JPH041053A - Ink-jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a throwaway type ink-jet cartridge available by uniting an ink reservoir and an ink-jet head into one integral body with an expensive ink-jet energy-generating member eliminated therefrom, and by making the energy for jetting of the ink out of discharge ports of the head transmittable by mounting the ink-jet cartridge to the ink-jet energy-generating member. CONSTITUTION:An ink-jet cartridge 1 is mounted to an ink-jet energy-generating member 18 and as a voltage is applied to each of piezoelectric elements 21, strains applied to the elements by the voltage are transmitted to vibrators 20. The vibrators 20 then push a vibrating plate 10, making pressure chambers 6 pressurized with their capacities contracted. Thereby ink is forced to flow through flow passages 7 and is made to eject in the form of ink drops through discharge ports 8. As a substrate 9 of a head 3 is covered liquidtightly with the vibrating plate 10, and as the ink-jet energy-generating member 18 is in such structure that houses the vibrators 20, the piezoelectric elements 21, coil springs 22 and the like in a housing 19, mounting of the ink-jet cartridge 1 to the ink-jet energy-generating member 18 can be made without regard to liquidtightness and airtightness. Therefore, any discretionary means such as engagement of a pin to a rotatable arm can be adopted for the mounting.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an inkjet printer, and particularly to an inkjet printer in which an ink reservoir and a head are disposable.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, an ink storage section, which is the main component of an inkjet printer, and a head equipped with an inkjet energy generating means are installed at separate locations, and the two are connected by an ink supply pipe, so that when the ink runs out, There are some devices in which the ink reservoir is replenished with ink, or the ink reservoir is in the form of a cartridge and can be replaced with a new one.

However, in the above-mentioned inkjet printer, the ink supply pipe becomes long and the piping becomes complicated, and when ink is replenished, a complicated mechanism is required to eliminate air within the ink supply pipe.

Furthermore, in the head, the ink ejection ports with minute diameters may become clogged due to ink assimilation, smearing, etc. In this case, the printer's self-maintenance function may recover, but if recovery is not possible, the head may need to be replaced.
This is not possible for ordinary users.

Therefore, in view of the above, an orifice plate, a substrate equipped with a thermal bubble type inkjet energy generation means, an ink supply port, a back plate equipped with a flow path, an ink reservoir, etc. are integrated, that is, configured into a cartridge shape, and the ink A single-use, disposable inkjet printer has been proposed (
For example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-207263).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) With the above-mentioned disposable type, there is no problem with piping of the ink supply pipe or air removal, and if the ink discharge port is clogged, the cartridge can be easily replaced. It has the advantage of being restorable.

However, on the other hand, replacing the cartridge also means discarding the inkjet energy generating means, which is more expensive than the ink reservoir, which is extremely uneconomical, lacks usefulness, and substantially increases costs. There was a problem.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet printer in which a head excluding an expensive inkjet energy generating section and an ink reservoir are integrated into a disposable cartridge shape. That is.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cylinder body having an ink storage part, and a flow path fixed to the cylinder body and connected from the ink storage part to an ink ejection port. and a head forming a pressure chamber, and an inkjet energy generation section that is fixed to the main body of the inkjet printer and is removable from the inkjet cartridge, and when the inkjet cartridge is attached to the inkjet energy generation section, The reason for this is that the energy for ejecting ink is transmitted from the ejection ports of the head.

(Function) When the ink is used up, the head and ink storage section configured in the cartridge are removed from the inkjet energy generation section fixed to the inkjet blink, and a new cartridge is installed and restored.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1 (longitudinal cross-sectional view) and FIG. 2 (enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1), 1 is an inkjet cartridge, and a cylinder body 2 (made of transparent synthetic resin material) with an open bottom surface is shown. It consists of a head 3 fixedly attached to one side of a cylinder 2.

The cylinder 2 has an ink storage section 11 in the space above the middle in the longitudinal direction of its lumen, and an ink storage body 12 (made of synthetic resin material) that also serves as a bottom cover below the middle. It is fixed (the bottom cover L2a at the lower end is bonded to the open end surface of the cylindrical body 2 with an adhesive or the like).

Further, the head 3 is fixedly attached to one side of the cylinder body 2 (using adhesive or the like), and the ink reservoir 11 is attached to one side.
A common flow path 4 connected to the flow path 4, a plurality of inflow paths 5 branched from the flow path 4, a pressure chamber 6 connected to each of the inlet paths 5, and each pressure chamber 6.
A substrate 9 is formed with an outflow passage 7 connected to the outlet passage 7 and a discharge port 8 connected to each outlet passage 7, and a substrate 9 is attached to the entire surface of one side of the substrate 9 and fixed with adhesive etc.) The above-mentioned flow passages and pressure chambers are liquid-tight. It is composed of a diaphragm 10 (made of a thin plate of ceramic, stainless steel, etc.) covered with a diaphragm.

The ink retaining body 12 is provided with a large number of horizontal blades I3 on the outer periphery, and ink retaining grooves 14 having a width sufficient to cause a capillary phenomenon are formed between each wing I3, and an ink retaining groove 14 is formed between each wing I3. A vertical groove 15 in the vertical direction communicating between the section 11 and the ink storage groove I4 is formed with a width sufficient to cause a capillary phenomenon, and on the opposite side of the vertical groove 15, a ventilation passage 16 is cut out in each section 13. ing. The width of the ink storage groove 14 gradually increases from top to bottom, and is formed so that the capillary action becomes stronger from the top. Further, an air port 17 is provided at the lower end of the ink retaining body 12, and the air port 17 communicates with the ink storage portion 11 via the ventilation path 16 and the vertical groove 15.

The ink contained in the ink reservoir 11 can be visually checked from the outside because the cylinder body 2 is made of a transparent synthetic resin material, and the ink flows through the common flow path 4, the inflow path 5, the pressure chamber 6, and the outflow. The passage 7 and the discharge port 8 are full.

The inkjet energy generating section 18, which is fixedly attached to the inkjet printer main body (not shown),
As shown in FIG. 3 (longitudinal cross-sectional view), piezoelectric elements 21 with vibrators 20 attached thereto and coil springs 22 are housed in a housing 19 (made of a synthetic resin material) in correspondence with the number of the discharge ports 8. The vibrator 20 is pushed out and biased by a coil spring 22.

Note that the vibrator 20 is formed into a substantially conical shape so as to amplify the amplitude generated in the piezoelectric element 21.

In the inkjet printer configured as described above, when the inkjet cartridge 1 is installed in the inkjet energy generating section 18 as shown in FIG. 4 (front view), the vibrator is activated as shown in FIG. 2
The tip of 0 comes into contact with the diaphragm 10 facing each pressure chamber 6.

When a voltage is applied to each piezoelectric element 21 in this state, strain is generated in the piezoelectric element 21, and the strain is transmitted to the vibrator 20 and pushes the diaphragm IO, reducing the volume of the pressure chamber 6 and pressurizing it. As a result, the ink passes through the outflow path 7 and is ejected from the ejection port 8 in the form of ink droplets.

Thus, the substrate 9 of the head 3 is liquid-tightly covered by the diaphragm IO, and the inkjet energy generating section 1
8 houses a vibrator 20, a piezoelectric element 21, a coil spring 22, etc. in a housing 19, so when installing the inkjet cartridge 1 to the inkjet energy generating section 18, it is necessary to maintain liquid-tightness, airtightness, etc. Since there is no need for the attachment, the attachment means (removable attachment) may be simple, such as engagement between a rotatable arm and a bottle,
Appropriate means such as engagement between a rice scoop-shaped groove and a pin can be employed.

By the way, the internal space of the ink storage part 11 is kept at a slightly negative pressure, and as the ink is consumed, the pressure becomes even more negative, and when the pressure exceeds a certain value, the air passage 16 and the vertical groove 15 are removed from the air port 17. Air flows through the ink storage portion 11 and returns to the original pressure, but the fluctuation in pressure in this case is extremely small, so the effect on the ink meniscus at the ejection port 8 is of little practical concern.

The pressure of the ink at the ejection port 8 is determined by the vertical height difference between the ejection port 8 and the upper end position A of the vertical groove 15 (see Figure 1). The pressure of the ink at the ejection port 8 is always constant, regardless of the amount of ink consumed, since it has nothing to do with the height of the ink surface in the ink reservoir 11.

Therefore, ink ejection from the ejection ports 8 is extremely stable.

Furthermore, even if the ink is pushed out due to an environmental change such as the air in the ink storage section 11 expanding due to a rise in temperature, the ink will enter the ink storage groove 14 from the vertical groove 15 of the ink storage body 12 and be temporarily saved. Since the ink is stored, the ink is not inadvertently ejected from the ejection port 8. The ink that has entered the ink storage groove 14 is then transferred to the ink storage section 1.
The air inside the ink storage section 11 contracts in an attempt to return to its original state, and is drawn back into the ink storage section 11 again.

(Effects of the Invention) The present invention is easy to use, since even if the cartridge consisting of the ink reservoir and the head is disposable, the expensive inkjet energy generator for ejecting ink is attached to the inkjet printer body and does not need to be thrown away. It is possible to provide a high quality and inexpensive inkjet printer.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the inkjet cartridge, Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inkjet energy generating section, and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the inkjet energy generating section of the inkjet cartridge. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of the main part of the inkjet cartridge attached to the inkjet energy generating section. 1... Inkjet cartridge, 2... Cylindrical body,
3...Head, 11...Ink reservoir, 12...
Ink retention body, 14... Ink retention groove, 15... Vertical groove, 18... Inkjet energy generation section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An inkjet cartridge consisting of a cylinder having an ink reservoir, and a head fixed to the cylinder and forming a pressure chamber and a flow path connected from the ink reservoir to an ink ejection port, and an inkjet printer. an inkjet energy generation part fixed to the main body of the inkjet cartridge and detachable from the inkjet cartridge, and when the inkjet cartridge is attached to the inkjet energy generation part,
An inkjet printer characterized in that energy for ejecting ink is transmitted from the ejection opening of the head.