JPH1178045A - Ink container - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide an ink container for an ink jet printer capable of consuming ink without waste until the remaining amount of ink is reduced regardless of the mounting direction of the ink pack. SOLUTION: One side surface 11a of an ink pack 11 is provided.
Is adhered to the flat surface 12a of the second support portion 12c of the cartridge case 12. One side surface 11a maintains a flat state even when ink is consumed. As a result, with the consumption of the ink, the other side surface 11b of the ink pack 11 gradually approaches the one side surface 11a, and the ink can be consumed so that the remaining amount of the ink inside the ink pack hardly occurs.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an ink container used for an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink in an ink container is guided to a print head, and a plurality of nozzles provided in the print head are driven in accordance with a print pattern signal to discharge ink toward a print medium to perform printing. Ink jet recording devices are known, and such ink jet recording devices are employed in printer units such as output devices of electronic equipment and facsimile machines.

As such an ink jet recording apparatus, for example, JP-A-57-34967 or JP-A-63-34967
As described in JP-A-281849, a hollow needle to which an ink supply pipe leading to a print head is connected is fixed to a container mounting portion, and the hollow needle is used by the hollow needle when the ink container is mounted. Is known in which an ink outlet is formed by piercing an ink.

In such an ink container, an ink pack formed in a sealed bag shape from a flexible sheet-like resin material is accommodated in a rigid support casing, and a rubber stopper for piercing a hollow needle is attached to the ink pack. It is installed in the ink supply hole.

[0005]

By the way, in such an ink jet recording apparatus, various modes of a container mounting portion in which an ink container is mounted can be considered, but depending on the posture of the ink container mounted in the container mounting portion. However, the mounting direction of the ink pack is different, but there is a problem that the ink usage amount that can be finally used largely changes due to the mounting direction of the ink pack being different. Therefore, if an attempt is made to increase the amount of ink used, the mode of the container mounting portion to which the ink container is mounted is limited.

[0008] That is, as shown in FIGS. 8A to 8 C, the ink pack 101 is attached in an upward direction in which the ink supply holes 102 are upward, and in a width direction in which the ink supply holes 102 are horizontal. In FIG. 9A to FIG. 9A, when the ink is consumed in each of the horizontal and vertical states where the ink is thinned in the horizontal direction and the horizontal and horizontal state where the ink supply hole portion 102 is horizontal and becomes thin in the height direction.
As shown in (c), the amount of ink that can be finally consumed in each state changes.

More specifically, when the ink pack 101 is in the horizontal state and the horizontal state, the ink usage is about 90%, whereas when the ink pack 101 is in the upward state, the ink usage is 80%. (Adhesion area 0 in Table 1 described later)
%), When the ink supply hole section 102 is in the upward state, the amount of ink that can be finally used is smaller than in the case of the horizontal and vertical states and the horizontal and horizontal state. Increase. This is considered to be because the deformation of the ink pack 101 due to the consumption of the ink is freely performed without any restrictions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and is intended for an ink jet printer capable of consuming ink without waste until the remaining amount of ink is reduced, regardless of the mounting direction of the ink pack. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink container.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a print head which performs printing by discharging ink on a recording medium,
An ink container for storing the ink supplied to the print head; and an ink container mounting portion having a hollow needle-like ink supply tube coupled to the ink container for guiding the ink in the ink container to the print head. It is based on the ink container used in the ink jet printer, is formed in a sealed bag shape from a flexible resin material, has an ink supply hole closed by a rubber member, and has an ink inside. An ink pack to be stored, and a support member having a flat surface to which about 30% or more of the side surface of the ink pack is immovably attached to the flat surface.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, about 30% or more of the side surface of the ink pack that stores the ink therein is immovably attached to the flat surface of the support member, so that the ink is consumed. As a result, the side that is not attached gradually comes closer to the side that is attached without being deformed, regardless of the orientation of the ink pack, until the remaining amount of ink is reduced. Ink is consumed without waste. Therefore, a large amount of used ink is ensured without being restricted by the mode of the container mounting portion in which the ink container is mounted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink container of the first aspect, the support member is provided with a first support portion on which the ink supply hole is mounted and supported, and is connected to the first support portion. And a second support having the flat surface.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the first of the support members is provided.
The ink supply hole is attached to and supported by the support portion, and the side surface of the ink pack is immovably attached to the flat surface of the second support portion connected to the first support portion, and has a simple structure. The ink pack is supported by the support member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink container according to the first or second aspect, a side portion of the support member, which is fixedly mounted on a flat surface of the support member, is held in a horizontal state or a vertical state. This is a portion that comes into contact when an ink pack storing ink is placed on a flat surface.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the portion that comes into contact with the ink pack storing the ink is mounted on the flat surface of the support member held in the horizontal state or the vertical state in a non-deformable manner. Thus, the substantially central portion of the ink pack, which greatly affects the consumption of ink, is easily and non-deformably attached.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink container according to any one of the first to third aspects, the ink pack is attached to the flat surface of the support member by adhesion, and the side portion of the ink container is irremovably attached. Includes a portion surrounded or sandwiched by a portion to be fixed and adhered.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the portion surrounded or sandwiched by the portion to be fixed and fixed is bonded and fixed to a flat surface similarly to the portion to be fixed and fixed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink container according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the side surface portion of the ink pack which is fixedly mounted on the flat surface of the support member is about 60% or more. .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the amount of used ink is almost 100%, and almost all of the ink in the ink pack can be used.

[0019]

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

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.
Is provided with a print head 2 for discharging ink to a recording medium (not shown) for recording, and the print head 2 is supplied with ink from an ink cartridge 3 as an ink container for storing ink. Has become. The print head 2 is mounted on a carriage (not shown) provided to be able to reciprocate in the width direction of the recording medium, and a cartridge mounting unit 4 on which the ink cartridge 3 is removably mounted is mounted on the carriage. Is provided.

The cartridge mounting portion 4 has a vertical wall portion 4a, and a connecting member 5 in the form of a hollow needle is provided on the vertical wall portion 4a. The connection member 5 is connected to the ink cartridge 3.
When the ink cartridge 3 is detachably mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 4, it is connected to the ink cartridge 3 through the ink supply hole 6 of the ink cartridge 3. Ink
The ink is supplied to the print head 2 through the ink supply pipe 7.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink cartridge 3 includes an ink pack 11 in which ink is stored.
The ink supply hole 6 is connected to the ink pack 11. The ink supply hole 6 includes a mounting member 13 which is mounted and fixed to the cartridge case 12 and has a center hole 13a, and a rubber member 14 made of, for example, a rubber material and closing the center hole 13a of the mounting member 13. The rubber member 14
Can be penetrated by piercing the connection member 5.

The bag-shaped ink pack 11 is formed by bending a flexible sheet-shaped resin material, and has a peripheral portion excluding an end at which the ink supply hole 6 is located when the attachment 13 is attached. Two opposite sides 1 welded together
It is formed in a sealed bag shape having 1a and 11b, and the strength of the welded U-shaped peripheral portion 11c is increased, making it harder to deform than the other portions.

About 30% or more of one side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 is adhered along a flat surface 12a which is an inner wall surface of the cartridge case 12 functioning as a support member. Therefore, the side surface 11
The bonded portion of a is fixedly attached to the flat surface 12a. here,
"A portion to be adhered is 30% or more" means a portion that comes into contact when the ink pack 11 containing a full amount of ink is placed on the flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12 held in a horizontal state or a vertical state. Is 100% or more, which means that the ratio is 30% or more.

The cartridge case 12 has a first support portion 12b on which the ink supply hole 6 is mounted and supported, and a first support portion 12b having the flat surface 12a connected in a direction perpendicular to the first support portion 12b. And two support portions 12c, and has a box shape.

The side surface 11a of the ink pack 11, which is adhered and fixed to the flat surface 12a, has a flat surface 12a of the ink cartridge 12 which is held horizontally or vertically. This is a portion that comes into contact when the pack 11 is placed, so that an unreasonable force does not act on the ink pack 11 by bonding and fixing.

As described above, about 30% or more of one side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 is
By adhering to the flat surface 12a of the second ink cartridge 3, regardless of the mounting state of the ink cartridge 3 to the cartridge mounting portion 4 (and thus the mounting direction of the ink pack 11), similarly, the other of the ink cartridges 3 The side surface 11b gradually approaches one side surface 11a, and the ink is consumed until the remaining amount of the ink inside decreases.

As the above-mentioned means for non-deformable attachment, in addition to the above-mentioned adhesive fixing using an adhesive, an adhesive fixing using a double-sided tape or the like can be adopted, so that it cannot be deformed along the flat surface 12a. Any means that can be attached is sufficient. In addition, the amount of ink used is reduced
From the viewpoint that almost no remaining amount of ink is generated at 00%, the area of the portion to be bonded and fixed is more preferably about 60% or more.

With the above construction, when the ink cartridge 3 is mounted, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink cartridge 3 is removably mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 4 so that the rubber member of the ink supply hole 6 is formed. Connection member 5 at 14
Is pierced and penetrated, so that ink can be supplied.

Then, one side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 is adhered to the flat surface 12a of the second support portion 12c of the cartridge case 12 so that it cannot be deformed. One side 11
“a” is not deformed because the deformation accompanying it is restricted, and maintains a flat state.

As a result, irrespective of the state of attachment of the ink cartridge 3 to the cartridge mounting portion 4 (accordingly, the direction of attachment of the ink pack 11), the other side surface 11b of the ink pack 11 is similarly caused by ink consumption. The ink is displaced so as to gradually approach one side surface 11a, and is consumed until the remaining amount of ink between both side surfaces 11a and 11b becomes small. Therefore, a large amount of used ink is ensured without being restricted by the mode of the cartridge mounting section 4 in which the ink cartridge 3 is mounted.

At this time, the ink pack 11 is removed from the peripheral portion 11c excluding the end where the ink supply hole 6 is provided.
Is formed in a bag shape having two opposing side surfaces 11a and 11b. The strength of the welded peripheral portion 11c is increased, and the peripheral portion 11c is harder to deform than other portions. With consumption, the above-mentioned adhesive fixing promotes the deformation of the other side surface 11b so as to gradually approach the one side surface 11a.

On the other hand, when the ink cartridge 3 is detached after using the ink, the ink member 3 is detached from the cartridge mounting portion 4 as shown in FIG.
Is pulled out, and the elasticity of the rubber member 14 causes the connecting member 5
Is closed.

Next, a description will be given of a test performed on the relationship between the area of adhesion between the flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12 and the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 and the amount of ink used.

Using the ink cartridge 3 according to the present invention in which the flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12 and the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 are adhered and fixed, the mounting direction of the ink pack 11 is as shown in FIGS. (C)
As shown in the figure, an upward state in which the ink supply holes 6 are upward, a horizontal vertical state in which the ink supply holes 6 are horizontal and become thin in the width direction, and a horizontal direction in which the ink supply holes 6 become horizontal and become thin in the height direction. In a horizontal position,
In each state, the amount of ink used was examined.

The state after use is as shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, and the test results are shown in FIG. The flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12
The adhesive area between the ink case 11 and the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 is the cartridge case 1 held in a horizontal state or a vertical state.
2 is shown as a ratio when a portion contacting the ink pack 11 in which the ink is stored on the flat surface 12a is set to 100%, and the amount of ink used is initially stored in the ink pack 11. It is shown as a ratio when the ink used is 100%. In FIG. 6, A, B, and C represent 94%, 91%, and 83%, respectively.

[Table 1] From the above test results, in any of the upward state, the horizontal vertical state, and the horizontal horizontal state, if the bonding area between the flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12 and the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 becomes large, It can be seen that the amount of ink used increases. Then, the flat surface 12a of the cartridge case 12 and the ink pack 1
If the bonding area with the side surface 11a of the first 1 is about 30% or more,
Regardless of the mounting direction of the ink pack 11, it is confirmed that the ink consumption reaches 90% or more and the ink consumption reaches about 100% when the bonding area is about 60% or more.

In the above-described embodiment, the bonding area between the flat surface 12a and the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11 is set to be 30% or more of the side surface 11a of the ink pack 11. It is not limited, and if there is a portion surrounded or sandwiched by the portion to be fixed and fixed, the area of the portion is also included. That is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C, portions 21a, 21b, 22a to 22c, and 23a to 2
If there are portions 31, 32, 33 surrounded or sandwiched by 3c, those portions 31, 32, 33 are also bonded and fixed to portions 21a, 21b, 22a to 22c and 23a to 23c.
As in the case of c, it is in the same state as being immovably mounted on the flat surface 12a, so that about 30% or more of the area including the area of such parts 31, 32, 33 becomes immovable. If so, a similar effect is achieved.

According to the present invention, regardless of the above-described embodiment, the ink pack 11 can be turned downward or inclined.
It can be used in various postures. The flat surface 12a to which the ink pack 11 is adhered may be not only a completely flat surface but also a surface which is slightly concavely curved. Further, the present invention can be applied not only to a printer as an output device of a computer, but also to an output device of various electronic devices and a printer unit such as a facsimile.

[0039]

The present invention is embodied in the form described above, and has the following effects.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, as described above, about 30% or more of the side surface of the ink pack that stores the ink therein is attached to the flat surface of the support member so as not to be deformed. As a result, the side of the non-attached side gradually approaches the side of the side where the ink pack is not deformed, until the remaining amount of ink decreases, regardless of the orientation of the ink pack. In addition, the ink can be consumed without waste. Therefore, it is possible to secure a large amount of used ink without being limited by the mode of the container mounting portion in which the ink container is mounted.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, an ink supply hole is attached to and supported by a first support portion of a support member, and an ink supply hole is provided on a flat surface of a second support portion connected to the first support portion. Since the side of the pack is immovably fixed, the ink pack can be supported by the support member with a simple structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a portion which comes into contact with an ink pack storing ink is mounted on a flat surface of a supporting member held in a horizontal state or a vertical state so as to be undeformed. As a result, the substantially central portion of the ink pack can be attached without deformation.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the portion surrounded or sandwiched by the portion to be fixed and fixed cannot be deformed on a flat surface similarly to the portion to be fixed and fixed. By effectively using the part surrounded or sandwiched, the same effect can be obtained with a small bonding area as when all are bonded.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, about 60% or more of the side surface of the ink pack is fixedly mounted on the flat surface of the support member, so that the amount of ink used is close to 100%. That is, almost all of the ink can be used, and the ink can be used without waste.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram when the ink cartridge according to the present invention is mounted.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when the ink cartridge according to the present invention is detached.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a state before use of the ink pack according to the present invention, wherein (a) shows a case where the supporting state is an upward state;
(B) shows the case where the support state is the horizontal and vertical state, and (c)
Indicates a case where the supporting state is the horizontal state and the horizontal state.

5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of a state after use of the ink pack according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 5A illustrates a case where the support state is an upward state;
(B) shows the case where the support state is the horizontal and vertical state, and (c)
Indicates a case where the supporting state is the horizontal state and the horizontal state.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an adhesion area of an ink pack and an amount of ink used in the ink pack.

FIGS. 7A, 7B, and 7C are explanatory views of another embodiment.

8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams of a state before use of a conventional ink pack. FIG. 8A illustrates a case where a supporting state is an upward state.
(B) shows the case where the support state is the horizontal and vertical state, and (c)
Indicates a case where the supporting state is the horizontal state and the horizontal state.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of a state after use of a conventional ink pack. FIG. 9A illustrates a case where a supporting state is an upward state.
(B) shows the case where the support state is the horizontal and vertical state, and (c)
Indicates a case where the supporting state is the horizontal state and the horizontal state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink jet recording apparatus 2 Print head 3 Ink cartridge 4 Cartridge mounting part 5 Connecting member 6 Ink supply hole part 7 Ink supply pipe 11 Ink pack 11a Side surface 11b Side surface 11c Peripheral part 12 Cartridge case 12a Flat surface 12b First support part 12c Second support portion 13 Fixture 14 Rubber member

Claims (5)

[Claims] A print head configured to discharge ink onto a recording medium to perform printing; an ink container storing ink supplied to the print head; and an ink container configured to guide ink in the ink container to the print head. An ink container mounting portion having a hollow needle-like ink supply pipe coupled to the ink container, the ink container used in an ink jet printer, the rubber container being formed of a flexible resin material into a sealed bag shape; An ink pack having an ink supply hole portion closed therein and storing ink therein; and a flat surface having about 30% or more of the side surface of the ink pack attached to the flat surface so as not to be deformed. An ink container comprising: a supporting member; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supporting member includes a first supporting portion to which the ink supply hole is attached and supported, and a second supporting portion provided to be connected to the first supporting portion and having the flat surface. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the ink container has the ink container. 3. An ink pack in which ink is stored is placed on a flat surface of a supporting member which is held in a horizontal state or a vertical state on a side surface of the supporting member which is fixedly mounted on a flat surface of the supporting member. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the ink container is a part that comes into contact when the ink container is made. 4. An ink pack is attached to a flat surface of the support member by bonding, and the side portion of the side surface to which the ink pack is not deformably mounted includes a portion surrounded or sandwiched by a portion to be bonded and fixed. The ink container according to claim 1. 5. A side portion of the ink pack which is fixedly mounted on the flat surface of the support member is approximately 60 parts.
% Of the ink container according to claim 1.