CN115008905A

CN115008905A - Ink box structure and ink-jet printer

Info

Publication number: CN115008905A
Application number: CN202210671384.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 焦志华; 孙志; 詹彤宇
Original assignee: Beijing Byhy Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Beijing Byhy Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2022-06-15
Filing date: 2022-06-15
Publication date: 2022-09-06

Abstract

The invention discloses an ink box structure and an ink-jet printer, belonging to the field of ink supply; the ink storing cavity is divided into inner cavity and outer cavity, the inner cavity and the outer cavity have communicating holes, the inner cavity has liquid level sensor, and the ink outlet in the bottom of the inner cavity is connected to the nozzle via ink pipe. The inner cavity can provide ink for the spray head through the ink outlet and the ink tube, when the amount of the ink in the inner cavity is less, namely the liquid level sensor detects that the liquid level in the inner cavity is lower than a preset position, the first switch opens the communicating hole, and the ink stored in the outer cavity enters the inner cavity through the communicating hole to replenish the ink in the inner cavity. Divide into inner chamber and exocoel with the cavity in this application scheme, the exocoel can supply the ink for the inner chamber at any time, has guaranteed sufficient ink, and exocoel and inner chamber pass through the intercommunicating pore and connect, need not the china ink pump, and simple structure has just reduced use cost to the ink need not the china ink pipe from exocoel to the inner chamber, and the ink circulation route is short, is difficult for stained.

Description

Ink box structure and ink-jet printer

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of ink supply, and in particular, to an ink cartridge structure and an ink jet printer.

Background

The traditional ink box used on the existing ink-jet printer is only provided with one cavity, in order to improve the continuous ink supply capacity of the traditional ink box, two ink boxes are usually adopted, a main ink box is connected with a spray head to supply ink for the spray head, an auxiliary ink box is connected with the main ink box, a liquid level sensor is arranged in the main ink box, and when the amount of the ink in the main ink box is lower than a set value, an ink pump is started to pump the ink from the auxiliary ink box to the main ink box.

However, for some special applications, for example, the ink is easy to deteriorate, the used ink is prepared on site, and in the traditional ink box scheme, the ink is easy to be stained by parts such as an ink pump, a long ink tube (the ink tube needs to pass through a drag chain), a filter and the like from the auxiliary ink box to the main ink box. Therefore, the use of the conventional ink cartridge is costly and the ink is easily smeared.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to overcome the defects of the prior art, the invention provides an ink box structure and an ink-jet printer, aiming at solving the problems that the traditional ink box is high in use cost and ink is easy to stain.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows:

in a first aspect,

an ink cartridge structure comprising:

the ink storage device comprises a cavity for storing ink, wherein the cavity consists of an inner cavity and an outer cavity;

the outer cavity and the inner cavity are provided with communicating holes, the communicating holes are provided with first switches, and the inner cavity is provided with a liquid level sensor;

the bottom of the inner cavity is provided with an ink outlet which is connected with the spray head through an ink pipe;

when the liquid level sensor detects that the liquid level in the inner cavity is lowered to a preset position, the first switch opens the communication hole, so that the ink stored in the outer cavity enters the inner cavity through the communication hole.

Further, the outer cavity is provided with an ink adding hole for adding ink to the outer cavity.

Further, the outer cavity is positioned outside the inner cavity, and the ink adding hole is positioned at the bottom of the side surface of the outer cavity

Furthermore, a second switch is arranged on the ink tube connected with the ink outlet and used for controlling whether the ink in the inner cavity enters the spray head or not.

Further, the first switch and/or the second switch is/are solenoid valves.

Further, the liquid level sensor is a floating ball liquid level meter, and the floating ball is located in the inner cavity.

Further, the communication hole is located at the bottom of the outer chamber and the inner chamber.

Further, a filter is arranged between the ink tube and the spray head.

In a second aspect of the present invention,

an ink jet printer comprising: the ink cartridge structure according to any one of the first aspect.

Has the advantages that:

the application provides an ink horn structure and ink jet printer, the cavity of storage ink has divided into inner chamber and exocoel, and inner chamber and exocoel are equipped with the intercommunicating pore, and the inner chamber is equipped with level sensor, and the ink outlet that the inner chamber bottom set up passes through the china ink pipe and connects the shower nozzle. The inner cavity can provide ink for the spray head through the ink outlet and the ink tube, when the amount of the ink in the inner cavity is less, namely the liquid level sensor detects that the liquid level in the inner cavity is lower than a preset position, the first switch opens the communicating hole, and the ink stored in the outer cavity enters the inner cavity through the communicating hole to replenish the ink in the inner cavity. Divide into inner chamber and exocoel with the cavity in this application scheme, the exocoel can be at any time for the inner chamber supplyes the ink, has guaranteed sufficient ink, and exocoel and inner chamber pass through the intercommunicating pore and connect, need not the china ink pump, simple structure and have reduced use cost to the ink need not the china ink pipe from exocoel to the inner chamber, and the ink circulation route is short, is difficult for stained.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a specific ink cartridge configuration provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

reference numerals are as follows: 1-cavity, 2-inner cavity, 3-outer cavity, 4-communication hole, 5-first switch, 6-liquid level sensor, 7-ink outlet, 8-ink tube, 9-ink adding hole, 10-second switch and 11-filter.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the following detailed description of the technical solutions of the present invention is provided with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. It should be apparent that the described embodiments are only a few embodiments of the present application, and not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the examples given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

First embodiment, referring to fig. 1, an embodiment of the present invention provides an ink cartridge structure including:

the ink storage device comprises a cavity 1 for storing ink, wherein the cavity 1 consists of an inner cavity 2 and an outer cavity 3;

the outer cavity 3 and the inner cavity 2 are provided with a communicating hole 4, the communicating hole 4 is provided with a first switch 5, and the inner cavity 2 is provided with a liquid level sensor 6;

the bottom of the inner cavity 2 is provided with an ink outlet 7, and the ink outlet 7 is connected with the spray head through an ink pipe 8;

when the liquid level sensor 6 detects that the liquid level in the inner chamber 2 is lowered to a preset position, the first switch 5 opens the communication hole 4 so that the ink stored in the outer chamber 3 enters the inner chamber 2 through the communication hole 4.

According to the ink box structure provided by the embodiment of the invention, the cavity 1 for storing ink is divided into the inner cavity 2 and the outer cavity 3, the inner cavity 2 and the outer cavity 3 are provided with the communicating holes 4, the inner cavity 2 is provided with the liquid level sensor 6, and the ink outlet 7 arranged at the bottom of the inner cavity 2 is connected with the spray head through the ink pipe 8. The inner cavity 2 can provide ink for the nozzle through the ink outlet 7 and the ink tube 8, when the amount of the ink in the inner cavity 2 is less, namely the liquid level sensor 6 detects that the liquid level in the inner cavity 2 is lower than the preset position, the first switch 5 opens the communicating hole 4, and as long as the liquid level in the outer cavity 3 is higher than the liquid level in the inner cavity 2 at the moment, the ink stored in the outer cavity 3 can enter the inner cavity 2 through the communicating hole 4 to replenish the ink in the inner cavity 2. In the embodiment of the invention, the cavity 1 is divided into the inner cavity 2 and the outer cavity 3, the outer cavity 3 can supplement ink for the inner cavity 2 at any time, so that sufficient ink is ensured, the outer cavity 3 is connected with the inner cavity 2 through the communicating hole 4, an ink pump is not needed, the structure is simple, the use cost is reduced, an ink tube 8 is not needed when the ink flows from the outer cavity 3 to the inner cavity 2, the ink flowing path is short, and the ink is not easy to stain.

Second embodiment, as a supplementary explanation to the first embodiment, this embodiment also provides a specific ink cartridge structure, as shown in fig. 2, including:

In order to add ink into the cavity 1, the outer cavity 3 is provided with an ink adding hole 9 for adding ink into the outer cavity 3, in order to add ink into the outer cavity 3, the outer cavity 3 is arranged outside the inner cavity 2, the ink adding hole 9 is arranged at the bottom of the side surface of the outer cavity 3, and the bottom is arranged to prevent bubbles from occurring in the ink in the process of adding the ink. If air bubbles exist in the ink, the ink is discontinuous during printing, and the printing effect is poor. When the ink is added from the bottom, the ink is present at the bottom, and the added ink is directly contacted with the ink at the bottom, so that bubbles are not generated. In addition, in order to facilitate the ink to be added into the outer chamber 3, a negative pressure source is provided in the outer chamber 3 for providing a negative pressure environment, which facilitates the ink in the ink adding hole 9 to enter the outer chamber 3.

As a preferred realization of the embodiment of the present invention, the communication hole 4 is located at the bottom of the outer chamber 3 and the inner chamber 2. The communicating hole 4 is provided at the bottom to reduce the flow path of ink in order to prevent the generation of bubbles.

In practical use, in order to control whether the ink in the inner cavity 2 enters the nozzle or not, a second switch 10 is arranged on the ink tube 8 connected with the ink outlet 7 and used for controlling whether the ink in the inner cavity 2 enters the nozzle or not. Similarly, in order to prevent the ink in the inner chamber 2 from entering the nozzle due to too much gravity when the second switch 10 is turned on, a negative pressure source is also arranged in the inner chamber 2 to ensure that the ink in the inner chamber 2 normally flows into the nozzle, and in order to save cost, the inner chamber 2 and the outer chamber 3 adopt the same negative pressure source.

As a preferable implementation manner of the embodiment of the present invention, in the embodiment, the first switch 5 and the second switch 10 both adopt electromagnetic valves, and the electromagnetic valves are electrically controlled and are convenient to control. The liquid level sensor 6 is a floating ball liquid level meter, and a floating ball is positioned in the inner cavity 2. The liquid level sensor 6 adopts a floating ball liquid level meter, and has simple structure, accurate measurement and low cost.

In order to prevent the ink in the ink tube 8 from being contaminated and contaminating the ink in the head, a filter 11 is provided between the ink tube 8 and the head to ensure that the ink entering the head is not contaminated.

When the ink jet head is used and printing operation is carried out, the second switch 10 is opened, and ink flows into the nozzle from the inner cavity 2 through the ink outlet 7 along the ink tube 8; when the liquid level sensor 6 detects that the liquid level in the inner cavity 2 is lowered to a preset position, the first switch 5 opens the communication hole 4, and the ink stored in the outer cavity 3 enters the inner cavity 2 through the communication hole 4.

The specific ink box structure provided by the embodiment of the invention does not need two ink boxes, does not need components such as an ink pump and the like, and an ink tube does not need a drag chain, so that the ink consumption can be extremely small, the ink can be saved, and the ink cost can be reduced. The used ink can be injected into the ink box at one time without subsequent ink pumping and filtering, and the stability of the whole printing system is greatly improved. On the basis of constant negative pressure, the constant liquid level can be realized, the negative pressure from the ink box to the spray head is ensured to be stable, the good printing effect is realized, the structure is simple, and the system stability is improved.

In a third embodiment, the present invention provides an ink jet printing system including the ink cartridge structure of the first or second embodiment.

The ink-jet printing system provided by the embodiment of the invention can be used without two ink boxes, components such as an ink pump and the like, and an ink pipe does not need to pass through a drag chain, so that the extremely small ink consumption can be realized, the ink can be saved, and the ink cost can be reduced. The used ink can be injected into the ink box at one time without subsequent ink pumping and filtering, and the stability of the whole printing system is greatly improved. On the basis of constant negative pressure, the constant liquid level can be realized, the negative pressure from the ink box to the spray head is ensured to be stable, the good printing effect is realized, the structure is simple, and the system stability is improved.

It is understood that the same or similar parts in the above embodiments may be mutually referred to, and the same or similar parts in other embodiments may be referred to for the content which is not described in detail in some embodiments.

It should be noted that, in the description of the present application, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance. Further, in the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality" means at least two unless otherwise specified.

Any process or method descriptions in flow charts or otherwise described herein may be understood as representing modules, segments, or portions of code which include one or more executable instructions for implementing specific logical functions or steps of the process, and the scope of the preferred embodiments of the present application includes other implementations in which functions may be executed out of order from that shown or discussed, including substantially concurrently or in reverse order, depending on the functionality involved, as would be understood by those reasonably skilled in the art of the present application.

It should be understood that portions of the present application may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. In the above embodiments, various steps or methods may be implemented in software or firmware stored in a memory and executed by a suitable instruction execution system. For example, if implemented in hardware, as in another embodiment, any one or combination of the following technologies, which are well known in the art, may be used: a discrete logic circuit having a logic gate circuit for implementing a logic function on a data signal, an application specific integrated circuit having an appropriate combinational logic gate circuit, a Programmable Gate Array (PGA), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or the like.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all or part of the steps carried by the method for implementing the above embodiments may be implemented by hardware related to instructions of a program, which may be stored in a computer readable storage medium, and when the program is executed, the program includes one or a combination of the steps of the method embodiments.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the present application may be integrated into one processing module, or each unit may exist alone physically, or two or more units are integrated into one module. The integrated module can be realized in a hardware mode, and can also be realized in a software functional module mode. The integrated module, if implemented in the form of a software functional module and sold or used as a stand-alone product, may also be stored in a computer readable storage medium.

The storage medium mentioned above may be a read-only memory, a magnetic or optical disk, etc.

In the description herein, reference to the description of the term "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples," etc., means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the application. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

Although embodiments of the present application have been shown and described above, it is understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the present application, and that variations, modifications, substitutions and alterations may be made to the above embodiments by those of ordinary skill in the art within the scope of the present application.

Claims

1. An ink cartridge structure, comprising:

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein: the outer cavity is provided with an ink adding hole for adding ink to the outer cavity.

3. The structure of claim 2, wherein: the outer cavity is positioned outside the inner cavity, and the ink adding hole is positioned at the bottom of the side surface of the outer cavity.

4. The structure of claim 1, wherein: and the ink pipe connected with the ink outlet is provided with a second switch for controlling whether the ink in the inner cavity enters the spray head or not.

5. The structure of claim 4, wherein: the first switch and/or the second switch are solenoid valves.

6. The structure of claim 1, wherein: the liquid level sensor is a floating ball liquid level meter, and the floating ball is positioned in the inner cavity.

7. The structure of claim 1, wherein: the communicating hole is positioned at the bottom of the outer cavity and the inner cavity.

8. The structure of claim 1, wherein: and a filter is arranged between the ink pipe and the spray head.

9. An ink jet printer, comprising: the cartridge structure according to any one of claims 1 to 8.