JP2005297436A - Liquid storage container and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid storing container with a constitution stable in ink supply performance, in a ink supply method in which frequent connecting actions are carried out with an external container. <P>SOLUTION: An inkjet head cartridge 10 is equipped with an inkjet liquid discharge head 1 having a discharge port for discharging liquid such as ink or the like and a liquid storing container 2 for supplying a liquid to the liquid discharging head 1. Liquid supply members 3 for supplementing ink into the container is connected to the bottom face of the liquid storing container 2. The liquid storing container 2 is provided with opening parts to fit the liquid supply members 3 therein. The portions corresponding to the opening parts of the liquid supply members 3 have corrugated surfaces 3a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink-jet head cartridge used in various recording fields, and more particularly to an ink-jet cartridge suitable for a pit-in ink supply system, a liquid storage part thereof, and a method for manufacturing the liquid storage part.

  As one form of an ink jet recording apparatus, a pit-in includes at least a liquid discharge head, a sub tank that is a liquid storage container for supplying ink to the liquid discharge head, and a main tank that is a container for replenishing the sub tank with ink. A device of the type is provided. This is a system in which a liquid discharge head discharges liquid on a recording medium such as paper or postcard while moving in a direction crossing the recording medium conveyance direction, and the sub tank and main tank are connected periodically. It is.

  The liquid discharge head is configured integrally with a sub tank, and an ink jet head cartridge (hereinafter abbreviated as a head cartridge) composed of the liquid discharge head and the sub tank is mounted on a carriage that is scanned to face a recording surface of a recording medium. The A liquid supply member connected to the main tank is provided in a part of the sub tank. The main tank is housed in the apparatus so as to be detachable from the ink jet recording apparatus main body.

  The sub tank is connected by a main tank and a liquid supply member at a predetermined position as the carriage moves, and is replenished with ink.

  In the case of replenishing ink by this pit-in method, a configuration for replenishing a sub tank with a predetermined amount of ink without excess or deficiency is required.

  Therefore, it is necessary to securely connect the liquid supply member provided in a part of the sub tank to the main tank. Further, since the ink filling into the sub tank is performed a plurality of times as the ink is consumed, reliability and durability when connecting the liquid supply member of the sub tank to the main tank are important.

  Here, in ink replenishment, a check valve is provided in a portion of the sub tank that is open to the atmosphere (hereinafter referred to as an atmospheric communication portion), and the amount of ink in the sub tank is fully filled while releasing the gas in the sub tank to the atmosphere. There is a configuration in which ink is filled by opening / closing control of a valve to prevent ink overflow when the state is exceeded.

As a check valve, a water-repellent fibrous film made of a porous material that allows gas to permeate and does not allow liquid such as ink to pass through the atmosphere communicating portion is used to refill the sub tank with ink. Patent Document 1 proposes a configuration in which only the ink is filled while the air inside is excluded, and a full tank is replenished by the meniscus holding force of the film.
JP 2002-86747 A

  The ink replenishing system using the pit-in method is formed by attaching a porous water-repellent fibrous film, and therefore has advantages such as low cost and excellent miniaturization. However, since the operation of connecting the liquid supply member of the sub tank to the main tank is performed a plurality of times as the ink in the sub tank is consumed, the attachment strength of the liquid supply member every time the main tank and the liquid supply member of the sub tank are connected. May go down.

  In particular, when the liquid supply member is joined to the sub tank by an intervening part such as an adhesive, ink contact is caused by the dispersion of joining strength when the intervening part is cured and the operation of connecting the liquid supply member over a long period of time. The interposition part may be deteriorated by the liquid.

  That is, if a defect occurs in the joint portion of the liquid supply member as a result of the above phenomenon, ink is not supplied to the sub tank at the time of pit-in supply.

  In order to more firmly fix the liquid supply member, instead of using the adhesive as described above, a method using thermal welding is used, but in order to achieve ultra-miniaturization of the apparatus, the main tank and the sub tank There is little clearance at the time of joint. Therefore, the swell of the welded portion that occurs during heat welding causes interference at the time of jointing with the main tank, so that a normal connection operation cannot be performed and ink supply cannot be performed.

  In this case, the ink in the sub tank leaks from the junction of the liquid supply member, leaks to the outside of the head cartridge, and in some cases, the ink leaks to the entire system that supplies ink, resulting in a fatal malfunction such as a short circuit in the electrical system. Cause.

  An object of the present invention has been made in view of the above-described failure during ink supply, and the ink supply performance is stabilized in, for example, the pit-in method in which the connection operation between the main tank and the liquid storage container (sub tank) is frequently performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid storage container and a method for producing the same.

  A further object of the present invention is to propose an ink jet head cartridge that has stable connection performance and is highly reliable without ink leakage, focusing on the above-mentioned poor connection operation between the main tank and the sub tank and the problem of ink leakage. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is equipped with a storage section for storing a liquid, an opening provided in a part of the storage section for communicating the inside and the outside of the storage section, and the opening section. A liquid supply member for supplying the liquid in the external container into the storage unit, and a surface of the liquid supply member corresponding to the inner surface of the opening is an uneven surface.

  In such an invention, after the liquid supply member is press-fitted into the opening of the storage unit, when the portion of the liquid supply member that has come out of the storage unit is heated, a temperature gradient of heat is generated in the opening, and the storage unit The temperature decreases from the outside to the inside. For this reason, the melted state of the resin is greater on the outer side of the storage part than on the inner side of the opening part, and the flowability of the resin to the uneven surface portion of the liquid supply member is improved. That is, the adhesiveness of the resin to the liquid supply member is higher on the outside of the storage part of the opening. As a result, even if the connection between the external container and the liquid supply member is frequently repeated, the liquid supply member becomes strong against the pulling strength.

  In addition, the present invention provides a storage unit for storing a liquid, a recess provided on a part of the surface of the storage unit, an opening provided on the bottom surface of the recess and communicating the inside of the storage unit with the outside. And a liquid supply container mounted on the opening and having a liquid supply member for supplying the liquid in the external container into the storage part. In this container, it is preferable that a resin is disposed in the recess.

  In this invention, after press-fitting the liquid supply member into the opening of the storage unit, when the portion of the liquid supply member that has come out of the storage unit is heated, the self-heating of the liquid supply member causes the opening of the liquid storage container to The resin at the contact portion with the liquid supply member begins to melt. At this time, the air embraced between the liquid supply member at the opening of the liquid storage container expands and pushes the molten resin into the recess to form a bulge.

  When the heating operation is finished, the molten resin in the opening gradually begins to harden again. Along with this curing, the resin in the opening tightly fixes the liquid supply member. In particular, the bulge is formed of a molten resin that does not entrain air, and thus has an effect of blocking the liquid.

Thereafter, filling the recess with resin as a sealant from the top of the bulge can reliably block the liquid and increase the stabilization. At this time, since the resin to be applied is disposed in the recess, there is no protrusion in the peripheral portion of the liquid supply member of the liquid storage container, so that the liquid storage container and the external container are jointed by a normal connection operation.
Furthermore, if the surface of the liquid supply member corresponding to the inner side surface of the opening of the storage unit is an uneven surface, the strength against dropping is further increased.

  According to the present invention, whenever the liquid supply member provided in a part of the liquid storage container is connected to the external container for replenishing the liquid, the attachment strength of the liquid supply member is not reduced.

  In particular, since there is no intervening portion due to an adhesive or the like in the connection between the opening provided in the liquid storage container and the liquid supply member, there is a variation in bonding strength when the intervening portion is cured, and a plurality of long-term The intervening portion does not deteriorate due to the ink contact depending on the operation of connecting the liquid supply member to the liquid.

  Furthermore, the air tightness of the liquid storage unit can be maintained during connection and supply of the liquid supply member without causing a defect in the joint portion between the opening provided in the liquid storage container and the liquid supply member. That is, since the liquid in the liquid storage container does not leak from the joint between the opening and the liquid supply member, the ink leaks to the outside of the inkjet head cartridge, and in some cases, the ink leaks to the entire system that supplies the ink. There is no danger of a fatal malfunction such as a short circuit in the electrical system.

  When applied to the pit-in supply method, it is possible to provide an inkjet head cartridge that has stable joint performance and high reliability without ink leakage.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, an ink jet head cartridge that integrally includes a liquid storage container that stores liquid and an ink jet liquid discharge head that discharges the liquid supplied from the container for recording or the like will be described as an example. The scope of the invention is not limited to this.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet head cartridge according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention.

  An inkjet head cartridge 10 shown in the figure includes an inkjet liquid ejection head 1 having an ejection port for ejecting a liquid such as ink, and a liquid storage container 2 for supplying a liquid to the liquid ejection head 1. A liquid supply member 3 for replenishing ink into the container is joined to the bottom surface of the liquid storage container 2. The ink is supplied by connecting a main tank (external container) (not shown) and the liquid supply member 3.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid storage container 2 cut at the position of the liquid supply member 3.

  The liquid storage container 2 is filled with a liquid absorber 20 that absorbs and holds the liquid. The upper surface of the liquid storage container 2 is closed by a lid member 5.

  A gas-liquid separation member 6 made of a porous material that allows gas to pass therethrough and does not allow liquid (ink) to pass through is attached to the inner surface of the liquid storage container of the lid member 5. Further, a water repellent (not shown) is applied to the inner surface of the liquid storage container of the gas-liquid separation member 6, and the space between the lid member 5 and the gas-liquid separation member 6 is a gas communication port 8 (air) of the lid member 5. The communication room 9 communicates with the suction port.

  The gas-liquid separation member 6 may be a multi-fiber body obtained by laminating and sintering a fibrous resin or metal. In this case, a considerable amount of gas permeating is converted into a theoretical hole diameter. On the contrary, the fiber diameter and the density after sintering are determined, aiming at the theoretical hole diameter.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid storage container 2 with the ink 15 being replenished from the main tank 60. The symbol a in FIG. 3 indicates the position of the replenished ink liquid level.

  The ink is replenished from the liquid supply member 3, and the suction force to be replenished is a negative suction pressure such as a pump connected to the gas communication port 8.

  With this suction force, ink is supplied from the main tank 60 into the liquid storage container 2 through the connecting member 25 and the liquid supply member 3 connected to each other.

  Ink replenishment into the liquid storage container 2 proceeds, and the position of the symbol a indicating the gas-liquid interface reaches the upper surface of the storage portion of the liquid absorber 20, that is, the lower surface of the gas-liquid separation member 6 attached to the lid member 5. Then, the suction pressure of the pump is adjusted so that ink replenishment is stopped by the water-repellent action and meniscus force applied to the lower surface of the gas-liquid separation member 6. Thereafter, when ink for printing is performed by the liquid ejection head 1, the ink 15 in the liquid storage container 2 is gradually consumed.

  Although the gas-liquid interface a gradually decreases as the ink 15 is consumed, the ink is again filled into the liquid storage container 2 from the main tank 60 through the liquid supply member 3 jointed with the connection member 25 at an appropriate timing. Is done.

  The material in contact with the ink portion constituted here is in consideration of elution into the ink, and the liquid storage container 2 and the lid member 5 are made of corrosion resistance and moldability such as polysulfone, polyethylene, polypropylene, HIPS, PES, PPE, and PPS. It is desirable to make it with a certain resin. In the present embodiment, polysulfone is used.

  Further, since the liquid supply member 3 joined to the liquid storage container 2 is jointed with the connection member 25 of the main tank 60 every time ink filling is repeated, the liquid contact property with respect to the ink and the joint strength at the time of jointing. From the above aspect, it is desirable to use stainless steel or ceramics. Moreover, resin may be sufficient. In this embodiment, stainless steel (SUS303) is used from the viewpoint of miniaturization.

  Moreover, the uneven | corrugated surface 3a of the uneven | corrugated shape is provided in the position which joins with the liquid storage container 2 of the outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply member 3 of this embodiment. Further, a portion of the outer peripheral surface of the liquid supply member 3 that is jointed with the connection member 25 of the main tank 60 is a smooth surface to prevent the connection member 25 from being repeatedly damaged.

  Next, a method for joining the liquid supply member 3 and the liquid storage container 2 in the present embodiment will be described.

  4A, 4B, and 4C are diagrams illustrating a method of joining the liquid supply member and the liquid storage container in the present embodiment. In FIG. 4, for simplicity, the liquid supply member 3 on the bottom surface of the liquid storage container 2 is placed in the center of the figure, and only the bottom surface portion of the liquid storage container 2 is shown enlarged.

  FIG. 4A shows a state before the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2. An opening 2 a for inserting the liquid supply member 3 is provided in a part of the liquid storage container 2. In this embodiment, the opening 2 a is designed to be slightly smaller than the liquid supply member 3. Both of them are press-fit.

  The liquid supply member 2 is held between a pair of holders 11. In this example, one side of the holder 11 is structured to be movable in the direction of the black arrow, and the holding force of the liquid supply member 3 can be adjusted. Further, on the axis of the liquid supply member 3, there is a pusher 12 for inserting (in this case, press-fitting) the liquid supply member 3 into the opening 2 a of the liquid storage container 2.

  FIG. 4B shows a state in which the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2. As shown in this figure, the liquid supply member 3 is inserted (press-fitted) into the opening 2 a of the liquid storage container 2 by the pressing force of the pusher 12 from the state of FIG. The liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted to a predetermined position so that the uneven surface 3a formed by the uneven portion corresponds to the inner peripheral surface of the opening 2a.

  Next, FIG. 4C shows a state in which the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3 is indirectly heated. As shown in the figure, a beam having a specific wavelength is irradiated toward the liquid supply member 3 using a fiber lens 13 for performing indirect heating. The oscillation wave is supplied from an oscillation source (not shown) via a fiber (not shown).

  As means for indirectly heating the liquid supply member 3, electromagnetic induction heating, soft beam heating, semiconductor laser heating, ultraviolet irradiation heating, or the like is used.

  In the present embodiment, heating is performed using a / LD soft beam device (YB-15FL1) manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

  The indirect heating means, conditions, and the like may be selected optimally from the material and shape of the liquid supply member 3 that is the member to be heated.

  In addition, the beam irradiation position to the liquid supply member 3 is in the vicinity of the junction with the liquid storage container 2, that is, the opening 2a, in order to join with higher thermal efficiency.

  When the liquid supply member 3 is heated under the above conditions, the counterpart portion in the press-fit state is melted by the self-heating of the absorbed liquid supply member 3. That is, the resin in the contact portion of the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 with the liquid supply member 3 starts to melt.

  At this time, a temperature gradient of heat is generated in the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2, and the temperature decreases from the A side to the B side in the drawing of the opening 2a. Therefore, since the molten state of the resin is higher on the A side of the opening 2a than on the B side, the flowability of the liquid supply member 3 into the uneven surface 3a is higher on the A side than on the B side.

  Next, when the heating step is completed, the molten resin in the opening 2a starts to be cured again. Along with this curing, the resin in the opening 2a closely fixes the liquid supply member 3. Here, as described above, the adhesion is higher on the A side than on the B side of the opening 2a, and is stronger against the pull-out strength.

  In the present embodiment, since the polysulfone resin is used for the liquid storage container 2, the melting is started at a melting temperature of about 220 ° C. of the resin, while the curing is performed again at 180 ° C. or less.

  These melting conditions may be set by adjusting the output conditions of the indirect heating device, the heating time, and the like.

  When the heating temperature only with the indirect heating device is insufficient, another heating source such as a heat trowel is directly brought into contact with the liquid storage container 2 or the liquid supply member 3 to assist It may be used as a direct heating means.

  Here, the uneven surface shape joined to the liquid storage container 2 of the liquid supply member 3 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The concavo-convex surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3 shown in FIG. 5A is formed by performing a blast process on a part of the surface in contact with the opening 2a.

  The uneven surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3 in FIG. 5 (b) is a surface formed of a narrow groove in which a part of the surface in contact with the opening 2a is knurled.

  The uneven surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3 in FIG. 5C is formed by providing a ring-shaped groove on a part of the surface in contact with the opening 2a. The number of ring-shaped grooves to be formed was determined from the insertion / extraction force required for the liquid storage chamber 2 of the liquid supply member 3.

  The uneven surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3 in FIG. 5D is formed by forming a spiral groove on a part of the surface in contact with the opening 2a.

  In addition, about the shape joined with the opening part 2a of the liquid storage container 2 of the liquid supply member 3, if it is an uneven surface, it will not be restricted to the structure of said Fig.5 (a)-(d).

  Next, the liquid supply member 3 having the uneven surface 3a and the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 for joining the liquid supply member 3 will be described with specific dimensions.

  The liquid supply member 3 has a pipe shape, the inner diameter is 0.32 mm, the tolerance is ± 0.02 mm, the outer diameter is 0.5 mm, and the tolerance is +0, −0.01 mm. It was used. On the other hand, the dimensional values related to the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 were an opening diameter of 0.45 mm and tolerances of +0.01 mm and -0.01 mm. And the liquid supply member 3 was press-fitted and joined to the opening 2a.

  In the present invention, since the heat of the heated liquid supply member 3 needs to be efficiently transmitted to the resin, the dent amount (depth of the groove) of the uneven surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3 is the resin of the opening 2a. It is desirable to be within twice the melting allowance.

  Thereafter, the liquid supply member 3 was heated using a / LD soft beam device (YB-15FL1) manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. As a result, the resin in the opening melted and adhered to the uneven surface 3a of the liquid supply member 3, and the liquid supply member 3 was fixed by curing of the resin.

  Furthermore, after supplying ink to the liquid storage container 2, as a result of long-term storage (60 ° C., 1 month) and a long-term connection durability test (20,000 times) with a connection member (not shown), There was no occurrence of the liquid supply member 3 coming off or ink leakage due to the strength failure.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Here, another method for joining the liquid supply member 3 and the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 will be described. However, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a joining method of the liquid supply member and the liquid storage container according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 6, for simplicity, the liquid supply member 3 on the bottom surface of the liquid storage container 2 is placed in the center of the figure, and only the bottom surface portion of the liquid storage container 2 is shown in an enlarged manner.

  FIG. 6A shows a state before the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2. The manufacturing procedure in FIG. 6A is the same as that in FIG. 4A of the first embodiment.

  FIG. 6B shows a state in which the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2. This figure is a stage where the liquid supply member 3 is inserted (press-fitted) into the opening 31 of the liquid storage container 2 by the pressing force of the pusher 12 from the state of FIG. That is, the uneven surface 2 a of the liquid supply member 3 is inserted in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the opening 31.

  In this state, indirect heating is performed toward the liquid supply member 3 using soft beam heating as in the first embodiment. Due to the self-heating of the liquid supply member 3 that has absorbed light, the resin in the portion of the opening 31 of the liquid storage container 2 that is in contact with the liquid supply member 3 begins to melt. At this time, the insertion of the liquid supply member 3 into the opening 2a is continued. Since the liquid supply member 3 slides in a state where a part of the opening 2 a of the liquid storage container 2 is melted, the molten resin in the opening 2 a enters deeply into the concave portion of the uneven surface 3 a of the liquid supply member 3.

  FIG. 6C shows a state where the liquid supply member 3 has reached a predetermined position in the liquid storage container 2. As shown in this figure, when the liquid supply member 3 enters a predetermined position, the indirect heating to the liquid supply member 3 ends.

  When the heating operation is finished, the resin of the opening 2a that has been gradually melted begins to harden again.

  Therefore, the resin that has entered deeply into the concave portion of the liquid supply member 3 becomes higher with respect to the removal strength.

  In the liquid storage container and the manufacturing method thereof according to Embodiments 1 and 2 described above, the liquid supply member 3 provided in a part of the liquid storage container 2 is connected to the container (main tank 60) for replenishing the liquid. Every time it is done, the attachment strength of the liquid supply member 3 is not reduced.

  In particular, since there is no intervening part due to an adhesive or the like in the connection between the opening 2a provided in the storage part of the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3, the bonding strength varies when the intervening part is cured. In addition, the intervening portion does not deteriorate due to the ink contact due to the operation of connecting the liquid supply member for a plurality of times over a long period of time.

  The airtightness of the liquid storage unit can be maintained at the time of supplying the liquid without causing a defect in the joint portion between the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3.

  As described above, Embodiments 1 and 2 can provide the configuration and manufacturing method of the liquid storage container that stabilizes the ink supply performance.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, although another joining structure of the liquid supply member 3 and the liquid storage container 2 and the joining method in this case will be described, the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  7 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet head cartridge according to a third embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid storage container of FIG. 7 cut at the position of the liquid supply member, and FIG. 9 is a liquid storage of FIG. It is sectional drawing in the state which is replenishing ink from a main tank to a container. The symbol a in FIG. 9 indicates the position of the replenished ink liquid level.

  In the present embodiment, a recess 17 is formed on the bottom surface 16 to which the liquid supply member 3 of the liquid storage container 2 is joined, and an opening 19 that is a press-fitting hole into which the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted is formed on the bottom surface of the recess 17. Yes.

  In a state where the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted into the opening 19 to a predetermined position, the liquid supply member 3 is fixed by injecting the sealing agent 18 into the recess 17 by heat welding with the resin of the opening 19. Has been. The sealing agent 18 is injected so as not to jump out to the bottom surface 16.

  Next, a method for joining the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3 in this embodiment will be described. FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a joining method of the liquid supply member and the liquid storage container according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 10, for simplicity, the liquid supply member 3 on the bottom surface of the liquid storage container 2 is placed in the center of the figure, and only the bottom surface portion of the liquid storage container 2 is shown enlarged.

  FIG. 10A shows a state before the liquid supply member 3 is joined to the opening 19 of the liquid storage container 2. Similar to the first and second embodiments, the liquid supply member 3 is held and can be press-fitted into the opening 19 by the pusher 12.

  FIG. 10B shows a state in which the liquid supply member 3 is assembled to the liquid storage container 2. At this time, the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted into the opening 19 to a predetermined position, but the portion of the liquid supply member 3 after the press-fitting corresponds to the inner peripheral surface of the opening 19 is configured as in Embodiments 2 and 3 above. Unlike the above, no uneven surface is provided. However, it is preferable to make the liquid supply member 3 uneven as in the configurations of the second and third embodiments, because the liquid supply member 3 becomes stronger against the pull-out strength.

  When the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted into the opening 19 to a predetermined position as shown in FIG. 10B, the fiber lens 13 is used as shown in FIG. Irradiate the beam. Thus, the means and conditions for indirectly heating the liquid supply member 3 and the materials of the liquid supply member 3 and the liquid storage container 2 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  When the liquid supply member 3 is heated as described above, the counterpart portion in the press-fitted state is melted by the self-heating of the absorbed liquid supply member 3. That is, the resin in the contact portion of the opening 19 of the liquid storage container 2 with the liquid supply member 3 starts to melt.

  At this time, the air held between the opening 19 of the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3 expands and pushes the molten resin into the recess 17 to form a bulge 21.

  When the heating operation is finished, the molten resin in the opening 19 begins to harden again. Along with this curing, the resin in the opening 19 tightly fixes the liquid supply member 3. In particular, the bulge 21 is formed of a molten resin that does not entrain air, and thus has an effect of blocking the liquid.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10 (d), a sealant 18 is applied in the recess 17. In this way, by applying the resin as the sealant 18 from the top of the swell 21, the liquid can be surely blocked and the stabilization can be increased. As the resin to be applied, an adhesive may be used in addition to the sealant.

  At this time, the swell 21 at the time of welding and the resin such as the sealant 18 to be applied are accommodated in the recess 17, so that the resin does not jump out from the bottom surface 16 of the liquid storage container 2. Since there is no protrusion in the peripheral part of the liquid supply member 3 on the bottom surface 16 of the liquid storage container 2, the liquid storage container 2 and the main tank 60 can be jointed with a normal connection operation.

  Next, an example of the shape of the concave portion 17 provided on the bottom surface 16 side of the liquid storage container 2 in the opening 19 into which the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted will be described with reference to FIG.

  11 (a) and 11 (b) show examples of the shape of the recesses 17, respectively.

  The recessed part 17 shown to Fig.11 (a) gives a seat shape. The portion that changes from the opening 19 into which the liquid supply member 3 is press-fitted into a seat shape has a slight R shape, but this is a reinforcement for maintaining the strength in making with a mold.

  The concave portion 17 shown in FIG. 11B is characterized in that the side surface of the concave portion is an inclined surface.

  In addition, the shape formed by the opening 19 is not limited to this as long as it is recessed from the bottom surface 16 which is a reference surface.

  Next, the liquid supply member 3 and the opening 2a of the liquid storage container 2 that joins the liquid supply member 3 will be described with specific dimensions.

  The liquid supply member 3 has a pipe shape, the inner diameter is 0.32 mm, the tolerance is ± 0.02 mm, the outer diameter is 0.5 mm, and the tolerance is +0, −0.01 mm. It was used. On the other hand, the dimensional values related to the opening 19 of the liquid storage container 2 were an opening diameter of 0.45 mm and tolerances of +0.01 mm and −0.01 mm. The liquid supply member 3 was press-fitted into the opening 17 and joined.

  Furthermore, the depth of the concave portion 17 (the amount of depression from the bottom surface 16) was 0.5 mm.

  Thereafter, the liquid supply member 3 was heated using a / LD soft beam device (YB-15FL1) manufactured by Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. As a result, the resin in the opening 19 melted and adhered to the liquid supply member 3, and the liquid supply member 3 was fixed by curing of the resin. At this time, the air held between the opening 19 of the liquid storage container 2 and the liquid supply member 3 expands and pushes the molten resin into the recess 17 to form a bulge 21. Since the swell 21 is formed of a molten resin that does not entrain air, an effect of blocking the liquid is exhibited.

  Further, a thermosetting epoxy agent was filled as the sealant 18 in the recess 17. The sealing agent 18 is not limited to a thermosetting epoxy agent as long as it is good for ink contact.

  Then, after supplying ink to the liquid storage container 2, as a result of long-term storage (60 ° C., 1 month) and a long-term connection durability test (20,000 times) with a connection member (not shown), There was no occurrence of the liquid supply member 3 coming off or ink leakage due to the strength failure.

  In the liquid storage container and the manufacturing method thereof according to Embodiment 3 described above, heat welding is used to fix the liquid supply member 3 more firmly, and the rising portion 21 of the welded portion at the time of heat welding is a container for replenishing liquid ( Ink is supplied by a normal connection operation without interfering with the main tank 60).

  Therefore, every time the liquid supply member 3 provided in a part of the liquid storage container is connected to the container (main tank 60) for replenishing the liquid, the attachment strength of the liquid supply member 3 is not reduced.

  Further, in this case, since the ink in the liquid storage container 2 does not leak from the joint portion between the opening 19 and the liquid supply member 3, the ink leaks to the outside of the ink jet head cartridge, and in some cases, the ink is supplied. There is no risk of ink leaking throughout the system and causing fatal malfunctions such as electrical shorts.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide an ink jet head cartridge with stable joint performance and high reliability without ink leakage.

  As described in the first to third embodiments, the ink jet head cartridge with excellent durability of the liquid supply member joint is detachably mounted on the carriage, and the liquid storage container when the carriage is at a predetermined position. This is suitable for a so-called pit-in ink supply system in which a cylindrical liquid supply member and a main tank are connected.

1 is a schematic perspective view of an inkjet head cartridge that is Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head cartridge of FIG. 1 cut at the position of a liquid supply member. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid storage container shown in FIG. 1 in a state where ink is replenished from a main tank. It is a figure for demonstrating the joining method of the liquid storage container and liquid supply member of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure showing the example of the uneven surface shape of the liquid supply member applicable to Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the joining method of the liquid storage container and liquid supply member of Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the inkjet head cartridge which is Embodiment 3 of this invention. It is sectional drawing which cut | disconnected the inkjet head cartridge of FIG. 7 in the position of the liquid supply member. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the liquid storage container shown in FIG. 7 in a state where ink is replenished from the main tank. It is a figure for demonstrating the joining method of the liquid storage container and liquid supply member of Embodiment 3 of this invention. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the example of the shape of the recessed part each provided in the liquid storage container bottom face.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid discharge head 2 Liquid storage container 2a Opening part 3 Liquid supply member 3a Irregular surface 5 Lid member 6 Gas-liquid separation member 8 Gas communication port (air suction port)
9 Communication chamber 10 Liquid storage container 11 Holder 12 Pusher 13 Fiber lens 14 Liquid leakage prevention structure 15 Ink 16 Bottom surface 17 Recess 18 Sealant 19 Opening 20 Liquid absorber 21 Swell 25 Connection member 60 Main tank

Claims (10)

A reservoir for storing the liquid;
An opening provided in a part of the storage unit to communicate the inside and the outside of the storage unit;
A liquid supply member attached to the opening and configured to supply liquid in an external container into the storage unit;
A liquid storage container, wherein a surface of the liquid supply member corresponding to an inner surface of the opening is an uneven surface.   2. The liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein a surface of the liquid supply member corresponding to an inner surface of the opening is rougher than a connection surface of the liquid supply member with the external container. A reservoir for storing the liquid;
A recess provided on the surface of the storage unit;
An opening provided in the recess and communicating the inside of the storage with the outside;
A liquid storage container mounted on the opening and having a liquid supply member for supplying the liquid in the external container into the storage.   The liquid storage container according to claim 3, wherein the recess is filled with a resin.   An inkjet head cartridge integrally comprising the liquid storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and a liquid discharge head for discharging the liquid in the storage unit. A storage unit that stores liquid, an opening provided in a part of the storage unit, and a liquid supply member that is attached to the opening and supplies liquid in an external container into the storage unit. A method of manufacturing a liquid storage container, wherein when the liquid supply member is joined to the liquid storage container,
Press-fitting the liquid supply member into the opening of the reservoir;
Heating the outer part of the storage part of the liquid supply member. A storage unit for storing liquid, a recess provided on a part of the surface of the storage unit, an opening provided on a bottom surface of the recess and communicating the inside of the storage unit with the outside, and attached to the opening And a liquid storage container having a liquid supply member for supplying the liquid in the external container into the storage unit, wherein the liquid supply member is joined to the liquid storage container.
Press-fitting the liquid supply member into the opening of the reservoir;
Heating the outer part of the storage part in the liquid supply member.   The method for manufacturing a liquid storage container according to claim 7, further comprising a step of filling the recess with a resin after the liquid supply member is heated.   An ink jet head cartridge integrally comprising a liquid storage container manufactured by the manufacturing method according to claim 6 and a liquid discharge head for discharging the liquid in the liquid storage container. A reservoir for storing the liquid;
A recess provided on the outer surface of the storage unit;
An opening provided in the recess and communicating the inside of the storage with the outside;
A liquid supply member mounted on the opening and configured to supply the liquid in the external container into the storage unit, and a surface corresponding to the inner surface of the opening of the liquid supply member is formed as an uneven surface. A liquid storage container in which the recess is filled with resin.

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