METHOD FOR FILLING INK CARTRIDGE WITH INKBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONTECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for filling an ink cartridge, which supplies ink to a recording head of an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets in accordance with a printing signal, with ink, the ink cartridge is releasably mounted on a carriage of the recording apparatus.
RELATED TECHNIQUE A print head of an ink jet type recording apparatus is connected to an ink cartridge through an ink supply passage, so that the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the print head . Generally, with the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage of the recording apparatus, a porous member impregnated with ink is accommodated within an ink cartridge housing with a hole for air communication for the purpose of preventing the ink level from varying. due to the reciprocal movement of the carriage, and the ink is supplied from there to the print head through an ink supply port formed in the housing. When the ink fills the ink cartridge so designed, s;. : - requires that the ink fill enough at least in the vicinity of the ink supply port. Otherwise, air entering the housing through an air communication hole during the printing operation of the recording apparatus may reach the ink supply port, which may cause the problem that the air within the Ink supply port blocks the smooth flow of ink and a certain amount of ink remains inside the housing. In addition, air can enter the print head and cover the nozzles, which can cause an undesirable phenomenon of white spots where the ink drop was not ejected through the nozzle as the ink flowing is blocked by the air . These problems will deteriorate the print quality. On the other hand, the ink cartridge with the ink completely exhausted has been conventionally replaced with a new ink cartridge and the old ink cartridge has been discarded. However, it is preferable to reuse the spent ink cartridge for the purpose of optimizing resources. Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 9-39262, for example, discloses an ink refilling technique in which the ink is filled under pressure through an air communication hole formed in the dyeing cassette. However, the air communication hole is generally designed to have a high resistance to fluid as a measure to suppress evaporation of the ink housed inside the ink cartridge. For example, the air communication hole built to open into the ambient air, through a capillary action. Therefore, it takes a relatively long time to fill or refill the ink cartridge through an air communication hole. In addition, after filling or refilling the ink, the ink remaining in the air communication hole can be dried and solidified to close if there is an orifice, whereby the air entry through the communication orifice is stopped. air and the supply of ink is blocked through the ink supply port to the print head. This represents another problem. Further, in accordance with the conventional ink refilling technique as set forth in JPA No. 9-39262, because the ink is filled through the air communication hole, which is opposite the ink supply port, the ink filling condition in the vicinity of the ink supply port, which influences the performance of the ink supply of the ink cartridge, may not be sufficient and the ink supply for the print head may become unstable. In addition, because the pores of the porous member in the ink-depleted cartridge retain air instead of ink as the ink is released through the ink supply port, it can be difficult to completely fill the ink cartridge with ink.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention was made in view of the problems_____________ I ________ and above mentioned and the difficulties accompanying conventional ink cartridges for an ink jet recording apparatus. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for filling ink with an ink cartridge with a sufficient ink filling capacity in a short period of time with a high filling condition, particularly in the vicinity of the port. of ink supply. Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for filling ink in a suitable ink cartridge for carrying out the method of the present invention. In accordance with the present invention, the ink is filled into an ink cartridge having a housing communicating with ambient air through an air communication hole, a porous member impregnated with ink, an ink supply port and a valve device including a valve body always pushed by a spring and a valve seat abutting against the valve body and the ink fills the ink cartridge housing through the ink supply port. When the ink supply port of the ink cartridge is mounted in an ink jet tube, the valve body is pushed upwardly by the ink jet tube to release the ink supply passage. After this, the ink is injected through the ink jet tube through the ink supply port, so that the ink is impregnated in the porous member, which is previously decompressed.
According to this and in accordance with the present invention, it is determined that the ink can be sufficiently filled in a short period of time, at a high filling condition, particularly in the vicinity of the ink supply port.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink cartridge mounted on a carriage of a recording apparatus, on which the present invention is applied; Figure 2 shows an ink filling apparatus, in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; Figures 3A and 3B are views showing the process of mounting the ink cartridge on an ink filling apparatus; Figure 4 is a sectional view showing another example of an ink supply port on which the ink filling technique of the present invention is applied; Figure 5 shows an ink filling apparatus in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6A and 6B are views showing the filling process of the ink-filling apparatus shown in Figure 5; Figure 7 is a perspective view showing an example of the color type ink cartridge; Figures 8A and 8B are perspective views showing the front and rear structures, respectively, of a memory device coupled with the ink cartridge shown in the Figure__ * _, Figure 9 is a sectional view showing the ink cartridge shown in Figure 7, in a condition in which, the ink cartridge is mounted in the recording apparatus; Figure 10 is a schematic view showing an ink filling apparatus in accordance with a third embodiment of the present one condition during the ink vacuum operation; and Figure 11 is a schematic view of an ink filling apparatus shown in Figure 10, in a condition during the ink filling operation.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink cartridge mounted on a carriage of a recording apparatus, for which the present invention is applied. As shown in Figure 1, an ink cartridge 1 is provided with an ink chamber 2, a porous member 2a impregnated with ink and housed in the ink chamber 2, a ink supply port 3 formed (? N a wall and communicating with the ink chamber 2, and an air communication hole 1 a formed in an upper wall When the ink cartridge is mounted in a predetermined position of the carriage 4, to which a printer head 6 is secured, an ink supply needle 5 communicating with the printing head 6, enters sealing liquid coupling with the ink supply port 3, so that the ink in the ink chamber 2, that is, the ink impregnated with the ink the porous member 2a according to the present embodiment is supplied to the printer head 6. A package 10 fitted in the ink supply port 3 is provided with a cylindrical, through-hole formed in the center thereof, which is it can be coupled in liquid-sealant form with the ink supply needle 5. The gasket 10 is formed on the side of the ink chamber 2, therein, a valve seat 10a which is closed by a valve body 11 will be described later. The seat 10a of the valve is expanded to open by inserting the ink supply needle 5. A cylindrical ink-introducing member 12, having an opening 12a communicating with the ink chamber 2 fits over the package 10. The valve body 11 is disposed within the ink-introducing member 12 and is always pushed against the seat 10a of the valve by means of a spring 13, so that the body 11 of the valve is slidable in the axial direction of the ink-introducing member 12. A filter 14 is secured at an upper edge of the ink supply port 3, so that the filter 14 makes contact with the porous member 2a housed in the ink cartridge 1. Figure 2 shows an ink filler apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. An ink reservoir tank 20 is provided at the top thereof with a base 20a, on which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted at a predetermined position. An ink filling pipe 21 penetrates the ink reserve tank 20. The dye filling pipe 21 has an upper part which can be coupled in a liquid-sealing manner with the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 and a lower part communicating with the ink K contained in the reserve tank 20 from ink. As shown in Figure 2, a tip end of the ink filling pipe 21 is tapered like the ink supply needle 5 communicating with the recording head of the recording apparatus. An ink flow outlet 21a is formed at the tip end of the ink filling pipe 21 through which ink K is filled from the ink reservoir tank 20 into the ink cartridge 1. The projecting length of the ink-filling pipe 21 is adjusted such that the tip end of the ink-filling pipe 21 causes the valve body 11 to be sufficiently separated from the valve seat 10a when the cartridge 1 of ink is mounted on the base 20a to fill with ink K. The ink-filling apparatus according to the invention is also provided with a vacuum section 22 on the ink cartridge 1 to generate a negative pressure in the cartridge 1 of ink through the air communication hole 1a formed in the upper wall of the ink cartridge 1. The vacuum section 22 is supported on a post 23 which extends upwardly from a position which does not obstruct the mounting of the ink cartridge 1, so that the vacuum section 22 is slidable in a vertical direction, i.e. along the arrow A shown in Figure 2. The vacuum section 22 includes at one end thereof a vacuum pipe 24 having a connector port 24a which is abutting elastically against the air communication hole 1a of the cartridge 1 of ink while it remains airtight and the other end of the vacuum section 22 is connected to a vacuum pump, not shown. The operation of the ink-filling apparatus according to the present embodiment shown in Figures 1 and 2, will be described hereinafter with reference to Figures 3A and 3B. Figures 3A and 3B are views showing the assembly process of the ink cartridge on the ink filling apparatus. When the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the carriage 4 of the recording apparatus, the valve body 11 is pushed upward by the tip end of the ink supply needle 5 as shown in Figure 1, for This way, the ink supply passageway is released and the ink inside the ink chamber 2 flows out of the ink cartridge 1 towards the printer head 6 in the amount required to eject droplets from the nozzles. When the ink of the ink cartridge 1 is depleted, the ink cartridge 1 is uncoupled from the carriage 4 and is mounted in the ink-filling apparatus shown in Figure 2. While the spent ink cartridge 1 is mounted in the base 2a of the ink filling apparatus, the ink supply port 3 is positioned precisely with respect to the ink filling pipe 21 as shown in Figure 3A and, after this, the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the base 20a of the ink filling apparatus. 20 ink reservoir tank, as shown in Figure 3B, so that the tip end of the ink-filled line 21 pushes the valve body 11 up against the spring force of the spring 13, whereby the frees the ink supply passage. Then, the vacuum section 12 is driven to move downward while placing the tip end of the vacuum pipe 24 with respect to the air communication hole 1a of the ink cartridge 1, and a connector port 24a of the pipe 24 of vacuum enters liquid-sealing coupling with the air communication hole 1a of the ink cartridge 1. Under this condition, when the vacuum pump (not shown) is activated, a negative pressure is generated in the ink chamber 2 and accordingly, the air retained in the porous member 2a escapes through the communication hole 1a of air of the cartridge 1 of ink. In this way, when the negative pressure becomes too high to exceed the difference in the water level of the ink cartridge 1 from the ink reservoir 20, the ink K lodged in the ink reservoir tank 20 flows inside. of the ink cartridge 1 and is gradually impregnated in the porous member 2a by the capillary action of the porous member 2a. During the ink filling operation, when predetermined tint is filled within the ink cartridge 1, the vacuum pump is deactivated to stop the generation of negative pressure, the ink cartridge 1 is decoupled from the ink filling pipe 21. In this operation, the valve body 11 abuts against the seat 10a of the valve due to the spring force of the spring 13, as shown in Figure 3A. Therefore, the ink supply port 3 closes and prevents the body 11 of the valve and the ink from running out of the ink supply port 3 after the filling operation. Figure 4 is a sectional view showing another example of an ink supply port in which the ink filling technique of the present invention is applied. As shown in Figure 4, a wall of the opening of the ink supply port 3 on the side of the ink chamber 2 is formed with a biased surface 12b that enlarges towards the ink chamber 2. According to the present embodiment, because the ink injected into the ink supply port 3 flows into the porous member 2a through the skewed surface 12a, the ink can be filled away from the supply port 3 of the ink supply. tin, while the air space of the opening 12a or the air bubbles trapped by the filter 14 are pushed away from the ink chamber 2. Although the embodiments described above refer to the cartridge mounted ink cartridge of the recording apparatus, the present invention is not limited thereto or by same. For example, the invention can be applied to an ink cartridge for use in another type of recording apparatus in which the ink cartridge is not mounted on a carriage but on a print head, while the ink cartridge is mounted in a desired fixed part of the printing apparatus and the ink contained in the ink cartridge is supplied to the print head through a flexible tube of ink supply. In this arrangement, the same functions and performance of the previous modalities can be carried out. Furthermore, in the above embodiments, the ink K is sucked upwards from the ink reservoir 20 while emptying the air inside the ink cartridge 1 through the air communication hole 1 a. However, another process may be applied, in which the air in the ink cartridge 1 escapes outwardly through an ink supply port 3, upward to a predetermined level of low pressure in a first step, and then K1 it is connected to the ink reservoir tank 20 for filling with ink, in a subsequent second step. In this case, it is preferable that the air communication hole 1a be pre-sealed, for example, by a releasable fusible bonding film, an exhaust pipe connected to the vacuum pump being inserted into the ink supply port 3 while which is sealed in order to push the body valve 11 upwards, decompress the interior of the ink cartridge 1 and the exhaust pipe is removed when the negative pressure of the ink cartridge 1 reaches a predetermined low level. When the exhaust pipe is removed, the ink supply port 3 is sealed by the valve body 11 due to the spring force of the spring 13 to maintain the low pressure condition inside the ink cartridge 1. After this the ink cartridge 1 is mounted in the ink filling apparatus and the ink filling pipe 21 communicating with an ink reservoir 20 is inserted into the ink supply port 3 so that it is forced to the ink to flow within the interior of the ink cartridge 1, due to the pressure difference between the inside of the ink cartridge 1 and that of the ink reservoir tank 20. In this way, the ink fills the ink cartridge 1. In accordance with the present arrangement, because the ink supply port 3 functions both as an air outlet port and as an ink input port, the ink filling apparatus can be made very simple and small in structure. Figure 5 shows an ink filling apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As illustrated in Figure 5, the ink filling apparatus is provided with a sealing member 30 which functions to seal the air communication hole 1 a of the ink cartridge 1 and of the ink filling pipe 21, which is engaged in liquid-sealing form with the ink supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1. A selective connection device 33 is coupled to the lower end of the ink-filling pipe 21, an ink communication pipe 32 that opens to the ink K contained in the ink reservoir tank 20 and a negative pressure applied to the ink tank 20. pipe 31 connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) that generates a negative pressure. In this embodiment, a three-way valve is used as an example of the selective connection device 33. According to the second embodiment, when a spent ink cartridge 1 is mounted in the ink filling apparatus, the body valve 11 is pushed up by the ink filling pipe 21 and the valve seat 10a is removed to release the ink supply passage as shown in Figures 2 and 3. Subsequently, the ink filling pipe 21 is communicated with the negative pressure applicator pipe 31 when operating the three-way valve 33, so that negative pressure is generated in the ink chamber 2 to release air from the ink chamber 2 and the porous member 2a housed therein. At the time when the ink chamber 2 is sufficiently decompressed, the three-way valve 33 is operated to switch the connection of the ink filling line 21 to the ink communication line 32, the ink K flows into the chamber 2. of ink and the ink cartridge is filled with ink. According to a second embodiment of the present invention, because the air in the ink cartridge 1 escapes through the ink supply port 3, the air, particularly in the vicinity of the ink supply port 3, can be pull more securely and then fill the tin particularly the proximity of port 3 of supply of tin more safely. This has certain advantages for a high quality ink cartridge while undesirable air flow to the printer head 6 can be avoided while only the printer head 6 is supplied with ink. In addition, in the above mode, the air escapes regardless of the ink jet process. Because in the process of the present invention, although it takes some time to achieve this, a sufficient negative pressure can be applied to the ink chamber 2, and the air retained in the porous member 2a can be removed safely. The same performance as in the second embodiment can also be achieved in the first embodiment shown in Figure 2, only by providing a stop valve at the middle of the ink filling pipe 21. The aforementioned modalities refer to the case where the ink is filled immediately after the cartridge is decompressed. However, the porous member 2a may desirably be subjected to the hydrophilic treatment or ink-philic treatment prior to the ink filling process. In this case, the decompression process can be omitted as the ink fills in the porous member 2a due to the capillary action generated by the porous member 2a itself.___ £, -? L? ____.
This hydrophilic treatment can be carried out by impregnating the porous member 2a with water, polyhydric alcohol such as ethylene glycol or glycerin or its aqueous solution, surfactant or its aqueous solution, or its composite solution, then, the porous member 2a is dehydrated or drying Accordingly, the porous member 2a for the spent ink cartridge can be filled with the tin due to the capillary action without carrying out the decompression process since the porous member 2a is still hydrophilic. Assuming that if there is still ink in the porous member 2a after the volatile compound has volatilized, it is preferable to adjust the compound, for example, by immersing the porous member 2a in water so that an ink cartridge with more characteristics can be manufactured. stable Furthermore, it is preferable that the ink contained in the reservoir 20 of the ink reservoir be released from gases by the application of ink in the air / water separator unit constructed by a filamentous membrane or by contacting a zeolite such as Teflon ™ in a manner that the gas dissolved in the ink is removed, so that the filtration performance of the ink with respect to the porous member 2a can be improved and the porous member 2a can be uniformly and completely impregnated. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiments, the ink is injected by using a low pressure inside the ink cartridge or by the capillary action of the porous member 2a. However, it is also applicable that the gas-free ink is compressed and supplied into the ink cartridge through the ink supply port when using a decompression pump. With this arrangement, the same or even improved performance can be achieved. In parentheses, when the ink is injected under a decompression or compression condition, the ink reaches the vicinity of the air communication hole 1 a and can be ejected out of the air communication hole 1 a immediately before completing the ink filling operation. Accordingly, at least in the last stage of the ink filling process, the air can be injected through the air communication hole 1 a or the air communication hole 1 a can be sealed by a cover or its like, immediately before completing the ink filling process, so that the air pressure inside the interior space is increased. In addition, for the purpose of injecting ink in the vicinity of the ink supply port while the air completely escapes, the ink flow rate at the beginning of the ink filling process is adjusted to be high, for example 10 g / min. When the ink flow rate is high, the air bubbles 15 which stick to the filter 14 are entrained within the porous member 2a due to the strong ink flow as shown in Figure 6A. At the same time, because the ink flow rate is high, the ink flow that is injected into the ink chamber 2 through the ink supply port 3, which projects outwardly from the bottom wall of the ink. The ink cartridge is bent in the horizontal direction of Figure 6A along the arrow shown in the figure due to the large flow resistance of the porous member 2a in the portion just above the ink supply port 3. The ink surrounds the ink supply port 3 to flow towards the bottom of the ink supply port 3, so that the ink can enter the space 16 defined by the porous member 2a and by an interior wall of the cartridge 1 of ink. Therefore, even if the space 16 is free from the porous member 2a, the ink may fill the space located in the vicinity of the ink supply port 3. During the ink filling process, at a stage where a predetermined amount of ink, for example, one-half the capacity of the ink cartridge, it is filled in the ink cartridge 1, e, and the ink flow rate is changed to be reduced to, for example, half the first flow rate, i.e. to 5 g / min. After changing the flow rate of the ink, the ink gradually fills the porous member 2a, and the air bubbles 15 pushed out of the vicinity of the ink supply port 3 are carried upwards by the defined ink wall 17 by the ink level as shown in Figure 6B, and finally released outwardly through the air communication hole 1a. In the last stage of the ink filling process, even if the air bubbles stick or hold on the porous member 2a in the vicinity of the ink supply port 3, the air bubbles dissolve in the ink, if the ink It is completely free of gases. In this way, the lack of ink during a printing operation can be avoided. On the other hand, if at any time an excessive amount of ink is intentionally filled in the ink cartridge to exceed the desired amount and subsequently an additional amount of ink is sucked out of the ink supply port 3, a part of the ink By dissolving the air bubbles in the vicinity of the ink supply port 3, the ink supply port 3 can be removed. In this case, moreover, if the completely liberated ink from the ink is first injected into the ink cartridge in an exceeded manner, and then an additional quantity of ink escapes by vacuum, the additional part of ink that escaped the supply port 3 The ink carries out the dissolution of the air bubbles retained in the vicinity of the port 3 of the ink supply. Accordingly, an improved ink cartridge, completely free of gases or air bubbles, can be produced. In addition, in another arrangement, a first type of ink having a low concentration of pigment or dye compound is injected at the beginning of the ink jet process, and then a second type of ink with a high concentration of pigment or compound and dye It is injected in the next step. With this arrangement, in the first step, the first ink with a low concentration of compound but having an easy impregnation performance can be quickly impregnated within a region of the porous member 2a from the opening of the ink supply port 3 to the medium level thereof, where the execution of impregnation is relatively low at the beginning. In this way, the porous member 2a is wetted by the solvent of the first type of ink and becomes easily impregnable with ink. After this, the second type of ink, with a high concentration of compound, is injected in place of the first type of ink. This arrangement is advantageous because the ink can be filled in the ink cartridge while sufficiently removing the air bubbles retained in the porous member 2a. According to the aforementioned arrangement, when the ink filling process is completed, the second ink, which has a high concentration of the compound occupies the lower region of the porous member 2a in the vicinity of the ink supply port while the First ink, with a low concentration of the compound, occupies the upper region of the porous member 2a. However, for a period of time after the ink cartridge thus filled is shipped from its place of manufacture until it reaches the end user, the two different types of ink formerly separated, are mixed due to the fluid diffusion phenomenon, and a uniform concentration of ink suitable for printing can be achieved. In parentheses, certain recent ink cartridges are provided with a memory device that stores within it the data of the preset printing conditions, such as^^^^ safety measure, to reflect the information of the cartridge such as the amount of ink, the date of manufacture, the model number, and a change in the printing condition caused by an improvement in the ink itself. Figure 7 is a perspective view showing an example of an ink cartridge of this color type class, Figures 8A and 8B are perspective views showing the front and rear structures, respectively, of a memory device coupled with the ink cartridge shown in Figure 7; and Figure 9 is a sectional view showing the ink cartridge shown in Figure 7, in a condition where the ink cartridge is mounted in the recording apparatus. As shown in Figure 7, an ink cartridge 40 is provided with a unitary housing 41, independent of the interior, which is divided into a plurality of ink chambers, for example, five ink chambers 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d and 42e for the different colors of this modality. An ink supply port 43 is formed (in each of the ink chambers 42a to 42e, and a memory device 44 is coupled with an external surface on one side of the ink cartridge 40 for storing the data related to the ink. information of the cartridge mentioned above The memory device 44, as can best be seen (FIGS. 8A and 8B are provided with a board 45 of circuits and electrodes 47 formed on an external surface of the circuit board 45 and an element 48 The semiconductor storage device is electrically connected to the electrode 47. The electrodes 47 are arranged to contact the external contact terminals 46 of the ink jet recording apparatus, when the ink cartridge 40 is thus designed, it is mounted in a predetermined position of the carriage 4 of the recording apparatus as shown in Figure 9, the electrodes 47 of the memory device 44 enter into a coupling. With the contacts 46 formed in the carriage 4, so that the data stored in the storage semiconductor element 48 is read by the control section of the recording apparatus, and the cartridge information is updated. In the case where the ink cartridge 40 includes the memory device 44 as mentioned above, the information in the device 44 is collected from the users for recycling, the memory is updated with the information up-to-date, in the which adds certain information, such as the information during ink filling.With this rewrite, a recycled ink cartridge 40 which stores the appropriate information can be provided In the above mode, air from the ink cartridge 40 escapes through the air communication hole 1 a to decompress the interior of the same, however, in another arrangement, for example, the cartridge itself can be adjusted inside a vacuum chamber as shown in Figures 10 and 1 to achieve the same purposes Figure 10 is a schematic view showing the ink-filling apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present condition during the operation of__H________________________a empty ink, and Figure 11 is a schematic view of the ink filling apparatus shown in Figure 10 in the condition during the ink filling operation. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the ink-filling apparatus is provided with a camera body 51, which is sealed with a cover 50 so that the ink supply port 43 is defined. The openings 52 and 53, which connect a vacuum pump and an ambient air release valve (not shown in the figures), respectively, are formed in a wall of the chamber body 51. The base member 56 moves in a horizontal X direction by a drive mechanism 55. As shown in Figures 10 and 11, an ink filling pipe 21 connecting an ink reserve tank 58 through a tube 57 and an air releasing pipe 59 with the same structure as the ink filling pipe 21 and released inside the ink filling chamber 54 , are embedded in the base member 56 and arranged along a line on which the base member 56 moves. A lifting mechanism 61, with a holding arm 60 at the lower end thereof, is disposed in a portion top of the lid 50. These component parts make up the ink filler apparatus. With the ink filling apparatus thus constructed, a spent ink cartridge 1 is held by a holding arm 60 and the base member 56 is urged to move upward to a position where the gas-releasing pipe 59 faces? «___ 1 &_Í ___ llt___________ port 3 ink supply. Subsequently, when the ink cartridge 1 is raised to a predetermined position by the lifting mechanism 61, the air-releasing pipe 59 is inserted into the ink supply port 3 as shown in Figure 10, and the body 11 of The valve of the ink cartridge 1 is pushed upwardly by the air release pipe 59 to release the interior of the ink cartridge 1. In this condition, the ink-filling chamber 54 is decompressed and the air in the ink cartridge 1 is released out of the ink cartridge 1 through the ink supply port 3 to a lower portion thereof and also the hole 1a of air communication to an upper portion thereof. In a step where the decompression level reaches a predetermined value, the ink cartridge 1 is raised by the lifting mechanism 61 and after the member 56 is driven to move to a predetermined position where the ink filling pipe 21 is confronted to port 3 for ink supply. Finally, the ink cartridge 1 is raised by the lifting mechanism 61 to a predetermined position, and the ink filling pipe 21 is inserted into the ink supply port 3 as shown in Figure 11. Under this condition, a stop valve 62 of the tube forming the ink supply passage is released so that the ink contained in the ink reservoir 58 is compressed by the pressure differential of the ambient air flowing into the ink cartridge 1 through the ink filling pipe 21. In the step in which a predetermined amount of ink is filled in the ink cartridge 1, if the pressure inside the ink filling chamber 54 is increased by the ambient air release valve (not shown in the Figures), the ink can be prevented from dripping out of the ink cartridge 1 through the air communication hole 1 a.A sealing film adheres on the surface of the ink cartridge 1, where the air communication hole 1 a is formed , to seal the air communication hole 1a, the ink can be prevented from dripping out although the aforementioned pressure adjustment process is not carried out When the air communication hole 1a is sealed with the sealing film, the interior of the ink cartridge can be sufficiently decompressed since the air release pipe 59 is inserted into the ink supply port 3 as described above. or, the ink is injected into the ink cartridge after completing the decompression process when using the ink filling chamber 54. The air in the inner space of the ink cartridge or retained in the porous member 2a can be extracted safely since the pressure impact of the filling process performs the following steps, that is, the cartridge is decompressed in a first step, the pressure in the pressure filling chamber 54 is increased in a second step and in a third step, the cartridge is decompressed again, in other words, if the decompression step for ink filling is carried out only after conduct one or more cycles of air decompression and release of ambient air. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the ink is filled by the pressure difference of the ambient air caused by the pressure applied to the ink filling region. However, another fix can be applied. For example, the ink can be compressed and inserted into the ink cartridge after the ink cartridge is removed. Furthermore, the ink cartridge 1 is coupled and separated from the ink filling pipe 21 and the air exhaust pipe 59 by operating the lifting mechanism 61 in the above-mentioned embodiment. Nevertheless, another arrangement can be applied to achieve the same operation. For example, the ink cartridge is secured in a predetermined position, and the base member 56 is urged to move vertically and horizontally. In accordance with the present invention, as described above, because the ink fills in an ink cartridge having a housing in communication with ambient air through an air communication hole, a porous member impregnated with ink, an ink supply port and a valve device, which includes a valve body always pushed by a spring and a valve seat abutting against the valve body, the ink fills the housing of the cartridge- = _ ^^^ ¡^^^ _áÉ¡-ta_fc _____- iÉ- ^^^^^^ ink through the ink supply port. Therefore, when the ink filling pipe is adjusted in the ink supply port, to thereby push the valve body up, so that the ink supply passage is released and the ink is impregnated in the ink supply port. porous member through the ink supply port. After this, the ink is injected by the ink injector tube through the ink supply port, so that the ink is impregnated on the porous member, which was previously decompressed in accordance with this and in accordance with In the present invention, it is determined that the ink can be filled in a sufficiently short period with a high filling condition, particularly in the vicinity of the ink supply port without blocking the air communication hole by the ink.