JP2003127411A - Ink container and recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and inexpensive ink container having a high degree of designing freedom, and a recorder using the same. SOLUTION: At least a part of a storage part capable of storing ink is formed by flexible films 20 and 21. Ink in the storage part can be supplied through ink channels 24 from ink supply parts 12 in the ink container. At least a part of the ink channels 24 is formed by films 20 and 21.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink container and a recording device using the ink container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 shows an inkjet recording apparatus.
There is a serial scan type recording apparatus in which recording is performed while the recording head moves along the guide shaft 1 in the main scanning direction of arrow A at a position facing the recording medium 2, as shown in FIG. This type of recording apparatus repeats the operation of ejecting ink while the recording head moves in the main scanning direction, and the operation of conveying the recording medium 2 in the sub-scanning direction of arrow B, thereby recording medium 2 Record the image on top.

The recording head in FIG. 1 constitutes a head cartridge 3 together with an ink tank, and the ink supplied from the ink tank is ejected from nozzles. The head cartridge 3 has a guide shaft 1
It is detachably mounted on the carriage 4 guided by the arrow A so as to be movable in the main scanning direction. In this way, the method of supplying the ink from the ink tank constituting the head cartridge 3 to the recording head is generally called the head cartridge method. On the other hand, a system in which only a recording head is mounted on the carriage 4 and ink is supplied from a tank cartridge provided on the main body side of the recording device through a flexible ink supply tube is generally called a tank cartridge system.

[0004]

However, in the head cartridge system as shown in FIG. 1, since the head cartridge 3 for accommodating ink inside is mounted on the carriage 4, the head cartridge 3 is necessarily included. The overall weight of the carriage 4 becomes large, which hinders high-speed scanning of the carriage 4. Further, in order to reduce the overall weight of the carriage 4, if the head cartridge 3 is downsized, the amount of ink stored inevitably decreases, and the recording in the head cartridge 3 is possible by the ink in the head cartridge 3. There arises a problem that the number of the media 2 is reduced. On the other hand, the tank cartridge system has an ink cartridge provided on the main body side of the recording device,
Since the ink supply tube is used to connect to the recording head on the carriage 4, there is a problem that the structure is complicated and it is difficult to downsize the recording apparatus.

As a solution to such a problem, a so-called pit-in system has been conventionally considered.

In this pit-in system, as shown in FIG. 2, a recording head 11 and a sub tank 6 are mounted on a carriage 4 guided by a guide shaft 1, and a sub tank 6 is provided.
The ink inside is supplied to the recording head 11 and consumed.
Then, when the remaining amount of ink in the sub-tank 6 becomes smaller than a predetermined amount, the carriage 4 moves to a predetermined home position 5 as shown in FIG. 2, and the main tank 7 provided in the main body of the recording apparatus moves from the main tank 7 to the sub-tank 6. Add ink,
The sub tank 6 is filled up again. The home position 5 is usually provided with recovery means for maintaining a good ink ejection state of the recording head 11. In FIG. 2, as the recovery means, there is a suction recovery means for introducing a negative pressure into the suction cap 8 capable of capping the recording head 11 and forcibly sucking and discharging the ink from the ink ejection port of the recording head 11. It is equipped.

In such a pit-in system, since only the recording head 11 and the small sub-tank 6 are mounted on the carriage 4, the total weight of the carriage 4 including them is reduced and the recording head 11 is moved at high speed. be able to. Further, since ink is replenished from the main tank 7 to the sub tank 6 at the home position 5, the number of recordable recording media 2 is not limited by the volume of the sub tank 6. Furthermore, a configuration like a tank cartridge system, that is, a recording head on the carriage side,
It is not necessary to connect the ink tank on the main body side of the recording apparatus with the ink supply tube, and the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified.

In such a pit-in system, the mechanism for replenishing ink from the main tank 7 to the sub tank 6 is
When the carriage 4 moves to the home position 5, the ink supply port 9 on the main tank 7 side and the ink receiving port 10 on the sub tank 6 side are connected. The ink supply port 9 is formed by a hollow needle or the like connected to the main tank 7. Then, ink is replenished from the main tank 7 to the sub-tank 6 by using a suction pump connected to the sub-tank 6 or a pump provided in the ink replenishment path. The connection of the ink path between the main tank 7 and the sub tank 6 must have certainty and durability, and the structure must be simple.

In order to connect and disconnect the ink paths, that is, to connect and disconnect the ink supply port 9 and the ink receiving port 10, they are moved relatively close to and away from each other as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. A moving part is required. Normal,
The movable part is provided on the recording device side, and is similarly driven by a moving mechanism provided on the recording device side.

In an ink jet recording apparatus downsized to a palm size, it is difficult to secure a space around the carriage 4 necessary for connecting and disconnecting such ink paths. As a countermeasure, as shown in FIG. 3, a moving mechanism 13 is provided on the recording apparatus side, and a movable part for connecting and disconnecting the ink path is provided in the main tank 1.
In order to prepare for 9, the functions of the moving mechanism 13 and the movable portion are shared by the recording device side and the main tank side. In FIG. 3, a hollow needle 14 is provided on the sub ink tank 6 side, and a connecting portion 1 as a movable portion is provided on the main tank 18 side.
2, the moving mechanism 13 provided on the apparatus main body side connects the connecting portion 12 forming the ink supply port to the hollow needle 1.
4 is configured to move in the direction of arrow D, which is opposed to No. 4. The moving mechanism 13 includes an arm 13A that is movable in the arrow E direction and the D direction. After inserting the arm 13 into the connecting portion 12 from the arrow E direction, the arm 1
3 is moved upward in FIG.
The two feed ports approach the hollow needle 14 and they are connected.

In the main tank 18, a container such as a flexible bag 15 storing ink is made of a metal container or a composite material such as paper-plastic and paper-metal. Reference numeral 16 is an ink flow path forming member that forms an ink flow path between the bag 15 and the connection portion 12. The ink flow path forming body 16 is joined to the bag 15.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a conventional example of the ink flow path forming member 16.

All or part of the conventional ink flow path forming member 16 has a flexible structure formed of a flexible material 17 such as a rubber tube. Then, the recording head 4 moves to the home position, and the main tank 18 moves to the sub tank 6
When ink is replenished (hereinafter, also referred to as “at the time of pitting”), the ink flow path forming body 16 is elastically deformed within a predetermined movable range as the connecting portion 12 moves. In FIG. 4, in order to connect between the storage portion 15A in the bag 15 that separately stores the three types of ink for color image recording and the corresponding supply port of the connection portion 12, a total of three storage portions are provided. An ink path 24 is formed.

Usually, in such a pit-in system, the main tank 18 is constructed as a main tank unit so that it can be replaced with a new one as appropriate. In order to reduce the recording unit price, it is necessary to simplify the structure of the main tank unit and reduce the number of parts.

However, the conventional ink flow path forming member 1
Since 6 is configured by combining a plurality of members including the flexible material 17 such as a rubber tube, that is, a plurality of different members different from the bag 15, the number of parts of the main tank unit and the number of processing steps are increased. , The main tank unit could not be provided at low cost.

An object of the present invention is to provide a small and inexpensive ink container having a high degree of freedom in design, and a recording apparatus using the same.

[0017]

The ink container of the present invention comprises:
At least a part of the accommodating part capable of accommodating ink is formed by a flexible member, and the ink in the accommodating part is an ink container that can be supplied from a supply port through an ink flow path, and at least a part of the ink flow path is The flexible member is formed.

The recording apparatus of the present invention is characterized in that recording is performed using the ink supplied from the supply port of the ink container.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The ink tank (ink container) of the present invention can be unitized like the main tank 18 of FIG. 3 and provided so as to be replaceable with respect to the inkjet recording apparatus. As the recording head 11 in the inkjet recording apparatus, various types can be used. For example, an ink jet recording head that ejects ink may be used as the recording head 11, and in that case, thermal energy generated from the electrothermal converter is used as energy for ejecting ink. Good. The electrothermal converter causes film boiling in the ink due to the heat generation, and the foaming energy at that time causes the ink to be ejected from the ink ejection port.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 5 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ink tank of the embodiment, in which portions similar to those in FIG.

In the ink tank (ink container) of this example,
Bag 1 for separately storing three color inks for recording a color image
9 and a connecting portion 1 connected to the sub tank 6 (see FIG. 3)
Two supply ports and each connection part 12 corresponding to each ink of three colors
And an ink flow path 24 for leading to 1
Reference numerals 9A, 19B, and 19C denote storage portions that separately store the three color inks.
It is connected to the supply port of the corresponding connecting portion 12. Reference numeral 30 denotes a flexible portion (hereinafter, also referred to as “movable flow passage portion”) of the ink flow passage 24 formed to have flexibility.

6 to 8 are explanatory views of a method of manufacturing the ink tank of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the first manufacturing process of this ink tank. Reference numeral 20 denotes a first film (flexible member) 20, which is a single film of a plastic film or a plastic laminate material composed of a plurality of plastic films and a metal film such as an aluminum foil. The film 20 of this example is a plastic laminated film having a laminated structure of polyethylene PE, aluminum foil AL, and nylon NY. A plastic flow path forming member 22 is provided with a groove-shaped flow path 18. The flow path forming member 22 constitutes a part of the ink flow path 24 by being joined to the flow path forming portion 20A of the film 20 by means such as heat welding or adhesion. The ink flow path 24 receives ink from the upstream,
It is a path for leading out to the downstream side, and the amount of inflow and the amount of outflow of ink in the portion of the ink flow path 24 are the same in a normal use state. The storage portions 19A, 19B, 19C of the bag 19 as the ink storage portion are the most upstream side of the ink, and the ink flow path 24 is configured such that the ink in the storage portions 19A, 19B, 19C is on the downstream side in a normal use state. Supply to.

After that, a second film (flexible member) 21 as shown in FIG. 7 is prepared, and is joined to the first film 20 by means such as heat welding or adhesion, and the storage portions 19A, 19B, 19C is formed, and its front portion 21A is joined to the lower surface of the flow path forming member 22 by means such as heat welding or adhesion. As a result, the storage portions 19A, 19B, 19C form an ink storage space that communicates with the ink flow paths 24 corresponding to them. The ink is mixed before and after the joining of the first and second films 20 and 21.
It is stored in the storage portions 19A, 19B, 19C. Storage 1
9A, 19B, 19C and the function required for the ink flow path 24, that is, the function of suppressing the evaporation of ink during the storage period of ink and the suppression of gas permeation from the outside into the ink, As the film 21, as in the case of the first film 20 of the present example, a plastic laminate film containing a metal film in its layer is used, and the storage unit 19
It is desirable to cover all of A, 19B, 19C and the ink flow path 24 with a metal film.

At this production stage, the flexible movable flow path portion 30 is not formed. In the case of this example, the movable flow path portion 30 is formed only by the first and second films 20 and 21. As the forming method, for example,
After the aggregate 23 having the same shape as the ink flow channel to be formed therein is placed in the portion where the movable flow channel section 30 is to be formed, the first and second films 20 and 21 are bonded together, and thereafter,
A method of extracting the aggregate 23 as shown in FIG. 8 can be adopted. As the aggregate 23, the first and second films 2 are used.
It is desirable to use stainless steel or Teflon (registered trademark) material whose surface is treated with Teflon (registered trademark) or embossed in order to improve the extractability after bonding Nos. 0 and 21. After that, as shown in FIG. 8, the plastic supply portion constituting member 31 forming the supply portion 12 is attached in the ink flow passage formed in the movable flow passage portion 30. A hollow needle portion 31A is formed in the supply portion constituting member 31 of this example, and the hollow needle portion 31A is the movable flow passage portion 30.
After being inserted into the ink flow path, it is joined to the movable flow path part 30 by means such as heat welding or adhesion.

By the way, the larger the ink flow path 24, the lower the resistance of the ink flow and the better the ink flowability. However, according to the study by the present inventor, when the diameter of the ink flow path 24 is larger than 1 mm (Φ1 mm), a problem may occur when bubbles are present in the ink flow path 24. I understood.
That is, bubbles adhering to the inside of the ink flow path 24 may fall off during the recording operation, or the bubbles may act as nuclei to promote the permeation of air from the outside into the ink flow path 24. on the other hand,
It has been found that when the diameter of the ink flow path 24 is made smaller than 0.5 mm (Φ0.5 mm), the flow resistance of the ink flow path 24 becomes extremely large and the flow of ink is obstructed. Therefore, the diameter of the ink channel 24 corresponding to the circular tube is preferably 1 mm or less and 0.5 mm or more (Φ1 mm or less and Φ0.5 mm or more). Therefore, the aggregate 23
The cross-sectional equivalent diameter of the circular pipe is 1 mm or less and 0.5
mm or more (Φ1 mm or less and Φ0.5 mm or more) may be used.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 9 shows a second embodiment of the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing of embodiment of this. In this example, in order to prevent the movable flow channel portion 30 from being crushed by pressure or bending stress, a bone member is provided in a part of the movable flow channel portion 30, and a reinforced flexible flow channel portion (hereinafter , "Reinforcing movable flow path portion"). As the skeleton member in the reinforced movable channel portion 25, a skeleton member 26 extended from the channel forming member 22 can be used as shown in FIG. By configuring the reinforcing movable flow path portion 25 as described above, it is possible to prevent the ink flow path from being crushed by an external force and to provide a highly reliable ink tank.

(Other Embodiments) The present invention can be used not only as an ink container for containing ink but also as a liquid container or gas container capable of containing various liquids and gases. Therefore, the container can be used in various devices other than the recording device depending on the type of liquid or gas contained in the container.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, a flexible member forming an ink containing portion is used to form a part of an ink flow path between the containing portion and the supply port. As a result, it is possible to provide a small-sized and inexpensive ink container having a high degree of freedom in design, a small number of parts, and a recording apparatus using the ink container.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining an example of a conventional recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining an example of a conventional pit-in type recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part for explaining another example of a conventional pit-in type recording apparatus.

4 is a plan view of an ink container used in the recording apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the ink container according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining a manufacturing process of the ink container of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a manufacturing process of the ink container of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view for explaining a manufacturing process of the ink container of FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an ink container according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining a manufacturing process of the ink container of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Guide shaft 2 Recording medium 3 head cartridge 4 carriage 5 Home position 6 sub tank 7 Main tank 8 suction cap 9 Ink supply port 10 Ink receiving port 11 recording head 12 Supply department 13 Moving mechanism 14 hollow needles 15 bags 16 ink flow paths 17 Soft material 18 main tank 19 bags 20 First film (flexible member) 21 Second film (flexible member) 22 Flow path forming member 23 Aggregate 24 ink channels 25 Reinforcing movable flow path 26 Bone members

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An ink container in which at least a part of an accommodating portion capable of accommodating ink is formed of a flexible member, and the ink in the accommodating portion can be supplied from a supply port through an ink flow path. At least a part of the ink container is formed of the flexible member. 2. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member is a flexible film. 3. The ink container according to claim 2, wherein the flexible member is a plastic laminate film in which a plastic film and a metal film are laminated. 4. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the storage portion is formed in a bag shape by the flexible member. 5. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the ink flow path is formed only by the flexible member. 6. The member forming the storage portion includes a flexible film as the flexible member and a plastic member, and at least a part of the ink flow path has the film and the plastic member. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the ink container is formed by: 7. The member forming the storage portion includes a flexible film as the flexible member and a plastic member, the ink flow path is formed by the film and the plastic member, and the ink The ink container according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein at least a part of the flow path is formed only by the film. 8. The diameter of the ink channel corresponding to a circular tube is 1 m.
The ink container according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ink container has a thickness of m or less and 0.5 mm or more. 9. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the section of the ink flow path is deformable. 10. A recording apparatus, wherein recording is performed using the ink supplied from the supply port of the ink container according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 11. The recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein recording is performed using a recording head capable of ejecting ink supplied from the ink container. 12. A moving unit that moves the recording head in the main scanning direction, a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium in a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction, and a moving unit that moves together with the recording head in the main scanning direction. 12. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising: a sub-ink container, and a unit capable of connecting and disconnecting an ink supply path between the supply port of the ink container and the sub-ink container. 13. The recording apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the recording head has an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for ejecting ink.