JPH03136861A - Ink jet head cartridge and ink jet recording device equipped with the same cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to one use ink without holding it remaining in a tank by providing a projecting engagement part designed to engage with an ink absorber so that fill-in density is shown. CONSTITUTION:An ink absorber 51 consisting of a porous member or fibrous member is stored in a tank 13 which constitutes a cartridge C and is filled with ink. If a cartridge is given an impact or a vibration, ink discharge or an adverse effect on printing can be prevented. In addition, an atmospherically communicating hole 52b is provided on the top of a projecting part 52a installed on the upper surface of the tank. This hole 52 guides air from an atmosphere into the tank through an opening 13c on the top of the tank in accordance with a decrease in the residual ink amount in the tank. However, the surroundings of the atmospherically communicating hole 52 are maintained in a hermetically sealed state by water repellent member 53. Thus the ink can be prevented from flowing out of the tank through the hole 52. Consequently, even if the residual ink amount is at a low level, the ink in high density state flows to a supply side, so that it is possible to perform printing without any inconvenience.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention comprises a recording head unit that records an image on a recording medium by ejecting ink, and a tank unit that supplies ink to the recording head unit. The present invention relates to an integrated inkjet head cartridge and an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording using the cartridge.

[Background Art] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of an inkjet cartridge, which is the background for the invention of the present invention. 80 is an ink tank that stores ink, and 81 is an inkjet head that is fitted into the ink tank 80. The ink is filled into the ink filling part 80a together with the porous body 84, and the ink is sent to the inkjet head 81 through a communication passage (not shown).
supplied to. Reference numeral 81a denotes an ejection port provided in the inkjet head 81, which receives an image signal from the main body side and ejects ink droplets onto the recording material.

Inside the ink tank, a small chamber 80b is provided via an ink filling portion 80a and a communication passage 80c, and this small chamber is filled with a water-repellent porous chamber member or fibrous member 82, as described above. Air is supplied to the ink filling portion 80a through the communication passage 80c, but the structure is such that backflow of ink is prevented.

The ink tank lid 83 is welded to the ink tank 80 to seal the tank after the ink absorber 84 is assembled into the ink filling portion 80a.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when the inkjet cartridge having the above configuration is used with the ink ejection port 81a facing downward as shown in FIG. 9, the ink on the side 80d facing the inkjet head 81 is There was a drawback that the ink did not flow from the shaded I area to the inkjet head 81 side and remained there.

One possibility is to make the lower part 80e of the tank oblique so that no ink remains, but in order to do this without changing the amount of ink filled, the inkjet head 81 should be placed on the lower side, which is the side where the recording material is placed. As a result, the overall height of the apparatus 100 increases, and the height of the ink absorber 84 decreases, causing the ink retention force to decrease and the ink to flow from the ink ejection port 81a. Problems that needed to be resolved, such as leakage, arose.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and provides an inkjet head cartridge that can guide the ink in the ink tank to the ink inlet side of the recording head and use up the ink without leaving the ink in the tank. The purpose is to

Another object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device equipped with such an inkjet head cartridge and having excellent recording characteristics.

[Means for Solving the Problem] As a result of intensive research to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present inventors have found that by increasing the packing density of the ink absorber near the ink inlet to the recording head, the ink can be reduced. It was discovered that the ink in the tank can be used up without leaving any residue.

The present invention was made based on the above-mentioned findings, and
It has a recording head part that discharges ink, and a tank part that stores the ink, and has an ink absorber made of a porous material or a fibrous material inside the tank part, and the tank part is in communication with the atmosphere. The inkjet cartridge is capable of supplying ink inside the tank to a recording head section by being placed in the tank, and the inkjet cartridge has a high packing density on the ink inlet side of the recording head when stored in the ink tank. , an ink absorber configured such that its packing density decreases with increasing distance from the inlet, and an ink absorber configured to form the heights and lows of the packing density of the ink absorber by engaging with the ink absorber. It is characterized by having a protruding engagement member.

It has a recording head part that discharges ink, and a tank part that stores the ink, and has an ink absorber made of a porous material or a fibrous material inside the tank part, and the tank part is in communication with the atmosphere. The inkjet cartridge is capable of supplying ink inside the tank to a recording head section by being placed in the tank, and the inkjet cartridge has a high packing density on the ink inlet side of the recording head when stored in the ink tank, so that the ink flow is high. an ink absorber configured to have a filling density that decreases as it moves away from an inlet; and a protrusion that is provided so that the height of the filling density of the ink absorber is formed by engaging with the ink absorber. The present invention is characterized by comprising: an inkjet head cartridge characterized by having an engaging member; and a carriage provided so that the cartridge can be mounted.

By doing this, it is possible to increase the density of the ink absorber near the ink supply port, and by taking advantage of the property that ink gathers in the denser part of the ink absorber due to capillary development, there is less ink left. Even if this happens, ink will collect on the ink supply port side and the ink can be supplied to the inkjet head until the end.

[Example] Hereinafter, an embodiment of an inkjet head cartridge and an inkjet recording apparatus to which the invention is applied will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment example 1] FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

In the figure, a carriage 2 for removably loading a cartridge C equipped with a recording head 1 is connected to an operation rail 1.
1, one side is supported by a sliding rail 12, and the recording medium 30 is scanned in a direction perpendicular to the recording medium 30 to record an image. Following this scanning of carriage 2,
The ink is supplied from a tank 13 from a plurality of jet nozzles 3 of a recording head 1 (having a plurality of electrothermal converters (not shown) for forming ink droplets according to image information). The ink particles are ejected according to the image information, and images such as characters and figures are recorded on the recording medium 30. Then, the recording medium 30 is sequentially conveyed by feed rollers 15, -16, 17, and 18 in accordance with image recording to perform image recording.

Note that C is an inkjet cartridge, which has a recording head 1 and an ink tank 13 as described later, and can be loaded into the carriage 2.

= ,'-r-i;Jm to s”) Is 1 ke-Part 2
2! Six abutment surface 1a.

The other abutment surface (not shown) is brought into contact with the abutment surface 2a of the carriage 2 and another abutment surface (not shown), pressurized, and positioned. That is, the push bottle 10 engaged with the holding member 40 applies pressure to the recording head l, and the abutting surface 1a of the recording head 1 abuts the abutting surface 2a of the carriage 2, causing the recording head l to become horizontal with respect to the carriage 2. Directional positioning is performed.

In addition, since the pressurizing surfaces (not shown) between the push bottle 1O and the recording head 1 are formed of slopes, the abutment surface 1c of the ejection head 1 is pushed against the abutment surface 1c of the carriage 2 due to the component force.
c at the same time, and the recording head 1 is positioned in the height direction. Note that 10a is a coil spring that presses the push bottle IO.

On the other hand, a main body connector 6 for transmitting image signals from the main body via the signal wire bundle 4 is attached to the holding member 40 and can be attached to and detached from the head connector to the cartridge C side.

Therefore, by moving the holding member to the right, the push bottle 1
0 has a structure in which the locking portion 10a abuts against the holding member 40 and pressurization of the recording head 1 is released, and at the same time, the cartridge connector 5 and main body connector 6 are separated and the cartridge C is opened.

Inside the tank 13 constituting the cartridge C, an ink absorber 51 made of a porous member or a fibrous member is housed and filled with ink.

The ink absorber 51 prevents the ink inside the cartridge from easily moving even if vibration or impact is applied to the cartridge, thereby preventing ink from protruding and adversely affecting printing. Ink is supplied to the ejection nozzle 3 through the inlet supply port 13 at the bottom of the tank 13 and the communication channel 1g, and ink droplets are selectively ejected onto the recording medium 30 in accordance with the image recording signal from the main body received by the head connector 5. Record images.

A protrusion 52a is provided on the upper surface of the tank, and a water repellent member 53 is filled inside. This water-repellent member is made of a water-repellent porous material or a fibrous material, and has the property of allowing air to pass through it without resistance, but not allowing liquids such as ink to pass therethrough.
b, and as the amount of remaining ink decreases due to ink supply, air from the outside air is guided into the tank through the tank upper opening 13c. However, since the area around the atmosphere communication hole 52b is sealed by the water repellent member 53, the internal ink can be prevented from flowing out to the outside of the tank through the atmosphere communication hole 52b.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the embodiment of the present invention when the recording head is released.

When the recording head 1 is in the released state, the connector holder 40 moves to the right (in the direction of arrow A).

During this movement, the recording head 1 hits the rough guide 2e and its movement is restricted, so the main body connector 6 and the helad connector 5 are separated from each other, and the pressure on the recording head 1 is released.
The recording head 1 is released from the positioning state.

As shown in the figure, when the connector 5 of the recording head 1 and the connector 6 of the main body are separated and the push bottle 10 is also separated from the recording head 1, the protrusion 1 protruding from the upper surface of the tank 13
By holding 3a, it becomes possible to attach and detach in the direction of the arrow.

Fig. 3-1 is a perspective view illustrating the inkjet cartridge according to this embodiment in detail, and Fig. 3-2 is a sectional view thereof.

In the ink tank 13, A is the inner rectangular dimension between the ink supply port 13a and the tank top surface 13d, and B is the tank top surface 13.
d and the ink supply port 1 of the engaging portion 13b protruding into the tank.
The inner rectangular dimension with respect to the side facing 3a is shown.

In addition, in the ink absorber 51, D is the ink absorber 51.
is the dimension of the side of the tank in contact with the supply port 13a, E is the dimension indicating the position of the hole 51a that engages with the engaging portion 13b of the tank 13, F is the dimension of the side without the ink supply port 13a, T
indicates the thickness of the absorber 51. In this example embodiment,
A=50 mm, B=31.5 mm, and the length in the direction orthogonal to A is 65 mm.

Here, the dimensions of the ink absorber 51 are expressed as: D=kXA-■ E=B+α-■ F=A+α-■ T=J+α-■. However, in formula (2), k is preferably a value of 1 or more, and in this example, it is set to 1.14. In addition, α is the interference with respect to the inner dimension of the tank, and in this example, it is 1 to 2.
mm. In this way, by making the shape of the ink absorber 51 into a trapezoidal shape that spreads toward the supply port 13a side of the tank, when the ink absorber is stored in the ink tank, the packing density on the ink supply port 13a side becomes high, so that it is possible to improve the efficiency. I was able to get good results.

In other words, since the dimension indicated by G in the figure is larger than the dimension A-B in the tank, the absorber 1
3 is inserted into the tank 13, the area indicated by G of the absorber is placed in the engaging portion 13b of the tank 13 and compressed with particularly high density near the ink supply port. .

With the above configuration, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the shaded area 51f of the ink absorber 51 is particularly intensively compressed by the engaging portion 13b of the tank 13. Therefore, even when the remaining amount of ink is low, the ink is stored on the high-density side 51f1 of the ink absorber 51.
That is, since the ink collects on the side of the ink supply port 13a to the recording pad 1, it is difficult to perform printing.

In addition, inkjet cartridge C in logistics and other areas.
Even if the recording head 1 is left with the recording head 1 facing upward, the density of the ink absorber (portion 51f) on the ink supply port 13a side is high (for the reason mentioned above, the ink will not be absorbed into the atmosphere by gravity). Since the ink does not move toward the communication hole 52b, and the vicinity of the supply port 13a can always be filled with ink, troubles such as ink not being ejected during use are eliminated.

Incidentally, in the present application, the relative degree of sparseness of the ink absorber or the difference between the sparse area and the dense area of the ink absorber are factors that have a large influence.

In order to obtain an excellent effect in the present application, the dense area of the ink absorber should be approximately 1.0 mm larger than the sparse area of the ink absorber.
It is sufficient to have a high density in the range of about 0.05 to 2 times, preferably 1.1 to 1.8 times, more preferably 1.2 to 1.5 times.

Further, in the present application, the shape of the ink absorber may be such that the ink supply port 13a of the recording head of the ink absorber has the highest density when stored in the ink tank (in this embodiment example). The ink absorber is not limited to a substantially trapezoidal shape that is wide in the ink supply port area as shown in FIG. Any configuration may be used as long as it satisfies the purpose of the above.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3-1 and 3-2, the engaging portion 13b of the tank is arranged at the center of the tank, and its height H is equal to the depth J of the tank 13. In addition, by welding the tip end 13h of the engaging portion 13b to the tank lid 52, which is the side wall of the opposing tank, when the operator presses the ink tank 13 strongly, Also, since the tank 13 is not compressed and deformed, ink does not easily leak from the discharge port 3 or the atmosphere communication hole 52b, and the side wall of the tank 13 is prevented from expanding or contracting due to temperature changes. Since it is possible to create a structure that prevents this from occurring, it is also possible to provide flat and thin inkjet cartridges, making it possible to miniaturize recording devices that require multiple inkjet cartridges for purposes such as full-color printing. It has also become possible to.

[Embodiment 2J In this embodiment, the atmosphere communication hole 52a is provided in the upper protrusion 52a of the ink tank, but it can also be provided in the engaging portion 13b provided in the tank 13.

FIG. 4 shows an example of this, in which the engaging part 13b of the tank is a small hollow chamber, a water repellent member 53 is provided inside the tank, an atmosphere communication hole 52b is provided in the center, and the wall of the engaging part 13b absorbs ink. By providing the slit 13g to allow ventilation between the body 51 and the water repellent member 53, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the small chamber 13b is constituted by a partition wall that extends from one side wall to the other side wall of the tank, and is located in a substantially central area within the tank. It is provided.

That is, the ink tank 13 of the inkjet head cartridge C used in this embodiment is 50 mm in the vertical direction (corresponding to the ink ejection direction), 65 mm in the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the ink ejection direction), and has a thickness (carriage scanning The partition wall has a content dimension of 15 mm in the direction (corresponding to the direction of It is formed as a substantially rectangular space with external dimensions of 13 mm in the direction and 16 mm in the horizontal direction.

Considering this as a volume, the volume of the ink tank excluding the small chamber 20 is 43 cc, where the volume of the small chamber is 2 cc.

In this embodiment, the small chamber 20 is formed to have the dimensions or volume as described above, but is not limited to this.
to 1150, preferably 1/15 to 1/40. More preferably, it may be formed as a space having a volume of about 1/20 to 1/30.

If the space occupied by this small chamber 20 is too large, the amount of ink that can be filled into the ink tank 13 will be reduced, and if it is too small, ink may have entered the small chamber 20 due to changes in the environmental condition, etc. Since there is a risk that the ink may leak to the outside from the atmospheric communication hole 21 formed in the small chamber 20 if the small chamber 20 is filled with air, it is preferable to set the range as described above.

On the other hand, the atmosphere communication hole 21 formed in the small chamber 20 is the fourth
As shown in FIG. A, it is formed by a protruding member having a substantially cylindrical shape so that the air communication hole tip opening 21a is located in a substantially central area within the space formed by the small chamber 20.

In this embodiment, the thickness of the ink tank is 1.5
mm, the air communication hole tip opening 21a is formed in an area 7.5 mm from the side wall.

Further, in this embodiment, the protruding member forming the atmosphere communication hole 21 is formed to have a volume of 0.15 cc.

This projecting member is not limited to the above-mentioned volume, and the small chamber 2
1/4 to 1/40, preferably 1/8 to 1/35 of the volume of the space at 0. More preferably, it may be formed to have a volume within a range of about 1/10 to 1/30.

In addition, the diameter of the atmosphere communication hole 21 is φ0 in this embodiment.
．． It is formed as 7mm.

If the diameter of this hole is too large, there is a risk that dust may enter from outside and the rate of ink evaporation may be accelerated. Therefore, it is better to keep the diameter as small as possible, so it is recommended that the diameter be in the range of φ0.1 to 2.0 mm. It is preferable to do so.

In this way, since the tip opening 21a of the atmosphere communication hole 21 is located in the central area of the space of the small chamber 20, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the surrounding environment etc. Even if ink enters the small chamber 20 due to a change in the ink, the ink will not leak out of the tank regardless of the direction in which the inkjet head cartridge C is left.

[Embodiment 3] In this embodiment, the engaging portion 13b of the tank is made into a box-shaped member, but as shown in FIG. Needless to say, the same effect can be obtained even if
(indicates the part corresponding to Fig. 3).

[Embodiment Example 4] In this embodiment, one engagement portion is provided at approximately the center of the tank, but it is possible to provide a plurality of engagement portions as long as the flow of ink is not obstructed. Needless to say.

[Embodiment Example 5] It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even if the rib 13k is made to protrude from the side surface of the tank directly above the ink supply port 13a as shown in FIG.

[Embodiment Example 6] As shown in FIG. 7, a part of the external shape of the tank is made to protrude, and the wall surface 13β of the protruding portion is used as an engaging portion between the wall surface 13β and the supply port 13a (A-B). It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by compressing and packing the ink absorber.

In these embodiments, the engaging portion is integrated with the tank, but it may also be integrated with the tank lid, brought into contact with both the tank and the lid, or fixed later as a separate member. Needless to say.

The present invention provides excellent effects particularly in bubble jet recording heads and recording apparatuses among ink jet recording systems.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. As an electrothermal converter,
By applying a single drive signal that corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, causing film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal, which is effective.The growth and contraction of these bubbles causes the liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening. , at least one droplet is formed.If this drive signal is in a pulse shape, the growth and contraction of the bubbles will be carried out immediately and appropriately, so that liquid (ink) ejection with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. Suitable pulse-shaped drive signals include those described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,359 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,262. No. 431
If the conditions described in specification No. 3124 are adopted,
Even better recording can be performed.

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combined configuration of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section. US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600 disclose a configuration in which the
The present invention also includes a configuration using the specification of the above specification.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1982, which discloses a configuration compatible with a discharge section.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. for the recording head, which are provided as one component of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include preheating means for the recording head using a caving means, a cleaning means, a pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording device is not limited to a recording mode in which only the mainstream color such as black is used; the recording head may be configured integrally or in combination with a plurality of recording heads; The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one full color image.

[Effect of the invention] As explained above, by providing an engaging portion inside the tank,
An ink absorber whose side length is longer than the distance between the engaging portion and the ink supply port is intensively compressed and incorporated between the engaging portion and the ink supply port. Therefore, even when there is little ink remaining, the ink flows to the high-density absorber side, that is, to the ink supply port side, so printing can be performed without any problem.

Furthermore, for the same reason, even if the ink head section is left facing upward during logistics, etc., the ink moves under the pull of gravity, causing the ink near the ink supply port to the inkjet head to run out, resulting in ink shortage during initial use. This can also prevent printing defects.

By providing an engaging part in the center of the ink tank, making it the same height as the inside of the tank, and welding it to the side wall of the opposing tank, the tank can be prevented from deforming due to external forces or temperature changes. An inkjet head cartridge having sufficient strength can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of an inkjet recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of attachment and detachment of an inkjet head cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG. 3-1 is an inkjet head according to the present invention. FIG. 3-2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing an example of the configuration of a cartridge, FIG. 3-2 is a sectional view showing an example of an inkjet head cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another example of an inkjet head cartridge according to the present invention. A schematic sectional view shown. 5 to 7 are schematic cross-sectional views showing still other examples of the inkjet head according to the present invention, and FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the structure of an inkjet head cartridge, which is a background art. FIG. 9 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a recording apparatus equipped with the inkjet head cartridge shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 1° Recording head 2, carriage 13, ink tank 13 a. 13 b. 51°51 a. 52 b. 51 f. Supply port engagement part Ink absorber engagement part Atmospheric communication hole High-density part of ink absorber

Claims (1)

Scope of Claims: (1) It has a recording head section that discharges ink and a tank section that stores the ink, and has an ink absorbing body made of a porous material or a fibrous material inside the tank section. , an inkjet cartridge capable of supplying ink inside the tank to a recording head section by placing the tank section in a state of communication with the atmosphere; The ink absorber is configured to have a high packing density on the inlet side and decrease in packing density as it moves away from the inlet, and the high and low filling density of the ink absorber is formed by engaging with the ink absorber. An inkjet head cartridge characterized in that it has a protruding engagement member provided so as to be engaged with the projecting member. (2) The ink absorber has a trapezoidal shape with a wider side on the ink inlet side to the recording head, and is connected to the engagement member and the wall portion of the ink tank on the ink inlet side. Claim 1, wherein the ink flow into the ink inlet is made to flow from two directions by the protruding engagement member, and the filling density on the ink inlet side is increased by sandwiching the ink with the ink inlet. Inkjet head cartridge described in. (3) The area of the ink absorber housed in the ink tank has a high packing density, and the area of the ink absorber housed in the ink tank has a high filling density.
．． 3. The inkjet head cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet head cartridge is in a range of approximately 0.05 to 2 times. (5) The recording head section is a bubble jet type head that performs recording by ejecting droplets from an ejection element using thermal energy.
5. The inkjet head cartridge according to any one of 2, 3, or 4. (6) It has a recording head section that discharges ink, and a tank section that stores the ink, and has an ink absorbing body made of a porous material or a fibrous material inside the tank section, and the tank section has an atmosphere The inkjet cartridge is capable of supplying ink inside the tank to a recording head section by being placed in a communicating state, and the inside of the tank has a filling density on the ink inlet side of the recording head when stored in the ink tank. an ink absorber configured such that the ink absorber has a high packing density and decreases in packing density as it moves away from the inlet; An inkjet recording apparatus comprising: an inkjet head cartridge having a protruding engagement member; and a carriage on which the cartridge can be mounted.