JP2006159720A - Recording fluid cartridge and imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problems that the shape of an enclosure of a recording fluid cartridge storing an ink bag becomes complicated and thereby, a manufacturing cost is high, or the ink bag tends to easily rupture. <P>SOLUTION: In a first enclosure 112A and a second enclosure 112B of an ink cartridge 10, round-shape parts 123a and 123b are formed as retaining means. The retaining means are brought into face contact with the upper end parts 124a and 124b, which are part of the ink bag 111 as a recording fluid storage means having the same inner/outer shape and a flexible inner surface. Thus, this contrivance of the partial face contact simplifies the shape of the ink bag 111 and also can prevent an external force from concentrating in the ink bag 111 and causing damage. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording liquid cartridge and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a recording head that discharges a recording liquid and a recording liquid cartridge that stores and holds the recording liquid.

    An ink jet recording apparatus known as an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying apparatus, and a plotter includes a recording medium (hereinafter referred to as paper, but not limited to paper, including OHP) from a recording head, In addition, recording media, recording paper, and the like are also recorded on the recording medium by ejecting ink that is a recording liquid, and in particular, color images are recorded using multicolor inks. Easy to do.

  In such an ink jet recording apparatus, as a recording liquid supply system for a recording head for ejecting liquid droplets, a system in which an ink cartridge for directly supplying ink to a carriage on which the recording head is mounted is detachably mounted, a recording head The sub-tank for supplying ink to the recording head is mounted on the carriage mounted with the ink cartridge and the sub-tank, which is a main recording liquid cartridge that is replaceably loaded on the apparatus main body side, and includes a flexible tube (including a pipe). ) And the like, and there is a system that supplies (supplements) ink from the ink cartridge when the ink capacity of the sub tank decreases.

The ink cartridge used in the latter sub-tank type ink jet recording apparatus includes a holding member having an ink supply port portion and a sealed ink filling port portion as described in Patent Document 1. An ink storage means, a first housing having a holding means for holding a holding member of the ink storage means, a second housing having an external shape similar to the first housing, and a first housing The first housing and the third housing fitted to the front surface of the ink supply side of the second housing in a state of being combined with the second housing, and the first, second, and third housings can be disassembled and assembled. There is known an ink cartridge configured as follows.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-195962

Further, as described in Patent Document 2, the ink cartridge is configured so that the exterior (housing) that accommodates the ink bag is shaped like the outer shape of the ink bag, and the ink bag is held over the entire surface. In other words, as described in Patent Document 3, the ink bag is held by a plurality of ribs provided inside the housing.
Japanese Examined Patent Publication No. 6-65492 Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-230204

  However, when the ink bag is held by providing a plurality of ribs in the casing as in the ink cartridge described in Patent Document 3 described above, the impact is generated when the ink cartridge falls or shakes. However, there is a problem that the ribs are pointed with respect to the ink bag and a concentrated load is applied, and the ink bag may be damaged by being stuck into the ink bag.

  In addition, when the shape of the casing is made to follow the shape of the ink bag as in the ink cartridge described in Patent Document 2, the shape becomes complicated and space constraints increase, and design and manufacturing freedom. There is a problem that the degree decreases.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has an object to make a housing of a recording liquid cartridge into a simple shape and prevent damage to liquid storage means. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the recording liquid cartridge according to the present invention holds a part of the recording liquid storage means having flexibility in contact with the inner surface of the housing that holds the recording liquid storage means. The holding means is provided.

  Here, the holding surface of the holding means preferably has a shape along the outer shape of the recording liquid storage means, and the holding means has a portion different from the recording liquid discharge port of the recording liquid storage means. It is preferable that a rib is formed on the outer surface side corresponding to the holding means of the housing, and it is preferable that this rib does not protrude from the outermost surface of the housing. Furthermore, the housing holding the recording liquid storage means is divided into the first housing and the second housing having substantially similar outer shapes, and is fitted on one side of either of the first housing or the second housing. On the other side corresponding to the other side, there is provided a fitting part for fitting the fitting means, and the first casing and the second casing are fitted with these fitting means and the fitting part. It is preferable that it is the structure closed together.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording head for ejecting recording liquid droplets and a recording liquid cartridge according to the present invention that accommodates and holds the recording liquid supplied to the recording head.

  According to the recording liquid cartridge of the present invention, the holding means for holding a part of the recording liquid containing means having flexibility in contact with the surface is provided on the inner surface side of the housing for holding the recording liquid containing means. Therefore, the recording liquid storage means can be prevented from being damaged.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, since the recording liquid cartridge according to the present invention is provided, it is possible to prevent liquid leakage in the apparatus main body and to reduce the cost of the entire apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of an ink jet recording apparatus as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention as viewed from the front side, and FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view of a state where a front cover of a cartridge loading portion of the recording apparatus is opened.

  The ink jet recording apparatus includes an apparatus main body 1, a paper feed tray 2 for loading paper loaded in the apparatus main body 1, and a sheet on which an image is recorded (formed) by being detachably mounted on the apparatus main body 1. A paper discharge tray 3 for stocking is provided. Further, a cartridge loading for loading an ink cartridge that protrudes from the front surface to the front side of the apparatus main body 1 and is lower than the upper surface is provided at one end side of the front surface of the apparatus main body 1 (side of the paper supply / discharge tray section). The cartridge loading unit 4 has an operation / display unit 5 provided with operation buttons and a display.

  The cartridge loading unit 4 includes a plurality of recording liquids (inks) of different colors, such as black (K) ink, cyan (C) ink, magenta (M) ink, and yellow (Y) ink, respectively. Ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y, which are such recording liquid cartridges (referred to as “ink cartridge 10” when colors are not distinguished), can be inserted and loaded from the front side of the apparatus main body 1 toward the rear side. A front cover (cartridge cover) 6 that is opened when the ink cartridge 10 is attached or detached is provided on the front side of the cartridge loading unit 4 so as to be openable and closable. Further, the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y are configured to be loaded side by side in a vertical state.

  Further, the operation / display unit 5 has the remaining amounts of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y of each color at the arrangement positions corresponding to the mounting positions (arrangement positions) of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y of the respective colors. The remaining amount display portions 11k, 11c, 11m, and 11y for each color for displaying the near end and the end are arranged. Further, the operation / display unit 5 is also provided with a power button 12, a paper feed / print resume button 13, and a cancel button 14.

  Further, the front cover 6 of the cartridge loading unit 4 as a whole visually recognizes the plurality of ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y loaded in the cartridge loading unit 4 with the front cover 6 closed. It can be made of a transparent or translucent member. In addition, if the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y can be visually recognized from the outside, a part of the ink cartridges 10k, 10c, 10m, and 10y may be formed of a transparent or translucent member.

  Further, a protrusion (sensor piece) detected by a detection sensor (not shown) which is an open / close detection means (not shown) provided inside the cartridge loading unit 4 in order to detect the opening / closing of the front cover 6 at the upper end of the front cover 6. 16 is provided.

  Next, the mechanism part of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view for explaining the overall structure of the mechanism section, and FIG. 4 is a plan view for explaining essential parts of the mechanism section.

  A carriage 33 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by a guide rod 31 which is a guide member horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B constituting the frame 21, and a stay 32, and a timing belt is held by a main scanning motor (not shown). 4 is moved and scanned in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) in FIG.

  As described above, the carriage 33 includes a recording head 34 including four droplet discharge heads that discharge ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). A plurality of ink ejection openings are arranged in a direction crossing the main scanning direction, and are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward.

  As an inkjet head constituting the recording head 34, a piezoelectric actuator such as a piezoelectric element, a thermal actuator that uses a phase change caused by film boiling of a liquid using an electrothermal transducer such as a heating resistor, and a metal phase change caused by a temperature change. It is possible to use a shape memory alloy actuator to be used, an electrostatic actuator using an electrostatic force, or the like provided as pressure generating means for generating a pressure for discharging a droplet.

  A driver IC is mounted on the recording head 34 and is connected to a control unit (not shown) via a harness (flexible print cable) 22.

  In addition, the carriage 33 is equipped with a sub tank 35 for each color for supplying ink of each color to the recording head 34. As described above, each color sub-tank 35 is supplementarily supplied with ink of each color from the ink cartridge 10 of each color mounted in the cartridge loading unit 4 via the ink supply tube 36 of each color. The cartridge loading 4 is provided with a supply pump unit 24 for feeding ink in the ink cartridge 10, and the ink supply tube 36 is engaged with the rear plate 21 </ b> C constituting the frame 21 in the middle of turning. It is held by a stop member 25.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. A separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient is provided facing the paper roller 43) and the paper feed roller 43, and the separation pad 44 is urged toward the paper feed roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a transport guide member 47, and a tip pressure roller. And a holding belt 48 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). This transport belt 51 is, for example, a surface layer that is a sheet adsorbing surface formed of a pure resin material having a thickness of about 40 μm that is not subjected to resistance control, such as ETFE pure material, and resistance control by carbon with the same material as this surface layer. And a back layer (medium resistance layer, ground layer).

  A charging roller 56 is provided as charging means for charging the surface of the conveyor belt 51. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 51 and to be rotated by the rotation of the conveyor belt 51, and applies a predetermined pressing force to both ends of the shaft as a pressing force. The transport roller 52 also functions as an earth roller, and is in contact with the middle resistance layer (back layer) of the transport belt 51 and is grounded.

  In addition, a guide member 57 is disposed on the back side of the conveyance belt 51 so as to correspond to a printing area by the recording head 34. The guide member 57 has an upper surface that protrudes toward the recording head 35 from the tangent line of two rollers (the conveyance roller 52 and the tension roller 53) that support the conveyance belt 51, thereby maintaining high-precision flatness of the conveyance belt 51. Like to do.

  The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 4 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven via a timing belt by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a paper discharge roller 63 are provided. The paper discharge tray 3 is provided below the paper discharge roller 62. Here, the height from between the paper discharge roller 62 and the paper discharge roller 63 to the paper discharge tray 3 is increased to some extent in order to increase the amount that can be stored in the paper discharge tray 3.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 including a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 34 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction. Yes.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a to 82d (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 34, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper blade 83 that is a blade member for wiping the ink, and an empty discharge receiver 84 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid. ing. Here, the cap 82a is a suction and moisture retention cap, and the other caps 82b to 82d are moisture retention caps.

  Then, the waste liquid of the recording liquid generated by the maintenance / recovery operation by the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81, the ink discharged to the cap 82, the ink adhered to the wiper blade 83 and removed by the wiper cleaner 85, and the idle ejection to the idle ejection receiver 84. The discharged ink is discharged and stored in a waste liquid tank (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33, idle discharge is performed to discharge liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. An empty discharge receiver 88 for receiving the droplets at the time is disposed, and the empty discharge receiver 88 is provided with an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 42 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feeding tray 2, and the sheet 42 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 45, and the transport belt 51 and the counter roller 46, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 47 and pressed against the conveying belt 51 by the leading end pressing roller 49, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive voltage output and a negative output are alternately repeated from the AC bias supply unit to the charging roller 56 by a control circuit (not shown), that is, a charging voltage pattern in which an alternating voltage is applied and the conveying belt 51 alternates. That is, plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width in the sub-scanning direction which is the circumferential direction. When the paper 42 is fed onto the conveyance belt 51 charged alternately with plus and minus, the paper 42 is attracted to the conveyance belt 51, and the paper 42 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveyance belt 51.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 34 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 33, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 42 to record one line, and after the paper 42 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 42 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 42 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  Further, during printing (recording) standby, the carriage 33 is moved to the maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 side, and the recording head 34 is capped by the cap 82 to keep the nozzles in a wet state, thereby preventing ejection failure due to ink drying. . Further, the recording liquid is sucked from the nozzle by a suction pump (not shown) with the recording head 34 capped by the cap 82 (referred to as “nozzle suction” or “head suction”), and the thickened recording liquid and bubbles are discharged. Perform recovery action. In addition, an idle ejection operation for ejecting ink not related to recording is performed before the start of recording or during recording. As a result, the stable ejection performance of the recording head 34 is maintained.

Next, details of the ink cartridge 10 used in the ink jet recording apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge.
The ink cartridge 10 includes an ink bag 111 serving as a recording liquid storage unit filled with ink, and a casing 112 as an exterior for detachably storing the ink bag 111 therein. The housing 112 includes a first housing 112A and a second housing 112B that are substantially similar in outer shape divided into two parts, thereby protecting the side surface of the ink bag 111 and configuring the exterior of the ink cartridge 10. is doing.

  The ink bag 111 is formed by, for example, recording liquid (ink) on a bag body 121 having a substantially square shape (here, rectangular shape) formed by fusing the periphery of two aluminum laminate films 121a and 121b. Is provided with an ink discharge port portion 122 (to be supplied to the apparatus main body 1).

  When such a flexible ink bag 111 is stored in the housing 112, the ink bag 111 needs to be held and stored in the housing 112 so that there is little backlash. If the ribs are held by the arranged ribs, there is a possibility that the ink bag 111 may be damaged due to a concentrated load when it is dropped, and the entire housing 112 is formed to match the outer shape of the ink bag 111. Doing this complicates the housing shape.

  Therefore, in this ink cartridge 10, the side walls of the upper and lower ends of the first casing 112A and the second casing 112B constituting the casing 112 have a cross-sectional shape and at least an inner surface in a round shape (substantially arc shape in each casing). The formed round-shaped portions 123a and 123b are formed along the outer surface shape in the vicinity of the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion 124b of the ink bag 111 accommodated therein. The round-shaped portions 123a and 123b constitute a holding unit that holds a part of the ink bag 111 in contact with the surface.

  A plurality of reinforcing ribs 123e are formed between the outer surfaces of the round-shaped portions 123a and 123b on the side walls, the upper wall portion 123c, and the bottom wall portion 123d. As shown in FIG. 6, the rib 123e is formed not to protrude from the outermost surfaces of the side walls of the first casing 112A and the second casing 112B constituting the casing 112. It can function as a slipper that fits the user's hand (finger) when holding the part.

  Accordingly, even when the ink bag 111 is shaken or the ink cartridge 10 is dropped while the ink cartridge 10 is being transported, the ink bag 111 that has collided with the inner surfaces of the first casing 112A and the second casing 112B is prevented. Concentrated load does not act on the aluminum laminate films 121a and 121b of the ink bag 111, and the inner shape of the housing 112 conforms to the outer surface shape of the ink bag 111. The configuration is also simple because it is not a different shape.

  Next, the assembly structure of the housing of the ink cartridge having such a two-part structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of the ink cartridge housing in a developed state, FIG. 8 is a perspective explanatory view for explaining the assembled state, and FIG. 9 is a perspective explanatory view of the assembled state. Here, although each figure is shown in a simplified manner, portions corresponding to those in FIGS. 5 and 6 will be described using the same reference numerals.

  As described above, the casing 112 of the ink cartridge 10 is configured to be divided into the first casing 112A and the second casing 112B having substantially similar outer shapes. Here, on one side of the first housing 112A of the first housing 112A and the second housing 112B, fitting protrusions 131a, 131b, and 131c serving as fitting means (referred to as “fitting protrusion 131” if not distinguished). ), And fitting claws 132a, 132b, 132c that are fitting portions into which fitting protrusions 131a, 131b, 131c are fitted on one side corresponding to the other second casing 112B (if not distinguished, “fitting” A claw 132 "). In addition, it can also be set as the structure which provides a fitting nail | claw on the 1st housing 112A side and a fitting protrusion in the 2nd housing 112B side.

  Also, bosses 133 and 133 used for screwing are formed on the inner surface of the side wall near the side opposite to the side where the fitting protrusion 131 of the first housing 112A is provided, while the second housing 112b Through holes 134 and 134 used for screwing are formed. Further, semicircular cutout portions 135A and 135B corresponding to the ink discharge port portion 122 of the ink bag 111 described above are formed in the first housing 112A and the second housing 112B, respectively.

  Then, in order to assemble the casing 112 of the ink cartridge 10, as shown in FIG. 8, the fitting protrusions 131a, 131b, 131c of the first casing 112A are fitted to the fitting claws 132a of the corresponding second casing 112B. , 132b, 132 and the first housing 112A and the second housing 112B are closed together, and then the screws (fastening members) 113, 113 are inserted through the through holes 135B of the second housing 112B. The first casing 112A and the second casing 112B are fixed by screwing and tightening to the boss part 133 of the first casing 112A.

  The completed ink cartridge 10 with the ink bag 111 housed and held in the housing 112 is as shown in FIG. In the ink cartridge 10, information about the ink cartridge 10, for example, information such as ink color type, ink type, and expiration date is stored on the first housing 112 </ b> A side (or the second housing 112 </ b> B side). An ID chip 115 as a recording means is attached. As a result, when the ink cartridge 10 is attached to the apparatus main body 1, the information stored in the ID chip 115 can be read on the apparatus main body 1 side and necessary control can be performed.

  Thus, the housing holding the recording liquid storage means is divided into a first housing and a second housing having substantially similar outer shapes, and is fitted on one side of either of the first housing or the second housing. On the other side corresponding to the other side, there is provided a fitting part for fitting the fitting means, and the first casing and the second casing are fitted with these fitting means and the fitting part. By adopting a structure that is closed together, the housing can be assembled even in the case of a two-divided housing structure of the first housing and the second housing, and the number of parts is reduced and the assembly workability is reduced. The cost will be improved.

  Next, details of a housing structure for storing and holding the ink bag 111 in the ink cartridge 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge, and FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge. Here, each figure is shown in a simplified manner, but the same parts as those in FIGS. 5 to 9 will be described using the same reference numerals.

  As described above, the first casing 112A and the second casing 112B of the ink cartridge 10 are a part of the ink bag 111 which is a recording liquid containing means having the same inner and outer shapes and having a flexible inner surface. Round-shaped portions 123a and 123b are formed as holding means for holding the upper end portions 124a and 124b in contact with each other.

  In this manner, the necessary portions (the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion 124b in this example) of the ink bag 111 are partially formed by recessing a part of the first casing and the second casings 112A and 112B that are the exterior. The ink bag 111 can be prevented from being damaged by being held in contact with the surface.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of ribs 301 are erected and formed at portions corresponding to the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion 124b of the ink bag 111 on the inner surface side of the first casing and the second casings 112A and 112B. If the ink cartridge 10 is dropped or shaken when the ink cartridge 10 is held, the rib 301 hits the ink bag 111 due to the impact, and a concentrated load is applied and the ink bag 111 is stuck. The ink bag 110 may be damaged. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 14, if the inner surfaces of the side walls 112 a and 112 b of the first housing and the second housings 112 </ b> A and 112 </ b> B are all formed to follow the outer surface shape of the ink bag 111, the shape is complicated. At the same time, space constraints will increase, and the degree of freedom in design and production will decrease.

  On the other hand, the ink bag can be prevented from being damaged and the shape can be simplified and the space can be prevented by recessing a part of the exterior and holding the necessary part of the ink bag partly per surface. It is possible to reduce the above-mentioned restrictions, design, and lowering of manufacturing freedom.

  In this case, the inner surfaces (holding surfaces) of the round-shaped portions 123a and 123b, which are holding means, are shaped along the outer shapes of the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion 124b of the ink bag 111, so that the ink bag is more stable. 111 can be held.

  Further, the round shape portions 123a and 123b as holding means hold the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion 124b which are different portions (end portions in a direction perpendicular to the ink discharge direction) from the ink discharge port portion 122 of the ink bag 111. Therefore, the movement of the ink bag 111 in the housing 112 can be effectively suppressed.

  Furthermore, since the plurality of ribs 123e are formed on the outer surface side corresponding to the round shape portions 123a and 123b, which are holding means for the housing 112, the round shape portions 123a and 123b are not easily damaged. In this case, by forming the rib 123e so as not to protrude from the outermost surface of the housing 112, not only reinforcement but also an anti-slip effect when the ink cartridge 10 is taken in and out can be provided.

Next, details of another example of a housing structure for storing and holding the ink bag 111 in the ink cartridge 10 will be described with reference to FIG. The figure is a perspective explanatory view of a second housing of the ink cartridge. Here, each figure is shown in a simplified manner, but the same parts as those in FIGS. 5 to 11 will be described using the same reference numerals.
In this example, the inner surface as the holding means that holds the upper end portions 124a and 124b, which are part of the ink bag 111, which is a flexible recording liquid storage means, in contact with each other on the inner surface of the second housing 112B. Forms a holding part 143 having a round shape. The first housing 112A is also provided with a similar holding part 143 (not shown).

  Even in this case, as in the above-described example, the necessary portions of the ink bag 111 (the upper end portion 124a and the lower end portion in this example) are held by the holding portions 143 of the first casing and the second casings 112A and 112B which are the exteriors. 124b) can be partially held per surface, and damage to the ink bag 111 can be prevented.

FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view seen from the front side of the ink jet recording apparatus as the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view showing a state where a front cover of a cartridge loading unit of the recording apparatus is opened. It is a side schematic block diagram explaining the whole structure of the mechanism part of the apparatus. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part. 2 is an external perspective view illustrating an ink cartridge used in the apparatus. FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the same ink cartridge. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective explanatory view of a state where a housing of the ink cartridge is expanded. It is an isometric view explanatory drawing similarly used for description of an assembly | attachment state. It is a perspective explanatory view of the assembled state. 2 is a simplified external perspective view of the ink cartridge. FIG. It is an exploded perspective view similarly. It is a perspective explanatory view explaining another example of the case of the ink cartridge. It is a perspective explanatory view explaining an example of a comparative example of the casing of the ink cartridge. It is a perspective explanatory view explaining other examples of the comparative example of the case of the ink cartridge.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body 2 ... Paper feed tray 3 ... Paper discharge tray 4 ... Cartridge loading part 10k, 10c, 10m, 10y ... Ink cartridge 33 ... Carriage 34 ... Recording head 35 ... Sub tank 36 ... Ink supply tube 51 ... Conveying belt 81 ... Maintenance / recovery mechanism 111 ... Ink bag 112 ... Housing 112A ... First housing 112B ... Second housing 115 ... ID chip 122 ... Ink discharge port portion 123a, 123b ... Round shape portion (holding means)
131a-131c ... fitting protrusion 132a-132c ... fitting nail

Claims (7)

  In a recording liquid cartridge containing a recording liquid containing means for containing a recording liquid, a part of the recording liquid containing means having flexibility is brought into contact with the inner surface side of the housing holding the recording liquid containing means. A recording liquid cartridge comprising a holding means for holding the recording liquid.   2. The recording liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the holding surface of the holding means has a shape along the outer shape of the recording liquid storage means.   3. The recording liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the holding means holds the recording liquid storage means at a site different from the recording liquid discharge port of the recording liquid storage means.   4. The recording liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a rib is formed on an outer surface side of the housing corresponding to the holding means.   5. The recording liquid cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the rib does not protrude from the outermost surface of the casing.   6. The recording liquid cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a housing for holding the recording liquid storage means is divided into the first housing and the second housing having substantially similar outer shapes, and these first housings. A fitting means is provided on one side of either one of the second housing and the fitting means, and a fitting portion for fitting the fitting means is provided on the other corresponding one side. The recording liquid cartridge is characterized in that the first casing and the second casing are closed together in a state of being fitted. 8. An image forming apparatus comprising a recording head for ejecting recording liquid droplets and a recording liquid cartridge containing and holding the recording liquid supplied to the recording head, wherein the recording liquid cartridge is any one of claims 1 to 7. An image forming apparatus comprising the recording liquid cartridge according to claim 1.

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