, Kosuke Nukui

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Abstract

A main ink tank side connector of an inkjet printer moves, with respect to a sub ink tank side connector, between a first positional relationship where the two connectors are connected, and a second positional relationship where the main ink tank side connector is disconnected from the sub ink tank side connector. A wall member surrounds at least a connection portion of the two connectors when they are in the first positional relationship. A breaking portion breaks an ink film formed within an inner space of the wall member. The ink film is formed when the main ink tank side connector moves with respect to the sub ink tank side connector from the first positional relationship to the second positional relationship. The breaking portion breaks the ink film in a state where at least a part of the ink film exists within the wall member.

Claims16

Dependent claims

An ink jet printer, comprising:

a casing comprising a space for housing a main ink tank;
a sub ink tank to which ink within the main ink tank is to be supplied;
an ink jet head to which ink within the sub ink tank is to be supplied;
a main ink tank side connector that is to be connected with the main ink tank;
a sub ink tank side connector that is to be connected with the sub ink tank, wherein the main ink tank side connector is capable of moving with respect to the sub ink tank side connector between a first positional relationship and a second positional relationship, the main ink tank side connector is connected with the sub ink tank side connector in the first positional relationship, and the main ink tank side connector is disconnected from the sub ink tank side connector in the second positional relationship;
a wall member that surrounds at least a connection portion of the main ink tank side connector and the sub ink tank side connector when the main ink tank side connector and the sub ink tank side connector are positioned in the first positional relationship;
and
a breaking portion, formed in or on the wall member, that breaks an ink film to be formed within an inner space of the wall member, wherein the ink film is to be formed when the main ink tank side connector moves with respect to the sub ink tank side connector from the first positional relationship to the second positional relationship, and the breaking portion breaks the ink film in a state where at least a part of the ink film exists within the wall member;
wherein the breaking portion is configured to break the ink film when the main ink tank side connector moves with respect to the sub ink tank side connector from the first positional relationship to the second positional relationship.

6 more elements

An ink jet printer, comprising:

a casing comprising a space for housing a main ink tank;
a sub ink tank to which ink within the main ink tank is to be supplied;
an ink jet head to which ink within the sub ink tank is to be supplied;
a main ink tank side connector that is to be connected with the main ink tank;
a sub ink tank side connector that is to be connected with the sub ink tank, wherein the main ink tank side connector is capable of moving with respect to the sub ink tank side connector between a first positional relationship and a second positional relationship, the main ink tank side connector is connected with the sub ink tank side connector in the first positional relationship, and the main ink tank side connector is disconnected from the sub ink tank side connector in the second positional relationship;
and
a wall member that surrounds at least a connection portion of the main ink tank side connector and the sub ink tank side connector when the main ink tank side connector and the sub ink tank side connector are positioned in the first positional relationship;
wherein the sub ink tank side connector comprises a base portion and a projecting portion that projects from the base portion;
wherein the projecting portion makes contact with the main ink tank side connector when the main ink tank side connector and the sub ink tank side connector are positioned in the first positional relationship;
wherein the wall member comprises a first inner surface and a second inner surface,
wherein, along an axial direction of the wall member, the first inner surface is near the main ink tank side connector, and the second inner surface is far from the main ink tank side connector;
wherein, along a circumferential direction of the wall member, a length of the first inner surface is different from a length of the second inner surface;
and
wherein an ink film is to be formed between the first inner surface of the wall member and the projecting portion of the sub ink tank side connector.

11 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.