JP2000103079A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink cartridge in which ink can be supplied while keeping a correct negative pressure from start to end of use. SOLUTION: The ink cartridge for supplying liquid ink comprises an ink pack having a flexible bag for containing liquid ink while sealing hermetically, a cartridge body for containing the ink pack, a supporting spring 51 for imparting a negative pressure to the liquid ink contained in the ink pack by urging the bag in the ink pack, and a stopping part therefore wherein a negative pressure can be imparted with different urging forces depending on the capacity of ink, or the like, by releasing the supporting spring 51 at a specified quantity of used ink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink supply ink cartridge for applying an appropriate negative pressure to liquid ink of an image forming apparatus or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when an image is formed using a liquid ink by an image forming apparatus equipped with an ink jet head, a desired meniscus is formed by applying an appropriate negative pressure when supplying the liquid ink. Thus, an appropriate amount of ink is ejected, and high-quality printing can be performed. Here, if the negative pressure is too weak, ink dripping from the print head may occur, or ink flying may be scattered. Conversely, if the negative pressure is too strong, it is difficult to generate ink, and the printing cannot be performed properly due to fading of the ink and the inability to print.

In particular, in the case of a bag-shaped ink container made of a flexible material, it is necessary to apply a negative pressure by some method. For this reason, conventionally, one end of one leaf spring is attached to the outer box. It is fixed and a negative pressure is applied by urging the wall surface of the container using this leaf spring, or the ink container itself for supplying ink is rigidly laminated with a highly rigid synthetic resin film. There has been proposed an ink cartridge in which a negative pressure is applied to the ink cartridge.

[0004]

However, when an appropriate negative pressure is applied to the ink container at the beginning of use, as the amount of ink remaining in the ink container decreases with the use of the ink, the ink container becomes smaller. The wall of the container moves, and the point of application for applying a negative pressure moves. In this case, the negative pressure becomes too strong to maintain an appropriate negative pressure, and the ink may be blurred, and the ink in the ink container cannot be used sufficiently.

On the other hand, if the urging force is set to be low so that the negative pressure does not become too strong even if the ink remaining amount becomes small, the negative pressure at the beginning of use becomes too weak, causing ink dropping or ink splashing. There has been a problem that proper printing cannot be performed due to scattering and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and always supplies an appropriate negative pressure to the liquid ink in an ink container regardless of the amount of ink used. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink cartridge according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: an ink pack comprising a flexible bag for sealingly containing liquid ink; A storage container for storing the ink pack, a first urging unit for urging the bag body of the ink pack to apply a negative pressure to the liquid ink contained in the ink pack, and a first urging unit. A second urging means for applying a negative pressure with a small force and a releasing means for releasing the urging by the first urging means are provided.

[0008] In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Because it has release means for releasing the first biasing means,
Negative pressure can be applied with different urging forces in accordance with the ink capacity and the like. Therefore, by adjusting the negative pressure of the supplied liquid ink, an appropriate negative pressure suitable for printing can be obtained, a desired meniscus can be formed, and a high-quality image can be formed.

In the ink cartridge according to the second aspect,
In addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to claim 1, the release unit includes a locking portion fixed to the ink pack, and a locking claw that locks the locking portion of the first urging unit. The position of the locking portion is displaced by the decrease of the ink in the ink pack, and the engagement of the locking claw engaged with the locking portion is released by the displacement of the position of the locking portion. It is characterized by being comprised so that it may be performed.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the first urging means is configured to be released by using the locking portion that is displaced according to the amount of ink used, the urging force can be adjusted according to the amount of ink used. Therefore,
Irrespective of the use of the ink, an appropriate urging force can be applied to the ink to supply a negative pressure suitable for printing.

In the ink cartridge according to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the first or second aspect, the release means may be configured so that the ink pack is provided on a part of an inner wall of the storage container. A plate in which the locking portion is fixed to the opposite side of the fixed portion of the ink pack, and the first urging means is fixed at one end at a predetermined support point on the inner wall of the storage container. When the ink pack is filled with the liquid ink in a predetermined amount or more, the locking claw is engaged with the engaging portion to urge the ink pack to apply a negative pressure to the ink pack. And, when the ink pack is displaced by decreasing below the predetermined amount, the engaging portion is displaced away from the support point of the first urging means and engaged by the engaging portion. Was configured to be released And it features.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
If a certain amount of ink is used, the wall surface of the ink pack moves by a certain amount, and by using this movement of the wall surface, when a certain amount of ink is used, the first urging means is automatically released, and It is possible to switch to an appropriate urging force by the second urging means, and to apply an appropriate negative pressure to the ink to be supplied irrespective of the amount of ink used.

In the ink cartridge according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, the releasing means guides the displacement of the engaging portion. It is characterized by having.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the guide portion guides the engaging portion, the trajectory displaced in accordance with the use of the ink is regulated. Therefore, the distance from the support point of the first urging means changes accurately according to the amount of ink used, so that the first urging means can be accurately released when the predetermined amount of ink is used. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the release means guides the leading end position of the locking claw. It is characterized by having a part.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the locking claw is guided by the guide portion, the position of the tip of the locking claw is regulated by the guide portion and is displaced regularly. Therefore, the first urging means can be accurately released when the predetermined amount of ink is used.

In the ink cartridge according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second urging means is provided by the elasticity of the ink pack itself. It is characterized by being active.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the second urging means is based on the elasticity of the ink pack itself, a compact structure can be provided without separately providing an urging means.

In the ink cartridge according to the present invention, in addition to the constitution of the ink cartridge according to the sixth aspect, the ink pack is formed by laminating a plurality of synthetic resins on the wall surface to increase rigidity. It is characterized by vigor.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
The rigidity can be increased by laminating a plurality of synthetic resins on the wall surface of the ink pack. Therefore, an appropriate negative pressure can be applied to the supplied ink.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second biasing means includes a leaf spring attached thereto. It is characterized by being energized.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the second urging means is a leaf spring, an appropriate urging force can be provided by adjusting the elastic force of the leaf spring regardless of the material of the ink pack. Therefore, adjustment with a high degree of freedom becomes possible.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink cartridge according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, further comprising a plurality of the ink packs.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
By providing a plurality of ink packs, it is possible to cope with color printing and a printing apparatus that expresses multiple gradations.
In this case, the cost can be reduced by sharing the members.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, an ink cartridge is provided in the storage container from the ink pack stored in the storage container. And a rubber-like member extending a hollow needle-like ink extraction needle for ink extraction.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
The ink can be extracted by the ink extraction needle, and the structure of the ink pack itself can be simplified. In addition, even if the ink should leak from between the ink pack and the ink extraction needle, the ink extraction section with the rubber-like member does not leak any more. And the printing apparatus can be prevented from being stained with ink.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the ink cartridge is provided with an ink cartridge in an image forming apparatus having an inkjet head. It is characterized by supplying.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
In particular, even with an ink jet head using a liquid ink that is susceptible to the negative pressure of the supplied liquid ink, it is possible to supply a liquid ink with a properly adjusted negative pressure, so that an appropriate meniscus is formed. High quality images can be formed.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the eleventh aspect, the ink cartridge supplies ink to the inkjet head via a tube. .

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Even when the liquid ink is supplied to the inkjet head via a tube, the range of adjusting the biasing force is wide regardless of the pressure due to the height difference, so that the liquid ink supplied with an appropriate negative pressure is supplied. be able to. Therefore, the liquid ink can be appropriately supplied to the printing apparatus having such a configuration, and a high-quality image can be formed.

[0031]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Here, FIG.
1 is a partially cutaway perspective view schematically showing an internal structure of the portable printer 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the portable printer 1 of the portable printer 1 includes a large ink cartridge 8 and a small ink cartridge 9 (hereinafter abbreviated as ink cartridges 8 and 9) disposed at predetermined positions. The ink is supplied from the ink cartridges 8 and 9 to the print head right 15 and the print head left 16 (hereinafter abbreviated as print heads 15 and 16), and the ink is supplied to the print head 1.
Nozzle right 15a and nozzle left 16 arranged at 5, 16
a (hereinafter abbreviated as nozzles 15a and 16a), ink is ejected onto the printing paper PP while reciprocating the carriage 27 on which the print heads 15 and 16 are mounted in the main scanning direction which is a direction orthogonal to the paper conveying direction. This is for printing.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a portable printer 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the portable printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 which is a case formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. A paper discharge port 4 which is a rectangular opening formed wide in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the portable printer 1 is formed at a lower substantially central portion of the printer main body 3. The paper discharge port 4 is an opening for discharging the printed printing paper PP, and has a longitudinal width corresponding to the paper width of the printing paper PP. In the portable printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the width of the paper discharge port 4 in the longitudinal direction is formed to be larger than the A4 size paper width (about 210 mm). An opening / closing lid 7 for exchanging the ink cartridges 8 and 9 is provided at an upper portion of the printer main body 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the arrow X in the figure indicates the direction of conveyance of the printing paper PP, and the arrow Y in the figure indicates the direction of movement of the print heads 15 and 16 during main scanning.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer body 3 also serves as a substantially rectangular box-shaped body frame 6, and a rectangular shelf-shaped cartridge frame 5 is provided in the upper space 1a of the body frame 6. A partition plate 5a is provided on the entire rear side below the cartridge frame 5 to partition the upper space 1a and the lower space 1b, and the front side is open to the lower space 1b. The ink cartridges 8, 9 are arranged horizontally with the upper ends aligned with the cartridge frame 5 above the partition plate 5a.

In the lower space 1b of the main body frame 6 of the portable printer 1, an arrow Y and an anti-arrow Y
The print heads 15 and 16 are mounted on a carriage 27 that can reciprocate in the direction along the main scanning direction. The print heads 15 and 16 perform printing by discharging ink. A nozzle right 15a is disposed on the lower surface on the right side of the print head 15, and a large number of nozzles configured by piezo elements (piezoelectric elements) are provided. Two nozzle rows including the openings 18 are formed along the paper transport direction X. One of these nozzle rows is filled with magenta ink supplied from each ink pack of the large ink pack 8a, and the other row is filled with black ink.
A similarly configured nozzle left 16a is also provided on the lower surface of the print head left 16, and is filled with yellow and cyan inks. And, by these nozzle rows, yellow,
Magenta, cyan, and black inks are ejected to enable color printing.

According to the print heads 15 and 16, when a voltage is applied to the plurality of nozzles 15a and 16a formed of piezo elements, a distortion proportional to the voltage value is generated in the nozzles 1 and 16.
5a, 16a, the nozzles 15a, 16a contract. Due to this shrinkage, the ink filled in the cavities in the nozzle openings 18 of the nozzles 15a and 16a is removed from the printing paper P.
It is discharged to P and printing is performed.

The cartridge frame 5 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 above the print heads 15, 16
, Two ink cartridges 8, 9 formed in a substantially rectangular box shape are detachably stored in a horizontal state.

Of the ink cartridges 8, 9, the ink cartridge large 8 arranged on the left side in FIG.
Contains a large ink pack 8a filled with ink ejected from the print head right 15, and the large ink pack 8a is composed of two ink packs, each of which is filled with one color of magenta and one color of black ink. Have been. A lower part of the ink cartridge 8 is provided with a waste ink reservoir 8b which is a space for storing waste ink sucked by a purge operation for preventing clogging of the print heads 15, 16 described later.

On the other hand, on the right side of the large ink cartridge 8, a substantially rectangular box-shaped small ink cartridge 9 is removably disposed adjacent to the large ink cartridge 8 in a horizontal position with its upper end aligned. This ink cartridge 9 is
Like the large ink cartridge 8, the ink cartridge contains a small ink pack 9 a composed of two ink packs filled with ink ejected from the print head left 16. The two ink packs contain yellow and cyan inks, respectively. Is filled. The small ink cartridge 9 and the small ink pack 9a are formed smaller than the large ink cartridge 8 and the large ink pack 8a, and contain a small amount of ink. Specifically, the ink pack large 8a contains 8 ml of ink for each color, and the ink pack small 9a contains 5 ml of ink for each color.
Each ml of ink is stored. This is based on the assumption that the ink ejection amounts of the nozzles 15a and 16a of the print heads 15 and 16 are different.

Further, the structure common to the ink cartridges 8 and 9 will be described in detail by taking the small ink cartridge 9 as an example. Here, FIG. 9 shows the ink pack 9 as the Z of FIG.
FIG. 13 is a plan view of the cartridge main body 91 viewed from above with the lid of the cartridge main body 91 omitted from the Z line. As shown in FIG. 9, the ink cartridge small 9 is covered with a cartridge body 91 made of a hard synthetic resin such as polypropylene having a hollow rectangular box shape inside, and an ink pack storage section for storing the ink pack small 9a therein. 92 and two ink packs 9
a and 9a are stored. Two extraction ports 98 are provided on the side surface in the longitudinal direction of the ink cartridge main body 91.
The extraction port 98 is provided with a cylindrical opening at a place where the ink extraction needle 10 is inserted, and a disc-shaped rubber plate is fitted and fixed in the opening. Then, the pointed tip of the ink extraction needle 10 is pierced by penetrating the rubber plate, and further penetrated into the insertion portion 9c of the ink pack small 9a to extract the ink at the tip of the ink extraction needle 10 from inside the ink pack small 9a. The ink is extracted from the hole 10a through the ink extraction needle 10 having a hollow inside.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of the small ink pack 9a stored in the ink pack storing section 92, and FIG. 8B is a side view of the small ink pack 9a. As shown in FIG.
The ink packs 8a and 9a housed in the inside of the cartridge 9 are formed in a substantially rectangular bag body, and a laminated structure film in which a plurality of, for example, about ten, film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like are laminated. It is formed of a material. Then, this sheet is folded in two and the surroundings are welded by heat to seal the ink. Therefore, ink pack small 9a
The rigidity can be given to the wall surface itself of the bag body, and even if the ink capacity in the ink pack small 9a decreases with the use of the ink, it is not immediately crushed by the atmospheric pressure,
This resists the atmospheric pressure and maintains a constant shape. Therefore, when the ink amount is relatively large, the urging force does not work so strongly, but when the internal capacity decreases, the urging force increases, and a sufficient negative pressure can be applied to the contained ink. Conversely, when the amount of ink used is small, the biasing force of the wall surface of the ink pack small 9a cannot apply a sufficient negative pressure to the contained ink.

The joining portions 9b at this time are provided on the upper, lower, left side in FIG. 8A. The ink extraction needle 1 is located at the right central portion in FIG.
An insertion portion 9c into which 0 is inserted is provided. The insertion portion 9c has nothing in particular. When the ink extraction needle 10 is inserted therein, the resin around the ink extraction needle 10 becomes elastic due to the elasticity of the resin of the bag itself of the ink pack small 9a.
The ink does not leak due to the close contact with zero.

FIG. 7A shows a supporting spring 51 and a locking portion 52.
FIG. 7 (B) is a plan view of a state before locking is performed.
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which the support spring 51 and the locking portion 52 are locked in the same direction. Further, FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge small 9 in a state where the ink is fully filled, as viewed from the line XI-XI in FIG. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 7 and 12, a locking claw 51 b and a locking groove 52 b for locking the support spring 51 and the ink pack small 9 a will be described.
The configuration will be described.

As shown in FIG. 7A, the support spring 51
Is a member formed by stamping and bending a leaf spring having elasticity entirely made of a stainless steel plate, and having a partially cut-out R-shaped outer peripheral portion 51a and the outer peripheral portion 51a provided in the cartridge main body 90. A fixing portion 51c which is a pair of bent protrusions for fixing to a slit (not shown).
(See FIG. 12). In addition, a locking claw 51b is provided at a distal end opposite to the fixing portion 51c. As shown in FIG. 12, the locking claw 51b is a portion bent downward and horizontally bent again in the distal end direction (the direction opposite to the fixing portion 51c). This is a part that is inserted into 52b and is hung on the periphery of the locking groove 52b.

In such a configuration, the main body case 90
The angle formed by the outer peripheral portion 51a fixed to the ink pack small 9a via the fixing portion 51c fixed to the
The angle is smaller than the angle formed by the fixed portion 51c and the outer peripheral portion 51a in a free state. That is, the main body case 90
The outer peripheral portion 51a fixed to the ink pack small 9a via the fixing portion 51c fixed to the
1 tries to return to the original formed angle by its own elasticity. Therefore, since the fixing portion 51c is fixed to the main body case 90 by a slit (not shown) so as not to move,
The support spring 51 is connected to the ink pack
In order to return the outer peripheral portion 51a fixed to a to the original angle, an urging force is applied to pull up the wall surface of the bag body of the ink pack small 9a. Therefore, since the wall surface of the bag of the ink pack small 9a is urged in such a direction as to increase the volume of the bag, the pressure applied to the liquid ink inside is not changed unless the contents of the inside are changed. And the liquid ink can be given an appropriate negative pressure.

On the other hand, the lower portion of the locking portion 51 has an adhesive portion 52d.
Are fixed to the upper surface of the ink pack 9a with a double-sided tape. As shown in FIG. 12, the main body 52a of the locking portion 52 is a groove that has a central portion that is convex upward and a locking claw 51b enters the central portion of the convex portion in the cross section in the horizontal direction in FIG. A stop groove 52b is provided. And this locking groove 52
The engaging claw 51b of the supporting spring 51 described above is advanced into the ink pack small 9a by engaging the engaging claw 51b of the supporting spring 51 into the leading edge side (right side in FIG. 12) of the engaging groove 52b.
To convey the biasing force. Further, a projection is provided at each end in the vertical direction in FIG. 7A as a guide claw 52c. The guide claw 52c is fitted in a groove formed in a pair of guide rails 53 provided to face the inside of the ink pack storage portion 91 of the cartridge main body 90, and provided so as to slide along the groove. Can be The two guide rails 53 are provided in parallel and in a vertical direction, and are engaged with the locking portions 52 that move as the ink of the small ink 9a of the ink pack decreases.
Is restricted in the horizontal direction, and the locking portion 52 is guided so as to move in the vertical direction.

Next, FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the relationship between the support spring 51 and the locking portion 52 of the present embodiment configured as described above. In this figure, D1 indicates the thickness when the ink pack small 9a is filled with the full amount of ink. D2 is a small ink pack 9a when the capacity is reduced by using ink.
Indicates the thickness when the lock is released from the locking groove 52b. P0
Represents the center when the support spring 51 swings, and L1 is
The horizontal distance from P0 to the tip of the locking claw is shown. Also,
L2 represents a plane distance from P to the peripheral edge of the locking groove 52b of the locking portion 52 on the distal end side. In FIG. 10, the tip of the locking claw 51b when the ink pack small 9a is fully filled with ink is located at the position indicated by P1, and the peripheral edge of the locking groove 52b of the locking portion 52 on the distal end side. Is represented by P3, the locking claw 51b and the locking groove 52b are L1-L2
, And L1 in this case is L2
The support spring 5 is urged upward in the figure because it is longer.
1 is locked by the locking portion 52.

Here, when the ink of the small ink pack 9a is used, the tip of the locking claw 51b, which was located at P1, gradually moves downward, and moves along an arc-shaped locus with the point P0 as the center of swing. To move while drawing, hook claw 5
The horizontal position of the tip of 1b moves to the left in FIG. Then, when the leading end position of the hook claw 51b reaches P2 due to the decrease in ink, L1 = L2, and the hook claw 5b
The tip of 1b and the peripheral edge of the locking groove 52b no longer overlap, and locking becomes impossible, and the support spring 51 is jumped upward by its own elastic force. Therefore, thereafter, the ink pack small 9 a does not receive the urging force from the support spring 51. That is, the ink contained in the small ink pack 9a generates a negative pressure due to the elastic force derived from the rigidity of the small ink pack 9a itself.

The ink cartridges 8, 9 are disposed above the print heads 15, 16, so that the print heads 15,
Although ink is supplied to the ink cartridges 16, the large ink cartridges 8 and the small ink cartridges 9 are stored in the same horizontal attitude at the same height. The nozzles 15 of the print heads 15 and 16 are arranged on the same horizontal plane.
Since a and 16a are also arranged on the same horizontal plane, the inks of the respective colors stored in the ink packs 8a and 9a are configured to have the same height difference between the nozzles corresponding to the respective colors of ink. Therefore, the water pressure on the nozzles generated from the height difference can be kept constant, the internal pressures of the nozzles of the respective colors become uniform, and uniform ink can be supplied.

By maintaining the ink supply pressure of the ink supplied to the print heads 15 and 16 at a uniform negative pressure, the ink liquid level at the nozzle openings 18 of the nozzles 15a and 16a of the print heads 15 and 16 becomes concave. Are formed, and these internal pressures are kept uniform, so that the ejection properties of the ink ejected from the nozzles 15a, 16a of the print heads 15, 16 are maintained uniformly, and the print quality is maintained in good condition. be able to. For example, in the print heads 15 and 16 of the present embodiment, the ink supply pressure is substantially zero with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
mmAq (water column) or less and approximately -300 mmAq (water column)
Within the above range (operating pressure range), the nozzles 15a,
A concave meniscus can be formed on the ink liquid surface in the nozzle opening 16a (not shown). Note that the optimum operating pressure range (optimum operating pressure range) of the print heads 15 and 16 when printing is performed by the portable printer 1 of the present embodiment is as follows.
Less than about -0 mmAq (water column) and about -1 with respect to atmospheric pressure
It is a pressure value of 00 mmAq (water column) or more. In the present embodiment, the nozzles 15a of the print heads 15 and 16,
Since the drop between the ink storage position of the ink pack 16a and the ink storage position of the ink pack is about 60 mm, the negative pressure inside the ink packs 8, 9 is
-60mmAq (water column) or less and approximately -160mmAq
(Water column) It is required that the pressure value is equal to or higher than that, and the pressure is adjusted to an appropriate negative pressure by the support spring 51 and the container itself of the ink packs 8a and 9a.

In the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 in FIG.
A control unit 34 including an input buffer memory, a head driving IC, and the like is provided. Four FPCs (flexible printed cables) for applying a voltage to each head are connected to the control unit 34, and a rear edge portion of the control unit 34 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 (the back side in FIG. 2). ), Four head driving FPCs 35 are stacked, and
At the rear edge (rear side in FIG. 2) of the large ink cartridge 8 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, an ink supply tube 12 which is connected to ink cartridges 8 and 9 described later and which is vertically stacked is provided. Are stacked on the near side in FIG. 2 and joined to the upper portions of the print heads 15 and 16. The FPC 35 for driving a head is a film-shaped one in which a wiring pattern to be a conductive layer is formed on a polyimide base material, and this is further covered with a protective film.

FIG. 4 shows the portable printer 1 as shown in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the IV line viewed from the right. For convenience, CR motor (carriage motor) 3
0 is omitted. In the upper part of FIG. 4, the ink packs 8a and 9a stored in the ink cartridges 8 and 9 described above are provided.
In addition, ink extraction needles 10 are pierced for each color. Each of the ink extraction needles 10 is provided with an ink pack 8a,
9a to extract the ink filled inside 9a,
It is formed of a metal material such as stainless steel having corrosion resistance, a ceramic material, or the like. The ink extraction needle 10 is formed in a hollow needle shape, and the ink extraction needle 10
The ink packs 8a, 9
extraction hole 10 which is an opening for extracting ink in a
a is provided, and the extraction hole 10a is
It is formed to communicate with the space inside. For this reason, when the ink extraction needle 10 is inserted into the ink packs 8a and 9a, the ink packs 8a and 9a are inserted by the extraction holes 10a.
The ink in 9 a can flow into the space in the ink extraction needle 10.

In the large ink cartridge 8, a waste ink tube 66 (FIG.
Injection needle 70 for injecting waste ink carried by
Is stabbed into the first waste liquid chamber 83 of the waste ink, and the waste ink is injected.

As shown in FIG. 4, at the rear edge of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 (right side in FIG. 4), each ink extracted from the ink packs 8a and 9a is inserted into four ink packs. The base of the needle 10 (the opposite end (see FIG. 4)
The right end of the joint member 11 is joined to one end side of the joint member 11 bent in a substantially L shape. On the other hand, ink supply tubes 12 are connected to the other end sides of these joint members 11, respectively. Each of the joint members 11 is formed in a hollow tubular shape, and a communication hole (not shown) communicating with the extraction hole 10a of the ink extraction needle 10 is formed in the inside thereof. Each of the supply tubes 12 is a flexible, substantially hollow cylindrical circular tube formed of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, or the like. 16 to supply ink.

In the present embodiment, each supply tube 1
Reference numeral 2 is a TYGON (registered trademark) tube manufactured by NORTON, and has a tube thickness of about 0.5 mm or more and about 1.5 mm or less, and a tube inner diameter of about 0.5 mm or more and about 0.5 mm. It is made of 1.5 mm or less. For example, each supply tube 12 of the present embodiment has a tube wall thickness of approximately 0.8 mm and a tube inner diameter of approximately 0.8 mm, and has an outer diameter (length twice as large as the tube wall thickness and tube inner diameter). And a TYGON tube of about 2.4 mm.
The minimum value (minimum radius of curvature) of the radius of curvature R of the curved portion in a state where each supply tube 12 is bent is approximately 20 mm.
It is.

The four supply tubes 12 will be further described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. To explain the ink supply of each color at the substantially central portion of the rear edge portion (the back side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, FIG. Each of the supply tubes 12 joined to the packs 8a and 9a is fitted with an elongated square-shaped binder (not shown), stacked vertically and bundled in a row, and furthermore, on the near side, that is, Inside the curved supply tube 12,
The supply tube 12 is connected to the control unit 34 and further laminated with the four head driving FPCs 35 that are laminated, and the supply tube 12 is disposed on the back side, that is, outside the curved supply tube 12 due to interference with the main body frame 6. A protective film 14 for protection is laminated.

The protective film 14 is a protective member that is disposed so as to smoothly slide when the ink supply tube 12 comes into contact with the inner wall of the main body frame 6. A material formed of a material having low adhesiveness and low tackiness in a film shape is used. Protective film 14
The print head 1 needs to be self-supporting, and is integrated with the supply tube 12 and the head driving FPC 35.
It is necessary to bend so as to move with the movement of 5, 16 and its thickness is preferably about 25 μm or more and 300 μm or less.
In the present embodiment, it is formed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of about 100 μm.

The rear edge portion of the upper space 1a (far side in FIG. 2)
At the approximate center of the head drive FP from the near side.
C35, supply tube 12, and protective film 14 are laminated in this order. These members are a binder 1 having a sun shape having a wide portion and a narrow portion of the opening.
3 binds at predetermined intervals. The narrow portion of the binder 13 is tightly fixed to the supply tube 12 so that the four rows of the supply tube 12 do not collapse. The wide portion of the binder 13 has a width 4 to 5 times the width of the narrow portion, and the four head driving FPCs 35 are bundled so as not to be largely separated from the bundle of the four supply tubes 12 stacked. And the interior is free to slide. For this reason, even if these bundles are curved, a sufficient space for the head FPC 35 to escape to the inside is secured, so that the bending is not hindered and the bundle can be easily curved. it can. Further, a protective film 14 is provided on the outside of the binder 13 to supply the tube 12.
It is arranged so that it covers.

The four supply tubes 12 and the head driving FPC 35 bundled by the above-mentioned binder 13 at approximately 5 cm intervals are maintained on the same plane on the partition plate 5a while the laminated state is maintained. It is curved from the upper right hand direction to the front direction, and is further directed to the print head direction at the front edge portion (the front side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, and in FIG. Since it is at the initial position, it is curved to the left and is joined to the joints above the print heads 15 and 16. The inks of each color pass through the respective supply tubes 12 and pass through the predetermined print heads 1 of the respective colors.
It is conveyed to 5,16.

Further, since the supply tubes 12 are bundled and arranged in a vertically stacked state by the above-mentioned binder 13, the supply tubes 12 are placed in the direction of gravity (the lower side in FIG. 2).
It can be prevented from hanging and bending toward. In addition, since the above-mentioned partition plate 5a is disposed below the supply tube 12, the four supply tubes 12 are supported from below by the partition plate 5a, and each supply tube 12 hangs down in the direction of gravity and is bent. Can be prevented. In addition, the head drive FPC 35 having elasticity similar to the elastic protective film 14.
Because the four stacked supply tubes 12 are sandwiched between them, it is possible to prevent sharp bends at portions other than the above-mentioned curved portions, and therefore the supply tubes 12 are bent or bent at sharp angles. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the inner cross-sectional area becomes small and energy loss of ink flowing in each supply tube 12 occurs. In addition, since the projection 84 (see FIG. 4) of the waste ink reservoir 8b of the large ink cartridge 8 is provided inside the curved supply tube 12, unintended bending at this portion can be prevented.

Here, the laminated bundle of the protective film 14, the supply tube 12, and the head driving FPC 35 is
For convenience, it is referred to as a harness 17. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the harness 17 is joined to the upper portion of the print heads 15 and 16 from a substantially central portion of the rear edge portion (the back side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a, and the print heads 15 and 16 move. Harness 1
(A), (B), and (C) show the state of 7 as viewed from above with a part omitted from the line III-III in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, the Y direction is the main scanning direction.

FIG. 3A shows that the print heads 15, 16
This shows the state at the initial position before printing. That is,
The right print head 15 is at the left end of the print area 43 on the platen. This state represents the state located on the leftmost side in the figure. This state is also a state in which the print head left 16 is located above the flushing area left 42 at the same time. In this case, the harness 17 is in a state where the protective film 14 is pressed against the front wall (the lower side in FIG. 3A) of the main body frame 6 in order to stretch straight by its own elasticity. From this state, as shown in FIG.
The R motor 30 is rotated by application of a voltage,
7, the print heads 15 and 16 are moved rightward in the figure, that is, in the main scanning direction Y.
The harness 17 joined to this also moves according to this.
In this case, the harness 17 moves while sliding the protective film 14 on the front wall of the main body frame 6 with the protective film 14 pressed against the front wall (the lower side in FIG. 3A) of the main body frame 6. .

FIG. 3B shows a state in which the carriage 27 has moved in the Y direction. In this position, the harness 17 is located on the rear wall of the main frame 6 (FIG. 3B)
(The upper side), and the length of the harness 17 at the curved portion is shortened. Therefore, the harness 17 that has been in contact with the front wall (the lower side in FIG. The state is away from the front wall of the frame 6. Accordingly, the resistance of the movement of the carriage 27 is reduced, and the load on the CR motor 30 is reduced.

FIG. 3C shows a state in which the carriage 27 is further moved in the Y direction and is at the rightmost end. In this state, the print head right 15 is above the flushing area right 41. In this state, harness 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a state separated from the front wall (the lower side in FIG. 3C) of the main body frame 6. Therefore, there is no sliding resistance with the front wall of the main body frame 6.

In this embodiment, as described above, 2
By providing a nozzle row of color in one print head,
Although the print head is made compact, it is of course possible to configure each nozzle row for discharging each ink with a separate print head. The choice depends on the balance between production costs and the need for compactness. Therefore, the number of heads is not limited to two, but may be several.

The arrow X in FIG. 4 indicates the direction in which the printing paper PP is transported. As shown in FIG. 4, an insertion port 22 for inserting unused printing paper PP is formed in the lower rear part of the printer main body 3 (right side in FIG. 4). The transport direction of the printing paper PP inserted from the insertion port 22 (arrow X
In the downstream direction (in the direction), a transport roller 23 driven by an LF motor (line feed motor) 31 for transporting the print paper PP, and a pressing roller 24 for pressing the print paper PP against the transport roller 23 are provided. Are arranged, and the two cooperate to press and convey the printing paper PP while sandwiching them.

On the downstream side of the conveying roller 23 and the pressing roller 24, the printing paper PP discharged from the conveying roller 23
Paper discharge roller 25 driven by an LF motor 31 for discharging paper to the outside of the printer main body 3, and the paper discharge roller 25
And a pressing roller 26 for pressing the printing paper PP. The paper discharging roller 25 and the pressing roller 26 cooperate to discharge the printing paper PP from the paper discharging port 4.

The transport roller 23 and the paper discharge roller 25
The print heads 15 and 16 described above are disposed above the printing paper PP located between the printing heads. Print head 15, 1
6 can reciprocate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4, that is, in directions indicated by arrows Y and Y in FIG. 2 along a guide bar 29 laid across the body frame 6 of the printer body 3. It is detachably mounted on the carriage 27. The plurality of nozzles 15 for discharging ink onto the printing paper PP sandwiched by the transport rollers 23 and the like are provided on the side of the printing paper PP of the print heads 15 and 16.
a, 16a are formed.

Next, the carriage 27 on which the print heads 15 and 16 are mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Carriage 27 disposed in main body lower space 1b
Is provided such that a guide bar 29 extending in the main scanning direction is penetrated to the rear side (the right side in FIG. 4), and is movable in the main scanning direction while being guided by the guide bar. Then, a timing belt 36 is wound around a driving pulley 38 and a driven pulley 39 disposed at the left end of FIG. 2 while being supported by the rotation shaft of the CR motor 30 disposed at the right end of FIG. The carriage 27 is fixed at one position. When a voltage is applied to the CR motor 30 by the control unit 34, the CR motor 30 rotates to rotate the driving pulley 38, rotate the timing belt 36, and guide the carriage 27 to the guard bar 29 while moving the carriage 27 in the main scanning direction. (FIG. 2 Y direction and anti-Y direction). In order to recognize the position of the carriage 27, the carriage 27
A timing fence 33 is provided on the back side (right side in FIG. 4).

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the portable printer 1 taken along the line VV in FIG. 4, and the arrow Y in the figure shows the moving direction of the carriage 27. Note that the discharge roller 2
5 omits the central part.

As shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 27 is reciprocated in the left-right direction (the direction of the arrow Y and the direction opposite to the arrow Y) of FIG. 5 above the main body frame 6 disposed on the right side of the printer main body 3. A CR motor 30 for supplying a driving force is provided, and an LF motor 31 for rotating the transport roller 23 and the discharge roller 25 is provided below the CR motor 30.

In the case of the portable printer of this embodiment, ink is prepared in advance from the nozzles 15a and 16a in the flushing areas 41 and 42 at the beginning and end of the printing operation and every time 10 seconds have elapsed after the printing operation. The flushing operation for preventing clogging is performed by replacing the ink whose viscosity has increased in the nozzle port 18 by discharging the discharged ink into the absorber, with new ink.

Next, the purge operation and its mechanism will be described. The purging operation is mainly intended to prevent the nozzles 15a and 16a of the print heads 15 and 16 from being clogged as in the flushing described above. The purge operation is performed when the print heads 15 and 1 are not used.
6 is covered with anti-drying caps 62 and 63 to prevent drying. However, since the sealing degree of the caps 62 and 63 is not perfect and drying proceeds gradually, when not used for a long time, In some cases, the viscosity of the ink in the nozzles 15a and 16a increases due to drying, and the above-described flushing operation makes it impossible to discharge the high-viscosity ink. In such a case, the high-viscosity ink in the nozzles 15a and 16a is forcibly discharged by the suction pump 65 using the caps 62 and 63.

Next, a method of using the portable printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. When the power is turned on after the cartridges 8 and 9 are installed, before starting printing,
A purge operation is performed prior to printing in order to suck and discharge ink that has dried or air bubbles containing nozzles 18 or ink to which dust or the like has adhered, and performs good printing. The initial position when the power is turned on is the nozzle 15 of the print heads 15 and 16.
6a and 16a are sealed by caps 62 and 63, so that the pump drive gear 61 is driven by the LF motor 31 through the LF motor gear 37 as shown in FIG.
And the purge operation is performed.

Thereafter, the operation of the carriage 27 is confirmed, and the carriage 27 is stopped at the initial position at the start of printing. When the unused printing paper PP is inserted into the insertion slot 22 of the portable printer 1, the printing paper PP is transported below the print heads 15 and 16 by the transport roller 23 and the pressing roller 24 rotated by the LF motor 31. Is done. When the transported print paper PP passes below the print heads 15 and 16 which are reciprocated in the main scanning direction (direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction) in the arrow Y or counter-arrow Y direction, Printing is performed using ink ejected from the 16 nozzles 15a and 16a.

The ink filled in the ink packs 8a, 9a of the ink cartridges 8, 9 is filled with the ink extraction needles 1 inserted into the ink packs 8a, 9a, respectively.
0, flows into each ink extraction needle 10 from each extraction hole 10a, passes through each communication hole (not shown) of each joint member 11, flows into the four supply tubes 12, respectively.
The print heads 15, 1 are supplied to the print heads 15, 16,
No. 6 are discharged from the nozzles 15a and 16a. The printed printing paper PP is printed by a discharge roller 25 and a pressing roller 26 rotated by an LF motor 31.
The paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 4.

As described above, the print heads 15 and 16
It is mounted on a carriage 27 driven by a CR motor 30 and reciprocates in a lower space 1b of the portable printer 1 in directions indicated by arrows Y and counter-arrows in FIG. 2, and ejects ink from nozzles 15a and 16a. To print.
As described above, when the print heads 15 and 16 are mounted on the carriage 27 and reciprocate, the four supply tubes 12 connected to the upper portions of the print heads 15 and 16 are connected to the print head 1.
It is reciprocated along with the movement of 5,16. Print head 1
When the transfer tubes 5 and 16 move to the right side (the right side in FIG. 2) of the lower space 1b of the portable printer 1, the supply tubes 12
Are curved toward the print heads 15 and 16,
The curved portion (bent portion) is supported by a partition plate 5a in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, and the portable printer 1
Of the print heads 15, 16 disposed in the upper space la of the print head.

The print head 1 is added to the flushing area at the beginning and end of printing and about every 10 seconds during printing.
The flushing operation is performed with 5 and 16 saved. Then, after the printing is completed, the carriage 27 is
2 and 63, and the LF motor 31
The driving force is transmitted to the pump drive gear 61 via the motor gear 37, the purging operation is performed once, and the cap 6
2 and 63 stop at the raised position, and the nozzles 15a and 16
a is sealed by caps 62 and 63,
Drying of the nozzles 15a and 16a when not in use is prevented.

Here, the common operation of the ink cartridges 8 and 9 of the present embodiment will be described using the ink cartridge 9. FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the small ink pack in a state where the ink is filled, as viewed from the line XI-XI in FIG.

In this state, the ink pack 9a is full of ink. Therefore, the support spring 51 is urged upward so as to apply a negative pressure to the ink pack small 9a by its elasticity. However, the deformation of the support spring is small and the urging force is relatively small.

On the other hand, the lower surface of the ink pack small 9 a is adhered and fixed with a double-sided tape while being in contact with the floor surface of the ink pack housing 92.

Here, when the ink is consumed and the volume of the ink in the small ink pack 9a decreases, the volume of the small ink pack 9a decreases according to the volume of the ink due to the atmospheric pressure. Then, the support spring 51 is pulled downward as the bag of the ink pack small 9a descends, and
The locking claw 51b hooked on the locking portion 52 adhered to the small ink pack 9a of FIG. Therefore, the deformation of the support spring 51 increases, and the urging force gradually increases.

FIG. 13 shows a state in which the ink in the ink pack 9a has been reduced by using more ink than the state of FIG. From the state shown in FIG. 12, as the volume of the ink pack small 9a decreases, the locking claw 52 attached to the ink pack small 9a becomes
The horizontal position is regulated and moves vertically. In this state, since the tip of the locking claw 51b is still locked on the periphery of the locking groove 52b, the support spring 51 urges the ink pack 9a to apply a negative pressure.

FIG. 14 shows a state in which the ink in the small ink pack 9a is further reduced from the state of FIG. 13 by using ink. From the state shown in FIG. 13, as the volume of the ink pack small 9a decreases, the position of the locking portion 52 attached to the ink pack small 9a is restricted by the guide claw 52c by the guide rail 53, and the locking portion 52 is further lowered vertically. Moving. In this state, since the overlapping width of the tip of the locking claw 51b hooked on the periphery of the locking groove 52b disappears, the locking claw 51b at the tip of the support spring 51 is engaged with the locking portion 52. It is released from the hook on the peripheral edge of the stop groove 52b.

FIG. 15 shows a state after the locking of the locking claw 51b and the locking groove 52b in FIG. 14 is released. FIG.
As shown in the figure, when the hook is released, the hook 51b is jumped upward by the elastic force of the outer peripheral portion 51a. Therefore, thereafter, the support spring 51 does not bias the ink pack 9a.

The relationship between the amount of ink used in the ink packs 8a and 9a and the internal pressure will be described below, taking the small ink pack 9a as an example. FIG. 16 shows an ink pack 9a according to the present embodiment.
9 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of ink used and the internal pressure in the ink pack small 9a. The vertical axis indicates the internal pressure applied to the liquid ink contained in the small ink pack 9a, and the unit is mm.
Shown by Aq (water column). The horizontal axis represents the ink pack 9a.
And the unit is ml.

Here, a curve G1 continuing from the broken line to the solid line
Indicates a negative pressure generated by the elasticity of the ink pack 9a itself. On the other hand, a curve G2 continuing from another solid line to the broken line
Indicates a negative pressure generated by being urged by the support spring 51.
Here, in order to form a proper meniscus as described above, at least 0 mmAq (water column) or less -300 mm
Aq (water column) or more is required.
(Water column) or less -160 mmAq (water column) or more.

Here, if the negative pressure in the ink pack small 9a is to be maintained only by the elasticity of the ink pack small 9a itself, the internal pressure is 0 mmAq (water column) at the start of use with the elasticity of the ink pack small 9a alone. Therefore, the internal pressure is not lower than the desirable internal pressure of −60 mmAq (water column), and ink dripping and flying scattering are likely to occur. However, if the support spring 51 is used to urge it, it becomes −60 mmAq (water column) or less at the start of use as shown in G2, a desired negative pressure is obtained, a proper meniscus is formed, and proper printing can be performed.

On the other hand, when the amount of ink used is approximately 1.5 ml
If the urging by the support spring 51 is continued around the point of, the deformation of the support spring increases, and the urging becomes too strong. Therefore, the internal pressure is lower than -160 mmAq (water column), and there is a possibility that the ink may be blurred or the ink may be stopped. In this case, an internal pressure of −160 mmAq (water column) or more and −60 mmAq (water column) or less can be obtained with a biasing force due to the elasticity of the ink pack 9a itself.

The ink cartridges 8 and 9 of the present embodiment
In the above, the ink pack small 9a has been described as an example, but the ink usage of the ink pack small 9a is approximately 1.5.
When the pressure of the ink pack 9a is reduced, the engagement with the locking portion 52 that has engaged the support spring 51 that has urged the ink pack small 9a is released, and the urging by the support spring 51 is stopped. Have been. This state is described on the graph of FIG.
In a state where the ink usage is less than 1.5 ml, when the ink is urged by the support spring 51 to maintain an appropriate negative pressure in a curved shape shown by a curve G2 and the ink usage becomes approximately 1.5 ml. With the configuration as described above, the support spring 51
Is released. Therefore, ink pack small 9
The internal pressure of a shifts to a curve G1 at a straight line G3,
Even if the used amount becomes 1.5 ml or more, a desired negative pressure can be continuously obtained. In ink pack size 8,
The situation is the same, and a suitable internal pressure can be maintained by a similar configuration.

The above embodiment is merely an example, and the above conditions are different depending on the material, size, biasing means, and the like of the printing apparatus to be used and the ink container. In short, it is only necessary that the ink can be supplied to the ink supply destination at an appropriate negative pressure by properly using the plurality of urging means at an appropriate timing.

As described above, according to the ink cartridges 8 and 9 for supplying ink of the present embodiment, ink can be supplied while maintaining an appropriate negative pressure from the start of use to the end of use.

The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Can be easily inferred.

For example, in addition to the configuration of the present embodiment, the locking claw guide 5 is used to accurately regulate the position of the locking claw 51b.
4 is also preferable. Here, FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a configuration of the locking claw guide 54. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 17A, the locking claw guide 54 is provided at a symmetric position near the distal end of the outer peripheral portion 51a of the support spring 51.
An engaging claw guide (support spring side guide 54) is a pair of protrusions provided outward in a direction parallel to the end of the guide.
17A, and as shown in FIG. 17B, the ink pack storage portion 91 of the cartridge main body 90 is brought into contact with the locking claw guide (support spring side guide 54a) at the tip end (right hand direction in FIG. 17). A locking claw guide (main body side guide 54b) provided on the floor surface.

FIG. 18 is a view showing the operation of the locking claw guide 54. As shown in FIG. FIG. 18A shows an ink pack 9a full of ink. In this case, the support spring side guide 54a of the locking claw guide 54 and the main body side guide 54b
Are slightly apart. Therefore, in this state, the two have no effect.

FIG. 18B shows a state in which the support spring 51 is lowered using ink. In this state,
The support spring side guide 54a and the main body side guide 54b are in contact with each other. Here, the main body side guide 54b is fixed to the cartridge main body 91 and does not move. On the other hand, the support spring side guide 54b is slightly movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 18 because the support spring 51 itself is an elastic body.
Therefore, the timing of releasing the locking of the support spring 51 may be shifted from a predetermined timing.
Therefore, the spring-side guide 54a is supported by the body-side guide 54b.
Are brought into contact with each other to precisely regulate the position of the support spring 51,
The locking claw 51b is to be released from the locking portion 52. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 18C, the bias of the support spring 51 can be released at an accurate position by the guide, that is, at a position accurately corresponding to the amount of ink used.

For example, in the present embodiment, an ink cartridge for supplying ink to an ink jet type print head has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the ink jet type head, but may be applied to a printing method for discharging ink to a recording medium by some method. If so, the present invention is applicable. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a transfer type printer.

As shown in FIG. 11, the tip of the locking claw 51b may be straight.

Further, the urging means is not limited to a leaf spring, and various urging means may be used. In addition to the urging means utilizing the elasticity of the ink pack itself as in the present embodiment, a plate spring may be attached to the container.

[0100]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
In the ink cartridge according to the present invention, an ink pack comprising a flexible bag for hermetically containing liquid ink, a storage container for storing the ink pack, and the ink A first urging means for applying a negative pressure to the liquid ink contained in the pack; a second urging means for applying a negative pressure with a smaller force than the first urging means; And a release means for releasing the first biasing means, so that the first biasing means is released.
There is an effect that a negative pressure can be applied with different urging forces. Therefore, by adjusting the negative pressure of the supplied liquid ink, an appropriate negative pressure suitable for printing can be obtained, a desired meniscus can be formed, and an effect that a high-quality image can be formed can be achieved.

In the ink cartridge according to the second aspect,
In addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to claim 1, the release means includes a locking portion fixed to the ink pack, and a locking claw that locks with the locking portion of the first urging means. As the ink in the pack decreases, the position of the locking part is displaced,
Since the engagement of the locking claw engaged with the locking portion is released by the displacement of the position of the locking portion, the locking portion is displaced by the amount of ink used. Therefore, since the first urging means is released, the urging force can be adjusted according to the amount of ink used. Therefore, regardless of the use of the ink, there is an effect that an appropriate urging force can be applied to the ink to supply a negative pressure suitable for printing.

In the ink cartridge according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to the first or second aspect, the release means is such that the ink pack is fixed to a part of the inner wall of the storage container. The locking portion is fixed to the opposite side of the fixed portion of the ink pack, and the first biasing means is formed of a leaf spring having one end fixed at a predetermined support point on the inner wall of the storage container, and If the pack is filled with the liquid ink in a certain amount or more, the locking claw is engaged with the engaging portion to urge the ink pack to apply a negative pressure, and the ink pack is reduced below a certain amount. When displaced
Since the engaging portion is configured to be displaced away from the support point of the first urging means and disengaged from the engaging portion, a certain amount of ink can be used. For example, since the wall surface of the ink pack moves by a certain amount, using the movement of the wall surface and using a certain amount of ink, the first urging means is automatically released, and the second urging means There is an effect that it is possible to switch to an appropriate urging force.
Therefore, it is possible to provide an appropriate negative pressure to the ink to be supplied irrespective of the amount of ink used.

[0103] In the ink cartridge according to the fourth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, the release means has a guide portion for guiding the displacement of the engagement portion. Since the guide portion for guiding the engaging portion is provided, there is an effect that the trajectory displaced in accordance with the use of the ink is regularly regulated. Therefore, the distance from the support point of the first urging means changes accurately according to the amount of ink used, so that the first urging means can be accurately released when the predetermined amount of ink is used. This has the effect.

In the ink cartridge according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the release means has a guide portion for guiding the tip position of the locking claw. To be characterized by having,
Since the locking claw is guided by the guide portion, the position of the tip of the locking claw is regulated by the guide portion and has an effect of being regularly displaced. Therefore, there is an effect that the first urging means can be accurately released when the predetermined amount of ink is used.

In the ink cartridge according to the sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second urging means is urged by the elasticity of the ink pack itself. Since the second urging means is based on the elasticity of the ink pack itself, there is an effect that a compact structure can be achieved without providing additional urging means.

In the ink cartridge according to the seventh aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the sixth aspect, the ink pack is biased by increasing the rigidity of the wall surface by laminating a plurality of synthetic resins. Therefore, there is an effect that rigidity can be increased by laminating a plurality of synthetic resins on the wall surface of the ink pack. Therefore, there is an effect that an appropriate negative pressure can be applied to the supplied ink.

In the ink cartridge according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the second biasing means is provided by attaching a leaf spring. Since the second urging means is constituted by a leaf spring, it is possible to have a proper urging force by adjusting the elastic force of the leaf spring regardless of the material of the ink pack. effective. for that reason,
There is an effect that adjustment with a high degree of freedom becomes possible.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to eighth aspects, a plurality of ink packs are provided. By providing the pack, there is an effect that it is possible to cope with a color printing or a printing device that expresses multiple gradations. In this case, there is an effect that the cost can be reduced by sharing the members.

In the ink cartridge according to the tenth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to ninth aspects, the ink is extracted from the ink pack stored in the storage container. In order to provide a hollow needle-shaped ink extraction needle for ink extraction, characterized in that it has an ink extraction unit in which a rubber-like member is stretched,
There is an effect that ink can be extracted by the ink extraction needle and the structure of the ink pack itself can be simplified. In addition, even if the ink should leak from between the ink pack and the ink extraction needle, the ink extraction section with the rubber-like member does not leak any more. And that the printing apparatus and the like can be prevented from being stained with ink.

[0110] In the ink cartridge according to the eleventh aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, the ink cartridge supplies ink to an image forming apparatus having an ink jet head. Even if the ink jet head uses a liquid ink that is easily affected by the negative pressure of the supplied liquid ink, the liquid ink whose negative pressure is appropriately adjusted is supplied. There is an effect that can be. Therefore, there is an effect that a high-quality image can be formed by forming an appropriate meniscus.

According to the ink cartridge of the twelfth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the eleventh aspect, the ink cartridge supplies ink to the ink jet head via a tube. Even when the liquid ink is supplied to the inkjet head via a tube, the range of adjusting the biasing force is wide regardless of the pressure due to the height difference, so that the liquid ink supplied with an appropriate negative pressure is supplied. There is an effect that can be. Therefore, there is an effect that the liquid ink can be appropriately supplied to the printing apparatus having such a configuration, and a high-quality image can be formed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an appearance of a portable printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the portable printer 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a harness 1 as the print heads 15 and 16 move.
The portable printer 1 is moved to the position III- in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram viewed from above with a part omitted in a line III. (A) is a diagram showing a state where the carriage 27 is at the leftmost end. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a state where the carriage 27 is at a position of a purge operation. (C) is a diagram showing a state where the carriage 27 is at the rightmost end.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the portable printer 1 as viewed from the right direction along the line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 as viewed from the right along line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 as viewed from above the line VI-VI in FIG.

7A is a plan view of a support spring 51 and a locking portion 52. FIG. (B) It is the figure which looked at the locked state of support spring 51 and locking part 52 by plane view.

FIG. 8A is a plan view of the ink pack small 9a. FIG. 6B is a side view of the ink pack 9a.

9 is a plan view of the small ink pack 9a as viewed from above along line ZZ in FIG. 4;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing locking of a locking claw 51b and a locking portion 52 of a support spring 51 and release thereof.

11 is a modified example of a method of locking the support spring 51 and the locking portion 52. FIG.

12 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge small 9 in a state where the ink is fully filled, as viewed from the line XI-XI in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the amount of ink has decreased from the state of FIG. 12;

14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the amount of ink is further reduced from the state in FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the amount of ink is further reduced from the state of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of ink used in the ink pack 9a according to the present embodiment and the internal pressure in the ink pack 9a.

FIG. 17A is a view showing a locking claw guide (support spring side) 54a according to a modification of the present embodiment. (B) is a diagram showing a state in which the locking claw guide (support spring side) 54a is guided by the locking claw guide (main body side) 54b.

FIG. 18 (A) Locking pawl guide (support spring side) 54a
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state before is guided by a locking claw guide (body side) 54b. (B) is a diagram showing a state after the locking claw guide (support spring side) 54a is guided by the locking claw guide (main body side) 54b. (C) is a diagram showing a state in which the locking claw guide (support spring side) 54a is guided by the locking claw guide (main body side) 54b, and the locking of the locking claw 51b is released.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable printer (printing apparatus) 8 Large ink cartridge 8a Large ink pack 8b Waste ink reservoir 9 Small ink cartridge 9a Small ink pack 9b Joining part 9c Insertion part 10 Ink extraction needle 10a Extraction hole 51 Support spring 51a Peripheral part 51b Lock Claw 51c Fixing part (support point) 51d Bonding part 52 Locking part 52a Main body 52b Locking groove 52c Guide claw 52d Bonding part 53 Guide rail 54 Locking claw guide 54a Locking claw guide (support spring side) 54b Locking claw guide (Main unit side) 91 Cartridge main body 92 Ink pack storage section 98 Extraction port

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An ink pack comprising a flexible bag for hermetically containing liquid ink therein, a storage container for storing said ink pack, and said ink pack by urging the bag of said ink pack A first urging unit for applying a negative pressure to the liquid ink stored in the first urging unit; a second urging unit for applying a negative pressure with a smaller force than the first urging unit; An ink cartridge comprising: a release unit for releasing a force. 2. The ink pack according to claim 2, wherein the release unit includes a locking portion fixed to the ink pack, and a locking claw that locks the locking portion of the first urging unit. The position of the locking portion is displaced by reducing the distance, and the engagement of the locking claw engaged with the locking portion is released by the displacement of the position of the locking portion. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The release means, wherein: the ink pack is fixed to a part of an inner wall of the storage container; and the locking portion is fixed to a side opposite to a fixed portion of the ink pack. One of the urging means includes a leaf spring having one end fixed at a predetermined support point on the inner wall of the storage container, and the locking is performed when the ink pack is filled with the liquid ink in a predetermined amount or more. When the pawl is engaged with the engaging portion to urge the ink pack to apply a negative pressure, and when the ink pack is displaced by decreasing below the predetermined amount, the engaging portion is The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is configured to be displaced away from a support point of the first urging means and disengage the engagement at the engagement portion. . 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the release unit includes a guide that guides the displacement of the engagement unit. 5. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said release means includes a guide portion for guiding a position of a tip of said locking claw. 6. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said second urging means is urged by elasticity of the ink pack itself. 7. The ink cartridge according to claim 6, wherein the ink pack is energized by increasing the rigidity of the wall surface by laminating a plurality of synthetic resins. 8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second urging unit applies a leaf spring to apply the urging force. 9. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, comprising a plurality of said ink packs. 10. An ink extraction unit in which a rubber-like member for penetrating a hollow needle-like ink extraction needle for extracting ink for extracting ink from the ink pack stored in the storage container is provided in the storage container. The ink cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein: 11. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge supplies ink to an image forming apparatus provided with an ink jet head. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 11, wherein the ink cartridge supplies the ink to the ink jet head via a tube.