JP2005131903A - Liquid storage container and inkjet cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet cartridge which realizes a high quality, a high reliability, a saved space and is inexpensive. <P>SOLUTION: Two ink tanks are linked by a spring member via a pressure plate present at the outside of a sheet at raw ink tanks of the ink cartridge. Since negative pressures of the two ink tanks are kept by one spring member, the negative pressures of both are made the same at all times. Variation of a discharge amount is improved accordingly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid storage container and an ink jet cartridge, and in particular, a liquid storage container that uses negative pressure to supply a liquid such as ink to the outside of the liquid storage container, such as a pen or an ink jet recording head as a recording unit. The present invention relates to an ink jet cartridge in which a liquid storage container as an ink tank and an ink jet recording head are integrated.

  As a container for storing a liquid, there is known a container that supplies a liquid while keeping the inside of the container at a negative pressure when the liquid is supplied to the outside. A characteristic of this type of container is that an appropriate liquid can be supplied to a liquid use unit such as a pen tip or a recording head connected to the container by the negative pressure applied by the container itself.

  For example, in the ink jet recording field that appropriately requires this negative pressure characteristic, an ink tank as a liquid storage container contains a sponge as a negative pressure generation source, or a spring in a bag-shaped ink storage portion. And forming a negative pressure by applying a force that resists the inward deformation of the bag due to ink consumption.

  In either case, the ink supply system from the liquid container to the recording head is a sealed system using a tube or the like. On the other hand, generally in the ink jet recording field using a sealed ink supply system, it is classified into those having a negative pressure generating mechanism and those not having such a mechanism as follows. In general, when a negative pressure generation source is not used as an ink supply system, an ink supply system is known that supplies ink by a “water head difference” (a pressure difference caused by a difference in height with respect to an ink use portion). In this case, since no special condition is required for the ink storage portion, an ink storage bag such as a normal bag is often used. However, since the ink supply path is hermetically sealed, a supply pipe such as a tube is required from the ink storage bag to the ink use part (head part) located above, which may result in a large apparatus.

  On the other hand, in order to make the ink supply path as small as possible or substantially eliminated, a configuration of a recording head and an ink tank that has a negative pressure generating mechanism for the recording head and does not require a water head difference has been proposed and implemented. . In the present specification, an ink jet recording head and an ink tank integrated with each other are referred to as an ink jet cartridge.

  Such an inkjet cartridge having a negative pressure generating mechanism has a configuration in which the recording head and the ink storage unit are always integrated, and the recording head and the ink storage unit are separate and can be separated from both of the apparatus main body, It can be divided into a configuration that is used as a unit at the time of use. In any configuration, in order to increase the use efficiency of the ink stored in the ink storage unit, the ink supply port in the ink storage unit is often provided below the center of the ink storage unit. From this point of view, in addition to appropriately supplying ink such as preventing ink leakage from a discharge portion such as a nozzle provided in the recording head, in addition to stably holding ink in the ink storage portion of the ink jet cartridge. Requires negative pressure. This negative pressure constitutes the back pressure related to the ink supply to the recording head, and is called negative pressure because it is for making the pressure at the discharge port of the recording head negative with respect to the atmospheric pressure. Yes.

  One of the most well-known configurations for generating negative pressure is a configuration using the capillary force of a porous body. The ink tank according to this configuration includes a porous body such as a sponge stored for the purpose of storing ink throughout the ink tank, preferably stored in a compressed state, and an ink storage portion for smooth ink supply during recording. It is equipped with an air communication port that allows the atmosphere to be taken in.

  However, a problem in using a porous member as an ink holding member is that ink storage efficiency per unit volume is low. In order to solve this problem, there is a configuration in which the porous member is housed in a part of the ink tank instead of the configuration in which the porous member is inserted into the entire ink tank. This configuration can increase the ink storage efficiency and the ink holding capacity per unit volume as compared with the configuration in which the porous body is inserted in the entire ink tank.

However, from the viewpoint of further improving the ink storage efficiency, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-1743, etc., a spring is provided in the bag-shaped ink storage portion so as to move inward of the bag due to ink consumption. It is desirable to use a configuration in which a negative pressure is formed by applying a force that resists the deformation.
JP-A-6-297725 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-24698 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-128995 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-83023

  In the configuration shown in the above publication, an adhesive is used as a means for housing a spring inside the bag and coupling the spring unit to the inside of the bag. However, since a mixture of chemical substances such as ink is directly in contact with the inside of the bag, when an adhesive is used, the reliability of the ink jet cartridge is remarkably increased by a chemical reaction with the mixture of chemical substances such as ink. In some cases, it may be reduced. Therefore, it is desirable to arrange the spring outside the bag.

  However, if the spring is disposed outside the bag and one spring is used for one ink tank, the ink jet cartridge becomes larger by the volume of the spring used. Therefore, it is desirable to use as few springs as possible.

  Further, when one spring is used for one ink tank, when ink is used, variations in negative pressure occur due to different amounts of ink used for each ink tank. As a result, the ejection amount of the ejected ink droplets changes, and as a result, the color of the printed matter changes.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a reliable, compact and inexpensive liquid storage container and a stable production of an ink jet cartridge having the container. Is to provide.

  Therefore, in the present invention, the sheet member is a container for storing a liquid, and includes a sheet member that can be deformed in part, and an opening part that constitutes a part of the container and allows the liquid to enter and exit. In the liquid storage container comprising a frame for fixing the sheet, a surface member fixed to the sheet member, and a spring member provided on the surface member, a plurality of the liquid storage containers are provided, and each of the liquid storage containers The liquid storage container, wherein the spring member is connected.

  The surface member is provided outside the liquid container.

  Further, the sheet member has a deformable convex shape.

  Further, two or more liquid storage containers are stored in one housing.

In addition, the housing includes an inner guide portion for positioning when the liquid container is stored, and an outer guide portion that is positioned when the housing is coupled to the liquid use main body. And
The spring member is a coil spring.

  The spring member is a leaf spring.

  The surface member is made of metal.

  Further, the surface member is made of resin.

  The surface member is made of ceramic.

  The surface member is made of glass.

  Further, the surface member is made of single crystal silicon.

  Further, the surface member is made of a composite material of at least two kinds of metal, resin, ceramic, glass, and single crystal silicon.

  Further, the surface member has a fixing portion for positioning the spring member.

  The liquid storage container is an ink jet cartridge.

  Further, the liquid container is an ink tank.

  According to the above configuration, the spring member is arranged outside the ink tank, and the two ink tanks are connected by the single spring member, thereby stably providing a high-quality inkjet cartridge having high reliability. be able to.

  As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the spring member 103 that generates a negative pressure in the ink tank is located outside the ink tank, the spring property of the spring member 103 and the means for joining the spring member 103, etc. Increased reliability. Furthermore, since two ink tanks are shared by one spring member 103, space saving and low cost can be realized. In addition, since the two negative pressures are always the same in the two ink tanks, the variation in the discharge amount between the two ink tanks is improved, the color of the printed matter is improved, and a highly reliable ink jet cartridge can be provided.

  Furthermore, the ink tank provided by the present invention is a raw ink tank that can supply ink to the head at high speed, and can produce an ink tank having high volumetric efficiency and stable negative pressure characteristics.

  Furthermore, since it is a raw ink tank, the degree of freedom of ink is high and the loss of pressure of ink passing through the filter is small, so that it is possible to realize an ink tank suitable for high speed, multiple nozzles, and high image quality. .

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ink tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. 101 is a frame constituting the ink tanks 100 and 200, 102 is a tank sheet that can be moved by the outflow of ink, 103 is a spring member for generating negative pressure in the ink tanks 100 and 200, and 104 is a tank sheet 102 and a spring member 103. A pressure plate 105 for transmitting pressure to the tank sheet 102 and a supply port for supplying ink to the inkjet head. The spring member 103 is connected to the tank sheet 102 via pressure plates 104 at both ends thereof, and generates negative pressure in the two ink tanks 100 and 200.

  FIG. 2 shows the correlation between the deformation state of the tank sheet 102 and the negative pressure in the ink tank 100.

  FIG. 2A shows an initial state in which an initial negative pressure is generated in both the ink tank 100 and the other ink tank 200. At this time, the tank sheet 102 has a slack so that the spring force of the spring member 103 can be transmitted to the ink tanks 100 and 200. FIG. 2B shows the ink tank 100 immediately before the pressure plate 104 contacts the facing wall 106 and the ink tank 200 in which almost no ink has flowed out. FIG. 2 (3) shows a state immediately before the pressure plate 104 contacts the facing wall 106 in both ink tanks 100 and 200. FIG. 2A shows the negative pressure in the ink tanks 100 and 200 shown in FIG. 2B shows the negative pressure in the ink tanks 100 and 200 shown in FIG. 2B, and FIG. 2C shows the ink tanks 100 and 200 shown in FIG. 2C. The negative pressure in each was shown. Since the negative pressure in the ink tanks 100 and 200 is determined by the spring force of the spring member 103, both of them always show the same value until the pressure plate 104 contacts the facing wall 106. The region P is a negative pressure region that can be used as an ink tank. As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, in the states of FIGS. 2A to 2C, the negative pressure in the ink tank is It is always within this region P range. Thus, since the negative pressure of both is constant regardless of the amount of ink in the ink tanks 100 and 200, the amount of ink droplets ejected by the ink jet head (not shown) is also relatively between them. It does not change.

  FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for manufacturing the ink tank of this embodiment.

  FIG. 3A shows a state diagram of the process of bonding the pressure plate 104 to the tank sheet 102. A sheet bonding adhesive 107 is applied to the tank sheet 102, and the pressure plate 104 is pressure-bonded thereon. Here, an adhesive is used to bond them together, but the pressure plate 104 may be welded to the tank sheet 102 using heat or ultrasonic waves. Here, the material of the tank sheet 102 is required to have low permeability of gas and ink components. Suitable materials include PP, PE, PVDC, EVOH, nylon, and the like, and composite materials such as those obtained by vapor deposition of aluminum or silica can be used. . In particular, by using PP and PE excellent in chemical resistance and PVDC excellent in gas / water vapor barrier performance, it is possible to exhibit excellent ink tank performance.

FIG. 3B shows a process of welding the combined body of the tank sheet 102 and the pressure plate 104 to the frame 101. After aligning the frame 101 and the pressure plate 104, the frame 101 and the tank sheet 102 are thermally welded by pressing the heat welding horn 108 against the tank sheet 102 while the tank sheet 102 is slackened. The material of the frame 101 is
FIG. 3C shows a process of joining the spring member 103 to the ink tank 100 in which the joined body of the tank sheet 102 and the pressure plate 104 is joined to the frame 101. The pressure plate 104 coupled to the spring member 103 has a fixing portion 109. The spring member 103 is caught by the fixing portion 109, and the spring member 103 is positioned in the ink tank 100.

  Further, in order to prevent the spring member 103 positioned in the ink tank 100 from coming off the pressure plate 104, a spring fixing adhesive 120 is applied to the fixing portion 109 (not shown).

  FIG. 3D shows a process of coupling the ink tank 200 to the spring member 103 fixed to the ink tank 100. The spring member 103 fixed to the ink tank 100 is positioned on the fixing portion 109 of the pressure plate 104 of the ink tank 200.

  In order to prevent the spring member 103 positioned in the ink tank 200 from coming off from the pressure plate 104, the spring fixing adhesive 110 is applied and fixed to the fixing portion 109, and the ink tank unit 500 is completed (not used). (Illustrated).

  Further, an ink jet cartridge (not shown) can be configured by coupling an ink jet recording head (not shown) and the ink tank unit 500.

  Further, the handleability and the like are further improved by fitting the ink tank unit 500 into the casing 111 (FIG. 4). The casing 111 includes an outer guide portion 112 that serves as a positioning when combined with the ink jet recording head, and an inner guide portion 113 that serves as a positioning when fitting the ink tank unit 500.

  FIG. 5 shows an ink tank unit 500 for explaining the present embodiment. FIG. 5 (1) shows an initial state in which an initial negative pressure is generated. FIG. 2B shows the ink tank 100 immediately before the pressure plate 104 contacts the facing wall 106 and the ink tank 200 in which almost no ink has flowed out. FIG. 2 (3) shows a state immediately before the pressure plates 104 of both ink tanks 100 and 200 come into contact with the facing wall 106. At this time, the spring that generates the negative pressure in the ink tank is a plate-like spring member 114 in which both ends of the two plates are coupled. In the case of the plate spring member 114, in the initial state where the volume of the ink tank is the largest, the thickness thereof is almost the same as that of the plate spring member 114, so that further space saving can be achieved.

It is a perspective view of the ink tank unit concerning one embodiment of the present invention. (1)-(3), (a)-(c) is explanatory drawing which shows the correlation with the deformation | transformation state of a tank sheet | seat, and the negative pressure in an ink tank in the ink tank concerning one Example of this invention. . (A)-(d) is explanatory drawing of the manufacturing process of the ink tank unit concerning the 1st Example of this invention. It is a perspective view of the housing | casing concerning the 1st Example of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the deformation | transformation state of the tank seat concerning the 2nd Example of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Ink tank 101 Frame 102 Tank sheet 103 Spring member 104 Pressure plate 105 Supply port 106 Wall 107 Adhesive for sheet bonding 108 Thermal welding horn 109 Fixing part 110 Adhesive for spring fixation 111 Housing 112 Outer guide part 113 Inner guide part 114 Plate spring member

Claims (16)

A container for storing liquid,
A partly deformable sheet member;
A frame that forms part of the container and has an opening through which liquid can enter and exit, and that fixes the sheet member;
A surface member fixed to the sheet member;
A spring member provided on the surface member;
In a liquid storage container comprising:
A liquid storage container comprising a plurality of the liquid storage containers, wherein the spring members of the liquid storage containers are connected to each other.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is provided outside the liquid container.   The liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein the sheet member has a deformable convex shape.   The liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein two or more liquid storage containers are stored in one housing.   The casing includes an inner guide portion for positioning when the liquid storage container is stored, and an outer guide portion that is positioned when the casing is coupled to a liquid use main body. The liquid container according to claim 4.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a coil spring.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the spring member is a leaf spring.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of metal.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of resin.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of ceramic.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of glass.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of single crystal silicon.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member is made of at least two kinds of composite materials of metal, resin, ceramic, glass, and single crystal silicon.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the surface member includes a fixing portion that positions the spring member.   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid container is an ink jet cartridge. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid container is an ink tank.

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