JP2021014126A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a recording device having a structure in which an ink inlet port is provided in an ink tank, which can prevent ink from leaking to the outside during ink refilling.SOLUTION: A recording device according to the present invention comprises: a recording head that performs recording operation by discharging liquid; and a liquid storage container in which a liquid storage chamber that stores liquid to be supplied to the recording head, an atmosphere communication chamber that communicates with the atmosphere and a communication passage through which the liquid storage chamber is communicated with the atmosphere communication chamber are integrally formed. The liquid storage container can change the posture thereof to a first posture in which the atmosphere communication chamber is positioned below the liquid storage chamber in a gravity direction and to a second posture in which the atmosphere communication chamber and the liquid storage chamber are arranged in parallel in a horizontal direction. When the liquid storage chamber is in the second posture, a liquid inlet part and the communication passage are positioned above the liquid storage container.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid containing member used in a recording device and a ruler that eject ink to a recording medium to perform a recording operation.

A conventional inkjet recording device has a configuration including a head for ejecting ink, an ink tank for accommodating ink, and an ink flow path for connecting the head and the ink tank (Patent Document 1). Further, the ink tank communicates with a buffer tank that communicates with the atmosphere, and when ink is consumed by the head, air flows from the buffer tank to the ink tank.

In the inkjet recording device of Patent Document 1, the opening of the communication flow path communicating the ink tank and the buffer tank in the buffer tank is below the discharge port surface of the head so that the ink does not leak from the head. Is placed in. With this configuration, the inside of the head is maintained in a negative pressure state due to the head difference.

JP-A-2010-208151

By the way, in the field of an inkjet recording device, there is also an inkjet recording device provided with an injection port capable of injecting ink into the ink tank from the upper part of the ink tank. In such an inkjet recording device, it is difficult to maintain a negative pressure state in the head by utilizing the head difference as in Patent Document 1.

That is, in the configuration of the inkjet recording device described in Patent Document 1, an injection port is provided in the upper part of the ink tank, and when the injection port is opened, the ink tank is communicated with the atmosphere through the injection port. In this case, the ink in the ink tank may leak to the outside through the buffer tank and the air communication port of the buffer tank.

An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device that suppresses ink leakage to the outside at the time of ink injection in a configuration in which an injection port is provided in an ink tank.

The recording device of the present invention includes a recording head that discharges a liquid to perform a recording operation, a liquid storage chamber that stores the liquid supplied to the recording head, an air communication chamber that communicates with the atmosphere, and the liquid storage chamber. A liquid storage container integrally formed with a communication flow path that communicates with the air communication chamber, and a liquid injection unit provided in the liquid storage container that injects the liquid from the outside into the liquid storage chamber. The liquid storage container has a first posture in which the air communication chamber is located below the liquid storage chamber in the direction of gravity, and a second posture in which the air communication chamber and the liquid storage chamber are parallel to each other in the horizontal direction. When the posture of the liquid storage container is the second posture, the liquid injection portion and the communication flow path are located on the upper side of the liquid storage container. ..

According to the recording device of the present invention, in a configuration in which an injection port is provided in an ink tank, it is possible to suppress ink leakage to the outside during ink injection.

It is external perspective view of the recording apparatus in embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the internal structure of the recording apparatus in embodiment. It is an external perspective view of the ink tank in an embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross section of the ink tank in an embodiment. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows the ink filling state in the recording apparatus of embodiment. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the recording device according to the second embodiment. It is an external perspective view of the ink tank in Embodiment 2. FIG. It is a schematic cross-sectional view which shows the ink filling state in the recording apparatus of Embodiment 2. It is a schematic diagram which shows the cross section of the ink tank in Embodiment 3.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The same configuration will be described with the same reference numerals throughout the drawings. In the present embodiment, as the recording device, a serial type inkjet recording device 11 (hereinafter, referred to as “recording device”) will be described as an example.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the recording device 11 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment includes a housing, a recording unit (not shown) that mainly performs a recording operation on a recording medium (not shown), and ink that stores ink in the recording unit. A tank 15 is provided. In the present embodiment, the ink tank 15 is arranged on the front surface of the housing of the recording device 11. Further, a scanner unit 17 and an operation input unit 18 capable of receiving a command input by a user are arranged on the upper part of the housing. For the sake of explanation, the coordinate axes are set so that the main scanning direction of the recording device 11 is the X axis, the sub scanning direction is the Y axis, and the directions orthogonal to the X axis and the Y axis are the Z axis. In addition, the direction of each XYZ axis indicates the same direction throughout each drawing.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the recording device 11 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the recording device 11 includes a paper feed roller (not shown), a transport roller 16, and a paper ejection roller (not shown) as a configuration for transporting a sheet-shaped recording medium. .. Further, the recording device 11 includes a maintenance unit (not shown) of the recording head 13, a main chassis, a timing belt, and a carriage motor 204.

While being supported by the main chassis, the carriage 12 receives drive from the carriage motor 204 via a timing belt and moves along a main scanning direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium. With such a configuration, the recording head 13 can reciprocate together with the carriage 12 along the main scanning direction. A cord strip for detecting the position of the carriage 12 is stretched in the vicinity of the carriage 12 in parallel with the timing belt. Markings are formed on the cord strip, for example, at a pitch of 150 to 300 per inch. On the other hand, the carriage 12 is equipped with an encode sensor for reading the code strip.

In the present embodiment, the recording head 13 can eject four colors of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), and the ejection units 131 for ejecting each of the four colors of ink are arranged in parallel in the main scanning direction. To. The ejection port 131 is formed by, for example, ejection ports (nozzles) corresponding to each of the four colors of ink, and the ejection port forming surface described later refers to a surface on which the ejection port of the recording head 13 is formed. The recording head 13 ejects each ink to a recording medium based on the image data input to the recording device 11 to record an image. The recording medium may be any medium that can form an image by landing ink droplets. For example, various materials and forms such as paper, cloth, optical disk label surface, plastic sheet, OHP sheet, and envelope can be used. Further, the recording device 11 is provided with an ink flow passage 14 corresponding to each color ink of the recording head 13, and can supply ink of each color from the ink tank 15 to the recording head 13. The recording device 11 of the present embodiment includes four types of ink tanks: a black tank 151, a cyan tank 152, a magenta tank 153, and a yellow tank 154.

Further, the recording device 11 includes a maintenance unit within the movement range of the carriage 12 in the scanning direction. The maintenance unit includes a recovery unit that performs recovery processing of the recording head 13, and is arranged to face the discharge unit 131 described later. The recovery unit includes a cap portion that caps the ejection portion 131, and a suction mechanism that forcibly sucks ink in the capped state to remove residual bubbles and thickened ink in the discharge portion 131. The recovery process of the recovery unit recovers the function of the recording head 13 and maintains the ejection characteristics of the recording head 13.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the ink tank 15 according to the present embodiment. Similar to FIG. 1, the Y-axis direction indicates the front-rear direction of the recording device 11 (hereinafter, may be referred to as “front side and rear side”), and the Z-axis direction is the height direction of the recording device (hereinafter, “upper part”). It may be referred to as "side and bottom side"). The ink tank 15 in FIG. 3 shows the ink tank 15 in the “first posture state” described later in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, an index 155 indicating the amount of ink in the ink storage chamber 33 is formed on the front side of the ink tank 15 in the front-rear direction. An ink injection port 21 for injecting ink into the ink storage chamber (to the liquid storage chamber) is arranged on the inclined surface on the upper front side of the ink tank 15. Further, a tank cap 22 is detachably attached to the ink injection port 21. In the present embodiment, in the direction of gravity, an ink accommodating chamber 33 for accommodating ink is arranged above the ink tank 15, and a buffer space 34 for temporarily accommodating ink is arranged below the ink tank 15. .. The ink injection port 21 communicates with the ink storage chamber 33 and receives ink injection from the outside of the ink tank 15. The ink tank 15 and the ink injection port 21 each constitute a liquid storage container (liquid storage member) and a liquid injection portion according to the present invention. The ink storage chamber 33 and the buffer space 34 respectively constitute the liquid storage chamber and the air communication chamber in the present invention.

The ink storage chamber 33 and the buffer space 34 communicate with each other via a communication flow path 35. In the present embodiment, the ink storage chamber 33 and the buffer space 34 share a part of the bottom surface of the ink storage chamber 33 so as to be a ceiling surface of the buffer space 34. It can be said that the bottom surface of the ink storage chamber 33 and the ceiling surface of the buffer space 34 are partition walls 36 that partition the ink storage chamber 33 and the buffer space 34.

As shown in FIG. 3, the communication flow path 35 is arranged on the lower front side of the ink tank 15. In the first posture of the ink tank 15, one end of the communication flow path 35 is connected to the bottom surface side of the ink storage chamber 33, and the other end of the communication flow path 35 is connected to the bottom surface side of the buffer space 34. Further, in the ink tank 15 of the present embodiment, the ink storage chamber 33, the buffer space 34, and the communication flow path 35 are integrally formed.

The ink outflow unit 141 communicates with the ink accommodating chamber 33 and outflows and supplies ink to the recording head 13. The ink outflow portion 141 is formed near the bottom surface of the ink storage chamber 33. The ink outflow section 141 constitutes the liquid outflow section in the present invention.

The buffer space 34 and the outside of the ink tank 15 communicate with each other via an atmospheric communication flow path 23 having an atmospheric opening 24 that opens to the atmosphere. In the present embodiment, the atmospheric communication flow path 23 is arranged on the rear side of the ink tank 15, and the atmospheric opening 24 is arranged near the upper part of the ink tank 15. With this configuration, when the ink in the ink storage chamber 33 is consumed in a state of being sealed by the tank cap 22, external air is taken into the ink tank 15 through the atmospheric communication flow path 23 and the atmospheric opening 24. Can be done. Similar to the ink tank described in Patent Document 1, the ink tank 15 of the present embodiment buffers the ink extruded by the expanded air when the air in the ink storage chamber 33 expands due to atmospheric pressure fluctuation or temperature change. It can be stored in the space 34. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the ink from being pushed out by the expanded air and the ink flowing back through the atmospheric communication flow path 23 from leaking from the atmospheric opening 24.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the ink tank 15 in the present embodiment. FIG. 4A is a schematic view showing the ink tank 15 in the second posture state, and FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram showing the ink tank 15 in the first posture state. Further, FIG. 4 (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line α-α of FIG. 4 (b). In the present embodiment, the ink tank 15 is configured to be detachable from the recording device 11, and is formed so as to be changeable between a first posture state and a second posture state before and after attachment / detachment. In the present embodiment, the ink outflow portion 141 is connected to the ink flow passage 14 even after the attachment / detachment.

FIG. 4A shows a second posture state, which is the posture of the ink tank 15 when the ink is injected. The second posture refers to a posture in which the ink tank 15 is arranged so that the buffer space 34 and the ink storage chamber 33 are arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction. Further, when the posture of the ink tank 15 is the second posture, the ink injection port 21 and the communication flow path 35 are located on the upper side of the ink tank 15, and the ink outflow portion 141 is located on the lower side of the ink tank 15. .. After the ink tank 15 is removed from the recording device 11, the communication flow path 35 and the ink injection port 21 are tilted so as to be on the upper side (the Y-axis direction is the upper side). Then, after the tank cap 22 is removed, the ink can be injected into the ink tank 15. In the second posture state, even if the ink is injected from the ink injection port 21, the communication flow path 35 is always located above the liquid level of the ink 19 in the ink storage chamber 33, so that the ink 19 passes through the communication flow path 35. It does not flow into the buffer space 34 via. After the ink is injected, the ink injection port 21 of the ink tank 15 is closed by the tank cap 22.

In the present embodiment, when the ink is injected, the liquid level in the ink tank 15 exceeds the height position (Zh) of the discharge port forming surface of the head in the second posture (see FIG. 4A). If the position is not high, ink can be injected into the ink tank 15 without providing an on-off valve in the ink flow passage 14. That is, in the second posture, even when the ink injection port 21 is open, there is a head difference required to maintain the negative pressure in the head, and the possibility of ink leaking from the head is reduced.

Further, when the on-off valve is provided in the ink flow passage 14, it is not necessary to consider the position (water head difference) of the ink tank at the time of ink injection, and it is possible to more reliably reduce the leakage of ink at the time of ink injection.

FIG. 4B shows a first posture state, which is the posture of the ink tank 15 when the ink tank 15 is mounted on the recording device 11 after the ink is injected. The first posture refers to a posture in which the buffer space 34 is arranged below the ink storage chamber 33 in the direction of gravity. The ink tank 15 of the present embodiment is attached to the recording device 11 in the first posture state. At this time, since the ink injection port 21 of the ink tank 15 is sealed by the tank cap 22, air does not enter the ink tank 15 from the ink injection port 21. In the first posture, one end of the communication flow path 35 is connected to the bottom surface side of the ink storage chamber 33, and the other end is connected to the bottom surface side of the buffer space 34. Further, the communication flow path 35 and the opening 32 are arranged on the lower front side (Y-axis direction is the front side) of the ink tank 15, and the atmosphere opening 24 is on the upper rear side (Z-axis direction) of the ink tank 15. It is placed on the upper side).

Further, as shown in FIG. 4C, in the first posture state, the opening 32 of the communication flow path 35 in the buffer space 34 is formed on the bottom surface of the buffer space 34 toward the upper side in the direction of gravity. There is. With this configuration, the meniscus is formed in the opening 32 of the communication flow path 35, so that the ink in the ink storage chamber 33 does not flow out into the buffer space 34 beyond the opening 32.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an ink-filled state of the ink tank 15 and the recording head 13 in the recording device 11 of the present embodiment. The tube 51 communicates from the ink outflow portion 141 of the ink tank 15 to the recording head 13, and is used to allow the ink 19 in the ink storage chamber 33 to flow out to the recording head 13 and supply the ink 19. In the present embodiment, the ink outflow portion 141 and the tube 51 form an ink flow passage 14. Further, the tube 51 constitutes the second communication flow path of the present invention.

FIG. 5A shows a state in which the ink in the ink storage chamber 33 is filled to the inside of the recording head 13 through the ink flow passage 14. When the ink of the recording head 13 is ejected from the ejection unit 131 in the state where the ink of FIG. 5A is filled, the recording head 13 receives the consumed ink from the ink accommodating chamber 33. Can be done.

Further, in FIG. 5A, the arrow indicates the direction of gravity, and the “height” in the description of FIGS. 5 and 8 below means the height in the direction of gravity.

The height of the ejection port forming surface, which is the arrangement surface on which the ejection portions 131 are arranged in parallel, is Zh, and the lowest position in the ink flow passage 14 which is the flow path connecting the ink outflow portion 141 and the recording head 13 is Z0. To do. In the present embodiment, the ink outflow portion 141 is provided at the same position as the height of the bottom surface (partition wall surface of the partition wall 36) of the ink storage chamber 33.

Further, the height of the position of the opening 32 in the communication flow path 35 is defined as Z1. At this time, the height Z1 corresponds to the liquid level height of the ink in which gas-liquid exchange between the ink and the atmosphere is performed as the ink is consumed by the recording head 13.

As described above, since the buffer space 34 is located below the ink storage chamber 33 in the direction of gravity, the position (Z1) of the opening 32 is lower than the height (Zh) of the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 13. Is placed in. With such a configuration, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment can generate a head difference between Zh and Z1 and maintain a good negative pressure in the recording head 13. Further, in the recording device 11 of the present embodiment, a meniscus is also formed at the ejection port (ejection portion 131) to prevent air from being mixed from the ejection port and the ink from flowing back into the ink storage chamber 33.

FIG. 5B shows a state in which the air in the ink containing chamber 33 expands due to atmospheric pressure fluctuations and temperature changes, and the ink 19 in the ink containing chamber 33 is pushed out into the buffer space 34. The height Z2 of the ink liquid level in the buffer space 34 corresponds to the height at which gas-liquid exchange between the ink and the atmosphere is performed.

The height Z2 of the ink liquid surface is arranged below the height (Zh) of the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 13. Therefore, even if the ink 19 is pushed out into the buffer space 34, the negative pressure in the recording head 13 does not immediately reverse to the positive pressure, and the ink rarely leaks from the recording head 13.

Further, if the height (Z2) of the ink liquid surface in the buffer space 34 is limited to the position (Z0) or less of the partition wall surface which is the surface of the partition wall 36, the height is always lower than the height of the discharge port forming surface of the recording head 13. Therefore, the negative pressure in the recording head can be stably maintained.

Further, if the height (Z2) of the ink liquid surface in the buffer space 34 is limited to the position of the partition surface (Z0) or less, and the lowest position in the ink flow passage 14 is set to the position (Z0) or more of the partition surface. , The ink flow passage 14 is always higher than the height of the ink liquid level (Z2). Therefore, even if air is mixed in the ink flow passage 14, the negative pressure in the recording head can be satisfactorily maintained. With such a configuration, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment can maintain a good negative pressure in the recording head 13 even when the ink is stored in the buffer space 34.

As described above, in the ink tank 15 of the present embodiment, the buffer space 34 and the ink storage chamber 33 are parallel to each other in the first posture in which the buffer space 34 is located below the ink storage chamber 33 in the gravity direction. It is possible to change to a second posture. With such a configuration, the recording device 11 of the present embodiment does not allow the atmosphere to communicate with the ink injection port 21 in a state where the negative pressure of the recording head 13 is well maintained. Therefore, even if the ink tank 15 is provided with the ink injection port 21, it is possible to suppress ink leakage to the outside during ink injection.

[Embodiment 2]
FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing an outline of the recording device 11 in the present embodiment. FIG. 6A is an external perspective view showing a state in which the scanner unit 17 of the recording device 11 of the present embodiment is open, and FIG. 6B is a carriage 12 and an ink tank cover 156 of the recording device 11. It is an external perspective view which shows the state which is open. In the description of the present embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of overlapping contents will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the scanner unit 17 is configured to be openable and closable from the housing of the recording device 11, and an opening region is formed by lifting the scanner unit 17.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the carriage 12 and the ink tank cover 156 are configured to be openable and closable. The user can replace the recording head 13 by lifting the carriage 12 and access the ink tank 15 by lifting the ink tank cover 156. Further, a tube 51 communicating with each ink tank is connected, and each ink is supplied to the recording head 13 via the tube 51. Similar to the first embodiment, the ink outflow portion 141 and the tube 51 form an ink flow passage 14. In the present embodiment, a valve 26 is provided which connects the ink outflow portion 141 and the recording head 13, opens and closes a tube 51 for supplying ink from the ink storage chamber 33 to the recording head 13, and shuts off communication between ink and air. ing.

FIG. 7 is an external perspective view showing the ink tank 15 in the present embodiment. The buffer space, 34, and the outside of the ink tank 15 communicate with each other through the atmospheric communication flow path 23 and the atmospheric opening 24. The air communication flow path 23 is arranged on the rear side of the ink tank 15, and the atmosphere opening 24 is arranged near the upper part of the ink tank 15. In the present embodiment, a valve 25 is provided that opens and closes the atmospheric communication flow path 23 that communicates between the buffer space 34 and the atmospheric opening 24, and shuts off the air communication.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an ink-filled state of the ink tank 15 and the recording head 13 in the recording device 11 of the present embodiment.

FIG. 8A shows a state in which ink is injected into the ink storage chamber 33. That is, in this embodiment, the ink can be injected in the posture (first posture) shown in FIG. 8A. In the present embodiment, the valves 25 and 26 are closed at the time of ink injection, and ink is injected from the ink injection port 21. The ink 19 stored in the ink storage chamber 33 does not flow out to the buffer space 34 beyond the opening 32.

FIG. 8B shows a state in which the valves 25 and 26 are opened after the tank cap 22 is attached after the ink is injected into the ink tank 15. After the valves 25 and 26 are opened, the ink stored in the ink storage chamber 33 is filled in the recording head 13 through the ink flow passage 14. As described above, since the recording device 11 of the present embodiment is provided with the valves 25 and 26, the ink tank 15 can be in the posture during use (first posture) without removing the ink tank 15 from the recording device 11. Ink can be injected into 15.

As described above, according to the recording device 11 of the present embodiment, in addition to the effect of the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a recording device having good operability.

[Embodiment 3]
FIG. 9 is a schematic view showing a cross section of the ink tank 15 in the present embodiment. 9 (a) shows a cross section of the ink tank 15 in the first posture state, and FIGS. 9 (b) and 9 (c) are cross-sectional views of β-β rays and γ-γ rays of FIG. 9 (a), respectively. A cross-sectional view is shown. In the description of this embodiment, the same components as those in the above-described embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description of overlapping contents will be omitted.

In the above-described embodiment, the aspect in which the ink tank 15 stores one type of ink in one ink storage chamber 33 and one buffer space 34 has been described. However, the embodiment is not limited to the above.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 9B and 9C, the ink tank 15 of the present embodiment has a plurality of ink storage chambers each containing a plurality of types of ink, and a plurality of ink storage chambers corresponding to the plurality of ink storage chambers. It has a buffer space 34. With such a configuration, it is possible to store a plurality of types of ink in one ink tank 15, and it is possible to provide an ink tank and a recording device having good operability while further downsizing the recording device 11.

11 ... Recording device 13 ... Recording head 14 ... Ink flow path 141 ... Ink outflow section 15 ... Ink tank 21 ... Ink injection section 24 ... Atmospheric communication port 33 ... Ink Storage room 34 ・ ・ ・ Buffer storage room 35 ・ ・ ・ Communication flow path

Recording apparatus of the present invention includes: a liquid storage chamber for containing a liquid material to be supplied to the recording head for discharging liquid, and injection unit for injecting liquids Previous Stories liquid storage chamber, the liquid container comprising A recording device including a cap capable of opening and closing the injection portion and performing a recording operation by the recording head. The recording head can discharge liquids of a plurality of colors, and the liquid storage container has the plurality of colors. The injection portion is provided on the inclined surface of the liquid storage container, and is arranged so as to face upward when the liquid is discharged from the recording head, and the cap is provided independently for each color of the liquid. The injection portion is characterized in that a protruding shape that protrudes outward in a sealed state is provided at the center of the opening of the injection portion .

Claims (1)

A recording head that discharges liquid to perform recording operations,
A liquid storage chamber for accommodating the liquid supplied to the recording head, an air communication chamber communicating with the atmosphere, and a communication flow path communicating the liquid storage chamber and the air communication chamber are integrally formed. Liquid storage container and
A liquid injection unit provided in the liquid storage container and injecting the liquid from the outside into the liquid storage chamber is provided.
The liquid storage container has a first posture in which the air communication chamber is located below the liquid storage chamber in the direction of gravity, and a second posture in which the air communication chamber and the liquid storage chamber are parallel to each other in the horizontal direction. Can be changed to
A recording device characterized in that, when the posture of the liquid storage container is the second posture, the liquid injection portion and the communication flow path are located on the upper side of the liquid storage container.

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