JPH04250069A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus having a waste ink storage section.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional inkjet recording devices use a recovery pump to maintain a normal droplet ejection state from an inkjet head or to restore a normal ejection state when an ejection port becomes clogged. A method is used in which the ink is sucked from the discharge port by the negative pressure of the pump. A waste ink processing member is arranged to store ink drawn out from the ejection port by suction. Generally, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink storage section 20 is
Since the waste ink is sent out from the pump 21 through the tube 22, it is placed near the pump. Usually, when the waste ink processing member 23 of the waste ink storage section 20 is filled with waste ink, a sensor 24 is provided that detects the fullness of the waste ink. The waste ink processing member 23 was replaced, and it became possible to continue new recording. Further, as can be seen from FIG. 2, in terms of the device configuration, the side where the recording means 25 is located includes a platen 26 serving as a recording section and a pair of rollers 26 serving as a conveying means for the sheet 24.
As a result, the waste ink storage section 20 is often placed on the side of the paper loading cassette 28.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional example described above, it is necessary to replace the waste ink every time it becomes full, which is not only troublesome, but also poses a risk of staining one's hands with ink. Also, the device may stop during recording,
This was a nuisance for users. In recent years, this has also been an obstacle in making equipment maintenance-free and service-free. Therefore, it would be a good idea to make the waste ink storage section large enough to last the product's lifespan, but this would require a very large space, and due to the component parts of the device, it would make the device itself unnecessarily large. It had become. This goes against the trend of miniaturization of devices in recent years. Furthermore, when trying to reduce the weight of the device, there was a problem in that the weight of this waste ink disrupted the weight balance of the device itself. Particularly in the development of color printing apparatuses, the amount of waste ink becomes extremely large, and the method for disposing of it has been a major problem.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] According to the present invention, a large amount of waste ink can be stored by dividing the waste ink storage section into a plurality of locations within the main body of the recording apparatus.

[0005]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows a plan view of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. This embodiment shows an inkjet recording apparatus that can perform full-color recording by arranging disposable type recording means that integrates an inkjet and an ink tank in four colors. A cassette 2 for loading paper 3 is housed near the center of a lower casing 1 of the main body of the apparatus. The topmost sheet 3' of the paper 3 is separated from the cassette 2 by a paper feeding means (not shown) and guided to the paper conveyance path. The paper is held between a pair of rollers 4 for feeding the paper in a fixed amount and a pair of tension rollers 5 for applying tension so that the paper is brought into close contact with the platen plate 6, and can be repeatedly transported in a fixed amount. Recording is performed on the paper on the platen as a carriage 8 carrying four color ink jet heads 7a-7b of black, cyan, magenta and yellow reciprocates on a rail 9. After recording a predetermined number of sheets, the carriage 8 moves in the direction of arrow A in order to perform suction recovery in order to maintain the normal ejection state of the inkjet heads, and each of the heads 7a to 7d is connected to the cap members 10a to 10a. The ink is capped by the pump 10d, and negative pressure is applied by the pump 11 to draw out the ink and recover it by suction. In this embodiment, the pump 11
A tube pump is used which crushes the tubes 12a to 12d to generate negative pressure. The waste ink generated by suction here is sent out to the tubes 13a to 13d. The tips of the tubes 13c and 13d are connected to the waste ink storage portion 1, which is indicated by the shaded area from the opening 14 of the lower housing 1.
It has reached the waste ink processing member 16 inside the CD. In addition, the tubes 13a and 13b pass through the transition section formed by the lower housing 1 at the top of the cassette 2, and from the opening 15, the waste ink processing member 16 located in the waste ink storage section 1ab shown by the diagonal line is supplied in the same way. has reached. And this storage section 1a
b and 1cd have almost the same volume. Therefore, among the waste ink generated in one recovery operation, the waste ink from heads 7a and 7b is allocated to the storage section 1ab, and the waste ink from heads 7c and 7d is allocated to the storage section 1cd. Since the amount of ink is almost equal,
The same amount of waste ink will be absorbed by each waste ink processing member 16. Furthermore, the handle portions for transporting the main body of the apparatus in this embodiment are constructed at portions 17 and 18 of the lower casing 1 shown by broken lines. Therefore, the structure is such that the left and right weight balance of the handles 17 and 18 when the apparatus is started with no waste ink at the beginning of use does not change much even when the apparatus is full of waste ink at the limit of use.

In the above embodiment, the waste ink storage sections are provided on both sides of the paper transport path, but the waste ink storage sections may be arranged in the same direction as the transport path to satisfy the weight balance.

In the above embodiment, waste ink of two colors black 7a and cyan 7b among the four color heads is collected in one place, and the remaining two colors magenta 7c and yellow 7d are stored in another waste ink storage section. Although the amount of waste ink is adjusted, some printing apparatuses mainly print black characters, and in this case, the black head 7a is used intensively. Therefore, a suction pump must be provided separately for the black head to perform the recovery operation, resulting in a larger amount of waste ink than for other heads. In such a case, the amount of waste ink can be adjusted by collecting the waste ink from the other three heads 7b to 7d in one waste ink storage part and storing the black waste ink in another waste ink storage part. .

[0008] Furthermore, by adopting a structure in which the waste ink storage section is divided in this way, a structure as shown in FIG. 3 can also be obtained. In this embodiment, a flow path of a valve mechanism is provided between the suction pump 21 and the waste ink storage section 30 so that the waste ink sucked by the suction pump 21 flows into the first waste ink storage section 30. It is determined by the selection means 32. Therefore, during normal recording operation, waste ink continues to flow until the first waste ink storage section 30 is full. When the sensor 24 detects that the sensor 24 is full, conventionally the apparatus is stopped and the waste ink absorber is replaced, but in this configuration, the valve 32 is switched by a driving means (not shown) and the second waste ink storage section 31 is opened. This allows the recording operation to continue. After the operation is completed, the moisture in the waste ink continues to evaporate from the waste ink storage section, so that the first waste ink storage section 30 is no longer full.
When the sensor 24 detects this, the valve 32 again switches the waste ink to flow into the first waste ink storage section 30. In this way, it is possible to increase the efficiency of the waste ink storage section.

In particular, the present invention is an inkjet recording system that is equipped with a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as the energy used for ejecting ink. This provides excellent effects in recording heads and recording apparatuses that animate changes in the state of ink.

For its typical configuration and principle, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
Preferably, it is carried out using the basic principles disclosed in the '796 specification. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but
In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, the electrothermal transducer placed corresponding to the sheet holding the liquid (ink) or the liquid path is required to respond to the recorded information and rapidly exceed nucleate boiling. By applying at least one drive signal that causes a temperature increase, the electrothermal transducer generates thermal energy that causes a film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head, resulting in a liquid in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. This is effective because it can form air bubbles within the (ink). The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one drop. It is more preferable to use this drive signal in a pulse form, since the growth and contraction of bubbles can be carried out immediately and appropriately, so that ejection of liquid (ink) with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 434.
5262 is suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be achieved.

[0011] In addition to the configuration of the recording head, which is a combination 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, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4 disclose a configuration in which a heat acting part is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. 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 in which the discharge portion corresponds to the discharge portion.

Furthermore, a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus can be produced by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the length or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the apparatus main body enables electrical connection with the apparatus main body and ink supply from the apparatus main body, or a print head that is integrated into the print head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, etc., which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include capping means, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means for the recording head using 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 apparatus is not limited to a recording mode of only mainstream colors such as black, but may also include a recording head that is configured integrally or a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or multiple colors of different colors or The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one of the following: , full color by color mixing.

Although the embodiments of the present invention described above are explained using liquid ink, the present invention can be applied to ink that is solid at room temperature or ink that is soft at room temperature. Can be used. In the above-mentioned inkjet devices, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within the range of 30°C to 70°C to keep the viscosity of the ink within a stable ejection range. It is sufficient if the ink is liquid. In addition, the temperature rise caused by thermal energy can be actively prevented by using the energy to change the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or an ink that solidifies when left standing is used to prevent ink evaporation. In any case, the ink may be liquefied by application of thermal energy in accordance with the recording signal and ejected as liquid ink, or the ink may have already begun to solidify by the time it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to the use of ink that is liquefied for the first time. In such a case, the ink is held in a liquid or solid state in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet, as described in JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-71260. It may also be in a form that faces the electrothermal converter. In the present invention, the most effective method for each of the above-mentioned inks is to implement the above-mentioned film boiling method.

[0017]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, by arranging waste ink storage sections at multiple locations within the device body, it is possible to store a large amount of waste ink without unnecessarily increasing the size of the device body. It became. In addition, by placing the transport handle on the main body of the device parallel to the divided waste ink storage section, the device can be transported with a good weight balance regardless of the presence or absence of waste ink. Ta.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an inkjet recording device using an inkjet head embodying the present invention.

[Fig. 2] An explanatory diagram of another embodiment having a divided waste ink storage section

[Fig. 3] Plan view of a conventional recording device

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Lower casing 1ad, 1cd Waste ink storage section 2 Cassette 3 Paper 4 Pair of feed rollers 6 Platen plate 7a-d Recording means 8 Carriage 11 Tube pump 16 Waste ink processing member 17, 18 Handle part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet recording device using an inkjet recording head, characterized in that separate waste ink storage sections are provided on both sides of the device body. 2. An inkjet recording device comprising an inkjet recording head and a paper conveyance section approximately in the center of the apparatus main body, characterized in that waste ink storage sections are provided on both sides of the paper conveyance section. Device. 3. An apparatus having an inkjet recording head, and waste ink storage sections having approximately the same volume arranged on both sides of the apparatus main body,
An inkjet recording device characterized in that a conveyance handle of the device main body is provided parallel to the divided waste ink storage section. 4. In an inkjet recording device that performs color recording and has an inkjet recording head that uses a plurality of (three or more) color inks in its recording means, waste ink from two or more recording means is collected in one place. An inkjet recording apparatus characterized in that the waste ink of the remaining recording means is collected in a waste ink storage part, and the waste ink of the remaining recording means is collected in another waste ink storage part. 5. An inkjet recording device having an inkjet recording head and a plurality of waste ink storage units, wherein the waste ink storage units are selectively used. 6. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the inkjet recording head is an inkjet recording means that performs recording by ejecting droplets using thermal energy.