JPH0585639U - Ink container for inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] Air corresponding to the amount of ejected ink smoothly enters the ink container and enables stable ink supply. [Structure] A rod-shaped water repellent filter 10 is attached at a position corresponding to an air intake port, and one end and a side surface of the water repellent filter 10 are exposed inside the ink container 3.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ink container mounted on an ink jet printer that prints by ejecting ink from a head toward paper.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a general inkjet printer. A cylindrical platen 12 is rotatably driven inside the printer body 15. Two guide shafts 13, 13 are provided on the front side of the platen 12 along the axial direction of the platen 12. Has been. A carriage 1 is provided on each of these guide shafts 13 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the guide shaft 13, and inks of respective colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are ejected onto the carriage 1. A print head 2 is installed. Further, an ink container 3 for supplying each color ink to the print head 2 is mounted on the carriage 1. Further, on the rear side of the platen 12 of the printer body 15, for example, a continuous paper 14 wound in a roll shape is provided, and the paper 14 is guided to a predetermined printing position along the outer periphery of the platen 12. It has become so.

FIG. 3 shows the structure of an ink supply system in a conventional inkjet printer. The carriage 1 has a print head 2 and an ink container 3 mounted thereon, and prints while reciprocating along a guide shaft 13. An opening 3 a formed at the bottom of the sealed ink container 3 is closed by a rubber stopper 8. Further, an air intake pipe 11 extending in the vertical direction is provided inside the ink container 3, and a lower opening end 11 a of the air intake pipe 11 is closed by a rubber stopper 8. An air intake port 11b is formed at the upper end of the air intake pipe 11, and the water intake port 11b is generally equipped with a water repellent filter 9 made of polypropylene nonwoven fabric. The ink intake amount of the air intake port 11b is set so as to be located above the liquid surface of the ink in the ink container 3. When the sealed ink container 3 is attached to the carriage 1, the air supply needle 7 and the ink supply needle 4 break through the rubber stopper 8 to supply the ink from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 and from the outside into the ink container 3. The respective air can be supplied through the hole 7a of the air supply needle 7 and the hole 4a of the ink supply needle 4, respectively. Then, an amount of air corresponding to the amount of ink supplied from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 passes through the air supply tube 6 and the air supply needle 7 and finally is made of polypropylene at a position corresponding to the air intake port 11b of the air intake tube 11. It is supplied into the ink container 3 through a water repellent filter 9 using a non-woven fabric. The end of the air tube 6 is open to the atmosphere during printing.

The ink container 3 that supplies the ink to the print head 2 of the inkjet printer is roughly divided into one that directly puts the ink in the ink container 3 and one that has a bag made of aluminum or the like and puts the ink therein. There are two types. Generally, it is often used for the reason that the structure is simpler when the ink is directly put into the ink container 3 and the remaining amount of the ink can be directly checked with the eyes.

[0005]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, when the ink is directly put into the ink container 3, if the printer main body is installed at an angle, the ink comes into contact with the filter 9 attached to the air intake port 11b, and the components of this ink are not only water-soluble but also various types. Since the solvent was contained, it was difficult to completely repel the ink with the filter 9 attached to the air intake port 11b. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the ink container 3 becomes higher than the external atmospheric pressure due to a temperature change, a pressure change, or the like while the filter 9 is in contact with the ink, the ink in the ink container 3 permeates into the filter 9 and the filter 9 causes clogging, and air corresponding to the amount of ink ejected from the print head 2 is not allowed to enter. Eventually, the ink supply system becomes negative pressure, which adversely affects ejection performance. Further, the conventional filter 9 is made of a plate-like material such as a non-woven fabric, and since only the end surface thereof is exposed inside the ink container, the effective surface area for air is small and it is easy to cause clogging early. In particular, high-speed ink jet printers, which eject a large amount of ink per unit time, were most affected.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable air corresponding to the amount of ejected ink to smoothly enter the ink container and stably supply ink. Is.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to solve the above problems, the ink container for an inkjet printer of the present invention has a rod-shaped water-repellent filter attached to the air intake port in the ink container, and one end and the side of this water-repellent filter are exposed inside the ink container. It is characterized by

[0008]

[Action]

 According to the present invention, a rod-shaped water repellent filter is attached to the air intake port in the ink container, and one end and side surfaces of this water repellent filter are exposed inside the ink container, thereby increasing the effective surface area into which air enters. Therefore, it is possible to secure a sufficient vent hole for introducing air corresponding to the ejected ink amount into the ink container.

[0009]

【Example】

 The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. Since the print head drive system of the ink jet printer according to the present invention is basically the same as the structure of the conventional example shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply system according to the present invention will be described in detail here. In FIG. 1, a carriage 1 is equipped with a print head 2 and an ink container 3, and prints while reciprocating along a guide shaft 13. An opening 3a formed at the bottom of the sealed ink container 3 is closed by a rubber stopper 8. An air intake pipe 11 extending vertically is provided inside the ink container 3, and a lower opening end 11 a of the air intake pipe 11 is closed by a rubber stopper 8. An air intake port 11b is formed at the upper end of the air intake pipe 11, and the air intake port 11b is a rod-shaped water repellent filter made of a water repellent porous body or a water repellent porous body. 10 is installed. Further, one end and side surfaces of the water repellent filter 10 are exposed inside the ink container.

When the sealed ink container 3 is mounted on the carriage 1, the air supply needle 7 and the ink supply needle 4 break through the rubber 8 to supply ink from the ink container 3 and supply air to the inside of the ink container 3. Supply is possible through the hole 7a of the air supply needle 7 and the hole 4a of the ink supply needle 4. Ink is supplied from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 through an ink supply needle 4 and an ink supply tube 5. Then, an amount of air corresponding to the amount of supplied ink is passed through the air supply tube 6 and the air supply needle 7, and finally, at a position corresponding to the air intake port, a sintered water-reactive porous body of polypropylene (water-reactive plastic). Alternatively, the ink enters into the ink container 3 through a barbed water repellent filter 10 made of a porous body subjected to water repellent treatment. As a generally known drainage treatment method, a method of forming a film of a fluorine compound by treatment with a fluoroalkyl cyan is known. During printing, the end of the air tube 6 is open to the atmosphere. In this embodiment, since the rod-shaped water repellent filter 10 air was attached to the air intake port, the effective surface area into which the air entered becomes large, and even if a part of the ventilation hole is clogged, a sufficient ventilation amount is obtained as a whole. Can be secured. The rod-shaped water repellent filter 10 used in this embodiment can have any cross-sectional shape such as a triangular prism, a quadrangular prism, and a hollow. Further, the mounting position of the water repellent filter 10 can be set not only in the vertical direction but also in the ink container 3 according to the shape of the ink container 3.

[0011]

[Effect of the device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, a rod-shaped water repellent filter made of a water repellent porous body or a water repellent porous body is attached to the air inlet of the ink container. As a result, it is possible to secure a sufficient vent hole for introducing air corresponding to the ejected ink amount into the ink container, and to stably supply the ink to the print head, so that an ink jet printer for high-speed printing can be adequately supported.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink supply system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an inkjet printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional ink supply system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 carriage 2 print head 3 ink container 3a opening 4 ink supply needle 5 ink supply tube 6 air supply tube 7 air supply needle 8 rubber stopper 9 filter 10 rod-shaped water-based filter made of a porous body 11 air intake tube 11a lower end opening 11b Air inlet 12 Platen 13 Guide shaft 14 Paper 15 Printer body

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ink container mounted on an ink jet printer for ejecting ink onto a sheet based on a predetermined drive signal, wherein a rod-shaped water repellent filter is attached to an air intake port in the ink container. An ink container for an inkjet printer, characterized in that one end and a side surface are exposed inside the ink container. 2. The ink container for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the water repellent filter is made of a water repellent porous material. 3. The ink container for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the water repellent filter is made of a water repellent porous body.