JP2010000671A - Ink cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove an ink cartridge without soiling a printer periphery and a user hand, when removing the ink cartridge from a printer. <P>SOLUTION: This ink cartridge is provided with an ink reservoir means for reserving ink, a discharge means for discharging the ink reserved in the ink reservoir means, and a protection means for protecting the discharge means from contact with an outer part of the discharge means, and the protection means has a fulcrum for 90° of rotation as a shaft, is rotated 90° by pushing one end, to enable the discharge means to contact with the outer part, is stored in the ink cartridge by pushing further the protection means in under the 90°-rotated condition, and is stopped under a condition projected outwards from the discharge means, to serve as receiving pan for the ink dropping from the discharge means. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge and an image forming apparatus that prevent ink from spilling or touching the cartridge to stain a hand when replacing the ink cartridge.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional ink cartridge. In an ink jet printer in which an ink cartridge is not attached to the head, an ink cartridge 101 as shown in the figure is attached in order to supply ink to the sub tank via a tube.

  The ink cartridge 101 includes a bag 102 containing ink such as black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, an ink supply port 103 for supplying ink to the printer, and a recording chip 104 for the printer to recognize cartridge information. Is done.

  When the ink supply port 103 is attached to the printer, a hole is made by a receiving needle provided on the printer side, and ink can be supplied to the printer side. The recording chip 104 holds information such as ink color information and the amount of remaining ink. When the ink becomes empty, ink empty information is read and written by an electrode provided on the printer side.

  In the conventional ink cartridge mounted on the printer, when the user replaces the ink, the ink attached to the ink supply needle may move to the ink supply port, and hangs down from the ink supply port to the ink cartridge mounting portion. When the ink drips in this way, there is a problem that the ink adheres to another newly installed ink cartridge.

  Therefore, as a method for solving this problem, a technique of installing an ink droplet receiving plate below the ink supply port of the cartridge is known.

For example, in Patent Document 1, in order to reduce ink droplets dripping into the printer when the ink cartridge is removed from the printer, a protrusion plate is provided below the ink supply port of the ink cartridge so that the ink droops. Even if this is the case, a technique for receiving ink dripping on the protruding plate is disclosed.
JP 2007-268792 A

  However, in the invention in Patent Document 1, a protrusion is provided below the ink supply port to prevent ink from dripping into the printer. However, when the user touches the protrusion during ink replacement, etc. Has a problem that the user's hand gets dirty.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow removal of an ink cartridge from a printer without contaminating the periphery of the printer and the user's hand.

  In order to solve the above problems, an ink cartridge according to the present invention includes an ink storage unit that stores ink, a discharge unit that discharges ink stored in the ink storage unit, and a protection unit that protects contact with the outside of the discharge unit. The protection means has a fulcrum for rotating 90 degrees about the axis, and is rotated 90 degrees by pushing one end to allow contact with the outside of the discharge means, and further in a state rotated 90 degrees By pressing the protection means, the ink is horizontally accommodated in the cartridge, stops in a state of protruding outward from the discharge means, and becomes a receiving tray for ink dripping from the discharge means.

  The protective means has an absorbing means for absorbing ink on a surface that receives ink dripping.

  The position of the fulcrum differs depending on the color of the ink stored in the ink storage means.

  The protection means has an elastic body acting on the side of the fulcrum in the cartridge outer direction. When the protection means is not pushed into the cartridge, the protection means pushes the fulcrum in the cartridge outer direction to prevent contact with the outside of the discharge means. It is characterized by protection.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention further includes a pressing unit that presses the one end of the protection unit in the ink cartridge and rotates the protection unit by 90 degrees.

  According to the present invention, when the printer is mounted, a cover that serves as a tray for ink dripping is protected so that the cover covers the ink supply port when not mounted on the printer. It is possible to prevent this.

  1 and 2 are diagrams showing the overall configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus. The internal configuration of the ink jet recording apparatus will be described in detail using these.

  The frame 21 includes left and right side plates 21A and 21B and a rear plate 21C, and a carriage 33 is held by a guide rod 31 and a stay 32, which are guide members horizontally mounted on 21A and 21B. Further, the main scanning motor (not shown) is slidably scanned in the main scanning direction (arrow direction) via the timing belt.

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

  The ink discharge ports may be driven divided in time in addition to driving all of them simultaneously. When all the ink outlets are driven simultaneously, there may be disadvantages such as a reduction in recording quality due to the influence of crosstalk between the ink outlets and a large current temporarily, resulting in a large power supply capacity. However, it is possible to avoid these disadvantages by time-division driving.

  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 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 each color ink to the recording head 34. The sub tanks 35 are provided for the respective colors, and the inks of the respective colors are replenished and supplied from the ink cartridges 10 of the respective colors mounted on the cartridge loading unit 4 through the ink supply tube 36. The cartridge loading unit 4 is provided with a supply pump unit for feeding the ink in the ink cartridge 10, and the ink supply tube 36 is moved in the middle of turning so as not to get entangled. It is fixed by a locking member 25 provided on the plate 21C.

  On the other hand, in the paper feed tray 2, the paper 42 is stacked on a paper stacking unit 41 made of a pressure plate. In order to separate and supply the sheets 42 from the sheet stacking unit 41 one by one, a half-moon-shaped sheet feeding roller 43 and a separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient provided opposite thereto are provided.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding section 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 49 are provided. And a conveying belt 51 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, is stretched between a transport roller 52 and a tension roller 53, and the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven by a sub-scanning motor (not shown), so that the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction) It is configured to go around. The 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, for example, ETFE pure material, and resistance control by carbon using the same material as the surface layer. And a back layer (medium resistance layer, earth layer).

  A charging roller 56 for charging the surface is provided below the conveying belt 51. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to contact the surface layer of the conveyor belt 51 and rotate following 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 serves as an earth roller, and is disposed in contact with the middle resistance layer of the transport belt 51.

  Further, a guide member 57 corresponding to a printing area by the recording head 34 is disposed on the back side of the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the guide member 57 protrudes toward the recording head 34 with respect to the tangent line of the two rollers (the conveyance roller 52 and the tension roller 53) that support the conveyance belt 51, so that the flatness of the conveyance belt 51 can be made with high accuracy. Is maintained.

  Further, in order to discharge 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. Is provided with a paper discharge tray 3 below. Here, the height from between the paper discharge roller 62 and the paper discharge roller 63 to the paper discharge tray 3 is configured to be high 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 attached to the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the transport belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the transport belt 51. Further, a manual feed tray 72 for manually supplying paper is provided on the upper surface of the duplex unit 71.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 including a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the state of the nozzles of the recording head 34 is disposed in a non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the main scanning direction. In this maintenance and recovery mechanism 81, cap members 82a to 82d for capping each nozzle surface of the recording head 34, a wiper blade 83 which is a blade member for wiping the nozzle surface, and a thickened recording liquid are provided. An empty discharge receiver 84 for receiving an empty discharge droplet for discharging a droplet that does not contribute to recording in order to be discharged is provided. Here, the cap 82a is a suction and moisture retention cap, and the other caps 82b to 82d are moisture retention caps.

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

  In addition, the non-printing area on the other side of the carriage 33 in the main scanning direction receives an empty discharge receiver that receives an empty discharge droplet that discharges a liquid droplet that does not contribute to recording in order to discharge a recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. 88. The idle discharge receiver 88 includes an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34.

  A control circuit board constituting a communication circuit unit (interface) such as a USB for transmitting / receiving data to / from the host and a control unit for controlling the entire inkjet recording apparatus is provided on the inner rear side of the apparatus main body 1. It is done.

  The fed paper 42 is guided by a guide 45 and is transported by being sandwiched between a transport belt 51 and a counter roller 46, and the leading end is guided by a transport guide 47, and is then transported to the transport belt 51 by a front end pressure roller 49. It is pressed and the 90 ° conveyance direction is changed.

  At this time, an alternating voltage is applied so that a positive 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), and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 51 alternates, that is, In the sub-scanning direction, which is the rotation direction, plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the paper 42 is fed onto the conveyance belt 51 that is alternately charged 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 moves 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 and prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. At this time, 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 recovered recording liquid and bubbles are discharged. Operation is performed. In addition, an idle ejection operation for ejecting ink not related to recording is performed before the start of recording or during recording, and the stable ejection performance of the recording head 34 is maintained.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the present invention. The ink cartridge in this embodiment includes an ink supply port 103, a recording chip 104, and covers 105 and 106 for protecting them.

  FIG. 3 shows a state in which the covers 105 and 106 are closed to protect the ink supply port 103 and the recording chip 104. The covers 105 and 106 protect the ink supply port 103 and the recording chip 104. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the printer, one end of the cover is accommodated inside the ink cartridge and protrudes outside from the ink supply port. The other of the two functions as a tray that receives the ink dripping from the vicinity of the ink supply port. Therefore, the side part of the cover is configured to be high. Further, the printer side is provided with a pressing portion for opening the covers 105 and 106. When the printer is mounted, the pressing portion is opened by pressing one end of the covers 105 and 106, and the ink supply port 103, The recording chip 104 can come into contact with the outside.

  In the present embodiment, the covers 105 and 106 are provided independently, and two covers are provided, and the ink supply port 103 and the recording chip 104 are protected by the respective dedicated covers. However, the ink supply port is provided by one cover. 103 and the recording chip 104 may be protected together. When both the ink supply port 103 and the recording chip 104 are protected by a single cover, it is necessary to provide the cover so that it can be accommodated in the lower part of the ink supply port so that the cover functions as a tray for dripping ink. .

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink supply port 103 of the ink cartridge and the covers 105 and 106 that protect the recording chip 104 are opened according to the embodiment of the present invention. The cover 105 is rotated 90 degrees by pressing the upper end of the recording chip 104 when the printer is set, and becomes horizontal, so that the recording chip 104 can come into contact with the outside. Further, the cover 106 provided below at the time of setting the printer rotates 90 degrees by pushing the lower end from the ink supply port 103 and becomes horizontal so that the ink supply port 103 can come into contact with the outside. The covers 105 and 106 are configured to be accommodated inside the ink cartridge, and are accommodated by being pushed in a state rotated by 90 degrees. At that time, the cover 106 provided below is stopped in a state of protruding from the ink supply port 103, and functions as a tray when the ink drips. Further, in order to effectively suck the ink dripping on the cover 106, an absorbent body 117 such as cotton is provided on the side on which the ink droops.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an ink cartridge mounting location of the printer. Generally, in a printer having a sub tank, an ink cartridge 101 is not directly attached to an ink jet head, but a cartridge mounting place is provided separately. In many cases, as shown in the drawing, a cartridge mounting place and a cover 108 are provided in a space such as under the operation panel 107 for operating the printer, and ink cartridges are set side by side.

  FIG. 6 is a view showing the structure of the ink cartridge receiving portion in the ink cartridge mounting portion of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. The ink cartridge receiver according to the present embodiment includes a needle 109, an electrode 112, and pressing members 110 and 111. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the receiving portion, one end of a cover provided on the ink cartridge is pressed against the pressing member, and the cover is opened to supply ink.

  The ink supply port comes into contact with the needle 109 when the ink cartridge is set, and a hole is made in the supply port at the same time as the mounting, so that ink can be supplied from the cartridge to the printer.

  The pressing member is provided corresponding to the cover of the ink cartridge. If two ink supply ports and two recording chip covers are provided independently, two pressing members are also required. If the recording chip and the ink supply port of the ink cartridge are configured to be protected by a single cover, only one pressing member may be provided. In the case of a single cover, since it is necessary to use a cover as a tray below the ink supply port when the printer is set in order to prevent ink dripping, it is necessary to provide a pressing member below.

  7 to 9 are schematic views when the ink cartridge is mounted in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the movement of the cover immediately before mounting, FIG. 8 is during mounting, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the movement of the cover after mounting.

  The ink cartridge mounting portion of the printer includes pressing members 110 and 111 for opening the ink cartridge cover, electrodes 112 for reading and writing the recording chip, and a receiving needle 109 for sucking ink.

  On the other hand, the ink cartridge 101 has an ink supply port 103 and a recording chip 104, and includes covers 105 and 106 for protecting them. The cover 105 has a fulcrum 115 for rotating about an axis. Further, a fulcrum guide 113 is provided, and the fulcrum fixed to the cover is configured to move in the horizontal direction when the printer is set along the guide, and is horizontally accommodated inside the cartridge by pressing the cover rotated 90 degrees horizontally. It is possible. A spring 114 that acts in a direction to push the fulcrum 115 to the outside of the cartridge is provided on the side of the fulcrum 115, and the force acts to close the cover when no force is applied. The cover 106 is similarly configured and includes a fulcrum guide 116, a spring 117, and a fulcrum 118.

  FIG. 8 shows the moment when the cover is pressed by the pressing portion. The cover 105 rotates 90 degrees so as to be horizontal when set on the printer with the fulcrum as a center by being pushed by the pressing member 111 above the fulcrum 115. On the other hand, the cover 106 rotates 90 degrees by being pressed by the pressing member 110 below the fulcrum 118. When the cartridge is inserted as it is with the cover being leveled by the pressing member, the tip of the cover abuts against the wall of the cartridge mounting portion, and the cover is accommodated inside the cartridge by further pressing.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state where the ink cartridge is further pushed in and attached to the printer. The cover pressed against the wall of the printer mounting portion is accommodated in the cartridge while the spring is contracted by the fulcrum. At this time, the fulcrum is supported by the guide, moves only in the horizontal direction, and does not come off the inside of the guide, so the cover does not come off. Further, since the spring also operates within the guide, only horizontal movement is possible, and the spring does not come off. When pushed to the end, the cover 106 provided at the bottom of the cartridge is in contact with the wall on the printer side and can receive ink dripping from the ink supply port or the like.

  Further, by changing the height position of the pressing member, the fulcrum, and the cover with each color, the type of the ink cartridge can be easily determined, and erroneous writing of different colors can be prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the case where two covers are provided and each independently protects the recording chip and the ink supply port has been described. However, when both are protected by one cover, a fulcrum, a guide for moving the fulcrum, One spring, one spring guide, and one pressing member may be provided below the ink supply port so as to receive ink dripping from the ink supply port.

  The present invention has been described above by the preferred embodiments of the present invention. While the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments thereof, various modifications and changes can be made to these embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims. is there.

1 is a configuration diagram of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram of the inkjet cartridge which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the inkjet cartridge which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of mounting an ink cartridge to a printer. It is a figure which shows the structure of the receiving part of the ink cartridge in the printer which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram immediately before mounting of the ink cartridge in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram during mounting when the ink cartridge is mounted according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic view after mounting when the ink cartridge is mounted in the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the conventional ink cartridge.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Ink cartridge 102 Ink storage part 103 Ink supply port 104 Recording chip 105 Cover 106 Cover

Claims (5)

Ink storage means for storing ink;
Discharging means for discharging ink stored in the ink storing means;
Protective means for protecting contact with the outside of the discharge means,
The protection means has a fulcrum for rotating 90 degrees about an axis, and is rotated 90 degrees by pressing one end to allow contact with the outside of the discharge means. An ink cartridge, wherein the ink cartridge is horizontally accommodated in the cartridge by pushing in the protective means, stops in a state of protruding outward from the discharge means, and serves as a tray for ink dripping from the discharge means.   2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the protection means includes an absorption means for absorbing ink on a surface that receives ink dripping.   The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the position of the fulcrum differs depending on the color of ink stored in the ink storage means. The protection means has an elastic body acting on the side of the fulcrum in the cartridge outer direction,
4. The device according to claim 1, wherein when the protection means is not pushed into the inside of the cartridge, the fulcrum is pushed toward the outside of the cartridge to protect contact with the outside of the discharge means. The ink cartridge described.   5. An image forming apparatus comprising: a pressing unit that presses the one end of the protection unit in the ink cartridge according to claim 1, and rotates the protection unit by 90 degrees.

Images