JPH04329150A - liquid jet recording head - 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

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention integrates a liquid storage section that stores recording liquid and a recording head section that applies thermal energy to the liquid supplied from the liquid storage section and ejects it as droplets. In addition, the present invention relates to a liquid jet recording head using a cartridge type in which the entire liquid is replaced after the liquid in the liquid storage section is consumed.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional liquid jet recording device, a so-called inkjet printer, has a recording head unit that discharges ink droplets onto a recording medium, and an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to the recording head unit, which are located in isolated locations. established in
Generally, the recording head section and the ink tank are connected via an ink supply system including a supply pipe. However, such inkjet printers require long supply pipes, and piping work during assembly is complicated. Another disadvantage is that the supply pressure decreases due to resistance within the long supply pipe, which impedes ink supply.

In response to this, a liquid jet recording head in which a recording head section and an ink tank are integrated has been developed, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 17621/1982 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 22952/1982. . In addition, in such an integrated liquid jet recording head, when the liquid jet recording head is moved back and forth at high speed, it is possible to suppress the ink in the ink tank from swinging, and also to prevent changes in the ink fluid pressure caused by the fluctuation. It is necessary to reduce the
As described in Japanese Patent No. 952, a porous body is bonded inside an ink tank.

Furthermore, in recent years, a cartridge type liquid jet recording head that integrates a recording head section and an ink tank has been introduced, and the entire liquid jet recording head is replaced after the ink in the ink tank is consumed. be.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, it is desirable to be able to detect the amount of ink remaining in an ink tank, and to prepare a replacement liquid jet recording head when the remaining amount of ink becomes low. is necessary.

However, conventionally, no consideration has been given to detecting the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank, and opaque plastics such as Delrin have been widely used as the material for the ink tank due to its moldability, cost, and stability. It is used. For this reason, there is a drawback that the ink runs out when a replacement liquid jet recording head is not prepared, making it impossible to perform recording.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The invention according to claim 1 includes: a thermal energy acting section that applies thermal energy to a liquid; a pair of electrodes connected to the thermal energy acting section; In a liquid jet recording head that is provided with a recording head portion having an ejection port for ejecting liquid as droplets, and in which this recording head portion and a liquid storage portion storing liquid are integrally connected to form a cartridge, at least the liquid is ejected as droplets. A transparent part was formed in a part of the storage part.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a transparent portion is formed in the vicinity of the portion where the recording head portion and the liquid storage portion are connected.

[0009] In the invention recited in claim 3, claim 1 or 2
In the described invention, a scale or scale-equivalent means is provided on the transparent part.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of transparent portions are formed and these transparent portions are arranged along the direction in which the liquid flows into the recording head portion.

[0011]

[Operation] A transparent part is formed in at least a part of the liquid storage part as in the invention as claimed in claim 1, or a transparent part is formed in a part where the recording head part and the liquid storage part are connected as in the invention as in claim 2. Since transparent parts are formed nearby, the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid storage part can be detected by looking at these transparent parts.

[0012] Furthermore, by providing the scale or scale-equivalent means on the transparent part as in the third aspect of the invention, the remaining amount of liquid can be accurately detected by looking at these scales.

Furthermore, as in the fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of transparent parts are arranged along the direction in which the liquid flows toward the recording head, so that the liquid can be detected by looking at these transparent parts. The remaining amount can be accurately detected.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 1 will be explained based on FIGS. 1 and 2. First, an ink tank 1 is provided, and the ink tank 1 includes a tank body 2 that is a liquid storage section that stores ink that is a recording liquid;
The connecting portion 4 has an ink supply passage 3 formed therein, and a recording head portion 5 is connected to the connecting portion 4.

The recording head unit 5 includes an orifice plate 7 in which a plurality of ejection ports 6 for ejecting ink as droplets are formed, and a recording head substrate 8 to which the orifice plate 7 is attached. The plate 7 is formed by plating gold on a nickel plate formed by photoelectroforming.

The recording head substrate 8 also includes a common electrode 9 as an electrode, a plurality of control electrodes 10 as electrodes,
Energy acting part 1 to which these electrodes 9 and 10 are connected
1 and an ink supply port 12 are formed, and this ink supply port 12 is connected to the ink supply passage 3. The recording head substrate 8 is a silicon chip on which the electrodes 9 and 10 and the energy acting portion 11 are formed using a thin film forming technique, a photolithography technique, and an etching technique.

Next, a porous body 13 is bonded to the inner bottom surface of the tank body 2, and the tank body 2
A filter 14 is attached to the inlet of the ink supply passage 3 facing inward, and a top plate 15 is fixed to the upper part of the tank body 2. Here, the ink tank 1
The top plate 15 is formed by injection molding of transparent styrene resin or transparent acrylic resin, and the entire ink tank 1 and top plate 15 are transparent parts. Although the tank main body 2 and the top plate 15 are fixed by heat welding, they may also be fixed by adhesion using an adhesive, mechanical screw fastening, or press fitting. Further, as the porous body 13, polyurethane foam is used.

In such a configuration, the tank body 2
The ink stored in the ink is supplied to the recording head section 5 through the ink supply passage 3, and the ink that has been affected by thermal energy in the thermal energy application section 11 is ejected as droplets from the ejection opening 6 and is applied to the recording medium. (not shown) is recorded on top.

Here, since the ink tank 1 and the top plate 15 are entirely transparent, the amount of ink remaining in the tank body 2 can be detected by viewing the ink tank 1 from the outside. Therefore, it is possible to predict when to replace a cartridge-type liquid jet recording head that integrates the ink tank 1 and the recording head section 5, and to prepare a new liquid jet recording head in accordance with the replacement time. Furthermore, by looking at the state of the ink in the ink supply passage 3, it is possible to predict the time immediately before recording becomes impossible due to running out of ink, which prevents unclear recording due to running out of ink and wastes ink. The liquid jet recording head can be replaced without any trouble.

Next, an embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 2 will be explained based on FIGS. 3 and 4. In addition, Figures 1 and 2
The same parts as those explained in 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the explanation will be omitted. First, an ink tank 16 is provided, and this ink tank 16 is composed of a tank body part 17 which is a liquid storage part for storing ink, and a connecting part 18 in which an ink supply passage 3 is formed. The recording head section 5 is connected to the connecting section 18 . Further, a porous body 13 is adhered to the inner bottom surface of the tank body 17, and a top plate 19 is fixed to the upper part of the tank body 17.

Next, a connection port 20 is formed in the tank body portion 17, and the tank body portion 17 and the connection portion 18 are bonded together using an adhesive, and the connection port 20 and the connection port 20 are bonded together using an adhesive. The ink supply passage 3 is connected thereto.

[0022] Here, the tank body portion 17 and the top plate 19 are formed by injection molding an opaque plastic material as in the past, and the connecting portion 18 is formed by injection molding a transparent styrene resin. It is formed by Therefore, only the connecting portion 18, which is in the vicinity of the portion where the tank body portion 17 and the recording head portion 5 are connected, is a transparent portion.

In such a configuration, since the connecting portion 18 is transparent, the state of the ink in the ink supply passage 3 can be detected by looking at the connecting portion 18, and the state of the ink in the ink supply passage 3 can be detected immediately before recording becomes impossible due to ink shortage. The timing can be predicted, and the liquid jet recording head can be replaced without causing unclear recording due to running out of ink and without wasting ink.

Next, a first embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 3 will be explained based on FIG. Note that the same parts as those described in FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by the same numbers, and the description thereof will be omitted. The ink tank 1 and the top plate 15 are entirely transparent as described in FIGS. 1 and 2. A scale 21 is provided on the side surface of the tank body 2 along the vertical direction, which is one of the directions in which ink in the tank body 2 flows into the recording head 5.

In such a configuration, a scale 2 is provided on the transparent part.
1, it is possible to objectively detect the amount of ink remaining in the tank body 2, and it is possible to more accurately predict when to replace the liquid jet recording head due to running out of ink.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 3 will be explained based on FIG. Note that the same parts as those described in FIGS. 1 to 4 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. An ink supply passage (not shown) for supplying ink in the tank body 17 to the recording head section 5 is formed in the connecting part 18, and only the tank connecting part 18 is explained in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is said to be a transparent part like the one above. A scale 22 is provided on the side surface of the connecting portion 18 along the direction in which the ink supply passage is arranged, which is one of the directions in which ink in the tank body portion 17 flows into the recording head portion 5. .

With such a configuration, the state of the ink in the ink supply passage can be detected by looking at the connecting portion 18, and by comparing it with the scale 22, it is possible to detect the state of the ink immediately before recording becomes impossible due to ink shortage. The timing can be accurately predicted, and a liquid jet recording head can be replaced without blurring recording due to running out of ink and without wasting ink.

Next, a first embodiment of the invention set forth in claim 4 will be explained based on FIG. Note that the same parts as those described in FIGS. 1 and 2 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. The ink tank 25 and top plate 19, which integrate the tank main body 23 and the connecting part 24, which are liquid storage parts, are formed by injection molding of an opaque plastic material as in the past. Recording head section 5
are connected. Furthermore, the ink inside the tank body 23 is exposed to the recording head 5 on the side surface of the tank body 23.
A plurality of holes 26 are punched along the vertical direction, which is one of the directions in which water flows into the tank, and a transparent styrene resin plate 27 is placed on the inner surface of the tank body 23 at a position covering the holes 26. It is glued. A plurality of transparent parts 28 formed by covering the holes 26 with transparent styrene resin plates 27 are arranged along the vertical direction.

With this configuration, the amount of ink remaining in the tank body 23 can be detected by looking at the transparent part 28, and the ink tank 25 and the recording head 5 are integrated into a cartridge type liquid ejection system. It is possible to predict when the recording head will be replaced, and a new liquid jet recording head can be prepared in time for the replacement.

Next, a second embodiment of the invention as claimed in claim 4 will be explained based on FIG. Note that the same parts as those described in FIG. 7 are indicated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. First, an ink supply passage (not shown) for supplying the ink in the tank body 23 to the recording head section 5 is formed in the connecting part 24. A plurality of holes 29 are punched out along the arrangement direction of the ink supply passage, which is one direction in which ink in 23 flows into the recording head section 5.
A transparent styrene resin plate 30 is adhered to the inner surface of the hole 29 at a position covering the hole 29. Then, the hole 2
A plurality of transparent portions 31 are formed by covering the transparent styrene resin plate 9 with a transparent styrene resin plate 30 and are arranged along the direction in which the ink supply passage is arranged.

With such a configuration, by looking at the transparent portion 31, it is possible to detect the state of the ink in the ink supply passage, and it is also possible to predict the time immediately before recording will become impossible due to running out of ink. The liquid jet recording head can be replaced without causing unclear recording due to the inkjet printer and without wasting ink.

[0032]

Effects of the Invention The invention according to claim 1 provides a liquid jet recording head in which a recording head section and a liquid storage section storing a recording liquid are integrally connected as described above. By forming a transparent part in the liquid storage part, it is possible to detect the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid storage part by looking at the transparent part, and therefore it is possible to predict when to replace the liquid jet recording head in the form of a cartridge. In addition, by preparing a replacement liquid jet recording head in accordance with the predicted replacement time and immediately replacing the liquid when the liquid runs out, it is possible to prevent interruption of the recording operation. By forming a transparent part near the part that connects the recording head part and the liquid storage part as in the invention of 2007, it is possible to check the remaining amount of liquid after the remaining amount of liquid becomes small by looking at this transparent part. Therefore, it is possible to predict the time immediately before recording will become impossible due to liquid exhaustion, and the liquid jet recording head can be used without wasting liquid or producing unclear recording due to liquid exhaustion. In addition, by providing a scale or scale equivalent means on the transparent part as in the invention described in claim 3, the remaining amount of liquid can be detected more accurately and the liquid can be ejected. It is possible to more accurately predict when to replace the recording head, and
By forming a plurality of transparent portions and arranging these transparent portions along the direction in which liquid flows into the recording head portion as described in claim 4, it is possible to detect the liquid by looking at these transparent portions. It has effects such as being able to detect the remaining amount of liquid and predicting when the liquid will run out.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 1.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the invention according to claim 2.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view thereof.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the invention according to claim 3.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the invention according to claim 4.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the invention according to claim 4.

[Explanation of symbols]

2, 17, 23 Liquid storage section 5 Recording head section 6 Discharge port 9,10 Electrode 11 Energy action part 21, 22 scale 28, 31 Transparent part

Claims (4)

[Claims] Claim 1: A thermal energy application section that applies thermal energy to a liquid, a pair of electrodes connected to the thermal energy application section, and an ejection port that ejects the liquid that has been affected by the thermal energy as droplets. A recording head section is provided,
A liquid jet recording head in which a recording head section and a liquid storage section storing liquid are integrally connected to form a cartridge, characterized in that a transparent section is formed in at least a part of the liquid storage section. recording head. 2. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, further comprising a transparent portion formed near a portion where the recording head portion and the liquid storage portion are connected. 3. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein the transparent portion is provided with a scale or scale-equivalent means. 4. The liquid jet recording head according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of transparent parts are formed and these transparent parts are arranged along the direction in which the liquid flows into the recording head part.