JP3083086B2 - Inkjet cartridge - 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 cartridge having a structure in which a porous body such as an ink absorber is accommodated in an ink container.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet head having a structure in which an energy generating portion for forming a recording liquid droplet and an ink tank for supplying ink to the energy generating portion are integrated has been put to practical use. In general, an ink tank of this type of ink jet head has a structure in which a porous body compressed and stored is impregnated with ink. The ink held in the porous body is drawn out of the ink tank from the ink supply port to the discharge unit through the common liquid chamber by the capillary force of the nozzle corresponding to the ink consumption of the discharge unit. Conventionally, an air communication port is provided to open a minute portion (about 3% of the tank area) of the ink tank to the atmosphere in order to prevent the porous body from negative pressure in the ink tank.

[0003]

However, in the prior art, since the amount of ink held in the porous body is increased to reduce the frequency of replacement, the existence ratio of the porous body in the ink tank is 100%. %, The amount of ink that cannot be supplied for recording from the tank and remains is large even though the amount of filled ink is increasing. It was the current situation.

[0004] In view of such a situation, it is important that the ink holding state of the porous body can be favorably supplied without adversely affecting the ejection characteristics.

On the other hand, a supply pipe for press-fitting a porous body in a tank and guiding the ink to the ink chamber is provided for communicating with an ink chamber for holding the ink for supplying the ink to the ejection energy generating means. For this purpose, it has been proposed to stabilize the contact state with the porous body and deform the porous body at the contact portion. Rather, the concept of the present invention is slight because the porous body is compressed so that only the abutting portion is compressed without largely deforming the porous body. However, when printing is performed, an ink supply failure occurs, and even though a large amount of ink remains in the tank, printing cannot be performed, and replacement has been forced.

[0006] In particular, this tendency tends to cause more ink to remain when a rib in the tank is provided near the air communication port for the porous body inside the tank.

An object of the present invention is to provide an ink container integrated type ink jet head which solves the above problems, achieves long-term printing, reduces the amount of ink remaining as much as possible, and reduces the frequency of replacement. This is the first object. It is a second object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having the head and capable of achieving stable recording.

In addition, it is a third object to provide an ink container integrated type ink jet head which is particularly effective when a rib is provided in the ink tank.

[0009] Furthermore, the structure inside the ink tank is improved so that the ink consumption is further improved, and the ink storage container-integrated ink jet head which achieves one of the above objects achieves more excellent effects. Another object is to provide an ink container integrated type ink jet head that can be used.

[0010] Other objects of the present invention will be explained from the following examples.

[0011]

According to the present invention, as a configuration for achieving the above-mentioned main object, an air communication space having an air communication port and an ink supply section are provided at different positions, and a porous material for holding ink is provided. And a recording head having an ink discharge unit, an ink discharge unit, an energy generating element for discharging ink, and a hollow ink supply pipe for receiving ink from the ink storage container. Wherein the ink container is defined by the distance r with respect to the ink supply unit with respect to a shortest distance r connecting the ink supply unit and the atmosphere communication space. The ink storage container may include a rib configured to define a region outside a region defined by the continuous surface as a region communicating with the atmosphere communication space. The features.

When the height of the rib is H2,
It is preferable that the insertion amount Z of the hollow tube of the recording head into the porous body be in the range of 2 × H2 ≦ Z ≦ 3 × H2.

[0013] The porous body has a larger volume than the ink container, and is compressed and stored in the container. The initial length of the porous body in the direction in which the recording head is mounted is set. W0, the corresponding length of the container is W1
Assuming that the compression amount is (W0-W1), the height of the rib is H2, and the length of the maximum diameter portion of the ink supply tube is D, the hollow tube of the recording head is applied to the porous body. It is preferable that the pressing insertion amount Z is in a range of Z ≧ (W0−W1) + H2 + D.

Further, it is preferable that the ejection energy generating means is a thermal energy generating means for causing film boiling in the ink by supplying an electric signal from a recording apparatus.

According to the present invention, the above-described configuration is derived from the result of studying various configurations for the structure of each ink tank, and the remarkable effect is exhibited in the above-described configuration. That is, the shortest distance r connecting the ink supply unit of the ink container serving as the ink tank and the atmosphere communication space is defined by a continuous surface in the ink container defined by the distance r with respect to the ink supply unit. By providing a rib in a region outside the region and communicating the region with the atmosphere communication space, the region is substantially reduced to the atmospheric pressure, and the ink consumption of the absorber is reduced from the entire region where the ink consumption is reduced to the atmospheric pressure. And the ink supply performance can be improved.

[0016]

2 to 6 show a preferred ink jet unit IJ to which the present invention is applied or applied.
U, inkjet head IJH, ink tank IT,
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each of an ink jet cartridge IJC, an ink jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and a carriage HC, and a relationship among them. Hereinafter, the configuration of each unit will be described with reference to these drawings.

The ink jet cartridge IJ in this embodiment
C, as can be seen from the perspective view of FIG. 3, has a large ink storage ratio, and has a shape in which the tip of the ink jet unit IJU projects slightly from the front surface of the ink tank IT. This ink jet cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by positioning means and electrical contacts of a carriage HC (FIG. 5) mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is disposable with respect to the carriage HC. Type. Examples 2 to 6 show configurations to which a number of new technologies achieved in the stage of establishment of the present invention have been applied. Therefore, these configurations will be briefly described and the entire configuration will be described. To

(I) Description of the structure of the ink jet unit IJU The ink jet unit IJU is a bubble jet system that performs recording using an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy for causing ink to cause film boiling according to an electric signal. Unit.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes an electrothermal transducer (discharge heater) arranged in a plurality of rows on an Si substrate, and electric wiring such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal transducer is formed by a film forming technique. It is a heater board composed of: Reference numeral 200 denotes a wiring board for the heater board 100,
It has a wiring corresponding to the 0 wiring (for example, connected by wire bonding) and a pad 201 located at an end of the wiring and receiving an electric signal from the main device.

Reference numeral 1300 denotes a grooved top plate provided with a partition for dividing a plurality of ink flow paths, a common liquid chamber for containing ink for supplying ink to each ink flow path, and the like.
An ink receiving port 1500 for receiving the ink supplied from the ink tank IT and introducing the ink into the above-described common liquid chamber, and an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of discharge ports corresponding to each ink flow path are integrally formed. Polysulfone is preferred as these integral molding materials, but other molding resin materials may be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of, for example, a metal for supporting the rear surface of the wiring substrate 200 on a plane, and serves as a bottom plate of the ink jet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a presser spring, which is M-shaped and presses the common liquid chamber at the center of the M-shape with light pressure, and concentrates a part of the liquid path, preferably an area near the discharge port, with linear pressure at the front drooping portion 501. Press. The foot of the spring pressing the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 is inserted into the hole 3121 of the support 300.
By engaging with the back side of the support 300 through the support board 300 and holding them together, the concentrated spring force of the presser spring 500 and the front drooping portion 501 causes the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 to be engaged. And crimped.
The support 300 includes two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT and a positioning and heat fusion holding protrusion 1802.
0,1801 and positioning holes 312,190
In addition to the projections 2500 and 2600 for positioning the carriage HC of the apparatus main body IJRA on the rear surface side, it has 0,2000. In addition, the support 300 is provided with an ink supply pipe 2200 that enables ink supply from the ink tank.
It also has a hole 320 that allows the passage of (described below). The attachment of the wiring board 200 to the support 300 is performed by sticking with an adhesive or the like. In addition, the concave portion 2400 of the support body 300,
2400 are positioning projections 2500 and 260, respectively.
0 in the vicinity of the assembled inkjet cartridge IJC (FIG. 3).
The side is located at an extension point of the head tip region formed by a plurality of parallel grooves 3000 and 3001 so that unnecessary substances such as dust and ink do not reach the projections 2500 and 2600. This parallel groove 3000 is formed. As shown in FIG. 5, the lid member 800 forms the outer wall of the ink jet cartridge IJC and forms a space for accommodating the ink jet unit IJU with the ink tank. Further, the ink supply member 600 in which the parallel groove 3001 is formed is connected to the ink supply pipe 220 described above.
The supply pipe 2200 side is formed as a fixed cantilever with the ink conduit 1600 continuous to zero, and a sealing pin 602 for ensuring a capillary phenomenon between the fixed side of the ink conduit and the ink supply pipe 2200 is inserted. Note that reference numeral 601 denotes packing for sealing the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and reference numeral 700 denotes a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe.

Since the ink supply member 600 is molded, not only is it inexpensive, has high positional accuracy, and does not reduce the accuracy in forming and manufacturing, but also cantilevered conduit 1600 can be used for mass production. The pressure contact state of 1600 with ink receiving port 1500 can be stabilized. In this example, a more complete communication state can be reliably obtained only by pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under the pressure contact state. The ink supply member 6
00 is fixed to the support 300 by pressing a pin (not shown) on the back side of the ink supply member 600 with respect to the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300.
This can be easily performed by projecting through the support member 02 and thermally bonding the portion of the support body 300 projecting to the rear surface side. still,
The slightly protruded area of the heat-fused back surface is housed in a recess (not shown) in the side wall surface of the ink jet unit IJU mounting surface of the ink tank IT.
The positioning surface of U is obtained accurately.

(Ii) Description of Ink Tank IT Configuration In the ink tank, after the cartridge body 1000, the ink absorber 900, and the ink absorber 900 are inserted from the side of the cartridge body 1000 opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface, It is composed of a lid member 1100 for sealing this.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating the ink, and is arranged in the cartridge main body 1000. 1
200 is a unit IJ consisting of the above parts 100 to 600
U and a supply port for supplying ink to the U.
It is also an injection port for performing ink impregnation of the absorber 900 by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a process before the arrangement at 010.

In this embodiment, the ink supply portions are the air communication port and the supply port. However, the rib 2300 in the main body 1000 and the cover member for providing good ink supply from the ink absorber. 1100 partial ribs 2500, 2
400, the air presence area in the tank formed by
The ink supply port 12 is continuously connected from the air communication port 1401 side.
Since the configuration is formed over the corner region farthest from 00, it is important that relatively good and uniform ink supply to the absorber is performed from the supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. The rib 1000 has four ribs parallel to the carriage moving direction on the rear surface of the main body 1000 of the ink tank to prevent the absorber from sticking to the rear surface.
Similarly, the partial ribs 2400 and 2500
Although it is provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 which is on an extension corresponding to 0, it is in a divided state unlike the rib 1000, so that the presence space of air is larger than the former. Note that the partial ribs 2500 and 2400 are
00 are distributed on a surface that is less than half of the total area of 00. With these ribs, the ink in the corner region farthest from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber could be more stably guided to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force. Reference numeral 1401 denotes an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member for communicating the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. Reference numeral 1400 denotes a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the air communication port 1401, thereby preventing ink from leaking from the air communication port 1400.

The above-described arrangement of the ribs is particularly effective because the above-described ink storage space of the ink tank IT has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and has long sides on the side surfaces. In the case of holding or cubing, the supply of ink from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized by providing ribs on the entire lid member 1100. A rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for storing ink in a limited space as much as possible, but in order to use this stored ink for recording without waste, as described above,
It is a preferable configuration to provide a rib capable of performing the above-described operation in a two-sided area adjacent to the corner area. Further, the inner surface ribs of the ink tank IT in this embodiment are arranged with a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped ink absorber. This configuration is important because it can make the atmospheric pressure distribution uniform and almost eliminate the remaining amount of ink with respect to the ink consumption of the entire absorber. Further, the technical idea on the arrangement of the ribs will be described in detail. The ink supply port 12 of the ink tank is provided on the upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped.
When an arc having a long side as a radius is drawn around the position where 00 is projected, the absorber positioned outside the arc is given a higher pressure than the arc so that the atmospheric pressure state is given earlier. It is important to arrange the ribs on the outer surface. In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example as long as the atmosphere can be introduced into the rib arrangement area.

In addition, in this embodiment, the rear surface of the ink jet cartridge IJC with respect to the head is flattened to minimize the required space when the ink jet cartridge is incorporated in the apparatus, and to maximize the ink storage amount. Therefore, not only can the device be miniaturized, but also the cartridge has an excellent configuration that can reduce the frequency of cartridge replacement. And the inkjet unit I
Utilizing the rear part of the space for integrating the JU, a protruding portion for the air communication port 1401 is formed there, and the inside of this protruding portion is hollowed out, and the absorber 90 described above is formed here.
An atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire zero thickness is formed. With such a configuration, an excellent cartridge not seen in the past can be provided. Note that the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is a space much larger than the conventional one, and since the air communication port 1401 is located above, even if the ink separates from the absorber due to some abnormality,
The atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 can temporarily hold the ink and can reliably collect the ink in the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge without waste can be provided.

The unit IJ of the ink tank IT
The configuration of the mounting surface of U is shown by FIG. Through the approximate center of the projection port of the orifice plate 400 and a straight line parallel to the mounting reference plane of the surface of the tank IT bottom or carriage and L _1, 2 two positioning projections that engage the holes 312 of the support 300 cause 1012 is on the straight line L _1. The height of the protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and the support 300 is positioned. This is on the extension of the straight line L ₁ in the drawing is located pawl 2100 engagement surface 4002 of the 90 ° angle of the positioning hook 4001 of the carriage is engaged, the acting force is the straight line L ₁ of the positioning relative to the carriage And is configured to operate in a plane region parallel to the reference plane. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, these relationships are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the ejection openings of the head.

The protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank corresponding to the fixing holes 1900 and 2000 on the side of the ink tank of the support 300 are longer than the above-mentioned protrusion 1012 and protrude through the support 300. This is for fixing the support 300 to the side surface by heat-sealing the portion. The straight line passing through the projection 1800 is perpendicular to the line L ₁ of the above L _3, when a straight line passing through the projection 1801 and L _2, since on the straight line L ₃ is approximately the center of the supply opening 1200 is located, the supply unit This is a preferable configuration because it acts to stabilize the connection between the port 1200 and the supply pipe 2200, and can reduce the load on these connections even if the port 1200 falls or impacts. Also, the straight lines L ₂ and L ₃ do not coincide, and the projections 1800 and 1801 around the protrusion 1012 on the ejection port side of the head IJH.
, The effect of reinforcing the positioning of the head IJH with respect to the tank is further produced. Incidentally, the curve indicated by L ₄ represents a outer wall position when mounting of the ink supply member 600. Since the projections 1800 and 1801 are along the curve L _4, which give the position accuracy and sufficient strength against the weight of the distal configuration of the head IJH. Reference numeral 2700 denotes a front edge of the ink tank IT, and the front plate 40 of the carriage.
It is inserted in the hole of No. 00 and provided for abnormal times when the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely bad. 2101
Is a stopper for the carriage, provided for a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC, and penetrates below the bar at a position where the cartridge IJC is pivotally mounted as described later to unnecessarily separate from the positioning position. This is a protection member for maintaining the mounted state even when a force acts in the upward direction.

The ink tank IT has a shape surrounding the unit IJU except for a lower opening by covering the unit IJU with a lid 800 after the unit IJU is mounted. However, the ink cartridge ITJ is mounted on the carriage HC as the ink jet cartridge IJC. Since the lower opening of is close to the carriage HC,
A substantial four-sided surrounding space is formed. Therefore, the heat generated from the head IJH in this surrounding space is effective as a heat retaining space in this space, but the temperature rises slightly for long-term continuous use. For this reason, in this example, a slit 1700 having a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC to assist the natural heat radiation of the support, so that the temperature distribution of the entire unit IJU is uniform while preventing the temperature rise. Was made independent of the environment.

When assembled as an ink-jet cartridge IJC, ink is supplied from the inside of the cartridge into the supply tank 600 through the supply port 1200, the hole 320 provided in the support 300, and the introduction port provided on the inside and back side of the supply tank 600. After passing through the inside, an appropriate supply pipe and an ink inlet 150
The fluid flows into the common liquid chamber through 0. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is provided at the connection portion for ink communication as described above, whereby sealing is performed to secure an ink supply path.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of resin having excellent ink resistance, such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene, and is integrally molded together with the orifice plate 400 in a mold. I have.

As described above, the integrally molded parts are the ink supply member 600, the top plate and the orifice plate, and the ink tank body 1000, so that not only the assembling accuracy becomes high, but also the quality of mass production is extremely effective. It is. Also, since the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, excellent desired characteristics can be surely exhibited.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ink supply member 600 has the upper surface 603 of the ink tank IT in the shape after assembly.
A slit S is formed as shown in FIG.
A slit (not shown) similar to the above-described slit S is formed between the slit S and the head-side end portion 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lid 800 below the ink tank IT is bonded. The slits between the ink tank IT and the ink supply member 600 substantially perform the function of further promoting the heat radiation of the slit 1700, and directly apply unnecessary pressure to the tank IT even if there is an unnecessary pressure applied to the tank IT. In other words, the influence on the ink jet unit IJT is prevented.

In any case, the above configuration of this embodiment is
This is a configuration that has not existed in the past, each of which has an effective effect independently, and also has an organic configuration due to the complex requirements of each component.

(Iii) Description of Mounting of Inkjet Cartridge IJC on Carriage HC In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5000 denotes a platen roller which guides the recording medium P upward from below. The carriage HC
A front plate 4000 (2 mm thick) which moves along the platen roller 3000 and is located on the front platen side of the carriage and located on the front side of the inkjet cartridge IJC.
And the pad 20 of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC.
A support sheet 4003 for an electrical connection part, which holds a flexible sheet 4005 having a pad 2011 corresponding to the first and a rubber pad sheet 4007 for generating an elastic force for pressing the flexible sheet 400 against each pad 2011 from the back side;
A positioning hook 4001 for fixing the inkjet cartridge IJC to the recording position is provided. The front plate 4000 has a positioning projection surface 4010 on the positioning protrusion 250 of the cartridge support 300.
0 and 2600, respectively, and receives a vertical force toward the protruding surface 4010 after the cartridge is mounted.
For this reason, a reinforcing rib is provided on the platen roller side of the front plate,
It has a plurality of ribs (not shown) oriented in the direction of the perpendicular force. The rib also forms a slightly (approximately 0.1 mm) head protecting protrusions projecting to the platen roller side of the front position L ₅ of the cartridge IJC is installed. The electrical connection part support plate 4003 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 not in the direction of the ribs but in the vertical direction, and the proportion of protrusion from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side is reduced. This also serves to tilt the position when the cartridge is mounted as shown in the figure. Further, in order to stabilize the electrical contact state, the support plate 4003 is provided with a hook-side positioning surface 4006 for exerting an acting force on the cartridge in a direction opposite to the acting direction of the two positioning projecting surfaces 4010 on the cartridge. , Corresponding to the protruding surface 4010, and a pad contact area is formed between them, and the amount of deformation of the notch of the notched rubber sheet 4007 corresponding to the pad 2011 is uniquely defined. These positioning surfaces are used for the cartridge IJ.
When C is fixed at a recordable position, it comes into contact with the surface of the wiring substrate 300. In this example, since the are distributed so as to further be symmetrical with respect to a line L ₁ that the pad 201 described above of the wiring substrate 300, a pad made uniform amount of deformation of each Bocci the rubber sheet 4007 2011,201
The contact pressure is more stabilized. The distribution of the pads 201 in this example is two rows above and two rows below and two rows vertically.

The hook 4001 has a long hole which engages with the fixed shaft 4009. After rotating in the counterclockwise direction from the position shown in the drawing using the moving space of the long hole, the platen roller 500
The inkjet cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC by moving to the left side along 0. The hook 4001 can be moved in any manner, but a configuration in which the hook 4001 can be moved by a lever or the like is preferable. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves toward the platen roller while the positioning protrusion 2500,
2600 is moved to a position where it can be brought into contact with the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate.
Hook surface 4002 is the claw 2100 of the cartridge IJC.
The cartridge IJC is rotated in a horizontal plane around the contact area between the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 while being in close contact with the 90 ° surface of the pad 201, and finally the contact between the pads 201 and 2011 starts. When the hook 4001 is held at a predetermined position, that is, a fixed position, the pads 201 and 2011 are completely in contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are completely in contact with each other, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the nail are in contact with each other. The two-sided contact and the surface contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 4006 are simultaneously formed, and the cartridge I
JC holding is completed.

(Iv) Schematic description of the apparatus main body FIG. 6 shows an ink jet recording apparatus IJ to which the present invention is applied.
In the schematic view of RA, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013 is a pin (not shown). ), And is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper holding plate which applies paper to the platen 500 in the carriage movement direction.
Press against 0. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area by photocouplers and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the print head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes suction means that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the print head through the opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 denotes a cleaning blade.
Reference numeral 9 denotes a member that enables the blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these members are supported by the main body support plate 5018. It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form, and a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this embodiment. Also, 501
Reference numeral 2 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage,
The driving force from the nine-degree motor is controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that desired operations can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the home position side area. Any desired operation can be applied to this example. Each of the configurations described above is an excellent invention when viewed alone or in combination, and shows preferred configuration examples for the present invention.

In order to describe in detail the construction technically related to FIGS. 2 to 6 described above, FIGS.
This will be described using the following.

In FIG. 1, the ribs 270 and 260 in the ink tank are provided.
Numeral 0 is for guiding the atmosphere from the atmosphere communication port 5 into the ink tank to form an atmosphere presence space 51, and improves the ink supply property. The rib 270 is a rib extending in the vertical direction in the drawing, and the rib 2600 is a rib divided in the rear direction in the drawing. A plurality of these ribs are spaced apart from each other. Therefore, a porous body (urethane sponge) 900 slightly penetrating between them.
Is indicated by a broken line in the figure. The recording head IJH
Electrode layer 1302, heat generating layer 1303, upper surface protective layer 1301
And the orifice plate 400 and the ink supply tube 22
00.

In the present embodiment, as a result of examining the flow resistance of the ink in the region where the porous body is in close contact with the inner wall of the ink tank, a configuration contrary to the conventional technical trend, that is, the distribution of the ink flow resistance is considered. The existence ratio of the space communicating with the atmosphere between the inner wall of the ink tank and the porous body is determined by determining that the porous body in the ink tank is not in contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the entire inner area of the ink tank. By adding a new structure that supplies ink in a state where the non-contact portion is formed in communication with the atmosphere, the ink flow resistance is reduced, and the ink supply and the head are stabilized without affecting the response frequency of ejection. In, stable recording was achieved.

FIG. 1 shows an ink container having an air communication port and an ink discharge section for supplying ink to the outside of the container at different positions, wherein a porous body for holding ink is stored in the container. An ink storage container 1000; an ejection energy generating means; an ink chamber for holding ink for supplying ink to the ejection energy generating means; and a press-fitted porous body in the ink tank for guiding the ink to the ink chamber. And a recording head provided with a supply pipe and a filter F provided at an end of the supply pipe.

In this embodiment, the supply pipe is press-fitted into the porous body more than the maximum length forming the cross-sectional area S (in this embodiment, a cylindrical pipe, the inner pipe diameter thereof). It is characterized by the following. Thereby, the filter F
In the porous body 900 in the contact area, a sufficient compression area is formed over the entire surface of the filter, so that the air is prevented from being concentrated on the filter F with partial priority.

That is, in the past, the maximum length of the supply pipe 2200 (clogging is an ellipse, its long diameter, polygonal, its maximum diagonal, and circle is its diameter) without considering the maximum length. Since the amount was determined only for the deformed state of the porous body, the distribution over the entire surface of the filter was not considered. In the present embodiment, with the above-described configuration, even if the air enters the porous body 900 in the form of bubbles due to consumption of the ink, supply of the ink to the filter precedes.
It was possible to prevent the concentration of air bubbles in the filter and the ink supply from becoming defective. This configuration is particularly effective when the ribs 270 and 2600 are not provided in the tank, and is effective when the rib is smaller than the maximum length.

By the way, if the ribs are provided positively by the above-described structure and the air is positively present in the space 51 in the tank, the invasion of the air cannot be expected, so that the porous material is rarely used. Because of the fact that the ink existing area in the body 900 may fluctuate, it was found that the recording failure by the recording head was inferior to the above effect. Therefore, when a configuration that solves this problem was developed, it was found that the following conditions were preferable.

That is, the porous body is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped, and the air communication port is centered on the projected position of the ink supply port with respect to the upper surface in the ink flow direction from the air communication port to the ink supply port. On the inner surface of the side wall of the ink container corresponding to a region not less than the distance from the closest region to the position where the ink supply port of the porous body formed by the mouth is projected, the porous body is A rib member capable of forming an air communication space portion by air, and a length Z press-fitted into the porous body of the supply pipe with respect to a maximum length H2 of the rib in the ink container is 2 × H2 ≦ Z
≦ 3 × H2. According to this configuration, even if the boundary region N of the center portion M in the drawing moves to the fluctuation position m, the ink can be preferentially supplied to the center portion M to the filter F even if the ink concentration region is changed by the rib. A state can be formed. In this case, a particularly effective numerical range is such that the maximum length H2 of the rib member is 3 mm or less and the press-fit length Z is 6 mm or more and 9 mm or less in consideration of the space portion forming condition.

Next, the present inventors have sought to find a unique range in which good recording can be performed using any form of recording head, which is more stable than the above, and which has excellent ink supply performance. The following has been found.

That is, the above object is achieved by taking into consideration a case where the form before and after the loading of the porous body 900 inserted into the ink tank changes. That is, the porous body 900 is compressed after being inserted with respect to the length W0 in the press-in direction before being inserted into the storage container, and is different from the length W1 of the storage container in the storage state. A certain amount of compression (W0-W1) and the maximum length H2 in the ink container of the rib member for forming the air space by partially pressurizing the porous body provided in the vicinity of the air communication port, and disconnecting the supply pipe. For the maximum length D forming the area, the length Z press-fitted into the porous body of the supply pipe is Z ≧ (W
0−W1) + H2 + D. In this embodiment, the height H1 of the rib 270 and the height H of the rib 2600
2 is the same, but if any one is different, it is preferable to use the larger one as the criterion in the above equation. Met. The amount of deformation of the porous body under this condition is related to the direction in which the supply pipe 2200 in the figure is loaded.

In FIG. 1, the position of the supply pipe does not depend on the distance D1 from the side face in the insertion direction, but is preferably equal to the rib if the rib is provided, or 2 mm or more. Is preferred. Further, it is considered that an ink holding stable area exists at each distance from the inner surface of each tank of D1, D3, and D4 in the figure,
Numerically, it is estimated that the height of the rib is about 1.5 times, but as a preferable condition of the present invention, it is preferable that the end of the supply pipe be in this region from the beginning. by this,
This is because the area in the vicinity of the end of the supply pipe in which the compressed state is uniform can more reliably supply the ink in the porous body to the recording head than the stable area.

The preferable state in the above embodiment can be presumed that the porous body in the area near the end of the supply pipe is connected to the ink holding stable area M.

FIG. 12 shows an example in which ribs 260 and 270 are provided on the inner wall of the ink tank 1 so as to have a space that communicates with the air communication port 5 as in the above-described embodiment. . In this example, the porous body 2 in the ink tank is in non-contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the total internal area of the ink tank, and the non-contact portion space formed thereby is in a state of communicating with the atmosphere. And rib 26 as described above.
Reference numerals 00 and 270 are structures that can be integrally formed with the ink tank. Therefore, the ink flow resistance was reduced, and stable ink supply without affecting the ejection response frequency, and stable recording could be achieved in the head. Section A in FIG.
By providing the ribs as shown in A and the cross section BB, a space communicating with the atmosphere communication port 5 can be secured without making close contact with the inner wall of the ink tank. When ribs are provided to the air communication port to block the flow of air for the convenience of molding as in the cross section BB, grooves are provided in the ribs as shown in the figure, and the respective spaces are sealed by the absorber, and are independent. Don't do it. The depth and the depth of the groove vary depending on the mechanical properties of the absorber used, and are determined accordingly. As shown in FIG. 12 (e), in this embodiment, the space area (approximately 3%) behind the head 4 has a conventional structure in which the absorber 2 enters, but as a whole, The above-described effect is obtained because the ink tank is not in contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the entire inner area of the ink tank.

FIG. 11 shows the ejection characteristics in such a case. Conventionally, as shown in the figure, when the open area is 3% of the entire ink tank, the response frequency is reduced. Due to the decrease of the response frequency, the discharge amount becomes extremely small (see FIG. 11).
(Upper figure) The print quality deteriorates. In addition, when the duty is high, the ejection cannot be followed, and the ejection may not be performed. However, by increasing the open area of the absorber to the atmosphere, the flow of the ink in the absorber becomes easy, and if it is secured at 15% or more as shown in the figure, the ejection is not affected. Since the formation of such an air communication region of 15% or more does not depend on the position of the surface in the ink tank to be formed, the side surface, the upper surface, and the bottom surface of the ink tank leading to the air communication port are as described above. A structure may be provided to secure an adhesion area with the atmosphere. Of course, FIGS. 1 to 6 above
It is more preferable to form an air communication region of 15% or more in the structure described in the above.

7 to 10 show another embodiment.

FIG. 8 shows that the ribs 30 are radially provided on the upper surface of the ink tank by communicating with the atmosphere. According to this configuration, the proportion of air present in the central region and the side region of the large-sized absorber can be adjusted. This is one of the preferred configurations. FIG. 9 shows a cylindrical projection, and FIG. 10 shows a contact area obtained by connecting a U-shaped part to a tank inner wall as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 7A, in the case of (a), in the case of the absorber in an extremely small air communication state, the air communication region is formed after the start of use of the route forming the shortest distance toward the ink supply pipe 2200 to the head. Therefore, it can be understood that the ink held by the absorber remains without being supplied. (B) and (c) are explanatory views of the case where the formation surface of the air communication region of the present invention is developed. As in the above-described embodiment, first, the rear part of the space for integrating the ink jet into the ink container. Is used to form a projecting portion for the atmosphere communication port, and the inside of this projecting portion is hollowed out, and the atmospheric pressure supply space 1 with respect to the entire thickness of the porous body is formed.
In the case where 402 is formed, the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 with respect to the entire thickness of the porous body can make the ink supply in the thickness direction uniform, thereby exhibiting a relatively excellent partial effect as compared with (a). . In addition, the atmospheric pressure supply space 20 formed on the rear surface with respect to the head 4 disperses the route and extends to the opposite corner of the supply region. It can be understood that the road to the supply possible state is greatly opened. In addition, when the region 21 outside the region having the radius of the shortest distance r between the supply region on the facing surface of the atmosphere communication port and the region in the atmosphere communication state is in the atmosphere communication state, the route 22 can be further formed. Therefore, it can be understood that the ink absorbed in the porous body 2 can be supplied to the head 4 stably and reliably. In particular, in (c), since the supply region and the region in the air communication state are arranged to face each other, the regions outside the shortest distance r are the sides 211 and 222, and these regions are brought into the air communication state. Thereby, the effect of the present invention can be obtained.

The present invention provides an excellent effect particularly in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a bubble jet system among the ink jet recording systems.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type. In particular, in the case of the on-demand type, liquid (ink)
By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling, to the electrothermal transducer disposed corresponding to the sheet or the liquid path in which is held, This is effective because thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and the film is boiled on the heat-acting surface of the recording head. As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with the drive signal. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. Examples of the drive signal in the form of a pulse include those described in U.S. Pat.
Suitable are those described in US Pat. No. 45,262. If the conditions described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface described above are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination configuration of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angle liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on JP-A-59-138461 which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit.

Further, as a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, a combination of a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification is used. Either a configuration that satisfies the length or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exert the above-described effects.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like provided as components of the printing apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. To be more specific, a capping unit, a cleaning unit, a pressure or suction unit, a preheating unit using an electrothermal converter, another heating element, or a combination thereof, for the recording head. ,
Performing a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing is also effective for performing stable printing.

Further, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be a single recording head or a combination of a plurality of recording heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of full colors by color mixture.

As described above, as shown in FIG.
According to the invention in which a configuration in which 5% or more is opened to the atmosphere is added, good ejection characteristics can be obtained without lowering the response frequency, and good printing can be performed.

Further, the porous body formed by the air communication port around the position where the ink supply port is projected, with respect to the upper surface in the ink flow direction from the air communication port to the ink supply port. A structure in which the porous body forms an air communication space with the inner surface of the side wall of the ink container corresponding to a region at least equal to the distance from the closest region to the position where the ink supply port is projected. According to the invention with the addition, the ink can be consumed without waste, so that downsizing can be achieved.

[0065]

According to the present invention, with respect to the shortest distance r connecting the ink supply portion of the ink storage container as the ink tank and the atmosphere communication space, the ink storage defined by the distance r with respect to the ink supply portion. A rib is provided in a region outside the region defined by the continuous surface in the container, and this region is communicated with the atmosphere communication space, thereby making the region substantially under atmospheric pressure and reducing ink consumption of the absorber under atmospheric pressure. Thus, the ink can be uniformly consumed from the entire area toward the ink supply section, and an ink-jet cartridge with improved ink consumption performance and supply performance can be provided. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to supply a recording head capable of effectively using the ink in the ink tank, preventing a defective ink supply, and prolonging the replacement frequency by technically solving a problem that has not been solved conventionally, A printing apparatus using the same can provide an ink jet cartridge that can achieve stable printing without waste, can greatly reduce the cost of a printing unit, and can reduce the labor of an operator.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a mounting portion of the inkjet unit IJU.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of attachment of the cartridge IJC to the apparatus.

FIG. 6 is an external view of the apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of ink flow of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 11A and 11B are discharge characteristic diagrams of the present invention, respectively.

FIGS. 12 (a) to (f) are explanatory views of a main part of an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink tank 2 Absorber (porous body) 3 Supply port 4 Discharge part 5 Air communication port 6 Electric contact part

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Kuwahara 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Masami Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inside (72) Inventor Akio Saito 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Makiko Kimura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. ( 56) References JP-A-2-34354 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink container having an air communication space having an air communication port and an ink supply section at different positions, and an ink container having a porous body for holding ink therein, an ink discharge section and ink discharge. hollow-in for the energy generating element receives ink from the ink container
And a recording head having a ink supply pipe , wherein the ink storage container is provided with the ink supply unit and the air communication unit.
With respect to the shortest distance r connecting to the communication space,
The ink storage volume defined by the distance r with respect to
The area outside the area defined by the continuous plane inside the vessel is
Provide ribs that constitute areas that are in communication with the communication space.
Ink jet cartridge, characterized by that example. 2. The ink container according to claim 2 , wherein said rib is an inner wall of said ink container.
Surface extending radially from the atmosphere communication space with respect to the surface.
The ink jet according to claim 1, wherein
Cartridge. 3. The ink container according to claim 2 , wherein said rib is an inner wall of said ink container.
The surface is provided with a plurality of columnar projections.
The ink-jet cart according to claim 1, wherein
ridge. 4. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the rib is an inner wall of the ink container.
By attaching a U-shaped member to the surface
The ink according to claim 1, wherein the ink is formed.
Jet cartridge.