JP2008221752A - Fluid injection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently perform trapping of bubbles while stably maintaining a trapping space, even if there is a slight fluctuation in the pressure within the trapping space, in a fluid injection device provided with the trapping space to trap the bubbles. <P>SOLUTION: A damper part 84 can be displaced in the vertical direction Y. Furthermore, an elastic part 85 is provided so as to surround the damper part 84, always urging the damper part 84 in the direction Y away from the trapping space 82. Thus, even if there is a slight fluctuation in pressure within a printing head 5, and as long as the negative pressure working to the trapping space 82 remains within the urging force (displacement starting pressure) F, the damper part 84 is not displaced, allowing the shape and volume of the trapping space 82 to be maintained as they are. As a result, even if there is a slight fluctuation in pressure within the trapping space 82, the trapping space 82 can be stably maintained, enabling efficient trapping of bubbles. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects fluid supplied from a fluid storage member via a supply passage from a fluid ejecting head, and more particularly to a technique for removing bubbles in the fluid in a part of the supply passage.

  A typical example of this type of fluid ejecting apparatus is an image recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting and landing ink droplets on a recording medium such as recording paper. In recent years, the fluid ejecting apparatus is applied not only to the image recording apparatus but also to various manufacturing apparatuses. For example, in display manufacturing devices such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, organic EL (Electro Luminescence) displays, or FEDs (surface emitting displays), various liquid materials such as coloring materials and electrodes are used to form pixel formation regions and electrodes. A fluid ejecting apparatus is used for discharging to an area or the like.

  In these fluid ejecting apparatuses, fluid stored in a fluid storing member such as an ink pack or an ink cartridge is supplied to the fluid ejecting head via a supply passage, but bubbles may be generated in the fluid. . For example, in the configuration using an ink cartridge, it is ideal that the ink supply path (supply path) from the ink introduction needle inserted into the ink cartridge to the nozzle opening of the recording head is filled with ink. In some cases, air may enter the ink flow path due to replacement of the ink, and it is difficult to completely prevent this.

  Therefore, it has been proposed to remove the bubbles by providing trap means in the ink supply path (supply path) (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a deforming member that is deformed toward the filter member by receiving a negative pressure is provided immediately above the filter member disposed in the ink supply path. A space surrounded by the deformable member and the recess in the carriage functions as a trap space, and traps bubbles in the space. When the suction pump is operated with the nozzle forming surface of the recording head sealed by the capping means and a pressure lower than the pressure in the recording head is applied, the deforming member is deformed to the filter member side. As a result, the bubbles trapped in the trap space are forcibly pushed out downstream of the filter member through the filter member, and discharged from the recording head together with the ink (cleaning operation).

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-18419 (FIG. 3)

  By the way, in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, the trap space is formed by disposing the deformable member immediately above the filter member, and the deformable member becomes the filter member even if the pressure in the trap space slightly varies. It will be deformed to the side or the opposite side. For this reason, it is difficult to stably maintain the shape and volume of the trap space other than when the trapped bubble is discharged (during cleaning), that is, while the bubble trap process is required. As a result, there are cases in which it is not possible to trap bubbles well.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a fluid ejecting apparatus provided with a trap space for trapping bubbles, the trap space can be stably maintained even if the pressure in the trap space slightly varies. The purpose is to trap bubbles well.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a fluid storage member that stores fluid, a fluid ejection head that ejects fluid supplied from the fluid storage member via a supply passage, and a trap space provided in the supply passage. Trap means for trapping bubbles generated in the fluid, and the trap means has a partition wall that defines the trap space, and a part of the partition wall is a movable displacement portion, and the pressure in the fluid ejecting head When the lower pressure is applied from the outside of the fluid ejecting head, the movable displacement portion is displaced toward the inside of the trap space and the volume of the trap space is reduced. It has an operating pressure determination unit that determines a displacement start pressure at which the displacement of the movable displacement unit starts.

  In the fluid ejecting apparatus configured as described above, a part of the partition wall that defines the trap space is a movable displacement portion, and bubbles trapped in the trap space are discharged from the fluid ejecting head as necessary. That is, in this discharge process (cleaning process), a pressure lower than the pressure in the fluid ejecting head is applied from the outside of the fluid ejecting head, thereby increasing the negative pressure applied to the trap space, and the movable displacement portion becomes the trap space. Displaces toward the inside of the. As a result, the volume of the trap space is reduced, and the bubbles trapped in the trap space are sent to the fluid ejecting head, and discharged together with the fluid from the fluid ejecting head. However, in the present invention, the displacement start pressure is set by the operating pressure determination unit. This displacement start pressure means a negative pressure required to start the displacement of the movable displacement portion to the inside of the trap space, and acts on the trap space even if the pressure in the fluid ejecting head fluctuates somewhat. Unless the negative pressure becomes larger than the displacement start pressure, the movable displacement portion is not displaced, and the shape and volume of the trap space are maintained. As a result, even if the pressure in the trap space slightly fluctuates, the trap space can be stably maintained and air bubbles can be trapped satisfactorily.

  Here, for example, the following modes can be used as the operating pressure determination unit. A 1st aspect provides an elastic part in a partition wall, and makes this elastic part function as an operating pressure determination part. That is, if the elastic portion is provided adjacent to the movable displacement portion and urges the movable displacement portion in a direction away from the trap space, a negative pressure larger than the urging force generated in the elastic portion is applied to the trap space. As a result, the volume of the trap space is reduced. On the other hand, while the negative pressure applied to the trap space is less than the urging force generated in the elastic portion, the displacement of the movable displacement portion is restricted, and the shape and volume of the trap space are maintained. As described above, according to the first aspect, the movable displacement portion and the operating pressure determination portion can be configured as the constituent portions of the partition wall, and the above object can be achieved reasonably with a small number of parts. In addition, the movable displacement portion and the operating pressure determination portion can be configured integrally.

  Moreover, you may comprise so that a trap means may have an urging | biasing part as an operating pressure determination part (2nd aspect of an operating pressure determination part). More specifically, the biasing portion is connected to the movable displacement portion, and the biasing portion biases the movable displacement portion in a direction away from the trap space, whereby the biasing portion is given to the movable displacement portion. The trap space is reduced by applying a negative pressure larger than the force to the trap space. On the other hand, while the negative pressure applied to the trap space falls below the urging force, the displacement of the movable displacement portion is restricted, and the shape and volume of the trap space are maintained. Thus, since the operating pressure determination part is comprised by the urging | biasing part, the said urging | biasing force can be set to a desired value correctly and easily by setting the structure of an urging | biasing part appropriately. . In addition, although the arrangement position of the urging portion is not particularly limited, the arrangement of the urging portion in the trap space works advantageously in reducing the size of the apparatus.

  By the way, in this kind of apparatus, in order to remove the foreign material in the fluid, a filter is often arranged in the trap space. In this case, the movable displacement portion is disposed on the upstream side of the filter in the fluid supply direction and opposite to the filter, and is displaced toward the filter when a negative pressure larger than the displacement start pressure is applied to the trap space. You may comprise. By adopting such a configuration, the bubbles trapped in the trap space are pressed against the filter with the displacement of the movable displacement portion, and efficiently pass through the filter and are pushed downstream in the supply direction. As a result, bubbles can be efficiently discharged together with the fluid.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink jet printer which is an embodiment of a fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of the carriage. 3 is a sectional view of the carriage shown in FIG. The ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) 1 includes a housing 2 and a platen 3 disposed in the housing 2. In the printer 1, the recording paper RM is conveyed onto the platen 3 by a paper feed roller that is rotated by driving a paper feed motor. A guide rod 41 and a guide plate 42 are installed in the housing 2 in parallel with the platen 3. A rear portion of the carriage 6 equipped with the recording head 5 is slidably supported by the guide rod 41. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a rotation preventing member 61 protrudes forward (to the left hand direction in the figure) at the front portion of the carriage 6, and the rotation preventing member 61 is caused by the weight of the carriage 6. It is slidable while being in contact with the upper surface of the guide plate 42. Then, when the drive motor such as a pulse motor is operated, the carriage 6 reciprocates along the guide rod 41 in the main scanning direction X orthogonal to the paper feeding direction. In this embodiment, the guide plate 42 is provided in order to prevent the carriage 6 from rotating with respect to the guide rod 41 when the carriage 6 reciprocates.

A home position is set on one side of the main scanning direction X (lower right side in FIG. 1). This home position is a non-recording area (non-ejection range), and a capping mechanism 12 is provided.
As shown in FIG. 3, the capping mechanism 12 has a tray-like cap member 121 that can come into contact with the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 5. In the capping mechanism 12, the space 122 in the cap member 121 functions as a sealing void, and the nozzle opening (not shown) of the recording head 5 faces the nozzle forming surface in the sealing void. It is configured to be possible. In addition, a pump unit 13 having a suction pump is connected to the capping mechanism 12, and the inside of the sealing empty part 122 can be made negative pressure by the operation of the pump unit 13. For this reason, when the pump unit 13 is operated in close contact with the nozzle formation surface and the inside of the sealing empty portion (sealed space) 122 is negatively pressured, the ink in the recording head 5 is sucked from the nozzle opening and the cap member 121. It is discharged into the sealing empty portion 122 of the. That is, the capping mechanism 12 is configured to perform a cleaning operation for forcibly sucking and discharging ink and bubbles by generating an ink flow in the recording head 5 (in the ink flow path) at a flow rate several times that during the recording operation. It has become.

  In this embodiment, the upper surface of the carriage 6 is a cartridge holder, and ink packs of a plurality of colors (four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in this embodiment) are incorporated as shown in FIG. An ink cartridge 7 can be mounted. That is, this embodiment is a so-called on-carriage type printer 1, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, four ink introduction needles 621 to 624 (liquid introduction needles) are provided on the rear surface of the carriage 6. Stands upward. When the ink cartridge 7 is attached to the cartridge holder, the ink introduction needle is inserted into each ink pack. As a result, the ink stored in the ink pack in the ink cartridge 7 can be supplied to the carriage 6 via the ink introduction needles 621 to 624.

  Lower portions of the ink introduction needles 621 to 624 are connected to the ink pressure adjustment unit 64 via the ink introduction path 63. In this embodiment, a total of four ink pressure adjustment units 64 are provided at substantially the center of the carriage 6 in correspondence with each ink pack (each color). Each ink pressure adjustment unit 64 has a self-sealing function that controls the introduction of ink into the recording head 5 by opening and closing the valve 641 according to the internal pressure fluctuation. That is, in a non-recording state where the recording head 5 does not eject ink droplets (a state where ink is not consumed), the ink pressure adjustment unit 64 closes the valve 641 to restrict ink introduction to the recording head 5 side. On the other hand, when the recording head 5 discharges ink droplets during the recording operation (discharge operation) and the ink is consumed and the pressure inside the ink pressure adjustment unit 64 decreases, the ink pressure adjustment unit 64 opens the valve 641 to perform recording. Ink can be introduced into the head 5 side. Therefore, the ink pressure adjusting unit 64 can control the ink introduction to the recording head 5 side as described above, thereby reducing the amount of change in the ink pressure as much as possible and stabilizing the ink droplet ejection state. . That is, the ink pressure adjustment unit 64 has a function of adjusting the pressure of ink introduced to the recording head 5 side.

  The ink flowing out from the ink pressure adjusting unit 64 flows along the predetermined supply path SP and is introduced into the recording head 5, but before reaching the recording head 5, the front portion of the carriage 6 (the left-hand side in FIG. 3). Via the trap unit 8 provided in the area). The trap unit 8 corresponds to the “trap means” of the present invention, and has a trap space 82 surrounded by a partition wall 81. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the partition wall 81 includes a conical recess 83 that opens upward at the front portion of the carriage 6, a damper portion 84 that is formed in a disk shape from rubber, elastomer, or the like, And an elastic portion 85 provided so as to surround the damper portion 84, and a space surrounded by these components is a trap space 82. Air bubbles in the ink are trapped in the trap space 82.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a lateral groove into which the flange portion 851 of the elastic portion 85 can be inserted or press-fitted is formed in the protrusion 86 protruding upward from the lateral periphery of the conical recess 83. For this reason, by inserting or press-fitting the flange portion 851 into the lateral groove, the elastic portion 85 is mounted on the carriage 6 while being curved upward, and the damper portion 84 is biased in the direction Y away from the trap space 82 by a biasing force F ( Energize in Fig. 5). In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the four-color damper portion 84 and the elastic portion 85 are integrally formed and finished into a sheet shape extending in the main scanning direction X. Then, this sheet-shaped integrally molded product (damper portion 84 and elastic portion 85) SH is set at the front upper portion of the carriage 6, and a pressing plate 87 having an opening 871 is mounted at a position corresponding to each damper portion 84. After being placed, the integrally molded product is firmly fixed in a state where the carriage 6 and the pressing plate 87 are sandwiched by a plurality of (in this embodiment, ten) screws 88. As described above, in this embodiment, since the integrally molded product in which the damper portion 84 and the elastic portion 85 of all colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) are integrally molded is used, the following effects are obtained. Obtainable. That is, the damper portion 84 and the elastic portion 85 may be fixed to the carriage 6 for each color or every two colors, but in this case, it is necessary to perform positioning / attachment work for each color or every two colors. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, positioning and attachment can be performed by one operation, which is excellent in terms of work efficiency. Further, since the damper portions 84 and the elastic portions 85 of all colors are integrally formed, the relative positional relationship between them can be made with high accuracy, and the accuracy is also excellent.

  In addition, the filter 9 is disposed inside the trap space 82 configured as described above, so that foreign matters in the ink can be removed. Further, the positional relationship between the filter 9 and the damper portion 84 in the present embodiment is set as follows. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the damper portion 84 is positioned upstream of the filter 9 and in the upward direction Y in the ink supply direction (one-dot chain arrow SP in the same figure). Further, the bottom surface of the damper portion 84, that is, the surface facing the trap space 82 is arranged substantially parallel to the filter 9. Further, a lead-out hole 89 connected to the recording head 5 is formed on the downstream side of the filter 9, that is, on the lower portion of the conical recess 83. Then, the ink that has passed through the filter 9 is supplied to the recording head 5 through the outlet hole 89.

  FIG. 5 is a view showing the operation of the damper portion in the apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the negative pressure applied to the trap space and the amount of displacement of the damper portion. Hereinafter, the operation of the trap unit 8 configured as described above will be described with reference to these drawings. In this embodiment, the damper part 84 is supported by the elastic part 85 provided adjacently, and can be displaced in the up-down direction Y. Further, the damper portion 84 is biased in the direction Y away from the trap space 82 by receiving the biasing force F generated by the elastic portion 85. Therefore, even if a negative pressure is applied to the trap space 82 as shown in FIG. 6 while the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 is lower than the urging force F generated by the elastic portion 85, the trap space 82 is affected. However, the initial assembly state (FIG. 5A) is maintained. When the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 increases and exceeds the urging force F, the amount of downward displacement of the damper portion 84 increases in accordance with the negative pressure. That is, in this embodiment, the urging force F generated by the elastic portion 85 is the minimum negative pressure required for the damper portion 84 to be displaced toward the inside of the trap space 82, and the “displacement start pressure” of the present invention. It corresponds to.

  Therefore, during the normal ink ejection operation (printing operation), the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 is smaller than the displacement start pressure F as shown in FIG. It is in a state. Even if the pressure in the trap space 82 slightly fluctuates, the trap space 82 can be stably maintained and air bubbles can be trapped satisfactorily. On the other hand, when discharging the trapped bubbles, after the carriage 6 is moved to the home position, the cap member 121 comes into close contact with the nozzle forming surface with the nozzle opening (not shown) of the recording head 5 facing (see FIG. (See FIG. 3). Then, the pump unit 13 operates in a close contact state with the nozzle formation surface, and the inside of the sealing empty portion (sealed space) 122 is made negative, so that a pressure lower than the pressure in the recording head 5 is applied to the outside of the recording head 5. Given more. As a result, a negative pressure greater than the displacement start pressure F is applied to the trap space 82 connected to the recording head 5, and the damper portion 84 is displaced toward the inside of the trap space 82 to reduce the volume of the trap space 82. (FIG. 5B). As a result, the bubbles trapped in the trap space 82 are discharged together with the ink through the filter 9, the lead-out hole 89, and the recording head 5 (cleaning operation).

  When the discharge of bubbles is completed in this way, the operation of the pump unit 13 is stopped and the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 is made smaller than the displacement start pressure. Due to this pressure fluctuation, the damper portion 84 is quickly returned to the original state by the urging force F of the elastic portion 85 (FIG. 5A).

  As described above, in this embodiment, the damper portion 84 as one component for defining the trap space 82 can be displaced in the vertical direction Y and functions as the “movable displacement portion” of the present invention. . Then, by performing the above-described cleaning operation (discharge process), the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 becomes larger than the displacement start pressure, and the damper portion 84 is displaced toward the inside of the trap space 82. As a result, the volume of the trap space 82 is reduced, and the bubbles trapped in the trap space 82 are discharged to the outside together with the ink.

  On the other hand, when the cleaning operation is not performed, the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 is smaller than the displacement start pressure F, and a state where a wide trap space 82 is formed, that is, an initial state (FIGS. 3 and 5A). In this state, the bubbles in the ink can be trapped effectively. In addition, since the urging force F from the elastic portion 85 is constantly applied to the damper portion 84, even if the pressure in the recording head 5 fluctuates somewhat, the negative pressure acting on the trap space 82 is urged (starting displacement). Unless the pressure is greater than F), the damper portion 84 is not displaced, and the shape and volume of the trap space 82 are maintained. As a result, even if the pressure in the trap space 82 slightly fluctuates, the trap space 82 can be stably maintained and air bubbles can be trapped satisfactorily.

  Further, in this embodiment, the damper portion 84 that functions as the movable displacement portion is finished to a thick structure, while the elastic portion 85 is finished to a thin structure that is thinner than the damper portion 84. For this reason, the shape of the trap space 82 can be stably maintained even in the initial state (FIGS. 3 and 5A) and during or after the displacement is completed (FIG. 5B). Further, the bottom surface of the damper portion 84, that is, the surface facing the trap space 82 is arranged substantially parallel to the filter 9. Therefore, the damper portion 84 is displaced toward the filter 9 while maintaining the parallel relationship. As a result, the trapped bubbles can be pushed evenly toward the filter 9 to effectively prevent the bubbles from remaining in the trap space 82 during the cleaning operation. In addition, it is not an indispensable component requirement of this invention to make the damper part 84 into a thick structure. For example, while the damper portion 84 is finished with the same thickness as the elastic portion 85, a plate-like member such as a backup plate or a reinforcing plate is attached to the upper surface of the damper portion 84, that is, the surface opposite to the surface facing the trap space 82. You may comprise so that a deformation | transformation of the part 84 may be prevented.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the urging force F is applied to the damper portion 84 by providing the elastic portion 85 adjacent to the damper portion 84. That is, the elastic portion 85 functions as an operating pressure determining portion that determines the displacement start pressure F at which the damper portion 84 (movable displacement portion) starts to be displaced into the trap space. However, the operating pressure determining unit is not limited to this, and the entire configuration that applies the urging force F to the damper unit 84 can be used as the “operating pressure determining unit” of the present invention. For example, an urging portion may be arranged in the trap space 82 as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing another embodiment of the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention. The point that this embodiment greatly differs from the previous embodiment is the configuration of the trap unit 8, and the other configuration is the same as the previous embodiment. Therefore, in the following description, differences will be mainly described.

  In this embodiment, the damper portion 84 is formed of a thin elastic sheet such as a rubber sheet or an elastomer sheet. This thin elastic sheet is fixed to the carriage 6 in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. That is, a thin elastic sheet is set in front of the upper surface of the carriage 6, and a pressing plate 87 having an opening 871 is placed at a position corresponding to each damper portion 84. The thin elastic sheet is sandwiched between the pressing plate 87 and firmly fixed. For this reason, a portion corresponding to the opening 871, that is, a sheet region corresponding to the damper portion 84 can be displaced in the vertical direction Y.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a spring fixing plate 841 is attached to a surface of the damper portion 84 that faces the trap space 82. A biasing portion 80 is connected between the upper flange portion of the conical recess 83 and the spring fixing plate 841 to bias the damper portion 84 in the upward direction Y with a biasing force F. As described above, in this embodiment, the urging portion 80 is disposed in the trap space 82. For this reason, the apparatus can be made to be a Compaq.

  Also in the embodiment configured as described above, similarly to the previous embodiment, when the cleaning operation is not performed, the negative pressure applied to the trap space 82 is smaller than the displacement start pressure, and a wide trap space 82 is formed. In other words, it is in the initial state (the state shown in FIG. 7), and the bubbles in the ink can be effectively trapped. In addition, since the urging force F from the urging unit 80 is constantly applied to the damper portion 84, even if the pressure in the recording head 5 fluctuates somewhat, the negative pressure acting on the trap space 82 is urged (displaced). As long as it does not become larger than the starting pressure (F), the damper portion 84 is not displaced, and the shape and volume of the trap space 82 are maintained. As a result, even if the pressure in the trap space 82 slightly fluctuates, the trap space 82 can be stably maintained and air bubbles can be trapped satisfactorily.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the ink is circulated as it is from the ink introduction path 63 to the ink pressure adjustment unit 64, but the flow path resistance is variable in the ink introduction path 63 as in the apparatus described in Patent Document 1. The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus provided with resistance variable means, an apparatus in which a valve such as an open / close valve is arranged in the ink introduction path 63, and the like. In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the so-called on-carriage printer 1, but the application target of the present invention is not limited to this, and an ink pack and a carriage in the ink cartridge are supplied. The present invention can also be applied to an off-carriage printer that is connected by a tube or the like and supplies ink from the ink pack to the carriage side.

  Furthermore, the application target of the present invention is not limited to the printer 1 but can be applied to a fluid ejecting apparatus such as a display manufacturing apparatus, an electrode manufacturing apparatus, a chip manufacturing apparatus, and a micropipette. In other words, the fluid ejecting apparatus ejects the fluid supplied from the fluid storage member through the supply passage from the fluid ejecting head, and the apparatus is generally provided with trap means for removing bubbles generated in the fluid in a part of the supply passage. On the other hand, the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a printer that is an embodiment of a fluid ejecting apparatus of the invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of a carriage in the apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the carriage shown in FIG. 2. The figure which shows the structure of a damper part and an elastic part. The figure which shows operation | movement of the damper part in the apparatus shown in FIG. The graph which shows the relationship between the negative pressure provided to a trap space, and the displacement amount of a damper part. FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged view of a carriage in another embodiment of the fluid ejecting apparatus of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer (fluid ejecting apparatus), 5 ... Recording head (fluid ejecting head), 6 ... Carriage, 7 ... Ink cartridge (fluid storage member), 8 ... Trap unit (trap means), 9 ... Filter, 80 ... Energizing Part (operating pressure determining part), 81 ... partition wall, 82 ... trap space, 83 ... conical recess, 84 ... damper part (movable displacement part), 85 ... elastic part (operating pressure determining part), F ... biasing force ( Displacement start pressure), SP ... Supply path

Claims (5)

A fluid storage member for storing fluid;
A fluid ejecting head that ejects fluid supplied from the fluid storage member via a supply passage;
Trap means for trapping bubbles generated in the fluid in a trap space provided in the supply passage;
The trap means has a partition wall that defines the trap space, a part of the partition wall is a movable displacement portion, and a pressure lower than the pressure in the fluid ejecting head is applied from outside the fluid ejecting head. The movable displacement portion is displaced toward the inside of the trap space by being given, and the volume of the trap space is reduced,
The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trap means includes an operating pressure determination unit that determines a displacement start pressure at which the displacement of the movable displacement unit into the trap space starts.   The partition wall has an elastic portion provided adjacent to the movable displacement portion and urges the movable displacement portion in a direction away from the trap space as the operating pressure determining portion, and is generated at the elastic portion. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trap space is reduced in volume by applying a negative pressure larger than an urging force to the trap space.   The trap means has an urging portion that is connected to the movable displacement portion and urges the movable displacement portion in a direction away from the trap space as the operating pressure determining portion, and is generated by the urging portion. The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the trap space is reduced in volume by applying a negative pressure larger than an urging force to the trap space.   The fluid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the urging portion is disposed in the trap space. The fluid ejection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a filter disposed in the trap space to remove foreign matter in the fluid.
The movable displacement portion is arranged on the upstream side of the filter in the supply direction of the fluid and opposite to the filter, and a negative pressure larger than the displacement start pressure is applied to the trap space so as to face the filter. Displacement fluid ejector.

Images