JP2002273862A - Ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in the portability of a conventional portable printer because of the size, the weight and connection by a cable, and eliminate printing failures of an ink jet printer when receiving vibrations and shocks. SOLUTION: A printer part 3 is attached to a connector of a lower part of a portable phone 2 thereby executing printing together with the portable phone 2. A cap part 4 constituted integrally of a cap, a pump, an ink tank and a waste ink tank is set, which is made detachable to the printer part 3. Bubbles in a printing head are discharged every time the cap part 4 is detached.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a portable ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, printers for connecting a cable to a lower connector of a mobile phone and printing separately from the mobile phone are commercially available as actual products. Also, JP-A-63-69369
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-58851 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-58851 have proposed a portable inkjet printer having an image reading function.

[0003]

A conventional portable printer has to be carried separately from a portable telephone, and also needs to be connected by a cable during printing, which is a problem in portability.

[0004] An ink jet printer has a principle feature of holding the ink in the nozzles of the print head by the surface tension of the ink, and there is a problem that the surface of the ink becomes unstable when subjected to vibration or impact, resulting in poor printing. Conventionally, many proposals have been made as a countermeasure for this, but there is a problem in portability in terms of size and weight.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a cap is attached to a connector at a lower portion of a mobile phone to perform printing integrally with the mobile phone, and a cap portion integrally comprising a cap, a pump, an ink tank, and a waste ink tank is provided. This problem has been solved by realizing that the print head can be attached to and detached from the printer unit, and that air bubbles in the print head are discharged each time the cap unit is removed.

[0006]

The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a use form of an ink jet printer according to the present invention.

The ink jet printer 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown by an arrow, the mobile phone 2 is engaged with an input / output connector (not shown) at the lower part of the mobile phone 2 to be integrated with the mobile phone 2. Before printing, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated, the cap portion 4 is removed from the print portion 3.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1D, the printing unit 3 is slid in the direction of the arrow while pressing the print button 7 while pressing the opening of the printing unit 3 against the paper 5, and printing is performed. After printing is completed, the cap unit 4 is engaged with the print unit 3 and returned to the unit.

As described above, the portable telephone 2 and the ink jet printer 1 shown in FIG. 1B can be carried together.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of the printer. A connector 8, a circuit board 9, a print head 10, and an encoder 15 are arranged in the print unit 3, and a cap unit 4 is provided.
, A lever 6, a pump 11, an ink tank 12, a waste ink tank 13, and a cap 14 are arranged. FIG.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an ink flow path of the printer. The flow path of the ink will be described with reference to FIG. The ink is stored in the ink tank 12
From the pump 1 via the pipe 18b and the check valve 17b.
1, connecting pipe 19, check valve 17a, pipe 18
a to the print head 10.

The ink discharged from the nozzles of the print head 10 is received by the cap 14 and is absorbed by the absorbent 16 in the waste ink tank 13.

Next, the operation of attaching and detaching the cap will be described.
FIG. 4 is an operation chart of the manual pump and the cap removal / removal with respect to the rotation position of the lever. FIGS.

The state and state 'shown in FIG.
4 corresponds to FIG. 5 (b), the states of FIG. 4 and state 'correspond to FIG. 5 (c), and the state of FIG. 4 corresponds to FIG. 5 (d). State 4 corresponds to FIG.

FIG. 4 shows a cam position chart, in which the cam 61 of the lever 6 provided in the cap portion 4 and the pump 11
The position where the pin 63 integrated with the elastically deformable one end contacts the pin 63 is shown. The pin 63 is constantly biased toward the cam 61 by a spring (not shown).

The position of the minimum diameter of the cam 61 (the state shown in FIG. 4).
Then, the pin 63 is at the leftmost position, and the volume in the pump 11 becomes the maximum. Further, at the position of the maximum diameter of the cam 61 (the state of FIG. 4), the pin 63 is at the rightmost position, and the volume in the pump 11 is minimized.

The lock chart in FIG. 4 shows the engagement state between the locking portion 62 provided on the lever 6 in FIG. 5 and the lock pin 20 formed in the print portion 3. In the closed position, the locking portion 62 and the lock pin 20 are engaged, and the print portion 3 and the cap portion 4 cannot be separated. In the open position, the locking portion 62 and the lock pin 20 are disengaged. Thus, the print unit 3 and the cap unit 4 can be separated.

The operation is carried out by sandwiching the printable state of the state.
From state to state 'is a series of operations. First, when the lever 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow from the state of FIG. 5A, the pin 63 moves rightward along the cam 61 as shown in the state of FIG. Is pressurized. The pressurized ink opens the check valve 17 a and flows in the direction of the arrow to fill the print head 10. At this time, the check valve 17b remains closed. Further, when pressurized, the pressure of the ink overcomes the surface tension of the ink in the nozzle and causes the ink to be ejected to the cap 14. Cap 14
Is discharged from the cap 14 to the waste ink tank 13.

The bubbles that have entered the print head from the nozzles due to the impact of the ink discharge, such as dropping,
It is discharged from inside the print head 10.

When the lever 6 is further rotated, as shown in FIG.
In this state, the pin 63 stops and the pressurization in the pump 11 stops. When the check valve 17a is closed and the ink surface tension in the nozzle is balanced with the ink pressure in the print head 10, the discharge of the ink is stopped, and the ink surface in the nozzle is stabilized. At this time, as shown in the state of FIG. 5D, the lock pin 20 and the locking portion 62 are disengaged from each other, and the cap portion 4 can be separated from the print portion 3.
The cap can be removed for printing.

FIG. 5D shows that ink is ejected from the nozzles of the print head 10 for printing.

After printing is completed, when the print unit 3 and the cap unit 4 are joined, the state shown in FIG. Then, as shown in the state of FIG. 6, when the lever 6 is rotated in the direction of the arrow, the lock pin 20 and the locking portion 62 are engaged to fix the print portion 3 and the cap portion 4 integrally. The pin 63 moves to the left along 61.

The ink in the pump 11 is decompressed, the check valve 17b opens, and the ink in the ink tank 12 flows into the pump 11 as shown by the arrow. At this time, the check valve 17a is closed. Further, when the lever 6 rotates and returns to the state ′ of FIG. 5A, a series of printing operations ends.

As described above, when the cap portion 4 is removed to perform the printing process, the ink is ejected from the print head 10 in conjunction therewith, so that every time the cap portion 4 is removed, unnecessary air bubbles in the print head are discharged. As a result, printing without printing defects can be performed.

Next, the control operation will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. 7 and the operation flowchart of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ink jet printer of the present invention has a CPU and controls input / output. The input system has print data input means from a mobile phone, print instruction means (for example, print button 7), and an encoder, and the output system has a print head.

As shown in FIG. 8, the print control operation starts by preparing print data on the mobile phone. The print data is input to the CPU through the print data input unit. After performing a series of printing preparation operations shown in FIG. 5, the opening of the printing unit 3 is brought into contact with the paper, and the print button is pressed. Thereafter, when the user slides on the paper, the rollers of the encoder 15 rotate, and the encoder sends a pulse signal corresponding to the moving distance to the timing waveform generating means. The timing waveform generation means generates a print timing signal according to the moving distance of the printer and the print resolution, and sends it to the CPU. When the CPU sends the print data to the drive waveform generator in synchronization with the print timing signal, the drive waveform generator drives the print head and performs printing by discharging ink from the print head.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the structure of the ink flow path and the discharge of air bubbles in the print head by reducing the pressure of the ink.

The ink flow path according to the second embodiment supplies ink from an ink tank 112 as shown in FIG.
The print head 110 passes through the check valve 117b and the check valve 117a. The ink discharged from the print head is received by the cap 114, passes through the check valve 117c and the pump 111, and is absorbed by the absorbent 116 in the waste ink tank 113.

When the lever 106 is rotated in the direction of the arrow from the state shown in FIG. 9A, the pin 163 integrated with one end of the pump 111 is moved to the cam 161 as shown in FIG.
And the ink in the pump 111 is reduced in pressure.

When the ink in the pump 111 is reduced in pressure, the check valve 117c is opened, the pressure in the cap 114 is reduced, and the ink in the print head 110 is drawn from the nozzle. Subsequently, the check valves 117a and 117b are opened, and the ink flows from the ink tank 112 to the print head. At this time, since the fluid resistance of the absorbent to the ink is set to be sufficiently large, the ink does not flow from the waste ink tank 113 to such an extent that the reduced pressure in the pump 111 can be maintained.

At this time, air bubbles that have entered the print head due to, for example, vibrations are discharged to the cap 114.

When the lever 106 is further rotated, FIG.
When the position shown in (c) is reached, the pin 163 becomes the rightmost position and stops. Therefore, the decompression of the ink in the pump 111 stops, and the check valve 117c closes. Cap 1
When the pressure in 14 rises until the ink surface in the nozzles of print head 110 can be maintained, the ejection of ink stops,
The check valves 117a and 117b close.

At this time, the flow of ink stops, and on the other hand, the lock pin 120 and the locking portion 162 are disengaged, and the chain line 1
At the position of 30, the print unit and the cap unit can be separated.

After printing, the cap portion is engaged with the printing portion, and the lever 106 is rotated in the reverse direction in the reverse order, thereby completing the printing operation. When the lever 106 is rotated in the reverse direction, the ink in the pump 111 is pressurized and the ink is absorbed by the absorbent because the check valve 117c is closed.

As described above, even if the pressure in the cap 114 is reduced, air bubbles that have entered the print head can be discharged every time a printing operation is performed, thereby achieving stable printing.

The pump in the first embodiment and the second embodiment is a diaphragm pump, but a pump such as a cylinder pump or a bellows pump can be used.

[0038]

According to the present invention, it is possible to realize an ink jet printer which does not require a motor for a pre-discharge pump, uses no battery, and consumes less power. It is possible to realize an ink jet printer having excellent performance.

According to the present invention, the cap, the pump, the ink tank, and the waste ink tank are integrally formed in the cap, thereby achieving a light weight and high operability in a printable state with the cap removed.

In the present invention, it is possible to discharge air bubbles in the print head immediately before the printing operation and to stabilize the ink surface in the nozzles, thereby solving printing defects due to vibration and impact, which were the weak points of the ink jet printer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a use mode of an ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the structure of the printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an ink flow path in the printer of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an operation chart of a manual pump and a cap attached / detached with respect to a rotational position of a lever in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the operation of the manual pump when the cap is mounted on the printer of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the manual pump when the cap is mounted on the printer of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the printer shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet printer 2 Cellular phone 3 Print part 4 Cap part 6 Lever 7 Print button 8 Connector 10 Print head 11 Pump 12 Ink tank 13 Waste ink tank 14 Cap 15 Encoder

Claims (3)

[Claims] An ink jet printer which is attached to a connector at a lower part of a mobile phone and performs printing integrally with the mobile phone. 2. An ink jet printer having a cap unit integrally comprising a cap, a pump, an ink tank, and a waste ink tank, and being detachable from the printer unit. 3. An ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein bubbles are discharged from the print head each time the cap is removed.