Receptacles – Closures – Removable closure retained by adhesive or fusion means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-25
2001-04-17
Newhouse, Nathan J. (Department: 3727)
Receptacles
Closures
Removable closure retained by adhesive or fusion means
C347S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06216906
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cap for use in liquid cartridge for reserving a liquid to be supplied to a recording device of an ink-jet recording apparatus and to a liquid cartridge having the same.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
A liquid which is employed as a recording liquid for use in ink-jet recording apparatus is reserved in a liquid reservoir for reserving a liquid. In an ordinary ink-jet recording apparatus, the liquid cartridge is formed to be detachable from the apparatus and equipped with a feeding port for feeding the liquid. The liquid cartridge prior to exchange is in general sealed with the cap etc. to prevent a leakage of the liquid.
Some of co-inventors of the present invention have proposed in the Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Numbered: 10-291326 (1998) a highly air-tight liquid reserving cartridge having a cap for sealing the feeding port which is provided on such a liquid cartridge without any creep deformation phenomena of the cap. The liquid reserving cartridge and the cap disclosed in the Laid-open Application mentioned above are illustrated in
FIG. 8
(PRIOR ART).
In the conventional liquid reserving cartridge as shown in
FIG. 8
, the liquid reserving cartridge
101
serving as the liquid reservoir for reserving the liquid is provided with the feeding port
102
. The cap
103
for closing up aforesaid feeding port
102
is fixed onto the cartridge
101
and the liquid cartridge
101
for reserving the liquid is sealed up by an elastic member
104
which is disposed on a plane to be contacted with the feeding port
102
of the liquid cartridge
101
.
In the cap for use in liquid cartridge as mentioned above, the cap
103
is turned around during unsealing of the sealed liquid cartridge
101
thereby to shear off a welding portion
105
, which removes the cap
103
from the liquid cartridge
101
. As a method of fixing the cap
103
onto the liquid cartridge
101
, a plurality of the welding portions
105
are first formed on a periphery of a cylindrical portion of the cap
103
, which is used to encapsulate the feeding port
102
, so as to protrude toward the liquid reserving cartridge
101
thereby to contact each of the welding portions
105
with the liquid cartridge
101
to fuse contacted planes between the welding portions
105
and the liquid cartridge
101
to be welded with each other by a use of an ultrasonic welding technology.
The ultrasonic welding technology is in general a sort of technologies wherein an ultrasonic vibration propagating body (referred to as “welding horn” hereinafter) contacts a member to have aforesaid member vibrate at a high frequency, friction heat of which fuses plastic resin-made welding portions thereby to be fixed. The ultrasonic vibration exhibits a larger amplitude at a portion of the member which is more adjacent to the welding horn while the amplitude is reduced more as the portion goes apart from the welding horn because of an inner loss induced in the member, which makes it difficult to attain a desirable welding energy. A distance which the ultrasonic vibration propagates effectively is regarded in general as from 4 to 5 millimeters (referred to as “mm” hereinafter) in a case when the member is formed of a crystalline plastic resin such as a polypropylene polymer.
However, since the conventional example mentioned above has to have contact the welding horn, which serves for fusing the welding portions
105
and the liquid cartridge
101
to each other, orthogonally with respect to the cylindrical portion of the cap
103
the separates the welding portions
105
remotely more than 5 mm from the welding horn dependently upon shapes of the cartridge and the cap, it hinders an effective propagation of the ultrasonic vibration, resulting in an dissatisfactory welding. To complement the dissatisfactory welding results, it is necessary to provide from 6 to 8 welding portions.
On the other hand, a necessity of providing a stronger ultrasonic vibration induces a fusion between the elastic member
104
and the feeding port
102
which are located adjacently to the welding horn, corresponding to the shapes of the cartridge and the cap. The fusion between the elastic member and the feeding port has a danger that it produces inadequacies such as an increase in operational force during opening and closing the cap
101
, a deformation of the feeding port
102
etc. Furthermore, to provide the stronger vibration as mentioned above shortens a service lifetime of the welding horn, which invites an increase in manufacturing cost of the liquid cartridge.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is carried out to solve the problem mentioned above. An object of the present invention is to provide a cap for use in liquid cartridge for reserving a liquid and a liquid cartridge having the same which can perform stably a welding between the cap and the liquid cartridge, reduce an unsealing force without sacrificing a welding strength of the cap with the cartridge and thereby enables to improve an operativity during unsealing.
To solve the problems mentioned above, the present invention is constituted as follows:
(1) A cap for use in liquid cartridge, which is constituted of a liquid reserving portion for reserving a liquid and a feeding port for feeding the liquid externally, comprising:
a facing for covering the feeding port;
welding portions to be welded with the liquid cartridge; and
an handling portion for releasing the welding portions by means of rotating the cap, wherein:
one of the welding portions is located on an opposing position of another welding portion to each other with respect to a rotational center of the rotating operation; and
the welding portions exist approximately on a line which runs through both the rotational center and a substantial center line of the handling portion.
The cap for use in liquid cartridge according to the present invention satisfies the purpose mentioned above by constructing the constitution as mentioned above. However, it might be acceptable to supplement further constitutions mentioned below: Either a singular use only or a complex use of those additional constitutions with each other being combined with the present invention can provide further effects to be described later in the specification.
(2) The present invention mentioned above might further comprise:
a plurality of concavities provided on a front surface of the facing, wherein:
the welding portions might be located on a rear surface of the facing which corresponds to a rear side of bottom surfaces of the concavities.
(3) The welding portions mentioned above might differ in size from each other; and
a base portion for supporting the welding portion might be larger in size than the welding portion.
(4) On the other hand, the welding portion mentioned above might have a recess around the base portion for supporting the welding portion to provide a space.
(5) Further, the recess mentioned above might have a cross-sectional area larger than a cross-sectional contact area of the welding horn for welding the welding portions and the liquid cartridge.
(6) Moreover, to satisfy the purpose mentioned above, a liquid reserving cartridge according to the present invention, comprising:
a liquid reserving portion for reserving a liquid;
a feeding port for feeding the liquid externally; and
a cap having a facing for covering the feeding port, wherein:
the cap to be welded onto the feeding port comprises a plurality of welding portions, which are to be welded with the liquid reserving cartridge, and a handling portion for rotating the cap thereby to release the welded portions; and
the welded portions are located on approximately symmetrical positions of other welded portions to each other with respect to a rotational center of the rotational operation and also located on a substantial center line which runs through the rotational center and through the handling portion.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5400060 (1995-03-01), Carlotta
patent: 5886720 (1999-03-01), Sasaki
pa
Kitabatake Kenji
Koshikawa Hiroshi
Morita Osamu
Seino Kenichi
Takenouchi Masanori
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
Fitzpatrick ,Cella, Harper & Scinto
Newhouse Nathan J.
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