JP2009051050A - Liquid supplying device, printing apparatus and medium processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid supplying device which can make a pressure of each of channels almost equal in the case of supplying a liquid to a liquid ejection head individually from a plurality of liquid storage parts, and to provide a printing apparatus and a medium processing apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: An ink supplying mechanism 60 is the device which supplies the liquid to an inkjet head 61 by a supplying part 101 prepared individually to each of a plurality of ink cartridges 12. Each of a plurality of the supplying parts 101 is equipped with the channel 102 which connects the ink cartridge 12 with the inkjet head 61, a pump 103 which is installed in a piping 102 as the channel and supplies the ink of the ink cartridge 12 towards the inkjet head 61, and a pressure sensor 105 which is set in the piping 102 and detects a pressure of the downstream side from the pump 103. Supply of the pump 103 is individually controlled on the basis of the detection result of the pressure sensor 105. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus, a printing apparatus, and a media processing apparatus that supply liquid to a liquid discharge head such as an ink jet printer.

  For example, in an ink supply device such as a printer (printing device) that prints on a label surface of a medium (information recording medium) such as paper or a CD (Compact Disc) or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a plurality of ink cartridges are used. Ink is supplied to the inkjet head. As such an ink supply device, there is known an apparatus that supplies compressed air into a plurality of ink cartridges, pressurizes them, and sends out ink from an ink bag in each ink cartridge.

  There is also known an ink jet printer that supplies ink to an ink jet head by a pump individually provided in each of ink supply systems of a plurality of ink cartridges (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-188864

By the way, in the configuration having an independent ink supply channel for each ink from a plurality of ink cartridges to the print head, the length difference or shape difference of the channel supplying each ink, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge It is preferable to keep the pressure in all the flow paths uniform due to the difference in water head, etc., but for example, when performing suction cleaning for sucking out thickened ink or residual bubbles from the ink nozzles of the print head, The amount of consumption tends to vary.
Therefore, for example, when an ink consumption counter that calculates ink consumption and counts ink consumption is provided, it is necessary to include the aforementioned variation in the estimated consumption (for example, about + 10%). The accuracy of the ink consumption counter was not sufficiently good.

  Therefore, when it is determined that the ink in the ink cartridge is in shortage based on the value of the ink consumption counter and the ink cartridge is replaced according to a message prompting replacement, the ink actually actually remains in the ink cartridge. There may be. In this case, a lot of ink is wasted and the running cost is increased, and the residual ink processing during the ink cartridge recovery processing is also increased.

  Also, since the value of the waste ink counter that counts the amount of waste ink due to suction cleaning is added more than the actual amount, the absorbing material that absorbs and holds the waste ink must also be provided in a larger size than is actually necessary. Incurs an increase in cost.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid supply device, a printing device, and a media processing device that can substantially equalize the pressure in each flow path when supplying liquid from a plurality of liquid storage units individually to a liquid discharge head. To provide an apparatus.

A liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems is a liquid supply apparatus that supplies liquid to a liquid discharge head by a supply unit provided individually for each of a plurality of liquid storage units,
Each of the plurality of supply units includes a flow path that connects the liquid storage unit and the liquid discharge head, and a pump that is provided in the flow path and supplies the liquid storage unit toward the liquid discharge head. A pressure sensor that is provided in the flow path and detects a pressure downstream of the pump;
The driving of the pump is individually controlled based on the detection result of the pressure sensor.

According to the liquid supply apparatus having this configuration, the supply units individually provided in each of the plurality of liquid storage units are based on the detection result of the pressure sensor provided in the flow path connecting the liquid storage unit and the liquid discharge head. Since the liquid supply by the pump is individually controlled, the pressure in each flow path can be made substantially uniform.
Therefore, since the variation of the consumption amount for each liquid can be suppressed during cleaning or the like, the accuracy of the liquid consumption counter for calculating the consumption amount of the liquid can be sufficiently improved. As a result, it is almost impossible to request replacement of the liquid storage part even though the liquid remains in the liquid storage part, so that the running cost can be reduced and the processing of the residual liquid during the recovery process of the liquid storage part is reduced. can do.

  In the liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that the pumps of the plurality of supply units are driven by a common drive source.

  According to the liquid supply apparatus having this configuration, since the plurality of pumps are driven by a common drive source, the manufacturing cost of the liquid supply apparatus can be reduced.

  In the liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that each of the pumps of the plurality of supply units is provided with a clutch capable of transmitting and releasing the driving force of the driving source.

  According to the liquid supply device of this configuration, even if a plurality of pumps are driven by a common drive source, the supply of liquid from each pump is individually controlled by the clutch based on the detection result of the pressure sensor, and each flow path The pressure can be made almost uniform.

  In the liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention, a variable volume buffer capable of maintaining a constant pressure and an on-off valve are provided downstream of the pump in each of the flow paths of the plurality of supply units. Is preferred.

  According to this configuration, even if a plurality of pumps are driven by a common drive source, the supply pressure from each pump can be made substantially equal by each buffer, and thereafter, each on-off valve is individually controlled. The pressure in each flow path can be maintained almost evenly.

In addition, a liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems is a liquid supply apparatus that supplies liquid to a liquid discharge head by a supply unit that is individually provided for each of a plurality of liquid storage units. And
Each of the plurality of supply units includes a flow path that connects the liquid storage unit and the liquid discharge head, and a pump that is provided in the flow path and supplies the liquid storage unit toward the liquid discharge head. A pressure sensor that is provided in the flow path and detects a pressure downstream from the pump; and a variable volume buffer that is provided in the flow path and can maintain a constant pressure downstream from the pump;
The pumps of the plurality of supply units are driven by a common drive source, and the drive of the drive source is controlled based on the detection result of the pressure sensor.

According to the liquid supply apparatus having this configuration, each pump of the supply unit provided individually for each of the plurality of liquid storage units is driven by a common drive source. Supply pressure, that is, the pressure in each flow path can be maintained almost evenly in each buffer. In addition, after the pressures of the respective channels are almost equalized by all the buffers, the driving source can be stopped to maintain the pressures of the respective channels evenly.
Therefore, since the variation of the consumption amount for each liquid can be suppressed during cleaning or the like, the accuracy of the liquid consumption counter for calculating the consumption amount of the liquid can be sufficiently improved. As a result, it is almost impossible to request replacement of the liquid storage part even though the liquid remains in the liquid storage part, so that the running cost can be reduced and the processing of the residual liquid during the recovery process of the liquid storage part is reduced. can do.

  The printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs a printing process on a printing material by ejecting ink from a liquid ejection head, and is an apparatus that supplies ink to the liquid ejection head. Any one of such liquid supply devices is provided.

  According to the printing apparatus having this configuration, since the accuracy of the ink consumption counter that calculates the ink consumption can be sufficiently improved, the replacement of the liquid reservoir is requested even though the ink remains in the liquid reservoir. In this case, the running cost can be reduced as much as possible by minimizing the waste of ink when replacing the liquid reservoir. Further, since ink can be supplied at a constant pressure, a printing apparatus with high cleaning and printing processing accuracy can be obtained.

  A media processing apparatus according to the present invention is a media processing apparatus that performs information processing on a plate-shaped medium, and includes the above-described printing apparatus according to the present invention.

  According to the media processing apparatus having this configuration, it is possible to suppress waste of ink when replacing the liquid storage portion as much as possible, and to perform printing processing on the media with high quality.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of a liquid supply apparatus, a printing apparatus, and a media processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the present embodiment, a case where the liquid supply apparatus is applied to a printing apparatus and incorporated in a media processing apparatus formed by a publisher will be described as an example.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a publisher with each part closed, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the publisher with each part open, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a label printer portion installed in the publisher.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a publisher 1 is a media processing apparatus that writes data on a disk-shaped medium such as a CD or DVD and prints on a label surface of the medium. I have. Opening and closing doors 3 and 4 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front of the case 2. An operation surface 5 on which display lamps, operation buttons, and the like are arranged is provided at the upper left end portion of the case 2, and a mounting leg portion 6 is provided at the lower end of the case 2 so as to protrude downward. Are provided on both the left and right sides. A drawer mechanism 7 is provided at a position between the left and right legs 6.

As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing door 3 on the right side of the front view opens and closes the opening 8 on the front side of the publisher 1. For example, when setting an unused (blank) medium M through the opening 8. Alternatively, it is a door that opens and closes when the created medium M is taken out through the opening 8.
Moreover, the opening / closing door 4 on the left side when viewed from the front is for opening and closing when the ink cartridge (liquid storage unit) 12 of the label printer (printing apparatus) 11 shown in FIG. 3 is replaced. A cartridge mounting portion 14 having a plurality of cartridge holders 13 arranged in the vertical direction is exposed.

  Inside the case 2 of the publisher 1, there are a media stacker 21 as a media storage unit capable of stacking a plurality of (for example, 50) unused media M for which data writing processing has not been performed, and a plurality of (for example, 50) Sheets of unused media M or a media stacker 22 as a media storage unit in which the created media M are stored are arranged vertically so that the central axes of the media M are the same. Each of the media stacker 21 and the media stacker 22 is detachable from a predetermined position.

  The upper media stacker 21 is provided with a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 24 and 25, thereby allowing the media M to be received from the upper side and accommodated in a coaxially stacked state. The operation of accommodating or replenishing the media M in the media stacker 21 can be easily performed by opening the door 3 and taking out the media stacker 21.

  The lower media stacker 22 also has the same structure, and includes a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 27 and 28, thereby constituting a stacker that can receive the media M from the upper side and can be accommodated in a coaxially stacked state. Has been.

  A media transport mechanism 31 is disposed behind the media stacker 21 and the media stacker 22. The media transport mechanism 31 has a vertical guide shaft 35 that is vertically spanned between the main body frame 30 and the top plate 33 of the chassis 32. A transport arm 36 is supported on the vertical guide shaft 35 in a state where it can be raised and lowered and turned. The transport arm 36 can be moved up and down along the vertical guide shaft 35 by a drive motor 37 and can be swung left and right about the vertical guide shaft 35.

Two media drives 41 stacked one above the other are disposed behind the upper and lower stackers 21 and 22 and the media transport mechanism 31, and a carriage 62 (to be described later) of the label printer 11 is disposed below these media drives 41. It is arranged to be movable.
The media drive 41 has media trays 41a that can move between a data writing position on the media M and a media delivery position for receiving and delivering the media M, respectively.

  Further, the label printer 11 has a media tray 45 that is movable between a print position where label printing can be performed on the label surface of the medium M and a medium delivery position where the medium M is received and delivered.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the media tray 41a of the upper and lower media drives 41 is pulled out to the front and is in the media delivery position, and a state in which the media tray 45 of the lower label printer 11 is in the media delivery position on the front side. Yes. The label printer 11 is an ink jet printer, and an ink cartridge 12 of each color (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta in this embodiment) is used as an ink supply mechanism 60 that is a liquid supply device. These ink cartridges 12 are mounted on the cartridge holders 13 of the cartridge mounting portion 14 from the front.

  Here, a gap is formed between the pair of left and right frame plates 24 and 25 of the media stacker 21 and between the pair of left and right frame plates 27 and 28 of the media stacker 22 so that the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 can move up and down. Has been. Further, a gap is opened between the upper and lower media stackers 21 and the media stacker 22 so that the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 pivots horizontally and can be positioned directly above the media stacker 22. Further, when both the media trays 41a are pushed into the media drive 41, the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 is lowered to access the media tray 45 at the media delivery position.

  The transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 is further below the height position of the media tray 45 with both media trays 41a positioned at the data writing position and the media tray 45 positioned at the back printing position. It is possible to descend to. Below the media delivery position of the media tray 45, there is a guide hole through which the transport arm 36 descends to this position and through which the released medium M passes, and a guide hole 65 into which a media stacker described later is mounted. Is formed.

The drawer mechanism 7 has a drawer tray 70 that can be pulled out from the main body frame 30 to be opened and housed and closed under the main body frame 30. The drawer tray 70 is provided with a stacker portion 71 that is recessed downward. When the drawer tray 70 is in the storage position (closed position), the stacker unit 71 is positioned below the guide hole 65, and the center of the stacker unit 71 is the center of the media tray 41a and the media tray 45 at the delivery position. The axes are positioned so as to be the same. The stacker unit 71 receives the medium M inserted through the guide hole 65 and accommodates the medium M in a relatively small amount (for example, about 5 to 10 sheets). The stacker unit 71 can receive the medium M from above and can be accommodated in a state of being stacked coaxially.
When the medium M accommodated in the stacker unit 71 is taken out, the operator pulls out the drawer tray 70 from the main body frame 30 by placing a finger on the latching unit 200 (see FIG. 2) provided on the front surface of the drawer tray 70.

  A tray storage sensor 186 that detects the drawer tray 70 in the storage position is provided on the rear side of the guide hole 65. The tray storage sensor 186 contacts the step 147 formed on the drawer tray 70 when the drawer tray 70 is in the storage position and is turned on. When the drawer tray 70 is in the drawer position pulled out from the storage position, the tray storage sensor 186 It leaves | separates from the part 147 and will be in an OFF state. That is, the tray storage sensor 186 detects whether the drawer tray 70 is in the storage position (closed position) with respect to the guide hole 65 or is in the extraction state (open state) with respect to the guide hole 65. And a detection result is output to a control part (illustration omitted).

  A media stacker 72 having a larger amount of media M than the stacker unit 71 can be attached to and detached from the stacker unit 71 and the guide hole 65 of the drawer tray 70 in the stored state (see FIG. 3). The media stacker 72 also includes a pair of arc-shaped frame plates 73 and 74, which allows the media M to be received from above and accommodate a plurality of sheets (for example, 50 sheets) in a coaxially stacked state. . A gap is formed between the pair of arcuate frame plates 73 and 74 so that the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 can be moved up and down. In addition, a handle 75 that is gripped by the user at the time of attachment / detachment is provided on the upper portion of one frame plate 74.

If the media stacker 72 is attached, the unused media M is taken out from the upper media stacker 21, recorded and printed by the media drive 41 and the label printer 11, and then stored in the media stacker 72. be able to.
In addition, for example, the upper media stacker 21 and the lower media stacker 22 are loaded with the maximum number of unused media M (50 sheets + 50 sheets), respectively, and the total number of lower media stackers 22 (50 sheets). ) Media M are sequentially processed and accommodated in the media stacker 72. Next, the entire media stacker 21 of the upper media stacker 21 (50 sheets) is sequentially processed to form an empty lower media stacker 22 To house. In this way, the maximum number of sheets (50 sheets + 50 sheets) of media M in the upper media stacker 21 and the lower media stacker 22 is processed at once (batch processing mode).

  Further, if the media stacker 72 is removed, the unused media M is taken out from the upper media stacker 21 or the lower media stacker 22, and data recording and printing are performed by the media drive 41 and the label printer 11. It can be accommodated in the stacker portion 71 of the drawer tray 70 in the accommodated state.

  As a result, the completed medium M can be taken out of the stacker unit 71 by pulling out the drawer tray 70. That is, even during processing on the medium M, it is possible to take out one sheet or a plurality of sheets at a time from the completed medium M with the open / close door 3 closed (external discharge mode).

  Here, by the combined operation of raising and lowering the transport arm 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 and turning to the left and right, the media M includes the media stacker 21, the media stacker 22, the stacker unit 71 (or the media stacker 72) of the drawer tray 70, It is appropriately conveyed between the media tray 41a of the media drive 41 and the media tray 45 of the label printer 11.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the label printer 11 is provided with a carriage 62 having an ink jet head 61 provided with ink ejection nozzles (not shown). The carriage 62 is moved to the carriage guide shaft by the driving force of the carriage motor. And reciprocates horizontally (not shown).

  The label printer 11 includes an ink supply mechanism (liquid supply device) 60 having a cartridge mounting portion 14 to which the ink cartridge 12 is mounted. The ink supply mechanism 60 has a vertical structure and is erected on the main body frame 30 of the publisher 1 and arranged in the vertical direction. One end of a flexible ink supply tube 63 is connected to the ink supply mechanism 60, and the other end of the ink supply tube 63 is connected to a carriage 62.

Then, the ink (liquid) of the ink cartridge 12 mounted on the ink supply mechanism 60 is supplied to the carriage 62 via the ink supply tube 63, and a damper unit and a back pressure adjustment unit (not shown) provided on the carriage 62. ) Is supplied to an ink jet head (liquid discharge head) 61 and discharged from an ink nozzle (not shown).
The ink supply mechanism 60 is provided with a drive mechanism 64 at an upper portion thereof. The drive mechanism 64 sucks ink stored in the ink pack from the ink cartridge 12 and discharges the ink to the inkjet head 61, which will be described later. The pump is driven.

A head maintenance mechanism 81 is provided on the lower side of the carriage 62 at the home position (position shown in FIG. 4).
The head maintenance mechanism 81 includes a head cap 82 that covers the ink nozzles of the ink jet head 61 exposed on the lower surface of the carriage 62 disposed at the home position, and is discharged to the head cap 82 by the head cleaning operation and ink filling operation of the ink jet head 61. And a waste ink suction pump 83 for sucking the discharged ink.

The ink sucked by the waste ink suction pump 83 of the head maintenance mechanism 81 is sent to the waste ink absorption tank 85 through the tube 84.
The waste ink absorption tank 85 has an absorbent material (not shown) disposed in a case 86, and the upper surface thereof is covered with a cover 88 having a plurality of vent holes 87.
Below the head maintenance mechanism 81, a waste ink receiving portion 89, which is a part of the waste ink absorption tank 85, is provided to receive the ink dropped from the head maintenance mechanism 81 and absorb it by the absorbent material. Yes.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ink supply mechanism 60 has a plurality of ink cartridges 12 attached to the cartridge mounting portion 14 in the vertical direction. The ink supply mechanism 60 is provided with a supply unit 101 for each of these ink cartridges 12.

  Each of the supply units 101 has one end communicating with the corresponding ink cartridge 12 and the other end communicating with the ink supply tube 63 (see FIG. 4), thereby connecting the ink cartridge 12 and the inkjet head 61. Individual piping (flow path) 102 to be connected is provided. The plurality of supply units 101 include an individual pump 103 that sucks ink from the ink cartridge 12 and supplies the ink toward the inkjet head 61, and a detection pipe 104 that communicates downstream from the pump 103 in the pipe 102 in the supply direction. And an individual pressure sensor 105 for detecting the pressure in the pipe 102.

  The pump 103 includes a pump main body 108, a pump gear 109 that is provided below the pump main body 108 and drives the pump main body 108, a transmission gear 110 that meshes with the pump gear 109, and a driven gear 111 that is disposed below the transmission gear 110. A clutch 112 that switches a connection state between the transmission gear 110 and the driven gear 111, and a drive gear 113 that meshes with the driven gear 111. Drive gears 113 provided corresponding to all the pumps 103 are fixed to a common drive shaft 114a. And this drive shaft 114a is rotated by the motor (drive source) 114 of the drive mechanism 64 provided in the upper part. Thereby, when the motor 114 rotates the drive shaft 114a, all the drive gears 113 fixed to the drive shaft 114a rotate integrally, and the driven gears 111 meshed with all the drive gears 113 rotate synchronously. When the transmission gear 110 connected to the driven gear 111 so as to rotate together with the driven gear 111 is rotated by the clutch 112, the pump gear 109 engaged therewith is rotated and the pump main body 108 is driven. On the other hand, when the transmission gear 110 is disconnected from the driven gear 111 by the clutch 112, even if the motor 114 is rotating, the transmission gear 110 and the pump gear 109 meshing with the transmission gear 110 are stopped, and the driving of the pump body 108 is also stopped.

  The pump body 108 provided in each of the plurality of supply units 101 is a tubing pump shown in FIG. In other words, a part of the pipe 102 is flexible and curved in an arc shape, and the pump main body 108 is a pair of rotatable rollers disposed at positions different by 180 degrees inside the curve of the pipe 102. 117 and a rotatable support base 118 that supports these rollers 117. The support base 118 is fixed to the corresponding pump gear 109 via a support shaft 119. Accordingly, when the support base 118 rotates by the rotation of the pump gear 109, the pair of rollers 117 rotate and revolve while crushing the pipe 102. As a result, the position of the pipe 102 that is blocked by the roller 117 moves from the ink cartridge 12 side to the inkjet head 61 side. As a result, the pump body 108 sucks ink from the ink cartridge 12 and thereby the inkjet head 61. Supply towards

  As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the clutch 112 capable of transmitting and releasing the driving force of the motor 114 introduced into the driven gear 111 to the transmission gear 110 is provided on the driven gear 111 side (lower side) of the transmission gear 110. The cross-shaped convex part 121 is formed, and the protrusion part 122 that is long in the radial direction of the driven gear 111 is provided on the transmission gear 110 side (upper side) of the driven gear 111 so as to protrude and retract. The clutch 112 includes a spring 123 that urges the protrusion 122 in the protruding direction, and a solenoid 124 that retracts the protrusion 112 against the urging force of the spring 123. In the clutch 112, when the solenoid 124 is turned off, the projecting portion 122 protrudes by the urging force of the spring 123, and the projecting portion 122 contacts the projecting portion 121 in the rotational direction to transmit the rotation of the driven gear 111 to the transmission gear 110. On the other hand, when the solenoid 124 is turned on, the projecting portion 122 resists the urging force of the spring 123 to a position where it cannot contact the convex portion 121, and the rotation of the driven gear 111 is not transmitted to the transmission gear 110.

  In the present embodiment, when ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 12 to the ink jet head 61, a pair is provided for each pressure sensor 105 based on the detection result of the pressure sensor 105 provided in each of the plurality of supply units 101. The supply of ink from the pumps 103 provided correspondingly, that is, constituting the same supply unit 101 is individually controlled.

  That is, when supplying ink from the ink cartridge 12 to the inkjet head 61, while driving the common motor 114, each of the plurality of supply units 101 performs the following control.

  When the pressure on the downstream side of the pump in the pipe 102 detected by the pressure sensor 105 is lower than a predetermined upper limit value, the pump body 108 is driven by connecting the clutch 112. When the pressure on the downstream side of the pump in the pipe 102 detected by the pressure sensor 105 reaches a predetermined upper limit value, the switch provided in the pressure sensor 105 turns on the solenoid 124 and disengages the clutch 112. The pump body 108 is stopped. As a result, the pressure on the downstream side of the pump in each pipe 102 is maintained at a substantially constant value.

  In this way, by controlling all the supply units 101 individually so as to maintain the pressure downstream of all the pumps 103 at the same constant value, the pressure downstream of the pumps in all the pipes 102 is substantially equal. Maintained.

  According to the present embodiment, the supply unit 101 provided individually for each of the plurality of ink cartridges 12 is configured to be able to drive the plurality of pumps 103 by the common motor 114. Since the ink supply by each pump 103 is individually controlled based on the detection result of the pressure sensor 105 provided in the pipe 102 that connects to the pipe 102, the supply pressure from the pump 103 in each pipe 102 can be made substantially equal. it can.

  Accordingly, since the variation in the consumption amount for each ink can be reduced during cleaning, the accuracy of the ink consumption counter for calculating the ink consumption amount can be sufficiently improved. As a result, it is almost impossible to request replacement of the ink cartridge 12 even though a large amount of ink remains in the ink cartridge 12, and the running cost can be reduced. Furthermore, it is possible to reduce the residual ink processing during the recovery processing of the ink cartridge 12. In addition, the difference (deviation) between the value of the waste liquid amount counter and the actual waste liquid amount can be reduced, and the members such as the absorbent material in the waste ink absorption tank 85 that absorbs and holds the waste liquid are minimized. In addition, the space can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

  In addition, the pumps 103 of the plurality of supply units 101 are configured to be driven by a common motor 114, and the supply of ink from each pump 103 is individually controlled by the on / off state of the clutch 112 based on the detection result of the pressure sensor 105. The supply pressure from the pump 103 in each pipe 102 can be made substantially uniform with a simple configuration.

Next, another embodiment of the liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a diagram in which the configuration on the downstream side of the pump in the pipe 102 shown in FIG. 5 is changed.

  Also in this embodiment, the pumps 103 of the plurality of supply units 101 are driven by a common motor 114 (see FIG. 5), the clutch 103 is not provided in the pump 103, and the motor 114 is driven. Inside, all the pumps 103 are driven synchronously.

  As shown in FIG. 10A, a variable volume buffer 131 of the same specification capable of keeping the pressure in the pipe 102 constant is provided downstream of the pumps of the pipes 102 of the plurality of supply units 101. A choke valve (open / close valve) 132 for opening and closing the internal flow path of the pipe 102 is provided on the downstream side. The buffer 131 includes an absorption chamber 134, a stretchable film 135 disposed so as to cover the opening of the absorption chamber 134, and a spring 136 interposed between the film 135 and the bottom of the absorption chamber 134. ing. The buffer 131 expands and contracts the volume of the volume chamber 137 inside the film 135 against the urging force of the spring 136, so that the volume of the volume chamber 137 is within a variable range. The pressure on the side can be kept constant.

  Also in this embodiment, when supplying ink from the ink cartridge 12 to the inkjet head 61, the common motor 114 is driven to drive all the pumps 103. Then, even if the pressure rises quickly, when the predetermined value is reached, the volume chamber of the buffer 131 is expanded as shown in FIG. Thus, the time difference from the pressure increase is absorbed.

  When the pressure detected by the pressure sensor 105 reaches a predetermined value, the choke valve 132 is closed. Therefore, when the pressures of all the supply units 101 reach a predetermined value and the choke valves 132 are closed, the pressures on the downstream side of all the pumps 103 are maintained substantially equal.

  According to such a configuration, even if the plurality of pumps 103 are driven by the common motor 114, the ink supply pressure from each pump 103 is set to a predetermined pressure by each buffer 131, and then the detection result of the pressure sensor 105. When each choke valve 132 is closed, the pressure on the downstream side of the pump 103 in each pipe 102 is maintained at a substantially equal predetermined pressure.

  If the pressure difference can be basically absorbed by the capacity of the buffer 131, the choke valve 132 need not be provided. In this case, the drive of the motor 114 is controlled based on the detection result of the pressure sensor 105. For example, the motor 114 is controlled to stop before the buffer 131 of any one pipe 102 is expanded to the maximum.

  According to the label printer 11 and the publisher 1 having the ink supply mechanism shown in FIGS. 5 to 10, the waste of ink when the ink cartridge 12 is replaced can be suppressed as much as possible, so that the running cost is suppressed as much as possible. The label printer 11 and the publisher 1 can be used.

  The medium used is not limited to a disk-shaped medium such as the medium M of the above embodiment, and can be applied to a polygonal or elliptical medium such as a rectangular shape. The recording method is not limited to an optical recording method, a magneto-optical recording method, or the like.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the label printer 11 in the publisher 1 which performs the writing process of the data to the disk-shaped medium M, and the printing process to a label surface was illustrated and demonstrated, the liquid supply apparatus of this invention is described. It can be applied to printing devices for paper and can also be applied to devices other than printing devices. Color material discharge heads, organic EL displays, FEDs (surface-emitting displays), etc. used in the manufacture of color filters such as liquid crystal displays The present invention can also be applied to a liquid discharge device using a liquid discharge head that discharges liquid, such as an electrode material discharge head used for forming electrodes of the present invention, a bioorganic discharge head used for biochip manufacturing, and a sample discharge device as a precision pipette.

It is an external appearance perspective view of a publisher (media processing apparatus). It is an external appearance perspective view of the publisher which opened each part. It is the perspective view seen from the front upper side of the state which removed the case of the publisher. It is a perspective view of the label printer part installed in the publisher. It is a perspective view of an ink supply mechanism. It is a schematic plan view of a pump body. It is the side view of the periphery which made the clutch a cross section. It is a bottom view of the upper gear constituting the clutch. It is a top view of the lower gear which comprises a clutch. It is a figure which shows the structure of the downstream rather than the pump of a supply part.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Publisher (media processing apparatus), 12 ... Ink cartridge (liquid storage part), 60 ... Ink supply mechanism (liquid supply apparatus), 61 ... Inkjet head (liquid discharge head), 101 ... Supply part, 102 ... Pipe (flow) (Path), 103 ... pump, 105 ... pressure sensor, 112 ... clutch, 114 ... motor (drive source), 131 ... buffer, 132 ... choke valve (open / close valve), M ... medium (printed material).

Claims (7)

A liquid supply apparatus that supplies liquid to a liquid discharge head by a supply unit provided individually for each of a plurality of liquid storage units,
Each of the plurality of supply units includes a flow path that connects the liquid storage unit and the liquid discharge head, and a pump that is provided in the flow path and supplies the liquid storage unit toward the liquid discharge head. A pressure sensor that is provided in the flow path and detects a pressure downstream of the pump;
A liquid supply apparatus in which driving of the pump is individually controlled based on a detection result of the pressure sensor. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1,
A liquid supply apparatus in which the pumps of the plurality of supply units are driven by a common drive source. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
A liquid supply apparatus in which each of the pumps of the plurality of supply units is provided with a clutch capable of transmitting and releasing the driving force of the driving source. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 2, wherein
A liquid supply apparatus in which a variable volume buffer capable of maintaining a constant pressure and an on-off valve are provided downstream of the pump in each flow path of the plurality of supply units. A liquid supply apparatus that supplies liquid to a liquid discharge head by a supply unit provided individually for each of a plurality of liquid storage units,
Each of the plurality of supply units includes a flow path that connects the liquid storage unit and the liquid discharge head, and a pump that is provided in the flow path and supplies the liquid storage unit toward the liquid discharge head. A pressure sensor that is provided in the flow path and detects a pressure downstream from the pump; and a variable volume buffer that is provided in the flow path and can maintain a constant pressure downstream from the pump;
A liquid supply apparatus in which the pumps of the plurality of supply units are driven by a common drive source, and the drive of the drive source is controlled based on the detection result of the pressure sensor. A printing apparatus that performs a printing process on a substrate by discharging ink from the liquid discharge head,
A printing apparatus comprising the liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1 as an apparatus for supplying ink to the liquid discharge head. A media processing apparatus that performs information processing on a plate-shaped medium,
A media processing apparatus comprising the printing apparatus according to claim 6.

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