JP3656725B2 - Ink cartridge for ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink cartridge that is mounted on a carriage to which a recording head for ejecting ink droplets is attached and supplies ink to the recording head.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Inkjet recording apparatuses are widely used as recording apparatuses for personal use because they can print images with photographic quality with a relatively simple structure.
Such a recording apparatus usually has a black ink recording head and a color ink recording head mounted on a carriage, and a black ink cartridge and a color ink cartridge are mounted on each recording head. Ink is supplied through an ink supply needle.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When most of the printed matter printed by the recording device is text data, the amount and frequency of color ink used is low, and the replacement frequency of the color ink cartridge is also changed to the replacement frequency of the black ink cartridge. There is a problem that it becomes extremely low in comparison, the expiry date comes before the ink of the color ink cartridge is completely consumed, the replacement is forced, and the running cost increases.
On the other hand, in a usage pattern in which the printing amount of a color image is large, the usage frequency of the black ink is low, and the expiration date may come before the ink of the black ink cartridge is completely consumed.
Further, when the recording apparatus itself is used less frequently, the expiration date may be reached with the ink remaining in the black ink cartridge and the color ink cartridge.
In order to solve such a problem, it is conceivable to manufacture an ink cartridge with a small volume of the cartridge to reduce the amount of ink accommodated. However, a gap is formed between the ink cartridge and the holder for accommodating the ink cartridge, and the carriage There are inconveniences such as loosening between the ink supply needles due to the reciprocating movement and the necessity of raising a new mold, which increases costs.
In order to solve such problems, an ink cartridge has been proposed in which the amount of ink is reduced by loading a padding at the bottom of a container constituting a normal amount of ink cartridge as disclosed in JP-A-9-262988. ing.
According to this, although it is possible to reduce the ink filling amount simply by loading the filling without changing the shape of the container, the shape near the ink supply port that has the greatest influence on the outflow characteristics of the ink to the recording head Change, there is a risk of fluctuations in printing characteristics.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is for a small capacity which has an ink discharge characteristic equivalent to that of a normal ink cartridge and can use a normal container. An ink cartridge is provided.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve such a problem, the present invention includes a container body containing a porous material for impregnation of ink in an ink chamber communicating via an ink supply port, an ink injection port, and an air communication port. A first rib is formed on the ink chamber side and includes a lid that seals the opening of the container body, and a spacer that is loaded between the lid and the porous material.
The spacer includes a flat base that contacts the first rib of the lid on the side facing the lid, a second rib formed on the side facing the porous material, and the ink injection. And a through-hole formed at a position facing the inlet .
[0005]
[Action]
An ink container that uses a container and lid that have the same shape as a container that contains a normal volume of ink, and that does not change the structure near the ink supply port or the relationship between the porous material and the ink supply port. To reduce the volume of the porous material.
[0006]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, details of the present invention will be described below based on the illustrated embodiment.
FIG. 1 shows an example of an ink cartridge for a normal capacity black ink to be reduced in capacity according to the present invention. The cartridge 1 forms an ink chamber 2 for securing a substantially rectangular parallelepiped space. A container body 3 made of a polymer material and a lid body 4 that seals the opening of the container body 3, and communicates with the recording head 20 on one side of the container body 3, in this embodiment, the lower surface 3 a. An ink supply port 5 that engages with the ink supply needle 22 is formed. The container 3 is loaded with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped porous material 6 that is impregnated and held with ink.
[0007]
Further, on the other surface in the vicinity where the ink supply port 5 is formed, storage means for storing information for specifying the ink cartridge 1, for example, the manufacturing serial number, the manufacturing date, the ink amount, etc. is provided on the back surface. A circuit board 8 that is mounted and on the surface of which electrodes 7 for connection to the outside are formed is fixed.
[0008]
The lid 4 is formed with ribs 9 for securing a space between the porous material 6 and the lid on the back surface, an ink inlet 10 for injecting ink into the porous material, and air communication communicating with the space. A mouth 11 is formed. Further, a narrow groove 12 is formed on the surface of the lid body 4 so that one end thereof is at the atmosphere communication port 11 and the other end is extended to another region.
[0009]
FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the ink cartridge 1 described above. When the ink cartridge 1 is mounted at a predetermined position of the carriage 21 that fixes the recording head 20, the ink supply that communicates with the recording head 20 is shown. The needle 22 is liquid-tightly coupled via the ink supply port 5 and communicates with the ink chamber 2. The ink supply needle 22 can be easily attached to and detached from the ink supply port 5, and is configured to be reliably sealed by the packing 13 when attached to the ink supply port 5.
[0010]
A convex portion 15 having an ink flow path 14 on the ink chamber side is formed on the top of the packing 13, and the flow path 14 is always urged by a spring 16, and the ink supply needle 22 is inserted to a specified position. A valve element 17 that opens when the ink supply needle 22 is not inserted is configured to be pressed against the upper surface of the packing 13 to prevent ink leakage.
[0011]
In the ink cartridge 1 configured as described above, a porous material 6 formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape is inserted into the ink chamber 2 of the container body 3, and the lid body 4 is joined to the opening of the container body 3 by welding or the like. The container is configured by sealing the exposed surface of the ink supply port 5 with a film into which the ink supply needle 22 can be inserted.
[0012]
Next, when an exhaust pipe is connected to the atmosphere communication port 11 of the container and an ink injection needle is inserted into the porous material 6 from the ink injection port 9 and the inside of the container is decompressed, the flow path and the porosity of the ink supply port 5 are reduced. Air contained in the pores of the material 6 is excluded.
[0013]
When ink is injected with the ink injection needle in this state, the ink is efficiently absorbed into the pores of the porous material 6. After the ink filling is completed, the ink cartridge 1 is accommodated in a decompression chamber or the like and further decompressed, and then a sealing film 18 from which a part 18a can be peeled off is attached to the upper surface of the lid 4. Is completed.
[0014]
On the other hand, when manufacturing a small-capacity cartridge, although it has a cross-sectional shape substantially the same as that of the porous material 6 described above as shown in FIG. Is loaded with a second porous material 6 ′ prepared smaller than the height H of the first one.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 5, the spacer 30 includes a base 33 having projecting portions 31 and 32 in the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the container main body 3 constituting the cartridge and both end portions, and ribs extending in the longitudinal direction. 34 and 35.
[0016]
The ribs 34 and 35 are formed in two rows on both sides so as to be located on the inner side of the base 31, and the ribs 35 located on the center line side protrude at both ends from the ribs 34 located on the outer side. And the side surface 35a of both ends is formed as a slope so that it may be located inside the overhang | projection part 31 of the base 33, and the board upper part side may become an outer side.
[0017]
The ribs 34 and 35 are joined by a rib 36 perpendicular to the ribs 34, and the protruding portions 32 on both sides are joined to the ribs 34 by ribs 37 having inclined surfaces 37 a formed between the ribs 34. Yes. The ribs 36 appropriately prevent the gap between the ribs 34 and 35, that is, the ink is absorbed between the ribs 34 and 35 by capillary force, and the ink that has entered here is prevented from stagnating due to its meniscus. While maintaining the space | gap which can be performed and giving the rigidity for hold | maintaining the shape of the spacer 30 whole, multiple pieces are provided as needed.
[0018]
Further, the plate upper portion 33 has through holes 38, 39, 38 ′, 39 ′ at positions facing at least the ink injection port 10 of the lid 4 and, if necessary, positions facing the air communication port 11, and are mutually symmetrical. Protrusions 40 are formed on both ends of the overhanging portions 31 and 31 in the longitudinal direction. The protrusion 40 has a function of contacting the inner wall of the container body 3 with a strong frictional force and maintaining the porous material 6 in a compressed state until the connection between the container body 3 and the lid body 4 is completed. .
[0019]
After the spacer 30 configured in this manner is loaded with the second porous material 6 ′, the spacer 34 is inserted into the container body 3 with the ribs 34, 35 facing downward, and the lid 3 is placed in the opening 3 a of the container body 3. 4, the porous material 6 ′ moves to the bottom of the container body 3 while being compressed by the lid body 4 via the spacer 30.
[0020]
In addition, since the ink through holes 38, 39 and 38 ', 39' are formed symmetrically in the spacer 30, the through holes 38, 38 'are inserted into the ink injection port 9 even if they are inserted with the left and right sides reversed. Since either one of these faces each other, there is no problem in the subsequent ink injection. Further, since the ribs 34 and 35 are located on both sides so that they are located in the vicinity of the inner wall of the container main body 3, the porous material 6 ′ that easily floats due to friction with the inner wall is securely attached to the bottom of the container main body 3. It can be pushed in and does not become an obstacle when the ink injection needle is inserted.
[0021]
At the stage where the setting of the spacer 30 and the porous material 6 ′ is completed, the protrusions 40 at both ends of the overhanging portions 31 and 31 come into contact with the inner wall of the container body 3 as shown in FIG. Is prevented. In this state, the lid 4 is sealed in the opening 3a of the container body 3 by welding or the like, and the exposed surface of the ink supply port 5 is sealed with a film into which the ink supply needle 22 can be inserted to constitute the container. To do.
[0022]
Next, an exhaust pipe is connected to the atmosphere communication port 11 of the container, and an ink injection needle is inserted from the ink injection port 10 into the porous material 6 ′. The tip of the ink injection needle passes between the hole 38 of the spacer 30 and the ribs 35 and 35 to reach the porous material 6 ′ and is inserted therethrough. When the inside of the container is depressurized by the exhaust pipe in this state, the air contained in the flow path of the ink supply port 5 and the pores of the porous material 6 ′ is excluded.
[0023]
Next, when an amount of ink that can be impregnated with the second porous material 6 ′ is injected with an ink injection needle, the ink is absorbed into the pores of the porous material 6 ′. When the ink filling is completed, the ink cartridge is housed in a decompression chamber or the like and further depressurized. Complete.
[0024]
In addition to the information for specifying the ink cartridge, the storage means mounted on the circuit board 8 stores data relating to the amount of ink reduced by the spacer 30.
[0025]
The ink cartridge 1 ′ finished in such a small capacity type has a porous material 6 ′ pressed from above through the ribs 34, 35, and therefore has an inner portion compared to the case where it is pressed by the upper part of the plate. Appropriate pressure is applied corresponding to the shape, particularly the shape of the convex portion 15, and the rib 35 is positioned substantially outside the convex portion 15, so that the flow resistance of the ink flow path of the ink supply port is increased unnecessarily. There is nothing.
[0026]
When the ink cartridge 1 ′ is attached to the recording apparatus as shown in FIG. 6, the ink supply needle 22 is liquid-tightly coupled to the ink chamber 2 through the ink supply port 5. Since the porous material 6 ′ in the vicinity of the ink supply port 5 that greatly affects the ink supply characteristics to the recording head 20, particularly the convex portion 15, is compressed by the spacer 30 in the same manner as the normal capacity type. The ink can be reliably supplied to the recording head 20 regardless of the amount of ink filling.
[0027]
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the spacer is formed in a substantially symmetrical shape has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 7A, the ink supply ports 5 of the ribs 34 and 35 formed in the spacer 30 are used. When the convex portions 34a and 35a are formed in the region facing the surface, the vicinity of the ink supply port 5 is selectively compressed as shown in FIG. 7B, and the ink in the vicinity is reliably discharged to the ink supply port 5. can do.
Furthermore, if a vertical wall 41 located slightly on the center side is formed at the end away from the ink supply port 5, the region farthest from the ink supply port 5, that is, the upper end region is drawn toward the ink supply port 5. Accordingly, the ink of the porous material 6 can be more reliably guided to the ink supply port 5.
[0028]
In the above-described embodiment, the rib 9 of the lid 4 is brought into contact with the base 33. However, as shown in FIG. 8A, the ink injection port 10 and the air communication port are formed on the upper surface of the base 33. When the protrusions 44 and 45 engaged between the ribs of the lid 4 are formed so as to engage with the ribs 9 surrounding the ribs 11, the protrusions 34 a and 35 a of the ribs 34 and 35 are formed. Regardless, the spacer 30 can be pressed against the porous material 6 in a stable posture.
[0029]
In the above-described embodiment, an example is described in which the ink supply port 5 is sealed by the valve 17 that can be opened by the ink supply needle. However, only the packing that is airtightly engaged with the ink supply needle is used. Even if it is applied to the provided one, the same effect is obtained.
[0030]
In the above-described embodiment, an example of an ink cartridge that stores one color of ink has been described. However, as shown in FIG. 9, the container body 3 is divided into a plurality of ink storage chambers 2 by walls 3a. Thus, even if the porous material 6 ″ and the spacer 30 ′ are accommodated in each room, the same effect is obtained.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, a container and lid having the same shape as a container for storing a normal volume of ink are used, and the ink storage area is not changed without causing a change in the structure near the ink supply port. The volume of can be reduced.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure in a state where the ink cartridge is mounted on the recording apparatus.
FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of the ink cartridge.
FIG. 4 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment when the ink cartridge is configured as a small capacity type.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the spacer loaded in the ink cartridge as seen from the porous material side.
FIGS. 6A and 6B are cross-sectional views showing a state in which ink cartridges of the same small-capacity type are mounted on the recording apparatus, respectively.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are a perspective view showing another embodiment of the spacer loaded in the ink cartridge, respectively, as viewed from the porous material side, and the ink cartridge loaded with the spacer. FIG.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are a perspective view showing another embodiment of the spacer loaded in the ink cartridge as viewed from the lid side, and a cross section of the ink cartridge loaded with the spacer. It is a figure which shows a structure.
FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of the present invention in a state in which a lid is removed by taking an example of a color ink cartridge.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cartridge 2 Ink chamber 3 Container main body 4 Cover body 5 Ink supply port 6, 6 'Porous material 9 Rib 10 Ink inlet 11 Atmospheric communication port 13 Packing 15 Protruding part 20 Recording head 22 Ink supply needle 30 Spacers 31, 32 Tension Protruding part 33 Base 34, 35 Rib 38, 39, 38 ', 39' Through hole

Claims (11)

A container main body containing a porous material for impregnating ink in an ink chamber communicating with the ink supply port, an ink injection port, and an air communication port are provided, and a first rib is formed on the ink chamber side. A lid for sealing the opening of the container body, and a spacer loaded between the lid and the porous material,
The spacer includes a flat base that contacts the first rib of the lid on the side facing the lid, a second rib formed on the side facing the porous material, and the ink injection. An ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus, comprising: a through hole formed at a position facing the inlet.   The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the through holes are provided at symmetrical positions so as to face the ink injection port regardless of the orientation of the spacer.   The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is configured to repress at least a region of the porous material facing the ink supply port.   2. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion that can be engaged with the lid is formed on a side of the flat base that faces the lid. 3.   The spacer has a flat base on the side facing the lid, and a plurality of second ribs extending in the longitudinal direction of the container on the side facing the porous material, and the adjacent ribs. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridges are connected to each other.   2. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second rib is formed on both sides in a direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction of the container body.   A region where the ink supply port protrudes from the bottom of the container main body and has an ink flow path communicating with the ink supply port, and the second rib is not opposed to the ink flow path. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is in contact with the porous material.   The spacer has a flat base on the side facing the lid, and a projection extending in the longitudinal direction of the container and facing the ink supply port on the side facing the porous material. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink rib is configured by forming the second rib provided.   2. The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion that can contact the inner wall of the container main body is formed at a corner of the base in the longitudinal direction.   The container body is divided into a plurality of ink chambers communicating with the ink supply port by walls, and the porous material is loaded in each ink chamber by being pressed against the ink supply port by the spacer. 2. An ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to 1.   The ink cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein storage means for storing data for specifying the ink cartridge is attached to either the container main body or the lid.

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