JP2891247B2 - Ink tank for inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink tank suitable for an ink-type dot printer that forms dots on recording paper using ink. 2. Description of the Related Art Since a dot print using ink requires replenishment of ink, for example, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-194549, black ink is contained in an ink bag. An ink cassette and an ink cassette containing cyan, magenta, and yellow inks contained in the same container are used, and ink is supplied to the print head via these ink cassettes and ink supply tubes. ing. However, since the ink bag is used, there is a problem that the size of the cassette is large and the recording apparatus becomes large. In order to solve such a problem, as shown in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-166464, an ink tank divided into a plurality of rooms and a print head connected to the ink tank are mounted on a carriage, and An ink jet recording apparatus has been proposed in which a detachable connection port is provided for each of the ink cartridges in each of the tank rooms, and ink can be supplied by exchanging the ink cartridges. However, it is necessary to align the connection means of the ink cartridge with the connection means of the ink tank and push the ink cartridge in a narrow area such as a carriage. They have the problem of making mistakes. Further, in the case of using a plurality of inks, such as a color recording apparatus, there is a problem that a plurality of replacement operations are required, and the operation becomes complicated. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank which is small in size, can be easily positioned with respect to a print head, and can be securely attached to the print head. It is in. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank that can supply ink to a print head in a single mounting operation of a plurality of inks. [0004] In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, a head holder for fixing a print head is provided, and heads toward an end of an ink receiving portion communicating with the print head. Guide to move the trajectory
Can be stored in the ink tank holder guided by the means
In addition , the ink-impregnated porous member is accommodated in a container that is used by being accommodated in the ink tank holder, and the ink tank holder is moved along the locus.
The ink supply port through which the ink of the porous member flows is formed at a position where the ink supply port is engaged with the ink receiving section. The ink supply port is mounted on the ink receiving section by loading the container into the holder and moving the holder. Is entered. An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a head of an embodiment of an ink-type wired dot printer according to the present invention. A print head 1 is a head for a color printer plotter of four colors.
It has green and blue ink systems and one wire for each. 4-color printer plotter
One or both of the head and the recording paper are moved so that a wire corresponding to a desired color of the head is projected at a predetermined position on the recording paper to form a dot by ink, and operates to draw a character or a figure. The print head 1 has an ink tank 2 which is detachably mounted on the upper part. Ink tank 2
Is configured as a two-body structure of an ink tank 2b for black ink and a tank 2a having an interior divided into three parts for the color ink in the horizontal direction. The ink of each color is impregnated and stored in an ink impregnating member 60 made of a porous material filled in the ink tank 2. A black ink supply port (a member indicated by reference numeral 41 in FIG. 3) is formed on the bottom surface of the black ink tank 2b, and each color ink supply port 41 is formed on the bottom surface of the color ink tank 2a. On the other hand, the print head 1 is provided with a portion on which an ink tank 2b for black ink and an ink tank 2a for color ink are placed in parallel, and an ink supply port 41 of the black ink tank 2b, Color ink tank 2a
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of ink receiving portions 12 connected to the respective color ink supply ports 41 are lined up in a row with an interval corresponding to the width of the black ink tank 2b and the width of each storage chamber of the color ink tank 2a. To protrude. The ink receiving portion 12 has an ink guiding groove 12 extending in the axial direction.
b, the ink guide groove 12b and the tank filler 60
Is in contact. The width and depth of the ink guide groove 12b are set to appropriate values so that the ink in the ink tank 60 can be stably supplied to the print head 1. A circumferential groove 12a is formed at the front of the ink receiving section 12, and an ink guide groove 12b is formed.
And are connected by the inside 12c. A wire guide 13 is incorporated in the circumferential groove 12a, and a gap indicated by A and B is formed by a combination of the two. The gap between the wire 11 and the wire guide hole 13a of the wire guide 13 is small, and ink flows from the ink tank 2 to the ink guide groove 12b of the ink receiving portion 12 and the gaps A and B between the wire guide 13 and the wire. And is guided to the tip of the wire 11 by capillary force. Example 4
In the case of a color printer plotter head, four wires correspond to four color inks, respectively. In the wire driving device, a yoke 18 having a coil core 16 around which a coil 17 is wound, a yoke plate 19 and a plunger 15 constitute a magnetic circuit. Blanja 15
Is transmitted to the wire 11 via the clapper 14. The wire driving device is covered by the cover 21 and the operating length of the clapper 14 is restricted. During standby, the distal end surface of the wire is deeper than the distal end surface of the wire guide 13, and the wire length is set so that a meniscus of ink formed at the front of the wire guide hole 13a covers the distal end surface of the wire. Next, the operation will be described. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the coil 17 is energized.
Is sucked. As a result, the clapper 14 to which the plunger 15 is fixed rotates, and the wire 11 to be engaged with the tip of the clapper 14 projects. The leading end surface of the wire 11 penetrates the ink meniscus, causes ink to adhere to the leading end surface, collides with recording paper (not shown), and transfers the ink to the recording paper. In the wire standby state, the distal end surface of the wire 11 is inside the end surface of the wire guide 13 and an ink meniscus is formed in front of the distal end surface of the wire. The surplus ink on the front surface of the wire guide 13 is drawn into the recovery groove 13b having a V-shaped cross section formed on the front surface and the side surface by capillary force. The ink is returned to the ink receiving unit 12 without being used. Next, the ink tank of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The ink cartridge 2b, which is an ink tank for black ink, and the ink cartridge 2a, which is an ink tank for color ink, are inserted in parallel into a cartridge holder 70 disposed above the print head book 1. The both side walls of the frame 30 of the head main body 1 extend from the upper surface and the rear surface of the head main body 1, and constitute a cartridge holder support portion 31. The cartridge holder support 31 is provided with a cartridge holder support hole 32.
And two notches 33a and 33b extending in the vertical direction.
And a leaf spring portion 36 provided with a cartridge holder fixing hole 34 and a force guide groove 35. On both sides of the cartridge holder 70,
Cartridge holder support hole 32 of head frame 30
And a hemispherical projection 72 which is engaged with the cartridge fixing hole 34 in a rotatable manner. On the side surface of the ink cartridges 2a and 2b adjacent to the cartridge holder supporting portion 31 of the head frame 30, there is provided a columnar projection 49 for engaging with the lower end portion of the cartridge guide groove 35 of the head frame 30. I have. Next, the ink cartridge 2 is
A description will be given of an ink path in a state where the ink path is attached to the printer. In FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 2 includes a cartridge body 40, an ink-impregnated member 60 filled in a hollow portion of the cartridge body 40, and a lid 50. An ink supply port 41 is provided in front of the bottom surface 40-a of the cartridge body 40.
However, air holes 42 are respectively opened in the step portions 43 of the front wall surface 40-b. The ink supply port 41 is configured so that the arm portion 12-d of the ink receiving portion 12 protruding from the head main body 1 can be inserted. The inner step 44 on the bottom surface 40a of the tank body
Are provided with a plurality of narrow grooves 45a, 45b, 45c so as to communicate with the ink supply port 41, so as to face the ink guide grooves 12b provided in the arms 12d of the ink receiving section 12 of the printer head main body. Has become. These narrow grooves 45a and 45b become one on the way and guide ink to the narrow groove 12b together with 45c. In this embodiment, the cartridge holder 70 is supported at the position shown in FIG. 4, and the ink cartridge 2 is inserted in the direction of arrow A in the figure. At this time, the ink cartridge 2 does not need to be accurately positioned in the cartridge holder 70, and therefore, the insertion is easy. Next, when the cartridge holder is rotated in the direction of arrow B, the protrusion provided on the side of the ink cartridge comes into contact with the cartridge guide groove 35 of the head frame 30 to position the ink cartridge 2. Reference numeral 41 is located directly above the arm portion 12a of the ink receiving portion 12 protruding from the head main body 1. When further rotated, the ink receiving portion 1
The second arm 12 a is engaged with the ink supply port 41 and inserted into the ink cartridge 2. Further, the hemispherical projection 72 provided on the side surface of the cartridge holder 70 bends the leaf spring portion 36 provided on the head frame 30 to both sides. Finally, the hemispherical projection 72 on the side of the cartridge holder 70 engages with the cartridge fixing hole 34 of the head frame 30, the leaf spring portion 36 returns to the extended position, and the cartridge holder 70 is fixed. . This makes it possible to determine that the ink cartridge 2 has been attached to the print head 1 in a prescribed state, and can prevent unnecessary force from acting on other members. In this state, the ink guide groove 45 provided on the bottom surface 40-a of the ink cartridge 2 and the ink guide groove 12-b provided on the arm 12-d of the ink receiving section 12 of the print head main body 1 are provided. And an ink path from the ink cartridge 2 to the print head main body 1 is formed.
When the ink cartridge 2 is to be replaced, the cartridge holder 70 is rotated by rotating the cartridge holder 70 about the columnar projection 71 in the direction opposite to the arrow B, and the ink cartridge 2 is inserted.
Raised while being held in the ink cartridge holder 70, the ink supply port 41 of the ink cartridge 2 is an ink receiving inlet
Easily escape without exerting unnecessarily strong force is 12. As described above, the ink cartridge 2 is mounted on the head main body 1 while being supported by the cartridge holder 70 while being guided relative to the head frame 30 while being slidable back and forth in the cartridge holder 70. Therefore, the mounting operation is extremely easy, and a plurality of inks used for color printing can be supplied at the same time . [0022] [Effect of the Invention above, in the present invention, as described, provided on the head holder for fixing the print head, guide means to move the track towards the leading end of the ink receiving portion communicating with the print head Inn guided by
Can be stored in the ink tank holder and the ink tank holder
The ink container is used to house the porous member impregnated with ink, and the path of the ink tank holder.
Ink multi porosifying member to a position engaging the ink receiving unit to form an ink supply port for flowing the movement of the upper, by moving the holder and loading the container holder, the ink supply port of the ink receiving unit The ink supply port of the tank can be accurately positioned and installed in the ink receiving section of the print head by a simple operation of loading the ink tank into the holder and moving the holder. Ink can be supplied to the print head.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal structure of an ink cartridge. FIG. 4 is a side view illustrating a method of mounting an ink cartridge. [Description of Signs] 1 Head body 2 Ink cartridge 3 Ink supply port 12 Ink receiving section 30 Frame 30 31 Cartridge holder support 31 32 Cartridge holder support holes 33a, 33b Notch 34 Cartridge holder fixing hole 35 Power cartridge guide groove 70 Cartridge holder

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (56) References JP-A-58-201671 (JP, A) JP-A-57-188385 (JP, A) JP-A-58-194549 (JP, A) JP-A-58-2016 142861 (JP, A) JP-A-50-99436 (JP, A) JP-A-55-42875 (JP, A) JP-A-58-166644 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 2/175 B41J 2/305

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] It is provided on a head holder for fixing the print head, and is guided by guide means so as to move along a path toward the tip of the ink receiving portion communicating with the print head.
It is contained in an ink tank holder, and said Inkutan
In a container used to be housed in a holder, a porous member impregnated with ink is housed, and the ink tank
An ink tank for an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein an ink supply port through which ink of the porous member flows is formed at a position where the holder is engaged with the ink receiving portion by moving on the trajectory . 2. A guide is provided on a head holder for fixing the print head, and is guided by guide means so as to move along a path toward the tips of the plurality of ink receiving portions communicating with the print head.
Be contained in an ink tank holder to be, and the in-
A plurality of chambers are formed in a container to be used in the ink tank holder, and each of the chambers contains a porous member impregnated with ink.
An ink tank for an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a plurality of ink supply ports through which the ink of the porous member flows are formed at positions where the inks of the porous member flow into engagement with the respective ink receiving portions by movement on a trajectory . 3. 3. The ink tank for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply port is formed so as to be deviated from one wall of the container in a direction in which the ink tank holder is inserted.