JP2011131531A - Liquid jetting device, and liquid container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce possibility that liquid having appropriate concentration of particles of functional material can not be supplied to a liquid jetting head in a liquid jetting device. <P>SOLUTION: An ink storage part 24 is arranged in a carriage 16, and formed of a material having stretchability such as a rubber material. The ink storage part 24 is provided between an ink tube 23 and an ink channel 241 in the carriage 16, and constitutes a part of an ink channel from an ink tank 21 to a recording head 17. A porous body 25 is a porous body having elasticity and composed of natural sponge, or spongy rubber or synthetic resin, and is provided in the ink storage part 24. By pressing and deforming the ink storage part 24 formed of the material having stretchability from the outside, a compression device 26 compresses the porous body 25 provided inside the ink storage part 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid supplied from a liquid container to a liquid ejecting head via a liquid flow path onto a material to be ejected from the liquid ejecting head, and a liquid container used in the liquid ejecting apparatus.

Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus refers to an ink jet recording apparatus, a copying machine, a facsimile, or the like that performs recording on a recording paper by ejecting ink from a liquid ejecting head such as a recording head onto an ejected material such as recording paper. The present invention includes not only a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink but also various liquid consuming apparatuses that eject or eject a minute amount of liquid droplets.
The liquid droplet is a state of liquid ejected or ejected from the liquid ejecting apparatus, and includes liquid droplets having a granular shape, a tear shape, and a thread shape.

  The liquid may be any material that can be ejected or discharged from the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, and is granular such as liquid, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, and liquid metals (metal melts). Including the body. Further, not only a liquid as one state of a substance but also a substance in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent are included.

  Typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal. Here, the ink includes various liquid compositions such as gel ink and hot melt ink in addition to general water-based ink and oil-based ink.

  As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing materials such as an electrode material and a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, and a color filter in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. Furthermore, a transparent resin liquid such as UV curable resin is used to form a liquid injection device that injects lubricating oil pinpoint onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects onto a substrate, or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali in order to etch the substrate or the like.

  In a liquid, in particular, a liquid in which particles of a functional material made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent, the function material in the liquid container is settled by the sedimentation of the particles of the functional material in the liquid container. The concentration of material particles tends to be non-uniform. If the concentration of the functional material particles in the liquid container becomes non-uniform, there is a possibility that a liquid having an appropriate concentration of the functional material particles cannot be supplied to the liquid ejecting head.

  For example, as ink used in a recording apparatus such as an ink jet printer which is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, pigment ink is becoming widespread in addition to dye ink. Although non-uniform density due to sedimentation also occurs in dye inks, pigment inks are those in which pigment particles are dispersed in a solvent, so sedimentation of the pigment particles tends to be a problem. That is, compared to dye ink, pigment ink tends to have non-uniform concentrations in a liquid container such as an ink tank or an ink cartridge, particularly when pigment particles dispersed in a solvent settle. When such non-uniform ink density occurs, there is a possibility that an appropriate density of ink cannot be ejected from the recording head, which may cause a decrease in recording image quality.

  As an example of the prior art aimed at solving such problems, a stirring device in which a magnetic rotating rod-like body is rotatably supported on a ring-shaped frame is provided in the ink pack, and a magnetic force is applied from the outside. Ink cartridges that can stir pigment ink in an ink pack by rotating a magnetic rotating rod-like body are known. That is, in the prior art, the pigment ink in the ink pack is agitated by the rotation of the magnetic rotating rod-like body, whereby the settled pigment is dispersed in the solvent, and the concentration of the pigment ink pigment particles in the ink pack is made uniform. (For example, see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200765

  However, the above prior art cannot reduce sedimentation itself in the liquid container. In addition, the above prior art has a configuration in which the liquid in the liquid container is agitated by the rotation of the magnetic rotating rod-like body provided in the liquid container, and thus the range where the agitation action reaches is narrow. Therefore, there is a possibility that the stirring action does not sufficiently reach the entire inside of the liquid container, and sedimentation that has occurred in the liquid flow path between the liquid container and the liquid ejecting head cannot be eliminated. For this reason, there is a possibility that the conventional technology may still fail to supply a liquid having an appropriate concentration to the liquid ejecting head.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to reduce a possibility that a liquid having a proper concentration cannot be supplied to a liquid ejecting head in a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  A first aspect of the present invention is a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid supplied from a liquid container to a liquid ejecting head via a liquid flow path from the liquid ejecting head to a material to be ejected. A liquid storage section provided; an elastic body provided in the liquid storage section and having a plurality of voids communicating with the outside; and compression means for compressing the elastic body. The liquid ejecting apparatus.

  The liquid in the liquid storage part flows into a plurality of voids formed in the elastic body and exists in the elastic body at least in the region where the elastic body is provided. Therefore, the sedimentation of the liquid in the liquid storage part occurs in a plurality of gaps formed inside the elastic body at least in the region where the elastic body is provided. That is, the region where sedimentation of the liquid in the liquid reservoir is dispersed at least in the region where the elastic body is provided. As a result, it is possible to suppress the sedimentation from concentrating downward in the liquid storage part, so that the sedimentation itself in the liquid storage part can be reduced.

  The plurality of gaps formed inside the elastic body are contracted by the compression of the elastic body by the compression means, and the volume is reduced. Thereby, the liquid in the gap flows out of the elastic body. On the other hand, when the compression of the elastic body by the compression means is released, the plurality of gaps formed inside the elastic body expands to the original volume by the elastic restoring force. Thereby, the liquid outside the elastic body flows into the gap. In other words, by repeatedly compressing and releasing the elastic body by the compression means, the contraction and expansion of the plurality of voids formed in the elastic body are repeated, and the suction of the liquid into the void and the liquid from the void are repeated. The discharge will be repeated.

  That is, by repeatedly compressing and releasing the elastic body by the compression means, each of the plurality of gaps formed inside the elastic body functions like a pump. Thereby, since the liquid outside the elastic body and the liquid inside the elastic body all flow, the entire liquid in the liquid storage section can be efficiently stirred, and the sedimentation in the liquid storage section can be sufficiently and efficiently performed. Can be resolved.

  As a result, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the liquid having the proper concentration cannot be supplied to the liquid ejecting head.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first aspect described above, the liquid storage unit is formed of a stretchable material. .

  According to such a feature, by repeating compression and release of the elastic body, the liquid storage portion formed of a stretchable material repeats contraction and expansion following the compression and release. As a result, the outflow of liquid from the liquid reservoir to the liquid channel and the inflow of liquid from the liquid channel to the liquid reservoir are repeated, so that the liquid in the liquid channel flows, thereby This liquid is also stirred. That is, according to the 2nd aspect of this invention, in addition to being able to eliminate the sedimentation in a liquid storage part, the sedimentation in a liquid flow path can also be eliminated. Accordingly, in the liquid ejecting apparatus, it is possible to further reduce a possibility that a liquid having an appropriate concentration cannot be supplied to the liquid ejecting head.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid storage part in which liquid is stored, an elastic body provided in the liquid storage part and having a plurality of voids communicating with the outside, and the elastic body is compressed. And a compression means.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the liquid ejecting apparatus in which the liquid is supplied from the liquid container, there is an effect that the possibility that the liquid with the proper concentration cannot be supplied to the liquid ejecting head can be reduced. .

The principal part side view of an inkjet printer. 1 is a configuration diagram of an ink supply device of an ink jet printer (first embodiment). FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a porous body in an ink storage unit. Sectional drawing which illustrated the state when compressing and releasing the porous body in an ink storage part. The block diagram which showed the structure of the ink cartridge typically (2nd Example).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and these are also included in the scope of the present invention. Needless to say.

<Configuration of inkjet printer 1>
First, the configuration of the inkjet printer 1 as a “liquid ejecting apparatus” will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 1 is a side view of an essential part of the ink jet printer 1.

  The inkjet printer 1 includes a conveyance driving roller 11, a conveyance driven roller 12, a recording paper support member 13, a discharge driving roller 14, a discharge driven roller 15, and a carriage as means for executing recording on the recording paper P as an “ejecting material”. 16 and a recording head 17.

  The transport driving roller 11 has a high friction coating on the outer peripheral surface, and rotates by receiving the rotational driving force of a transport motor (not shown). The transport driven roller 12 is pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate in a state of being biased in a direction in contact with the transport drive roller 11. The recording paper support member 13 supports the recording paper P from the back side. The distance between the head surface of the recording head 17 and the recording surface of the recording paper P (the surface on which recording is performed; the same applies hereinafter) is maintained at a constant interval by the recording paper support member 13. The discharge driving roller 14 is rotated by a rotational driving force of a conveyance motor (not shown) being transmitted. The discharge driven roller 15 is pivotally supported so as to be driven to rotate and is urged in a direction in which the discharge driven roller 15 contacts the discharge drive roller 14.

  The carriage 16 is supported by a carriage guide shaft 18 and a guide frame 19 so as to be able to reciprocate in the main scanning direction. This main scanning direction is a direction that intersects the sub-scanning direction Y (the conveyance direction of the recording paper P) along the recording surface of the recording paper P supported by the recording paper support member 13. The carriage guide shaft 18 is a component made up of a metal shaft disposed along the main scanning direction. The guide frame 19 is a part formed by bending a metal plate or the like, and is arranged along the main scanning direction. The carriage 16 is supported by the carriage guide shaft 18 and supported so as to be capable of reciprocating in the main scanning direction in a state where the downstream portion in the sub-scanning direction Y abuts against the guide frame 19 by its own weight and slides.

  The carriage 16 is connected to an endless belt suspended between a driving pulley and a driven pulley of a carriage driving motor (not shown). The carriage 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction by rotating the endless belt in both directions with the rotational driving force of the carriage driving motor. The recording head 17 as a “liquid ejecting head” is mounted on the carriage 16 so that the head surface faces the recording surface of the recording paper P supported by the recording paper support member 13. The head surface of the recording head 17 is provided with a number of ejection nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink onto the recording surface of the recording paper P to form dots.

  The recording paper P is sandwiched between the transport driving roller 11 and the transport driven roller 12 and is transported on the recording paper support member 13 in the sub-scanning direction Y by the driving rotation of the transport driving roller 11. The recording paper P on the recording paper support member 13 is configured to form dots by ejecting ink from the head surface of the recording head 17 to the recording surface while the carriage 16 reciprocates in the main scanning direction. Recording is executed on the recording surface by alternately repeating the operation of transporting in the sub-scanning direction Y by a predetermined transport amount by driving rotation. The recording paper P on which recording has been performed on the recording surface is sandwiched between the discharge driving roller 14 and the discharge driven roller 15, conveyed in the sub-scanning direction Y by the driving rotation of the discharge driving roller 14, and discharged from the inkjet printer 1. Is done. These series of recording controls are executed by a control device (not shown) having a known microcomputer control circuit.

<First embodiment>
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the ink supply device of the inkjet printer 1 according to the present invention.
The ink jet printer 1 includes an ink tank 21, a feed pump 22, an ink tube 23, an ink reservoir 24, a porous body 25, a compression device 26, and a cap 27.

  The ink tank 21 as “liquid container” is filled with ink 2 a as “liquid” supplied to the recording head 17. The ink 2a filled in the ink tank 21 is a pigment ink in which pigment particles are dispersed in a solvent. The feed pump 22 is a pump for sending the ink 2a filled in the ink tank 21 to the ink flow path. The ink tube 23 that constitutes the ink flow path (liquid flow path) is a flexible tubular member, and from the ink tank 21 to the ink reservoir 24 in the ink flow path from the ink tank 21 to the recording head 17. The ink flow path is configured.

  The ink reservoir 24 as a “liquid reservoir” is disposed in the carriage 16 and is formed of a stretchable material such as a rubber material. The ink reservoir 24 is provided between the ink tube 23 and the ink flow path 241 in the carriage 16 and constitutes a part of the ink flow path from the ink tank 21 to the recording head 17.

  The porous body 25 as an “elastic body” is an elastic porous body made of, for example, natural sponge, sponge-like rubber, synthetic resin, or the like, and is provided in the ink reservoir 24. This “elastic body” is not particularly limited to a porous body, and may be any member as long as it is an elastic member in which a plurality of voids communicating with the outside are formed. For example, it may be formed by connecting or combining three-dimensionally fibers or the like made of an elastic material so that a large number of voids are formed.

  The compression device 26 as “compression means” is provided to compress the porous body 25. The compression device 26 according to this embodiment is provided in the carriage 16 and is configured to press the ink storage portion 24 accommodated in the accommodation portion 261 with the compression member 262. The compression member 262 is supported so as to be displaceable in the direction indicated by the symbol A, and can be displaced by a driving mechanism (not shown). In other words, the compression device 26 of this embodiment causes the porous body 25 provided inside the ink storage section 24 to be deformed by pressing and deforming the ink storage section 24 formed of a stretchable material from the outside. It is configured to compress.

  The compression device 26 may be configured to automatically displace the compression member 262 by a driving force such as a motor, or may be configured to allow the user to manually push the compression member 262. The compression device 26 may be configured to compress only the porous body 25 in the ink reservoir 24 by pressing with the compression member 262.

  The cap 27 is provided at a position corresponding to the home position of the carriage 16 so as to be displaceable in a direction (a direction indicated by reference numeral B) in contact with and away from the head surface of the recording head 17. At the time of standby when recording on the recording paper P is not executed, the carriage 16 is moved to the home position, and the head surface of the recording head 17 is sealed with the cap 27. Accordingly, during standby, nozzle clogging caused by drying and solidification of the ink 2a in the ink ejection nozzle provided on the head surface of the recording head 17 can be prevented.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the porous body 25 in the ink reservoir 24.
As described above, the porous body 25 is a member in which a plurality of voids communicating with the outside are formed inside, such as natural sponge, sponge-like rubber, or synthetic resin. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the porous body 25 can be regarded as a member in which a large number of communication passages 252 that allow the voids 251 and the voids 251 to communicate with each other are formed inside.

  In the ink reservoir 24 in which such a porous body 25 is provided, the ink 2a contains a plurality of inks formed in the porous body 25 at least in a region where the porous body 25 is provided. It flows into the gap 251 and exists inside the porous body 25. Therefore, the sedimentation of the pigment particles S contained in the ink 2a in the ink reservoir 24 is formed inside the porous body 25 as shown in FIG. 3 at least in the region where the porous body 25 is provided. It occurs in each of the plurality of gaps 251. That is, the region where the sedimentation of the pigment particles S contained in the ink 2 a in the ink reservoir 24 is dispersed at least in the region where the porous body 25 is provided. As a result, it is possible to suppress the pigment particles S contained in the ink 2a from concentrating and sinking downward in the ink reservoir 24, and thus reducing the sedimentation of the pigment particles S in the ink reservoir 24 itself. be able to.

4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the porous body 25 in the ink reservoir 24. FIG. 4A shows a state when the porous body 25 in the ink reservoir 24 is compressed. 4 (b) illustrates the state when the compression is released.
The plurality of voids 251 formed inside the porous body 25 are contracted by compressing the porous body 25 by the compression device 26 and the volume is reduced. As a result, as indicated by reference numeral D, the ink 2a in the gap 251 flows out of the porous body 25 through the communication path 252 (FIG. 4A). On the other hand, when the compression of the porous body 25 by the compression device 26 is released, the plurality of voids 251 formed inside the porous body 25 are expanded to the original volume by an elastic restoring force. As a result, as indicated by the symbol E, the ink 2a outside the porous body 25 flows into the gap 251 (FIG. 4B). That is, by repeatedly compressing and releasing the porous body 25 by the compression device 26, the plurality of voids 251 formed inside the porous body 25 are repeatedly contracted and expanded, and the ink 2a into the void 251 is repeated. Inhalation and discharge of the ink 2a from the gap 251 are repeated.

  That is, by repeatedly compressing and releasing the porous body 25 by the compression device 26, each of the plurality of voids 251 formed inside the porous body 25 functions like a pump. Accordingly, since the ink 2a outside the porous body 25 and the ink 2a inside the porous body 25 all flow, the entire ink 2a in the ink storage section 24 can be efficiently stirred, and the ink storage Sedimentation in the portion 24 can be eliminated sufficiently and efficiently.

  The operation of repeatedly compressing and releasing the porous body 25 by the compression device 26 is preferably performed in a state where the head surface of the recording head 17 is sealed with the cap 27. As a result, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the head meniscus being destroyed due to the pressurization of the ink 2a in the ink reservoir 24.

  Furthermore, since the ink reservoir 24 is formed of a stretchable material, when the compression and release of the porous body 25 are repeated, the contraction and the expansion are repeated following that. Although this is not an essential element of the present invention, the outflow of the ink 2a from the ink reservoir 24 to the ink tube 23 and the inflow of the ink 2a from the ink tube 23 to the ink reservoir 24 are thereby repeated. (Reference C in FIG. 2). That is, as the porous body 25 repeats compression and elastic recovery, the ink reservoir 24 repeatedly contracts and expands. As a result, the ink 2a in the ink tube 23 also flows, thereby causing the ink storage portion 24 in the ink tube 23 to flow. The ink 2a is also stirred. That is, by repeating the compression and release of the porous body 25, the sedimentation in the ink reservoir 24 can be eliminated, and the sedimentation in the ink tube 23 can also be eliminated.

  In this way, according to the ink jet printer 1 according to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the ink 2a having the appropriate concentration of the pigment particles S cannot be supplied to the recording head 17.

  The ink 2 a that has settled in the ink tube 23 in the process of being fed from the ink tank 21 to the ink storage unit 24 is supplied to the recording head 17 after being stirred in the ink storage unit 24 and settled. . Therefore, it is preferable that the ink storage unit 24 be disposed in the vicinity of the recording head 17. That is, the ink flow path 241 from the ink reservoir 24 to the recording head 17 is preferably as short as possible. As a result, it is possible to minimize the sedimentation that occurs in the ink 2a after being stirred in the ink reservoir 24 and before being ejected from the ink ejection nozzles of the recording head 17.

  In the above embodiment, the pigment ink has been described as an example. However, the present invention is particularly effective in a liquid ejecting apparatus that uses a metallic ink such as a silver salt ink that is more likely to settle. Further, since sedimentation occurs in the dye ink, the present invention can be implemented in a liquid ejecting apparatus that uses the dye ink, and the effects of the present invention can be obtained.

<Second embodiment>
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram schematically showing the configuration of the ink cartridge 31 according to the present invention.
The ink cartridge 31 as a “liquid container” is used for a so-called on-carriage type ink jet printer, and is detachably provided on the carriage. The ink cartridge 31 includes an ink storage unit 24, a porous body 25, and a compression device 26. Since these components are the same as those of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted. The ink reservoir 24 communicates with the ink delivery port 32 via the ink flow path 241. Even in such an embodiment, the present invention can be implemented, and in the ink jet printer 1, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the ink 2 a having the appropriate concentration of the pigment particles S cannot be supplied to the recording head 17.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2a ink, 21 Ink tank, 22 Feeding pump, 23 Ink tube, 24 Ink storage part, 25 Porous body, 26 Compression apparatus, 27 Cap, 31 Ink cartridge, 32 Ink delivery port, 251 Gap, 252 Communication path, 261 container, 262 compression member, P recording paper, S pigment particles

Claims (3)

A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid supplied from a liquid container to a liquid ejecting head via a liquid flow path from the liquid ejecting head to an ejected material,
A liquid reservoir provided in the liquid flow path;
An elastic body provided in the liquid reservoir and having a plurality of voids communicating with the outside;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a compressing unit that compresses the elastic body.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid storage portion is formed of a stretchable material. A liquid reservoir in which liquid is stored;
An elastic body provided in the liquid reservoir and having a plurality of voids communicating with the outside;
And a compressing means for compressing the elastic body.

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