JP2005246980A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink cartridge which enables ink in first and second chambers to be effectively utilized while an ink supply port and an atmospheric communication passage are opened in juxtaposition on the undersurface. <P>SOLUTION: The first chamber 9, which houses a porous member 8 absorbing the ink, and the second chamber 10 and the atmospheric communication passage 11, which are each positioned on both the sides of the first chamber 9 with the first chamber 9 in between via partition walls 5 and 6, are formed in a case 2. The second chamber 10 and the passage 11 are bent along the downside of a bottom partition wall 7 which is connected to lower ends of the partition walls 5 and 6, and the first chamber 9 is connected to the second chamber 10 through a communication hole 15 of the partition wall 7. The first chamber 9 and the passage 11 are connected to each other via a passage 16 of an upper lid member 3 for covering the upper end of the case, and the second chamber 10 and the passage 11 are opened to the outside via the ink supply port 17 and an atmospheric communication hole 18, which are formed on a lower lid member 4 for covering a lower end of the case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge that contains ink to be supplied to a recording head in an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as an ink jet printer ejects ink droplets from nozzles of a recording head mounted on a carriage, and records an image on a recording medium. This is performed by driving an actuator such as an electromechanical conversion element or an electrothermal conversion element disposed in the cylinder to generate a pressure wave. Ink is supplied from an ink cartridge mounted on the recording head in a replaceable manner. However, if air bubbles are mixed in the ink liquid supplied from the ink cartridge, the ink ejection from the nozzles of the recording head is adversely affected. It is known.

  The ink cartridge has an ink supply port that supplies ink to the recording head, and an air communication hole that communicates with the air so that air flows in response to a decrease due to consumption of the ink. Therefore, after the ink is filled in the manufacturing process of the ink cartridge, all of these openings are sealed by the sealing member. In addition, at the time of shipment, in order to prevent ink leakage in an unused state and air intrusion into the case, an ink cartridge containing ink is hermetically stored in a packaging bag under reduced pressure (so-called vacuum pack). (For example, refer to JP-A-7-132611). At the time of use by the user, the ink cartridge is taken out from the packaging bag, the sealing member is peeled off, the air communication hole is opened, and the ink supply port is communicated with the recording head.

  In such an ink cartridge, it is preferable that the ink supply port and the air communication passage hole are separated from each other. For example, it is thought that air is not easily drawn from the atmosphere communication hole to the ink supply port in a short-circuit, and the ink in the case is easy to use without waste. It is arranged. Therefore, it is necessary to draw a sealing tape for sealing the ink supply port and the air communication hole from the upper surface to the lower surface of the case after ink filling in the manufacturing process (see, for example, JP-A-9-70982), In addition to requiring a long tape, and sticking the seal tape using a roller mechanism, it is not possible to work from one direction on the case, so while rotating the case, remove the seal tape from the top surface to the bottom surface. The workability was poor.

JP-A-7-132611 JP-A-9-70982

  In view of this, the inventor considered that the ink supply port and the opening of the air communication passage are arranged on the lower surface of the case so that the case can be sealed from one side.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge capable of effectively using the ink inside the ink cartridge having such a configuration.

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge for storing ink to be supplied to a recording head, wherein upper and lower ends of a case constituting the cartridge are opened, a partition wall extending in parallel with the side wall in the case, and an end of the partition wall And a bottom partition wall extending in parallel with the bottom opening surface of the case is formed, and an upper lid member and a lower lid member are mounted on the upper end and the bottom opening surface of the case, respectively, and the partition wall, the bottom partition wall, and the upper lid A first chamber containing a porous material surrounded by the member and absorbing ink; and a horizontal portion located between the bottom partition wall and the bottom open surface of the case on the lower side of the first chamber. A second chamber and an atmosphere communication passage surrounded by the side wall and the partition wall are formed, the first chamber communicates with the atmosphere communication passage on the upper end side of the case, and the bottom partition wall has the First When the communication hole is formed for communicating the second chamber, the lower cover member, the ink supply port for supplying the ink of the second chamber to the recording head are formed.

  According to this configuration, the first chamber, the second chamber, and the atmosphere are provided by providing the partition wall in parallel with the side wall of the case, and connecting the lower end of the partition wall to provide the bottom partition wall in parallel with the bottom opening surface. A communication path can be formed, and an ink supply port and an air communication path can be opened at the lower end of the ink cartridge. As the ink is consumed, air is introduced into the first chamber from the side far from the communication hole, and ink is introduced from the first chamber through the communication hole into the second chamber and from the second chamber to the first chamber. Since the ink supply port at the lower end is introduced into the recording head, the entire ink can be used effectively.

  Preferably, in the above configuration, the partition wall is formed of a pair extending in parallel with opposite side walls of the case, and the atmosphere communication path is formed between one of the partition walls and the side wall, The second chamber has a vertical portion located between the other partition wall and the side wall, and connects the vertical portion to the horizontal portion. For this reason, it is possible to supply the ink by letting bubbles that have entered from the first chamber into the second chamber together with the ink escape to the vertical portion of the second chamber.

  Further preferably, the first chamber, the second chamber, and the atmosphere communication path are formed to be opened at an upper end of the case, and the second chamber and the atmosphere communication path are opened to a bottom opening surface of the case. Formed. Thus, the case is provided with the first chamber, the second chamber, and the air communication passage, and the case is opened in both the upper and lower directions, so that the case can be easily molded and the case can be easily cleaned during manufacturing. It can be carried out.

  Preferably, the atmosphere communication path is bent to the lower side of the first chamber along the bottom partition wall and is opened to the outside of the case at a position facing the bottom partition wall. Thereby, the atmosphere communication path can be formed in a bent shape.

  More preferably, the case has a pair of second side walls connecting the pair of side walls, and the partition wall and the bottom partition wall extend in a direction of bridging between the second side walls. Thereby, the intensity | strength of a case can be increased.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which an ink cartridge according to the present embodiment is connected to a recording head. A head holder 50 that supports a recording head 72 is mounted on a carriage 52 that is scanned and moved along the recording medium. 50, the ink cartridge 1 is detachably mounted. The ink cartridge 1 is fitted with the ink supply port 17 provided on the lower surface thereof to the joint member 74 on the head holder 50 side, and distributes ink to a large number of ink ejection channels of the recording head 72 through the manifold member 73. The recording head 72 ejects ink from each ink ejection channel by driving an actuator composed of a piezoelectric element or a heating element as is well known.

  The ink cartridge 1 according to the present embodiment includes a case 2 made of a transparent or translucent resin material in a rectangular shape, and upper and lower lid members 3 and 4. The case 2 includes a pair of first side walls 2a and 2b facing each other and a pair of second side walls 2c and 2d connecting the pair of side walls, and has a rectangular cylindrical shape with both upper and lower end surfaces open. ing. The upper and lower lid members 3 and 4 are heat welded so as to cover the upper and lower open surfaces of the case 2. Further, the case 2 has partition walls 5 and 6 extending substantially parallel to the first side walls (left and right walls in FIG. 3) 2a and 2b, and bottom partition which is connected to the lower ends of both partition walls and extends substantially parallel to the bottom opening surface. The interior is partitioned by the wall 7 and partition walls 7a, 7b, 7c extending vertically from the bottom partition wall 7 toward the bottom open surface. The partition walls 5 and 6, the bottom partition wall 7, and the partition walls 7 a and 7 b extend in the direction of bridging between the second side walls 2 c and 2 d.

  A polyurethane foam that absorbs ink is formed in a space surrounded by the partition walls 5 and 6, the bottom partition wall 7, and the second side walls 2 c and 2 d, with a first chamber 9 having an upper surface opened at the upper end of the case 2. Or the like. A second chamber 10 is formed between the first side wall 2a, the partition wall 5 and the second side walls 2c, 2d. The second side wall 2b, the partition wall 6 and the second side wall 2 are formed. An atmosphere communication path 11 is formed in a place surrounded by the side walls 2c and 2d. The second chamber 10 and the atmosphere communication passage 11 have upper ends opened at the upper surface of the case 2, lower ends bent along the lower surface of the bottom partition wall 7, and lower ends opened at the lower surface of the case 2.

  The upper lid member 3 covers the upper ends of the first chamber 9, the second chamber 10, and the atmosphere communication path 11, and is fixed to the upper ends of the side walls 2 a, 2 b, 2 c, 2 d and the partition walls 5, 6 by thermal welding. The chambers 9 and 10 and the passage 11 are made independent. The lower lid member 4 covers the lower ends of the second chamber 10 and the atmospheric communication passage 11, respectively, and is fixed to the lower ends of the side walls 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and the partition walls 7a, 7b by thermal welding, and the second chamber 10 and the passage 11 are made independent. As a result, the second chamber 10 and the atmosphere communication passage 11 are substantially L-shaped from the vertical portion 10a along the side walls 2a and 2b and the horizontal portions 10b and 11b located below the first chamber 9. In addition, the vertical part, 11a, and the horizontal part 11b of the atmosphere communication path 11 are connected via the communication port 30 provided in the partition wall 7b.

  A communication hole 15 that connects the first chamber 9 and the second chamber 10 is formed in the bottom partition wall 7. Ink is stored in each of the first chamber 9 and the second chamber 10, and both chambers form an ink chamber. As will be described later, the second chamber 10 serves as a passage for ink filling, and also serves as a relay chamber for supplying ink from the first chamber 9 to the recording head 72. The first chamber 9 is formed sufficiently larger than the second chamber 10. The atmosphere communication path 11 supplies the first chamber 9 with air when the ink in the first chamber 9 is consumed. The second chamber 10 and the atmosphere communication path 11 are separated by a partition wall 7 a on the lower surface of the bottom partition wall 7. As described above, the partition walls 5 and 6 are provided on both side portions of the case 2 so as to be substantially parallel to the side walls 2a and 2B, and the side portions have a substantially double wall structure to increase the case strength. In addition, the case 2 having such a shape can be easily resin-molded by a mold that is separated vertically.

  The upper lid member 3 is formed with an ink filling port 13 corresponding to the upper end open surface of the second chamber 10, and is opposed to the upper end open surface of the first chamber 9 so that the inside of the case is decompressed during ink filling. A decompression port 14 is formed for this purpose. The communication hole 15 for communicating the second chamber 10 and the first chamber 9 with each other is disposed at the end far from the side where the ink filling port 13 and the pressure reducing port 14 are disposed, that is, on the opposite side to the same side. As described later, the ink filling efficiency is increased and the ink consumption efficiency is increased.

  Further, the first chamber 9 and the atmosphere communication passage 11 are communicated with the upper lid member 3 by a passage 16 formed so as to straddle the upper end of the partition wall 6. That is, the passage 16 is formed in a concave shape on the upper surface of the upper lid member 13, and one end thereof communicates with the first chamber 9 through the decompression port 14, and the other end communicates with the atmosphere communication passage 11 through the through port 16 a. Has been. The upper lid member 13 has a wall 27 that protrudes into the first chamber 9 and contacts the upper surface of the porous material 8. That is, the upper lid member 3 is formed thick in a portion corresponding to the first chamber 9 and slightly compresses the ink absorbing material 8. As will be described later, the wall 27 is spaced from the inner surface of the first chamber 9, and the decompression port 14 is located inside the first chamber 9 relative to the outer periphery of the wall 27.

  In the lower lid member 4, an ink supply port 17 for supplying the ink in the second chamber 10 to the recording head is formed corresponding to the lower end open surface of the second chamber 10, and the lower end of the atmosphere communication path 11 is formed. Air communication holes 18 are formed corresponding to the open surfaces. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication hole 15 and the ink supply port 17 are positioned so as to be shifted from each other when viewed from the plane, and the second chamber 10 has a shortest path connecting the communication hole 15 and the ink supply port 17. In addition, a rib-shaped barrier 31 is formed. The barrier 31 is preferably formed by protruding integrally from the partition wall 7 of the case 2 and joined to the inner wall surface of the lower lid member 4, but may be integrally projected from the lower lid member 4. There is no problem. The lower surface 7 d (FIG. 3) of the bottom partition wall 7 is an inclined surface so as to rise from the lower end of the communication hole 15 toward the vertical portion of the second chamber 10. One end of the barrier 31 is located on the side of the communication hole 15, and the other end extends to a position near the vertical portion of the second chamber 10. Thus, when the ink is drawn from the second chamber 10 due to the negative pressure generated by the ejection of ink from the recording head 72, the ink flow exiting the communication hole 15 from the first chamber 9 passes through the barrier 31 as indicated by the arrow 32. It detours, passes through the vertical portion 10 a of the second chamber 10, enters the horizontal portion 10 b of the second chamber 10 again, and reaches the ink supply port 17.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ink filling port 13 and the pressure reducing port 14 are closed by first sealing materials 21 and 22 attached to the outer surface of the upper lid member 3 by heat welding or the like after ink filling. The sealing material 22 secures the passage 16 and covers the upper surface thereof. The ink supply port 17 and the air communication hole 18 are closed by a second seal material 23 that is detachably attached by heat welding or the like. Since the ink filling port 13 and the ink supply port 17 are different from each other, the second sealing material 23 is attached to the ink supply port 17 in advance before filling with ink. Therefore, unlike the conventional case where the ink supply port 17 also serves as the ink filling port 13, the ink supply port 17 is not wet with the ink at the time of filling, and the ink supply port is weak enough not to be deformed. Even with heat welding, a sufficient sealing effect can be obtained. Since the sealing materials 21 and 22 do not need to be peeled off, the sealing materials 21 and 22 may be heat-welded firmly to such an extent that the upper lid member 3 is somewhat deformed. Each sealing material 21, 22, 23 is made of an air-impermeable resin or metal foil or a laminated material thereof.

  A stainless mesh filter 24 is attached to the surface of the ink supply port 17 on the second chamber 10 side. The filter 24 has such a size that the ink in the second chamber 10 does not leak out in a natural state due to surface tension.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a partition wall 29 is formed in the middle of the vertical portion 11 a of the atmosphere communication path 11 to partition the atmosphere communication path 11 up and down. The partition wall 29 extends in the vertical direction of the atmosphere communication passage 11 with a height difference, and a through hole 28 is formed at a high portion of the partition wall 29, and becomes an ink reservoir 29 a at a position lower than the upper end surface of the through hole 28. A recess is formed. The partition wall 29 can be molded at the separation part of the mold that separates up and down when the case 2 is resin-molded, and does not require special processing.

  Further, the ink reservoir 4a is formed around the peripheral wall 18a of the air communication hole 18 of the lower lid member 4 by protruding upward in a cylindrical shape. As a result, the ink leaking from the first chamber 9 through the passage 16 due to the ink cartridge overturning or the like is accumulated in the ink reservoir 29a. Even if the ink in the ink reservoir 29a may enter the through hole 28 by tilting the ink cartridge or the like, it will accumulate in the ink reservoir 4a below it. Therefore, the atmosphere communication path 11 and the atmosphere communication hole 18 are not blocked and ink does not leak to the outside.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 19, in the case 2, a space 33 is formed adjacent to the second chamber 10 and the horizontal portions 10 b and 11 b of the atmosphere communication path 11. The space 33 is partitioned by a partition wall 7c that bridges between the partition walls 7a and 7b, and the lower surface is covered with the lower lid member 4, and communicates with the second chamber 10, the first chamber 9, and the atmosphere communication passage 11. However, the opening 34 provided in the lower lid member 4 communicates with the outside of the case. At the time of shipment, the ink cartridge 1 filled with ink is in a state of being hermetically housed in a reduced pressure state in a packaging bag 81 as shown in FIG. The packaging bag 81 is one in which the ink cartridge 1 is housed in a cylindrical member, the inside is sucked with negative pressure, and both open ends are welded 82. The packaging bag 81 is made of an air-impermeable resin or metal foil or a laminated material thereof. The cross section of the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 19 corresponds to the cross section taken along the line CC of FIG. The opening 34 is not covered with the second seal material 23. The space 33 acts so that when the inside of the packaging bag 81 is in a reduced pressure state, the inside of the space 33 is also in a reduced pressure state, and the inside of the sealed packaging bag 81 is maintained in a reduced pressure state for a long period of time due to its volume. is there. This prevents air from entering the ink in the case when not in use.

  11, 12 and 13 show the structure of the passage 16 portion in detail. The configuration shown in FIG. 11 is created as a reference for explaining the problem. In this figure, the passage 16b is formed so as to penetrate the upper lid member 3, and allows the first chamber 9 and the atmosphere communication passage 11 to communicate with each other. Although not shown, the upper surface of the passage 16b is covered with a sealing material 22. In such a case, ink tends to gather at the edge (ridgeline) E1 formed by the partition wall 6 and the side walls 2c and 2d and the edge E2 formed by the partition wall 6 and the upper lid member 3 by capillary action. Moreover, since the edges E1 and E2 are continuous with the edge E3 formed by the inner surface of the passage 16b and the partition wall 6, the ink collected on the edges E1 and E2 is edge E3 by capillary action as indicated by an arrow R. , And further flows out along the edge E4 in the atmosphere communication path 11. When ink enters the atmosphere communication path 11 from the first chamber 9, it becomes unsightly if the case is transparent or translucent. Further, it leaks out of the case or blocks the atmosphere communication path 11. Therefore, there is a problem that ink cannot be supplied from the first chamber 9 to the recording head 72.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the outer periphery of the wall 27 protruding from the upper lid member 3 toward the first chamber 9 is spaced from the inner surface of the first chamber 9 in order to eliminate the above-mentioned problems. . The decompression port 14 has a cylindrical shape, a rounded rectangle or the like, has a shape having no edge on the inner surface, and is located at an end portion of the wall 27 away from the partition wall 6. With this configuration, the inner edge of the partition wall 6 on the first chamber 9 side is not connected to the passage 16 and the atmosphere communication passage 11 only by the inner edge formed by two planes. That is, the lower surface of the wall 27, the outer periphery of the wall 27, and the inner surface of the decompression port 14 have a shape having no inner edge formed by two planes, and the inner edge of the partition wall 6 on the first chamber 9 side is the surface portion. It will be connected to the atmosphere communication path 11 via. Therefore, the ink that oozes out by the wall 27 compressing the porous material 8 or the ink collected at the inner edge on the first chamber 9 side flows out to the passage 16 or the atmosphere communication passage 11 side by capillary action. Is prevented. Further, the inner surface of the decompression port 14 in contact with the porous material 8 does not have an inner edge, and the decompression port 14 is located in the thick part of the upper lid member 3 and the decompression port 14 is sufficiently high. Ink in the material 8 is also prevented from entering the passage 16 through the inner surface of the decompression port 14. Even if the gap between the outer periphery of the wall 27 and the partition wall 6 is small, and the ink may rise due to the capillary phenomenon, the upper end of the partition wall 6 is welded to the lid member 3. Ink does not enter the atmosphere communication path 11.

  Note that when the pressure reducing port 14 has a shape with an edge on the inner surface, the same effect can be obtained even if the inner surface of the passage 16 has a cross-sectional shape without an edge, such as a semi-cylindrical shape or a rounded rectangle.

  FIG. 13 shows a configuration in which the passage portion is further improved. In FIG. 12, the decompression port 14 penetrates the wall 27, but it does not contact the wall 27 between the outer periphery of the wall 27 and the partition wall 6. Is provided. In other words, since the inner surface of the decompression port 14 is not in direct contact with the porous material 8 and has a space, it is further prevented that the ink in the porous material 8 leaks through the inner surface of the decompression port 14. Is done.

  An ink remaining amount detection sensor 60 is provided in the carriage 52 of the ink jet printer. That is, when the ink cartridge 1 is not used, the ink is filled without leaving a space in the porous material 8 in the first chamber 9 and the second chamber 10, but the ink is consumed by the recording operation. When the ink in the first chamber 9 runs out, air enters the second chamber 10 from the first chamber 9 due to the pressure with which the recording head 72 sucks ink, and above the second chamber 10. A void portion is generated and the ink liquid level is lowered. The ink remaining amount detection sensor 60 detects the presence or absence of ink remaining from the change in reflection of light caused by the presence or absence of ink on the inner wall surface of the second chamber 10.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink remaining amount sensor 60 emits light to a detection site α set at a predetermined height position of the side wall 2 a where the light emitting element 61 faces the second chamber 10 of the case 2, The light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 are arranged horizontally in the second chamber 10 with the detection site α interposed therebetween so that the light receiving element 62 (FIG. 5) can receive the reflected light from the inner surface of the side wall at the detection site α. They are arranged at predetermined intervals in the direction. For this purpose, the case 2 only needs to be transparent or translucent so that at least the detection site α portion has translucency.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the detection portion α is formed in the vertical direction formed by the inner surface of the side wall 2a intersecting with the inner surface of the side wall 2d adjacent thereto in the second chamber 10 of the ink cartridge 1. It is set to the extended ridge line part (corner part). As described above, when the detection portion α is set at the ridge line portion (corner portion) of the second chamber 10, the level of the ink level in the second chamber 10 starts from the level h1, as will be described later. As shown in FIG. 14, even if the ink L adhering to the inner surface of the side wall 2a is held in the vicinity of the level h1 in the central portion of the side wall 2a, as shown in FIG. The ink L adhering to the vicinity of the portion immediately moves to the vicinity of the level h2 that is the same as the height of the ink liquid surface due to the capillary action of the corner portion, so the presence or absence of ink in the second chamber 10 at the detection site α Can be detected with high accuracy. In this way, the liquid level suddenly drops because the ink liquid level h2 swings to h1 as the carriage moves, or a known suction means is applied to the recording head 72 in order to recover the ejection function of the recording head 72. This is a case where the ink liquid level suddenly drops by connecting and sucking a large amount of ink.

  Further, a rib that protrudes from the inner surface of the side wall 2a into the second chamber 10 and extends in the height direction of the second chamber 10 is provided, and a detection site α is set at a ridge line portion formed by the rib and the inner surface of the side wall 2a. However, as described above, the ink remaining amount sensor 60 can be obtained without complicating the structure of the ink cartridge 1 by setting the detection part α at the corner portion existing in the normal ink cartridge. The detection accuracy by can be increased.

  Further, as described above, the ink remaining amount sensor 60 detects the remaining amount of ink in the second chamber 10 in which the liquid level fluctuation of ink finally appears after the ink in the first chamber 9 is almost consumed. The remaining amount of ink at the time when the ink cartridge 1 should be replaced can be made as small as possible, and waste of ink generated when the ink cartridge 1 is replaced can be minimized.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, on the inner surface of the side wall 2a facing the second chamber 10 where the detection site α is set, a direction orthogonal to the plane including the light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 and the detection site α, That is, a large number of fine ridges 63 extending in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 1 are formed, and the light emitting element 61, the light receiving element 62, and the detection site α are provided on the outer surface of the side wall 2a where the detection site α is set. A large number of fine irregularities 64 extending in the direction parallel to the plane including the surface, that is, the front-rear direction of the ink cartridge 1 are formed.

  In a state where the ink exists up to the height of the detection site α in the second chamber 10, the light emitted from the light emitting element 61 proceeds into the ink from the refractive index of the side wall 2 a and the ink (arrow B), and the light receiving element 62. It hardly goes to the side. When there is no ink at the detection site α, the light is reflected by the inner surface of the side wall 2 a and travels toward the light receiving element 62. At this time, if a large number of fine concave and convex strips 63 extending in the vertical direction are formed on the inner surface of the side wall 2a of the case main body 11, the light emitted from the light emitting element 61 is reflected as shown by the solid line in FIG. When the light is reflected from the inner surface of the side wall 2a of the light source 11, the light is scattered in a substantially horizontal direction (a direction parallel to the plane including the light emitting element 61, the light receiving element 62, and the detection site α) by the concave and convex stripes 63. The light advances toward the light receiving element 62 while spreading in a plane including the light receiving element 62 and the detection portion α of the case 2. The reflected light when the uneven strip 63 is not formed on the inner surface of the side wall 2a is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Therefore, as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. 16, even when the distance between the sensor 60 and the detection site α changes slightly, the light receiving element 62 can reliably receive the reflected light. That is, even if the mounting position of the sensor 60 with respect to the carriage 52 varies at the manufacturing stage of the ink jet printer, or the mounting position of the ink cartridge 1 is slightly shifted when the user replaces the ink cartridge 1, the remaining amount of ink is surely ensured. Can be detected. In the drawing, for convenience of explanation, the light is shown in a state of being emitted from the light emitting element 61 in a parallel state, but the same effect can be achieved even when the light is emitted so as to spread.

  Further, as described above, when a large number of fine irregularities 64 extending in the front-rear direction are formed on the outer surface of the side wall 2a, the light reflected on the outer surface of the side wall 2a of the case 2, as shown in FIG. The uneven stripe 64 scatters in the vertical direction, and the reflected light on the outer surface of the side wall 2a advances to the light receiving element 62 side while spreading outside the plane including the light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 of the sensor 60 and the detection site α. Therefore, it becomes difficult for the light receiving element 62 to receive the reflected light on the outer surface of the side wall 2a that does not contribute to the detection of the remaining amount of ink. Therefore, of the reflected light received by the light receiving element 62, the ratio of the reflected light component on the inner surface of the side wall 2a that contributes to the detection of the remaining amount of ink increases, and the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of ink is improved. If the irregularities on the inner surface of the side wall 2a extend in the horizontal direction, the light scatters in the vertical direction, and as shown in FIG. 16, when the distance between the sensor 60 and the detection site α changes, The allowable position where the light receiving element 62 can receive the reflected light is significantly limited as compared with the above embodiment.

  The case 2 configured as described above is molded by a mold, and the mold used corresponds to the light emitting element 61 and the mold surface corresponding to the inner surface of the side wall 2a where the detection site α is set. The mold surface corresponding to the outer surface of the side wall 2a on which the detection site α is set is polished and polished in a direction perpendicular to the plane including the light reception element 62 and the detection site α. Polishing is performed in a direction parallel to the plane including the detection site α, and by applying such polishing to the mold surface, a large number of fine irregularities extending in a predetermined direction are formed on each mold surface. . Therefore, by using such a mold, as described above, an ink cartridge in which a large number of ridges 63 and 64 extending in a predetermined direction are formed on the inner surface and the outer surface of the side wall 2a where the detection site α is set. 1 can be easily manufactured.

  In this embodiment, the light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 are arranged in the horizontal direction. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the light emitting element 61 and the light receiving element 62 are arranged in the vertical direction of the ink cartridge 1. It is also possible to arrange. However, in that case, the directions of the ridges 63 and 64 formed on the inner and outer surfaces of the side wall 2a must be reversed.

  Next, the manufacturing method of the ink cartridge 1 will be described. First, the case 2 is molded with resin, and the case 2 is washed and dried. At this time, since the upper and lower end faces are open, the case 2 can be easily molded with a mold that separates vertically. The case needs to be washed well so that the physical properties of the ink do not change. However, with this case shape, the cleaning liquid can easily reach the inside and can be easily washed. Also, drying can be performed without leaving a cleaning solution.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the porous material 8 is inserted into the first chamber 9 from the upper open end of the case 2, and the porous material 8 is pressed by the upper lid member 3 and accommodated in a compressed state. . The upper lid member 3 is thermally welded to the upper end opening periphery of the case 2 and the upper ends of the partition walls 5 and 6. The lower lid member 4 is fixed by thermal welding to the lower end opening periphery of the case 2 and the lower ends of the partition walls 7a, 7b, and 7c. A seal material 23 is detachably attached to the ink supply port 17 and the air communication hole 18 of the lower lid member 4 so as to cover them. As described above, the upper and lower sides of the case 2 are formed in an almost open shape, and the various chambers as described above can be formed by attaching the lid members 3 and 4 to the upper and lower sides of the case 2, and these can be easily assembled. It is. Further, since the ink supply port 17 and the air communication hole 18 are arranged on one surface of the cartridge, it is not necessary to draw the sealing material 23 covering them along the outer periphery of the cartridge as in the prior art, and it can be easily attached. it can.

  Further, the ink filling operation into the ink cartridge 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 18, the ink supply port 17 and the air communication hole 18 of the lower lid member 4 are sealed as described above, and the upper lid member 3 The ink filling device 101 is brought into close contact with the ink filling port 13, and the pressure reducing device 102 is brought into close contact with the pressure reducing port 14 to operate each device. Since the ink filling port 13 and the pressure reducing port 14 are arranged on one surface of the cartridge, each device may be close to one side of the ink cartridge 1. Air in the first chamber 9 is sucked from the decompression port 14 prior to ink filling. As a result, the first and second chambers 9 and 10 are depressurized, and the ink passes from the ink filling port 13 through the second chamber 10 to the porous material 8 in the first chamber 9 through the communication hole 15. Filled. At this time, the second chamber 10 becomes an ink filling path, and the ink enters the second chamber 10 from one end, passes through the communication hole 15 farthest from the second chamber 10, enters the first chamber 9, and then enters the communication hole 15. Accordingly, the second chamber 10 itself is fully filled with ink, and the first both chambers 9 can be efficiently filled with ink. Further, as described above, since the side portion of the case 2 is reinforced with a double wall structure, the case 2 is less likely to be deformed during decompression. In this sense, both chambers 9 and 10 are efficient. The ink can be filled well. The atmosphere communication passage 11 is also decompressed at the same time as the first chamber 9, and is maintained in a decompressed state even after the sealing material is applied.

  As the ink to be filled in the above process, an ink from which bubbles and air dissolved in the ink are removed as much as possible (so-called degassed ink) is used. This is to avoid bubbles and air from entering the recording head 72 and causing ink ejection failure. The reason why the ink cartridge 1 is sealed under reduced pressure with the packaging bag 8 as described above is to prevent bubbles and air from re-dissolving in the degassed ink.

  After ink filling, sealing materials 21 and 22 are attached to the ink filling port 13 and the decompression port 14. The sealing materials 21 and 22 may be made to leave only necessary portions after a single sealing material is pasted. Thus, at the manufacturing stage, the filling device 101 and the decompression device 102 may be brought closer to the case 2 from one side, and the case 2 may be sealed from one side, so that workability is good.

  The ink cartridge 1 manufactured in this manner is shipped in a state of being hermetically accommodated in a reduced pressure state in the packaging bag 81 as described above.

  When the user uses the ink cartridge 1, the user peels off the seal material 23 attached to the ink supply port 17 and the air communication hole 18 of the ink cartridge 1, and joints the ink supply port 17 to the manifold 73 of the recording head 72. The members 74 are coupled together. As is well known, suction means is connected to the recording head 72, and ink is filled from the ink cartridge 1 into the recording head 72.

  During the recording operation, a negative pressure is applied to the ink supplied from the second chamber 10 to the recording head 72 by the absorption force of the porous material 8 in the first chamber 9, that is, the capillary phenomenon. The actuator of the recording head 72 performs an ink ejection operation, thereby generating a negative pressure in the ejection direction and sucking ink from the ink cartridge 1. When the ink in the second chamber 10 flows out from the ink supply port 17, the ink is replenished into the second chamber 10 from the porous material 8 in the first chamber 9, and the ink in the first chamber 9 is supplied. With consumption, the atmosphere is introduced into the first chamber 9 from the atmosphere communication hole 18 through the atmosphere communication path 11. Since the upper end of the second chamber 10 is sealed with the sealing material 21, the atmospheric pressure does not act on the ink in the second chamber 10 when the second chamber 10 is fully filled with ink. After the ink in the first chamber 9 is almost consumed, the ink in the second chamber 10 is consumed. That is, when the ink in the first chamber 9 runs out, the ink in the second chamber 10 is consumed by the pressure with which the recording head 72 sucks the ink, and the air from the first chamber 9 flows into the second chamber. 10, a gap is generated from the upper portion of the vertical portion 10 of the second chamber 10, and the ink liquid level is lowered.

  Thus, since the atmosphere is introduced from the side far from the communication hole 15 in the first chamber 9, the ink in the first chamber 9 is effectively used and the ink in the second chamber 10 is also included. The entire ink is used effectively. Further, since the second chamber 10 is fully filled as an ink filling path from the beginning, there is no erroneous detection in the remaining amount detection due to insufficient ink filling. Further, the work of peeling off the sealing material 23 is easy because it is only on one side of the cartridge.

  Further, as described above, since the barrier 31 is provided between the communication hole 15 and the ink supply port 17, the ink passes through the communication hole 15 from the first chamber 9 due to the pressure with which the recording head 72 sucks ink. When the air is drawn into the second chamber 10, bubbles are mixed in the ink, or the ink in the first chamber 9 is consumed as described above so that air is drawn into the second chamber 10. When this happens, the bubbles and air can be prevented from flowing into the recording head 72. That is, as indicated by an arrow 32 in FIG. 6, when the ink flow bypasses the barrier 31, air bubbles and air are located above the vertical portion 10 a due to buoyancy at a location corresponding to the vertical portion 10 a of the second chamber 10. It escapes and does not reach the ink supply port 17. By tilting the ceiling surface of the horizontal portion 10b of the second chamber, that is, the lower surface 7d of the bottom partition wall 7 so as to rise from the lower end of the communication hole 15 toward the vertical portion 10a of the second chamber 10, Bubbles and air do not stay on the bottom surface of the bottom partition wall 7 and flow upward of the vertical portion 10a. Therefore, it is possible to prevent bubbles and air from entering the recording head 72 and causing ink ejection failure.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a state where an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the invention is mounted on a recording head. FIG. 3 is an external view of an ink cartridge. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge. FIG. 3 is an exploded cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge. BB sectional drawing of FIG. FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the case excluding the lower lid member of the ink cartridge. FIG. 6 is a top view of the upper lid member of the ink cartridge before sticking a seal. FIG. 6 is a top view of the ink cartridge after a sticker is attached to the upper lid member. The bottom view of an ink cartridge. A AA line sectional view of Drawing 4. The perspective view which expands and shows the structure of the channel | path 16b part between a 1st chamber and an atmosphere communicating path. The perspective view which expands and shows the structure which improved the channel | path part of FIG. The perspective view which expands and shows the structure which further improved the channel | path part of FIG. The side view of an ink cartridge. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view conceptually showing a light reflection state at a remaining ink amount detection portion. FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross-sectional view conceptually showing a light reflection state at a remaining ink amount detection portion. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view conceptually showing a light reflection state at a remaining ink amount detection portion. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an ink filling operation of an ink cartridge. Sectional drawing of the state which accommodated the ink cartridge in the packaging bag.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink cartridge 2 ... Case 3 ... Upper lid member 4 ... Lower lid members 5, 6, 7 ... Partition wall 8 ... Porous material 9 1st chamber 10 ... 2nd chamber 11 ... Atmospheric communication path 13 ... Ink filling port 14 ... Pressure reducing port 15 ... Communication hole 16 ... Passage 17 ... Ink supply port 18 ... Air communication hole 21, 22 ... First seal material 23 ... Second seal material 29a, 4a ... Ink reservoir 31 ... Barrier 33 ... Space 60 ... Remaining ink detection sensor 81 ... Packing bag

Claims (5)

In an ink cartridge containing ink to be supplied to a recording head,
Upper and lower ends of the case constituting the cartridge are opened, a partition wall extending in parallel with the side wall in the case, and a bottom partition wall connected to the end of the partition wall and extending in parallel with the bottom open surface of the case Formed,
An upper lid member and a lower lid member are attached to the upper and bottom open surfaces of the case, respectively.
A first chamber that houses a porous material that is surrounded by the partition wall, the bottom partition wall, and the upper lid member and has absorbed ink; and the bottom partition wall and a bottom opening surface of the case at a lower side of the first chamber A second chamber having a horizontal portion located between and an atmosphere communication passage surrounded by the side wall and the partition wall,
The first chamber communicates with the atmosphere communication path on the upper end side of the case,
A communication hole that connects the first chamber and the second chamber is formed in the bottom partition wall,
An ink cartridge in which an ink supply port for supplying ink in the second chamber to the recording head is formed in the lower lid member. The ink cartridge according to claim 1,
The partition wall is composed of a pair extending in parallel with opposite side walls of the case, the atmosphere communication path is formed between one partition wall and the side wall, and the second chamber is: An ink cartridge having a vertical portion located between the other partition wall and the side wall and connecting the vertical portion to the horizontal portion. The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2,
The first chamber, the second chamber, and the atmosphere communication path are formed to be opened at the upper end of the case, and the second chamber and the atmosphere communication path are formed to be opened to a bottom opening surface of the case. Ink cartridge. The ink cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The ink communication path is bent to the lower side of the first chamber along the bottom partition wall, and is opened to the outside of the case at a position facing the bottom partition wall. The ink cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The case includes an ink cartridge having a pair of second side walls that connect the pair of side walls, and the partition wall and the bottom partition wall extend in a direction of bridging between the second side walls.

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