JP2003334964A - Ink tank, inkjet head cartridge, and inkjet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a state of ink used up of a crude ink chamber of a half crude tank easy to see from the outside. <P>SOLUTION: A first hook is set at a side face lower part of an ink tank, and a second hook is set at the opposite side face. A hole for receiving the first hook, and a leaf spring member for receiving the first hook, applying a force and generating a setting force are set at a tank holder. The spring member is made a snap fit mechanism integrally molded with the holder. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

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 head for ejecting ink for recording, an ink tank for supplying the ink to the ink jet head, and an ink jet recording apparatus having the ink tank and the ink jet head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ink jet head recording apparatus and an ink jet head cartridge mounted on a carriage will be briefly described.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a general ink jet head recording apparatus, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ink jet head cartridge and an ink tank in a carriage.

In the ink jet head recording apparatus shown in FIG. 7, the carriage 1 is moved in parallel on the lead screw 4 and the guide shaft 5 by the lead screw 4 which is interlocked with a carriage motor (not shown).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, an ink jet head 2 is fixed on the carriage 1, and a black ink tank 1 which is removable along a tank holder 3.
1, a yellow ink tank 12, a magenta ink tank 13, and a cyan ink tank 14 are attached and ink is supplied.

The ink ejected from the ink jet head 2 lands on a recording medium that opposes the ink jet head 2, that is, the recording paper 6 in this embodiment, and forms an image. The recording paper 6 is ejected in association with printing by a paper feed roller 7, a paper ejection roller 8 and a paper pressing plate 9 which are interlocked with a paper ejection motor (not shown).

FIG. 9 shows a detailed sectional view of a part of the ink jet head cartridge.

The ink jet head cartridge is roughly divided into an ink jet head 2 and a tank holder 3.

In the ink jet head 2, 201
Is a silicon substrate that forms a heater or the like related to the inkjet ejection principle, 206 is an ink joint 211
An ink flow path to supply the silicon substrate to the silicon substrate, and 205 is a base plate that supports the silicon substrate 201.

The ink flow will be described by taking the black ink tank 11 as an example. Ink is supplied from the ink supply port 211 of the ink tank 11 into the ink jet head 2 through the joint 204. The ink is supplied to the silicon substrate 201 through the ink flow path 206 and is ejected onto the recording paper 6 by the energy generated by the energy element (not shown) in the silicon substrate.

In the ink jet recording apparatus, it is preferable to replace the ink tank in order to reduce the running cost of printing.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are perspective views of a conventional replaceable ink tank, and FIG. 10C is a sectional view thereof.

The ink tank 11 has a first claw 131 fixed to the side surface thereof and a second claw 132 movable on the side surface opposite to the first claw by a movable lever 130.

On the other hand, in the holder 3 of the tank of the ink jet head cartridge, the first claw for receiving the first claw is provided.
Second hole 142 for receiving hole 141 and second pawl 32
Have.

11 (a), 11 (b) and 11 (c) are sectional views showing how the ink tank 11 is mounted on the holder 3.

(A) When the ink tank 11 is put in the holder 3, (b) the first claw 131 enters the first hole 141, the movable lever 130 bends, and the second claw 132 becomes the second. Then, (c), the ink tank 11 is fitted and fixed to the inkjet head 2.

[0017]

However, in the above conventional invention, as described in FIGS. 12A, 12B, and 12C, the ink is consumed from the state where the ink is full (a). (B) When the ink is exhausted from the ink chamber (c) and it becomes necessary to replace the ink tank, the ink tank is attached to the inkjet head 2 even if the material of the ink tank is transparent or translucent plastic. In this state, since the movable lever 30 in which the second claw 32 has entered the second hole 42 covers the side surface of the flexible ink tank, it is difficult to see the amount of ink remaining at the bottom of the raw ink chamber. However, there is an inconvenience that it is difficult for the user to distinguish which one of a plurality of ink tanks is empty.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank, an ink jet head cartridge, and an ink jet recording apparatus which make it easy for a user to visually recognize the consumption amount of the ink tank and find out the ink tank to be replaced. To provide.

[0019]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink tank that stores ink, supplies the ink to an ink jet head as needed, and is detachable from the ink jet head. The ink tank has an ink supply port for supplying ink to the inkjet head on a bottom surface, a first claw fixed to a side surface of the ink tank, and a second claw at a lowermost portion on a side opposite to the first claw. An ink tank characterized in that it has a projection (knob portion) on the uppermost part of the side surface having the claw and the second claw.

An ink tank characterized in that a third claw is provided on top of the first claw on the same side surface as the first claw of the ink tank.

The ink tank has an ink containing chamber capable of storing ink, an ink holding member containing chamber containing an ink holding member, and an ink supply port capable of supplying ink to the outside, and the ink containing chamber and the ink are provided. An ink tank, wherein the holding member storage chamber and the holding member storage chamber communicate with each other through an ink communication path.

An ink tank characterized in that the ink tank is made of transparent or translucent plastic, and the extent of the ink in the ink storage chamber can be visually checked from the outside.

An ink jet head having an ink jet head for receiving the ink supply and ejecting the ink, and a holder mechanism for accommodating the ink, supplying the ink to the ink jet head as needed, and connecting a detachable ink tank to the ink jet head. In the head cartridge, the holder mechanism has a hole for engaging a second claw or a third claw fixed to a side surface of the ink tank, and a lock for pressing an upper surface portion of the first claw. An ink jet head cartridge having a mechanism for fixing the ink tank.

An ink jet head cartridge characterized in that the lock mechanism is a spring member.

An ink jet head cartridge characterized in that the lock mechanism is a snap fit mechanism composed of a holder and a molded body.

An ink jet head cartridge characterized in that the third claw of the ink tank is supported by the upper end of the holder.

An ink jet head cartridge characterized in that a hole for supporting the third claw of the ink tank is provided on the same side surface as the second hole.

Further, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus having the above ink tank and ink jet cartridge.

(Operation) According to the present invention, the user can easily find the ink tank in which the ink to be replaced is empty by visually recognizing the consumption amount of the ink tank by a simple and inexpensive method. Can be done.

[0030]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIGS. 1A and 1B are perspective views of an ink tank 30 according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
(C) is the sectional drawing.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a holder 40 having the ink jet head 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3A, 3B and 3C show the ink tank 3
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating how 0 is mounted on the holder 40.

1A, 1B and 1C, the ink tank 30 has a first claw 32 on its side surface, a second claw 33 on the lower side of the opposite side surface, and a second claw 33 on the upper side. There are three claws 34. An ink supply port 36 having a joint member 35 is arranged on the bottom surface of the ink tank. The ink tank is made of transparent or translucent plastic.
In this embodiment, polypropylene, which is excellent in ink resistance, gas barrier property, transparency and inexpensive, is used.

On the other hand, in the tank holder 30, the first hole 43 for receiving the second claw 33, the third hole 44 for receiving the third claw 34, and the first claw 32 are pressed to fix the ink tank 30. It has an iterative spring member 46.

Next, the internal structure of the ink tank 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

In the ink tank 30 of this embodiment, the upper part communicates with the atmosphere through the atmosphere communication port 120, the lower part communicates with the ink supply port 140A, and the liquid holding member 320 as a negative pressure generating member is provided inside. A liquid holding member storage chamber 340 that stores the liquid and a substantially sealed ink storage chamber 360 that stores the liquid ink are partitioned by a partition 380. The liquid holding member storage chamber 340 and the ink storage chamber 360 of the present embodiment are communicated with each other only near the bottom of the ink tank 30 via the communication passage 400 formed in the partition wall 380.

A plurality of ribs 420 are integrally formed on the upper wall 30U of the ink tank 30 forming the liquid holding member housing chamber 340 so as to project inward, and are housed in the liquid holding member housing chamber 340 in a compressed state. Liquid holding member 320
Is in contact with. Thus, the air buffer chamber 440 is formed between the upper wall 30U and the upper surface of the liquid holding member 320. The liquid holding member 320 is made of thermocompression urethane foam, and is housed in the liquid holding member housing chamber 340 in a compressed state so as to generate a predetermined capillary force as described later. The absolute value of the pore size of the liquid holding member 320 for generating the predetermined capillary force varies depending on the type of ink used, the size of the ink tank 30, the ejection port forming surface (water head difference H) of the recording head 1, and the like.

Further, a cylindrical pressure contact member 460 is arranged in the ink supply cylinder 140 forming the ink supply port 140A. The pressure contact member 460 is formed of, for example, polypropylene felt, and is not itself easily deformed by an external force. The pressure contact body 460 is held in a state of being pressed into the liquid holding member 320 so as to locally compress the liquid holding member 320 in the state shown in FIG. . For this reason, a flange is formed at the end of the ink supply cylinder 140 so as to contact the periphery of the pressure contact member 460.

In the ink tank having such a structure, when the ink of the liquid holding member 320 is consumed by the recording head 1 (FIG. 2), the ink from the ink containing chamber 360 passes through the communication passage 400 of the partition wall 380. It is supplied to the liquid holding member 320 in the storage chamber 340. At this time,
Although the pressure in the ink containing chamber 360 is reduced, the atmosphere communication port 12
Air from 0 through the liquid holding member storage chamber 340 enters the ink storage chamber 360 through the communication path 400 of the partition wall 380, and the pressure reduction in the ink storage chamber 360 is relieved. Therefore, even if the ink is consumed by the recording head 1, the liquid holding member 320 is filled with the ink according to the consumed amount,
The liquid holding member 320 holds a certain amount of ink and keeps the negative pressure on the recording head 1 almost constant, so that the ink supply to the recording head 1 is stable. After that, the ink storage chamber 3
When the ink in 60 is consumed, the ink in the liquid holding member 320 is consumed.

Therefore, the fact that the amount of the ink in the ink storage chamber 360 of the ink tank can be visually observed from the outside means that the user is informed that the ink in the ink storage chamber 360 has been consumed, and the tank is replaced. As a result, it is possible to use the recording device without worrying about running out of ink. Next, how the ink tank is attached to the tank holder of the inkjet head cartridge will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c).

(A) When the ink tank 30 is put into the holder, (b) the third claw 34 is inserted into the third hole 44, and the flange of the ink supply port 36 is prevented from hitting the joint 41 and breaking it. Further, the second claw 33 enters the second hole 43, and (c) the upper surface of the ink tank 30 is further pushed, so that the first claw 32 causes the iterative spring member 46 to move.
By pressing, and then pushing in the upper surface of the tank, claw 32
By digging under the iterative spring member 46, a force for pressing the ink tank 30 against the tank holder 40 is exerted by the iterative spring member 46 to fix the ink tank.

When the ink tank 30 is removed, the upper side surface of the first claw 32 is pushed upward so that the first claw 3 is removed.
2 can be easily removed by pushing up the iter spring member 45 and removing it.

By using such an ink tank lock mechanism, the claws 32 are simply formed on the lower portion of the side surface of the ink tank.
The side of the ink tank can be widely exposed to the outside by lowering the height of the iterative spring member 46 that holds the claw 32 and fixes it.

With this, when the user replaces the ink tank, the inside of the ink containing chamber 21 of the ink tank 30 can be easily seen, so that the ink tank in which the ink is empty can be easily identified. , Can be exchanged.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 4A and 4B show an ink tank according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

The tank of this embodiment is a large capacity ink tank. The first claw is provided in parallel at two locations on the side surface of the ink tank, and the second claw is provided in parallel at two locations on the opposite side surface of the ink tank.

In the case of such a wide ink tank having a large capacity, the ink tank can be stably fixed by providing a plurality of tank fixing claws in parallel.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an ink jet head cartridge according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

In the ink jet head cartridge of this embodiment, the member 47 of the snap-fit mechanism having the same function as the leaf spring member 46 in the first embodiment is provided together with the tank holder 40 by molding.

By providing the member 47 of the snap fit mechanism by the holder and the molding of the molded body, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (a), 6 (b) and 6 (c), a snap-fit member which allows the ink tank 30 to be similarly easily attached / detached to / from the holder 40 and which holds the claw 32 to be fixed. By lowering the height of 47, the side surface of the ink tank can be made wider to the outside.

Thus, when the user replaces the ink tank, the inside of the ink containing chamber 21 of the ink tank 30 can be easily visually recognized, so that the ink tank in which the ink is empty can be easily identified. , Can be exchanged.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention,
With a simple and inexpensive method, when the user replaces the ink tank, the inside of the ink storage chamber of the ink tank can be easily viewed, so which of the multiple ink tanks is empty and must be replaced. You can determine if you need to.

Further, the ink tank can be properly mounted without damaging the ink jet head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an ink tank according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1C is a sectional view.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a holder 40 having the inkjet head 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

3A, 3B, and 3C are cross-sectional views showing how the ink tanks are mounted.

4A and 4B are perspective views of an ink tank according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a holder according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

6A, 6B, and 6C are cross-sectional views showing how the ink tanks are mounted.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a color inkjet recording apparatus.

8A and 8B are perspective views of an inkjet head cartridge and an ink tank.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of an inkjet head cartridge.

10A and 10B are perspective views of a conventional ink tank, and FIG.

11A, 11B and 11C are cross-sectional views showing how the conventional ink tank is mounted.

12A, 12B, and 12C are cross-sectional views showing a state where ink in a conventional ink tank is used up.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 carriage 2 inkjet head 3 tank holder 4 lead screw 5 Guide shaft 6 recording paper 7 Paper feed roller 8 Paper ejection roller 9 Paper holding plate 11 Black ink tank 12 yellow ink tank 13 magenta ink tank 14 Cyan ink tank 20 Sponge chamber 21 Raw ink chamber 30U upper wall 120 atmosphere communication port 130 Movable lever 131 First nail 132 Second claw 133 Third claw 135 handle 140 ink supply cylinder 140A ink supply port 141 first hole 142 Second hole 143 Upper surface of the holder for receiving the third claw 201 Silicon substrate 204 joint 205 base plate 206 ink flow path 211 Ink supply port 320 Liquid holding member 340 Liquid holding member storage chamber 360 ink storage chamber 380 bulkhead 400 passages 420 ribs 440 air buffer chamber 460 pressure contact body

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An ink tank for accommodating ink, supplying the ink to an inkjet head as needed, and being detachable from the inkjet head, wherein the ink tank supplies ink to the inkjet head at a bottom surface thereof. An ink tank having a mouth and having a first claw fixed to a side surface of the ink tank and a second claw at a lowermost portion on a side opposite to the first claw. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a third claw is provided above the first claw on the same side surface as the first claw of the ink tank. 3. The ink tank has an ink storage chamber capable of storing ink, an ink storage member storage chamber storing an ink storage member, and an ink supply port capable of supplying ink to the outside. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the ink holding member storage chamber is communicated with each other through an ink communication path. 4. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the ink tank is made of transparent or translucent plastic, and the extent of the ink decrease in the ink storage chamber is visible from the outside. . 5. An ink-jet head for receiving ink supply and ejecting the ink, and a holder mechanism for accommodating the ink, supplying the ink to the ink-jet head as needed, and connecting a detachable ink tank to the ink-jet head. In the inkjet head cartridge having the above, the holder mechanism has a hole for engaging a second claw or a third claw fixed to a side surface of the ink tank, and further, an upper surface portion of the first claw is provided. An ink jet head cartridge, characterized in that the ink tank is fixed by having a lock mechanism for pressing. 6. The ink jet head cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the lock mechanism is a spring member. 7. The ink jet head cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the lock mechanism is a snap-fit mechanism formed of a holder and a molded body. 8. The ink jet head cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the third claw of the ink tank is supported by the upper end portion of the holder. 9. The ink jet head cartridge according to claim 5, wherein a hole for supporting the third claw of the ink tank is provided on the same side surface as the second hole. 10. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising an ink tank according to any one of claims 1 to 4 and an ink jet head cartridge according to any one of claims 5 to 9. . 11. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording head uses the thermal energy to generate bubbles in the ink and ejects the ink by the pressure of the bubbles.