JP3169958B2 - Ink tank - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink tank of an ink jet recording apparatus for recording characters and the like on recording paper by discharging ink droplets from nozzles, and more particularly, to the inside of an ink tank. And a communication configuration between the air chamber and the outside air.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, a communication structure between an air chamber in an ink tank and outside air in an ink jet recording apparatus that records characters and the like on recording paper by discharging ink droplets from nozzles is configured as shown in FIG. ing. A porous foam 2 is inserted into the tank case 1 and is impregnated with the ink 3. A rubber stopper 4 is provided at a lower end of the tank case 1 to prevent the ink 3 from leaking. The print head 5 is provided with a hollow needle 6 for guiding the ink 3, and is inserted into the tank case 1 through the rubber stopper 4. The print head 5 records characters and the like on a recording paper (not shown) on the platen 7 according to the recording information. On the other hand, an upper lid 9 is provided on the upper part of the tank case 1, and a rib 9 d of the upper lid 9 is located so as to press the foam 2, and an air chamber 8 is provided. Also, the top lid 9
Is provided with a ventilation hole 9a for communicating outside air with the air chamber 8. The air hole 9a communicates the outside air with the air chamber 8 in order to prevent the air chamber 8 from becoming negative pressure due to the consumption of the ink 3 of the print head 5 and preventing good recording.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional example, the upper lid 9 is formed of a plastic molded product, and the size of the ventilation hole 9a is restricted in manufacturing. In general, L = 10 mm or less. Further, in order to prevent evaporation of the ink 3 as much as possible and to suppress the aging of the ink components, it is preferable that the diameter is as small as possible and the length is long. However, D = φ1mm,
In the case of L = 10 mm, there was a problem that the change over time of the ink component became more than the specified value, and good print quality could not be obtained. Further, when L = 5 mm or less, there is a problem that the ink 3 leaks out from the vent 9a when the tank case 1 is dropped or the pressure is reduced. In addition, the height (external dimensions) of the ink tank has been increased only because of the ventilation holes.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a scale that has a communication structure that prevents evaporation of the ink 3 as much as possible and suppresses a change with time of the ink component. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank capable of maintaining a high printing quality. Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable and safe ink tank by employing a configuration in which the ink 3 does not leak from the air hole 9a even when the ink tank is dropped or depressurized. Another object of the present invention is to provide a compact ink tank in which the height (external dimensions) of the ink tank is reduced.

[Means for solving the problem]

An ink tank according to the present invention includes a container that contains ink and has an air hole that communicates with a space area in which the ink is stored, and an ink tank that is formed on the surface of the container and has one end that communicates with the air hole. A ventilation groove including a non-linear portion whose other end extends to a position different from the ventilation hole, and a seal that seals an opening surface of the ventilation groove to form a passage that prevents leakage of ink or ink vapor from the container. And materials.

[Action]

A passage is formed by the ventilation groove formed in the container and the sealing material, and is communicated with the outside air. In addition, the passage can inhibit the leakage of the ink or the ink vapor to the outside.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 are a schematic sectional view and a schematic top view showing an embodiment of the present invention. A porous foam 2 is inserted into the tank case 1 and is impregnated with the ink 3. A rubber stopper 4 is provided at a lower end of the tank case 1 to prevent the ink 3 from leaking. The print head 5 is provided with a hollow needle 6 for guiding the ink 3, and is inserted into the tank case 1 through the rubber stopper 4. On the other hand, an upper lid 9 is provided on the upper part of the tank case 1, and a rib 9 d of the upper lid 9 is located so as to press the foam 2, and an air chamber 8 is provided. The upper lid 9 is provided with a ventilation hole 9b and a ventilation groove 9c. The air chamber 8 and the ventilation hole 9b communicate with each other, and the ventilation hole 9b and the ventilation groove 9c communicate with each other. Seal 10 is a vent
9b and the ventilation groove 9c are covered, and a part of the ventilation groove 9c is attached so as to communicate with the outside air. Therefore, the air chamber 8 and the outside air are configured to communicate with each other, and the ventilation groove 9c is in a state of forming a long distance ventilation hole. In this embodiment, the vent hole 9b has a hole diameter D1 = φ1 to φ2 mm, a length L1 = about 3 mm, the vent groove 9c has a width W = 0.8 mm, a groove depth H = 0.6 mm, and a length L2 = 20 to 50.
It is about mm and can be easily manufactured even if it is a plastic molded product. In addition, the hole diameter D1 of the ventilation hole 9b is
May be φ1.5 or φ2.0, which also has the effect that the filling operation of the ink 3 can be easily performed. As shown in FIG. 3, the seal 10 is a laminated film of aluminum foil, and is composed of an adhesive layer 10a (thickness 0.1 to 0.2 mm), a polyester layer 10b from the side attached to the upper lid 9. (thickness
30 to 100 μm), an aluminum foil layer 10 c (thickness of 1 to 30 μm), and a polyester layer 10 d (thickness of 30 to 100 μm). The printed portion 10 e is provided and also serves as a caution label. or,
The seal 10 is not limited to an aluminum foil laminated film, but may be an aluminum vapor-deposited film, a plastic film having a high gas barrier property (eg, a polyvinyl alcohol-based, polyvinylidene chloride-based, nylon-based film, etc.), or a combination thereof. May be configured.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described.
The ink 3 of the porous foam 2 therein is guided to the print head 5 through the hollow needle 6 by a pump (not shown). The print head 5 records characters and the like on a recording paper (not shown) on the platen 7 according to the recording information. As recording of characters and the like is performed, the consumed ink is supplied from the porous foam 2 to the print head 5 by capillary action. At this time, the outside air corresponding to the volume of the consumed ink 3 is guided to the air chamber 8 via a communication structure between the air chamber 8 and the outside air by the ventilation holes 9b, the ventilation grooves 9c and the seals 10. In this way, since the air chamber 8 always has the same pressure as the outside air, the air chamber 8 becomes a negative pressure, so that the supply of the ink 3 to the print head 5 becomes insufficient, and good recording cannot be prevented. or,
Even if the pressure in the air chamber 8 changes due to a change in the environmental temperature, the same pressure as the outside air is always maintained, so that there is no excess or deficiency of the supply of the ink 3 to the print head 5, so that good recording can be maintained. It is possible. In the communication configuration between the air chamber 8 and the outside air, the air holes 9b, the air grooves 9c, and the seals 10 form a long distance air hole.
Can be suppressed as much as possible, and the ink 3 does not leak out of the ventilation groove 9c even in a falling or decompressed state. Further, since the seal 10 is a laminated film of an aluminum foil, the evaporation of the ink 3 can be suppressed as much as possible even by the high gas barrier property of the aluminum foil. In addition, since the printed portion 10e is provided on the seal 10 and also serves as a caution label, the objective can be achieved without increasing the cost.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, in the present invention, a container that contains ink and has an air hole that communicates with the space area that contains the ink, and a container that is formed on the surface of the container and has one end that communicates with the air hole A ventilation groove including a non-linear portion whose other end extends to a position different from the ventilation hole, and a sealing material that seals the opening surface of the ventilation groove to form a passage that inhibits leakage of ink or ink vapor from the container, Therefore, the passage can be formed by the ventilation groove formed in the container and the sealing material to communicate the inside of the tank with the outside air, and the passage can prevent the ink or the ink vapor from leaking to the outside.

Further, since the passage can be formed long by using the wide surface of the container, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink or the ink vapor from leaking to the outside without forming a large protrusion in the shape of the tank.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an embodiment of the ink tank of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of one embodiment of the ink tank of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view of a seal of one embodiment of the ink tank of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a conventional ink tank. 1 ... tank case 2 ... foam 3 ... ink 4 ... rubber stopper 5 ... print head 6 ... hollow needle 7 ... platen 8 ... air chamber 9 ... top lid 9a ... vent 9b ... Pores 9c …… Vent groove 9d …… Rib 10 …… Seal 10a …… Adhesive layer 10b …… Polyester layer 10c …… Aluminum foil layer 10d …… Polyester layer 10e …… Printed part

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-60-76349 (JP, A)

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container having an air hole for containing ink and communicating with a space region in which the ink is stored, a container formed on the surface of the container and having one end communicating with the air hole, A ventilation groove including a non-linear portion whose end extends to a position different from the ventilation hole; and a sealing material that seals an opening surface of the ventilation groove to form a passage that inhibits leakage of ink or ink vapor from the container. Ink tank with,. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a porous material for holding ink is contained in said container. 3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the sealing material is any one of a laminated film including an aluminum foil, a film on which aluminum is deposited, and a film in which a plurality of these films are laminated.