EP0820873A2

EP0820873A2 - Ink supplying apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0820873A2
Application number: EP97305524A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Makoto Ishii; Hiroo Ogawa
Original assignee: Brother Industries Ltd
Current assignee: Brother Industries Ltd
Priority date: 1996-07-24
Filing date: 1997-07-23
Publication date: 1998-01-28
Also published as: EP0820873A3

Abstract

An ink supplying apparatus for an ink jet recording apparatus is provided that includes an ink case which can store ink pellets such that the ink pellets are movable toward a discharging section. The ink case includes a plurality of accommodating channel sections arranged parallel to each other so as to correspond to a plurality of colors of the ink pellets; a pellet pressing member and an urging member arranged respectively in each of the accommodating channel sections for urging the ink pellets in each of the accommodating channel sections toward the discharging section; and a discharging mechanism for supplying the ink pellet at a supplying section of each of the discharging sections to a tank section of the ink jet recording apparatus.

Description

The invention relates to an ink supplying apparatus for supplying to an ink melting section an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink and discharged from a predetermined position.

In an ink jet recording apparatus utilizing hot melt ink, hot melt ink is heated and melted in an ink melting section provided with a heater. An ink droplet is then ejected from a nozzle to be sprayed onto, for example, a sheet of paper while main-scanning a recording head having a large number of nozzles, to thereby print characters or diagrams onto the sheet of paper.

In a case where color printing is performed by such an ink jet recording apparatus, the ink jet recording apparatus normally comprises ink melting sections and recording heads for each color of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. Ink droplets of a single color or plural colors are sprayed in one pixel for causing pixels of plural colors to exist in one band.

Since the hot melt ink becomes solid at room temperature, it is normally processed into an ink pellet of a predetermined shape for storage. The hot melt ink is supplied to the ink melting section as a pellet unit when the ink melting section becomes empty. If an operator directly touches the ink pellet at this time, stains or grease on the operator's hands are adhered to the ink pellet and deteriorate the quality of hot melt ink.

As shown in Fig. 17, a structure is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,823,146 in which an ink holder 81 is formed in the shape of a cup. The ink pellet 83 is formed so as to correspond to the internal shape of the ink holder 81 and the ink pellet 83 is stored in the ink holder 81. When ink runs out, an open end of the ink holder 81 is aligned and contacted with a supplying opening 82 of an ink melting section. The back side of the ink holder 81 is pressed by hand to be collapsed and deformed, with the result that the ink pellet 83 is supplied to the supplying opening 82 without being directly touched by the hands of the operator.

However, in the above-mentioned structure in which a single ink pellet 83 is accommodated in the ink holder 81, only one ink pellet 83 is removed by the one operation of arranging the ink holder 81 above the supplying opening 82 and pressing to collapse and deform the ink holder 81. Therefore, in the case where the ink pellet 83 includes only a small amount of hot melt ink, the amount of ink supplied to the ink melting section by the one operation is small, so that the ink frequently runs out. If the supply amount of ink is increased a predetermined amount in order to reduce the frequency of the ink empty condition, the operator must supply a greater number of the ink pellet 83 which increases the work load of the operator.

On the other hand, if the ink pellet 83 is formed to include a larger supply of hot melt ink so as to reduce the frequency of the above-mentioned ink empty condition and the work load of the operator, the supply amount is liable to be excessive in relation to the amount of ink normally consumed in use of a typical ink jet recording apparatus. Accordingly, the hot melt ink is heated for a long time in the ink melting section reducing the quality of the ink.

As shown in Fig. 18, U.S. Patent No. 4,636,803 discloses a structure in which a plurality of ink pellets 71 each formed of a small amount of hot melt ink are stored in a cylindrical housing 75. When an ink melting section 72 runs out of ink, the ink pellet 71 is moved to a discharge opening 75A by the rotation of a driving shaft 73 by a motor 74 to move the ink pellet 71 from the discharge opening 75A into the ink melting section 72. With this structure, the storage and supply of the ink pellet 71 is provided without the need for operator intervention, thereby not increasing the burden to an operator when the number of ink pellets to be supplied is increased.

However, with the above-mentioned structure, the entire bottom surface of the ink pellet 71 contacts with an inner wall surface of the housing 75 so that when the ink pellet 71 is moved the friction force is large. The friction force increases in proportion to the stored number of the ink pellet 71. Therefore, to smoothly move the ink pellet 71 requires that the ink supplying apparatus be provided with a mechanism such as a driving shaft 73 in order to provide a sufficiently large driving force in relation to the large friction force. This caused the ink supplying apparatus to be large and complex. The problem of large and complicated ink supplying apparatus is magnified in a recording apparatus comprising a plurality of ink melting sections, one for each ink color to provide for color printing.

As previously mentioned, since hot melt ink becomes solid at room temperature, it is normally processed into an ink pellet of a predetermined shape for storage. The hot melt ink is supplied to the ink melting section in the pellet form when the ink supply section becomes empty. In recent years, an ink jet recording apparatus has been provided with an ink supplying apparatus for storing and supplying the ink pellet so that the storage and supply of the ink pellet as described above is performed within the ink jet recording apparatus.

The ink supplying apparatus disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,636,803 as described above and, as shown in Fig. 19, includes cylindrical housing 75 disposed so that the discharging opening 75A is positioned above the ink melting section 72, the driving shaft 73 laterally provided in the housing 75 and having a thread, and the motor 74 for rotating the driving shaft 73. The ink supplying apparatus is capable of storing a plurality of ink pellets 71 in the housing 75 and supplying the ink pellet 71 to the ink melting section 72. When the ink melting section 72 runs out of ink, the motor 74 rotates the driving shaft 73 to move the ink pellet 71 toward the discharging opening 75A to supply the ink pellet 71 into the ink melting section 72 by gravity from the discharging opening 75A.

However, in the structure where the ink pellet 71 is stored in the cylindrical housing 75, in order to supply the ink pellet 71 into the housing 75 it is ordinarily necessary to reversely rotate the driving shaft 73 with the motor 74 after the cover member 76 and the housing 75 have been opened since the ink supplying apparatus 70 is within the recording apparatus. Further, it is necessary to later close the cover member 76 and the housing 75 in order to operate the recording apparatus after replenishing the supply of ink pellet 71. Thus, the structure requires the opening and closing operations of the cover member 76 and the housing 75 and the operation of the driving shaft 73 in order to replenish the ink pellet 71 supply. This results in a lot of work for an operator supplying the ink pellet 71 to the housing.

Moreover, in the structure, a mechanism for moving the ink pellet 71 is formed of complicated parts, such as the motor 74 and the driving shaft 73. Such structure increases the cost required for the parts and assembling, which complicates and increases the cost of the ink supplying apparatus 70.

It has been considered that, instead of using the motor 74 and the driving shaft 73, an urging member, such as a spring, be adopted as a simple structure for moving the ink pellet 71 toward the discharging opening 75A. However, this structure still requires the opening and closing operations of the cover member 76 and the housing 75 and the operation of pushing back the urging member to one end in order to insert the ink pellet 71 into the housing 75 resulting in a lot of work for the operator.

Further, in the structure in which the ink pellet 71 is accommodated in the housing 75, confirmation of the existence and number of the ink pellet 71 in the housing 75 requires that the housing 75 be opened since the inside of the housing 75 cannot be viewed from outside the housing. Accordingly, it is difficult to predict and determine when the ink pellet 71 needs to be supplied to the housing 75. The need for a new supply of the ink pellet 71 is noticed for the first time when the ink melting section 72 is empty even if the ink supplying apparatus is still in operation. This causes the operator inconvenience since the operator has to stop printing and go to a store to buy a new supply of the ink pellet 71.

In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the invention to provide an ink supplying apparatus capable of automatically supplying an ink pellet to an ink melting section without operator intervention and to provide an ink supplying apparatus that is small in size and simplified.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ink supplying apparatus capable of urging the ink pellet toward a discharge section with a simple mechanism and to reduce the number of operations necessary to supply the ink pellet to an ink melting section so as to decrease the operator's work load.

Another object of the invention is to provide an ink supplying apparatus structured so the existence and number of the ink pellet in the ink supplying apparatus can be easily confirmed.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an ink supplying apparatus is provided for supplying an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink to an ink melting section of an ink jet printer. The ink supplying apparatus includes an ink case for accommodating at least one ink pellet so as to be movable toward the predetermined discharge position. The ink case includes at least one accommodating channel section, an urging mechanism arranged respectively in the at least one accommodating channel section for urging the at least one ink pellet in the at least one accommodating channel section toward the predetermined discharge position and at least one supplying mechanism for supplying the at least one ink pellet at the predetermined discharge position to the at least one ink melting section.

With this structure, the operation for moving the ink pellet to the predetermined discharge position is performed by a simple mechanism, that is, the urging mechanism. Such structure renders the apparatus small in size and simplified. The ink pellet is urged by the urging mechanism in the accommodating channel section so that if an ink pellet is discharged from the accommodating channel section by the supplying mechanism, an ink pellet remaining in the accommodating channel section can be moved to the predetermined discharge position. Accordingly, the supply of the ink pellet to the ink melting section can automatically be performed for each color without operator intervention.

The at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer may include a plurality of ink melting sections, each of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of hot melt ink and the at least one accommodating channel section may include a plurality of accommodating channel sections arranged parallel to each other, each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections corresponding to one of the plurality of colors of hot melt ink. Each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections may be capable of accommodating at least one ink pellet of the respective one of the plurality of colors and may be disposed above one of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to the respective one of the plurality of colors. An urging mechanism may be arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections for urging the plurality of ink pellets in each of the accommodating channel sections toward the predetermined discharge position and the supplying mechanism may be capable of supplying an ink pellet at the predetermined discharge position in any of the plurality of accommodating channel sections to the corresponding ink melting section disposed therebelow. Further, the at least one supplying mechanism may be disposed so as to correspond to each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections, and the ink supplying apparatus may include a supply selecting mechanism for controlling operation of the supplying mechanism so as to discharge an ink pellet only from the accommodating channel section which corresponds to an ink melting section in need of a supply of hot melt ink.

Such structure allows hot melt ink of a plurality of colors to be supplied by the ink supplying apparatus without operator intervention. Further, since the ink pellet is discharged only to the accommodating channel section which correspond to the ink melting section in need of a supply of the ink pellet, unnecessary supplying errors are prevented.

Further, the ink melting section may be disposed below the predetermined discharge position of the at least accommodating channel section, and the supplying mechanism may supply the at least one ink pellet to the at least one ink melting section by pressing down on the at least one ink pellet to cause it to discharge due to gravity. With this structure, the ink pellet can be supplied to the ink melting section by the simple operation of pressing down on the ink pellet such that the supplying mechanism can be structured as a simple mechanism.

The ink supplying apparatus may also include a cover which is transparent so that an operator may visually confirm the existence and/or number of the ink pellet in the accommodating channel section from outside the ink supplying apparatus. This structure allows an operator to easily determine when a new supply of the ink pellet will be needed.

Additionally, a scale for indicating the number of ink pellets may be formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case. This structure allows an operator to quickly ascertain the remaining amount of ink pellets within the accommodating channel section so that the operator can prepare for replenishment in advance, i.e., buy the ink pellets in advance of the ink supply apparatus running out of ink.

A color indicator may be provided to indicate a color of ink of the ink pellet to be accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections on at least one of the cover and the ink case. Accordingly, the ink color of the ink pellet which is to be accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections can be confirmed by viewing the color indication, thereby preventing the error of placing an ink pellet which is different in ink color into the accommodating channel section of a recently consumed ink pellet.

According to another aspect of the invention an ink supplying apparatus may be provided for supplying an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink to an ink melting section. The ink supplying apparatus includes an ink case provided with at least one accommodating channel section for accommodating the at least one ink pellet so as to be movable toward the predetermined discharge position, an urging mechanism for urging the at least one ink pellet in the accommodating channel section toward the predetermined discharge position, a cover for covering the ink case, and an urging releasing mechanism for releasing the urging by the urging mechanism on the at least one ink pellet when the cover is opened. With this structure, the operation of moving and discharging the ink pellet is performed by a simple mechanism, thereby reducing a cost of the apparatus. Further, when the cover which covers the ink case is opened, the accommodating channel section is exposed and the urging mechanism is simultaneously released. Thus, the operation for placing the ink pellet into the accommodating channel section can be accomplished with the one operation of opening the cover. Accordingly, the ink pellet can be quickly placed into the accommodating channel section.

The urging mechanism may have a contacting member movably provided so as to be in contact with the ink pellet and an urging member for providing the contacting member with an urging force toward the predetermined discharge position. The urging releasing mechanism may include a link member, one end of which is pivotably supported by the cover and another end of which is movably engaged with the ink case so as to be in contact with the contacting member when the cover is opened to separate the contacting member from the ink pellet. With this structure, the urging of the contacting member to the ink pellet can be released by the link member, thereby simplifying the mechanism for replacing the ink pellets.

Also, the accommodating channel section may be formed with a stopper portion for fixing another end of the link member in place when the cover is fully opened. Because another end of the link member is fixed by the stopper portion when the cover is fully opened, the cover is in its open position even if the operator takes his or her hands off the cover. Such structure facilitates the replacement of the ink pellet.

The urging member may be a coil spring. The coil spring provides a stabilized urging force to the contacting member so that the ink pellet can stably be moved toward the predetermined position via the contacting portion.

Further, the ink supplying apparatus may include a cover which is transparent to allow an operator to visually confirm the existence and/or the number of ink pellets in the accommodating channel section from outside of the ink supplying apparatus. Alternatively, the ink supplying apparatus may include a cover having a transparent window. Either structure allows an operator to easily predict when a new supply of ink pellets will be needed.

A scale indicating the number of the ink pellets within the accommodating channel sections may be formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case. With this structure, the remaining amount of the ink pellets can be determined by an operator viewing the scale so that the operator can prepare to replenish the ink pellets in advance, that is, buy a new supply of the ink pellets in advance.

Additionally, a plurality of the accommodating channel sections may be provided corresponding to a number of colors of the ink pellets, and a color indication for indicating a color of ink of the ink pellet accommodated in each of the accommodating channel section may be formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case. This structure prevents the error of placing an ink pellet of a different ink color in the accommodating channel section of an ink pellet recently consumed.

The at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer may include a plurality of ink melting sections, each of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of hot melt ink and the at least one accommodating channel section may include a plurality of accommodating channel sections arranged parallel to each other, each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections corresponding to one of the plurality of colors of hot melt ink. The plurality of accommodating channel sections may each be capable of accommodating at least one ink pellet of the respective one of the plurality of colors and may be disposed above one of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to the respective one of the plurality of colors. An urging mechanism may be arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections for urging the plurality of ink pellets in each of the accommodating channel sections toward the predetermined discharge position. The urging releasing mechanism may release the urging by each of the urging mechanisms arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections when the cover is opened.

Further, each of the urging mechanisms may include a contacting member movably provided so as to be in contact with the at least one ink pellet and an urging member for affording to the contacting member an urging force toward the predetermined position. Furthermore, the urging releasing mechanism may include a link member, one end of which is pivotably supported by the cover and another end of which is movably engaged with the ink case so as to be in contact with each of the contacting members when the cover is opened to separate each of the contacting members from the at least one ink pellet.

Such structure allows hot melt ink of a plurality of colors to be supplied by the ink supplying apparatus without operator intervention.

These and other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1A is a front perspective view of an ink supplying apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 1B is a sectional view of a portion of the ink supplying apparatus of Fig. 1A;

Fig. 2 is a front perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 3 is a schematic side view showing an internal arrangement of the ink jet recording apparatus of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet being moved to a discharging section;

Fig. 5 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet being supported at the discharging section;

Fig. 6 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet being discharged from the discharging section;

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view showing the ink pellet being discharged by a discharging mechanism according to the invention;

Fig. 8 is an upper view of the ink supplying apparatus according to the invention;

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an ink pellet according to the invention;

Fig. 10 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet being moved from an ink holder to an insertion section;

Fig. 11 is an explanatory view showing a relationship between the ink pellet and an accommodating channel section according to the invention;

Fig. 12 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet being placed into an ink holder according to the invention;

Fig. 13 is an explanatory view showing the ink pellet accommodated within an ink holder;

Fig. 14 is an explanatory view showing a cover member being pivoted according to the invention;

Fig. 15 is an explanatory view showing ink pellets accommodated in each of the accommodating channel section;

Fig. 16 is a side perspective view of a cover member according to the invention;

Fig. 17 is a explanatory view showing an ink pellet according to the prior art;

Fig. 18 is a side sectional view of an ink supplying apparatus according to the prior art; and

Fig. 19 is a side sectional view of an ink supplying apparatus according to the prior art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

While the invention will hereinafter be described in connection with a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications and equivalents that may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

For a general understanding of the features of the invention, reference is made to the drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals have been used throughout to designate identical elements.

A preferred embodiment of the invention will be explained with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 16.

An ink supplying apparatus of the preferred embodiment according to the present invention is configured to form a portion of an upper cover 4 of an ink jet recording apparatus 1, as shown in Fig. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus 1 includes a lower cover 3 and the upper cover 4 forming a box. A feed mechanism 6 is provided at the back side of the upper cover 4. The feed mechanism 6 can accommodate a large number of stacked sheets of paper 5. A feed roller is disposed in the vicinity of the lower end portion of the feed mechanism 6. The feed roller 7 feeds the paper 5 accommodated in the feed mechanism 6 to a transport path 11.

The above-mentioned transport path 11 includes sequentially a first transport roller 8, a second transport roller 9, a discharge tray 10 and a discharging opening 3A, in order from the side of the feed mechanism 6. The paper 5 is moved continuously or in a fixed quantity by the first and

second transport rollers

8 and 9 in a direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 3 (the sub-scanning direction) to be discharged from the apparatus through the discharging opening 3A.

A recording head mechanism 12 is disposed on the transport path 11 on the side of the upper cover 4. The recording head mechanism 12 includes a head section 15 opposed to the transport path 11 (and the paper 5 thereon), a tank section 16 for accommodating hot melt ink supplied to the head section 15 and a heater section (not shown) for heating the hot melt ink accommodated in the tank section 16 to melt the hot melt ink. The head section 15 has a large number of nozzles arranged in a sub-scanning direction from which ink droplets formed of liquid hot melt ink are ejected.

The recording head mechanism 12 further includes a carriage 13 for supporting the head section 15, the tank section 16, a guide member 14 for supporting the carriage 13 so as to be movable in a main-scanning direction perpendicular to the sub-scanning direction and a moving mechanism (not shown) for reciprocatingly moving the carriage 13 in the main-scanning direction along the guide member 14. The recording head mechanism 12 performs a printing operation for one band by spraying ink droplets at a predetermined print timing onto the paper 5 from the head section 15 which moves with the carriage 13 as the carriage 13 is moved in the main-scanning direction.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned term "hot melt ink" is the general term for ink which is solid at room temperature and yet jettable in liquid form after heating. For example, the hot melt ink preferably has the following characteristics: the softening point is 40-140°C; the melting point is 50-150°C; and the ink viscosity when ejected as ink is 3-50 cps. Preferably the hot melt ink includes 30-90% wax, 5-70% resin, 0.1-10% colorant and other additives such as a viscosity-adjusting agent, a surfactant, and/or a solubilizer. However, other combination of ingredients may be utilized.

The ink supplying apparatus 2 is provided at the upper portion of the recording head mechanism 12. The ink supplying apparatus 2 discharges an ink pellet 20 formed of solid hot melt ink from a supplying section A at the front side of the ink supplying apparatus 2 to the tank section 16. The ink supplying apparatus 2 includes an ink case 21 for accommodating the ink pellet 20 and a cover member 22 pivotally supported at one end portion of the ink case 21. The cover member 22 openably covers the ink case 21.

As shown in Fig. 1A, the ink case 21 includes accommodating channel sections 23 arranged in a row so as to respectively correspond to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C) and black (K), all of which are ink colors used in a color ink jet recording apparatus. Each of the accommodating channel sections 23 has a discharging section 23A for discharging the ink pellet 20 to the tank section 16 shown in Fig. 3, a pellet supporting channel 23B for supporting a plurality of ink pellets 20 so as to be movable toward the discharging section 23A and an insertion section 23C for inserting the ink pellet 20 into the pellet supporting channel 23B. These

sections

23A, 23B and 23C are arranged in this order from the side of the supplying section A.

The discharging section 23A arranged at the side of the supplying section A is open from an upper surface to a lower surface, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. A pellet supporting plate 35 is provided at the lower surface of the discharging section 23A. One end of the pellet supporting plate 35 is fixed to a bottom surface of the pellet supporting channel 23B. The pellet supporting plate 35 supports the ink pellet 20, which is moved to the discharging section 23A with the pellet supporting plate 35 in contact with a lower surface of the ink pellet 20.

The ink pellet 20 supported by the discharging section 23A is pressed downwardly by a discharging mechanism 36 to be discharged, as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig 8. The discharging mechanism 36 is disposed respectively corresponding to each accommodating channel section 23 and includes a first pivot member 37 for pressing the upper surface of the ink pellet 20 downwardly upon pivoting. The first pivot member 37 is connectable to a second pivot member 40 via a pivot control mechanism 41. The second pivot member 40 is pivoted up and down (in the direction shown by an arrow in Fig. 7) by an LF motor (not shown) and rotatably drives the first and

second transport rollers

8 and 9.

The pivot control mechanism 41 includes a first connecting member 38, one end of which is pivotally connected to the first pivot member 37, an engagement member 39 provided at a free end of the first connecting member 38 and a key member 42 which is engagable with the engagement member 39. The key member 42 is configured in the shape of a key so as to engage with the engagement member 39 at its free end. The leading edge of the key member 42 is designed to not contact with the engagement member 39 when the key member 42 is only moved up and down with respect to Fig. 7.

A pinion member 44 is rotatably mounted at the fixed end of the key member 42. The pinion member 44 supports the free end of the key member 42 so as to be laterally pivotable. The pinion member 44 is meshed with a rack member 45 arranged longitudinally on the inner wall surface. The pinion member 44 and the rack member 45 control the movement of the key member 42 in the up and down direction with respect to Fig. 10. A second connecting member 46 is connected to the fixed end of the key member 42. The second connecting member 46 is pivotally connected to the free end of the second pivot member 40.

The key member 42 is disposed so as to be capable of contacting with a supply selecting member 43 which is fixed to the side of the tank section 16 for laterally moving the key member 42 when in contact with the key member 42. The pivot control mechanism 41 having the aforesaid structure operates as follows. If the key member 42 does not contact with the supply selecting member 43 when the second pivot member 40 pivots to downwardly move the key member 42, the key member 42 does not engage with the engagement member 39 and the first pivot member 37 is not pivoted. On the other hand, when the key member 42 contacts with the supply selecting member 43, the key member 42 laterally pivots into engagement with the engagement member 39 to downwardly pivot the first pivot member 37.

A supply selecting member 43 is provided on the tank section 16 for each color, as shown in Fig. 8. The supply selecting members 43 are arranged along the tank section 16 so that, when a particular supply selecting member 43 is in contact with the key member 42 of a particular discharging mechanism 36, the other supply selecting members 43 do not contact with the key member 42 of the other discharging mechanisms 36. Accordingly, the supply selecting member 43 discharges the ink pellet 20 only from the accommodating channel section 23 corresponding to the tank section 16 to which ink is to be supplied.

The ink pellet 20 discharged by the discharging mechanism 36, as described above, comprises hot melt ink in a solid form, as shown in Fig. 9. The hot melt ink is an amount capable of printing one page or more, and is an amount which will be consumed under normal conditions of use and will not significantly deteriorated while in the tank section 16. The ink pellet 20 includes, as shown in Figs. 9 and 10, an upper contacting portion 20A having a width set to L1 which is slightly greater than the width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B and a pellet main body 20B formed to produce

step portions

20C, 20C at both sides of the lower surface of the upper contacting portion 20A. The

step portions

20C, 20C contact the upper surface of the pellet supporting channel 23B to support the ink pellet 20.

The pellet main body 20B is formed to have a width smaller than the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B so as not to contact with the pellet supporting channel 23B when supported by the

step portions

20C, 20C, and a height smaller than the channel depth of the pellet supporting channel 23B. Further, both

sides

20D, 20D of the pellet main body 20B symmetrically incline such that the width thereof becomes gradually smaller from its upper surface to its lower surface. Accordingly, even when the ink pellet 20 jerks from side to side when moved, increased frictional resistance does not occur caused by contact of the side surfaces 20D, 20D of the pellet main body 20B with the side wall surfaces of the pellet supporting channel 23B. Moreover, the pellet main body 20B is formed, as shown in Fig. 11, to have a rectangular cross-section. A diagonal distance L3 of the cross-section is configured to be greater than the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B so that the orientation of the ink pellet does not greatly change due to contact of corner portions with the side wall surfaces of the pellet supporting channel 23B.

It is preferable that the diagonal distance L3 of the cross-section of the pellet main body 20B be greater than the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B by approximately 0.5 mm or more. Further, it is preferable that the width L1 of the ink pellet 20 is configured such that an angle formed by the side surface 20D of the ink pellet 20 and the step portion 20C thereof is spaced apart from the side wall surface of the pellet supporting channel 23B by approximately 1 mm or more, as shown in Fig. 10. This structure reduces the frequent contact of the side surfaces or corner portions of the ink pellet 20 with the side wall surfaces of the pellet supporting channel 23B at the time of moving, even if the ink pellet 20 is somewhat deformed. This prevents rotation of the ink pellet due to the breakdown or abrasion of the ink pellet 20 and reduces the frictional force caused by the contact whereby allowing smooth movement of the ink pellet along the ink accommodating channel 23. Additionally, it is preferable that the ink pellet 20 be formed such that the center of gravity of the ink pellet 20 is within the pellet main body 20B in order to prevent the ink pellet from falling over as it is moved along the ink accommodating channel 23.

A preferred size of the ink pellet 20 will be explained with reference to Figs. 9 and 10. The width L1 of the upper contacting portion 20A of the ink pellet 20 is preferably approximately 16.7 mm and the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B is preferably approximately 14.8 mm. The diagonal distance L3 of the upper cross-section of the pellet main body 20B is preferably approximately 19 mm and a depth of the upper contacting portion 20A is preferably approximately 12.4 mm. A height L7 of the pellet main body 20B of the ink pellet 20 is preferably approximately 7 mm, a height L4 from the step portion 20C to the upper contacting portion 20A of the ink pellet 20 is preferably approximately 8.6 mm and a width L6 of the lower surface of the pellet main body 20B is preferably approximately 12 mm. A width L5 of the step portion 20C of the ink pellet 20 is preferably approximately 1.05 mm. These dimensions are merely preferable and exemplary, and are not intended to be limiting.

As shown in Fig. 12, the ink pellet 20 is removably accommodated in an ink holder 25 so as not to be touched by an operator when handled thereby. The ink holder 25 has a holder main body 29, which is open at one side (the lower surface in Fig. 12), into which the ink pellet 20 is inserted and a supporting mechanism for supporting a plurality of the ink pellet 20 within the holder main body 29. A pressing concave 29A is formed at the center portion of the other side (the upper surface in Fig. 12) of the holder main body 29. The pressing concave 29A serves as a guide for a user, that is, when a user presses on the pressing concave 29A the pressing force is distributed to discharge each of the ink pellets 20 accommodated within the ink holder 25.

On the other hand, the supporting mechanism includes, as shown in Fig. 13, a plurality of supporting sections 26 each arranged in series so as to move along the accommodating channel section 23 shown in Fig. 1A. Each supporting section 26 has a pair of

claw members

27, 27, which engage with the

step portions

20C, 20C of the ink pellet 20. As shown in Fig. 10, the

claw members

27, 27 engage with the

step portions

20C, 20C to support the ink pellet 20 when the upper contacting portion 20A of the ink pellet 20 is inserted into the ink holder 25.

The ink holder 25 is placed into the insertion section 23C of the accommodating channel section 23, as shown in Fig. 1A. The insertion section 23C is provided with an engagement releasing member 23D, as shown in Fig. 10, which projects upward and corresponds to the claw member 27 of the ink holder 25. The engagement releasing member 23D pushes open the

claw members

27, 27 to release the ink pellet 20 from the ink holder 25, whereby the ink pellet 20 falls due to gravity from the ink holder 25 into the pellet supporting channel 23B. It is preferable that the ink holder 25 be provided with a key section, or protrusion and the corresponding insertion section 23C be provided with a key channel section, or matching groove of the same respective color so that a user can identify and place the ink holder 25 for an ink of a predetermined color into the insertion section 23C of the accommodating channel section 23 which corresponds to the ink holder 25 of the predetermined color.

The supporting section 26 of the ink holder 25 has a plate-like guide member 28 formed between the adjacent supporting

sections

26, 26 as shown in Figs. 12 and 13. The guide member 28 is configured to contact the side surface of the ink pellet 20. The guide member 28 contacts the side surface of the upper contacting portion 20A upon movement of the ink pellet 20 toward the pellet supporting channel 23B, thereby maintaining the orientation the ink pellet 20.

The ink pellet 20 having been moved to the pellet supporting channel 23B as described above is, as shown in Fig. 15, urged toward the discharging section 23A by an urging mechanism provided with a pellet pressing member 30 and an urging member 31. An urging mechanism is mounted in each accommodating channel section 23. The pellet pressing member 30 is movable along the pellet supporting channel 23B so as to contact the side surface of the ink pellet 20. The urging member 31 may include a coil spring for producing a stabilized urging force. The center of the spring is fixed to the pellet pressing member 30 and the leading edge thereof is fixed to the discharging section 23A of the accommodating channel section 23.

A projecting member 32 is provided on the upper surface of the pellet pressing member 30. A free end of a link member 33 contacts with the projecting member 32. The link member 33 preferably has a width slightly smaller than the distance between the side wall surfaces of the ink case 21 so as to be in contact with the projecting members 32 of all of the accommodating channel sections 23, that is, the accommodating channel section 23 for each of the respective colors, as shown in Fig. 15. As shown in Fig. 14, insertion pegs 33A are formed at both sides of the free end of the link member 33. The insertion pegs 33A are movably engaged within guide slots 21A formed on both side walls of the ink case 21.

The guide slot 21A is, as shown in Fig. 1B, formed linearly from the discharging section 23A to the insertion section 23C of the accommodating channel section 23, and then connected to a stopper slot 21B bent upward at the insertion section 23C. The fixed end of the link member 33 is pivotally supported at approximately the center portion of the cover member 22. With this structure, the fixed end of the link member 33 is pulled up when the cover member 22 is pivoted open, and the free end moves along the guide slot 21A toward the insertion section 23C contacting with all of the projecting members 32 to thereby advance the projecting members 32 toward the insertion section 23C along with the pellet pressing members 30. When the link member 33 is fully opened, the insertion peg 33A is pulled up into the stopper slot 21B to fix the link member 33 in place so that the pellet pressing member 30 is supported while the cover member 22 is kept open.

Color indications ("Y", "M", "C", "K") showing the color of each ink are marked on the upper surface of the above-mentioned link member 33. The color indications ("Y", "M", "C", "K") are visible from outside of the accommodating channel section 23 and prevent working errors which may occur when the supply of the ink pellets 20 in the accommodating channel section 23 is replenished. The color indications may alternatively or additionally be marked on the cover member 22.

The cover member 22, as shown in Fig. 16, may be made of a material having transparency so that the supply of ink pellets 20 within the accommodating channel section 23 can be viewed from outside of the apparatus. Scales 22a may be marked on the surface of the cover member 22. The scales 22A indicate the number of the ink pellets 20 accommodated in the accommodating channel section 23. The scales 22A are arranged such that the operator can determine the remaining number of ink pellets by viewing the scales from the outside. Alternatively, the scales 22A may be formed on the ink case 21. The cover member 22 may further include an open, or transparent window which extends along the accommodating channel section 23. In this case, it is unnecessary to use the transparent material for the cover member 22.

An operation of the ink supplying apparatus 2 using the ink pellet 20 shown in Figs. 9 and 10 will be explained hereinbelow.

First, fused hot melt ink of each ink color is solidified using a mold to form the ink pellet 20 having the shape shown in Fig. 9. Thereafter, the ink pellet 20 is inserted into the ink holder 25, as shown in Figs. 12 and 13, for preventing stains or grease from being adhered to the ink pellet 20 due to the direct touch of the ink pellet 20 by an operator. When the ink pellet 20 is inserted into the ink holder 25, the claw member 27 of the ink holder 25 engages with the step portion 20C of the ink holder 25 and holds the ink pellet 20 to the ink holder 25 such that the ink pellet 20 does not change its orientation within the ink holder 25 and does not fall out of the ink holder 25 even when shaken. Three ink pellets 20 inserted in the manner described above are supported in the ink holder 25 in series to be supplied by the operator as replenishing ink.

Next, as shown in Fig. 16, the number of ink pellets 20 remaining within the accommodating channel section 23 can be confirmed by viewing the inside of the ink case 21 through the cover member 22 since the cover member 22 is transparent. The number of ink pellets 20 can be determined with reference to the scales 22A. When the number is the same as or smaller than a predetermined number, it is determined that the ink pellet 20 should be replenished. After the ink color is confirmed by the color indications, the ink pellet 20 of the confirmed ink color is replenished.

That is, the cover member 22 is pivoted to the open position as shown in Fig. 14. When the cover member 22 is pivoted, the fixed end of the link member 33 is pulled up and the insertion peg 33A at the free end moves along the guide concave 21A toward the insertion section 23C. When the insertion peg 33A moves toward the insertion section 23C, the free end of the link member 33 contacts with all of the projecting members 32 and the pellet pressing member 30 moves in the direction toward the insertion section 23C, that is, in a direction opposite to the urging direction of the urging member 31. When the link member 33 is fully opened, the insertion peg 33A is pulled up into the stopper slot 21B to fix the link member 33 so that the pellet pressing member 30 is fixed in the advanced position while the cover member 22 is open. Accordingly, the accommodating channel section 23 is exposed and simultaneously the urging is released by the movement of the pellet pressing member 30, thereby completing preparation for placing the ink pellet 20 into the accommodating channel section 23 by the one operation of opening the cover member 22.

When the cover member 22 is opened as described above, the ink holder 25 is, as shown in Fig. 1A, placed into the insertion section 23C of the accommodating channel section 23 according to the color indications marked on the cover member 22 or the link member 33. As shown in Fig. 10, when the ink holder 25 is pressed toward the insertion section 23C, the claw member 27 engaged with the step portion 20C of the ink pellet 20 is pushed open by the engagement releasing member 23D so that the ink pellet 20 drops by gravity into the pellet supporting channel 23B. Even if the ink pellet 20 pivots as it moves the side surface of the ink pellet 20 contacts with the guide member 28 so that the orientation of ink pellet 20 within the ink holder 25 is maintained when it reaches the pellet support channel 23B. Accordingly, the step portion 20C of the ink pellet 20 assuredly contacts with the upper surface of the pellet supporting channel 23B to be supported thereby. Such structure reduces error in moving the ink pellet 20 from the ink holder 25 to the pellet supporting channel 23B. Since errors seldomly occur and three ink pellets 20 are simultaneously placed by one operation, the replenishing operation is quickly completed.

When the ink pellet 20 is placed into the pellet supporting channel 23B, the cover member 22 is pivoted so as to cover the ink case 21, as shown in Fig. 14, such that the free end of the link member 33 is advanced toward the discharging section 23A. The pellet pressing member 30 supported by contact between the link member 33 and the projecting member 32 is moved toward the discharging section 23A by the urging member 31, whereby the ink pellet 20 in each of the accommodating channel sections 23 is moved respectively toward the discharging section 23A, as shown in Fig. 15.

The pellet main body 20B of the ink pellet 20 is formed such that, when supported by the step portion 20C as shown in Figs. 10 and 11, the width thereof is smaller than the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B and the height thereof is smaller than the channel height of the pellet supporting channel 23B. Further, the pellet main body 20B has a rectangular cross-section with the diagonal distance L3 set to be greater than the channel width L2 of the pellet supporting channel 23B. Moreover, both side surfaces 20D, 20D of the pellet main body 20B are inclined such that the width of the pellet main body 20B becomes gradually smaller from its upper surface to its lower surface. Thus, even when the ink pellet 20 jerks from side to side when moved, increased frictional resistance does not occur caused by contact of the pellet main body 20B with the pellet supporting channel 23B and the orientation of the ink pellet 20 does not greatly change due to the contact of corner portions with the side wall surfaces of the pellet supporting channel 23B. As a result, the ink pellet 20 assuredly reaches the discharging section 23A with a predetermined orientation.

After the replenishment of the ink pellet 20 is completed as described above, the ink jet recording apparatus 1 is operated to start printing as shown in Fig. 3. When the hot melt ink in the tank section 16 is consumed and an ink empty condition is detected by an ink remaining amount sensor (not shown), the tank section 16 of the recording head mechanism 12 is moved in the direction shown by an arrow A in Fig. 8 to the supplying position in order to supply the ink pellet 20 to the tank section 16 which has become empty. When the supply selecting member 43 of the tank section 16 reaches the key member 42 of the discharging mechanism 36 corresponding to the tank section 16, the movement of the tank section 16 is terminated. Thereafter, the second pivot member 40 is pivoted in the direction shown by an arrow in Fig. 7 by the LF motor (not shown). When the second pivot member 40 is pivoted, the pinion member 44 is moved downward via the second connecting member 46 to move the key member 42 downward.

In the discharging mechanism 36 in which the supply selecting member 43 is positioned below the key member 42, the key member 42 contacts with the supply selecting member 43. The key member 42 laterally pivots to move downward for engaging with the engagement member 39, to thereby downwardly move the engagement member 39 and the first connecting member 38. By this movement, the first pivot member 37 is pivoted via the first connecting member 38 to press down the upper surface of the ink pellet 20 supported by the pellet supporting plate 35 of the discharging section 23A as shown in Fig. 6, whereby the ink pellet 20 falls down from the discharging section 23A to be inserted into the tank section 16. When the ink pellet 20 is discharged in this manner, the ink pellet 20 is moved along the pellet supporting channel 23B by urging force of the urging member 31 to be replenished to the discharging section 23A which has no ink pellet 20.

On the other hand, the key member 42 does not contact with the supply selecting member 43 in the non-selected discharging mechanism 36, whereby the key member 42 only moves downward so that it does not engage with the engagement member 39. Accordingly, the first pivot member 37, which is connected to the engagement member 39 via the first connecting member 38 does not discharge the ink pellets 20 in the discharge sections 23A corresponding to the non-selected discharging mechanisms 36. Thus, the ink pellet 20 is discharged only from the accommodating channel section 23 corresponding to the tank section 16 to be supplied by the supply selecting member 43 and the discharging mechanism 36, thereby preventing unnecessary supplying error of the ink pellet 20.

The ink supplying apparatus of the preferred embodiment of the invention is for supplying to the tank section 16 for each color the ink pellet 20 formed of hot melt ink of one of a plurality of colors and discharged from a predetermined position. The ink supplying apparatus includes the ink case 21 which can accommodate the ink pellet 20 so as to be movable toward the discharging section 23A. The ink case 21 includes the plurality of accommodating channel sections 23 arranged parallel to each other so as to correspond to the number of colors of the ink pellet 20, the pellet pressing member 30 and the urging member 31 arranged respectively in each of the accommodating channel sections 23 for urging the ink pellet 20 of each of the accommodating channel sections 23 toward the discharging section 23A and the discharging mechanism 36 (supplying means) for supplying the discharged ink pellet 20 at the discharging section 23A to the tank section 16.

The ink pellet 20 is urged by the pellet pressing member 30 in the accommodating channel section 23, such that even if the ink pellet 20 is discharged from the discharging section 23A of the accommodating channel section 23, the ink pellet 20 remaining in the accommodating channel section 23 can be moved to the discharging section 23A. Accordingly, the supply of ink pellet 20 to the tank section 16 can automatically be performed for each color without the intervention of the operator.

As described above, the ink supplying apparatus of the preferred embodiment is for supplying to the tank section 16 the ink pellet 20 formed of hot melt ink and discharged from the supplying section 23A. The ink case 21 is provided with the accommodating channel section 23 which can accommodate the ink pellet 20 so as to be movable toward the supplying section 23A, the pellet pressing member 30 and the urging member 31 for urging the ink pellet 20 at the accommodating channel section 23 toward the supplying section A, the cover member 22 for openably covering the ink case 21, and the cover member 22 for releasing the urging by the pellet pressing member 30 to the ink pellet 20 when the cover member 22 is opened.

With this structure, the operation of moving and discharging the ink pellet 20 is performed by a simple mechanism such as the pellet pressing member 30, thereby being capable of reducing the material and assembling costs thereby reducing the cost of the apparatus. Further, when the cover member 22 which covers the ink case 21 is opened, the accommodating channel section 23 is exposed and simultaneously the urging by the pellet pressing member 30 is released. The operation for preparing to insert the ink pellet 20 into the accommodating channel section 23 is executed only by the one operation of opening the cover member 22. Accordingly, the insertion operation of the ink pellet 20 into the accommodating channel section 23 can be performed by the operator in a short period.

Further, according to the preferred embodiment of the invention, the cover member 22 may be transparent to allow visual confirmation of the existence and/or number of the ink pellets 20 within accommodating channel section 23 from outside. With this structure, the existence and/or number of the ink pellets 20 can be visually confirmed from outside via the cover member 22, thereby allowing easy prediction of when a new supply of the ink pellet 20 will be required.

While the invention has been described in conjunction with a specific embodiment thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein is intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

Claims

An ink supplying apparatus for supplying an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink to at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer, the ink supplying apparatus comprising:

an ink case for accommodating at least one ink pellet such that the at least one ink pellet is movable toward a predetermined discharge position, the ink case including at least one accommodating channel section;

an urging mechanism arranged in the at least one accommodating channel section for urging the at least one ink pellet toward the predetermined discharge position; and

at least one supplying mechanism for supplying the at least one ink pellet at the predetermined discharge position of the accommodating channel section to the at least one ink melting section.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer comprises a plurality of ink melting sections, each of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of hot melt ink; wherein the at least one accommodating channel section comprises a plurality of accommodating channel sections arranged parallel to each other, each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections corresponding to one of the plurality of colors of hot melt ink, being capable of accommodating at least one ink pellet of the respective one of the plurality of colors, and being disposed above one of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to the respective one of the plurality of colors; wherein an urging mechanism is arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections for urging the at least one ink pellet in each of the accommodating channel sections toward the predetermined discharge position; and wherein the supplying mechanism is capable of supplying an ink pellet at the predetermined discharge position in any of the plurality of accommodating channel sections to the corresponding ink melting section disposed therebelow.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the at least one supplying mechanism is disposed so as to correspond to each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections, and the ink supplying apparatus further comprises at least one supply selecting mechanism for controlling operation of the supplying mechanism so as to discharge an ink pellet only from the accommodating channel section which corresponds to an ink melting section in need of a supply of hot melt ink.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the at least one supplying mechanism comprises a plurality of supplying mechanisms corresponding to each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections, and wherein the at least one supply selecting mechanism comprises a plurality of supply selecting mechanisms corresponding to each of the plurality of supplying mechanisms for controlling operation of the respective supplying mechanisms so as to discharge an ink pellet only from the accommodating channel section which corresponds to an ink melting section in need of a supply of hot melt ink.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the plurality of supply selecting mechanisms are arranged so that when a supplying selecting mechanism corresponding to an ink melting section in need of a supply of hot melt ink controls operation of its corresponding supplying mechanism to discharge an ink pellet from the accommodating channel section which corresponds to the ink melting section in need of a supply of hot melt ink, the remaining plurality of supply selecting mechanisms do not control operation of their corresponding supplying mechanism to discharge an ink pellet.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising a color indicator for indicating a color of hot melt ink of the ink pellet which is to be accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the predetermined discharge position to the at least one accommodating channel section is disposed above the at least one ink melting section, and the supplying mechanism supplies at least one ink pellet to the ink melting section by pressing down on the ink pellet to cause the ink pellet to fall by gravity into the ink melting section.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any preceding claim, further comprising a transparent cover for covering the ink case.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a scale indicating a number of ink pellets stored within the ink supplying apparatus is formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case.
An ink supplying apparatus for supplying an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink to an ink melting section of an ink jet printer, the ink supplying apparatus comprising:

an ink case including at least one accommodating channel section for accommodating the at least one ink pellet so as to be movable toward a predetermined position from which the at least one ink pellet is discharged;

an urging mechanism for urging the at least one ink pellet in the accommodating channel section toward the predetermined position;

a cover for covering the ink case; and

an urging releasing mechanism for releasing the urging by the urging mechanism when the cover is opened.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the urging mechanism comprises a contacting member movably provided so as to be in contact with the at least one ink pellet and an urging member for affording to the contacting member an urging force toward the predetermined position, and wherein the urging releasing mechanism comprises a link member, one end of which is pivotably supported by the cover and another end of which is movably engaged with the ink case so as to be in contact with the contacting member when the cover is opened to separate the contacting member from the least one ink pellet.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the accommodating channel section includes a stopper portion for fixing the another end of the link member when the cover is fully opened.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the urging member is a coil spring.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the cover is transparent.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 14, further comprising a scale for indicating a number of ink pellets accommodated within the ink case formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 15, wherein the at least one accommodating channel section comprises a plurality of accommodating channel sections, each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of hot melt ink, and wherein a color indicator for indicating a color of hot melt ink of the at least one ink pellet which is to be accommodated in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections is formed on at least one of the cover and the ink case.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 16, wherein the at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer comprises a plurality of ink melting sections, each of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to one of a plurality of colors of hot melt ink; wherein the at least one accommodating channel section comprises a plurality of accommodating channel sections arranged parallel to each other, each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections corresponding to one of the plurality of colors of hot melt ink, being capable of accommodating at least one ink pellet of the respective one of the plurality of colors, and being disposed above one of the plurality of ink melting sections corresponding to the respective one of the plurality of colors; wherein an urging mechanism is arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections for urging the at least one ink pellet in each of the accommodating channel sections toward the predetermined discharge position; and wherein the urging releasing mechanism releases the urging by each of the urging mechanisms arranged in each of the plurality of accommodating channel sections when the cover is opened.
The ink supplying apparatus according to claim 17, wherein each of the urging mechanisms comprises a contacting member movably provided so as to be in contact with the at least one ink pellet and an urging member for affording to the contacting member an urging force toward the predetermined position, and wherein the urging releasing mechanism comprises a link member, one end of which is pivotably supported by the cover and another end of which is movably engaged with the ink case so as to be in contact with each of the contacting members when the cover is opened to separate each of the contacting members from the at least one ink pellet.
The ink supplying apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 18, wherein the cover includes a transparent window.
An ink supplying apparatus for supplying an ink pellet formed of hot melt ink to at least one ink melting section of an ink jet printer, the ink supplying apparatus comprising:

an ink case for accommodating at least one ink pellet such that the at least one ink pellet is movable toward a predetermined discharge position, the ink case including at least one accommodating channel section;

an urging mechanism arranged in the at least one accommodating channel section for urging the at least one ink pellet toward the predetermined discharge position;

a cover for covering the ink case;

an urging releasing mechanism for releasing the urging by the urging mechanism when the cover is opened; and

a supplying mechanism for supplying the at least one ink pellet at the predetermined discharge position of the accommodating channel section to the at least one ink melting section.