JP2000000979A - Ink jet recorder and waste ink tank therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder in which unprintable state caused by over capacity of a waste ink tank can be avoided easily and a waste ink tank therefor. SOLUTION: The ink jet recorder comprises a carriage 18 mounting a recording head cartridge, a sheet carrying mechanism 19, an auto-sheet feeder 3, and a head recovery pump 13 for sucking and discarding ink rendered unsuitable for printing due to dry up or stiffening in the vicinity of a head nozzle in order to sustain a recording head constantly in normal state. A waste ink tank 11 having a fully opening/closing upper surface and containing an ink absorber is disposed on the bottom face of a record operation mechanism 10 of the ink jet recorder under the head recovery pump 13.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus used as an output device such as a computer or a word processor, and more particularly to a small ink jet recording apparatus suitable for carrying and a waste ink tank for the ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus, ink that is no longer suitable for printing is forcibly sucked and discarded due to drying or thickening near a head nozzle in order to always keep a recording head in a normal state. A pump as a means and a waste ink tank as a means for receiving waste ink are provided. The waste ink tank contains a waste ink absorber for absorbing waste ink. The waste ink absorber is a special material having improved absorption and retention performance of waste ink.

Hereinafter, a conventional ink jet recording apparatus having a waste ink tank will be described with reference to FIG.

An ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage 4 on which a recording head for recording on a recording material (not shown) is mounted.
8. A head recovery pump 4 for forcibly sucking and discarding waste ink, which is connected to the waste ink tank 41 by a paper transport mechanism 49 and a joint 42 for transporting a recording material.
3 and the like. further,
The inkjet recording apparatus includes a waste ink tank 41 containing a waste ink absorber, a control board 44 for controlling the operation of the inkjet recording apparatus, a battery 45, a lower case 46, and an upper case 47. Waste ink tank 41
Is disposed below the recording operation mechanism 40, and has a capacity to receive the entire amount of waste ink discarded during the life of the apparatus.

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional ink jet recording apparatus, the waste ink tank has a large capacity for receiving all the waste ink discarded during the life of the apparatus, which hinders miniaturization of the ink jet recording apparatus. Had become. In particular, in the field of mobile computing, which has recently attracted attention, there is a demand for further miniaturization of portable recording devices.

[0006] For this reason, there is also a recording apparatus in which the capacity of the waste ink tank is reduced so that the waste ink tank is replaced during the life of the apparatus. In such a recording apparatus, the waste ink tank is unitized and the waste ink is used as a service part. The tank is set up and supplied to the user.

However, when a waste ink tank is set as a service part, the cost increases and
Since it was obtained at a service store, it was difficult to easily obtain and exchange it anytime, anywhere.
Therefore, if the waste ink tank is used until it exceeds the allowable amount, printing may not be performed.

Accordingly, the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and a waste ink tank for the ink jet recording apparatus which can easily avoid a state in which printing cannot be performed due to an excess capacity of the waste ink tank.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention comprises: holding means for holding a recording head for discharging ink and performing recording on a recording medium; and the recording head. And a waste ink tank for holding a waste ink absorber capable of absorbing the ink sucked by the recovery means by forcibly sucking ink from the print head to recover the ink discharge capability of the recording head. In the inkjet recording apparatus, the waste ink tank has a waste ink receiving unit for receiving waste ink discarded from the recovery unit on any of the wall surfaces constituting the waste ink tank, and among the wall surfaces, At least one surface is a lid that can be completely opened and closed.

[0010] The wall surface may be formed with a ventilation window made of a semi-permeable membrane that allows gas to permeate but does not transmit liquid, or may have a transparent window formed on the wall surface so that the inside can be observed. .

Further, when the lid is closed, the peripheral portion of the lid may be brought into close contact with the lid so that the waste ink tank can be kept airtight. When doing, the peripheral portion of the waste ink receiving portion may be airtightly maintained by being closely attached to the main body,
The waste ink absorber may be packaged in a bag that does not leak waste ink to the outside.

In the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention configured as described above, the lid of the waste ink tank can be completely opened and closed, so that the waste ink absorber can be easily disposed and replaced. In other words, even in a situation where the waste ink absorber supplied as a service part is difficult to obtain, it can be replaced with a user-friendly one such as tissue paper, for example.
The user himself can easily replace the waste ink absorber.

Furthermore, since the waste ink absorber used in the bag is made of a material impermeable to waste ink, the waste ink absorber can be replaced without soiling the hands.

Further, the waste ink tank of the present invention comprises a holding means for holding a recording head for discharging ink and performing recording on a recording medium, and forcibly sucking the ink from the recording head. In a waste ink tank holding a waste ink absorber capable of absorbing the ink sucked by the recovery means, of the inkjet recording apparatus having a recovery means for recovering the ink discharging ability of the print head, One of the walls constituting the waste ink tank has a waste ink receiving portion for receiving waste ink discarded from the recovery means, and at least one of the wall surfaces has a lid that can be completely opened and closed. There is a feature.

The wall surface may be formed with a ventilation window made of a semipermeable membrane that allows gas to permeate but does not transmit liquid, or may have a transparent window formed on the wall surface so that the inside can be observed. .

Further, when the lid is closed, the periphery of the lid may be brought into close contact with the lid to keep the waste ink tank airtight, and the waste ink receiving section may be provided with the waste ink tank attached to the main body. When doing, the peripheral portion of the waste ink receiving portion may be airtightly maintained by being closely attached to the main body,
The waste ink absorber may be packaged in a bag that does not leak waste ink to the outside.

[0017]

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

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

The ink jet recording apparatus of the present embodiment
It comprises a recording operation mechanism 10, a control board 14, a waste ink tank 11 and a battery 15 housed in a lower case 16, and an upper case 17.

The recording operation mechanism 10 includes a carriage 18 on which a recording head cartridge (not shown) is mounted, a paper transport mechanism 19 for transporting a recording material (not shown), and an automatic sheet for automatically feeding paper. It has a feeder 3 and a head recovery pump 13 of a cylinder pump for always keeping the recording head in an optimum state.

The recording head cartridge has an ink tank for storing ink and a recording head for discharging ink to a recording material. Head recovery pump 13
Forcibly sucks ink that is no longer suitable for printing due to drying or thickening in the vicinity of the head nozzle in order to always keep the recording head in a normal state, and discards it in the waste ink tank 11. The waste ink tank 11 is disposed on the bottom of the recording operation mechanism 10 and below the head recovery pump 13. The control board 14 controls the operation of the recording operation mechanism 10,
It is arranged on the back of the recording operation mechanism 10. The battery 15 for operating the recording operation mechanism 10 is disposed on the bottom surface of the recording operation mechanism 10 and at a portion that does not interfere with the waste ink tank 11. The lower case 16 is a lower exterior of the ink jet recording apparatus, and
An opening 1 for attaching / detaching is formed. The lower case 16 has a confirmation window 2 for confirming the amount of waste ink in the waste ink tank 11. The upper case 17 is an upper exterior of the ink jet recording apparatus.

Next, the details of the waste ink tank 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG.
The waste ink tank 11 has a waste ink tank upper case 11b.
And a box-shaped waste ink tank lower case 11 having an open upper surface
a. Also, the waste ink tank lower case 1
A waste ink amount confirmation window 32 in which a transparent member is fitted is provided on the side surface of 1a and at a position most distant from a through hole 22 described later. An engagement recess 34 for engagement with the waste ink tank upper case 11b is formed on another side surface.

The waste ink tank upper case 11b is provided with an engagement claw 20 which engages with the engagement recess 34 of the waste ink tank upper case 11b. Window 21 and the first O
A joint 12 having a through hole 22 having a ring 23 is provided.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where the waste ink tank upper case 11b of the waste ink tank of FIG. 2 is removed.

A second O-ring 33, which is a rubber sealing member, is provided all around the opening edge of the waste ink tank lower case 11a.
Is provided. Also, the waste ink tank lower case 11
A waste ink absorber 31 is housed inside a.

When closing the waste ink tank lower case 11a with the waste ink tank upper case 11b, the second O-ring 3
3 is pressed by the waste ink tank upper case 11b, the inside is sealed, and the engaging claw 20 is further
4, the waste ink tank lower case 11a
And the waste ink tank upper case 11b are fixed.

The waste ink absorber 31 can be easily and inexpensively obtained by a user.
For example, the portable tissue paper is used in a state of being wrapped in a vinyl bag 31a that does not transmit the waste ink. In addition, the inner dimensions of the waste ink tank lower case 11a are such that X = about 75 mm, respectively, so that the portable tissue paper can be easily inserted and the inside thereof does not rattle.
Y = about 105 mm.

When the waste ink tank 11 is housed in the recording operation mechanism 10 with the waste ink absorber 31 accommodated therein, when the waste ink tank 11 is installed in the lower part of the waste port 24 of the head recovery pump 13, the tip is needle-shaped. The waste ink tube 25 is
Penetrate through. The penetrated waste ink tube 25 breaks through the bag 31 a of the waste ink absorber 31 and pierces the waste ink absorber 31. In this state, the waste ink is transferred by the head recovery pump 13 to the waste ink absorber 31 via the waste port 24 and the waste ink tube 25, and is absorbed and held. First
The O-ring 23 is made of rubber, and when the waste ink tank 11 is incorporated into the recording operation mechanism 10, the head recovery pump 13
And the head recovery pump 13 and the waste ink tank 11 are hermetically sealed. When the waste ink tank 11 is mounted on the recording operation mechanism 10 as described above, the waste ink tank upper case 11b and the waste ink tank lower case 11
a, the through-hole 22 and the waste port 24 are in close contact with each other, so that the waste ink does not leak from the waste ink tank 11 regardless of the posture of the recording apparatus. Further, when the waste ink tank 11 is mounted on the recording operation mechanism 10, the confirmation window 32 for the waste ink amount of the waste ink tank 11 and the confirmation window 2 of the lower case 16, which is an exterior, are arranged at overlapping positions. 2 and the waste ink amount confirmation window 32, the waste ink amount in the waste ink tank 11 can be confirmed.

The evaporation window 21 is attached with a semipermeable membrane that allows only gas and not liquid to pass through, and evaporates only the gas component of the waste ink discarded into the waste ink tank 11 by the evaporation window 21. Thus, the volume of the waste ink can be reduced, and the life of the waste ink absorber 31 can be extended.

The user checks the amount of waste ink discarded in the waste ink tank 11 through the confirmation window 2 and the waste ink amount confirmation window 32 of the exterior lower case 16 and the waste ink tank lower case 11a. If the waste ink amount is equal to or more than a certain level, the waste ink absorber 31 in the bag 31a is replaced.

Here, a method of replacing the waste ink absorber 31 will be described.

First, an engaging claw (not shown) for engaging the waste ink tank 11 with the recording operation mechanism 10 is removed, and the waste ink tank 11 is removed from the opening 1 of the lower case 16. Next, the engaging claw 20 of the waste ink tank upper case 11b
Is removed from the engagement concave portion 34 of the waste ink tank lower case 11a, and the waste ink tank upper case 11b is removed. The waste ink tank lower case 11a is inverted, and the waste ink absorber 3
Discard 1 After the waste ink absorber 31 is discarded, a new waste ink absorber 31 is put therein, and the waste ink tank upper case 1
The waste ink tank 11 is completed by fitting 1b. Finally, the replacement operation is completed by mounting the waste ink tank 11 through the opening 1 of the outer lower case 16.

As described above, the waste ink tube 25 pierces the bag 31a of the portable tissue paper as the waste ink absorber 31, and the ink is directly discarded to the tissue paper as the waste ink absorber 31 in the bag 31a. Ink is less likely to leak out of the bag 31a, and when the waste ink absorber 31 is discarded, the waste ink tank lower case 11a is simply inverted, and the waste ink absorber 31 that absorbs and holds the waste ink is used. Since there is no need to touch any part, the user does not get his hands dirty when the waste ink absorber 31 is replaced.

In the above embodiment, the portable tissue paper contained in the bag 31a is used as the waste ink absorber 31, but the invention is not limited to this, and ordinary tissue paper may be used by folding. Further, any cosmetic cotton or the like that can be easily obtained by the user and easily absorbs moisture may be used. When not using the waste ink absorber 31 wrapped in the bag 31a, it is not necessary to use the waste ink tube 25 having a needle-like tip, and the waste ink may be directly dropped from the waste port 24. . Further, the size of the waste ink tank 11 may be such that the size of the waste ink tank 11 is optimized according to each assumed waste ink absorber 31.

Although the waste ink tank upper case 11b can be completely removed, the present invention is not limited to this.
If the waste ink absorber 31 can be replaced without the user touching the waste ink absorber 31 that has absorbed and held the waste ink, even if one side of the box-shaped waste ink tank 11 is completely opened. Good.

As described above, the waste ink tank upper case 11
b indicates that the waste ink tank 11 can be kept airtight.
There is no leakage of waste ink from the waste ink tank 11. Furthermore, since the waste ink absorber 31 is easily and inexpensively available and the waste ink tank upper case 11b, which is the lid of the waste ink tank 11, can be completely opened and closed. Disposal and replacement of the body 31 are no longer bothersome, so that a small-capacity waste ink tank 11 can be used instead of a large-capacity waste ink tank 11 that does not require replacement, and space efficiency can be improved. Thus, a small-sized portable ink jet recording apparatus can be provided, and the waste ink absorber 31 can be provided.
It is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of avoiding the trouble that the waste ink capacity becomes full and printing cannot be performed due to the trouble of discarding and replacing the ink.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the lid of the waste ink tank can be completely opened and closed, disposal and replacement of the waste ink absorber become easy. In other words, even when the waste ink absorber supplied as a service part is difficult to obtain, the user can easily replace the waste ink absorber with a tissue paper or the like that is easily available to the user, for example. For this reason, even if the capacity of the waste ink tank is small, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can easily avoid a state in which printing cannot be performed due to an excess capacity of the waste ink tank.

Further, since the waste ink absorber used in the bag is made of a material that does not transmit the waste ink, the waste ink absorber can be replaced without soiling the hands.

Further, since the lid is capable of maintaining the airtightness of the waste ink tank, the waste ink absorbed and held by the waste ink absorber is discharged to the outside of the waste ink tank regardless of the posture of the ink jet recording apparatus. Do not leak. This makes it possible to provide a small and portable ink jet recording apparatus.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a waste ink tank according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a state where a waste ink tank upper case of FIG. 2 is removed.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a conventional ink jet recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Opening 2 Confirmation window 3 Auto sheet feeder 10, 40 Recording operation mechanism 11, 41 Waste ink tank 11a Waste ink tank lower case 11b Waste ink tank upper case 12, 42 Joint 13, 43 Head recovery pump 14, 44 Control board 15 , 45 Battery 16, 46 Lower case 17, 47 Upper case 18, 48 Carriage 19, 49 Paper transport mechanism 20 Engagement claw 21 Evaporation window 22 Through hole 23 First O-ring 24 Waste port 25 Waste ink tube 31 Waste ink absorption Body 31a bag 32 window for checking the amount of waste ink 33 second O-ring 34 engagement recess

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A holding means for holding a recording head for ejecting ink and performing recording on a recording medium, and forcibly sucking the ink from the recording head to reduce the ink ejection capability of the recording head. In an ink jet recording apparatus having a recovery unit for recovering and a waste ink tank holding a waste ink absorber capable of absorbing the ink sucked by the recovery unit, the waste ink tank is a wall constituting the waste ink tank. Any of the above-mentioned wall surfaces, wherein at least one of the wall surfaces is a lid that can be completely opened and closed. apparatus. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a ventilation window made of a semi-permeable membrane through which gas is permeable but liquid is not permeable is formed on the wall surface. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transparent window through which the inside can be observed is formed on the wall surface. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the lid is closed, the waste ink tank can be kept airtight by bringing the peripheral portion of the lid into close contact. apparatus. 5. The waste ink receiving section is capable of maintaining airtightness when the waste ink tank is mounted on the main body, the peripheral portion of the waste ink receiving section being in close contact with the main body. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste ink absorber is packaged in a bag made of a material that does not transmit the waste ink. 7. A holding means for holding a recording head for ejecting ink and performing recording on a recording medium, and forcibly sucking the ink from the recording head to reduce the ink ejection capability of the recording head. For an inkjet recording apparatus having a recovery means for recovering, in a waste ink tank holding a waste ink absorber capable of absorbing the ink sucked by the recovery means, on any of the wall surfaces constituting the waste ink tank, A waste ink tank having a waste ink receiving portion for receiving waste ink discarded from the recovery means, wherein at least one of the wall surfaces is a lid that can be completely opened and closed. 8. A ventilation window formed of a semipermeable membrane through which gas is permeable but liquid is not permeable.
The waste ink tank according to 1. 9. The waste ink tank according to claim 7, wherein a transparent window through which the inside can be observed is formed on the wall surface. 10. The waste ink according to claim 7, wherein, when the lid is closed, a peripheral portion of the lid is brought into close contact with the lid to keep the waste ink tank airtight. tank. 11. The waste ink receiving section can be airtightly held by attaching a peripheral portion of the waste ink receiving section to the main body when the waste ink tank is mounted on the main body. The waste ink tank according to any one of claims 7 to 10. 12. The waste ink tank according to claim 7, wherein the waste ink absorber is packaged in a bag made of a material impermeable to waste ink.