Printing – Inkers – Fountains
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-11
2003-06-17
Colilla, Daniel J. (Department: 2854)
Printing
Inkers
Fountains
C101S114000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06578482
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a variable volume container whose volume changes as a piston member fitted therein moves.
The variable volume container of this type is employed for example as a container for ink used in stencil printing. In stencil printing machines, ink is supplied to the inner side of a cylindrical printing drum, and the ink is transferred onto a printing sheet through a perforated stencil sheet wound around the outer side of the printing drum. The ink container is normally a cartridge type container detachably mounted to the printing drum, and printing ink is fed from the ink container into the printing drum.
FIG. 10
shows how the ink container
1
is mounted into the printing drum
2
. The printing drum
2
is formed to have a cylindrical shape with an ink-permeable circumferential surface which rotates around the central axis of the printing drum. The ink fed into the printing drum
2
from the ink container
1
is pressed toward the outer side of the printing drum
2
by a squeegee roller
3
which rotates as it is in contact with the inner circumferential surface of the printing drum
2
. A doctor roller
4
is provided obliquely over and parallel to the squeegee roller
3
with a small gap therebetween, and thereby an ink hold portion P is formed at the valley portion formed between the squeegee roller
3
and the doctor roller
4
.
An ink pump
5
is provided in the printing drum
2
to supply printing ink from the ink container
1
. The ink pump
5
includes a suction conduit
5
a
detachably coupled to the outlet
1
a
of the ink container
1
, and an outlet conduit
5
b
in communication with an ink distribution tube
6
supported parallel to and above the ink hold portion P. Ink sucked and supplied from the ink container
1
using the ink pump
5
is supplied to the ink hold portion P through the outlet conduit
5
b
and the ink distribution tube
6
.
The ink container
1
is formed into a cylinder/piston type container, and the outlet
1
a
is formed at an end wall
1
c
that blocks a front end of the cylinder
1
b
(the right end in FIG.
10
). The back end of the cylinder
1
b
(the left end in
FIG. 10
) is sealed by a piston member
1
d
slidably fitted into the cylinder
1
b
, and thus an ink storage chamber
1
e
is formed between the end wall
1
c
and the piston member
1
d
. The amount of ink contained in the ink storage chamber
1
e
is reduced as the ink is sucked using the ink pump
5
, and as a result the piston member
1
d
moves toward the front end of the cylinder
1
b
in the sealed state. The ink container
1
having such a structure is distributed in the market as it has its outlet
1
a
sealed with a cap
1
f
as shown in
FIG. 11
, and when the ink container
1
is used, the outlet
1
a
removed of the cap
1
f
is inserted into the suction conduit
5
a
of the ink pump
5
. As shown by the double dotted chain line in
FIG. 11
, the back end of the cylinder
1
b
(the upper end in
FIG. 11
) is provided with a simple cover
7
having an opening, in order to prevent the piston member
1
d
from coming out.
However, if the ink container
1
is transported or stored in a distribution channel with the cap
1
f
facing upward, ink could leak from a gap between the piston member
1
d
and the inner wall of the cylinder
1
b
, or the piston member
1
d
could go down by the weight of ink, causing air to enter the ink storage chamber
1
e
from a gap between the outlet
1
a
and the cap
1
f
and mix into the ink. Therefore, the cap side of the container
1
is preferably faced downward as shown in
FIG. 11
, in other words, the ink container
1
is preferably placed upside down in packing into a box or in display.
As can be seen from
FIG. 11
, however, the outlet
1
a
of the ink container
1
is formed to have a diameter smaller than the diameter of the cylinder
1
b
. As a result, the following disadvantages are encountered if the container
1
is placed with the smaller-sized outlet
1
a
being faced downward.
(1) This smaller-sized outlet
1
a
or the cap
1
f
has to support the entire load of the ink container
1
and the content thereof, and therefore the ink container
1
becomes unstable, and can be easily turned over even by slight vibration.
(2) At the time of packaging, transporting and unloading, if the container
1
is impacted or dropped, impact force could be concentrated at the outlet
1
a
, causing damage to the outlet
1
a
and thereby causing leakage of ink from the cylinder
1
b.
In recent years, in order to increase the storage amount of ink, there is a demand that diameter of the cylinder
1
b
is enlarged as far as the cylinder
1
b
is accommodated in an attachment space of the printing drum
2
. In this case, the outlet
1
a
would be even smaller as compared to the enlarged cylinder
1
b
, which makes the disadvantages even more serious.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable volume container which has an improved structure in the vicinity of the outlet and is capable of stably holding the outlet facing downward even if the cylinder of the container is enlarged in diameter.
According to the present invention, the above-described object is achieved by a variable volume container comprising a cylindrical main body having an end wall at an end thereof; an outlet projecting from an outer surface of said end wall for allowing a content to be supplied; a piston member fitted into said main body sealingly and slidably in an axial direction of said main body for defining a variable volume storage chamber between itself and said end wall; a plug member detachably mounted to said outlet; and an impact resisting reinforcement disposed at said end wall.
In this structure, the storage chamber is sealed by the plug member that is attached to the outlet projecting from the end wall. If the container is placed upside down with the outlet facing downward in the sealed state, the entire load of the container including the weight of the content acts upon the outlet. If impact in a vertical direction is applied to the container in this state, impact force concentrates at the outlet, particularly at the root portion of the outlet. However, since the impact resisting reinforcement is provided at the end wall from which the outlet projects, the root portion of the outlet is protected by the impact resisting reinforcement and is prevented from being damaged.
The impact resisting reinforcement may be a part of said end wall having a thickness gradually increased toward said outlet. This thickness increasing part is thickest and strongest at the outlet, and therefore improves the strength of the root portion of the outlet to effectively protect the root portion against impact and prevent the outlet from being damaged.
In addition, the impact resisting reinforcement may be formed as a rib shaped projection disposed on an outside surface, an inside surface, or both outside and inside surfaces of said end wall. The rib shaped projection reinforces the end wall provided with the outlet, and protects the root portion of the outlet, so that the outlet will not be damaged.
The rib shaped projection is preferably disposed in contact with an outer periphery of a projecting part of the outlet. In this case, the outer periphery of the projecting part of the outlet is supported by the rib shaped projection, and thus the outlet will not be deformed by bending or buckling, or damaged even when impact is applied thereto.
The rib shaped projection preferably extends beyond a line connecting a periphery of a head of said plug member mounted to said outlet and a periphery of said end wall. When the height of the rib shaped projection is at least beyond the line connecting the periphery of the head of the plug member and the periphery of the end wall, the impact applied to the outlet can be avoided or alleviated.
Furthermore, it is preferred that the rib shaped projection is gradually broadened toward the end wall, so that a corner portion formed between the rib shaped projection and the end wall is rounded. The corner po
Hirohira Takeshi
Wakayama Takahiro
Colilla Daniel J.
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
Riso Kagaku Corporation
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