JP2550139Y2 - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer which performs printing by ejecting ink from a head toward paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 3 shows a structure of an ink supply system in a conventional ink jet printer. Carriage 1
Is mounted with the print head 2 and the ink container 3, and performs printing while reciprocating in parallel with the platen 12 along the guide shaft 13. On the ink container mounting surface of the carriage 1,
An air supply needle 7 connected to the air supply tube 6 and an ink supply needle 4 connected to the ink supply tube 5 are implanted. When the sealed ink container 3 is mounted on the carriage 1, the air supply needle 7 and the ink supply needle 4 break through the rubber stopper 8 to supply ink from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 and supply air into the ink container 3. Hole 7a of air supply needle 7
Through the hole 4a of the ink supply needle 4. Then, a filter using a nonwoven fabric made of polypropylene at the place where air corresponding to the amount of ink supplied from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 passes through the air supply tube 6 and the air supply needle 7 and finally hits the air intake port 11a. 9, the ink is supplied into the ink container 3. Air tube 6
Is open to the atmosphere.

An ink container 3 for supplying ink to a print head 2 of an ink-jet printer can be roughly classified into a method of directly filling the ink container 3 with the ink and a method of sealing the ink once in a bag made of aluminum or the like. There are two types: In general, it is often used to directly fill the ink container 3 with the ink because the structure is simple and the remaining amount of the ink can be directly checked with the eyes.

[0004]

However, in the case of a structure in which ink is directly inserted into the ink container 3, if the printer main body is installed at an angle, the ink comes into contact with the filter 9 attached to the air intake port 11a. Since the components of the ink include not only water-soluble components but also various solvents, it was difficult for the filter 9 attached to the air intake 11a to completely repel the ink. Therefore, when the internal pressure of the ink container 3 becomes higher than the external atmospheric pressure due to a temperature change, a pressure change, or the like in a state where the filter 9 is in contact with the ink, the ink in the ink container 3 permeates into the filter 9 and the filter 9 The air corresponding to the amount of ink ejected from the print head does not enter due to clogging, and the ink supply system eventually becomes negative pressure, which adversely affects the ejection performance. In particular, high-speed printing ink jet printers with a large amount of ink ejected per time were the most susceptible.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate clogging of a filter and to enable stable ink supply.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an ink jet printer of the present invention uses a stored ink jet printer.
Filter at the air intake, which is the boundary between the ink and the outside world
Supplied to the print head from the ink container
Ink is ejected onto paper based on a predetermined drive signal.
In click-jet printer, an air supply tube connected to the air intake of the ink container, the ink has penetrated into the filter through the air supply tube the
Monodea characterized in that a pressurized air feeding the write non-pressure pump unit for pushing back into the ink container
You.

[0007]

According to the present invention, the ink permeated into the filter can be pushed back into the ink container by sending the pressurized air into the air supply tube by the pressurizing pump unit. As a result, it is possible to prevent the ink discharge performance from deteriorating.

[0008]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a general ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied. A cylindrical platen 12 is rotatably provided inside the printer main body 15, and two guide shafts 13, 13 are provided in front of the platen 12 in parallel with the axis of the platen 12. I have. The carriage 1 is provided on each of these guide shafts 13 so as to be able to reciprocate along the guide shafts 13. The carriage 1 ejects ink of each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. Print head 2 is mounted. An ink container 3 for supplying ink of each color is mounted on the carriage 1. Further, on the rear side of the platen 12 of the printer body 15, a continuous paper 14 wound in a roll is provided, and the paper 14 is guided to a predetermined printing position along the outer periphery of the platen 12. It has become.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of the ink supply system in one embodiment of the present invention. The carriage 1 carries a print head 2 and an ink container 3 and performs printing while reciprocating along a guide shaft 13. A rubber stopper 8 is attached to an opening 3 a formed at the bottom of the ink container 3, and an air intake pipe 11 whose lower part is in contact with the rubber stopper 8 is provided inside the ink container 3. A water-repellent filter 9 is attached to the air intake 11b at the upper end of the pipe 11. Further, an air supply needle 7 connected to the air supply tube 6 and an ink supply needle 4 connected to the ink supply tube 5 are implanted on the ink container mounting surface of the carriage 1. When the sealed ink container 3 is mounted on the carriage 1, the air supply needle 7 and the ink supply needle 4 pierce the rubber 8, and supply ink from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 and supply air into the ink container 3. Is the hole 7a of the air supply needle 7
And through the hole 4a of the ink supply needle 4. Then, an amount of air corresponding to the amount of ink supplied from the ink container 3 to the print head 2 passes through the air supply tube 6 and the air supply needle 7, and finally reaches the air intake port 11a, for example, made of polytetrafluoroethylene. Is supplied into the ink container 3 through a filter 9 made of polypropylene or the like.

An air supply tube 6 is provided in the printer body 15.
Pump unit 10 for sending pressurized air into
Is provided. The pressure pump unit 10 is arranged so as to be connected to the air supply tube 6 when the carriage 1 moves to a predetermined position, preferably a home position (standby position). Therefore, when the carriage 1 is at the home position, the pressurizing pump unit 10 is operated to feed the pressurized air into the tube 6, whereby the ink permeated into the filter 9 is pushed back into the ink container 3 and the filter 9 is moved. Can be clogged. At this time, the higher the pressurized air pressure, the more effective it is to remove clogging, but the upper limit is determined by the durability of the filter 9. In this embodiment, the pressurized air pressure is set to 1.3 to 2.0 atm. During printing, the end of the air tube 6 is open to the atmosphere.

[0011]

As described above, according to the present invention , the filter is formed by the pressurized air of the pressurized pump unit.
The filter that pushes the ink that has permeated into the ink container back into the ink container
Can be removed and the ink can be stably supplied to the print head, so that it can sufficiently cope with an ink jet printer for high-speed printing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a general inkjet printer using the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink supply system according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional ink supply system.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 carriage 2 print head 3 ink container 3a opening 4 ink supply needle 5 ink supply tube 6 air supply tube 7 air supply needle 8 rubber stopper 9 filter 10 pressurizing pump unit 11 air intake pipe 11a air intake port 12 platen 13 guide shaft 14 Paper 15 Printer body

Claims (2)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A boundary between the stored ink and the outside world.
Air supply tube connected to an air intake of the ink container in an ink jet printer in which ink supplied to a print head from an ink container having a filter attached to the air intake is ejected onto paper based on a predetermined drive signal. And the filter through the air supply tube.
The ink permeated into the ink container is pushed back into the ink container.
And a pressurizing pump unit for feeding pressurized air to the ink jet printer. 2. The ink container, the print head, and the air supply tube are mounted on a carriage that can reciprocate in parallel with a platen, and the pressure pump unit is connected to the air supply tube when the carriage moves to a predetermined position. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet printer is attached to a printer body supporting the carriage so as to be connected.