JPH05201018A - Ink container, recording head unit using the same and recording device carrying said unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to control negative pressure with high accuracy by providing an atmospheric pressure communicating part which enables the movement of a movable wall due to the consumption of ink and placing gel-like substance non- compatible with ink in a boundary region between the inner surface of a container body and the movable wall. CONSTITUTION:A discharge port 3 for discharging ink is provided through a bottom plate of a container body 1 formed into a cylindrical shape and the port 3 is closed by a ball 5 which is always urged against the port 3 in a direction for closing the port by the resilience of a press spring 6. The open end of the body 1 is closed by a rear cover 3, in which a movable wall 4 is disposed so as to be movable in left and right directions. And a gel-like substance 7 which is insoluble in ink such as polybutane is placed between the inner wall of the body 1 and the wall 4. As ink is being consumed, the wall 4 is moved and resistance to the movement of the wall causes negative pressure of a recording head. However, since the ink non-compatible substance is present between the sliding surfaces of the wall 4 and the body 1, the wall 4 does not generate unnecessarily large negative pressure and hence the ink is supplied in a good state.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink container for storing ink ejected from an ejection port of a recording head, a recording head unit using the container, and a recording apparatus equipped with the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are roughly two ways of supplying ink to a recording head employed in an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with a recording head which ejects ink for recording. First, with respect to the recording head mounted on the recording apparatus, the supply tube is laid around to arrange the ink container such that the ink liquid level of the ink container is maintained at a position lower than the ink liquid level of the recording head, There is an ink supply system in which a negative pressure is generated in the ink supply system path by utilizing the head difference of the ink supply system path between the ink container and the ejection port. Second
In some cases, the recording head and the ink container are integrally connected, and the ink container is provided with a function as a negative pressure generating source to supply ink.

In particular, for a small-sized and low-priced machine, the second structure having high ink use efficiency is preferably used. Specific examples of the second configuration for generating negative pressure include a configuration in which the entire ink container is filled with an ink absorber, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
There is a structure disclosed in 0-204355. As shown schematically in FIGS. 6A and 6B, this moves toward the ejection port 203 side in the ink container main body 201 in response to the movement of ink ejected from the ejection port 203 and consumed. The movable wall 204 is disposed, and the negative pressure in the ink container body 201 is controlled by the frictional force at the contact interface between the movable wall 204 and the inner surface of the ink container body 201. As the structure of the movable wall 204, as shown in FIG. 6A, the movable wall 204 is provided with an O-ring 202 on the peripheral surface thereof, or as shown in FIG. 6B, a diaphragm-like elastic material. The movable wall 204 is included.

[0004]

In the structure of the ink container shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the movable wall 204 is prevented from leaking the contained ink from the movable wall 204.
The airtightness between the ink container body 201 and the ink container body 201 is important, and for this reason, it is necessary to set a large O-ring and diaphragm. As a result, the movable wall 204 and the ink container body 2
01, the frictional force at the contact interface with the inner surface becomes too large, and the starting pressure of the movable wall 204, that is, the differential pressure required to start the movement from the stationary state of the movable wall 204 is large,
It was difficult to control the negative pressure with high precision as desired.

Further, when the O-ring or the diaphragm is formed by using an elastic member such as rubber, the elastic member swells or contracts due to contact with ink or a change in environment,
There was also a problem that an appropriate negative pressure could not be obtained.

The inventors of the present invention have conducted extensive studies in order to solve these problems, and as a result, filled the area between the movable wall 204 and the ink container body 201 with a gel-like ink incompatible part chamber. By doing so, it has been found that both air tightness and slipperiness can be satisfied at the same time.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned findings, and reduces the frictional force of the sliding surface to obtain a highly accurate negative pressure regardless of the delicate relationship between the movable wall and the inner surface of the container body. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink container capable of controlling and exhibiting high airtightness without causing ink leakage, a recording head unit using the ink container, and a recording apparatus equipped with the same.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ink container for storing ink to be supplied to a recording head, wherein the ink container is a container body for containing ink, A movable wall which is guided and moved to the inner surface of the container body in accordance with the consumption of the ink, a coupling portion which is coupled to the recording head, and an atmosphere which enables the movement of the movable wall due to the consumption of the ink. It is characterized by comprising a communication part and a gel-like ink incompatible substance arranged in a boundary region between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall.

Further, in a recording head unit configured to be replaceable with respect to a recording device, comprising a recording head for ejecting ink to perform recording and an ink container accommodating ink to be supplied to the recording head. The ink container is
A container body that contains ink, and a movable wall that moves by being guided to the inner surface of the container body in accordance with the consumption of the ink,
A coupling portion coupled to the recording head, an atmosphere communicating portion that enables the movable wall to move due to consumption of the ink, and a gel disposed in a boundary region between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall. And an ink incompatible substance in the form of a circle.

Further, a recording head unit, which comprises a recording head for ejecting ink for recording and an ink container for accommodating the ink to be supplied to the recording head, and which is configured to be replaceable with respect to a recording apparatus, can be mounted. In the recording apparatus described above, the ink container is connected to the recording head, a container body that contains the ink, a movable wall that is guided and moved to an inner surface of the container body according to the consumption of the ink, and the recording head. A coupling portion, an atmosphere communicating portion that enables movement of the movable wall due to consumption of the ink, and a gel-like ink incompatible substance arranged in a boundary region between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall, It is characterized by having.

The gel-like ink incompatible substance does not flow out from the storage area to the ink storage area because it exhibits stable characteristics to the ink for an extremely long period of time, and good airtightness can be maintained. By interposing between the inner surface of the container body and the boundary region of the movable wall, the slipperiness of both can be improved and a desired negative pressure can be stably and easily obtained.

Here, as the gel-like ink incompatible substance that can be used in the present invention, aliphatic compounds such as polybutene and liquid polybutadiene, liquid BR, and liquid SB are used.
Liquid rubber such as R, liquid NBR, liquid CR, liquid polysulfide, liquid natural rubber, liquid polyisoprene, liquid butyl rubber, liquid polyisobutyrene, and a gelling agent such as dibenzylidene sorbitol and tribenzylidene sorbitol, Those containing a mixture of a carbonate such as calcium carbonate, a fine powder of silica, or a thixotropy improving agent such as carbon black or titanium are used.

In the present invention, a gel-like ink incompatible substance is filled between the main body of the ink container and the movable wall by using a syringe. In consideration of workability, the lower gel property is preferable. preferable. However, in consideration of the properties originally required in the present invention, it is preferable that the gel property is high. In consideration of these, the gel-like ink incompatible substance of the present invention has a gel property so as to generate a negative pressure of −20 to −60 mmaq in a state of being filled between the ink container body and the movable wall. Those that are present are preferable.

On the other hand, the gelling agent constituting the gel-like ink incompatible substance has a limited solubility in an aliphatic compound or a liquid rubber, and it is preferable to add it in an amount of 10% by weight or less.

[0015]

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

FIG. 1 is a cross section of the ink container of the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross section of its movable wall.

As shown in FIG. 1, the container body 1 is formed in a tubular shape, and its cross section may be square or round, and its bottom plate is provided with a discharge port 3 for discharging ink.
The discharge port 3 is closed by a ball 5 which is constantly pressed by the elastic force of the pressing spring 6 in the direction of closing the discharge port. The container body 1 is closed at its open end by a back cover 2, and a movable wall 4 is provided inside the container body 1 so as to be guided in the inner surface of the container body 1 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the drawing. A gel-like incompatible substance 7 is arranged between the movable wall and the movable wall.

Gel-like incompatible substance 7 used in this example
Is a polybutene (manufactured by Nippon Oil Co., Ltd., trade name HV-300
Viscosity of 28,000 or 4000) 90.4
% By weight or 95.5% by weight, and 9% by weight or 0.
Four kinds of 9% by weight and a thixotropy improver (manufactured by Nippon Aerosil Co., Ltd., trade name Aerosil 200) were mixed at a ratio of 0.6% by weight.

The polybutene used in this example is an excellent material having excellent stability with respect to ink, low gas permeation, no toxicity, easy availability and low cost.

Of course, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned materials and mixing ratios, and various materials satisfying desired characteristics can be selected from the above-mentioned materials.

As shown in FIG. 2, the movable wall 4 is made of a material such as rubber or synthetic resin, and has an overall shape similar to the inner cross-sectional shape of the ink container body and has a predetermined thickness component. have. The movable wall 4 has a concave portion 4f in which the contact surface side with ink is dented inward. Also,
On the outer periphery of the open end of the body 4a of the movable wall 4, a seal portion 4b that functions as an airtight holding portion is provided in a protruding manner, and on the outer periphery of the end portion on the side of the bottom plate 4d, a protrusion portion 4c is formed as a fall prevention portion. There is.
Then, the gel-like ink incompatible substance 7 described above is injected in the region between the recess shown by the body 4a formed between the seal 4b and the protrusion 4c and the ink container body. Is filled by. As the filled gel-like ink incompatible substance 7, those having a combination of the above-mentioned compositions, that is, were used.

Here, the basic operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the ink is full in the container body 1, the movable wall 4 and the gel-like incompatible substance 7 are in the container body 1 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the ball 5 is pressed against the taper surface of the discharge port 3 by the elastic force of the pressing spring 6 to close the discharge port 3.

When the ink container of this embodiment is attached to the recording head, the rod body 7 as an ink supply member provided on the recording head side is inserted from the ink discharge port on the ink container side to the inside as shown in FIG. , The ball 5 is pressed against the elastic force of the presser spring 6 and the ball 5 is separated from the taper surface of the discharge port 3 so that the discharge port 3 is opened. Then, the ink supply state is achieved. When recording is started in this state, ink is discharged and supplied from the discharge port 3 to the recording head side and consumed.

This consumption of ink reduces the ink in the container body 1 as shown in FIG. Along with that, the movable wall 4 starts to move, but the difficulty of the movement becomes a negative pressure for the recording head. However, in the present invention, the movable wall 4
Since the gel-like ink incompatible substance is interposed in the sliding portion between the ink container main body 1 and the ink container body 1, the movable wall 4 does not generate an unnecessarily large negative pressure and generates a desired negative pressure, which is good. An excellent ink supply state is achieved. The negative pressure generated at this time is −20 with the above-mentioned four types of gel-like ink incompatible substances.
A value in the range of mmaq to -60 mmaq was exhibited, and a stable ink supply state could be achieved with a good negative pressure.

As the ink is further consumed, as shown in FIG. 4, the movable wall 4 and the gel-like ink incompatible substance approach the discharge port 3, but at this time, the ball 5 is pressed. Since the holding spring 6 is accommodated in the recess 4f of the movable wall 4, the ink in the container body 1 is effectively consumed by that amount.

Next, referring to FIG. 5 to which the ink container of the present invention is applied.
The inkjet recording device shown in FIG.

Carriage 1 on which the recording head 103 is mounted
01 is a reel having a guide shaft 104 and a spiral groove 105a.
An ink container cassette 102, in which the ink container of the present invention is installed, can be mounted on the carriage 101 guided by the screw 105. By the way, the recording head 103 side is provided with the rod body 7 as shown in FIG.
01, the tip of the rod 7 is inserted into the discharge port 3 of the container body 1 and presses the ball 5 against the elastic force of the retainer spring 6 to push the discharge port 3 It is configured to release.

The lead screw 105 has a gear train 106a, 106b, 1 driven by a drive motor 106 that rotates in the forward and reverse directions.
Forward and reverse rotation through 06c and 106d, and its spiral groove 1
The carriage 101 is reciprocated in the arrow direction and the counter-arrow direction via a pin (not shown) provided on the carriage 101 having a tip end engaged with the 05a. The forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 106 is switched by detecting that the carriage 101 is at the home position by the lever-115 and the photocoupler 116 provided on the carriage 101.

On the other hand, the recording paper 109 which is the recording medium is
The platen 107 is pressed by the pressing plate 108 and is conveyed by a paper feed roller (not shown) driven by the paper feed motor 110.

The recovery unit 111 has a cap member 113 communicated with a suction means (not shown), and by capping and sucking the discharge port of the recording head 103, foreign matter adhering to the discharge port is removed. Remove the thickened ink. Also, the recovery unit 111 and the platen 1
A cleaning blade 114, which is guided by the guide member 112 and moves forward and backward toward the traveling path of the ejection port surface of the recording head 103, is arranged between 07.
It is configured so that foreign matter or ink droplets adhering to the ejection port surface can be cleaned at the tip of the blade 121.

The present invention is particularly effective in an ink jet recording type recording head and recording apparatus for recording by forming flying droplets by utilizing thermal energy in the ink jet recording system. Is.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
No. 796, the present invention is preferably carried out using these basic principles. This recording method is applicable to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type.

This recording method will be briefly described. A liquid (corresponding to recording information) is recorded on an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to a sheet or a liquid path holding droplets (ink). By applying at least one driving signal to the ink) to cause a rapid temperature rise that causes a film boiling phenomenon over the nucleate boiling phenomenon, thermal energy is generated, and the film is formed on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Bring to a boil. In this way, bubbles can be formed from the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal applied to the electrothermal converter, which is particularly effective for the on-demand recording method. By the growth and contraction of the bubbles, (ink) is ejected through the ejection port to form at least one liquid. If this drive signal is made into a pulse shape, the growth and contraction of the bubbles will be performed immediately and appropriately.
In particular, it is possible to achieve ejection of liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness,
More preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are used.
Those described in the specification are suitable.
If the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise on the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

The structure of the recording head is a combination of a discharge port, a liquid flow path, and an electrothermal converter as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path).
In addition to the above, the present invention is also effective for those having a configuration in which the heat acting portion is arranged in the bending region as disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600. ..

In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 123670/1984, which discloses a structure in which a common slit is used as a discharge port for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a pressure group for thermal energy are disclosed. The present invention is also effective in a structure having a structure based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461/1984 which discloses a structure in which an absorbing hole corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, as a recording head in which the present invention is effectively used, there is a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of the recording medium which can be recorded by the recording device. The full-line head may be a full-line recording head formed by combining a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification, or a single full-line recording head integrally formed.

In addition, by being mounted on the apparatus main body, it can be electrically connected to the apparatus main body and can be supplied with ink from the apparatus main body by a replaceable chip type recording head or the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head provided specially is used.

Further, it is preferable to add a recovering means for the recording head or a preliminary auxiliary means to the recording apparatus using the ink container of the present invention because the recording apparatus can be made more stable. If these are specifically raised, the capping means and the clear for the recording head will be used.
Means, pressurizing or sucking means, electrothermal converter or other heating element, or preheating means by a combination thereof, means for performing predischarge mode for performing discharge other than recording. The addition of is also effective for stable recording.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the mode for recording only the mainstream color such as black, and whether the recording head is integrally formed or a combination of plural recording heads. However, the present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of a multicolor color of different colors or a full color by color mixing.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above,
Although description is made using liquid ink, in the present invention, either ink that is solid at room temperature or ink that is in a softened state at room temperature can be used. In the above-mentioned inkjet device, it is general that the temperature of the ink itself is adjusted within the range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within the stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be liquid.

In addition, excessive temperature rise of the head or ink due to thermal energy is positively prevented by using it as the thermal energy of the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink is evaporated. For the purpose of prevention, it is also possible to use an ink that solidifies when left standing. In any case, by applying thermal energy, such as one in which the ink is liquefied by being applied according to the recording signal and ejected as an ink liquid, or one which has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium, The use of an ink having the property of liquefying for the first time is also applicable to the present invention.

In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, besides the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader and the like, and further a transmission / reception function It may be in the form of a facsimile machine having a.

[0045]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects.

By arranging the ink incompatible substance between the movable wall and the inner surface of the container main body, the starting pressure of the movable wall is reduced, and negative pressure control corresponding to a minute pressure change becomes possible. The reliability of the recording device is improved.

Further, in the case where the movable wall is provided with the recess, even when the opening / closing means for opening / closing the discharge port is provided in the container body, the opening / closing means is housed in the recess. The use efficiency of the ink can be improved accordingly.

Further, by making the container body into a rectangular tube shape,
The maximum ink capacity can be obtained within a certain space.

Conventionally, a movable wall (rubber or elastic member, etc.)
Because the negative pressure characteristic was obtained by the frictional force between the inner surface of the container and
It is necessary to pay close attention to the dimensional accuracy of the movable wall (rubber or elastic member) and the inner surface of the container (order of several tens of μm), which is very expensive. By arranging the ink incompatible substance between the movable wall and the inner surface of the container body in the present invention, the dimensional accuracy can be controlled very roughly and the cost can be made very low.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an ink container to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an example of a movable wall of an ink container to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a recording head unit showing an initial state in which an ink container to which the invention is applied is connected to a recording head.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a recording head unit in which an ink container to which the present invention is applied is connected to a recording head to show an ink consumption end state.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a recording apparatus in which a recording head unit to which the present invention is applied can be mounted.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional ink container, (A) shows a movable wall structure having an O-ring,
(B) shows a diaphragm-like movable wall structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink container main body 4 Movable wall 7 Gel-like ink incompatible substance

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. An ink container for storing ink to be supplied to a recording head, wherein the ink container is guided to an inner surface of the container body for accommodating ink and an inner surface of the container body according to consumption of the ink. A movable wall that moves, a coupling portion that is coupled to the recording head, an atmosphere communication portion that enables movement of the movable wall due to consumption of the ink, and a boundary between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall. An ink container having a gel-like ink immiscible substance disposed in a region. 2. The movable wall is provided with a space portion in which the gel-like ink incompatible substance is allowed to exist, and at least one falling prevention member for allowing the movable wall to move uniformly. The ink container according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. The gel-like ink incompatible substance contains a mixture of an aliphatic compound or liquid rubber, a gelling agent, and a thixotropy improving agent in a predetermined ratio. The ink container according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 4. The gel-like ink incompatible substance comprises an aliphatic compound or liquid rubber containing 10% by weight of a gelling agent.
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: 5. A recording head unit configured to be replaceable with respect to a recording device, comprising a recording head for ejecting ink to perform recording and an ink container accommodating ink to be supplied to the recording head. The ink container includes a container body that stores ink, a movable wall that is guided and moved to an inner surface of the container body according to the consumption of the ink, a coupling portion that is coupled to the recording head, and the ink container. An atmosphere communicating portion that enables movement of the movable wall due to consumption, and a gel-like ink incompatible substance disposed in a boundary region between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall. Recording head unit. 6. The recording head uses thermal energy for ejecting ink, and has an electrothermal converter for generating the thermal energy. The recording head unit according to item 5. 7. The movable wall is provided with a space portion in which the gel-like ink incompatible substance is allowed to exist, and at least one falling prevention member for allowing the movable wall to move uniformly. The recording head unit according to claim 5, which is characterized in that. 8. The gel-like ink incompatible substance contains a mixture of an aliphatic compound or liquid rubber, a gelling agent, and a thixotropy improving agent in a predetermined ratio. The recording head unit according to claim 5, which is characterized in that. 9. The gel-like ink incompatible substance comprises an aliphatic compound or liquid rubber containing 10% by weight of a gelling agent.
The recording apparatus according to claim 5, comprising: 10. A recording head unit, which comprises a recording head for ejecting ink to perform recording and an ink container accommodating ink to be supplied to the recording head, and is configured to be replaceable with respect to a recording device. In the recording apparatus described above, the ink container is coupled to the recording head, a container body that stores ink, a movable wall that is guided and moved to an inner surface of the container body according to the consumption of the ink, and the recording head. A coupling portion, an atmosphere communicating portion that enables movement of the movable wall due to consumption of the ink, and a gel-like ink incompatible substance arranged in a boundary region between the inner surface of the container body and the movable wall, A recording device comprising: 11. The recording head uses thermal energy for ejecting ink, and has an electrothermal converter for generating the thermal energy. The recording device according to item 10. 12. The movable wall is provided with a space portion in which the gel-like ink incompatible substance is allowed to exist, and at least one collapse prevention member for allowing the movable wall to move uniformly. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the recording apparatus is a recording apparatus. 13. The gel-like ink incompatible substance comprises:
11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, which contains a mixture of an aliphatic compound or liquid rubber, a gelling agent, and a thixotropy improving agent in a predetermined ratio. 14. The gel-like ink incompatible substance comprises:
11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the gelling agent is contained in the aliphatic compound or the liquid rubber in an amount of 10% by weight or less.