JP2000301731A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate generation of printing troubles as a result of refilling an inappropriate ink to an ink bag or the like. SOLUTION: A leading end of an ink feed needle 50 butts with a stop wall 36 when the needle is inserted to a sealing member 44 pressed in an insertion hole 38 of an ink mouth part 30 of the ink bag, whereby a lateral hole 54 communicates with a through hole 46 of the sealing member 44 and, ink is supplied from the inside of the ink bag to a recording head via a communication hole 42, a communication groove 40, the through hole 46 and the lateral hole 54. Even when a user or the like pulls out the ink feed needle and inserts a needle having a hole part formed to a leading end in order to refill ink, the needle butts against the stop wall 36 and cannot be inserted into the ink bag. The hole part of the needle cannot communicate with the through hole 46 of the sealing member 44 when the needle butts against the stop wall 36. Accordingly, an inappropriate ink can be prohibited from being refilled to the ink bag.

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, and more particularly to an ink jet recording apparatus, in which ink is supplied to a recording head by inserting an ink supply needle into a sealing member for sealing an opening of an ink bag or an ink tank. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for supplying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus having an ink tank separated from a recording head is used. This is because the frequency of ink replacement is reduced by increasing the ink capacity of the inkjet recording apparatus. As described above, there is an ink jet recording apparatus in which the ink tank is separated from the recording head, and uses an ink bag in which two flexible films are laminated in the ink tank. By using the ink bag, the ink can be used efficiently to the end.

[0003] For example, the ink bag disclosed in JP-A-63-35346 is formed by laminating two flexible films and joining the four sides by heat welding. An ink port for drawing out ink from the inside of the ink bag is joined to one side of the ink bag by heat welding. A communication hole communicating with the outside is formed in the ink port, and a rubber plug is pressed into the communication hole to seal the ink port. Therefore, by penetrating the rubber stopper with the ink supply needle, the ink is drawn out from inside the ink bag to the outside via the ink supply needle.

In the ink bag disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 4-34753, an ink port is joined to one side of the ink bag similarly formed of a flexible film by heat welding to form a communication hole in the port. A rubber plug is fitted in a sealed state by press fitting, caulking, bonding or the like. Note that a thin film portion is formed at a portion of the ink port portion that contacts the rubber stopper. Therefore, an ink supply path is formed by penetrating the rubber stopper and the thin film portion of the ink port with an ink supply needle and opening the inside of the ink bag, thereby leading the ink inside the ink bag to the recording head.

[0005]

The ink jet recording apparatus of the above two examples has a structure in which an ink supply needle penetrates a rubber stopper to form an ink supply path and discharges ink.
There is a possibility that the ink supply needle is inserted into the used ink bag to fill the ink bag with the ink, and the ink bag is reused. If the ink to be refilled is inappropriate, there is a possibility that a printing failure due to a defective ejection or the like may be caused.

Further, in the ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-34753, the thin film portion of the ink port penetrates with the ink supply needle, so that broken pieces of the thin film portion are mixed with the ink. There was a fear.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned disadvantages, and it is possible to avoid a printing trouble caused by filling an ink bag or the like with an inappropriate ink and to stably supply the ink to a recording head. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can be supplied.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, ink is supplied to a recording head from an ink back or an ink tank (hereinafter sometimes referred to as an ink back or the like). An ink jet recording apparatus that performs recording by discharging ink droplets from a recording head onto recording paper, comprising: an opening for taking out ink from the inside of an ink bag or the like; a sealing member for sealing the opening; A connection hole formed in the member, a supply passage in which one communicates with the connection hole and the other communicates with the inside of the ink bag or the like, and a flow path for ink supply are formed therein, and the tip is opened. The ink supply needle having a hole formed on the side surface for communicating the flow path to the outside and the tip of the ink supply needle inserted into the sealing member are stopped, and the hole is positioned in the connection hole. Stop wall , Characterized by having a.

With this configuration, the ink supply needle is inserted into the sealing member for sealing the opening such as the ink bag, and is inserted until it comes into contact with the stop wall. As a result, the ink supply needle is inserted to the predetermined position, and the connection hole of the ink supply needle communicates with the communication hole formed inside the sealing member. The communication hole communicates with a supply passage communicating with the inside of the ink bag or the like. As a result, ink is supplied to the recording head via a supply passage such as an ink bag, a connection hole of a sealing member, and a hole of an ink supply needle.

After the ink bag or the like has been used, even if the user or the like attempts to refill the ink by inserting the ink supply needle provided with a hole at the tip into the sealing member, the tip of the ink supply needle remains It only hits the stop wall and is not inserted into the inside of the ink bag or the like. In addition, since the hole formed at the tip does not communicate with the connection hole of the sealing member, ink is not supplied to the inside of the ink bag or the like. Therefore, it is possible to prevent inappropriate ink from being used by refilling the ink bag or the ink tank and causing the ink jet recording apparatus to cause printing failure.

[0011] Even if the supply passage is formed on the mouth side,
It may be formed on the sealing member side.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the stop wall, a recess having a cross-sectional area larger than a cross-sectional area of the ink supply needle through which the tip of the ink supply needle is guided is formed. It is characterized by being.

[0013] With this configuration, the operator can easily feel that the ink supply needle has penetrated by the tip end portion of the ink supply needle penetrating the sealing member and entering the space formed by the concave portion. Can be obtained.

In addition, the ink supply needle is inserted into the sealing member to a predetermined position by being guided by the concave portion, and the connection hole of the ink supply needle is reliably communicated with the communication hole of the sealing member.

According to a fifth or twelfth aspect of the present invention, the sectional area of the connecting hole is larger than the sectional area of the hole.

With this configuration, even if the insertion direction of the ink supply needle with respect to the sealing member or the insertion stop position is slightly shifted, the hole of the ink supply needle and the communication hole of the sealing member can be reliably communicated. it can.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the ink bag is formed by joining the periphery of two flexible sheet members, and is joined between the two sheet members. The cross-sectional shape of the mouth is a boat shape.

According to this structure, the sheet body is smoothly brought into contact with the mouth, so that the sheet can be securely joined.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the sheet body and the mouth are formed of the same thermoplastic resin material.

According to this structure, since the sheet and the mouth are formed of the same thermoplastic resin material, the joining of the sheet and the mouth is further facilitated.

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 includes a sheet 1 conveyed by a conveying roller 12.
4, the transport direction of the paper 14 (sub-scanning direction, arrow A)
The carriage 20 is arranged so as to be movable by a drive mechanism 16 and a guide bar 18 in a main scanning direction (direction of arrow B) intersecting with the direction (arrow B). The carriage 20 includes a recording head that discharges black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inks toward the paper 14.

An ink tank 22 for supplying ink to the recording head is disposed below the carriage 20, and is connected by a flexible tube 24.

The ink tank 22, as shown in FIG.
An ink bag 26 corresponding to each ink is provided upright, and ink is supplied from each ink bag 26 to each recording head via a tube 24.

The ink back 26 is formed by laminating two flexible aluminum laminated films 28 (see FIG. 4) and joining the four sides by heat welding. The aluminum laminate film 28 is formed by sandwiching an aluminum foil between two films, for example, a nylon film on the outside and a polyethylene film on the inside to improve gas permeability.

On one of the four sides to be joined, a joining portion 32 of an ink port 30 which is a thermoplastic resin molded product is joined to the ink back 26 (aluminum laminated film 28) by thermal welding (FIG. 4). reference). The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the bonding surface of the bonding portion 32 has a so-called boat shape in which the center is wide and the width gradually decreases toward both ends in order to improve the weldability with the aluminum laminate film 28.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink port 30 is separated by a stop wall 36 from a joining portion 32 joined to the ink bag 26 and a fitting portion 34 into which a sealing member 44 described later is press-fitted. Configuration.

The fitting portion 34 has an insertion hole 38 for press-fitting the sealing member. A communication groove 40 extending in the axial direction from a predetermined position is formed in a wall surface at a lower end in the gravity direction of the insertion hole 38, and one end of the communication groove 40 is connected to a communication hole 42 formed at a lower end in the gravity direction of the stop wall 36. Is in communication with By forming the communication hole 42 at the lower end in the direction of gravity of the stop wall 36, the amount of ink that can be used to the end can be increased.

In the insertion hole 38, a sealing member 44 made of an elastic member is press-fitted and adhered. As a result, the insertion hole 38 is sealed by the seal portion 48 formed on the outer periphery of the sealing member 44. That is, the ink reaching the insertion hole 38 from the inside of the ink bag 26 via the communication hole 42 and the communication groove 40 is blocked from the outside. The sealing member 44 is desirably made of a material such as rubber, preferably butyl rubber having excellent gas permeability. The sealing member 44 is formed with a through hole 46 that penetrates from one side surface to the other side surface in a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. ), The through hole 46 communicates with the communication groove 40.

The ink supply needle 5 inserted into the sealing member 44
No. 0 indicates that the ink outlet channel 52 is formed inside, but the ink outlet channel is not formed up to the pointed portion,
A connection hole (lateral hole) 54 communicating from the side to the outside is formed at the end of the second member (at a position separated from the tip of the ink supply needle by 2 to 6 mm).

The stop wall 36 (concave portion 56) has a sufficient thickness to prevent the ink supply needle 50 from penetrating the stop wall 36.

The diameter (cross-sectional area) of the through-hole 46 of the sealing member 44 is larger than the diameter (cross-sectional area) of the connecting hole 54 of the ink supply needle 50, and the position of the connecting hole 54. The connection hole 54 and the through-hole 46 are formed so as to reliably communicate with each other even if the position is slightly shifted.

The operation of the thus configured ink jet recording apparatus 10 will be described.

First, when the ink supply path is constructed, it is performed as follows. That is, the sealing member 44 press-fitted into the ink port 30 of the ink bag 26 filled with ink.
The ink supply needle 50 is inserted in. The tip of the ink supply needle 50 penetrates through the sealing member 44 and abuts against the stop wall 36 (recess 56). As a result, the connection hole 54 of the ink supply needle 50
Communicates with the through hole 46 of the sealing member 44. Therefore,
From the inside of the ink bag 26 to the communication hole 4 of the ink port 30
2. Ink is supplied to the recording head via the communication groove 40, the through hole 46 of the sealing member 44, the connection hole 54 of the ink supply needle 50, and the flow path 52. As a result, ink droplets are ejected from the recording head to the paper 14 based on a predetermined image signal, and an image is formed.

After using the ink in the ink bag 26,
When a user or the like attempts to fill the ink bag 26 with ink, the user pulls out the ink supply needle 50 from the sealing member 44 and pierces the sealing member 44 with an ink filling needle. However, the needle cannot penetrate the stop wall 36 and cannot directly fill the inside of the ink bag with ink. In addition, a general needle is provided with a hole at the distal end portion, and is configured to inject a liquid from the hole, so that the hole of the needle that abuts against the stop wall 36 passes through the sealing member 44. Hole 46
And the ink cannot be filled into the ink bag 26. Therefore, by causing the ink bag 26 to be filled with inappropriate ink and reusing the ink, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink jet recording apparatus 10 from causing a discharge failure or the like.

In addition, since the ink supply needle 50 does not penetrate the stop wall 36 and is inserted into the ink bag 26, a part of the damaged stop wall 36 does not enter the ink bag and mix with the ink. .

Since the communication groove 40 is formed in the lower wall surface of the insertion hole 38 in the direction of gravity and the communication hole 42 is formed in the stop wall 36, the tip of the needle inserted in the axial direction of the sealing member 44 is connected to the communication hole 42. To prevent the supply of inappropriate ink.

Since only the sealing member 44 is damaged by the insertion of the ink supply needle 50, the ink bag 26 and the like can be reused by replacing only the sealing member 44. Moreover, since the sealing member 44 is also an elastic member, it can be substantially reused.

Further, since the diameter of the through hole 46 of the sealing member 44 is larger than the diameter of the connection hole 54 of the ink supply needle 50,
Even if the ink supply needle 50 is not positioned with high precision, the connection hole 54 of the ink supply needle 50 and the through-hole 46 of the sealing member 44 can be communicated only by abutting the stopper wall 36 (recess 56). .

By the way, instead of the stop wall 36, the communication hole 42, and the communication groove 40 of the present embodiment, a stop portion is provided at the distal end of the sealing member 44 in the insertion direction, and the stop portion 36 is connected to the through hole 46 therein.
It is also possible to provide a communication hole that penetrates the stopper and communicates with the inside of the ink bag. That is, the ink supply needle 50
Is inserted into the sealing member 44 and is brought into contact with the stopper, so as to communicate with the inside of the ink bag via the connection hole 54, the through hole 46, and the communication hole (the inside of the sealing member 44). .

Next, an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Note that only the main part of the ink tank will be described, and the same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The ink tank 60 includes a capillary member 62 containing ink, and an intermediate liquid chamber 64 for sucking ink from the capillary member 62. Intermediate liquid chamber 64
Of the communication hole 42, the communication groove 4
0 is formed, and by inserting the sealing member 44 into the insertion hole 38 and inserting the ink supply needle 50, a configuration similar to that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

With this configuration, the ink supply needle 50 is not directly inserted into the ink tank 60 that does not use an ink bag, and ink can be supplied from the connection hole 54. Can prevent the ink from being refilled with inappropriate ink and causing printing failure of the ink jet recording apparatus.

[0044]

As described above, in the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink supply needle is not directly inserted into the ink bag or the ink tank, but the ink is supplied from the connection hole of the ink supply needle. After the use of the ink bag or the ink tank, it is possible to prevent a user or the like from refilling with an inappropriate ink using a needle having a hole at the tip. Therefore, it is possible to prevent printing failure of the ink jet recording apparatus due to use of inappropriate ink.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective sectional view showing an ink port structure of an ink bag according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the inkjet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the ink tank according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a bonding state of a film and a mounting member of an ink bag according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an ink tank according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Ink-jet recording apparatus 26 Ink back 36 Stop wall 40 Communication groove (supply path) 42 Communication hole (supply path) 44 Sealing member 46 Through-hole (connection hole) 50 Ink supply needle 54 Connection hole (hole) 60 Ink tank

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for supplying ink to a recording head from an ink back and ejecting ink droplets from the recording head onto recording paper to perform recording, comprising: a port for taking out ink from inside the ink bag; A sealing member for sealing the portion, a connection hole formed in the sealing member, a supply passage having one communicating with the connection hole and the other communicating with the inside of the ink bag, and a flow passage for supplying ink therein. An ink supply needle which is formed, the tip of which is not open, and which has a hole formed on the side surface for communicating the flow path to the outside, and a tip of the ink supply needle inserted into the sealing member. Stop,
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a stop wall for positioning the hole in the connection hole. A supply groove formed in a wall surface of the mouth portion and communicating with the connection hole; a supply hole formed in the stop wall and communicating the supply groove with the inside of the ink bag; 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply passage is formed inside the sealing member. 4. The stop wall according to claim 1, wherein a recess having a cross-sectional area larger than a cross-sectional area of the ink supply needle through which a tip of the ink supply needle is guided is formed. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional area of the connection hole is larger than a cross-sectional area of the hole. 6. The ink bag is formed by joining the periphery of two flexible sheet members, and the cross-sectional shape of the mouth portion joined and sandwiched between the two sheet members is as follows. 6. A boat-like shape.
The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of the above items. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein said sheet member and said mouth are formed of the same thermoplastic resin material. 8. An ink jet recording apparatus for supplying ink from an ink tank to a recording head and discharging ink droplets from the recording head onto recording paper for recording, comprising: an opening for taking out ink from the inside of the ink tank; A sealing member for sealing the portion, a connection hole formed in the sealing member, a supply passage having one communicating with the connection hole and the other communicating with the inside of the ink tank, and a flow passage for supplying ink therein. An ink supply needle which is formed, the tip of which is not open, and which has a hole formed on the side surface for communicating the flow path to the outside, and a tip of the ink supply needle inserted into the sealing member. Stop,
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a stop wall for positioning the hole in the connection hole. 9. A supply groove formed in a wall surface of the mouth portion and communicating with the connection hole, a supply hole formed in the stop wall and communicating the supply groove and the inside of the ink bag, and 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, comprising: 10. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the supply passage is formed inside the sealing member. 11. The stop wall is formed with a concave portion having a cross-sectional area larger than a cross-sectional area of the ink supply needle through which the tip of the ink supply needle is guided. The inkjet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 10. 12. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a cross-sectional area of the connection hole is larger than a cross-sectional area of the hole.