JP2001054952A - Foam inserting method for ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the ink use efficiency of an ink impregnated in foam by filling the foam in a case with of an ink cartridge without forming a gap. SOLUTION: With foam 32 inserted in a guide member 71, the foam 32 is moved into a case 31 by a pressing member 81 as well as compressed toward and contacted with an ink supply hole 34. At the time, the tip end of the guide member 71 and a bottom wall 31b of the case 31 have a distance L therebetween. The foam 32 is expanded into the state with the corners of the foam 32 in straight lines in the distance L so that the corners of the foam 32 are contacted with the corners of the inner surface of the case 32. After relieving the pressure by the pressing member 81, one side opening of the case 31 is covered with a lid member so as to keep the foam 32 in the case 31. Thereby, the foam 32 can be filled without producing a gap between the foam 32 and the ink supply hole 34 so that the ink permeated in the foam 32 can be supplied to the ink-jet head efficiently.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for inserting a foam into an ink cartridge used in an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus transfers ink stored in an ink cartridge 30 to ink.
The ink flow path 36 extends from the ink supply hole 34 at the bottom of the case 31.
Is supplied to the inkjet head 50 through the
0 ejects ink droplets.

The ink cartridge 30 includes a case 31
And a porous material or foam 32 housed in the case 31 and a lid 33 covering the upper opening of the case 31. By impregnating the foam 32 with the ink,
The ink pressure supplied to the inkjet head 50 from the ink supply hole 34 at the bottom of the case 31 is maintained at a negative pressure.
The consumption of the ink ejected by the inkjet head 50 is compensated for by sucking the atmosphere from the atmosphere communication hole 35 of the lid 33.

The pressure of the ink supplied to the ink jet head 50 can be controlled by compressing the form 32 and storing it in the case 31.

Conventionally, as a method for inserting the foam 32 into the case 31, there is a method described in, for example, JP-A-5-463 and JP-A-7-32226. In the former, the foam is compressed from two orthogonal directions,
Extrude the foam in a direction perpendicular to the direction and insert it into the case. For the latter, compress the foam from two perpendicular directions, insert it once into the cylindrical insertion jig, then insert the insertion jig into the case, hold down the foam, and remove the insertion jig Fill the case with foam.

[0006]

In the conventional insertion method,
It only places the form in the case and does not consider inserting the form to work effectively with the inkjet head. That is, in the ink jet recording apparatus, when the foam is not in close contact with the ink supply hole of the case, the ink sucked from the ink cartridge by the operation of the ink jet head does not suck from the inside of the foam having a large flow resistance, and the inner surface of the foam and the case are not. To be sucked through the gap. If this gap is connected to the atmosphere communication hole via an edge extending along the side wall of the case, air is supplied to the inkjet head without using ink impregnated in the foam. That is, a non-ejection state occurs early with a large amount of ink remaining.

In particular, in the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 7-32226, when the insertion jig is pulled out of the case while holding down the foam, the foam is moved from the bottom of the case by friction between the insertion jig and the foam. It is pulled in the direction to be released. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the corners 32b of the foam 32, in particular, are drawn in an arc shape due to friction with the insertion jig 71, and even if this is restored, the foam 32 almost directly hits the inner surface of the side wall of the case 31 to form a gap. Could be done. As described above, a gap is easily formed in the bottom or the corner of the case, so that the above-described state is easily caused.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and improves the use efficiency of ink impregnated in a foam by loading the foam without forming a gap in a corner of a case. And a method for inserting a form.

[0009]

In order to achieve this object, a foam inserting method according to the present invention inserts a foam into a guide member which can be inserted along the inner surface of a case and is opened toward the inside of the case. And inserting the guide member such that the tip thereof is located at a distance from a wall facing one side opening in the case, and inserting the foam in the guide member into the case. A step of moving toward the wall surface and compressing toward the wall surface, and a step of covering one opening of the case with a lid member and holding the foam in the case.

In other words, the leading end of the guide member is spaced from the wall surface of the case, and the foam is compressed toward the wall surface in the case, so that the corner of the foam hits the corner of the inner surface of the case with almost no gap, and the guide member is in contact with the case. Even if it is removed from the foam, the state is maintained, and the ink impregnated in the foam can be efficiently supplied to the inkjet head.

The step of inserting the form into the guide member and the step of inserting the guide member into the case may be performed first or simultaneously.

Preferably, in the above method, when the foam is compressed, the foam is expanded toward the inner surface of the side wall of the case between the tip of the guide member and the wall surface, so that the corner of the foam becomes the corner of the inner surface of the case. It is possible to apply more effectively. Further, when the foam is inserted into the guide member, the foam is compressed in a plane direction parallel to one side opening of the case, so that the expansion is reliably realized.

Furthermore, after the foam is compressed by the pressing member, the pressing is released, and the compressed foam is expanded in the case, so that the foam is reliably compressed toward the wall surface with a large force. Is returned to the state where a predetermined negative pressure is applied.

[0014]

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

The ink cartridge used in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment is described in the prior art section in FIG.
However, when the ink cartridge case 31 is described in further detail, the case 31 of the ink cartridge has an opening 37 on one side, for example, an upper surface, and has a hollow box shape surrounded by walls on the other five surfaces. It is formed of a synthetic resin material such as polypropylene. The ink supply hole 33 is desirably formed at an end far from the opening 37 with the space in the case 31 interposed therebetween, for example, at a lower portion of the bottom wall 31b facing the opening 37 or a side wall 31s adjacent to the bottom wall. The lid 33 covers the opening 37 and is fixed to the periphery of the opening of the case 31 by heat welding or the like. The lid 33 is formed with an atmosphere communication hole 35 that communicates the space in the case 31 with the atmosphere.

The ink supply hole 34 is connected to the ink jet head 50 via the ink flow path 36 as described in the background art.
Between 0 and 0, an ink chamber for containing only ink without impregnating the foam may be provided. A structure in which the ink cartridge 30 is detachable from the head 50;
Further, any structure of a structure in which both are integrated can be adopted.

The foam 32 is made of an elastic porous material which causes a capillary phenomenon, for example, polyurethane foam. This polyurethane foam has a so-called three-dimensional reticulated foam (open cell foam) structure in which the film of each cell after foaming is removed by an explosion method or the like. Case 31
32 in a cross-section in the plane parallel to the opening 37
Is set to be sufficiently larger than the inner dimension of the case 31 in the same direction, and when the foam 32 is loaded into the case 31, a predetermined negative pressure is applied to the ink supplied to the inkjet head after being compressed by a predetermined amount. Cause capillary action to occur. Further, the length of the foam 32 in the direction orthogonal to the above is set slightly larger than the dimension between the lid 33 and the bottom wall 31b, and the elasticity of the foam does not hinder the heat welding of the lid 33 to the case 31. The foam is slightly compressed so that it does not move in the case after the foam is loaded.

As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus for inserting the form 32 into the case 31 includes a guide member 71 for guiding the form 32 to the case 31, and a pressing member 81 for pressing the form 32 along the guide member.

The guide member 71 has a cross-sectional shape substantially along the inner surface of the opening 37 of the case 31 and has a cylindrical shape opened in both the inside and outside directions of the case 31. The guide member 71 has one end inserted into the inner surface of the opening 37 and the other end provided with a tapered portion 72.
Are connected. The tapered portion 72 has a shape that expands in a direction opposite to the opening 37. The inner surfaces of the guide member 71 and the tapered portion 72 are coated with a low friction material such as a fluororesin in order to reduce friction with the foam 32.

The pressing member 81 is slidably inserted along the inner surface of the guide member 71.

The case 31, the guide member 71 and the pressing member 81 are relatively moved by a well-known air cylinder, electromagnet, cam or the like (not shown), and the following form insertion is performed.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the guide member 71 is inserted into the case 31 from the opening 37 on one side thereof to a position spaced apart from the bottom wall 31b in the case 31 by a predetermined distance L. Of the form 32 (the position is indicated by a broken line). Then, the foam 32 is pressed toward the case 31 by the pressing member 81 and inserted into the case 31. When the foam 32 moves from the tapered portion 72 to the guide member 71, it is guided by the inner surface of the tapered portion and is compressed in a plane direction parallel to the opening 37 of the case.

Even after the form 32 has entered the case 31, the pressing member 81 further presses the form 32,
The foam 32 is pressed against the bottom wall 31b and compressed. In this case, when the leading end of the foam 32 exits from the guide member 71, as shown in FIG. 5, the corner 32b of the leading end of the foam 32 advances with a delay (so-called curling occurs) due to frictional resistance between the foam 32 and the guide member 71. , Corner 3 of form 32
When 2b comes off the guide member 71, it expands to return to a linear state by elasticity. The distance L between the guide member 71 and the bottom wall 31b is determined by the restoring force at which the corner of the tip of the foam 32 returns to a linear state, the thickness of the wall of the guide member 71, and the opening 3 of the foam 32.
It is desirable to set the corner of the end of the foam 32 to almost return to a straight line state based on the compression ratio in a plane direction parallel to 7. Even if it does not return completely, after that, the foam 32 is further compressed by the pressing member 81, so that the corner of the foam 32 can be reliably brought into contact with the corner of the inner surface of the case 31.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG.
While maintaining the compressed state of the foam 32 or further compressing, the guide member 71 is slightly pulled out. At this time, since the corner of the foam 32 hits the corner of the inner surface of the case 31 and is subjected to the compressive force by the pressing member 81, the corner of the foam 32 is not turned up even if the guide member 71 is pulled out. As shown in FIG. 3, after the leading end of the guide member 71 reaches almost the middle of the case 31, the guide member 71 and the pressing member 81 are pulled out of the case 31 together. Guide member 71
Is coated with a low friction material,
Since the friction between the case 31 and the form 32 is greater than the friction between the case 32 and the form 32, as shown in FIG.
Form 32 is left in case 32. The time when the guide member 71 and the pressing member 81 are removed together is determined based on the difference in the frictional force.

Since the foam 32 has been compressed, when the pressing by the pressing member 81 is released, the foam 32 expands in the direction opposite to the compressed direction. At this time, the corners on the opening 37 side of the foam 32 may be so-called turned, whose expansion is delayed due to friction with the case 31, and a gap may be formed in the inner corner of the upper part of the case 31, but this is due to the ink. Since it is located farthest from the supply hole 34, it does not affect the ink supply performance described later. An opening 3 is formed in the inner surface of the case side wall 31s due to the draft of the mold during resin molding.
The taper that expands toward 7 is formed. By appropriately setting the angle of this taper, the foam 32 can be expanded by reducing the above-mentioned curling.

Then, as shown in FIG. 1, the lid 33 is pressed against the opening 3 of the case 31 while slightly compressing the foam 32.
7 and fixed by heat welding or the like. Then cover 3
By connecting a vacuum suction device to the atmosphere communication hole 35 of No. 3 and injecting ink from the ink supply hole 34 with the inside of the case 31 in a negative pressure state, the foam 32 is impregnated with ink. Thus, the ink cartridge is completed.

When the foam 32 is loaded in the cartridge, the foam 32 is sufficiently compressed in the plane parallel to the opening 37 even after moving from the guide member 71 into the case 31. Closely adhered to the inner surface of the Further, since the foam 32 is inserted by being pressed against the bottom wall 31b, the foam 32 is in close contact with the bottom wall 31b and the ink supply hole 34 without any gap. Therefore,
By the operation of the inkjet head 50, the ink sucked from the ink supply hole 34 is supplied under a pressure controlled by the capillary phenomenon of the foam 32.

If the form 32 is not in close contact with the ink supply hole 34 of the case 31,
If the corners of the ink cartridge 2 are not in close contact with the corners of the inner surface of the case 31, the ink sucked from the ink cartridge by the operation of the ink jet head will not be sucked from the inside of the foam 32 having a large flow resistance, and When the ink is sucked from the gap and the gap is connected to the atmosphere communication hole 35 through the edge portion extending along the inner surface of the case, the air is jetted without using the ink impregnated in the foam. It is supplied to the head. That is, a non-ejection state occurs early with a large amount of ink remaining. In the present embodiment, such a problem can be solved, and the use efficiency of ink can be significantly improved.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the form inserting method of the present invention. In this embodiment, the foam 32 is compressed from two perpendicular directions without using the aforementioned tapered portion. This compression method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-463.
As described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 7-32226, a known compression jig is pressed against the foam 32 in two perpendicular directions (the vertical direction in FIG. 7 and the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 7) to compress the jig. Then, it is inserted into the guide member 71 from one of the openings. After that, the guide member 71 is inserted into the case 31,
The pressing member 81 compresses the foam 32 toward the bottom wall 31b. This state is equivalent to the right half of FIG. 2, and of course, a gap L is provided between the tip of the guide member 71 and the bottom wall 31b. After that, the same method as in the above-described embodiment is used.

According to this embodiment, since the foam 32 is pushed out again into the case from the opening on the side where the guide member 71 is inserted, the corner 32b of the foam 32 in FIG. 5 form a corner 32b curved in the opposite direction. Therefore, when the pressing member 81 pushes the form 32 and the corner of the form 32 is disengaged from the guiding member 71, the corner 32b of the form 32 immediately becomes straight, or the corner bent in the opposite direction is pushed back to form a straight line. It can be brought into contact with the bottom wall 31b. Therefore, a gap is less likely to be formed at the corner of the inner surface of the case than in the above-described embodiment.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention, the foam can be loaded without forming a gap in the corner of the case, and the use efficiency of the ink impregnated in the foam can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one embodiment of an ink cartridge that uses the foam insertion method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a form insertion method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view for explaining an operation state of the form insertion method of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation state of the form insertion method of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation state of the form insertion method of FIG. 2 by partially enlarging the operation state;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a partially enlarged operation state of the form insertion method in FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a form insertion method according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 5, illustrating a conventional form insertion method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 30 ink cartridge 31 case 32 foam 33 cover 34 ink supply hole 35 atmosphere communication hole 37 opening 71 guide member 81 pressing member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A case having an opening on one side and an ink supply hole on the other side for supplying an ink-jet head, a foam housed in the case and impregnated with ink, and a lid member covering one side opening of the case. A method of inserting the foam into the case, comprising the steps of: A step of inserting the foam into a guide member that can be inserted along the inner surface of the case and that is opened toward the inside of the case; and a tip of the guide member facing the opening on the one side in the case. A step of inserting the foam in the guide member toward the wall in the case and compressing the foam toward the wall; and a side of the case. Covering the opening with the lid member and holding the foam in the case. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of compressing includes a step of expanding the foam between a distal end of the guide member and the wall surface toward an inner surface of a side wall of the case. A method for inserting the form. 3. The method of claim 2, wherein the step of inserting the form into the guide member includes the step of compressing the form in a plane parallel to one side opening of the case. how to. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the compressing step is performed by a pressing member inserted into the case, and further including the following steps: A step of releasing the pressing of the foam by the pressing member and expanding the compressed foam in the case in a direction opposite to the compression direction.