JP3117807B2 - Ink cartridge storage box - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a storage box for an ink jet cartridge, and more particularly to a storage box for storing a replaceable disposable ink tank integrated ink jet head cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as IJC) for reuse. About the box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, disposable IJCs have been increasingly used in ink jet recording apparatuses. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, the attached IJC may be removed for the purpose of changing the type of ink for recording, and a storage box for accommodating the IJC for reuse in such a case is considered. I have been. Such a storage box can be used not only at the time of re-use but also at the time of storing unused new articles, and can be disposable together with IJC which has consumed ink.

FIG. 10 shows an outline of a conventional IJC as described above. Where 1 is the IJC and 2 is the IJC
A recording head unit 3 integrated with 1 is an ink ejection surface having a plurality of ink ejection ports 4 disposed on the front surface of the recording head unit 2 and supplied to the recording head unit 2 inside the IJC 1. An ink storage unit (not shown) for storing ink is provided.

FIG. 11 shows an example of a conventional ink jet recording apparatus (IJRA) which carries out recording by mounting such an IJC. Here, the carriage HC is driven by a drive motor 501.
3 and the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 50
09, a pin (not shown) that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 rotating via
It is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b with the rotation of the lead screw. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a pressing plate (sheet pressing plate) for paper, an OHP film, or another recording material (hereinafter simply referred to as a sheet) P, which presses the sheet P against the platen 5000 in the carriage moving direction. 5007,5
Reference numeral 008 denotes a home position detecting means for detecting the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage HC when the lever 5006 is guided to this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the ink ejection surface 3 on the front surface of the recording head unit. Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap. Reference numeral 5017 denotes a wiping blade, and reference numeral 5019 denotes a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction. These members are supported by a main body support plate 5018. Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 which engages with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor moves by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. Controlled.

In the capping, wiping, and suction recovery, when the carriage HC is positioned in the home position side area, desired operations can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005.

[0006] By the way, as a storage box for storing the IJC1 as described above, the IJC1 is stored while the IJC1 is being stored.
In order to prevent the ink from leaking from the ink ejection port 4, it is desirable to provide a cap member inside. Still further, there has been considered a configuration in which a pumping operation for sucking ink from an ink ejection surface that comes into contact with a cap member in a stored state is linked to an opening and closing operation of a case lid of a storage box. In such a storage box, every time the IJC is taken out of the storage box, the recording head unit 2 is driven by a pumping operation.
Is performed, the load on the recovery operation on the IJRA side can be reduced accordingly. However, it is necessary to provide a waste ink chamber in the storage box itself. An ink absorber is loaded in the ink chamber to hold the discharged ink.

Further, in performing the pumping operation in the storage box as described above, it has been considered to operate the piston pump in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the case lid.

[0008]

However, when the waste ink chamber is provided in the above-mentioned IJC storage box, if the waste ink chamber is sufficiently large, the storage box itself becomes large. It becomes heavy and inconvenient for storage and carrying. Also, just reducing the size of IJ
Even though C itself is in a reusable state, the waste ink chamber in the storage box becomes full and must be discarded.

A first object of the present invention is to make it possible to discharge ink from a waste ink tank in an IJC storage box provided with a waste ink tank, or to open the waste ink tank and to release the ink absorber. It is an object of the present invention to provide a storage box for an ink jet cartridge which can extend the life by enabling the replacement of the ink cartridge.

In the storage of the IJC as described above, when the piston of the piston type suction pump is moved up and down by opening and closing operation of the case lid, a circular motion due to opening and closing of the case lid is generated at the connection portion. Because of the linear motion of the piston rod and the restriction on the connection position of the piston rod provided on the case lid, a large unreasonable force acts on the connection portion, which may cause breakage. Workability in the assembly part of the connecting part is poor.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a storage box for an ink jet cartridge which can be disconnected only when an excessive force acts on the connection portion and can be easily connected at the time of assembly. is there.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head for discharging ink, and an ink supply unit for supplying the ink to the recording head. And a waste ink chamber for accommodating an ink cartridge which is integrated with a replaceable ink jet cartridge, and for accommodating ink discharged by the recovery operation from the recording head unit, and an ink absorber for holding the ink discharged to the waste ink chamber. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge, comprising: an ink discharge unit that is externally operated to discharge ink from the ink absorber by deforming the ink absorber; and ink discharged by the ink discharge unit. And a discharge port for discharging the wastewater from the waste ink chamber to the outside.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a replaceable inkjet cartridge in which a recording head for discharging ink and an ink supply for supplying the ink to the recording head are integrated. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge, comprising: a waste ink chamber that stores and discharges ink from the recording head unit by a recovery operation; and an ink absorber that holds the ink discharged into the waste ink chamber. And a lid member detachably attached to the waste ink chamber so that the ink absorber can be replaced by detaching from the ink chamber.

Further, in order to achieve the second object, a second embodiment of the present invention provides a recording head unit for discharging ink and an ink unit for supplying the ink to the recording head. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge for accommodating a replaceable ink-jet cartridge, wherein ink is sucked for recovery from the recording head by a pumping operation of a piston member interlocked with an opening and closing operation of a case lid which is opened and closed. The connection between the piston member and the case lid for interlocking is released when an excessive load is applied to the piston member, and the case lid closing operation is performed. The connection is restored by an elastic coupling structure.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink held in the ink absorber in the waste ink chamber is released by the operation of the ink discharge means and can be discharged from the discharge port. Even if the ink is full, the cartridge can be reused without being discarded. In addition, this first
According to another configuration of the embodiment, the lid member can be detached from the ink chamber, the ink absorber can be replaced, and the lid member can be reinstalled in the ink chamber. Can be used.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to perform a recovery operation of discharging ink to the stored ink jet cartridge by a pumping operation of a piston member in conjunction with an opening and closing operation of a case lid. The connection between the case lid and the piston member involved in the interlocking operation is resilient when an excessive load is applied to the piston member during the opening operation of the case lid, and the connection state is released. Can be prevented from being damaged. Further, the elasticity is again applied by the closing operation, and the connecting portion can be restored to the original connected state.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings according to a first embodiment and a second embodiment.

1 to 3 show an IJ according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
3 shows a configuration example of a C storage box. First, the configuration of the entire storage box 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. In these figures, 11 is the case, 12 is the case lid, and 13 is an ink holding chamber that abuts the ink ejection surface 3 of the stored IJC 1 to prevent ink leakage and temporarily holds the ink discharged from the IJC 1. 13B is a cap member, 14 is a hinge pin for rotatably holding the case lid 12 to the case 11, 15 is a waste ink chamber, 1
Reference numeral 6 denotes an ink absorber loaded in the waste ink chamber 15.

In the case of this embodiment, the case inner lid 17 is welded to the case 11 or bonded by an adhesive.
A piston member and a cap member 13 which are slidably fitted to the holding member are held, and a waste ink chamber 15 is formed. Reference numeral 20 denotes an O-ring provided on the piston member 19, reference numeral 21 denotes a pump chamber, and reference numeral 21 connects the piston member 19 and the case lid 12 to reciprocate the piston member 19 in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the case lid 12. A connecting pin 22 is an orifice for communicating the ink holding chamber 13B of the cap member 13 with the pump chamber 21, and a check valve 23 is for discharging ink sucked into the pump chamber 21 to the waste ink chamber 15. It is.

In this embodiment, the case 11 has a knob 30A exposed on the side wall 11A in contact with the waste ink chamber 15, and the knob 30A is rotated from outside the case with, for example, a coin or the like. An ink squeezing member 30 capable of squeezing ink from the ink absorber 16 in the chamber 15 is supported by a shaft. The ink squeezing member 30 is provided with an squeezing plate 30B as shown in FIG.
And knob 30A are integrated, and the knob 30A
A shaft portion 30C (see FIG. 1) provided concentrically with A
It is liquid-tightly supported by 1A. Furthermore, in FIG. 3A, 11B is an ink outlet, and 31 is an ink outlet 1.
1B is a sealing stopper made of, for example, an elastic body provided for sealing in a normal case.

In the thus constructed IJC storage box 10, the piston member 19 connected to the case lid 12 is pulled up by rotating the case lid 12 around the hinge pin 14 to pull it up. Pump room 2
1 can be a negative pressure. Further, by storing the IJC 1 in the storage position of the case 11 in such a opened state, the spring force of the spring portion 11S provided on the case 11 causes
The ink ejection surface 3 of the JC 1 is biased toward the cap member 13 so that the periphery of the ejection surface 3 can be kept in close contact with the cap member 13.

Further, when the IJC 1 stored in the IJC storage box 10 is to be taken out, the pump chamber 21 maintained at a negative pressure by the above-described opening operation prior to the taking out is put into the pump chamber 21.
Ink can be sucked from JC1. Therefore,
The piston member 19 is lowered by the lid closing operation after the IJC 1 is removed from the case 11, and the ink retained in the pump chamber 21 is discharged by opening the check valve 23 to the waste ink chamber 15.
Can be discharged.

By the way, when the above-mentioned storage and removal of the stored IJC 1 is repeated, the ink is discharged as a recovery operation every time the storage is performed, so that the waste ink chamber 15 is finally filled. According to the present embodiment, when it is determined that the state is such a state or a state close to the state, the sealing stopper 31 is removed, and the storage box 10 is tilted so that the ink discharge port 11B faces downward as much as possible. By swinging the knob 30 with its knob 30A, the diaphragm plate 30B is tilted as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 3A, and the ink absorber 16 is compressed on that surface to store the squeezed ink. It can be discharged outside the box.

FIG. 3B shows another example of the ink throttle member 30. In the present embodiment, the ink discharge port 11B provided on the wall of the case 11
Is closed by an elastic plug 32 provided at the distal end of the head. That is, when the ink squeezing member 30 is not operated, the plug 32 keeps the ink discharge port 11B sealed. When the ink squeezing member 30 is operated, the stopper 32 can be easily removed from the ink discharge port 11B by utilizing its elasticity, and the ink squeezed out of the ink absorber 16 by the operation of the ink squeezing member 30 can be opened. The ink can be easily discharged from the set ink discharge port 11B.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the ink squeezing member 30 which can be operated from the outside is provided in the portion of the storage box 10 related to the waste ink chamber 15, the waste ink chamber 15 is filled with the discharged ink. Even if it is almost full, it can be discharged and used continuously. In the above-described embodiment, the case of the storage box having the waste ink chamber has been described. However, the storage apparatus has a waste ink chamber together with the recovery unit, and the waste ink chamber described above is provided in such a waste ink chamber. Needless to say, such an ink squeezing member can be provided. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the swing type ink squeezing member is used. However, the ink squeezing means is not limited to this. For example, it is necessary to operate a plate that presses the ink absorber with a push rod. It goes without saying that any form may be used as long as it has means capable of deforming the ink absorber in the waste ink chamber and a port for discharging the squeezed ink.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the first mode of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the case inner lid 1 is used in the storage box 10.
7 can be sealed and opened freely with respect to the case 11,
Here, reference numeral 17A denotes an engaging portion which is provided around the portion of the case inner lid 17 which is related to the waste ink chamber 15, and which ensures liquid tightness. Case 11 body and case inner lid 1
Since both the members 7 are formed of an elastic resin material, by forming the locking portion 17A integrally with the case inner cover 17, elasticity can be provided. An engaging groove 11D is formed in the periphery of the case 11 corresponding to the locking portion 17A so as to match the shape of the locking portion 17A. Also,
Although not shown here, the case lid 12 is attached to a support bracket of the case inner lid 17 via a hinge pin 14 so as to be freely opened and closed.

In this embodiment, when the ink discharged into the waste ink chamber 15 is full, the case inner lid 1 is checked.
7 can be removed from the case 11 and the ink absorber 16 inside can be replaced. In this case, since the case inner cover 17 and the case cover 12 are connected via the connection between the case cover 12 and the piston member 19, the piston member 19 The case 11 is removed from the member 18 and the case 11 together with the case lid 12.
Removed from the side. The locking means for maintaining the hermetically sealed state between the case inner cover 17 and the case 11 is of a kind generally referred to as patching.
7 can be reassembled into an integrated storage box by reversing the above removal operation.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the first mode of the present invention. In this example, instead of forming the waste ink chamber 15 as an independent sealed section by welding or bonding the case inner lid 17 to the case 11, the ink absorber 16 is provided on the case side wall 11A forming the waste ink chamber 15. A take-out window frame 11W is provided, and an elastic attachment / detachment window 40 is attached to the window frame 11W by patching. Such a detachable window 40 may be made of an elastic resin material.
Due to the elasticity of the case 11 and the elasticity of the case 11, a liquid-tight engagement can be performed. Reference numeral 40A denotes a locking portion of the detachable window 40, and 11E denotes an engagement frame portion provided around the window frame portion 11W. In this embodiment, by forming the detachable window 40 with a transparent elastic resin-based material, it becomes possible to visually check the state of the discharged ink in the waste ink tank 15 through the detachable window 40.

Next, an example according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the following drawings.

In each embodiment according to the second embodiment, when an excessive force is applied to the piston member 19 at the time of the opening operation of the case cover 12, the elasticity of the piston member 19 and the case cover 12 are utilized to utilize the elasticity. The engagement state is released, and it is characterized in that the original engagement state can be easily restored using the closing operation.

FIG. 6 shows a first embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention. In FIG. 6, 19A is a rod portion of the piston member 19, 19B is a connecting claw formed on the top of the rod portion 19A, and 19C is a rod portion 19A as shown in FIG.
A cut groove cut in the axial direction from the top of A, and a bottomed hole (hereinafter referred to as 51) formed in a concave portion 12A of the case lid 12 to connect the piston member 19 to the case lid 12. Connection hole). In addition, the connecting claw 19B
As shown in FIG. 6, the lower surface thereof is formed in an arc shape, is formed in an arc shape, and is formed in such a shape that its cross-sectional shape has a smooth inclination as shown in FIG. The lower end of the connecting surface is connected to the edge 51A of the connection hole 51 in FIG.
(A).

Then, when the lid opening operation is performed in the storage box 10 configured as described above, the case lid 12 is lifted around the hinge pin 14 as shown by an arrow A in FIG. Then, the case lid 12 is moved by the lifting operation.
The piston member 19 engaged with the edge of the connection hole 51 while maintaining tangential contact is pulled upward along the cylinder chamber 18A of the cylinder member 18. At this time, the connecting claws 19
B is configured to allow a slight movement thereof in the direction along the paper plane of FIG. 6 while maintaining circular contact within the bottom surface of the case lid concave portion 12A. No excessive interference force is applied between the two.

FIG. 7B shows a second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention. In the first embodiment of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the pair of connecting claws 19B, 19B
9C, the lower surfaces of the arc-shaped claws are formed so as to be engaged with the edge 51A of the connection hole 51 in tangential contact with each other. The connecting claws 19B and 19B face each other inward. Here, the shape of the connecting claw 19B itself has an arcuate lower surface as shown in FIG. 6, but in this embodiment, the opening 12B is formed without forming a concave portion in the case lid 12.
And a connecting support beam (hereinafter, referred to as a connecting beam) 12C that is supported around the opening 12B, and the arc-shaped lower surfaces of the connecting claws 19B, 19B are in tangential contact with the upper surface of the connecting beam 12C. Is engaged while maintaining the position. FIG. 8 shows the appearance of a storage box 10 according to a second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

In the first and second embodiments according to the second embodiment of the present invention described above, the opening angle of the lid increases as the piston member 19 is pulled upward by the opening operation of the case lid 12, and the opening angle increases. Take the piston member 1
9 (A) and (B) of FIG.
Then, it is shifted in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper, and operates so that an unreasonable force does not act on the connecting portion. 7A and 7B, if the opening angle required for the pumping operation by the piston member 19 exceeds the opening angle required for the piston member 19, an unreasonable or useless opening operation is attempted.
Is applied downwardly from the engagement state with the case lid 12, and the connection claws 19B, 19B having smooth shapes are bent inward in the case of (A) by the elasticity thereof, and in the case of (B) due to their elasticity. Bend outward.

Thus, the piston member 19 and the case lid 1
2 is released. Also, the case lid 12
Is operated in the direction to close the lid, and the elasticity of the connecting claws 19B, 19B is used in the vicinity of the final stroke of the lid closing operation to restore the original connected state as shown in FIG. 7 (A) or (B). Can be easily returned.

FIG. 9 shows a third embodiment according to the second aspect of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the difference in the movement in the paper plane direction generated between the case member 12 and the piston member 19 during the opening operation of the case cover 12 is absorbed by the case cover 12 itself as much as possible, and at the time of the opening operation at a necessary angle or more. The connection state is released so that no excessive force acts on the connection section. That is, 12C is a support hole for the hinge pin 14 of the case lid 12, and is formed as a long hole having a long axis in the horizontal direction. In this example, the support hole 1 on the case lid 12 side is used.
Although 2C is a long hole, a support hole (not shown) provided on the case 11 body side may be a long hole instead.

In this embodiment, the cross section of the beam 12D supported on the periphery of the opening 12B formed in the case lid 12 is circular so as to reduce sliding resistance.
The direction of D is a direction perpendicular to the paper surface. Furthermore, 1
9D is a cut groove formed in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface from the tip of the rod portion 19A of the piston member 19;
E is a connecting gripping arm formed so as to face through the cutout groove 19D, and the cutout groove 19D side is formed in a semicircular shape in accordance with the shape of the beam 12D, and the gripping arms 19E, The resilient force of 19E keeps the circular beam 12D gripped from both sides.

In the storage box 10 constructed as described above, the piston member 19 is opened when the case lid 12 is opened.
The case lid 12 itself moves within the allowable range of the movement of the hinge pin 14 in the support hole 12C in accordance with the upward stroke, so that no excessive force is applied to the connection between the piston member 19 and the case lid 12. Act on. If the limit is exceeded, the elasticity of the gripping arms 19E, 19E pulls them off from the circular beam 12D,
Release the connection. Furthermore, in the vicinity of the final stroke of the closing operation of the case lid 12, the connection state can be returned in the same manner as described in the previous embodiments.

(Others) It should be noted that the present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter or a laser beam) for generating thermal energy as energy used for performing ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical configuration 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 is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. 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. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (a linear liquid flow path or a right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44,558 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. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 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 a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are not limited to those provided only for one color ink, for example, and for a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also for a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0044]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a replaceable ink jet cartridge in which a recording head for discharging ink and an ink supply for supplying the ink to the recording head is integrated is housed. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge having a waste ink chamber for accommodating ink discharged by the recovery operation from the recording head unit, and an ink absorber for holding the ink discharged to the waste ink chamber; An ink discharging means capable of discharging ink from the ink absorbing body by deforming the ink absorbing body; and a discharging means for discharging the ink discharged by the ink discharging means from the waste ink chamber to the outside. An outlet, or a cover member which is detachable from the ink chamber so that the ink absorber can be replaced. Since detachably mounted Te, it is possible to compact to a minimum the waste ink chamber provided in the storage box, to be disposed of is eliminated this only reason for the waste ink chamber is full.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, ink is sucked from the recording head for recovery by the pumping operation of the piston member interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the case lid which can be freely opened / closed. In addition, the connection between the piston member and the case lid for the interlocking is released when an excessive load is applied to the piston member, and is connected by the closing operation of the case lid. Is resiliently connected so that the connection between the case lid and the case body is not damaged by excessive force when the case lid is opened. Not only can the connection state be easily restored, but also the assembling work of the storage box can be facilitated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a storage box according to a first embodiment of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the storage box shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an ink squeezing member in the storage box shown in FIG. 1 in two examples (A) and (B).

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a storage box according to a second embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a storage box according to a third embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a storage box according to a first embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 6 as the connecting portion structure of the storage box according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention, as (A) and (B), respectively. .

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of a storage box according to a second embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a storage box according to a third embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an outline of an ink jet cartridge (IJC) applied to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration example of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink-jet cartridge (IJC) 3 Ink ejection surface 4 Ink ejection opening 10 Storage box 11 Case 11A Side wall 11B Ink ejection opening 11D Engagement groove 11E Engagement frame part 11W Window frame part 12 Case lid 12A Lid recess 12B Opening 12C Connecting beam 12D (Circular) Beam 13 Cap Member 14 Hinge Pin 15 Waste Ink Chamber 16 Ink Absorber 17 Case Inner Lid 17A Locking Portion 18 Cylinder Member 19 Piston Member 19B Connection Claw 19C Cut Groove 19E Grasping Arm 21 Pump Room 30 Ink Squeezing Member 31 Sealing Plug 32 Plug 40 Detachable window 51 Connecting hole 51A Edge

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hitoshi Nakamura 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-3-205154 (JP, A) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] A recording head for ejecting ink and an ink supply unit for supplying the ink to the recording head containing an integral replaceable ink jet cartridge and ejecting the recording head from the recording head by a recovery operation; Storage box for an ink jet cartridge having a waste ink chamber for storing ink to be discharged and an ink absorber for holding the ink discharged into the waste ink chamber, wherein the storage box is operated from the outside to deform the ink absorber. An ink discharging means capable of discharging ink from the ink absorber, and a discharge port for discharging the ink discharged by the ink discharging means from the waste ink chamber to the outside. Storage box for cartridges. 2. A recording head unit for discharging ink and an ink supply unit for supplying the ink to the recording head unit house an integrated replaceable ink jet cartridge and ejected from the recording head unit by a recovery operation. A storage box for an ink jet cartridge having a waste ink chamber for storing the ink to be discharged and an ink absorber for holding the ink discharged into the waste ink chamber , wherein the ink absorber is detached from the ink chamber. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge, wherein a lid member capable of replacing the ink cartridge is detachably provided to the waste ink chamber . 3. A storage box for an ink-jet cartridge containing an exchangeable ink-jet cartridge in which a recording head for discharging ink and an ink for supplying the ink to the recording head are integrated. The pumping operation of the piston member interlocked with the opening / closing operation of the case lid to be kept causes ink suction for recovery from the recording head unit to be performed, and the piston member and the case lid for the interlocking operation The connection portion of the ink jet cartridge is characterized in that the connection is released when an excessive load is applied to the piston member, and the connection is restored by the closing operation of the case lid. Storage box.