JP4819719B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming equipment, it relates to an image forming equipment which, especially discharging droplets.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, or a multifunction machine of these, for example, a liquid (e.g., a liquid ejecting apparatus) including a recording head composed of a liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid droplets of a recording liquid (liquid) is used. Hereinafter, although it is also referred to as “paper”, the material is not limited, and a recording medium as a liquid (hereinafter, referred to as “recording medium”, “recording medium”, “transfer material”, “recording paper” and the like is also used synonymously). Some of them perform image formation (recording, printing, printing, and printing are also used synonymously) by attaching the ink to the paper.

  The image forming apparatus means an apparatus for forming an image by discharging a liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. The term “not only” means not only giving an image having a meaning such as a character or a figure to a medium but also giving an image having no meaning such as a pattern to the medium. Further, the liquid is not limited to the recording liquid and ink, and is not particularly limited as long as it is a liquid capable of forming an image. Further, the liquid discharge device means a device that discharges liquid from the liquid discharge head.

  In an image forming apparatus that includes such a liquid ejecting apparatus and forms an image, a head tank (sub tank, which is a small-capacity liquid container that supplies a recording liquid (hereinafter referred to as “ink”) to a recording head on a carriage. Equipped with a large-capacity main cartridge (main tank) on the apparatus body side, and replenishing and supplying ink from the main cartridge on the apparatus body side to the head tank, or There is known an apparatus in which an ink cartridge which is a liquid container is mounted so as to be exchangeable together with a recording head.

  By the way, in order to stabilize the ink discharge operation from the liquid discharge head, the ink in the liquid discharge head is maintained at a predetermined negative pressure (the pressure acting on the ink in the liquid discharge head is maintained at a predetermined negative pressure). This is very important. For this reason, in general, an ink supply system that supplies ink to the liquid discharge head is provided with a negative pressure generating means, and ink to which negative pressure is applied by the negative pressure generating means is supplied to the liquid discharge head.

  As such a negative pressure generating means, a configuration in which a negative pressure is formed by utilizing the capillary phenomenon of a sponge-like ink absorber housed in the ink tank, or an ink tank so as to maintain the negative pressure in the ink tank There has been known a configuration provided with a biasing means such as a spring for biasing a flexible member forming at least a part of the ink cartridge outwardly of the ink tank. Further, as another negative pressure generating means, there is also known a configuration in which an ink tank is disposed below the liquid discharge head and a negative pressure is applied to the ink using a water head difference.

  By the way, in an image forming apparatus using a general head tank, the supply flow path for supplying ink from the main tank to the head tank is flexible in consideration of the drawing, assembly, maintenance, etc. in the apparatus. Resin tubes are often used. In many cases, a flexible film is provided as a negative pressure generating means in the head tank. However, as these are used for a long time, air gradually permeates from the outside, and eventually the air enters the head tank. Furthermore, the air existing in the main tank, the air mixed in the supply channel when the main tank is attached and detached, the air dissolved in the ink, etc., will eventually accumulate in the head tank via the supply channel. become.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 is provided with an air release valve means for switching the sub-tank to a sealed or open state, and the air in the sub-tank is discharged separately from the ink supply flow path and the exhaust flow path. Is described to prevent the accumulation of the. This atmosphere release valve means is configured to house a valve seat made of an elastic member in an atmosphere release cap, an iron ball that is a valve body, and a spring that biases this iron ball toward the valve seat side, By constantly energizing the iron ball in the valve closing direction by the spring, the sub tank is prevented from communicating with the atmosphere, and air is prevented from entering the sub tank. In addition, the air release pin is inserted into the holder and the iron ball is moved in the valve opening direction against the urging force of the spring so that the sub tank communicates with the atmosphere. In this state, ink is supplied into the sub tank, The air in the sub-tank can be discharged by substituting the accumulated air and ink.
JP-A-2005-169664

Further, Patent Document 2 describes that the subtank is sealed or opened according to the amount of accumulated air in the subtank, and the negative pressure control in the subtank is performed by replenishing the liquid to stabilize the droplet discharge characteristics. ing.
JP 2005-59491 A

Further, in Patent Document 3, a sub-tank equipped with an air release valve means can stably supply liquid without interruption of liquid supply even after a predetermined amount of liquid is discharged from a droplet discharge head. A method is described.
Japanese Patent No. 3461282

  However, in the sub tank atmosphere release valve means described in Patent Documents 1 to 3, in order to discharge the accumulated air in the sub tank, it is necessary to connect the sub tank and the atmosphere by pressing the atmosphere release pin. At this time, if foreign matter such as dust or paper dust in the atmosphere enters the atmosphere release path and adheres to the contact surface of the iron ball and the valve seat, the air tightness of the atmosphere release valve means can be maintained. There is a problem that a small amount of air is mixed into the sub tank.

  Further, since the valve seat made of an elastic member constituting the air release valve means needs to improve airtightness, it is necessary to make the hardness soft so that the nip width when the ball comes into contact is widened. However, if the hardness of the valve seat is softened, there is a problem that it is easy to be charged with static electricity and sucks foreign matter such as dust and paper dust in the atmosphere.

  That is, if foreign matter such as dust or paper dust in the atmosphere enters the atmosphere release cap, the airtightness cannot be maintained, so that the negative pressure in the sub tank is destroyed and ink drops from the nozzles of the liquid discharge head. In addition, when the negative pressure is destroyed, it is necessary to recreate the negative pressure again, so a recovery operation is performed to suck out ink from the nozzles of the liquid discharge head by the suction pump, and the suction operation for recovering the negative pressure This causes a problem that ink is wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to improve the sealing of the liquid material container.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
In an image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges droplets; and a liquid container that supplies liquid to the recording head.
The liquid container is
Equipped with an atmosphere release mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere release path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere,
This atmospheric release mechanism includes a valve seat member, a valve body that is arranged so as to be able to contact with and separate from the valve seat member, and is movable from the outside, and a foreign object that is disposed on the atmosphere side of the valve body and enters from the outside. A foreign matter catching means for catching
The foreign matter capturing means is configured to be an electrostatic attracting means for electrostatically attracting foreign matters.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes:
In an image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges droplets; and a liquid container that supplies liquid to the recording head.
The liquid container is
Equipped with an atmosphere release mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere release path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere,
This atmospheric release mechanism has a valve seat member and a valve body that is arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the valve seat member and is movable from the outside.
The valve seat member is made of silicon rubber with a neutralizing coating.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the liquid container includes the atmosphere opening mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere opening path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere. The atmosphere opening mechanism includes the valve seat member and the valve inside. The valve body is arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the seat member and is movable from the outside, and the foreign body capturing means is disposed on the atmosphere side of the valve body and captures foreign bodies entering from the outside. Since the electrostatic attraction means for electrostatically adsorbing foreign matter is adopted, the sealing performance of the liquid container is improved.
According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the liquid container includes the atmosphere opening mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere opening path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere. The atmosphere opening mechanism includes the valve seat member and the valve inside. Since the valve seat member is made of silicon rubber coated with a charge-removing coating, it is arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the seat member, and the sealability of the liquid container is improved. To do.

  According to the liquid container of the present invention, the atmosphere opening mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere opening path that opens the inside of the container main body to the atmosphere is provided, and the atmosphere opening mechanism includes the valve seat member and the valve seat member in contact with and away from the inside. Since it is configured to include a valve body that can be arranged and movable from the outside, and a foreign matter catching means that is placed closer to the atmosphere than the valve body and catches foreign matter that enters from the outside, Capturing foreign matter such as paper dust and preventing adhesion between the valve element and the valve seat member can improve sealing performance.

  According to the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, since the liquid container according to the present invention is provided, it is possible to prevent the air from being unnecessarily invaded due to a decrease in the sealing property of the liquid container, and to prevent a stable liquid without waste. Supply can be made.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 is an explanatory side view for explaining the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus, and FIG.
This image forming apparatus is a serial type image forming apparatus, and a carriage 33 is slidable in the main scanning direction by main and slave guide rods 31 and 32 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 21A and 21B of the apparatus main body 1. It is held and moved and scanned in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) in FIG. 2 via a timing belt by a main scanning motor (not shown).

  The carriage 33 is provided with recording heads 34a and 34b (which are liquid ejection heads according to the present invention for ejecting ink droplets of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K). When not distinguished, it is referred to as “recording head 34”). A nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles is arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and is mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward.

  Each of the recording heads 34 has two nozzle rows. One nozzle row of the recording head 34a has black (K) droplets, the other nozzle row has cyan (C) droplets, and the recording head 34b has one nozzle row. One nozzle row ejects magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row ejects yellow (Y) droplets.

  Further, the carriage 33 is equipped with head tanks 35a and 35b (referred to as “head tank 35” when not distinguished) for supplying ink of each color corresponding to the nozzle rows of the recording head 34. The head tank 35 includes recording liquid cartridges 10y, 10m, 10c, and 10k that are detachably attached to the cartridge loading unit 4 and supply recording liquids of the respective colors via the supply tubes 36 of the respective colors by the supply pump unit 5. Is replenished.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the papers 42 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 41 of the paper feeding tray 2, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the papers 42 one by one from the paper stacking unit 41. A separation pad 44 made of a material having a large friction coefficient is provided facing the paper roller 43) and the paper feed roller 43, and the separation pad 44 is urged toward the paper feed roller 43 side.

  In order to feed the paper 42 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 34, a guide member 45 for guiding the paper 42, a counter roller 46, a transport guide member 47, and a tip pressure roller. And a holding belt 48 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 42 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 34.

  The transport belt 51 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the transport roller 52 and the tension roller 53 and circulate in the belt transport direction (sub-scanning direction). Further, a charging roller 56 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 51 is provided. The charging roller 56 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the transport belt 51 and to rotate following the rotation of the transport belt 51. The transport belt 51 rotates in the belt transport direction of FIG. 2 when the transport roller 52 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 42 recorded by the recording head 34, a separation claw 61 for separating the paper 42 from the conveying belt 51, a paper discharge roller 62, and a spur 63 that is a paper discharge roller. And a paper discharge tray 3 below the paper discharge roller 62.

  A duplex unit 71 is detachably mounted on the back surface of the apparatus body 1. The duplex unit 71 takes in the paper 42 returned by the reverse rotation of the conveyance belt 51, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 46 and the conveyance belt 51. The upper surface of the duplex unit 71 is a manual feed tray 72.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 including a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 34 is disposed in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 33 in the scanning direction. Yes.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 81 includes cap members (hereinafter referred to as “caps”) 82a and 82b (hereinafter referred to as “caps 82” when not distinguished from each other) for capping the nozzle surfaces of the recording head 34, and nozzle surfaces. A wiper blade 83 that is a blade member for wiping the ink, and an empty discharge receiver 84 that receives liquid droplets when performing empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the thickened recording liquid. ing.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 33, idle discharge is performed to discharge liquid droplets that do not contribute to recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during recording or the like. A recovery unit (empty discharge receiver) 88, which is a liquid recovery container for receiving liquid droplets at that time, is arranged, and this empty discharge receiver 88 is provided with an opening 89 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 34 and the like.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 42 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feed tray 2, and the sheet 42 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 45, and includes the transport belt 51 and the counter. It is sandwiched between the rollers 46 and conveyed, and the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 37 and pressed against the conveying belt 51 by the leading end pressing roller 49, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately repeated with respect to the charging roller 56, that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 51 alternates, that is, in a sub-scanning direction that is a circumferential direction. , Plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the paper 42 is fed onto the conveyance belt 51 charged alternately with plus and minus, the paper 42 is attracted to the conveyance belt 51, and the paper 42 is conveyed in the sub-scanning direction by the circular movement of the conveyance belt 51.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 34 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 33, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 42 to record one line, and after the paper 42 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 42 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 42 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 3.

  Next, an example of the head tank 35 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 is an external perspective view of the head tank, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the head tank, FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of the head tank, and FIG. 6 is a line AA in FIG. It is a schematic sectional explanatory drawing which follows. Here, in order to simplify the drawing, a description will be given of a head tank configuration in the case where the recording head 34 ejects one color droplet. When two color droplets are ejected as in the image forming apparatus described above, two head tanks are integrally formed.

  The head tank 35 has the flexibility to seal the opening (one surface of the head tank 35) of the ink storage unit 100 to the container main body (case main body) 101 that forms the ink storage unit 100 that stores the ink that is the recording liquid. A film-like member (flexible film-like member) 102 is attached by adhesion or welding, and the film-like member 102 is disposed outwardly between the case main body 101 and the film-like member 102 inside the ink containing portion 100. A spring 103, which is an elastic member for biasing, is provided.

  Furthermore, a bulging portion 102a having a convex shape corresponding to the spring 103 is formed on the film-like member 102, and a reinforcing member 104 is attached to the outer surface thereof. A detection lever 106 that is displaced according to the displacement of the film-like member 102 is swingably attached to support portions 107 and 107 provided on the side of the case 101.

  In addition, the case 101 is provided with an ink introduction path 111 for replenishing ink in the ink containing part 100, and a connecting means for connecting the ink introduction path 111 and the supply tube 36 connected to the ink cartridge 10. 112 can be detachably mounted.

  Further, a connecting member 113 for supplying ink from the ink containing portion 100 to the recording head 34 is attached to the lower portion of the case 101, and an ink supply path 114 of the recording head 34 is formed in the connecting member 113, and the ink containing portion A filter 115 is interposed between the two.

  In addition, an air flow path 121 for discharging air from the ink containing portion 100 is formed in the upper portion of the case 101. The air flow path 121 includes an inlet flow path portion 122 whose opening faces the ink containing portion 100 and a flow path portion 123 following the inlet flow path portion 122, and an air opening hole 131 provided in the case 101 on the downstream side. In addition, an accumulation portion 126 is continuously formed in a portion that is lower than the atmosphere opening hole 131 in the use state.

  By opening and closing the atmosphere release hole 131, the inside of the head tank 35 is hermetically sealed, or an atmosphere release valve mechanism 132 that is an atmosphere release means for switching the atmosphere release state through the atmosphere release hole 131 in the head tank 35 is provided. Provided.

  In addition, two detections for detecting that the amount of gas (air) in the head tank 35 has become a predetermined amount or more (or that the remaining amount of ink has become a predetermined amount or less) are provided above the case 101. Electrodes 141 and 142 are attached. The amount of gas (or the amount of ink) is changed by changing the conduction state between the detection electrodes 141 and 142 in a state where both the detection electrodes 141 and 142 are immersed in ink and in a state where at least one of the detection electrodes 141 and 142 is not immersed in ink. ) Can be detected.

  Therefore, a first embodiment of the atmosphere release mechanism 132 as an on-off valve mechanism in the head tank 35 as a liquid container will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view illustrating details of the atmosphere release mechanism 132.

  A cylindrical holder portion 151 is integrally formed around the atmosphere opening hole (atmosphere opening path) 131 in the container body 101, and a packing member 154 that is a valve seat member having an opening 153 formed at the tip of the holder portion 151. Is compressed and fixed by the atmospheric release cap 155. The air release cap 155 fits and locks the flange portion 155 a into an engagement portion 151 a formed on the container main body 101. A spherical ball 156 as a valve body (contacting / separating member) is disposed in the holder portion 151 so as to be able to contact with and separate from the packing member 154, and the ball 156 closes the opening 153 of the packing member 154 by a spring 157. Energized. Further, the atmosphere release cap 155 is provided with an atmosphere release pin 158 that presses the ball 156 in the valve opening direction so as to be able to advance and retract.

  The packing member 154 is preferably formed of silicon rubber that has been subjected to a charge-removing coating. Thereby, even if a foreign substance that cannot be captured enters, it is possible to more effectively prevent the foreign substance from adhering to the packing member 154.

  In the atmosphere release cap 155, a foreign substance sedimentation space that captures foreign substances between the outside air side partition wall part 155 b and the flange part 155 c that presses the packing member 154, which is on the outside air side (atmosphere side) from the ball 156. 161, and an electrostatic body 162 that electrostatically attracts foreign matter is provided as foreign matter capturing means in the foreign matter sedimentation space 161. Further, an arm 163 is provided integrally with the air release pin 158, a friction charging member 164 is attached to the tip of the arm 163, and is brought into contact with the electrostatic body 162 through an opening 155d formed in the air release cap 155. It is arranged. Further, the electrostatic force relationship between the electrostatic body 162 and the packing member 154 is such that electrostatic body ≧ packing.

  On the other hand, in order to open and close the atmosphere release mechanism 132, the apparatus main body is provided with a drive actuator portion 172 for advancing and retracting the atmosphere release pin 158. The drive actuator portion 172 is a drive means such as a solenoid (not shown). A plunger 171 to be pushed out is provided, and this plunger 171 is biased to a retracted position by a return spring 174 interposed between the actuator portion 172 and the frame 173.

  With this configuration, the atmosphere release mechanism 132 opens (opens) the opening 153 by pressing the atmosphere release pin 158 with the plunger 171 and pushing the ball 156 against the urging force of the spring 157. The air release hole 131 is opened. Further, the arm 163 moves in the same direction as the air release pin 158 moves back and forth, and the frictional charging member 164 rubs the outer surface of the electrostatic body 161 to charge the electrostatic body 161.

  Therefore, when the air accumulated in the head tank 35 is discharged, and when the ink is filled in the head tank 35 from the ink cartridge 10 to the atmosphere, the atmosphere release mechanism 132 is operated to open the atmosphere release hole 131. At this time, if foreign matter such as dust or paper dust in the atmosphere (in the outside air) enters the atmosphere release cap 155 from the gap between the atmosphere release pin 158 and the atmosphere release cap 155, the entry foreign matter becomes a foreign substance sedimentation space 161. Since it is attracted to the electrostatic body 164 provided therein, it is possible to prevent the invading foreign matter from further penetrating to the vicinity of the packing member 154 and adhering to the contact surface between the packing member 154 and the ball 155.

  Therefore, even when the air release operation is repeatedly performed, foreign matter adheres to the contact surface between the ball 155 and the packing member 154 to hinder the close contact, the airtightness is lowered, and the air release operation is not performed. Nevertheless, air can be prevented from entering the head tank 35. As a result, the negative pressure in the sub-tank 35 is destroyed and ink is dripped from the nozzles of the recording head, or when the negative pressure is destroyed, the negative pressure is re-established so that the negative pressure is restored. There is no need to waste ink.

  As described above, the air release mechanism that opens and closes the air release path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere is provided. The air release mechanism is disposed inside the valve seat member and the valve seat member so as to be able to contact and separate from the outside. And a foreign matter catching means that catches foreign matter that enters from the outside and is located on the atmosphere side from the valve body. Capturing and sticking between the valve body and the valve seat member can be prevented, and the sealing performance is improved. By providing this liquid container, there is no liquid dripping or recovery operation for regenerating negative pressure, and stable liquid supply without waste can be performed.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the atmosphere release mechanism of the head tank according to the embodiment.
Here, a filter serving as a foreign matter capturing means is disposed in the atmosphere release cap 155 between the outside air side partition wall portion 155b and the flange portion 155c that presses the packing member 154, which is on the outside air side (atmosphere side) from the ball 156. A member 182 is disposed. A contact area is increased by forming an axial recess 182 a of the air release pin 158 on the outside air side of the filter member 182.

  The filter member 182 can be formed of, for example, a sintered filter, a hydrophobic film that does not transmit liquid such as pure water but allows gas to pass, and a compressed foam elastomer.

  By providing the filter member 182 in this manner, smaller foreign matters can be captured.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the atmosphere release mechanism of the head tank according to the embodiment, and FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG.
Here, one end of the air release cap 155 is placed between the outside air side partition wall portion 155 b and the flange portion 155 c that presses the packing member 154, which is on the outside air side (atmosphere side) from the ball 156. A bellows-like seal member 191 attached to the inner surface of the outside air-side partition wall portion 155b of the air release cap 155 is provided, and a filter member 192 is attached to an opening 193 provided in the bellows-like seal member 191. .

  As a result, the bellows-like seal member 191 expands and contracts as the atmosphere release pin 158 moves forward and backward, and always seals between the outer peripheral surface of the atmosphere release pin 158 and the inner peripheral surface of the atmosphere release cap 155. Therefore, since the filter member 182 and the atmospheric release pin 158 are not slidably contacted as in the second embodiment, there is no possibility that the filter member 182 is rubbed by the atmospheric release pin 158 and foreign matter is generated. Intrusion of foreign matter can be suppressed.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the atmosphere release mechanism of the head tank according to the embodiment.
Here, a packing member 154 is arranged on the atmosphere release hole 131 side, and a ball 156 made of metal (magnetic material) that opens and closes the opening 153 of the packing member 154 is interposed between the atmosphere release cap 155 and a spring. It is energized and pressed by 157. A filter member 182 is provided in the atmosphere release cap 155 with the same configuration as that of the second embodiment described above.

  Further, an electromagnet 200 that moves the ball 156 against the urging force of the spring 157 by a magnetic force is disposed on the apparatus main body side outside the atmosphere release mechanism 132.

  Accordingly, the atmosphere release mechanism 132 can be opened and closed without touching the ball 156 by turning the electromagnet 200 on and off. Further, no member such as the air release pin 158 comes into contact with the filter member 182, and there is no possibility that the filter member 182 is rubbed by the air release pin 158 and foreign matter is generated, and the entry of foreign matter is more reliably suppressed. be able to.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to a printer having a single function configuration, and may be an image forming apparatus having a composite function such as a printer / facsimile / copying. It may be applied to a forming apparatus. The configuration of the liquid container is not limited to the above embodiment.

1 is a schematic side view illustrating an overall configuration of a mechanism unit of an image forming apparatus including a liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part. It is a perspective explanatory view of a head part for explanation of an example of a liquid container (head tank) of the same device. It is an exploded perspective view similarly. It is a typical side surface explanatory drawing similarly. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram along AA in FIG. 5. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional explanatory diagram for explaining an air release mechanism of the head tank according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is an expanded sectional explanatory view with which it uses for description of the air release mechanism of the head tank which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is an expanded sectional explanatory view with which it uses for description of the air release mechanism of the head tank which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. It is an expanded sectional explanatory view with which it uses for description of the air release mechanism of the head tank which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

33 ... Carriage 34 ... Recording head (liquid ejection head)
35 ... Head tank (liquid container)
131 ... Air release hole 132 ... Air release mechanism 151 ... Cylindrical holder part 154 ... Packing member (valve seat member)
155 ... Air release cap 156 ... Ball (valve)
157 ... Spring 158 ... Air release pin (pressing member)
162: Electrostatic body (foreign matter capturing means)
182, 192 ... Filter member (foreign matter capturing means)
191 ... Bellows-shaped sealing member 200 ... Electromagnet

Claims (2)

In an image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges droplets; and a liquid container that supplies liquid to the recording head.
The liquid container is
Equipped with an atmosphere release mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere release path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere,
This atmospheric release mechanism includes a valve seat member, a valve body that is arranged so as to be able to contact with and separate from the valve seat member, and is movable from the outside, and a foreign object that is disposed on the atmosphere side of the valve body and enters from the outside. A foreign matter catching means for catching
The image forming apparatus , wherein the foreign matter catching means is an electrostatic attracting means for electrostatically attracting foreign matters . In an image forming apparatus comprising: a recording head that discharges droplets; and a liquid container that supplies liquid to the recording head.
The liquid container is
Equipped with an atmosphere release mechanism that opens and closes the atmosphere release path that opens the inside of the container body to the atmosphere,
This atmospheric release mechanism has a valve seat member and a valve body that is arranged so as to be able to contact and separate from the valve seat member and is movable from the outside.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the valve seat member is made of silicon rubber having a charge-removing coating .

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