| 摘要 |
A protector for use with an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge includes an ink chamber which stores an ink; an ink supply hole through which the ink is supplied from the ink chamber to an outside of the ink cartridge and which opens in a hole-open portion of an outer surface of the ink cartridge; and a valve member which is provided between the ink chamber and the ink supply hole, which selectively permits the ink to flow from the ink chamber to the ink supply hole and inhibits the ink from flowing from the ink chamber to the ink supply hole, and which communicates with the outside via the ink supply hole. The protector includes a main portion including an engaging portion which is adapted to engage a portion of the ink cartridge so that the protector is detachably attached to the ink cartridge. The main portion has a rigidity assuring that the main portion can substantially maintain an original shape thereof. The main portion further includes an access-restraining portion which is adapted to be located, in a state in which the protector is attached to the ink cartridge, outside the ink supply hole so as to at least partly cover the hole-open portion of the outer surface of the ink cartridge and thereby restrain an external access to the valve member via the ink supply hole.
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