JPH04339655A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To form suitable ink particles, in an ink jet recording apparatus, by especially arranging the flows of ink before and behind an ink chamber. CONSTITUTION:By fixing a vibrator 2 to the end surface of a case 27 on the side 19 opposite to an ink chamber, the expansible vibration of the vibrator 2 is efficiently transmitted to the ink jet orifice of a nozzle 18 and small energy is applied to the vibrator 2 to form suitable ink particles. By this constitution, suitable ink particles are formed and printing quality is enhanced.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an inkjet recording apparatus, and more particularly to a support mechanism for a vibrator suitable for producing ink particles.

0002

[Prior Art] Generally, in a vibrating inkjet recording device, as a means for creating ink particles, a vibrating body and an ink droplet ejection port are integrated and the mechanical resonance of the vibrating body is utilized, or the fluid resonance of the ink. There is something that uses . In addition, there is one in which the vibrating body and the ink droplet jetting port are separated, an ink chamber is provided between the vibrating body and the ink jetting port, and the pressure in the ink chamber is changed by the vibration of the vibrating body. Incidentally, related devices of this type include, for example, Japanese Patent Application No. 53-10484 and Utility Model Application No. 51-33434.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional technology, no consideration is given to efficiently transmitting the vibration amplitude of the vibrating body to volume changes and pressure changes in the ink chamber.
There was a problem in that suitable ink particles could not be created unless a large amount of energy was applied to the vibrating body.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to efficiently transmit the vibration amplitude of a vibrating body to an ink chamber without applying a large amount of energy to the vibrating body, thereby producing suitable ink particles.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, one end of the vibrating body is fixed to a case that holds it, and the vibrating body is movable in the axial direction.

[0006]

[Operation] The vibrating body in the case that holds the vibrating body expands and contracts in the axial direction by an external power source.The volume of the ink chamber changes as the one end of the vibrating body on the ink chamber side changes.
The pressure of the ink also changes. Ink particles are thereby created. At this time, by fixing the supporting end surface of the vibrating body on the side opposite to the ink chamber, no gap is created during the vibration of the vibrating body, and the vibration amplitude of the vibrating body can be efficiently transmitted to the ink chamber. .

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure and operation of an embodiment of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram, and FIG. 1 is a detailed diagram of the vibrator support mechanism. A vibrating body 2 including a piezoelectric element 4 that generates ink particles 1, and a nozzle 18 having an ink jetting port.
, a control system that charges and deflects the ink particles 1 ejected from the nozzle 18 , and an ink circulation system that supplies ink to the vibrator 2 .

That is, the vibrating body 2 including the piezoelectric element 4 is
The piezoelectric element 4 is connected to an excitation source 3, and mechanical vibrations of the piezoelectric element 4 cause ink particles to be ejected from the tip of the nozzle 18.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a charging electrode arranged at a position where the ink particles 1 are separated from the ink column at the tip of the nozzle and connected to an information signal source 6. A pulsed information signal voltage is applied to the charging electrode 5. As a result, the ink particles 1 are charged to have a predetermined charge.

[0011] The charged ink particles 1 then pass through deflection electrodes 8 facing each other across the flight path.

At this time, the ink particles 1 are deflected by a predetermined amount depending on the amount of charge of each ink particle, and adhere to the recording medium 9.

On the other hand, the ink particles 1 to which no charge has been applied continue straight and are prevented from adhering to the recording medium 9 by the gutter 10.

Furthermore, 11 is ink stored in an ink tank 12. This ink 11 is supplied to the vibrating body 2 via a pump 13, a filter 14 and a regulator 15, and the ink 11 is blocked by a gutter 10. is supplied to the ink tank 1 via the filter 16 and pump 17.
It is designed to be circulated to 2.

[0015] In the apparatus of the present invention having the above configuration,
The ink 11 is supplied under pressure from an ink tank 12 to the vibrator 2 by a pump 13 through a filter 14 and a regulator 15.

This pressurized ink 11 passes through the vibrating body 2, then through the ink chamber 19, is ejected from the tip of the nozzle 18, and is applied to the piezoelectric element 4 included in the vibrating body 2. The excitation source 3 results in regular ink particles 1.

The ink particles 1 are given a charge according to the character signal by the charging electrode 5, are deflected by the electrostatic field in the deflection electrode 8, fly over the gutter 10, and collide on the recording medium 9. Then, by moving this recording body 9 in a direction perpendicular to the direction of deflection of the ink particles 1, a printed dot matrix is formed on the recording body 9.

On the other hand, the ink particles 1 that were not used for printing (the ink particles 1 that were not given a charge when passing through the charging electrode 5) travel straight without being deflected by the deflection electrode 8, and collide with the gutter 10. The ink is collected into the ink tank 12 by a pump. Next, the support structure of the vibrating body 2 will be explained with reference to FIG. 1. The piezoelectric element 4 inserted into the pipes 20, 20' and the terminal 21 are integrally constituted by a lock nut 22 that fixes them. There is.

Further, the terminal 21 is connected to the excitation source 3 via a lead sensor 23 so that the piezoelectric element 4 vibrates at a predetermined frequency due to the excitation source 3. and,
This vibrating body 2 has both ends via O-rings 24 and 25,
The ink 11 fixed in the vibrating body case 26 and the filter case 27 and supplied by the tube 28 is supplied from the filter case 27 through the vibrating body 2 to the ink chamber 19 without leaking. Furthermore, O-rings 29 and 30 prevent leakage so that the ink 11 in the ink chamber 19 is supplied to the nozzle 18 without leakage. The O-rings 24 and 25 are configured so that pressure is applied to the vibrating body 2 in the vertical direction, and no pressure is applied to the vibrating body 2 in the axial direction. One end of the vibrating body 2 on the side opposite to the ink chamber 19 is fixed to the end surface of the filter case 27 by press-fitting into the collar 31 or by adhesive. As a result, no gap is generated between the end faces of the vibrator 2 and the filter case 27, and the vibration amplitude of the pipe 20' portion of the vibrator 2 on the ink chamber 19 side is maximized. Therefore, the volume change of the ink chamber 19 is maximized, and the nozzle 18 can be moved by simply applying a small amount of energy to the vibrating body 2.
This has the effect that ink is ejected from the tip and ink particles 1 are more likely to be formed.

[0020]

[Effects of the Invention] By fixing the side of the vibrating body opposite to the ink chamber to the case, suitable ink particles can be produced, which has the effect of improving printing quality.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of one embodiment of a vibrating body used in the device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the device of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Ink particle, 2... Vibrator, 3... Piezoelectric element, 24,2
5... O-ring, 20, 20'... pipe, 27... filter case, 26... vibrator case, 31... collar.

Claims (2)

[Claims] Claim 1: Ink supplied from an ink tank is synchronized with the vibration period of an excitation element, and ink particles ejected from a nozzle tip separated from an excitation body are charged with a predetermined information signal and deflected. What is claimed is: 1. An inkjet recording device in which one end of a vibrating body is fixed to an end face of a case that holds the vibrating body. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end of the vibrating body is fixed to an end surface of a case holding the vibrating body by press fit or adhesive.