JPH1178042A - Ink tank - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide a method for visually confirming a change in the state of the surface of an ink holder accompanying consumption of ink in an ink tank storing the ink holder. SOLUTION: In the ink tank provided with a storage section for storing a first ink holding body for storing ink and an ink supply opening for supplying ink of the first ink holding body, the first ink is provided. A second ink holding member that is in pressure contact with the holding member and that is different from the first ink holding member, is housed therein, and includes an ink remaining amount detection unit that can be visually confirmed from the outside; The capillary force is weaker than the capillary force in the vicinity of the ink supply opening, and is in close contact with the surface constituting the ink remaining amount detection unit, and the second ink holder and the first ink holder The capillary force of the pressure contact portion is weaker than the capillary force near the ink supply opening.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an ink tank and an ink tank used for an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an ink tank used in an ink jet recording apparatus, a member for impregnating ink and holding it by capillary force (hereinafter referred to as "ink holder").
Is stored in an ink tank, and the ink holder alone generates negative pressure to hold ink. In the above-described ink tank, for example, even if air in a space generated between the housing and the ink tank expands due to environmental changes or the like, the ink inside the ink holding body does not leak to the outside so that the ink inside the ink holding body does not leak out. There is known a configuration in which ribs are provided to communicate the above-mentioned closed space with the atmosphere. In particular, when the recording head and the ink tank are usually separated and can be integrated when used, and an ink lead-out member is provided near the ink supply port for leading the ink of the ink holder to the outside. In general, a rib is provided on an inner surface of a housing to communicate a closed space near an ink lead-out member to the atmosphere.

A mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of ink and informing the user of the amount of ink in the above-described configuration includes a dot counting method for measuring the number of ejections of recording droplets during printing,
There is known an electrode detection method in which electrode pins are provided on an ink holding member to detect a change in a conduction state due to ink consumption.

[0004]

However, the above-mentioned methods have problems in the following points.

For example, in the dot counting method,
If the user accidentally removes the ink jet cartridge from the printer body, the count number for the ink jet cartridge will not be an accurate value, and a new means for avoiding this may be required. Further, in the electrode system, it is necessary to provide an ink remaining amount detecting mechanism inside the printer main body, and therefore, there is a problem in that the cost of the printer main body increases.

In view of the above, the present inventor has made it possible to visually confirm a change in the state of the surface of the ink holding member accompanying the consumption of ink in the ink tank containing the negative pressure generating member. In addition, an ink tank having a configuration capable of notifying the user of the remaining amount of ink was studied.

As a result, when the ink holding member is in close contact with the entire circumference of the inner wall of the tank case, the boundary between the portion of the ink holding member where the ink has been consumed and the portion where the ink is still held (hereinafter, referred to as the "ink"). This boundary is referred to as an “interface”).

However, when the ribs are provided on the inner surface of the tank case, the state of the surface of the ink holder accompanying the consumption of the ink changes very slowly from the upper portion of the ink holder because no interface is formed. It is difficult for the user to visually confirm.

On the other hand, the ink jet recording field is currently applied to various forms in the market, and the shape and size of the ink tank satisfying the requirements in each form are different. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a remaining amount detecting mechanism applicable to each of the ink tanks, since the user can confirm the remaining amount of ink by a common method regardless of the type of use.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even when a rib is provided between a tank case (housing) for accommodating the ink holder and the ink holder in the ink tank for accommodating the ink holder, the present invention is not limited to this. By providing a new configuration that allows the user to easily check the change in the state of the surface of the ink holder accompanying the consumption of ink, the detection mechanism is omitted to suppress an increase in the cost of the printer body and to reduce the remaining amount. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank having an ink remaining amount detecting means which does not require the reliability of the detecting mechanism itself.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a standard unit which can be used for a plurality of types of ink tanks by forming the remaining amount detecting means as a unit separate from the ink tank body.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a first storage section for storing a first ink holder for storing ink, and an ink container for storing the first ink holder. And a second ink holder different from the first ink holder whose upper end is open to the atmosphere and whose lower end is pressed against the first ink holder. A substantially cylindrical second storage portion that accommodates the second ink holding body such that the side surfaces thereof are evenly adhered and that can be visually confirmed from the outside, and has an ink remaining amount detection unit, The capillary force of the second ink holding member is weaker than the capillary force near the ink supply opening, and the capillary force of the pressure contact portion between the second ink holding member and the first ink holding member is the same. Less than the capillary force near the ink supply opening And it features.

Here, the upper end and the lower end of the second ink holder are defined as an upper end and a lower end with respect to the vertical direction in the use posture of the ink tank.

Further, the present invention proposes an ink tank, wherein the ink remaining amount detecting section is formed separately from the ink storing section.

In the present invention, "ink" is not limited to ink as a recording liquid, but may be a liquid which can be ejected in an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, an image improving liquid which reacts with the recording liquid on a recording medium. It shall include the processing liquid.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An ink tank with an ink remaining amount detecting means according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of an ink tank with an ink remaining amount detecting means according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Ink tank 10 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an ink tank that is detachably attached to an ink jet recording apparatus and is replaceable, and a use posture is upward in the paper surface. This ink tank is configured such that the ink remaining amount detection unit is a unit 12 (ink remaining amount detection unit) separate from the ink tank housing, and is stored in the tank container when assembling the ink tank.

The ink tank 10 includes a tank case 7 and
A housing is formed by the lid 14 having the atmosphere communication port 1. A first ink holding member (main ink holding member) 9 for generating a desired negative pressure characteristic is housed inside the housing, and is in contact with a rib 8 provided inside the housing. The ink supply port 17 is provided with a pressure contact body 6 made of a one-way fiber bundle or the like, which is in close contact with the main ink holder, and can be separably connected to an ink jet recording head (not shown). Reference numeral 5 denotes a gap generated between the housing, the main ink holding member, and the pressure contact member. The gap 5 communicates with the atmosphere through an atmosphere communication port by providing the rib 8. Note that, depending on the configuration of the ink jet recording head unit, a configuration may be adopted in which the pressurizing member 6 is not provided and the main ink holder directly contacts the ink supply pipe of the ink jet recording head unit via the ink supply port.

A substantially columnar case 13 is provided inside the housing.
A second ink holding member 3 (hereinafter, referred to as a “sub ink holding member”) having a size larger than the unit internal size is provided in the unit.
) Is stored, and the sub ink holding member is in close contact with the inner surface of the unit without any gap.

This ink remaining amount detecting unit 12 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the ink tank is housed in a tank container when assembling the ink tank. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a cross section of the ink tank shown in FIG.
Shows a state before the case 13 contacts the main ink holding member, and FIG. 2B shows a state after the contact.

In this embodiment, the main ink holder 9 is
In order to allow this unit to be inserted, the unit is partially cut away. Then, the ink remaining amount detection unit of the present embodiment presses the end face of the opening of the ink remaining amount detection unit case and the sub ink holder together with the main ink holder having repulsive elasticity, as shown in FIG. 2B. As described above, the entire remaining surface of the opening of the ink remaining amount detection unit case is brought into pressure contact with the main ink holder with a predetermined pressure contact amount ΔX to increase the capillary force near the connection portion.

With the above configuration, in the ink remaining amount detecting unit, the sub ink holding member is brought into close contact with the entire side wall, and the entire lower end portion of the portion where the sub ink holding member is not in contact with the wall surface of the unit is main. It is possible to press the cover so as to cover it with the ink holder, and to open only the upper end to the atmosphere through the atmosphere communication port.

For this reason, the intrusion of the atmosphere into the ink holder due to the consumption of ink is limited to only the portion of the upper part of the ink holder that is open to the atmosphere. Done evenly. Accordingly, the ink is held between the portion of the ink holder where the ink has been consumed and the portion where the ink is still held, that is, between the inner wall of the tank case where the ink has been consumed and adhered and the capillary opening on the surface of the ink holder. It is possible to generate a boundary between the portion where the ink is not held and the portion where the ink is held between the inner wall of the tank case and the capillary opening on the surface of the ink holder without consuming the ink.

The compression ratio of the contact portion is set so that the ink interface is lowered before the ink is used up in consideration of the operation of displaying the remaining amount, so that the sub-ink holding member 3 is in contact with the pressing member of the main ink holding member 9. As a compression ratio lower than the compression ratio in the vicinity of the contact,
The capillary force at the contact portion is made weaker than the capillary force at the vicinity of the main ink holder in contact with the press-contact member, and the main ink holder 9
Is pressed against the contact end face without any gap.

Also, in order to lower the ink interface before the ink is used up in consideration of the operation of the remaining amount display, the capillary force of the sub-ink holding member 3 is reduced in the vicinity of the contact of the main ink holding member 9 with the pressing member. It is adjusted by selecting within a range where the capillary force is weaker than the generated negative pressure.

Further, since the sub-ink holding member is smaller than the main ink holding member, even if the ink or air in the sub-ink holding member expands due to an environmental change such as an external temperature change, the main ink holding member is not affected. Since the ink can be absorbed by the ink holder, it is possible to prevent the ink from leaking to the outside from the air communication port on the sub ink holder side.

Next, the details of this configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the structure of an ink tank having the ink remaining amount detecting section of FIG.

The main ink holder 9 is a sponge,
In order to facilitate uniform contact with the inner wall of the sub-ink holder, the ink remaining amount detecting unit case 13 uses a cylinder having a diameter of 6 mm, and felt is punched out into a 6.5 mm-diameter felt for the sub-ink holder due to workability. A plurality of objects 15 were inserted.

The ink remaining amount detecting unit 12 is brought into pressure contact with the main ink holding member. At this time, the compression ratio of the main ink holding member in the vicinity of the pressure contact member is about 1.3 times, and is about 1.2 times smaller than that. The tank was housed so as to be in pressure contact with the main ink holder with a pressure contact amount ΔX = 1.5 mm, and was fixed in the ink tank with a tank lid welded to the tank case.

At this time, the lowering characteristic of the ink interface can be achieved by adjusting the capillary force of the sub-ink holder, and the capillary force of the main ink holder = P with the same head difference being applied.
1. When the capillary force of the sub-ink holder is P2 and the capillary force of the main ink holder in the vicinity of the press-contact body is P3, it is sufficient to select within a range satisfying the relationship of P1 <P2 <P3. The negative pressure was determined by selecting a fiber diameter and a fiber density of 30 μm and a fiber density of 0.15 g / cm ³ .

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing the operation of the ink tank of the present invention shown in FIG. FIG. 4 (a)
FIG. 4B shows an initial state of the ink tank into which a predetermined amount of the ink 50 has been injected, and FIG.

In the initial state in which a predetermined amount of the ink 50 is injected in FIG. 4A, the ink is also filled in the chamber for detecting the remaining amount of ink. In the state where the ink 50 in FIG. 4B is consumed, as the ink 50 in the main ink holder is consumed, the ink in the sub-ink holder is also consumed, and the ink as shown in FIG. The interface 11 occurs and descends. The lowered position of the generated interface 11 makes it possible to visually notify the user that the remaining amount of the ink is low, and to prompt the preparation of the next ink cartridge.

Operation mode 1 of FIG. 5 shows the characteristic of lowering the ink interface of the ink remaining amount detector with respect to the ink consumption of the ink tank main body, which was studied in the above configuration. (The interface in the state corresponding to FIG. 4 (a) is 29 mm in this embodiment.) The vertical axis indicates the height h of the ink interface, and the horizontal axis indicates the percentage of the initial ink injection amount used. Indicates In this study, the relationship of P1 <P2 <P3 is assumed when the capillary force of the main ink holding member = P1, the capillary force of the sub ink holding member = P2, and the capillary force of the main ink holding member in the vicinity of the pressure contact member = P3. Therefore, the slope of the descending amount of the ink interface with respect to the ink consumption is small until the ink consumption reaches 44%.
When the head difference of the remaining ink in the main ink holding body becomes small and the distribution of the remaining ink reaches the vicinity of the press contact body, the ink in the ink remaining amount detecting unit is consumed and the ink interface drops rapidly. Is shown.

If the range of P1 ≒ P2 <P3 is satisfied, the lowering characteristic shows the characteristic as the operation mode 2 in FIG.

From the above results, the above P1, P2, P3
It can be seen from the relationship that it is possible to easily adjust the descending characteristics of the ink interface.

The sub-ink holding member in the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies a desired negative pressure characteristic for holding ink and can adhere to the inner surface of the case 13. Felt was used from the viewpoint of workability in addition to pressure characteristics. The material used was polypropylene, which is physically stable with respect to the ink and low in cost.

In this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the main ink holder having a high rebound resilience is more positively compressed. However, the sub ink holder has a higher resilience than the main ink holder. In such a case, a configuration in which the sub-ink holding member is compressed as shown in FIG. 6 is also possible. FIG. 6 (a)
Is a partially enlarged view of a cross section of such an ink tank,
The state before the case 13 contacts the main ink holder,
FIG. 6B shows a state after the contact.

In this embodiment shown in FIG. 1, a structure for compressing either the main ink holding member or the sub ink holding member is described. However, a structure in which both are connected via another negative pressure generating member is also possible. For example, in the case where both the main ink holding member and the sub ink holding member have low rebound resilience and a low margin for the pressure contact reliability, a configuration using a member 16 having high rebound resilience as shown in FIG. 7 is also possible. is there. FIG. 7A is a partially enlarged view of a cross section of such an ink tank, and shows a state before the case 13 contacts the main ink holding member, and FIG. 7B shows a state after the contact.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing a structure of an ink tank having an ink remaining amount detecting means according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the main ink holder has a convex shape on the surface of the main ink holder connected to the sub ink holder and is pressed against the sub ink holder. The opening direction is different from that of the above-described embodiment for the main ink holder of the portion.

As a modified example of such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 9, it may be provided outside the ink tank. In particular, by using an external system, it is possible to easily provide a standard unit that can be used for a plurality of types of ink tanks having different shapes. It can be easily configured when difficult.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing the structure of an ink tank having an ink remaining amount detecting means according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the remaining ink amount detection unit 2 is integrated with the ink tank.

In each of the embodiments described above, the ink tank is configured to be separable from the ink jet recording head unit. However, it goes without saying that the ink tank may be integrated.

[0044]

According to the above configuration, it is possible to clearly confirm the lowered state of the interface of the ink remaining amount detecting portion due to the consumption of ink in the ink tank containing the ink holding member therein as the ink holding member. Thus, it is possible to visually notify the user that the remaining amount of ink is low (ink consumption status) without impairing the reliability of ink leakage due to environmental changes in the ink tank.

Further, the mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of ink is omitted to suppress an increase in the cost of the printer body or the cartridge.
Further, it is possible to provide an ink tank having an ink remaining amount detecting means which does not require the reliability of the remaining amount detecting mechanism itself.

In addition, by providing the remaining amount detecting means having the above structure as a unit separate from the ink tank main body, it is possible to provide a standard unit which can be used for a plurality of types of ink tanks.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink tank with an ink remaining amount detecting unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are partially enlarged views of a cross section of the ink tank shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2A shows a state before the case contacts the main ink holding member, and FIG. 2B shows a state after the contact.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of an ink tank having an ink remaining amount detection unit in FIG. 1;

4A and 4B are schematic explanatory diagrams illustrating an ink consumption state of the ink tank of FIG. 1; FIG. 4A illustrates an initial state where a predetermined amount of ink is injected, and FIG. 4B illustrates a state where a predetermined amount of ink is consumed; .

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a descending characteristic of an ink interface of an ink remaining amount detecting unit in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are partially enlarged views of a cross section of a modification of the ink tank of FIG. 1, in which FIG. 6A shows a state before the case contacts the main ink holding member, and FIG. 6B shows a state after the contact.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are partial enlarged views of a cross section of a modification of the ink tank of FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 7A shows a state before the case contacts the main ink holding member, and FIG. 7B shows a state after the contact.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink tank with a remaining ink amount detecting unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing a modified example of the ink tank with the remaining ink amount detecting means according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a structure of an ink tank with an ink remaining amount detecting unit according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Atmospheric communication port 2 Ink remaining amount detection part 3 Sub-ink holder 6 Press-contact body 7 Tank case 8 Rib 9 Main ink holder 10 Ink tank 12 Ink remaining amount detection unit 13 13 Ink remaining amount detection unit

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. An ink tank having a first storage section for storing a first ink holder for storing ink and an ink supply opening for supplying ink of the first ink holder, And a second ink holder different from the first ink holder whose lower end is pressed against the first ink holder, and the side surface of the second ink holder is evenly adhered to the second ink holder. And a substantially cylindrical second storage portion that can be visually confirmed from the outside while being stored in the second ink holding member. Wherein the capillary force in the vicinity of the pressure contact portion between the second ink holder and the first ink holder is weaker than the capillary force in the vicinity of the ink supply opening. tank. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the ink remaining amount detection unit is formed separately from the ink storage unit. 3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the ink remaining amount detection unit is provided inside a storage unit. 4. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the remaining ink amount detection unit is provided outside a storage unit. 5. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the size of the second ink holder is smaller than the size of the first ink holder. 6. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the second ink holder is an aggregate of fibers. 7. The ink tank according to claim 6, wherein a material of the fiber is a polyolefin resin. 8. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a surface forming the ink remaining amount detecting unit is smooth.