JP2013248825A - Liquid injection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid injection device in which deterioration in ejection characteristics is suppressed.SOLUTION: A liquid injection device includes: a liquid injection head for injecting a liquid; and a liquid flow path member where a flow path 311 to which a liquid storage part for storing the liquid is connected and that supplies the liquid to the liquid injection head is formed. In the flow path, a filter 317 is provided at a position facing an opening of the flow path, wherein the liquid injection device includes a supply means for supplying a dry prevention liquid for preventing the drying of the filter to the filter.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus.

  In an ink jet recording head, which is a typical example of a liquid ejecting head, generally, an ink cartridge which is a liquid storage unit filled with ink is detachably inserted into or extended from the ink cartridge. Ink is supplied to the head main body through an ink supply needle formed as an ink supply body disposed at the tip of a supply pipe such as a tube and an ink supply path formed in a supply member such as a cartridge case for holding the ink cartridge. Ink supplied to the head body is ejected from the nozzles by driving pressure generating means such as a piezoelectric element provided in the head body.

  In such an ink jet recording head, in order to solve a discharge failure such as missing dots due to bubbles or the like, bubbles or dust in the ink is removed between the ink supply needle inserted into the ink cartridge and the cartridge case. A filter provided with a filter is known (for example, see Patent Document 1). The filter and the cartridge case are fixed by thermal welding or the like, and the ink supply needle and the cartridge case are fixed by ultrasonic welding or the like.

JP 2000-2111130 A

  Currently, there is a demand for a liquid ejecting apparatus using a filter having a larger effective area (area of a region through which the liquid passes in the filter) than a filter having a configuration as in Patent Document 1. However, when such a filter having a large effective area is used, there is a problem that the discharge characteristics may be deteriorated.

  Such a problem is common to not only liquid ejecting apparatuses using an ink jet recording head but also liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquid.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-described problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that suppresses deterioration in ejection characteristics.

The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid, and a liquid flow path member that is connected to a liquid storage unit that stores liquid and has a flow path that supplies the liquid to the liquid ejecting head. Provided with a filter at a position facing the opening of the flow path through which the liquid flows, and supplying means for supplying a drying inhibiting liquid for suppressing drying of the filter toward the filter It is characterized by providing.
In the present invention, by providing the supply means, it is possible to suppress the drying of the filter, thereby suppressing the generation of foreign matters due to the drying of the ink on the filter surface. A drop in discharge characteristics can be suppressed.

  As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supply means is activated when the connection of the liquid reservoir to the liquid flow path member is released.

  The channel is provided with a lid on the upstream side of the filter, and the lid is configured to be closed when the connection of the liquid channel member to the liquid reservoir is released. It is preferable. By providing such a lid portion, it is possible to further suppress the drying of the filter and suppress the deterioration of the ejection characteristics due to the generation of foreign matters.

  As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supply means may be an application means for applying the anti-drying liquid to the filter, or a spray means for spraying the anti-drying liquid to the filter.

  It is preferable that the anti-drying liquid contains oil. Drying can be easily suppressed with oil.

  The specific gravity of the oil is preferably 0.95 or less at room temperature. By being in this range, it can be preferably used for an ink jet recording head using water-based ink.

  In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the oil is preferably composed of one or more selected from paraffin oil, silicone oil and vegetable oil. By using these, it is difficult to mix with the liquid, and even if mixed in the liquid, the characteristics of the liquid are rarely changed.

  As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid contains a resin having a glass transition point of 10 ° C. or lower, the liquid contains a dispersion of pigment particles having an average particle diameter of 50 to 200 nm, and the resin contains And an acrylic resin. When such a liquid is used, foreign matter is likely to be formed and the discharge characteristics are likely to deteriorate. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the discharge characteristics particularly by suitably using the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of components used in the ink jet recording head according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a main part of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a second embodiment.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.
(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink jet recording head that is a liquid ejecting head, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head.

  As shown in the drawing, the ink jet recording head 10 of the present embodiment includes a flow path member 30 to which an ink cartridge 20 as a liquid storage means for storing ink as a liquid is attached and detached, and a head main body fixed to the flow path member 30. 40.

  The flow path member 30 includes a flow path member main body (flow path member) 310 and a seal member 330 provided on the flow path member main body 310.

  The flow path member main body 310 is provided with a flow path 311 through which ink, which is a liquid, passes. As will be described in detail later, the flow path 311 is defined by a cylindrical mounting portion 316 and a flow path member 318 that supports the lower end surface of the mounting portion 316. A flow channel member main body 310 is formed from the attachment portion 316 and the flow channel member 318. A cartridge mounting portion 312 in which the ink cartridge 20 is mounted is provided on one surface where the flow path 311 is opened. In the present embodiment, four ink cartridges 20 are mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 312.

  The cartridge mounting portion 312 is surrounded by a wall portion 313, and a first engagement hole 314 penetrating in the thickness direction is provided on one wall surface of a pair of opposite wall surfaces of the wall portion 313. ing. Further, a second engagement hole 315 penetrating in the thickness direction is provided on the other wall surface opposite to the wall surface provided with the first engagement hole 314.

  When the first engagement claw 24 and the second engagement claw 25 of the ink cartridge 20 are engaged with the first engagement hole 314 and the second engagement hole 315, respectively, the ink cartridge 20 is fixed to the cartridge mounting portion 312. Is done.

  In the present embodiment, since four ink cartridges 20 are mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 312, a partition plate 313 a is provided between the ink cartridges 20.

  Further, the flow path member 318 constituting the cartridge mounting portion 312 of the flow path member main body 310 is provided with a mounting portion 316 protruding in a columnar shape. In the present embodiment, since the four ink cartridges 20 are fixed to the cartridge mounting portion 312, four attachment portions 316 are also provided. The attachment portion 316 has a cylindrical shape that constitutes a flow path 311 that opens to the distal end surface.

  A filter 317 is held between the flow path member 318 and the mounting portion 316 by sandwiching the periphery thereof. That is, since the filter 317 is sandwiched between the cylindrical mounting portion 316 and the flow path member 318, the filter 317 is opposed to the opening 316a of the mounting portion 316 on the ink cartridge 20 side. . Thus, the filter 317 is provided in the flow path 311 so as to be orthogonal to the ink flow direction.

  The filter 317 has a disk shape that is the same shape as the peripheral edge of the mounting portion 316. The filter 317 is for removing foreign substances and bubbles contained in the liquid ink. For example, the filter 317 is a sheet-like one in which a plurality of fine holes are formed by finely knitting fibers such as metal and resin. In addition, a plate-like member such as metal or resin having a plurality of fine holes penetrated can be used. In addition, the filter 317 may use a nonwoven fabric etc., The material is not specifically limited.

  An annular sealing groove 319 is provided around the mounting portion 316 provided with such a filter 317, and the sealing member 330 is fitted and provided in the sealing groove 319.

  Here, the seal member 330 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the seal member.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the seal member 330 is made of a flexible material such as rubber or elastomer, and includes a flat plate-like first seal portion 331, a cylindrical second seal portion 332, and a second seal member 330. A cylindrical third seal portion 333 having a larger inner diameter than the seal portion 332.

  The second seal portion 332 has a cylindrical shape that fits around the attachment portion 316. The third seal portion 333 has a cylindrical shape having an inner diameter larger than that of the second seal portion 332. The first seal portion 331 is provided with a through hole 334 that is integrally connected to one end portion of the second seal portion 332 and communicates with the inside of the second seal portion 332. The first seal portion 331 is integrally connected to one end portion of the third seal portion 333 on the outer periphery. That is, the seal member 330 has a C-shape that opens toward the flow path member main body 310 side.

  Such a seal member 330 is fitted in the outer periphery of the attachment portion 316 and attached in the seal groove portion 319. At this time, the first seal portion 331 is supported by the upper end of the second seal portion 332 (the end portion on the ink cartridge 20 side) and the upper end of the third seal portion 333, and thus the first seal portion 331 is supported by the ink cartridge 20. Due to the pressing, the second seal portion 332 and the third seal portion 333 are easily bent and deformed so as to be convex toward the flow path member main body 310 side.

  1 and 2, the ink cartridge 20 attached to and detached from the flow path member 30 has a hollow box shape in which ink (liquid) is stored.

  Further, a cylindrical rib 21 is provided on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 20, and a supply port 22 for supplying ink inside the ink cartridge 20 to the flow path member 30 is provided inside the rib 21. Yes. A supply unit 23 is provided inside the supply port 22. The supply unit 23 is for pressing the filter 317 provided in the attachment portion 316 of the flow path member 30 to supply the ink in the ink cartridge 20 to the flow path 311 of the flow path member 30. As such a supply part 23, porous materials, nonwoven fabrics, etc., such as cotton-like pulp, a polymeric water absorption polymer, a urethane foam, can be used, for example.

  Further, the ink cartridge 20 includes a first engagement claw 24 inserted into a first engagement hole 314 provided in the wall portion 313 of the flow path member main body 310, and a side opposite to the first engagement claw 24. And a second engagement claw 25 to be inserted into a second engagement hole 315 provided in the wall portion 313 of the flow path member main body 310 is provided.

  The second engagement claw 25 is formed integrally with the ink cartridge 20 so that one end is fixed to the supply part 23 side of the side surface of the ink cartridge 20 and the other end is a free end. . Thereby, the second engaging claw 25 can be elastically deformed toward the side surface of the ink cartridge 20.

  The head main body 40 is fixed to the surface of the flow path member 30 opposite to the cartridge mounting portion 312.

  The head main body 40 is provided with a liquid ejecting surface on which a nozzle that ejects ink droplets as a liquid opens on the side opposite to the surface fixed to the flow path member 30. Further, inside the head main body 40 (not shown) are provided a liquid flow path that communicates with the nozzles and communicates with the flow path of the flow path member 30, and a pressure generating means that causes a pressure change in the ink in the liquid flow path. ing. As such a pressure generating means, for example, the volume of the liquid flow path is changed by deformation of a piezoelectric actuator having a piezoelectric material exhibiting an electromechanical conversion function, thereby causing a pressure change in the ink in the liquid flow path, so that ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles. A device that discharges, a heat generating element placed in the liquid flow path, a device that discharges ink droplets from the nozzle by bubbles generated by the heat generated by the heat generating device, or an electrostatic force is generated between the diaphragm and the electrode. A so-called electrostatic actuator or the like that discharges ink droplets from nozzles by deforming the diaphragm by electrostatic force can be used.

  In such an ink jet recording head 10, the ink from the ink cartridge 20 is supplied to the head main body 40 via the flow path member 30, and the pressure in the liquid flow path is caused to change by the pressure generating means. Ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles.

  Such an ink jet recording head 10 constitutes a part of an ink jet recording head unit having an ink flow path communicating with an ink cartridge or the like, and is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an example of the ink jet recording apparatus.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus I shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of ink jet recording heads 10 are detachably provided with an ink cartridge 20 constituting an ink supply means, and the carriage 3 on which the ink jet recording heads 10 are mounted is an apparatus. A carriage shaft 5 attached to the main body 4 is provided so as to be movable in the axial direction. The ink jet recording head 10 ejects, for example, a black ink composition and a color ink composition.

  The driving force of the driving motor 6 is transmitted to the carriage 3 through a plurality of gears and timing belt 7 (not shown), so that the carriage 3 on which the ink jet recording head 10 is mounted is moved along the carriage shaft 5. . On the other hand, the apparatus body 4 is provided with a platen 8 along the carriage shaft 5, and a recording sheet S that is a recording medium such as paper fed by a paper feed roller (not shown) is wound around the platen 8. It is designed to be transported.

  By the way, in such an ink jet recording apparatus I, when the ink jet recording head 10 is left with the ink cartridge 20 removed from the ink jet recording head 10, the filter 317 faces the opening 316a of the ink flow path 311. As a result, the ink adhering to the surface of the filter 317 is dried. When the ink dries, the resin emulsion contained in the ink agglomerates, and it is considered that the agglomerated foreign matter may cause ejection failure. Therefore, it is necessary to suppress such drying. In particular, an ink that easily forms such a foreign substance by drying includes a resin having a glass transition point of 10 ° C. or lower, particularly an acrylic resin. Further, when the ink contains a dispersion of pigment particles having an average particle diameter of 50 to 200 nm, foreign matter is more easily formed. Black ink is particularly easy to form on such foreign matter compared to color ink.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ink jet recording apparatus I includes a jet dispenser (spraying unit) 101 that is a supply unit that forms an oil film for suppressing drying on the surface of the filter 317. The jet dispenser 101 has a discharge nozzle 102 (see FIG. 5), and discharges the paraffin oil 100 built in the jet dispenser 101 from the discharge nozzle 102.

  The jet dispenser 101 is normally located at a home position in the ink jet recording apparatus I. When it is detected that the ink cartridge 20 has been removed, the jet dispenser 101 moves to a position facing the ink jet recording head 10 by a moving means (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip of the discharge nozzle 102 is inserted into the flow path 311, and in this state, the paraffin oil 100 is discharged from the discharge nozzle 102 toward the filter 317 and sprayed. Thereby, an oil film is formed on the surface of the filter 317, and drying on the surface of the filter 317 can be suppressed. The method for detecting the removal of the ink cartridge 20 is not particularly limited. For example, a weight sensor is provided in the mounting portion 316, and the weight sensor detects that the ink cartridge 20 has been removed. You may comprise so that the jet dispenser 101 may be moved by inputting into the jet dispenser 101.

  The paraffin oil 100 used in the present embodiment forms an oil film on the surface of the filter 317, and in some cases, the oil film is mixed into the flow path 311. However, the paraffin oil 100 particularly deteriorates the ink characteristics. It doesn't let you. Accordingly, the ink characteristics are not degraded while drying of the filter 317 is suppressed, so that the ejection characteristics of the liquid ejecting apparatus can be improved.

(Embodiment 2)
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment of the present invention is different from the first embodiment in that a lid 111 is provided in the flow path 311. This point will be described with reference to FIG. 6A is a schematic enlarged cross-sectional view of the ink jet recording head, and FIG. 6B is a schematic main part enlarged cross sectional view of the ink jet recording apparatus having the ink jet recording head as a main part.

  As shown in FIG. 6 (1), in the present embodiment, a lid portion 111 is provided in an attachment portion 316 that constitutes the flow path 311. The lid portion 111 has a disk shape, and is configured to close the flow path 311 when the ink cartridge is removed so as to substantially match the shape of the opening of the flow path 311. Specifically, the lid part 111 is fixed inside the flow path 311 by an installation part 112 installed in the flow path 311, and the other side of the installation part 112 of the lid part 111 is not fixed. That is, the lid portion 111 has a cantilever structure by the installation portion 112, and swings around the installation portion 112 as an axis.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, such a lid portion 111 is moved to the flow path member 318 side by the pressing portion 113 provided along the outer periphery of the supply portion 23 of the ink cartridge 20 when the ink cartridge 20 is mounted. When pressed, the ink cartridge 20 is opened and does not hinder the flow of ink from the ink cartridge 20 into the flow path 311. In addition, about the press part 113, it is not limited to this shape, What is necessary is just to be able to press the cover part 111. FIG.

  When the ink cartridge 20 is removed, the pressing portion 113 is also removed, so that the lid portion 111 is closed as shown in FIG.

  When the ink cartridge 20 is removed, the jet dispenser 101 moves by detecting the removal of the ink cartridge 20 as in the first embodiment. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, paraffin oil is discharged from the tip of the discharge nozzle 102 while inserting the discharge nozzle 102 into the flow path 311 and pressing the lid 111 by the discharge nozzle 102 to open the cover 111. An oil film can be formed on the surface of the filter 317. When the jet dispenser 101 finishes discharging and moves, the discharge nozzle 102 is also removed at the same time, so that the lid portion 111 is closed again as shown in FIG. 6A, and the drying of the filter 317 is suppressed.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, by providing the lid portion 111 that can be opened and closed, drying of the surface of the filter 317 when the ink cartridge 20 is further removed can be suppressed. In addition, since the lid 111 is provided, drying of the ink attached to the flow path 311 on the downstream side of the lid 111 of the flow path 311 can also be suppressed. Can be suppressed.

(Other embodiments)
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, the basic composition of this invention is not limited to the thing mentioned above.

  In the embodiment described above, the oil film is formed on the surface of the filter 317 by the jet dispenser 101, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an oil film can be formed by applying oil to the surface of the filter 317 by application means such as a brush.

  In the embodiment described above, the oil film is formed by paraffin oil, but the present invention is not limited to this. Any filter capable of suppressing the drying of the filter may be used. For example, the specific gravity of the oil may be 0.95 or less at room temperature, and examples of such oil include silicone oil and vegetable oil in addition to paraffin oil. Therefore, the drying inhibiting liquid that can inhibit the drying of the filter 317 may be one containing at least one selected from these. When the above-described drying inhibiting liquid is used, even if an oil film is formed and the oil adheres to the ink flow path and is mixed into the ink, the ink characteristics are not deteriorated.

  Furthermore, in the above-described example, the ink jet recording head 10 including the flow path member 30 has been described. However, the present invention also applies to an ink jet recording apparatus in which the flow path member 30 is provided in a portion other than the ink jet recording head 10. Can be applied. Specifically, an ink tank, which is a liquid storage means in which ink is stored, is not mounted on the carriage 3, but is fixed to the apparatus main body 4, and the ink tank and the head main body 40 are connected by a tube-shaped supply pipe. In the case of an ink jet recording apparatus that performs this, for example, the above-described flow path member 30 may be provided at a place where an ink tank is installed.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus I described above, the ink jet recording head 10 is mounted on the carriage 3 and moved in the main scanning direction. However, the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. The present invention can also be applied to a so-called line type recording apparatus in which printing is performed simply by moving a recording sheet S such as paper in the sub-scanning direction.

  Furthermore, the present invention is intended for a wide range of liquid jet heads in general, for example, for manufacturing recording heads such as various ink jet recording heads used in image recording apparatuses such as printers, and color filters such as liquid crystal displays. The present invention can also be applied to a coloring material ejecting head, an organic EL display, an electrode material ejecting head used for forming electrodes such as an FED (field emission display), a bioorganic matter ejecting head used for biochip manufacturing, and the like.

  The present invention is not limited to the flow path member mounted on the liquid ejecting head and the liquid ejecting apparatus, and can be applied to the flow path member mounted on other devices.

  I ink jet recording apparatus (liquid ejecting apparatus), 10 ink jet recording head (liquid ejecting head), 20 ink cartridge (liquid storing means), 23 supply unit, 30 flow path member, 40 head body, 101 jet dispenser, 102 ejection Nozzle, 310 channel member main body, 311 channel, 312 cartridge mounting portion, 316 mounting portion, 317 filter, 330 seal member

Claims (11)

A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid;
A liquid flow path member formed with a flow path for supplying the liquid to the liquid jet head by connecting a liquid storage section for storing the liquid;
The channel is provided with a filter at a position facing the opening of the channel through which the liquid flows,
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising supply means for supplying a drying inhibiting liquid for inhibiting drying of the filter toward the filter. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply unit operates when the connection of the liquid storage unit to the liquid channel member is released. The channel is provided with a lid on the upstream side of the filter, and the lid is configured to be closed when the connection of the liquid channel member to the liquid reservoir is released. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is a liquid ejecting apparatus. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply unit is a coating unit that applies the drying prevention liquid to the filter. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supply unit is a spray unit that sprays the anti-drying liquid onto the filter. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the anti-drying liquid contains oil. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the specific gravity of the oil is 0.95 or less at room temperature. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the oil is at least one selected from paraffin oil, silicone oil, and vegetable oil. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid contains a resin having a glass transition point of 10 ° C. or lower. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid contains a dispersion of pigment particles having an average particle diameter of 50 to 200 nm. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the resin is an acrylic resin.

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