JP2003039698A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink jet recorder in which a holding member and a head case constituting an ink jet recorder head can be protected against fracture. SOLUTION: The ink jet recorder head is mounted on a carriage 40 through a head case 23 coupled with a holding member 11 having a wall part 18 projecting from a region corresponding to the outside of the head case 23 while surrounding it, and a plurality of protrusions 19 are provided on the end face of wall part 18 on the carriage 40 side in order to suppress deformation of the holding member 11 to the carriage 40 side.

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 provided with an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink droplets supplied from an ink supply means for printing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, as shown in FIG. 7, a carriage 102 having an ink jet recording head 101 having a head main body having nozzle openings is mounted on a main body 107 of a carriage shaft. It is mounted on 103 so as to be movable in the axial direction. Then, the driving force of the drive motor 104 passes through a plurality of gears (not shown) and the timing belt 105, and the carriage 1
02, the carriage 102 on which the ink jet recording head 101 is mounted is moved to the carriage shaft 10.
It is free to move along 3. On the other hand, the device body 10
7, a platen 106 is provided along the carriage shaft 103. The platen 106 can be rotated by a driving force of a paper feed motor (not shown) so that a recording sheet S, which is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller or the like, is conveyed on the platen 106. Has become.

Further, the ink jet recording head 101
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a holding member 110 that defines an ink cartridge housing chamber 111 that houses an ink cartridge, and the head body 1 from the ink cartridge.
A head case 113 having a supply needle 112 for supplying ink to the nozzle 15 and a flow path 114 to a head body 115.
A fixing lever 116 for fixing the ink cartridge and the like is provided above the ink cartridge housing chamber 111.

A circuit board 117 on which a drive circuit is mounted is provided on the rear surface side of the ink cartridge accommodating chamber 111, and an ink cartridge is detected between the circuit board 117 and the rear surface of the ink cartridge accommodating chamber 111. A detection piece 118 for performing the operation is provided. This detection piece 1
Reference numeral 18 denotes a detection window 119 formed on the rear surface of the accommodation chamber 111.
The ink cartridge is detected via.

Ink is supplied from the ink cartridge housed in the cartridge housing chamber 111 to the head main body 115 through the ink supply needle 112 and the flow path 114, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle opening of the head main body 115. Printing is performed while forming dots on the recording medium.

When an ink cartridge is mounted on such an ink jet recording head, it can be fixed by inserting the ink cartridge into the cartridge housing chamber 111 to some extent and pushing down the fixing lever 116 to a predetermined position. With such a structure, the ink cartridge can be mounted easily and surely, but there is a problem that the structure becomes complicated and the cost becomes high.

In order to solve such a problem, an ink jet recording head has been proposed in which the ink cartridge itself is provided with an engaging portion for engaging with the inner surface of the cartridge accommodating chamber and the fixing lever is eliminated to simplify the structure. There is.

[0008]

However, in the ink jet recording head having such a structure, the user mounts the ink cartridge in the cartridge housing chamber by pressing the ink cartridge from above with an arbitrary force. For this reason,
The ink cartridge is pushed in with more pressure than necessary,
There is a possibility that the holding member or the head case may be deformed and broken such as broken.

In view of such circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of preventing the holding member and the head case constituting the ink jet recording head from being destroyed.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention which solves the above problems, a head main body having a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting ink droplets, and ink supplied to the head main body are accommodated. Inkjet recording apparatus in which an inkjet recording head having a holding member for holding the ink supply means and a head case having an ink flow path communicating between the head body and the ink supply means is mounted on a carriage. The inkjet recording head is mounted on the carriage via the head case, the holding member is connected to and held by the head case, and the holding member is provided in an area corresponding to the outside of the head case. A wall portion is provided so as to surround the head case, and an end surface of the wall portion on the carriage side. There is provided an ink jet recording apparatus characterized by having a plurality of convex portions.

In the first aspect, the protrusion prevents deformation of the holding member toward the carriage, prevents the holding member from being destroyed, and prevents the head case from being destroyed due to the deformation of the holding member.

A second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the first aspect, the convex portion is provided on an end surface of the wall portion opposite to the side where the ink supply means is mounted. It is in an inkjet recording device.

According to the second aspect, the deformation of the holding member due to the pressing force when mounting the ink supply means can be suppressed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the holding member has a substantially rectangular outer shape, and the protrusions are provided in regions corresponding to the respective corners of the holding member. Inkjet recording apparatus characterized by the above.

In the third aspect, by providing the convex portion at the corner of the holding member, the deformation of the holding member can be surely suppressed.

In a fourth aspect of the present invention according to any one of the first to third aspects, the head case has such a mechanical strength that it is not deformed by a pressing force when the ink supply means is attached to the holding member. On the other hand, in the ink jet recording apparatus, the holding member can be deformed at least to the extent that the convex portion comes into contact with the carriage by the pressing force when the ink supply unit is mounted.

According to the fourth aspect, the ink jet recording head can be positioned on the carriage with high accuracy, and the holding means is not destroyed by stress concentration due to the pressing force when mounting the ink supply means.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the holding member is formed of a thermoplastic resin, and
The ink jet recording apparatus is characterized in that the head case is made of a thermosetting resin.

In the fifth aspect, the ink jet recording head can be positioned and fixed to the carriage with high accuracy.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the ink jet recording according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, characterized in that the ink supply means is held by the holding member by being pushed in from above. On the device.

In the sixth aspect, it is possible to prevent the holding member and the head case from being broken by the pressing force when mounting the ink supply means.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail, but the structure of the present invention is not limited to this.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cartridge case, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the main part.

The ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment basically has the same structure as the above-mentioned conventional apparatus, but is equipped with an ink jet recording head as described below.

As shown in the drawing, the cartridge case 11 which is a holding member constituting the ink jet recording head 10 of this embodiment has a cartridge mounting portion 12 to which an ink cartridge (not shown) which is an ink supply means is mounted. Have. For example, in the present embodiment, the ink cartridge is configured as a separate body filled with black and three color inks, and the cartridge case 11 has four cartridge mounting portions 12 in which the ink cartridges of the respective colors are mounted. Have. Also,
On the bottom surface of the cartridge case 11, a plurality of ink communication passages 14 (14A to 14A), one end of which opens to each cartridge mounting portion 12 and the other end of which opens to the head case side described later.
D) are formed in a tubular flow path forming portion 15 (15
A to 15D) are projected.

In addition, the upper surface side of the cartridge case 11,
That is, the ink communication path 1 of each cartridge mounting portion 12
An ink supply needle 16 to be inserted into the ink supply port of the ink cartridge is fixed to the opening portion of No. 4 via a filter 17 for removing bubbles and foreign matters in the ink.

A wall portion 18 protruding toward the head case, which will be described later, is provided on the peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the cartridge case 11.
And a plurality of convex portions 19 are provided on the end surface of the wall portion 18. The number of these convex portions 19 is not particularly limited, but in the present embodiment, they are provided at the portions corresponding to the respective corner portions of the cartridge case 11. In addition,
As will be described later in detail, the plurality of protrusions 19 prevent the cartridge case 11 and the head case from being destroyed.

Further, such a cartridge case 11
A piezoelectric element unit 21 having a plurality of piezoelectric elements 20 is held on the bottom surface side of the cartridge case 11 and
A head case 23 to which a head body 22 that ejects ink droplets from a nozzle opening by driving the piezoelectric element 20 is fixed is provided on the end surface on the side opposite to the head case 23. The member 24 and the circuit board 25 are sandwiched.

Here, the seal member 24 is made of, for example, an elastomer, and has the flow path forming portion 15 and the head case 23.
A plurality of ink supply paths 26 (26A-26)
Since D) is sandwiched between the opening 27 and the opening, the connection between the ink communication passage 14 and the ink supply passage 26 is sealed to prevent ink leakage from the connection.

The circuit board 25 is for supplying a signal for driving the piezoelectric element 20.
A connector 28 for connecting an external wiring (not shown) is fixed to one end of the. Further, on the circuit board 25, connection wiring 29 such as TCP connected to the piezoelectric element 20 is provided.
An insertion hole 30 through which the circuit board 25 is inserted is provided, and the circuit board 25 and the connection wiring 29 are connected via the insertion hole 30. Further, on both sides of the insertion hole 30, through holes 31 are provided corresponding to the respective ink supply passages 26, with which the protrusions 27 that open the respective ink supply passages 26 engage.

The one wall portion 18 of the cartridge case 11 is provided with an exposure port 32 through which the connector 28 of the circuit board 25 is exposed, and external wiring (not shown) is provided through the exposure port 32. It is adapted to be connected to the connector 28.

The piezoelectric element unit 21 is attached to the head case 23 fixed to the bottom surface side of the cartridge case 11 via the circuit board 25 and the seal member 24.
The accommodating chambers 33 for accommodating (21A, 21B) and positioning and fixing the piezoelectric element 20 are provided side by side. Since the ink jet recording head 10 of this embodiment has the piezoelectric element unit 21A for ejecting black ink and the piezoelectric element unit 21B for ejecting color ink, the head case 23 has these piezoelectric elements. Two accommodating chambers 33 accommodating the units 21A and 21B are arranged side by side. In addition, the black ink is communicated with the ink communication passage 14 </ b> A on the outside of each of the storage chambers 33 so that the black ink is supplied to the head body 2.
2A, the ink supply path 26A, and the ink communication path 14
A plurality of ink supply passages 26B to 26D for respectively supplying the respective color inks to the head main body 22 in communication with B to 14D are provided, and the respective ink supply passages 26A to 26A to 26D.
The protrusions 26D are open at the protrusions 27 provided on the cartridge case 11 side.

Here, each of the ink supply paths 26A to 26D.
Are provided in the vicinity of the regions facing the head body 22 at the center of the head case 23, respectively. Further, the ink supply passages 26B to 26D for supplying the color ink to the head main body 22 are arranged in a line in a direction substantially orthogonal to the arrangement direction of the openings of the ink communication passages 14A to 14D on the ink cartridge side. That is, the positions of the openings of the ink supply paths 26A to 26D and the openings of the ink communication paths 14 on the ink cartridge side are different in the surface direction. For example, in the present embodiment, among the three ink communication passages 14B to 14D for supplying color ink, only the opening of the central ink communication passage 14C is provided so as to be substantially at the same position as the opening of the ink supply passage 26C. There is. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the other ink communication paths 14A, 14A
By inclining B and 14D three-dimensionally, the ink supply paths 26A, 26B and 26D are communicated with each other.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, on the lower surface side of the cartridge case 11, the ink communication passages 14A-1A are provided.
4D-shaped tubular flow path forming portions 15A-1
5D is projected. Of the flow path forming portions 15B to 15D corresponding to the color inks, only the central flow path forming portion 15C is erected in a direction substantially orthogonal to the lower surface of the cartridge case 11, and the other flow path forming portions 15A. , 15
B and 15D are provided so as to be three-dimensionally inclined, and the ink communication passages 14A to 14D and the ink supply passages 26A to 26D are connected to each other.

The seal member 24, the circuit board 25, the head case 23, and the head body 22 described above are sequentially stacked on the bottom surface side of the cartridge case 11, and a window portion 34 exposing the nozzle opening of the head body 22 is provided on the outer side thereof. The frame 35 having the above is fitted and fixed to the cartridge case 11 by the screw 36 to form the ink jet recording head (see FIG. 1), and thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4A, the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus. It is mounted on 40.

Further, the ink jet recording head 10
4 is positioned and fixed by bringing the head case 23 into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage 40 as shown in FIG. 4, and the bottom surface of the carriage 40 and the wall portion 18 of the cartridge case 11 as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. A predetermined space 100 is secured between the end surface.

In this way, by positioning only the head case 23 against the carriage 40 and positioning and fixing the ink jet recording head 10, the positioning accuracy can be improved. That is, since the inkjet recording head 10 can be positioned with high accuracy by minimizing the positional deviation due to dimensional error of each member, the interval between the nozzle opening and the recording medium is set with high accuracy, and the print quality is good. Can be held at.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, the carriage 40 on which the ink jet type recording head 10 is mounted has a storage chamber 4 in which an ink cartridge is stored.
1 and has an engaging hole 42 that engages with the carriage shaft on the outer side of one side surface. Further, as described above, the inkjet recording head 10 is positioned and fixed on the bottom surface of the accommodation chamber 41, and the ink cartridge is accommodated in the accommodation chamber 41 in a region apart from the region where the inkjet recording head 10 is fixed. An urging member 43 formed of a leaf spring or the like for urging the side opposite to the insertion direction is provided.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, the ink cartridge 50 is inserted into the accommodating chamber 41, and the urging member 4 is inserted.
When pressed against 3, the ink supply needle 16 is inserted into the ink supply port 51 of the ink cartridge 50, and the pair of locking members 52, 53 provided in the ink cartridge 50.
The projections 52a and 53a of the ink cartridge 50 are engaged with the recesses 44 and 45 of the carriage 40 provided corresponding to the projections, respectively, so that the ink cartridge 50 can receive the ink cartridge 50.
Held at 1. Further, even when the ink cartridge 50 is held in the storage chamber 41 as described above, a predetermined space 100 is held between the bottom surface of the carriage 40 and the end surface of the cartridge case 11 (see FIG. 5).

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the user pushes in the ink cartridge 50 with an undesired pressing force when mounting the ink cartridge 50 in the storage chamber 41. As shown in FIG. 6A, the ink cartridge 50
When an excessive pressing force is applied to the cartridge case 11 when mounting the cartridge case 11, the cartridge case 11 is deformed, but in the present embodiment, the wall portion 1 of the cartridge case 11 is
Since a plurality of protrusions 19 are provided on the end face of FIG.
As shown in (b), the plurality of convex portions 19 come into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage 40 to stop the deformation of the cartridge case 11. That is, by providing these convex portions 19, the deformation amount of the cartridge case 11 can be suppressed, and the load on the head case 23 can also be suppressed to be small. Of course, the cartridge case 11 sufficiently allows the deformation such that the convex portion 19 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the carriage 40.

In this way, by providing the projections 19 on the wall portion 18 of the cartridge case 11, the head case 2
3 and the cartridge case 11 can be prevented from being destroyed, and an ink jet recording head with improved reliability can be realized.

The cartridge case 11 is made of a material having a relatively low hardness such as a thermoplastic resin, whereas the head case 23 holds the piezoelectric element unit 21 with high accuracy and the head case 23 is made of the piezoelectric element 20. In order to obtain good vibration characteristics, it is made of a material having a relatively high mechanical strength such as a thermosetting resin. Therefore, if the cartridge case is fixed so as not to be deformed or a convex portion for suppressing the deformation amount is not provided, the pressing force applied to the cartridge case directly affects the head case, and There is a risk of breakage such as cracking.

That is, by maintaining a predetermined space 100 between the end surface of the cartridge case 11 and the bottom surface of the carriage 40, the stress applied to the cartridge case 11 is dispersed by the deformation of the cartridge case 11, Further, by providing the convex portion 19 for suppressing the deformation amount on the end surface of the cartridge case 11, the force is transmitted from the convex portion 19 to the carriage 40 by the convex portion 19 contacting the carriage 40, and the influence on the head case 11 is exerted. Is smaller, it is possible to prevent the head case 11 from being broken or broken.

Further, the protrusion 19 is formed on the cartridge case 11.
By providing the above, even if a large amount of ink leaks due to pulling out of the ink cartridge 50 or the like, the ink is guided to the predetermined area through the convex portion 19, so that it is possible to prevent the ink from spreading to other areas. .

[0045]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the holding member is provided with the plurality of convex portions, the deformation of the holding member can be suppressed when the ink cartridge is mounted, and the holding member is interposed. The load on the head case can be kept small. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the holding member and the head case from being broken, and it is possible to realize an ink jet recording apparatus with improved reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an inkjet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an ink jet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a cartridge case according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an ink jet recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention and an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part thereof.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing an ink jet recording apparatus according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink jet recording head according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 cartridge case 12 Cartridge mounting part 14A-14D Ink communication passage 15 Flow path forming part 16 ink supply needle 17 Filter 18 walls 19 convex 20 Piezoelectric element 21 Piezoelectric element unit 22 head body 23 head case 24 Seal member 25 circuit board 26 ink supply path

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A head body having a plurality of nozzle openings for ejecting ink droplets, a holding member for holding an ink supply means containing ink to be supplied to the head body, the head body and the ink supply means. In an inkjet recording apparatus in which an inkjet recording head including a head case having an ink flow path communicating with the carriage is mounted on a carriage, the inkjet recording head is mounted on the carriage via the head case. Along with the holding member, the holding member is connected to and held by the head case, and the holding member has a wall portion protruding from the area corresponding to the outside of the head case so as to surround the head case. An ink jet recording apparatus having a plurality of convex portions on the end face of the carriage on the side of the carriage. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the convex portion is provided on an end surface of the wall portion opposite to a side where the ink supply unit is mounted. 3. The inkjet according to claim 1, wherein the holding member has a substantially rectangular outer shape, and the protrusions are provided in regions corresponding to the respective corners of the holding member. Recording device. 4. The head case according to claim 1, wherein the head case has a mechanical strength that is not deformed by a pressing force when the ink supply unit is mounted on the holding member, while the holding member is An ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that it can be deformed at least to the extent that the convex portion comes into contact with the carriage by a pressing force when mounting the ink supply means. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the holding member is made of a thermoplastic resin and the head case is made of a thermosetting resin. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply unit is held by the holding member by being pushed in from above.