JP2002001993A - Ink jet image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet image forming device which is made compact. SOLUTION: An ink tank unit 40 has an ink receiving device 42 which is put in and out from a body 11. Also, inside the body 11 of the ink jet printer 10, a guide rail 46 to draw the ink receiving device 42 into the inside is formed. The ink receiving device 42 is guided by the guide rail 46 and can move from the inside (outside) of the body 11 to the outside (inside).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink jet type image forming apparatus for forming an image by discharging ink onto a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an output device of a computer or a work station, an ink jet type image forming apparatus which forms an image by discharging ink on a recording medium such as a recording paper conveyed in a predetermined conveying direction is known. The inkjet type image forming apparatus generally includes a print head having a plurality of ink ejection ports for ejecting ink, a carriage mounted with the print head and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction, and a main scanning direction. And a transport device for transporting the recording paper in a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to. This transport device
It is composed of a driving roller and a driven roller that convey the recording paper while nipping it.

When an image is formed on a recording sheet, the recording sheet being conveyed by the conveying device is temporarily stopped, and the carriage is reciprocated in the above-described predetermined direction, based on an image signal carrying image information. Ink is ejected from the ink ejection port, and an image for one band is formed on a portion of the recording paper located in the image forming area facing the ink ejection port. Thereafter, the paper is conveyed by the width of one band and stopped, and the ink is discharged from the ink discharge ports based on the image signals while the carriage is reciprocated again in the above-mentioned predetermined direction. An image is formed in a portion newly located in the area. By repeating such an operation, an image is formed on the entire surface of the recording paper.

By the way, the ink in the print head is consumed (decreased) every time the ink is ejected from the ink ejection port. Therefore, the inkjet type image forming apparatus is configured to supply (replenish) ink to the print head. As an ink supply method for supplying ink to the print head in this manner, for example, an ink tank method using a print head cartridge or an ink tank is known.

In this ink tank system, an ink tank unit is arranged outside the main body of an ink jet type image forming apparatus, and an ink tank storing a large amount of ink is mounted on the ink tank unit. Is supplied to the print head cartridge via the ink supply tube. The ink in the ink tank is supplied to the inside of the ink tank unit and temporarily stored therein. Inside the ink tank unit, a buffer for keeping the ink supplied from the ink tank at a constant liquid level is arranged.

By maintaining the ink supplied from the ink tank at a constant liquid level with the buffer in this manner, the difference between the liquid level and the ink head of the print head cartridge is kept within a predetermined range. The ink in the ink tank is supplied to the print head cartridge. When the ink tank is frequently replaced, the ink may overflow from the buffer. Therefore, a container for storing the overflowed ink is formed in the ink tank unit.

[0007]

In the ink-jet type image forming apparatus of the ink tank type described above, the ink tank unit is fixed outside the main body.
For this reason, the size of the inkjet type image forming apparatus is large, which is inconvenient when shipping, storing, and transporting the image forming apparatus. In addition, when the size of the ink jet type image forming apparatus is large, it may not be able to be accommodated in the elevator, and the transportation thereof is very inconvenient.

When the ink tank unit is configured to be separable from the main body of the ink jet type image forming apparatus, the size of the main body is reduced. However, since the two parts, the main body and the ink tank unit, are stored and transported as a set, the operation is troublesome and the operation efficiency is low.

Incidentally, ink may overflow from the above-mentioned buffer. When a container for storing the overflowed ink is provided in the ink tank unit, the size of the ink jet type image forming apparatus is increased by the size of the container. For this reason, similarly to the above, transportation becomes inconvenient.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an ink jet type image forming apparatus which is reduced in size.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising:
A carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for ejecting ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction, and an ink supply tube for supplying ink stored in a predetermined ink tank to the print head cartridge, In an ink jet type image forming apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from a print head cartridge to a recording medium, (1) the ink supply tube is connected, and the ink tank is mounted so as to be freely taken in and out of a main body. And an ink tank unit.

In order to achieve the above object, a second ink jet image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises a carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for discharging ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction. An ink tank unit in which the ink tank is mounted, a buffer disposed in the ink tank unit to maintain the ink supplied from the ink tank at a predetermined liquid level, and printing the ink stored in the buffer. An ink-jet image forming apparatus comprising: an ink supply tube for supplying to a head cartridge; and forming an image by discharging ink from the print head cartridge to a recording medium.
(2) An ink container disposed inside the main body for storing the ink overflowing from the buffer.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink-jet type image forming apparatus, comprising: a carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for discharging ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction; An ink tank unit in which the ink tank is mounted, a buffer disposed in the ink tank unit to maintain the ink supplied from the ink tank at a predetermined liquid level, and printing the ink stored in the buffer. An ink supply tube for supplying the ink to the head cartridge; and a waste ink container for storing the ink discarded from the print head cartridge, and forming an image by discharging ink from the print head cartridge to a recording medium. (3) The ink overflowing from the buffer is It is characterized in further comprising a waste ink pouring member pouring the Sharing, ABS ink container.

Here, (4) the waste ink inflow member is
It may be a groove formed in the ink tank unit.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an ink jet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [First Embodiment] A first embodiment of an ink jet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink jet printer. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an ink tank unit provided in the ink jet printer of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the ink tank unit of FIG. 2 in which an ink tank is mounted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the ink tank unit housed inside the main body of the ink jet printer. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an ink jet printer in which the ink tank unit is put out of the main body. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an ink jet printer in which an ink tank unit is placed inside the main body.

As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet printer 10 (which is an example of an inkjet type image forming apparatus according to the present invention) includes
An operation unit 12 for operating the device is formed. Paper type, online / offline, commands, and the like are instructed by various switches and the like arranged on the operation unit 12. The ink jet printer 10 has an opening 14 through which a recording medium is inserted and discharged. By inserting the leading end of the recording medium through the opening 14, the recording medium is conveyed into the ink jet printer 10 by the drive roller 16 and the like, and an image is formed on the recording medium inside the printer. The portion of the recording medium on which the image is formed is guided from the opening 14 to the discharge guide 18 and discharged in the direction of arrow A.

Inside the ink jet printer 10,
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a platen 22 on which the recording paper 20 is placed is provided. Above this platen 22,
Two scanning rails (guide rails) 24 are extended across the platen 22 in parallel. This scanning rail 24
, A carriage 26 that reciprocates (scans) in the direction of arrow B by a motor (not shown) and a belt (not shown) is attached via a slide bearing (not shown).
The direction of arrow B is a direction orthogonal to the direction of arrow A,
It is an example of the main scanning direction according to the present invention.

The carriage 26 is mounted with four print head cartridges 28 having ink discharge ports (nozzle outlets, not shown) for discharging ink.
From each of the print head cartridges 28, ink of each color of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow is ejected. Ink is ejected on a portion of the recording paper 20 located in front of the print head cartridge 28, and an image is formed on this portion.

In forming an image on a recording paper 20 such as a roll paper, the recording paper 20 is placed on a platen 22 and a part of the outer peripheral surface is opened through an opening (not shown) formed in the platen 22. The recording paper 20 is nipped by the transport roller 30 exposing the recording paper and the pinch roller 32 located above the transport roller 30, and the transport roller 30 is rotated by a transport motor (not shown) to transport the recording paper 20.

The carriage 26 is scanned above the recording paper 20 in the direction of arrow B, and the nozzles are moved from the nozzles based on image signals carrying image information transmitted from the head controller (not shown) to the four print head cartridges 28. By discharging ink, an image is formed on a portion of the recording paper 20 located in front of the print head cartridge 28. During the image forming operation,
When it becomes necessary to suck ink from the nozzles to clean the nozzles and the like, the carriage 26
Is moved above a recovery device (not shown) to forcibly suck ink from the nozzles. The ink sucked by the recovery device is stored in a waste ink tank 34 disposed below the platen 22.

An ink tank unit 40 is fixed to the side wall 11a of the main body 11 of the ink jet printer 10 so that the ink tank unit 40 can be freely inserted into and removed from the main body 11. A plurality of ink tanks 50 are mounted on the ink tank unit 40. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, five ink tanks 50K, 50K, 50C, 50
M, 50Y are mounted.

The ink tank unit 40 has an ink container 42 which is inserted into and removed from the main body 11. Inside the ink container 42, five ink tanks 50K, 5
Five buffers 44 to which 0K, 50C, 50M, and 50Y are respectively mounted and fixed are formed. The ink discharged from each ink tank 50 is stored in a respective buffer 44.
Are temporarily stored inside the printer, and the liquid level of each ink is maintained constant. The liquid level of each ink in the buffer 44 is set to be lower than the ink ejection port of the print head cartridge 28.

Accordingly, when ink is ejected from the ink ejection port of the print head cartridge 28, the ink is sucked up from the buffer 44 by the capillary force of the orifice of the ink ejection nozzle, and this ink is printed via the ink supply tube 36. It is supplied to the head cartridge 28. Further, when the ink tank 50 is frequently replaced, the ink may overflow from the buffer 44, and the overflowed ink is stored in the ink container 42.

A guide rail 46 for drawing the ink container 42 into the inside of the main body 11 of the ink jet printer 10 is formed. Further, the ink container 42 is provided with a falling-off preventing member 48 so as not to fall off from the guide rail 46. Therefore, the ink container 42 is guided by the guide rail 46 and can move from the inside (outside) of the main body 11 to the outside (inside).

When the ink tank 50 is mounted on the ink tank unit 40, the ink tank unit 40 is pulled out of the main body 11 as shown in FIGS.
In this state, the ink tank 50 is mounted as shown in FIGS. On the other hand, when transporting or storing the ink jet printer 10, there is no need to attach the ink tank 50. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 11 is stored inside.

As described above, when the ink tank 50 is not installed, the ink tank unit 40 can be placed inside the main body 11. Therefore, when transporting or storing the ink jet printer 10, the ink tank unit 40 can be used. Only the entire device can be made smaller. For this reason, the inkjet printer 10 convenient for transportation and storage can be obtained. [Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an ink jet printer according to a second embodiment in which a buffer is put out of the main body. In this figure, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The ink jet printer 6 of the second embodiment
Characteristic 0 is that it has an ink container 72 arranged inside the main body of the ink jet printer 60 and an ink tank unit 70 having a buffer 74 which is put in and out of the main body.

The ink tank container 72 remains fixed inside the main body of the ink jet printer 60 and does not move. On the other hand, the buffer 74 is supported by a plurality of support bars 76. These support rods 76 have lower end portions 76a.
, The buffer 74 rotates from a position where the buffer 74 is stored inside the main body to a position where the buffer 74 is disposed outside the main body. Therefore, the size of the ink tank unit 70 can be reduced by the space corresponding to the size of the ink tank container 72. The buffer 74 is connected to the ink container 72 via the ink tube 78. Therefore, the ink overflowing from the buffer 74 is stored in the ink container 72 through the ink tube 78.

In the buffer 74, for example, the ink tank 50K
7, the buffer 74 is pulled out of the main body 11 as shown in FIG. In this state, the ink tank 50K is mounted. On the other hand, the inkjet printer 6
When transporting or storing 0, the ink tank 50
It is not necessary to attach K, so the ink tank 50K
Is removed, and the buffer 74 is stored inside the main body 11.

As described above, when the ink tank 50 is not mounted, the buffer 74 can be stored in the main body 11. Therefore, when transporting or storing the ink jet printer 60, the entire apparatus is reduced by the buffer 74. Can be downsized. For this reason, the inkjet printer 60 convenient for transportation and storage can be obtained. Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an ink jet printer of a third embodiment in which a buffer is provided outside the main body. In this figure, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The ink jet printer 8 of the third embodiment
0 is characterized by the buffer 84 of the ink tank unit 82.
One end of a waste ink tube 86 (which is an example of a waste ink pouring member according to the present invention) is connected to the upper portion, and the other end of the waste ink tube 86 is connected to the waste ink tank 34. is there. Therefore, there is no need for an ink container (for example, the ink container 42 in FIG. 5) for storing the ink overflowing from the buffer 84, and the ink tank unit 82 and the ink tank unit 82 have a space corresponding to the size of the ink container. The main body of the inkjet printer 80 can be reduced in size. Fourth Embodiment A fourth embodiment of the ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing an ink jet printer according to a fourth embodiment in which a buffer is provided outside the main body. In this figure, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The ink jet printer 9 of the fourth embodiment
The features 0 are that a groove 94 is formed in the ink tank unit 92 and that the ink container 96 is fixed inside the main body of the ink jet printer 90. The ink overflowing from the buffer 98 flows into the ink container 96 along the groove 94. Therefore, even if there is no complicated piping,
The ink overflowing from the buffer 98 can be reliably poured into the ink container 96. Therefore, complicated piping is not required, and the ink tank unit 92 and the ink jet printer 90 can be reduced in size accordingly.

[0037]

As described above, in the first ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, the ink tank unit can be placed inside the main body when the ink tank is not mounted, so that the ink jet type image forming apparatus is transported. When the device is to be stored or stored, the entire device can be reduced in size by the amount of the ink tank unit. Therefore, an ink jet type image forming apparatus which is convenient for transportation and storage can be obtained.

In the second ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the ink container is disposed inside the main body of the ink jet type image forming apparatus, this ink container is formed in the ink tank unit. No need. Therefore, the size of the ink tank unit can be reduced by a space corresponding to the size of the ink container. As a result, the size of the entire inkjet type image forming apparatus can be reduced, and the installation area can be reduced.

Further, in the third ink jet type image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the ink overflowing from the buffer is poured into the waste ink container by the waste ink inflow member and stored, the overflowed ink is stored. There is no need to separately provide a storage container inside the main body of the ink tank unit or the inkjet type image forming apparatus. Therefore, the size of the ink tank unit and the inside of the main body can be reduced by a space corresponding to the size of the container. As a result, the size of the entire inkjet type image forming apparatus can be reduced, and the installation area can be reduced.

Here, if the waste ink inflow member is a groove formed in the ink tank unit, the ink overflowing from the buffer flows through the groove and flows into the waste ink container, which is complicated. Piping is no longer necessary,
The ink tank unit and the main body of the ink jet type image forming apparatus can have a simple configuration and can be downsized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink jet printer.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an ink tank unit provided in the ink jet printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the ink tank unit of FIG. 2 in which an ink tank is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an ink tank unit housed inside the main body of the ink jet printer.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing an ink jet printer in which an ink tank unit is put out of a main body.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an ink jet printer in which an ink tank unit is placed inside a main body.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an ink jet printer according to a second embodiment in which a buffer is provided outside a main body.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an ink jet printer according to a third embodiment in which a buffer is taken out of a main body.

FIG. 9 is a schematic view illustrating an ink jet printer according to a fourth embodiment in which a buffer is provided outside a main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 60, 80, 90 Inkjet printer 26 Carriage 28 Print head cartridge 34 Waste ink container 36 Ink supply tube 40, 70, 82, 92 Ink tank unit 42, 72, 96 Ink container 44, 74, 84, 98 Buffer 86 Waste ink tube 94 Groove

Claims (4)

[Claims] A carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for ejecting ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction; and an ink supply for supplying ink stored in a predetermined ink tank to the print head cartridge. An ink jet type image forming apparatus comprising a tube and discharging ink from the print head cartridge to a recording medium to form an image, wherein the ink tank is connected to the ink supply tube and freely taken in and out of the main body. An ink jet type image forming apparatus comprising an ink tank unit to be mounted. A carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for ejecting ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction; an ink tank unit in which a predetermined ink tank is mounted; and an ink tank unit disposed in the ink tank unit. A buffer for keeping the ink supplied from the ink tank at a predetermined liquid level, and an ink supply tube for supplying the ink stored in the buffer to the print head cartridge, and recording from the print head cartridge. An ink jet type image forming apparatus for forming an image by discharging ink on a medium, comprising: an ink container disposed inside a main body for storing ink overflowing from the buffer. Image forming device. 3. A carriage mounted with a print head cartridge for ejecting ink and reciprocating in a predetermined main scanning direction, an ink tank unit in which a predetermined ink tank is mounted, and an ink tank unit disposed in the ink tank unit. A buffer for keeping the ink supplied from the ink tank at a predetermined liquid level, an ink supply tube for supplying the ink stored in the buffer to the print head cartridge, and a discarded ink from the print head cartridge. An ink-jet image forming apparatus for forming an image by ejecting ink from the print head cartridge to a recording medium, comprising: a waste ink container for storing ink; Characterized by having a waste ink pouring member for pouring into a container. Wherein the image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the waste ink inflow member is a groove formed in the ink tank unit.