JP3079693B2 - Hot melt ink supply device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot-melt ink for a hot-melt ink-jet recording apparatus which records characters and the like on a recording medium by ejecting a hot-melt ink which is solid at normal temperature and melts when heated by an inkjet ejecting means. It relates to a supply device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a hot-melt ink supply apparatus for recording a hot-melt ink which is solid at normal temperature on a recording medium by using an ink jet ejecting means, in order to supply ink to a print head, heat is applied to the solid ink. In addition, it must be melted. Therefore, the supplied hot melt ink has been directly put into the ink tank heated by the heater. However, if the ink is directly stored by a human hand, oil, dust, and the like are likely to be mixed in the ink, which may cause a lack of printing or a defective head.

[0003]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, an ink cartridge is filled with ink, and the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge into a heated ink tank in a printer body without human intervention. is there. However, since the ink is a solid hot-melt ink at room temperature, a mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the ink cartridge, a mechanism for transporting the solid ink inside the ink cartridge to the ink tank, and a hot ink melted from the heated ink tank are further provided. Means for transporting the melt ink to the inkjet head is required, and the ink cartridge and the ink supply mechanism have been complicated. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a hot melt ink supply device capable of supplying hot melt ink to a print head by an ink cartridge without using a complicated mechanism.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, recording is performed by ejecting a hot melt ink which is solid at normal temperature and melts when heated by an ink jet ejecting means onto a recording medium. A hot melt ink supply device used in a recording apparatus, wherein the hot melt ink is stored inside, and the hot melt ink in a molten state is provided in a molten ink provided in a cartridge.
An ink cartridge which is supplied from an outlet and supplied to the ink jet ejecting means ;
Provided in the ink cartridge there, a heating means for heating the hot melt ink, the ink vehicle
An ink cartridge storage section for storing a cartridge,
The ink cartridge is provided in the ink cartridge
The melt ink outlet of the ink cartridge is connected
Melted hot melt ink
Fusion ink delivery port connection and storage of the ink cartridge
And a driving unit for driving the heating unit. Further, the invention of claim 2 is based on claim 1
In the hot melt ink supply device described in the above, the ink
Ink cartridge, which stores the hot melt ink
Tank and a heat-resistant resin covering the periphery of the ink tank.
What is formed by double structure with ink case
It is. Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the same as that according to claim 2.
In the melt-melt ink supply device, the ink tank is
Supported by a rib against the ink case
It is. Further, the invention of claim 4 is the invention of claims 1 to
3. The hot melt ink supply device according to any one of
Heating means provided inside the ink cartridge.
And driving means provided on the ink cartridge storage section side
Between the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge
When stored in the storage section, the connection
Connected to the heating means , thereby heating the heating means.
It is. The invention of claim 5 is the invention of claims 1 to
Item 4. The hot melt ink supply device according to any one of items 3.
The heating hand provided inside the ink cartridge
The row is a drive mechanism provided on the ink cartridge storage side.
Metal members that generate heat due to the alternating magnetic field generated by the steps
It has.

[0005]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the solid hot melt ink stored in the ink cartridge is dissolved.
Heating means for melting is provided on the ink cartridge side.
The driving means for driving the heating means is an ink cart.
Provided on the ink cartridge storage side that stores the ridge
The ink cartridge into the ink cartridge storage
The heating means is driven by storing, and the hot melt in
Melts Melted hot melt ink is ink
Ink cartridge from molten ink outlet of cartridge
The ink is supplied to the ink jet ejecting means via the molten ink sending / outlet connecting portion of the storage unit . Thus, hot melt
The ink is covered in a cartridge
Users can directly touch the hot melt ink
And no inconvenience as described in the prior art.
Is eliminated . Further, according to the configuration of claim 2, the ink
The periphery of the tank is covered with a heat-resistant resin ink case
The ink tank, which has become hot,
There is no touch with a joint. Further, according to the configuration of claim 3
For example, the rib between the ink tank and the ink case is
As it has a high insulation effect. Claim 4
According to the configuration of (1), the ink cartridge is
When stored in the cartridge storage unit, the drive means is heated by the connection
Electrically connected to the means. Further, according to the configuration of claim 5,
If the heating means generates heat by the AC magnetic field,
No special connection is required.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a hot-melt inkjet recording apparatus (hereinafter, referred to as the present printer) of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a central sectional view of the printer of the present embodiment. The schematic configuration of the printer will be described with reference to these drawings. The printer is an inkjet head 1 for printing.
0 (hereinafter, referred to as a head 10), a frame 40 provided to face the head 10, and an ink supply unit 54 provided behind the head 10 as main components.
A head ink level sensor 50 for detecting the remaining amount of ink is mounted inside the head 10. The carriage 16 on which the head 10 is mounted can be moved along a guide shaft 22 (not shown in FIG. 1 ) inserted into the carriage 16 by a carriage motor 18 as a driving means and a timing belt 20 for moving the carriage 16 . It is arranged in. Further, the carriage 16 is provided with a read head 46 including a light emitting diode and a phototransistor for generating a timing pulse for detecting a recording position. In the frame 40, an optical slit 48 for recording position detection is arranged between the light emitting diode of the read head 46 and the phototransistor.

On the printing surface of the frame 40, an upper paper feed roller 24 and a lower paper feed roller 26 for conveying a recording medium are provided. An upper pitch roller 28 paired with the upper paper feed roller 24 and the lower paper feed roller 26, respectively.
The lower pitch roller 30 and the lower pitch roller 30 are provided so as to slightly protrude from a position facing the printing surface of the frame 40. The recording medium 14 is conveyed from the bottom to the top between the two pairs of rollers. The upper paper feed roller 24, the lower paper feed roller 26, the upper pitch roller 28, and the lower pitch roller 30 are connected to the frame 4 via rotating shafts 32, 34, 36, and 38, respectively.
It is rotatably supported at zero. And the rotating shafts 32, 3
Reference numeral 4 denotes a rotation mechanism that is rotated by a paper feed motor 44 via a transmission mechanism including a belt 42. The ink cartridge 56 is housed in the ink supply unit 54. An ink supply tube 52 having a heater therein is connected from the ink supply unit 54 to the head 10. There is one ink supply tube 52 for each color (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) of the hot melt ink 12 and sends the hot melt ink 12 from the ink supply unit 54.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described. The hot melt ink 12 (shown in FIG. 3 described later) is stored in an ink cartridge 56, and the ink cartridge 56 is stored in an ink supply unit 54. Hot melt ink 1 melted in ink cartridge 56
2 is supplied to the head 10 through the ink supply tube 52 and is ejected from the head 10 onto the recording medium 14. The head 10 performs recording on the recording medium 14 by ejecting the hot melt ink 12. The carriage 16 on which the head 10 is mounted is moved along a guide shaft 22 by a carriage motor 18 and a timing belt 20. The reading head 46 mounted on the carriage 16 controls the driving of the carriage 16 and detects the scanning amount and speed of the carriage 16 to detect the recording position.

An upper paper feed roller 24, a lower paper feed roller 26, an upper pitch roller 28, and a lower pitch roller 30 feed the recording medium 14 sent out by paper feeding means such as an auto cut sheet feeder (not shown) to a recording position. The recording medium 14 recorded by 10 is sent in the direction of the outlet (the direction of the arrow).

Next, the configuration of the ink supply unit 54 and the ink cartridge 56 in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. The ink cartridge 56 is housed in the ink supply unit 54 and includes an ink case 60 made of a heat-resistant resin and an aluminum ink tank 58 housed inside the ink case 60. The hot melt ink 12 is accommodated in the ink tank 58, and a heater 62 is provided on a wall surface. An ink level sensor 64 and a temperature sensor 66 are provided between the heaters 62. The respective harnesses of the heater 62, the ink level sensor 64, and the temperature sensor 66 are drawn out through the air holes 68. At the bottom of the ink tank, a delivery port 69 for delivering the molten ink is provided.

In the ink case 60, an electrode 70 of each harness drawn out from the air hole 68 is installed. In the lower center of the ink case 60, a packing 72 is installed around the outlet 69, An air hole 74 is provided on the periphery. The ink supply unit 54 includes a lid 78 that can be opened and closed and an ink case 76 made of a heat-resistant resin.
Inside the ink case 76, the ink case 60 is provided.
An electrode 80 provided corresponding to the electrode 70 is provided,
Further, a nozzle 82 is provided so as to correspond to the packing 72. An electromagnetic valve 84 is incorporated in the nozzle 82, and the lower end of the nozzle 82 is connected to the ink supply tube 52.

Next, the operation of the ink supply unit 54 and the ink cartridge 56 having the above configuration will be described. The hot melt ink 12 is supplied to the heater 62 of the ink tank 58.
Is melted by Further, the remaining amount and the temperature of the hot melt ink 12 in the ink tank 58 are detected by the ink level sensor 64 and the temperature sensor 66. On the other hand, the melted hot melt ink 12 is sent out from a melt ink outlet 69.

When the ink cartridge 56 is inserted into the ink supply unit 54, the electrodes 80 of the ink supply unit 54 and the electrodes 70 of the ink cartridge 56 come into contact with each other and conduct electricity. Thus, the electric signals of the ink level sensor 64 and the temperature sensor 66 are sent to the printer main body through the harness, and the power is supplied from the power supply. When the ink cartridge 56 is inserted into the ink supply unit 54, the molten ink supply port 69 is connected to the ink supply tube 52 via the nozzle 82. At this time, the packing 72 prevents the hot melt ink 12 from leaking when the hot melt ink 12 is supplied. An electromagnetic valve 84 incorporated in the nozzle 82 opens and closes an ink flow path in accordance with an instruction from the control means, thereby controlling the supply of the molten ink.

The positions of the electrodes 70 of the ink case 60 are changed for each ink cartridge 56 of each color in accordance with the color of the hot melt ink 12, so that erroneous insertion of the ink cartridge 56 is prevented. . Then, the ink case 60 is fixed to the ink tank 58 by the rib.
Is maintained with a minimum contact area, so that the ink tank 58 and the ink case 60 are insulated, improving the thermal efficiency and improving the ease of handling when the user replaces the ink cartridge 56. I have.

Next, the configuration of the control unit will be described with reference to FIG. 4, a memory 88, a head ink level sensor 50, an ink level sensor 64,
The temperature sensor 66 and the read head 46 are connected, and the head 10, the carriage motor 18, the paper feed motor 44, the electromagnetic valve 8
4, connected to the heater 62; This CPU 86
According to an operation program stored in the memory 88 in advance,
Head ink level sensor 50, ink level sensor 6
4. Read the signal sent from the temperature sensor 66 and the read head 46. And these signals read are CP
It is sent from U86 to the drive circuit 90 as a control signal. The drive circuit 90 receiving the control signal includes the head 10, the heater 6,
2. Drive the carriage motor 18, the paper feed motor 44, and the electromagnetic valve 84.

The operation of the control unit will be described. When the printer is powered on, the CPU 86 performs an initial setting operation according to an operation program stored in the memory 88 in advance. After the initial setting operation is completed, the temperature of the hot melt ink 12 in the ink tank 58 is detected by the temperature sensor 66, and based on the result, the heater 62 is driven via the drive circuit 90 to melt the hot melt ink 12. And keep it at a constant temperature. After the temperature of the hot melt ink 12 reaches a certain temperature, the printer feeds the recording medium 14 by a paper supply unit such as an auto cut sheet feeder (not shown) based on a recording start signal from a host device (not shown) or the like. I do.

The CPU 86 drives the head 10, the carriage motor 18, and the paper feed motor 44 via a drive circuit 90 to convey the recording medium 14 to a recording position and perform a recording operation. When the recording operation is completed, the recording medium 14 is sent to a discharge port (not shown). During the recording operation, the CPU 86 detects the remaining amount of the hot melt ink 12 inside the head 10 based on a signal from the head ink level sensor 50, and when it detects that the remaining amount is small, the electromagnetic valve 84 via the drive circuit 90. To open the ink flow path. Since the ink supply unit 54 is provided at a higher position than the head 10, when the electromagnetic valve 84 is excited and the ink flow path is opened, the hot melt ink 12 is transferred from the ink tank 58 to the head 10 by a water level difference. Supplied. Also,
When it is detected via the ink level sensor 64 in the ink tank 58 that the remaining amount of the hot melt ink 12 in the ink tank 58 is low, the host device and the operator need to exchange the ink cartridge 56. Inform that As described above, by providing the heater 62 in the ink cartridge 56, it is possible to supply the molten ink to the head 10 without using a complicated mechanism.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above configuration, and various modifications are possible. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the heating means may be provided in the ink supply unit 54 which contacts the outside of the ink cartridge 56. That is, in the modification shown in FIG. 5, the ink tank 58 is made of an iron material which is a metal having a relatively high resistance value. Also,
Inside the ink tank 58, the heater 62, the ink level sensor 64, the temperature sensor 66, the electrode 70, and the electrode 80 of the case 76 as shown in FIG. 3 are not provided. In this modification, a coil 92 for generating a magnetic field is provided on the bottom surface of the case 76 so as to contact the ink case 60. In order to prevent erroneous insertion of the ink cartridge 56, the shapes of the ink case 60 and the nozzles 82 are changed depending on the colors of the hot melt ink 12 depending on the respective colors.

The operation of this modified example will be described. The basic operation is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, but in this modified example, when the power is turned on, an alternating current is supplied to the coil 92 from the commercial power supply. When an alternating current is supplied, the coil 92
, An eddy current flows through the ink tank 58. Joule heat is generated by the eddy current, and the ink tank 58 itself generates heat, thereby melting the hot melt ink 12. In this modification, since the temperature sensor 66 is not provided, the temperature of the hot melt ink 12 becomes constant when the amount of heat generated by Joule heat and the amount of heat radiated from the ink cartridge 56 match. In addition, the ink tank 5
Since the ink level sensor 64 is not provided inside the ink jet head 8, the fact that the remaining amount of hot melt ink in the ink tank 58 is exhausted indicates that the hot melt ink The head ink level sensor 50 detects that the ink 12 has not been supplied, and makes a determination.

According to this modification, since the ink cartridge 56 does not need to be electrically connected to the printer main body, problems such as poor contact of the electrodes do not occur, and the harnesses of the heater 62 and various sensors are used. As a result, heat does not escape to the outside of the ink cartridge 56, so that the thermal efficiency is further improved, and the handleability when the user replaces the ink cartridge 56 is improved.

[0021]

As apparent from the above description, a claim is made.
According to the invention of Item 1 , the hot melt ink is stored inside.
Heating means is provided on the side of the ink cartridge
A drive means is provided on the side of the ink cartridge
Store the cartridge in the ink cartridge
Hot melt ink melts in the ink cartridge.
And supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording means.
Therefore, hot melt ink can be supplied by the ink cartridge without using a complicated mechanism,
In addition, the user directly touches the hot melt ink
Dust, etc.
And the handling of ink supply is improved. Ma
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the user directly operates the ink by hand.
To touch the cartridge, it does not burn and the like. Also, billing
According to the third aspect of the invention, heat radiation of the ink tank can be prevented.
You . Further, according to the invention of claim 4, the ink cartridge
Simple to store the ink cartridge in the ink cartridge storage
In operation, the driving means can drive the heating means.
Further, according to the invention of claim 5, the heating means is provided with an AC magnetic field.
As a result, heat is generated, and no electrical connection is required.
Problems such as defects are eliminated .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing a hot melt inkjet printer according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a central sectional view schematically showing a hot melt inkjet printer.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of an ink supply unit and an ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control unit of the hot melt inkjet printer.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an ink supply unit and an ink cartridge according to a modification of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Inkjet head12 Hot melt ink  56 ink cartridge58 Ink tank 60 ink case  62 heater (heating means)69 outlet 70 electrodes 80 electrodes 76 Ink Case 82 nozzles  90 drive circuit 92 coil (heating means)

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A hot-melt hot melt which is solid at normal temperature.
Recording of melt ink using inkjet jetting means
A hot head used in a recording device that ejects onto a medium and performs recording
In the melt ink supply device, the hot melt inkInsideStore,Molten state
WasHot melt inkProvided on the cartridge
Send out from the molten ink outletInk jet injection means
Ink cartridge to be supplied to the inside of this ink cartridgeThe ink cartridge
Installed on theHeating the hot melt ink
Heating means;Ink cartridge containing the ink cartridge
A storage unit, Provided in the ink cartridge storage section,
Make sure that the molten ink outlet of the ink cartridge is connected.
And send out the hot melt ink in the molten state
A molten ink outlet connection, Provided on the ink cartridge storage section side, The heating
A driving means for driving the means.
Melt ink supply device. 2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, , Hotmel
An ink tank for storing ink, and the ink tank
Double structure with heat-resistant resin ink case that covers the periphery of
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first electrode is formed.
Hot melt ink supply device. 3. The ink tank is provided in an ink case.
Characterized by being supported by ribs
The hot melt ink supply device according to claim 2. 4. An ink cartridge provided inside the ink cartridge.
Heating means and , Provided on the ink cartridge storage side
Between the driving means , Insert the ink cartridge into the ink cartridge.
When stored in the cartridge storage unit, it can be electrically connected
Connected by a connection , This allows the heating hand
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step is heated.
The hot melt ink supply device according to any one of the above. 5. An ink cartridge provided inside the ink cartridge.
Heating means , Provided on the ink cartridge storage side
Heat generated by the alternating magnetic field generated by the
And a metal member comprising:
Item 4. The hot melt ink supply device according to any one of Items 3.