JP2002273909A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To secure by engage an ink unloading opening with an ink feed needle and supply an ink to a recording head without causing an ink leakage. SOLUTION: This ink cartridge comprises an ink unloading opening 2 through which the ink feed needle is inserted, formed on one of the end sides, an ink pouch 1 airtightly filled with the ink and a case body 4 storing the ink pouch 1 in such a way that the ink is supplied from the ink unloading opening 2 to the outside. In addition, a fixed groove 2a is formed on the outer periphery of the ink unloading opening 2 and a fitting part 4b is formed in the case body 4, the ink unloading opening 2 being fixed by the fitting part 4b of the case body 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge which is installed in a housing of a recording apparatus and supplies ink to a recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink cartridge for supplying ink to a recording head via an ink supply tube, an ink outlet for supplying ink to the recording head is provided at one end as shown in, for example, JP-A-3-7350. A rectangular ink bag made of a flexible material in which ink is sealed and provided;
It is composed of a case for storing the ink bag and a lid. Such an ink cartridge is loaded into a recording apparatus such that the ink outlet is located at the tip, and ink is supplied to the recording head through an ink supply tube through an ink supply needle on the recording apparatus side.

In order to accurately position the ink outlet of the ink cartridge with the ink supply needle of the recording apparatus, such an ink cartridge is provided on the ink outlet side of the ink cartridge as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-99633. It has been proposed to form an engagement recess and an engagement projection on the recording device side.

[0004]

Incidentally, such an ink cartridge is constructed so that the ink outlet of a flat ink bag filled with ink is exposed from a hard case which houses the ink bag. I have. In such an ink cartridge, it is necessary to accurately attach and fix the ink outlet to the hard case.
That is, since the hard case is housed in a predetermined housing portion of the ink cartridge provided in the recording apparatus, if there is an error in the relative position between the hard case and the ink supply port, the ink supply needle moves from the center of the ink outlet. It is inserted into the shifted position, causing ink leakage for a long period of time. The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to enable the ink outlet and the ink supply needle to be accurately engaged even with a large ink cartridge. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink cartridge mounted on a holder provided with an ink supply needle communicating with a recording head, wherein the ink supply needle is inserted. An ink outlet provided at one end side, comprising an ink bag filled with ink, and a case accommodating the ink bag so that ink can be supplied from the ink outlet to the outside, and an outer periphery of the ink outlet. A fixing portion is formed in a region of the case facing the fixing groove of the ink outlet of the case, and the ink outlet is fixed by the fitting portion of the case.

[0006]

According to the present invention, a fixed groove of an ink outlet of an ink bag can be fitted into a case and fixed at a predetermined position, so that even with a large ink cartridge, the ink outlet is reliably engaged with an ink supply needle.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of the ink cartridge according to the present invention. The flexible ink bag 1 is made of two sheets of aluminum foil, for example, an outer foil to improve gas barrier properties. With a nylon film and an aluminum laminated film sandwiching the inside with a polyethylene film. Two aluminum laminated films are overlapped, and the periphery is joined by heat welding or the like. Joint surface (shown as hatched in the figure)
An ink outlet 2 for drawing out the ink in the ink bag 1 to the outside is joined to one side of the above by heat welding or the like. Ink outlet 2
Is a plastic molded product, the joint surface of which is formed in at least a pair of opposing tapered knife-edge shapes, and has a sufficient thickness to ensure a sufficient heat melting area (so-called glue) of the joint surface. It is thick.

A fixing groove 2a is provided in the ink outlet 2, and the ink outlet 2 is fitted and fixed to the case body 4. Since the fixing groove 2a is provided in the ink outlet 2, the shape of the fitting portion 4b of the case 4 is not complicated, and the ink outlet 2 of the ink bag 1 can be easily and accurately positioned. Can be attached to The case body 4 is provided with positioning holes 4 on its surface in the insertion direction, that is, the surface on which the fixing groove 2a is formed, so as to sandwich the fixing groove 2a.
a and a guide hole 4g.

The ink bag 1 thus constructed is fixed to the bottom surface of the case body 4 with a double-sided tape (not shown), and a detection plate 5 for detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink bag 1 is provided on the lid side. And so on. The detection plate 5 is provided with a detection projection 5a that is exposed to the outside of the case main body 4 when the remaining amount of ink is reduced.

The lid 6 is fixed to the case body 4 by fitting a pair of corners 6a and a pair of holes 4d of the case body 4 and snap-fitting a pair of claws 6b and a pair of recesses 4e. First, the corner 6a and the hole 4d are fitted together, and then the claw 6b and the recess 4e are snap-fitted and fixed. The claw 6b is configured to bend in the direction of arrow D. When the cover 6 is inserted in the direction of arrow E, the claw 6b bends and fits into the recess 4e. When removing the lid 6, it is possible to easily remove the lid 6 by inserting a jig into the notch 4f of the case body 4 and prying in the F direction.

Next, a mechanism for mounting the ink cartridge and the recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 shows a mechanism for positioning the ink cartridge of the present invention in the holder of the recording apparatus. The holder 9 provided in the recording apparatus guides the insertion of the ink cartridge 8 and moves the ink cartridge 8 to a predetermined position. The upper and lower frames 10 for holding the frame 8 are provided.

The holder 9 is provided with a shutter 12 for protecting the supply needle 15 and the like provided on a needle seat frame (not shown) of the holder 9 from touching when the ink cartridge 8 is not present. The frame 10 is provided with a pair of elastically displaceable lock arms 10a (only one side is shown) for locking the shutter 12 at the illustrated position. The shutter 12 is rotatably supported about a rotation center 12a, and is urged to a position shown by a shutter spring (not shown). At this time, the shutter 12 is engaged with the groove of the lock arm 10a and is in a holding state (locked state). When the ink cartridge 8 is inserted between the upper and lower frames 10 in the direction of arrow I, a pair of functional ribs 4c are guided by a pair of rails 10b on the upper surface and the lower surface of the ink cartridge 8 on the ink outlet side and move to the back. .

A pair of functional ribs 4 of the ink cartridge 8
c reaches the lock arm 10a, and the lock arm 10a
Is elastically displaced in the direction of arrow J. At this time shutter 12
Is released from the groove of the lock arm 10a, is pushed by the ink cartridge 8, rotates around the shutter rotation center 12a, and escapes to the upper part of the lid 6 of the ink cartridge 8.

When the ink cartridge 8 moves further, the positioning hole 4a of the ink cartridge 8 engages with the positioning shaft 16 provided in the needle seat frame, and the vertical position of the ink cartridge 8 is determined. At the same time, the guide hole 4g formed in the upper part of the ink outlet of the ink cartridge 8
Left and right positions are determined.

As shown in FIG. 5, the positioning shaft 16 and the guide shaft 17 are tapered at the tips and project from the tip of the ink supply needle 15 by ΔL, so that the functional ribs 4c and the rails 10b are provided. Therefore, if the positioning hole 4a and the guide hole 4g are roughly positioned with an error of about the diameter of the positioning hole 4a and the guide hole 4g, the positioning shaft 16 and the guide shaft 17 are moved to the positioning hole 4a before the ink supply needle 15 contacts the ink outlet 2. And the guide hole 4g is accurately guided to a predetermined position so that the center of the ink outlet 2 faces the tip of the ink supply needle 15.

When the ink cartridge 8 moves further in this state, a pair of leaf springs 13 (only one side is shown) held by the upper and lower frames 10 are engaged with a pair of functional ribs 4c, and the ink cartridge 8 is moved to the upper and lower frames. 10
Is held. In this state, the elastic displacement of the lock arm 10a has the original shape (the shutter 12 and the lock arm 10a).
(a state in which the groove portion a is engaged). When the ink cartridge 8 is held by the upper and lower frames 10, the supply needle 15 passes through the outlet rubber 3 and the ink outlet 2 and reaches the ink in the ink bag 1. When the ink cartridge 8 is inserted into the holder 9 in a direction other than that shown in the drawing, the functional ribs 4c and the pair of erroneous insertion preventing ribs 4w of the ink cartridge 8 contact the pair of erroneous insertion preventing surfaces 10c of the upper and lower frames 10 and move to the holder 9. Prevent insertion.

As described above, at the beginning of the insertion, the ink cartridge is moved by a long distance while positioning the ink cartridge by the functional rib 4c and the rail 10b, and the positioning hole 4a and the guide hole 4g are made immediately before coming into contact with the ink supply needle 15. Is positioned by the positioning shaft 16 and the guide shaft 17, the positional accuracy of the pair of frames 10 of the recording apparatus can be reduced to some extent, and play can be secured between the frame 10 and the ink cartridge at the beginning of insertion. A large cartridge can be easily moved to the back by the pressing force. Since the ink outlet 2 is fixed to the fitting portion 4b of the case main body 4 by the fixing groove 2a,
The ink outlet 2 maintains the specified position of the case main body 4 even when receiving an external force due to the insertion of the ink supply needle 15, and the ink outlet 2 is securely engaged with the ink supply needle 15 even in a large ink cartridge. Thus, ink can be supplied to the recording head without causing ink leakage. That is, the center of the ink outlet 2 is positioned even when the ink outlet 2 is pressed by a strong force at the time of mounting due to a large amount of the ink and the ink outlet 2 cannot be detected with a delicate touch. 15 can be inserted.

When a force such as vibration is applied to the cartridge to cause the cartridge to fall down in a state of being mounted on the recording apparatus, the positioning shaft 16 and the guide shaft inserted into the upper and lower positioning holes 4a and the guide holes 4g of the ink outlet 2 are formed. Since the vertical posture can be maintained from the position 17, the bending force is prevented from acting on the ink supply needle 15. In addition, since the cartridge is supported at two points by a positioning shaft arranged so as to sandwich the ink supply needle, rolling of the cartridge is prevented, and the amount of remaining ink is accurately determined by a detection projection that is displaced according to the amount of remaining ink in the ink bag. Can be detected. Moreover,

When the ink cartridge 8 is removed from the holder 9, the functional rib 4c and the leaf spring 13 are disengaged from each other, the functional rib 4c reaches the lock arm 10a, and elastically displaces the lock arm 10a in the direction of arrow J. At this time, the shutter 12 is moved by a shutter spring (not shown).
The shutter 12 is returned to the illustrated position and the lock arm 10 is
It engages with the groove part a, and becomes a holding state (lock state).

[0020]

According to the present invention, the ink outlet of the ink bag can be fitted into the case by the fixing groove of the ink outlet and can be fixed at a predetermined position. And the ink can be supplied to the recording head without causing ink leakage.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing one embodiment of an ink cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a member forming an ink outlet.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a fixing groove of an ink outlet.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a snap-fit shape between a case and a lid.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a positioning mechanism when the ink cartridge of the present invention is mounted on a recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 ink bag 2 ink outlet 2a fixing groove 4 case body 4a positioning hole 4b fitting part 4c function rib 4d hole 4e recess 4f notch 4g guide hole 4w erroneous insertion prevention rib 4x shutter rib 4y guide rib 4z protrusion 5 detection Plate 6 Lid 8 Ink cartridge 9 Holder 10b Rail 10c Mis-insertion prevention surface 15 Ink supply needle 16 Positioning axis 17 Guide axis

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuhisa Kawakami 3-3-5 Yamato, Suwa-shi, Nagano F-term in Seiko Epson Corporation (reference) 2C056 EA16 EA22 EA29 EB20 EB50 KC02 KC04 KC05 KC06 KC14 KC22 KC30

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge mounted on a holder provided with an ink supply needle communicating with a recording head, wherein an ink outlet through which the ink supply needle is inserted is provided at one end side, and an ink bag filled with ink is provided. And a case for accommodating the ink bag so that ink can be supplied to the outside from the ink outlet. A fixing groove is provided on an outer periphery of the ink outlet, and also faces a fixing groove of the ink outlet of the case. An ink cartridge in which a fitting portion is formed in an area, and the ink outlet is fixed by a fitting portion of the case. 2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a positioning hole and a guide hole are formed to engage with the positioning shaft and the guide shaft of the holder when the holder is mounted on the case. 3. In a state where the surface of the ink bag is attached to a holder and the surface of the ink bag is positioned substantially vertically, the ink outlet is located above and below the ink outlet on the surface of the case on the ink outlet side. Before contacting the ink supply needle provided in the holder, a positioning hole and a guide hole guided by a positioning shaft and a guide shaft provided in the holder are formed,
2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a rib guided by a rail provided on the holder is formed on a surface of the case that intersects with a surface on which the ink outlet is formed, on a side of the ink outlet. 3.