JP2000177142A - Method for filling ink to ink cartridge and ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for filling ink to an ink cartridge and an ink cartridge whereby the air is prevented from being caught in the ink when the ink is supplied to an ink head, thereby preventing generation of a clog at the ink head, the ink is prevented from flowing out of an ink discharge opening when the ink discharge opening is positioned below and the ink can be perfectly used up. SOLUTION: The method includes an evacuation process in which the air in a container 4 is taken out from an air communication opening 7 thereby turning the interior of the container 4 in a vacuum state, an ink feed process of feeding ink of an amount not larger than an amount that can be held by an absorbing member 8 by a negative pressure into the container 4 from an ink discharge opening 5, and an air open process of connecting the air communication opening 7 to the air thereby freeing the interior of the container 4 to the air.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for filling an ink cartridge into an ink cartridge mounted on an ink jet printer and an ink cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printers which output images by discharging ink droplets from discharge holes have been widely used recently because of their excellent low-pitched sound and easy miniaturization. 2. Description of the Related Art In printers, the number of holes for ejecting ink from an ink head is small due to high image quality and high speed. For this reason, the piping path in the ink head becomes thinner and more complicated accordingly.

A conventional ink jet printer of this type includes an ink discharge port for discharging ink, an ink head for generating ink discharge energy, and an ink cartridge connected to the head and supplying ink to the ink head. The ink head has a piping path, an ink discharge port, and a heating element or a piezoelectric element for generating energy used for ink discharge.

The ink cartridge contains a porous suction member impregnated with ink, and holds ink by storing ink in the suction member. As a method of filling the ink in the ink cartridge, ink is injected into the cartridge from an ink discharge port of the ink cartridge by an injector or the like, and the absorbing member absorbs and impregnates the ink. Later, the ink cartridge is attached to the ink head and the ink is ejected from the ink head, so that the ink is also introduced into the ink head.

However, if dirt is mixed in the ink that enters the piping of the ink head, the piping is clogged, so-called clogging occurs, and it becomes impossible to discharge the ink. I do. In addition, not only dust but also bubbles (air bubbles) mixed in the ink are factors that cause clogging of the ink head. When this clogging occurs, particularly in a solid printed matter such as a photograph, a portion where the ink is not ejected from the ink head loses color as it scans the head, which is very conspicuous and a major cause of user complaints. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent clogging of the ink head.

[0006] The incorporation of air bubbles, which is one of the causes of clogging, is caused by the ink cartridge side. Specifically, as described above, when filling the ink cartridge with the ink, the ink is injected by an injector or the like. Is often caused by air being mixed with ink into the absorbing member. To solve such a problem, for example, there is one described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-338196. In this method, after the ink head and the ink cartridge having the absorbing member are connected, the ink head and the ink cartridge are evacuated to fill the ink cartridge with ink. Can be filled with the ink, and the occurrence of clogging due to air bubbles entering the ink head can be prevented.

However, in this case, since there is no regulation on the ink filling amount (the ink impregnating amount of the absorbing member),
A problem that ink flows out of the absorbing member has occurred. Specifically, the ink cartridge
The ink discharge port connected to the ink head faces downward, the ink is held by the negative pressure absorbing member, and the ink is ejected from the ink head when an ejection signal is generated in the heating element or the piezoelectric element of the ink head. It is supposed to.

[0008] At this time, if the ink is filled with an amount of ink that can be held by the absorbing member, the ink will flow out of the ink outlet when the ink outlet is directed downward, and the user's hands and clothes will be stained. In addition, even when attached to the ink head, ink flows out of the ink head. Therefore, the amount of ink in the ink cartridge needs to be set to be equal to or less than the amount of ink that the absorbing member can hold.

To solve such a problem, there is one disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-101970. In this method, the ink cartridge is evacuated to a vacuum state, and the ink is filled in the cartridge beyond the amount of ink that the absorbing member can hold by the negative pressure. By sucking and removing the ink in the cartridge, the ink distribution amount of the absorbing member near the ink discharge port is made larger than that of the other parts. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the ink from flowing out of the outlet when the ink outlet is directed downward.

[0010]

However, in such an ink filling method, the ink distribution amount of the absorbing member near the ink discharge port is made larger than that of the other parts, but the entire area of the absorbing member is covered. When the ink is supplied to the ink head, air in the absorbing member is entrained to carry bubbles to the ink head.

More specifically, since the ink distribution amount of the absorbing member near the ink discharge port is higher than that of the other portions, and the absorbing member other than this portion has a lower density of ink, it is natural that However, air is mixed in the absorbing member in the low density portion. Therefore, when the ink is supplied to the ink head, the air mixed into the absorbing member is mixed into the ink, and there is a problem that clogging of the ink head cannot be completely eliminated.

In addition, since the ink is impregnated up to the area of the absorbing member above the ink discharge port, there is also a problem that when the ink is used up, the ink remaining above cannot be used up. Therefore, the present invention prevents the entrainment of air when supplying ink to the ink head by distributing the ink in a concentrated manner at the ink discharge port and providing an area where no ink exists in a part of the air communication port. Clogging of the ink head can be prevented, and ink can be prevented from flowing out from the ink discharge port when the ink discharge port is located at the lower side. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of filling an ink cartridge into an ink cartridge and a method of completely filling up the ink cartridge.

[0013]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In order to solve the above problem, one side has an ink discharge port that can be connected to an ink head, and the other side facing the one side has an air communication port that can communicate with the atmosphere, and the inside is impregnated with ink. Preparing an ink cartridge provided with a container having a possible absorbing member, drawing out air in the container from the atmospheric communication port to vacuum the inside of the container, and an amount below which the absorbing member can be held by negative pressure An ink supply step of supplying the ink from the ink discharge port into the container, and an air release step of opening the inside of the container to the atmosphere by communicating the atmosphere communication port with the atmosphere.

[0014] In this case, the absorbing member can be evacuated by extracting the air in the container from the air communication port and evacuating the container. Further, by supplying ink into the container from the ink discharge port in an amount equal to or less than the amount that the absorbing member can hold by the negative pressure, it is possible to prevent the absorbing member from being impregnated with unnecessary ink. In addition, by opening the inside of the container to the atmosphere by connecting the atmosphere communication port to the atmosphere, the ink can be concentrated and distributed to the ink discharge port side, and a part of the air communication port side is not impregnated with the ink. You can create an area. At this time, since the air communication port is opened to the atmosphere and the ink discharge port is not opened to the atmosphere, the air can be concentrated in the area not impregnated with the ink. Can be prevented from being mixed.

As a result, clogging of the ink head can be prevented from occurring, and ink can be prevented from flowing out of the ink discharge port when the ink discharge port is located at the lower side. Can be. Further, when the ink discharge port is located on the lower side, there is no ink on the upper part of the absorbing member, so that the ink can be completely used up.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the first aspect of the present invention, in the atmosphere opening step, the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere to open the inside of the container to the atmosphere. In some cases, the speed of the air flowing into the container is adjusted. The reason for this will be described.

In the ink supply step, the ink is supplied into the ink cartridge in a vacuum state in order to hold the ink in the absorbing member, and then the cartridge is opened to the atmosphere to remove the cartridge from the ink supply device. It must be at atmospheric pressure. If air is introduced from the ink outlet in this operation, the ink distributed near the ink outlet of the absorbing member will be moved away from the ink outlet. In order to prevent this, the atmosphere is opened to the atmosphere through an atmosphere communication port provided separately from the ink discharge port.

By the way, in the atmosphere release step, ink enters the pipe connected to the atmosphere communication port to a position such as a valve for keeping the inside of the ink cartridge vacuum. If the air is released to the atmosphere instantaneously in this state, the air has a lower viscosity than the ink in the pipe, so that the energetic air overtakes the ink and enters the cartridge before the ink. In such a case, the pressure in the cartridge becomes atmospheric pressure, and the movement of the air stops, so that the ink overtaken by the air remains in the pipe.

In such a case, the ink that should enter the cartridge remains in the piping, and when the cartridge is removed from the ink supply device, the ink filling in the cartridge by the amount of the ink remaining in the piping of the ink supply device. The amount will be less than the desired amount. The amount of ink remaining in the pipe is determined by the amount of ink distributed (absorbed) to the air communication port side, but distributed to the air communication port side of the absorption member due to the gaps and wrinkles inside the absorption member. Since the amount of ink changes, variations occur.

Since the amount of ink remaining in the pipe varies due to the variation, it is impossible to perform stable ink filling. According to a second aspect of the present invention, when the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere and the inside of the container is opened to the atmosphere, the speed of the air flowing into the container is adjusted so that the air is released in the atmosphere opening step after the ink supply. The ink that has entered the pipe through the communication port is slowly returned into the cartridge to prevent the ink from remaining in the pipe. As a result, when the cartridge is removed from the ink supply device, it is possible to prevent the ink filling amount from being varied in the cartridge, and to perform stable ink filling.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the ink cartridge is configured such that the absorbing member is in close contact with an ink discharge port, and the absorbing member is connected to the absorbing member. A container having a space defined between the other side surfaces is provided, and in the ink supply step, when the ink is supplied to the container from the ink discharge port by an amount equal to or less than an amount that the absorbing member can hold by negative pressure, Ink accumulates in the absorbing member near the ink outlet, and then flows into the space through the easy-to-flow portion of the absorbing member. In the atmosphere release step, when the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere, ink is sucked into the absorption member by the negative pressure in the absorption member. It is.

In this case, the ink can be concentrated and distributed on the side of the ink discharge port, and a region on the side of the air communication port that is not impregnated with the ink can be reliably formed. At this time, since air is concentrated in a region not impregnated with ink, it is possible to prevent air from being mixed with ink when supplying ink to the ink head. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink from flowing out of the ink discharge port when the ink discharge port is located on the lower side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the first aspect of the present invention,
In the vacuum step, an air leak in the container is inspected. This is because, before filling the ink, the inside of the container is surely evacuated, and when the inside of the container is brought to the atmospheric pressure after filling the ink, the ink that has not been absorbed by the absorbing member at the time of filling is surely applied to the absorbing member. This is because, in order to impregnate the container, it is necessary to perform an air leak inspection when the inside of the container is evacuated to ensure that the inside of the container is in a vacuum state.

In this way, the ink can be surely impregnated in the absorbing member when the inside of the container is brought to the atmospheric pressure after filling the ink, and as a result, the ink is concentrated and distributed on the ink discharge port side. In addition, it is possible to create a region where the ink is not impregnated in a part of the air communication port side. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, in the first aspect of the present invention, the ink supplied into the container in the ink supply step uses degassed ink. It is characterized by:

In this manner, the generation of bubbles when the ink mixed with air is filled in the evacuated container is prevented, and the ink is reliably supplied from the ink cartridge to the ink head. That's why. In order to solve the above problem, the invention according to claim 6 has an ink discharge port connectable to an ink head on one side, and an air communication port that can communicate with the atmosphere on the other side facing the one side. An ink cartridge comprising a container having an absorbing member capable of impregnating ink therein, wherein the absorbing member impregnates a large amount of ink into a portion facing the one side surface and a portion facing the other side surface. Has an area not impregnated with ink.

In this case, the ink is supplied to the ink head because the absorbing portion near the ink discharge port is impregnated with a large amount of ink and the portion of the absorbing member near the air communication port has a region not impregnated with ink. At times, air can be prevented from being mixed into the ink, and clogging of the ink head can be prevented. In addition, since there is a region where the ink is not impregnated in a part of the absorbing member, the ink is not impregnated more than necessary in the absorbing member. It can be prevented from flowing out. In addition, when the ink discharge port is located on the lower side, the ink can be completely used up.

[0027]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 20 are views showing an embodiment of a method for filling an ink cartridge with ink and an ink cartridge according to the present invention. First, the configuration will be described. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge 1 has a main body 2 and a lid 3 for closing the main body 2. The main body 2 and the lid 3 constitute a container 4. . In addition, the main body 2 and the lid 3 are joined by heat welding, so that the container 4 does not generate air leak.

An ink outlet 5 which can be connected to an ink head (not shown) is provided at the bottom of the main body 2 on one side of the container 4.
The packing 6 is attached around the ink discharge port 5. The packing 6 is preferably made of rubber, but the material is not limited to rubber. Further, an air communication port 7 is provided in the lid portion 3 that constitutes the other side surface of the container 4, and the air communication port 7 can communicate with the atmosphere.

As shown in FIG. 2, an ink-impregnating absorbing member 8 made of a porous material or the like is housed inside the main body 2, and one end of the absorbing member 8 has an ink outlet 5a.
And the other end side defines a space 9 between itself and the lid 3. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a filling device (ink supply device) 10 for filling the ink cartridge 1 with ink. In the filling device 10, the ink discharge port 5 and the atmosphere communication port 7 are connected to pipes 11 and 12, respectively, and the ink discharge port 11 is connected to a stop valve 13.

The stop valve 13 is composed of a two-way solenoid valve. When the coil is energized, the stop valve 13 communicates with the ink discharge port 5 and the ink supply pump 14. When the coil is stopped, the stop valve 13 communicates with the ink discharge port 5. The communication with the ink supply pump 14 is cut off. When the ink discharge port 5 and the ink supply pump 14 are communicated with each other, the ink supply pump 14 sucks the ink from the ink tank 15, so that the ink is supplied from the pipe 11 and the ink discharge port 5 into the container 4. ing. The ink filled in the ink tank 5 has been degassed.

The structure of the ink supply pump 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. Ink supply tank 14 is ink tank 15
And a plunger 17 housed in the case 16. The plunger 17 is driven by driving means (not shown) to reciprocate and rotate. And one reciprocation is performed during one rotation.

The tip of the plunger 17 is formed in a D-shaped cross section, and the D-shaped tip has a flat portion 17a and a curved portion 17b. As shown in FIG. 4, the round shaft portion 17c excluding the D-shaped portion of the plunger 17 is
The outlet 16b is closed when the flat portion 17a faces the inlet 16a opposite to the outlet a. When the plunger 17 starts rotating and reciprocating from this position,
As shown in FIG. 5, the volume of the ink reservoir (indicated by hatching) 18 between the plunger 17 and the case 16 increases and the pressure decreases. Thereafter, when the curved surface portion 17b faces the suction port 16a, the ink is sucked. The ink enters the ink reservoir 18 through the opening 16a.

When the plunger 17 comes to the lowermost position as shown in FIG. 6, the flat portion 17a is positioned obliquely and the suction port 16a
When the plunger 17 further rotates, the flat portion 17a closes the discharge port 16a with the suction port 16 closed.
b. Next, as shown in FIG.
Rises, the ink temporarily stored in the ink pool 18 is discharged to the stop valve 13 side through the discharge port 16b. When the plunger 17 comes to the uppermost position, the communication between the suction port 16a and the discharge port 16b is cut off, and thereafter the plunger 17 continues the rotational movement to reach the position shown in FIG. Such an operation is performed during one rotation of the plunger 17.

On the other hand, the pipe 12 is connected to an ink trap tank 21 via a leak test valve 19 and an atmosphere release valve 20. The leak test valve 19 is composed of a two-way solenoid valve. When the coil is energized, it communicates with the atmosphere communication port 7 and the atmosphere opening valve 20. When the coil is stopped, the air communication port 7 and the atmosphere opening valve 20 are connected. Cut off.

The air release valve 20 is composed of a three-way solenoid valve. The air release valve 20 is connected to a needle 40 for adjusting the flow rate of air when the air is released to the atmosphere. The air release valve 20 communicates the leak test valve 19 with the ink trap tank 21 when the coil is energized, and communicates the leak test valve 19 with the needle 40 when the coil energization is stopped.

The ink trap tank 21 is a vacuum valve 22
And is connected to an oil-type vacuum pump 23 via. The vacuum valve 22 is formed of a three-way solenoid valve, and when energized by the coil, the ink trap tank 21 communicates with the vacuum pump 23 to communicate with the ink trap tank 21, the atmosphere release valve 20, the leak test valve 19, and the like. When the inside of the container 4 is evacuated through the atmosphere communication port 7 and the energization of the coil is stopped,
The vacuum pump 23 communicates with the atmosphere. Also, a pipe 12 between the air communication port 7 and the leak test valve 19
Is provided with a pressure sensor 24 and a pressure sensor 25 is provided in the ink trap tank 21. The pressure sensor 24 detects the pressure in the pipe 12 and indirectly detects the pressure in the container 4. The pressure sensor 25 detects the pressure in the ink trap tank 21 and outputs this detection information to the sequencer 26.

The sequencer 26 has an ink stop valve 1
3. The ink supply pump 14, the leak test valve 19, the atmosphere release valve 20, the vacuum valve 22, and the vacuum pump 23 are controlled. In particular, the air leak in the container 4 based on the detection information of the pressure sensor 24. Is to be inspected. Next, the positioning mechanism 27 of the ink cartridge 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, reference numeral 31 denotes a positioning portion of the ink cartridge 1, and the positioning portion 1 is provided with a nozzle 32 for filling ink. The nozzle 32 communicates with the end of the pipe 11, and is inserted into the ink outlet 5 when the ink cartridge 1 is placed on the positioning section 31. At this time, the inside and the outside of the container 4 are horizontally mounted on the positioning portion 31 by the packing 6 without leaking.

Further, positioning members 33 and 34 are provided above the ink cartridge 1.
33 and 34 are vertically driven by lifting means (not shown) so that when the ink cartridge 1 is placed on the positioning portion 31, it comes into contact with the upper part of the container 4 to position the ink cartridge 1 in the height direction. Has become. Also,
A nozzle 35 is provided at an end of the pipe 12, and the nozzle 35 is moved up and down by an elevating means (not shown) so as to be connected to the atmosphere communication port 7. When the air communication port 7 is connected to the nozzle 35, the packing 36 provided at the tip of the nozzle 35 is brought into close contact with the air communication port 7, and the container 4
The inside and the leak test valve 19 are communicated.

A light projecting section 37 and a light receiving section 38 constituting an optical sensor are provided near the positioning section 31, and information detected by the light receiving section 38 is output to the sequencer 26. The sequencer 26 detects the presence or absence of the cartridge 1 based on this detection information. Specifically, when the ink cartridge 1 is set in the positioning section 31, the light emitted from the light projecting section 37 Is not detected by the light receiving section 38 because the light is blocked.
When it is determined that the cartridge 1 is present and the ink cartridge 1 is not set in the positioning section 31, the light projected from the light projecting section 37 is detected by the light receiving section 38, so that it is determined that the cartridge 1 is not present.

Next, a method of filling the ink cartridge 1 with ink will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. FIGS. 10 and 12 show control programs stored in the sequencer 26. First, as shown in FIG. 10, the operator grips the ink cartridge 1 and places it on the positioning portion 31 while inserting the nozzle 32 into the ink discharge port 5 (Step S).
1). Next, it is determined whether or not the operator has pressed the start switch of the filling device 10 (step S2).

When the start switch is pressed,
It is determined whether or not the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the positioning unit 31 based on the detection information from the light receiving unit 38. If the ink cartridge 1 is not mounted, the process waits for the next start signal without proceeding to the subsequent operations. If the ink cartridge 1 is mounted, the positioning members 33 and 34 are moved down by the elevating means, and the positioning members 33 and 34 are brought into contact with the upper portion of the container 4 to position the ink cartridge 1 in the height direction (step S3).

Next, the nozzle 35 is lowered by the elevating means, and the nozzle 35 is brought into close contact with the atmosphere communication port 7 via the packing 36 (step S4). Next, the leak test valve 19, the atmosphere opening valve 20 and the vacuum valve 22 are energized to communicate the closed space between the atmosphere communication port 7 and the vacuum pump 23 (step S5). At this time, the stop valve 13 is not operated.

Next, the vacuum pump 23 is operated to perform the evacuation operation, and at the same time, the air leak is inspected based on the detection information of the pressure sensor 24. That is, the pressure sensor
24 detection information is a predetermined value A (for example, -90k in gauge pressure)
Pa) It is determined whether or not it is less than or equal to (Step S7),
When the pressure becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined pressure A, the vacuum valve 22 is energized (step S8), the vacuum pump 23 is stopped (step S9), and the process waits for a predetermined time (about 10 seconds) (step S10).

Next, it is determined whether or not the detection information of the pressure sensor 24 is equal to or less than a predetermined value C (for example, a value 0.3 kPa higher than the predetermined value A) (step S11). A leak error warning is generated by the warning means, and the operator is notified that air leakage has occurred (step S14). The warning means may be a sound output by a buzzer or a visual output by a lighting lamp or the like.

If the detected information of the pressure sensor 24 is not equal to or smaller than the predetermined value A in step S7, it is determined whether or not the state has been continued within 20 seconds (step S13). Is generated (step S14). Also,
If the information detected by the pressure sensor 24 is equal to or less than the set value C in step S11, it is determined that no air leakage occurs, and the power supply to the leak test valve 19 is stopped (step S12). finish.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
It is determined whether or not the pressure of the ink trap tank 21 has become equal to or lower than a predetermined value B based on the detection information (step S).
21) If the value is below the predetermined value B, the power of the vacuum valve 22 is turned off (step S22), and then the power of the vacuum pump 23 is turned off (step S23). After energizing the valve 22, the vacuum pump 23 is turned on to operate the vacuum pump 23 (steps S24 and S2).
Five). By repeating this, the pressure in the ink trap tank 21 is kept constant.

On the other hand, in steps S11 and S12, the pressure sensor 24
When the detection information of is not more than the predetermined value C and the energization of the leak test valve 19 is stopped, the flow shown in FIG. 12 is executed. First, the stop valve 13 is energized, and immediately thereafter, the ink supply pump 14 is operated (steps S31 and S32).
Next, it is determined whether or not a count-up signal has been input (step S33). Since the count-up signal is such that the plunger 17 of the ink supply pump 14 rotates while reciprocating as described above, a constant amount of ink is ejected for each rotation. It is set to occur after 30 rotations. Note that the ink ejection amount may be set to an amount equal to or less than the amount that the absorbing member 8 can hold by the negative pressure.

When the count-up signal is input, the energization of the stop valve 13 is stopped to complete the ink filling operation (step S34), and then the energization of the atmosphere release valve 20 is stopped (step S35). Next, after waiting for 0.1 second (step S36), the energization of the leak test valve 19 is started (step S37), and the inside of the container 4 is communicated with the needle 40 through the atmosphere communication port 7. At this time, the needle 40
Is adjusted so that the air in the atmosphere pushes the ink that enters the pipe 12 and enters all of the cartridge 1. That is, the air overtakes the ink and only the air is 1 and ink is piped
The speed has been adjusted so that it will not be left behind.

After the elapse of 5 seconds, the nozzle 35 is raised (steps S38 and S39), and then the elevating means is raised to raise the positioning members 33 and 34, thereby opening the ink cartridge 1 and positioning the ink cartridge 1. It can be taken out of the member (step S40). As described above, in the present embodiment, the ink filling process is performed through the air communication port 7 and the container 4.
A vacuuming step of drawing air from inside the container 4 to create a vacuum state in the container 4, an ink supply step of supplying an amount of ink equal to or less than the amount that the absorbing member 8 can hold under negative pressure from the ink outlet 5 into the container 4, Opening the container 4 to the atmosphere by connecting the port 7 to the atmosphere.

FIGS. 13 to 17 are views for explaining the movement of ink in the ink filling step and the air release step in the above-described steps. Ink cartridge 1 for which air leak inspection has been completed
As shown in FIG. 13, the ink starts to accumulate below the absorbing member 8, that is, in the portion of the absorbing member 8 near the ink discharge port 5. In FIGS. 13 to 17, fine hatching indicates the absorbing member 8, and coarse hatching indicates the ink.

However, as the ink P is filled, the ink P passes through the gaps inside the absorbing member 8 and the wrinkled portion of the ink P where the ink P easily flows, and rises into the space 9 between the absorbing member 8 and the cover 3 ( See FIG. 14). Then, the ink P
Spreads inside the absorbing member 8 while spreading in the space 9 (see FIG.
15). Next, when the process is shifted to the open-to-atmosphere step, the space in the absorbing member 8 where the ink P does not exist (the space in a vacuum state) sucks the ink P by the negative pressure, so that the ink in the space 9 runs out and all the ink is absorbed by the absorbing member 8 is impregnated. At this time, since the ink P returns to the absorbing member 8 along the path that has risen into the space 9, a portion without the ink P (indicated by the symbol P1) occurs on the upper portion of the absorbing member 8 as shown in FIG. I do. FIG. 17 is a view of the state of FIG. 16 as viewed from above, and the portion shown in white indicates the absorbing member 8.

FIGS. 13 to 17 show an example in which the ink passes through gaps and wrinkles inside the absorbing member 8 and rises into the space 9, but in addition, as shown in FIG. In some cases, it may pass through the gap between the side wall 2 and the absorbing member 8, particularly the corner of the side wall. In this case, as shown in FIG. 19, after the ink P advances toward the center of the upper surface of the absorbing member 8, a portion without the ink P is generated only in the center of the upper surface of the absorbing member 8 in the open-to-atmosphere step.

In addition, when the ink P rises from various parts of the absorbing member 8 toward the space 9, since the part without the ink P is distributed on the upper surface of the absorbing member 8, In the opening step, a mottled pattern is formed as shown in FIG. As described above, in the present embodiment, the ink filling step is performed by extracting the air in the container 4 from the atmosphere communication port 7 and evacuating the container 4 to a vacuum state. The ink supply step of supplying the ink from the ink discharge port 5 into the container 4 and the air release step of opening the inside of the container 4 to the atmosphere by connecting the atmosphere communication port 7 to the atmosphere. By extracting the air in the container 4 from the container and evacuating the container 4, the absorbing member 8 can be evacuated. Further, by supplying ink into the container 4 from the ink discharge port 5 in an amount equal to or less than the amount that the absorbing member 8 can hold by the negative pressure, it is possible to prevent the absorbing member 8 from being impregnated with ink more than necessary.

By opening the container 4 to the atmosphere by connecting the atmosphere communication port 7 to the atmosphere, the ink can be concentrated and distributed to the ink discharge port 5 side.
An area that is not impregnated with ink can be formed in a part of the air communication port 7 side. At this time, since the air communication port 7 is open to the atmosphere and the ink discharge port is not open to the atmosphere, the air can be concentrated in a region that is not impregnated with the ink. It is possible to prevent air from being mixed.

As a result, the clogging of the ink head can be prevented from occurring, and the ink can be prevented from flowing out of the ink discharge port 5 when the ink discharge port 5 is located at the lower side. can do. Further, when the ink discharge port 5 is located on the lower side, there is no ink in a part of the upper side of the absorbing member 8, so that the ink can be completely used up.

In the ink supply step, when ink less than the amount that the absorbing member 8 can hold due to the negative pressure is supplied from the ink outlet 5 into the container 4, the absorbing member 8 near the ink outlet 5 Ink accumulates in the portion, and then the ink flows into the space 9 through the portion of the absorbing member 8 where the ink easily flows, and then the ink spreads into the space 9 and at the same time as the ink spreads inside the absorbing member 8 to open to the atmosphere. In the process, when the atmosphere communication port 7 is communicated with the atmosphere, ink is sucked into the absorbing member 8 by the negative pressure of the absorbing member 8, so that the ink is Can be concentrated and distributed, and an area that is not impregnated with ink can be reliably formed in a part of the air communication port 7 side.

At this time, since the air is concentrated in the area not impregnated with the ink, it is possible to prevent the air from being mixed with the ink when supplying the ink to the ink head. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink from flowing out from the ink discharge port 5 when the ink discharge port 5 is positioned on the lower side. Further, in the atmosphere release step, when the atmosphere communication port 7 is communicated with the atmosphere to open the inside of the container 4 to the atmosphere, the speed of the air flowing into the container 4 is adjusted for the following reason.

In the ink supply step, after the ink is supplied into the ink cartridge 1 in a vacuum state in order to hold the ink in the absorbing member 8, the cartridge 1 is opened to the atmosphere in order to remove the cartridge 1 from the filling device 10. It is necessary to make the inside of the cartridge 1 atmospheric pressure. When air is introduced from the ink outlet 5 in this operation, the ink distributed near the ink outlet 5 of the absorbing member 8 is moved away from the ink outlet 5. In order to prevent this, an air communication port 7 provided separately from the ink discharge port 5 is provided.
From the atmosphere.

By the way, in the air release step, a pipe 12 connected to the air communication port 7 has a leak test valve 19 for keeping the inside of the ink cartridge 1 evacuated and an air release valve 20. Ink enters. If the atmosphere is released to the atmosphere instantaneously in this state, the air has lower viscosity than the ink in the pipe 12, so that the energetic air overtakes the ink and enters the cartridge 1 before the ink. In this case, the pressure in the cartridge 1 becomes atmospheric pressure, and the movement of the air stops, so that the ink that has been overtaken by the air remains in the pipe 12.

In this case, the ink that should enter the cartridge 1 remains in the pipe 12, and when the cartridge 1 is removed from the filling device 10, the amount of ink remaining in the pipe 12 of the filling device 10 The ink filling amount in 1 becomes smaller than the target amount. The amount of ink remaining in the pipe 12 is determined by the amount of ink rising into the space 9, but the amount of ink rising into the space 9 changes depending on the gaps and wrinkles inside the absorbing member 8. Variations occur.

Since the amount of ink remaining in the pipe 12 varies due to this variation, it is impossible to perform stable ink filling. For this reason, when the atmosphere communication port 7 is communicated with the atmosphere and the inside of the container 4 is opened to the atmosphere, the speed of the air flowing into the container 4 is adjusted, so that the air communication port is provided in the atmosphere opening step after ink supply. Piping from 7
The ink that has entered the cartridge 12 can be slowly returned into the cartridge 1 and the ink can be prevented from remaining in the pipe 12. As a result, when the cartridge 1 is removed from the filling device 10, it is possible to prevent the ink filling amount from varying in the cartridge 1, and to perform stable ink filling.

Further, an air leak in the container 4 was inspected. This is because the inside of the container 4 is reliably evacuated before filling the ink, and when the inside of the container 4 is brought to the atmospheric pressure after filling the ink, the ink not absorbed by the absorbing member 8 at the time of filling is absorbed by the absorbing member. 8 to ensure impregnation
This is because, when vacuuming the inside of the container 4, it is necessary to check for air leakage and to make sure that the inside of the container 4 is in a vacuum state.

In this way, after filling the ink, the container 4
The ink can be reliably impregnated in the absorbing member 8 when the inside is set to the atmospheric pressure. As a result, the ink can be concentrated and distributed to the ink discharge port 5 side, and the ink can be concentrated and distributed to the atmosphere communication port 7 side. An area not partially impregnated with ink can be created. Further, degassed ink was used. This is to prevent bubbles from being generated when the air-mixed ink is filled into the evacuated container 4 and to reliably supply the ink from the ink cartridge 1 to the ink head. It is.

[0065]

According to the first or sixth aspect of the present invention,
It is possible to prevent clogging of the ink head, and to prevent ink from flowing out of the ink discharge port when the ink discharge port is positioned on the lower side. Further, when the ink discharge port is located on the lower side, there is no ink on the upper part of the absorbing member, so that the ink can be completely used up.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere and the inside of the container is opened to the atmosphere, the speed of the air flowing into the container is adjusted so that the ink after the ink is supplied can be adjusted. In the air release step, the ink that has entered the pipe from the air communication port can be slowly returned into the cartridge, and ink can be prevented from remaining in the pipe. As a result, when the cartridge is removed from the ink supply device, it is possible to prevent the ink filling amount from being varied in the cartridge, and to perform stable ink filling.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink can be concentrated and distributed on the side of the ink discharge port, and a region on the side of the air communication port that is not impregnated with the ink can be reliably formed. . At this time, since air is concentrated in a region not impregnated with ink, it is possible to prevent air from being mixed with ink when supplying ink to the ink head. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink from flowing out of the ink discharge port when the ink discharge port is located on the lower side.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the ink can be reliably impregnated into the absorbing member when the inside of the container is brought to the atmospheric pressure after filling the ink, and as a result, the ink is concentrated on the ink discharge port side. In addition to this, it is possible to create a region where the ink is not impregnated in a part of the air communication port side. According to the fifth aspect of the invention, it is possible to prevent the generation of bubbles when the air-mixed ink is filled in the evacuated container, and to reliably supply the ink from the ink cartridge to the ink head. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a method for filling an ink cartridge with ink and an ink cartridge according to the present invention, and is an external view of the cartridge.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an ink filling device according to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a state of the vacuum pump according to the embodiment, and showing a state in which the stop valve and the vacuum tank are not communicated with each other.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of the vacuum pump subsequent to FIG. 4 and illustrating a state where ink is stored in an ink pool;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state of the vacuum pump subsequent to FIG. 5 and illustrating a state where ink is further stored in the ink pool;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state of the vacuum pump subsequent to FIG. 6, and showing a state of discharging ink to a stop valve.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a positioning mechanism of one embodiment, and is a view showing a state before positioning a cartridge.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where the cartridge is positioned from the state of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an ink filling procedure according to an embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart subsequent to FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart subsequent to FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a state in which ink is absorbed by the absorbing member, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink is impregnated immediately after the filling of the ink is started.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state of the absorbing member subsequent to FIG. 13 and illustrating a state in which ink rises into a space after passing through the absorbing member.

15 is a diagram illustrating a state of the absorbing member subsequent to FIG. 14, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which ink spreads in a space.

16 is a diagram illustrating a state of the absorbing member subsequent to FIG. 15 and illustrating a state in which ink is absorbed inside the absorbing member and a part of an upper portion of the absorbing member is not impregnated with ink.

17 is a view of the state of the absorbing member of FIG. 16 as viewed from above.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating another state of the absorbing member, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which ink rises into a space from a corner of the absorbing member.

19 is a diagram illustrating a state of the absorbing member that has transitioned from the state of FIG. 18 to an atmosphere release step.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating another state of the absorbing member, and is a diagram illustrating a state in which an ink-free portion of the absorbing member is mottled during the air release step.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge 4 Container 5 Ink discharge port 7 Air communication port 8 Absorbing member 9 Space

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ink discharge port having an ink discharge port connectable to an ink head on one side surface and an air communication port communicating with the atmosphere on the other side surface opposite to the one side surface. Preparing an ink cartridge provided with a container having a member, a vacuuming step of extracting the air in the container from the atmosphere communication port to vacuum the inside of the container, and an ink less than the amount that the absorbing member can hold by negative pressure. An ink supply step of supplying the ink from the ink discharge port into the container; and an air release step of opening the inside of the container to the atmosphere by communicating the atmosphere communication port with the atmosphere. Ink filling method. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of opening the atmosphere, the speed of the air flowing into the vessel is adjusted when the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere to open the inside of the vessel to the atmosphere. A method for filling an ink cartridge according to the above description. 3. The ink cartridge includes a container in which the absorbing member is in close contact with an ink discharge port and a space is defined between the absorbing member and the other side surface. When ink equal to or less than the amount that the absorbing member can hold due to the negative pressure is supplied from the ink outlet into the container, ink is accumulated in the absorbing member near the ink outlet, and then the ink in the absorbing member easily flows. Ink flows into the space along the part, and then
At the same time as the ink spreads in the space, the ink is transmitted to the inside of the absorbing member, and in the atmosphere releasing step, when the atmosphere communication port is communicated with the atmosphere, the negative pressure in the absorbing member causes the ink to enter the absorbing member. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein ink is sucked. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein an air leak in the container is inspected in the vacuum step. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the ink supplied into the container in the ink supply step is degassed ink. 6. An absorption port having an ink discharge port connectable to an ink head on one side and an air communication port on the other side opposite to the one side which can communicate with the atmosphere, so that ink can be impregnated therein. An ink cartridge including a container having a member, wherein the absorbing member impregnates a large amount of ink into a portion facing the one side surface and has a region not impregnated with ink in a portion facing the other side surface. An ink cartridge characterized by the above-mentioned.