JP4852203B2 - Ink supply device air discharge method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink supply device. Air discharge method In particular, an ink supply device for supplying ink to an ink jet head of an ink jet recording apparatus For discharging air in an ink container About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In on-demand inkjet recording technology, a diaphragm is provided on a part of the wall of the liquid chamber filled with ink, and the diaphragm is displaced by a piezoelectric actuator or the like to change the volume in the liquid chamber to increase the pressure and eject ink. And a system in which a heating element that generates heat when energized is provided in the liquid chamber, and the pressure in the liquid chamber is increased by bubbles generated by the heat generation of the heating element to discharge ink. Various methods for supplying ink to these inkjet heads have been put into practical use depending on the specifications of the recording apparatus. In the most popular small printers, a system in which an ink cartridge containing ink is mounted together with an inkjet head on a carriage that reciprocates at high speed perpendicular to the paper scanning direction is the most common. In this case, in order to cancel the adverse effects such as the water head difference of the ink cartridge and the pressure due to carriage scanning, a member for maintaining the inside of the ink cartridge at a negative pressure is provided, and the meniscus of the nozzle of the ink jet head is maintained to stabilize the print quality. Yes.
[0003]
As a method of maintaining the negative pressure, for example, a foam body as disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 2,936,697 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 1) is accommodated in a cartridge, and the negative pressure is generated by the capillary force. The method of generating is most commonly adopted. Further, as another method for generating the negative pressure, a method using a flexible member and a spring as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-305713 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 2) is disclosed. Yes. This method solves both the problem of the ink capacity of the foam type and the problem of dust filtering, and is an excellent ink supply method. Further, the ink supply container using the flexible film and the spring can be replenished with ink and used repeatedly. Further, as a method for removing air from the inside of the ink container, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-29324 (hereinafter referred to as Conventional Example 3), the air in the negative pressure container is moved to the upstream ink cartridge by operating the negative pressure adjusting member. Proposals for discharge have been made.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above-described conventional example 1, the foam body has a disadvantage that the ink that can be impregnated with respect to the actual volume is small, and the ink cartridge tends to be large. Also, in order to prevent the dust generated from the foam from accumulating many times from being accumulated in the inkjet head, it is necessary to provide a large filter between the inkjet head and the ink cartridge, or to incorporate a filter inside the cartridge. Occurs. Further, the filter is a very expensive part, which leads to a significant cost increase of the printer or cartridge.
[0005]
Further, according to the method of Conventional Example 2, the structure for removing bubbles accumulated in the container due to repeated replenishment or standing for a long period of time is complicated, and is not suitable for downsizing and mounting in a recording apparatus. is there.
[0006]
Furthermore, according to the above-described conventional example 3, if the bubbles are returned to the upstream side, the amount of dissolved air in the ink is increased, the quality of the ink is lowered, and bubbles are likely to be generated later when supplied to the inkjet head. .
[0007]
The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and can achieve a highly reliable ink supply over a long period of time, and is suitable for a recording apparatus capable of high-speed printing and a small ink supply apparatus. Air discharge method The purpose is to provide.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, the ink supply device of the present invention Intake and exhaust method According to the present invention, it is used in an ink jet head that forms an image by ejecting ink, and includes at least an ink discharge port and a negative pressure maintaining member, and an ink cartridge that accommodates ink is detachably connected at a close position. Ink container And pressing member Have An air discharge method for an ink supply device The ink container Ink storage and When opening and closing the air communication port that can be opened and closed, and discharging the air, press the ink storage part that was in a negative pressure state with a pressing member. Place the pressing member at a position where it can be pressed Open the air communication port while maintaining the above state, and replenish ink into the ink storage part through an opening provided in a part of the casing forming the ink container. , Leave pressed with the pressing member Large It is characterized in that the air communication port is closed to shut off the ink storage portion to the atmosphere. Therefore, an ink supply device suitable for a small-sized ink jet recording apparatus that can supply ink with high reliability over a long period of time with little contamination of dust and the like after many cartridge replacements Intake and exhaust method Can provide.
[0014]
Furthermore, the connection between the ink cartridge and the ink container The Opens and closes according to the internal pressure of the ink cartridge or ink container Ruko Thus, ink replenishment can be realized with a simple mechanism.
[0020]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Ink supply apparatus of the present invention Air discharge method Is an ink container that is used in an ink jet head that forms an image by discharging ink, and includes at least an ink discharge port and a negative pressure maintaining member, and an ink cartridge in which ink is stored is detachably connected at a close position And pressing member Have An air discharge method for an ink supply device The ink container Ink storage and When opening and closing the air communication port that can be opened and closed, and discharging the air, press the ink storage part that was in a negative pressure state with a pressing member. Place the pressing member at a position where it can be pressed Open the air communication port while maintaining the above state, and replenish ink into the ink storage part through an opening provided in a part of the casing forming the ink container. , Leave pressed with the pressing member Large Close the air communication port to shut off the ink storage part to the atmosphere.
[0021]
【Example】
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of an ink supply apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a cross-sectional view in the main scanning direction of the ink supply device, FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view along the line AA ′ in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1C is a cross-sectional view of the ink supply device. FIG. 3 is a side view of the vicinity of a recording head. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink supply apparatus according to the present embodiment mainly includes a sub tank 201 connected to the recording head 101 and an ink cartridge 301 connected to the sub tank 201 at a close position. . In the sub tank 201, an ink buffer 204 surrounded by a sub tank frame 202 and a flexible film 203 is formed, and an ink discharge port 205 is provided at a joint portion with the recording head 101. An elastic member 206 that urges the flexible film 203 to the outside is provided inside the ink buffer 204, and a negative pressure is normally maintained inside the ink buffer 204 by the elastic member 206. As the elastic member 206, various types such as a leaf spring and a coil spring can be used. Depending on the structure of the selected spring, a plate is appropriately interposed between the elastic member 206 and the flexible film 203. May be. In FIG. 1, the elastic member 206 is provided inside the ink buffer 204, but negative pressure may be generated by pulling the flexible film 203 from the outside of the ink buffer 204. By this negative pressure, the meniscus at the nozzle portion of the recording head 101 is stably maintained. In the present embodiment shown in FIG. 1, only one surface is elastically deformed, but a structure in which two opposing surfaces are elastically deformed is also possible. Further, in FIG. 1, the elastic member is configured by combining the flexible film 203 and the elastic member 206, but when the flexible film 203 is an elastic film having a sufficient restoring force, the elastic member 206 is provided. There is no need.
[0022]
In addition, an atmosphere communication port 207 is provided in the upper part of the sub tank 201 and is normally closed by an atmosphere release valve 209 urged by a spring 208. As a result, the inside of the ink buffer 204 is normally kept sealed with respect to the outside. For example, as shown in FIG. Can be opened to the atmosphere. Further, an ink replenishing port 210 for allowing ink to be replenished from the ink cartridge 301 to the ink buffer 204 is formed in the upper part of the sub tank 201. The ink cartridge 301 connected to the sub tank 201 at a close position can be a rigid container filled with ink or a flexible bag. In FIG. 1A, an ink replenishment valve 303 biased by a spring 302 is provided at the ink discharge portion of the ink cartridge 301, and ink is not supplied when the ink cartridge 301 is simply connected to the sub tank 201. A spring force is set so as not to flow out of the ink cartridge 301. However, this valve mechanism does not necessarily have to be on the ink cartridge 301 side, and may be provided at the ink replenishing port 210 portion of the sub tank 201. The relative position of the ink cartridge 301 and the sub tank 201 is not limited to the configuration in which the ink cartridge 301 is connected to the upper side of the sub tank 201 as shown in FIG.
[0023]
Next, the operation of the ink supply device of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 shows a state in which ink is printed from the recording head and the ink is consumed to some extent from the ink buffer 204 in the sub tank 201. Since the atmosphere release valve 209 of the atmosphere communication port 207 communicating with the ink buffer 204 and the ink replenishment valve 303 communicating with the ink replenishment port 210 are normally closed, the volume of the ink buffer 204 decreases as the ink is consumed. Accordingly, the elastic member composed of the elastic member 206 and the flexible film 203 is deformed inward. When a normal spring is used, the amount of spring generation increases as the amount of spring deformation increases, so the negative pressure in the ink buffer 204 increases. Since this negative pressure acts to open the ink refill valve 303, the ink refill valve 303 is automatically opened according to the negative pressure of the ink buffer 204 by appropriately setting the spring 302, and the ink is refilled. Can be made. Further, in the configuration in which the sub tank 201 is disposed below the ink cartridge 301 as shown in FIG. 1, the water head difference between them can be used effectively. In the ink supply apparatus of the present embodiment, it is possible to appropriately replenish ink to the sub tank 201 only by the water head difference, and a very simple ink supply system can be realized. As a matter of course, the ink replenishing valve 303 may be appropriately replenished using an electromagnetic valve that can be controlled by an external signal.
[0024]
In the ink supply device of this embodiment, it is assumed that the ink cartridge 301 is used for a long period of time while being replaced many times. In such a case, air may accumulate in the ink buffer 204 due to air bubbles at the time of ink cartridge replacement or air permeability of each member constituting the ink flow path system. The air in the ink buffer 204 is mixed into the recording head 101 to cause a printing failure, or the air expands due to an increase in the environmental temperature and adversely affects the negative pressure in the ink buffer 204. Therefore, the ink supply device according to the present embodiment can have a function of discharging the air in the ink buffer 204.
[0025]
2A, when the air is discharged from the state of FIG. 2A, the pressing member 501 is moved to a predetermined position via a side opening 211 formed in the case of the sub tank 201 as shown in FIG. insert. In this state, when the pressing member 401 shown in FIG. 1A is inserted into the atmosphere communication port 207 and the atmosphere release valve 209 is opened, the ink buffer 204 has a negative pressure. Is taken and the inside becomes atmospheric pressure. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2C, the ink buffer 204 expands until it hits the pressing member 501 by the restoring force of the elastic member 206 that has been displaced in the sub tank 201. At this time, the position of the pressing member 501 is determined so that the ink buffer 204 still has a room for expansion. When ink is replenished in this state, air is pushed up to the upper portion of the ink buffer 204 due to the difference in specific gravity, and is discharged to the outside from the atmosphere communication port 207. When ink replenishment of the ink buffer 204 is completed, the ink buffer 204 is filled with ink and almost no air remains. In this state, the atmosphere release valve 209 is closed and the inside is again shut off from the atmosphere, and then the pressing member 501 is retracted as shown in FIG. Since the elastic member 206 exerts a force to further expand the ink buffer 204 by retracting the pressing member 501, a negative pressure is generated inside the ink buffer 204, and the printable state is restored. In the process of discharging air, depending on the magnitude of the spring force, if the flexible film 203 comes into direct contact with the pressing member 501 after being released to the atmosphere, the flexible film 203 may be damaged. Therefore, it is preferable to provide a cushion material, a low wear material, or the like as the protection member 212 at the contact portion. Further, since dust may be mixed from the atmosphere communication port 207 when the atmosphere is released, it is preferable to form a filter 213 near the boundary between the atmosphere communication port 207 and the ink buffer 204 as shown in FIG. Further, as described above, the ink is replenished in the open air state, but when the ink replenishing valve 303 is set to operate by the negative pressure increase of the ink buffer 204, the ink buffer 204 is in the atmospheric pressure state. Then do not open the valve. In that case, the ink cartridge 301 can be pressurized to open and refill.
[0026]
Here, as a pressurizing method, for example, a method in which the ink cartridge 301 is constituted by a flexible bag and pressure is applied from the outside so as to crush the bag is convenient. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the ink supply apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration. FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB ′ in FIG. In FIG. 3, the ink containing bag 304 is provided in the case of the ink cartridge 301, and the pressure member 601 is inserted from the opening 306 formed in the case of the ink cartridge 301 to press the ink containing bag 304. A configuration for generating a replenishment pressure is shown. In order to reduce the amount of ink remaining inside the ink containing bag 304 after being completely crushed, the pressure is applied via the pressure plate 305. FIG. 3 shows another example of the ink replenishing valve, which has a valve function with a high fluid resistance member made of a small diameter hole or slit. According to this method, the replenishment operation similar to that of FIG. 1 described above can be realized with a very simple configuration.
[0027]
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a configuration in which the ink cartridge 301 is fixed to the main body, mounted on the carriage 11, and configured with only the recording head 101 and the sub tank 201, and the ink cartridge 301 is connected by the tube 12. In this way, by fixing the ink cartridge 301 to the main body, even when a large-capacity ink cartridge 301 is used, the total weight of the carriage 11 can be kept light, so that high-speed printing is possible, especially in large quantities. Suitable for high-speed office printers.
[0028]
FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a tube connection type ink supply apparatus. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ink supply apparatus in the main scanning direction. Description of the same parts as those in FIG. 1 will be omitted, and only different parts will be described. First, the atmosphere communication port 207 is normally closed by an atmosphere release valve 214 biased by a spring 215 and is provided in a state of being cut off from the atmosphere. The valve is opened and closed by pressing with an external pin 701 or the like. The ink replenishing port 210 is normally closed by a spring 217 and an ink replenishing valve 218 formed in the sub tank 201, and replenishment is cut off. The ink replenishing port 210 is connected to the tube 12 of FIG. 4 and is connected to an ink cartridge fixed to the main body (not shown). In FIG. 5, a sensor 218 for detecting completion of replenishment is formed on the upper part of the sub tank 201. The ink replenishment and air discharge operations are the same as the method of directly connecting the ink cartridge of FIG. As described above, even with a high-speed printer connected with a tube, it is possible to supply ink stably over a long period of time while appropriately discharging air by a simple mechanism.
[0029]
(Specific example 1)
In FIG. 1, a sub tank frame 202 of a sub tank 201 having a volume of about 5 cc is formed of polyethylene resin. At the atmosphere communication port 207, an atmosphere release valve 209 made of a sealing material made of butyl rubber and a sealing plate made of polyethylene resin was set in a pressurized state by a spring 208 that generates a force of about 30 gf. A filter 213 having a filtration accuracy of 5 microns was fixed to the interface between the atmosphere communication port 207 and the sub tank 201 by heat fusion. Next, a compression spring using a leaf spring was fixed to one side of the sub tank frame 202, and then the flexible film 203 was slackened and fixed to the sub tank frame 202 by heat fusion. As the spring, one that generates a force with a maximum load of about 70 gf was used, and as the flexible film 203, a laminated film having a gas barrier property and a thickness of 40 microns was used. After attaching a thin foam body as the protective member 212 to the surface, a cover was attached. As the ink cartridge 301, an ink was used in which a bag formed of a laminated film of an aluminum layer as an intermediate layer, an inner sealant layer made of polyethylene, and an outer layer made of nylon was used. An ink replenishing valve 303 having an operating pressure set to about 80 mmAq is formed at the ink discharge port of the ink cartridge 203 by using a steel ball 15 having a diameter of about 4 mm, a compression coil spring 302, and a sealing material made of butyl rubber. This ink cartridge 301 was fixed in pressure contact with the sub tank 201 via a butyl rubber sealant, and the recording head 101 was attached to the ink discharge port 205 of the sub tank 201 to eject the ink for evaluation. As a result, it was confirmed that ink could be replenished as the ink was consumed and printing could be performed stably and good ink could be supplied until the ink cartridge 301 was empty.
[0030]
(Specific example 2)
Using the sub-tank 201 described in the first specific example, an ink cartridge 301 containing ink as shown in FIG. 3 and pressurizing from the outside was connected to the sub-tank 201. A small-diameter hole as a high fluid resistance member was provided in the ink discharge port portion of this cartridge. The size of the small diameter hole was 0.3 mm in diameter and 10 mm in length. In this configuration, the recording head 101 was attached to the ink discharge port 205 of the sub tank in the same manner as in Example 1, and ink was ejected to evaluate ink supply. When the ink consumption was performed slowly, the ink supply to the sub tank 201 was automatically performed in conjunction with the ink consumption as in the first specific example. However, in Example 2, since the fluid resistance of the small-diameter hole of the ink discharge port of the ink cartridge 301 is large, when ink is consumed in a short time, ink replenishment is not in time just by increasing the negative pressure in the sub tank. Occurred. In this case, the pressure member 601 was inserted from the opening on the side surface of the ink cartridge 301, and the internal pressure of the ink cartridge 301 was increased to replenish. In this case, although not shown, two electrodes for detecting the water level are provided on the upper part of the sub tank 201, and the completion of replenishment is detected by the resistance value between the electrodes, and the pressurization of the cartridge is controlled.
[0031]
(Specific example 3)
In the ink supply apparatus shown in FIG. 3 as in Example 2, the ink was intentionally mixed into the ink cartridge 301 to supply the ink. By forcibly pressurizing the ink cartridge 301, air was sent to the sub tank 201 and printing of the recording head was performed. As a result, many nozzles that were not ejected normally were generated. Therefore, next, after air is sent into the sub tank by the same method, the pressing member 501 is inserted about 1 mm from the inner surface of the sub tank cover through the opening on the side surface of the sub tank 201 as shown in FIG. Then, the pin was inserted into the atmosphere communication port 207, and the inside of the sub tank was opened to the atmosphere. Next, the pressure member 601 was inserted from the opening on the side surface of the ink cartridge 301, and the internal pressure of the ink cartridge 301 was increased to replenish ink. After completion of replenishment, the pin was removed from the atmosphere communication port 207 to block the inside from the atmosphere, and the pressing member 501 was retracted outside the sub tank 201 to generate a negative pressure in the sub tank 201. When ink was ejected again in this state, it was possible to obtain a good ejection state until the sub tank 201 was almost empty, and it was confirmed that the ink supply was performed satisfactorily.
[0032]
(Specific example 4)
As shown in FIG. 5, the sub tank frame 202 of the sub tank 201 having a volume of about 5 cc is formed of polyethylene resin. At the atmosphere communication port 207, an atmosphere release valve 214 made of a sealing material made of butyl rubber and a sealing member made of polyethylene resin was set in a pressurized state by a leaf spring 215 that generates a force of about 30 gf. Next, a compression spring using a leaf spring was fixed to one side surface of the sub tank frame 202, and was then heat-sealed and fixed to the sub tank frame 202 in a state where the flexible film was slack. As the spring, one that generates a force with a maximum load of about 70 gf was used, and as the flexible film, a laminated film having a gas barrier property and a thickness of 40 microns was used. As the ink cartridge 301, an ink was used in which a bag formed of a laminated film of an aluminum layer as an intermediate layer, an inner sealant layer made of polyethylene, and an outer layer made of nylon was used. The ink cartridge 301 and the sub tank 201 were connected by a polyethylene tube 12 having an inner diameter of 2 mm and a length of 800 mm. The connection part of the tube 12 and the sub tank 201 formed the valve like FIG. This valve is urged by a spring 216 and is normally closed with a force of about 10 gf by a steel ball 217 and a sealing material, and is configured to operate with a differential pressure between the ink cartridge 301 and the sub tank 201. An ink cartridge 301 having an ink containing bag 304 as shown in FIG. 3 and capable of being pressurized from the outside is used as in the third specific example. In the specific example 4, since the tube 12 is interposed between the sub tank 201 and the ink cartridge 301 and a spring having a relatively strong force is used for the ink replenishing valve, the cartridge is pressed in a normal state, and the sub tank internal pressure is reduced. The valve was adjusted to open automatically at -80 mmAq. When the ink supply apparatus having such a configuration is set in the recording apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 and the printing evaluation is performed, the ink is appropriately replenished from the ink cartridge 301 according to the ink consumption, and good results can be obtained. did it. Next, when an ink cartridge intentionally sealed with air was connected and ink replenishment was performed in the same manner as in Specific Example 3, poor printing occurred. Therefore, when the air was discharged by operating the pressing member 401 and the replenishment in the same sequence as in the specific example 3, a good printing state was obtained again, and the air in the sub tank was discharged well. Was confirmed.
[0033]
Hereinafter, an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the above-described ink supply apparatus will be described. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the main configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to another invention.
[0034]
In FIG. 6, an ink jet recording apparatus according to another invention includes a carriage 62 movable in the main scanning direction inside an apparatus main body 61, a recording head comprising an ink jet head mounted on the carriage 62, and an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head. A printing mechanism 64 composed of 63 and the like is housed, and after a required image is recorded by the printing mechanism 64, the printing mechanism 64 is discharged to a discharge tray mounted on the rear side. The printing mechanism 64 holds the carriage 62 slidably in the main scanning direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper in FIG. 6) with a main guide rod 65 and a sub guide rod 66 which are guide members horizontally mounted on left and right side plates (not shown). The carriage 62 has a recording head composed of an ink jet head for ejecting ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (Bk). And are mounted with the ink droplet ejection direction facing downward. Further, each ink cartridge 63 for supplying ink of each color to the recording head is replaceably mounted on the carriage 62.
[0035]
Here, the carriage 62 is slidably fitted to the main guide rod 65 on the rear side (downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction), and is slidably mounted on the sub guide rod 66 on the front side (downstream side in the sheet conveyance direction). is doing. In order to move and scan the carriage 62 in the main scanning direction, a timing belt 70 is stretched between a driving pulley 68 and a driven pulley 69 that are rotationally driven by a main scanning motor 67, and the timing belt 70 is moved to the carriage 62. The carriage 62 is reciprocally driven by forward and reverse rotations of the main scanning motor 67.
[0036]
Further, a recovery device 71 for recovering the ejection failure of the recording head is disposed at a position outside the recording area on the right end side in the moving direction of the carriage 62. The recovery device 71 includes a cap unit, a suction unit, and a cleaning unit. The carriage 62 is moved to the recovery device 71 side during printing standby and the recording head is capped by the capping means, and the ejection port portion is kept in a wet state to prevent ejection failure due to ink drying. Further, by ejecting ink that is not related to recording during recording or the like, the ink viscosity of all the ejection ports is made constant and stable ejection performance is maintained. When ejection failure occurs, etc., the ejection port of the recording head is sealed with a capping unit, air bubbles are sucked out from the ejection port with the suction unit through the tube, and ink or dust adhering to the ejection port surface is cleaned by the cleaning unit. And the defective discharge is recovered. Further, the sucked ink is discharged to a waste ink reservoir (not shown) installed at the lower part of the main body and absorbed and held by an ink absorber inside the waste ink reservoir.
[0037]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the said Example, It cannot be overemphasized that various deformation | transformation and substitution are possible if it is description in a claim.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, the ink supply device of the present invention Air discharge method According to the present invention, it is used in an ink jet head that forms an image by ejecting ink, and includes at least an ink discharge port and a negative pressure maintaining member, and an ink cartridge that accommodates ink is detachably connected at a close position. Ink container And pressing member Have An air discharge method for an ink supply device The ink container Ink storage and When opening and closing the air communication port that can be opened and closed, and discharging the air, press the ink storage part that was in a negative pressure state with a pressing member. Place the pressing member at a position where it can be pressed Open the air communication port while maintaining the above state, and replenish ink into the ink storage part through an opening provided in a part of the casing forming the ink container. , Leave pressed with the pressing member Large It is characterized in that the air communication port is closed to shut off the ink storage portion to the atmosphere. Therefore, an ink supply device suitable for a small-sized ink jet recording apparatus that can supply ink with high reliability over a long period of time with little contamination of dust and the like after many cartridge replacements Air discharge method Can provide.
[0044]
Furthermore, the connection between the ink cartridge and the ink container The Opens and closes according to the internal pressure of the ink cartridge or ink container Ruko Thus, ink replenishment can be realized with a simple mechanism.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an ink supply apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the operation of the ink supply device of the present embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an ink supply apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration in which a sub tank and an ink cartridge are communicated by a tube.
FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a tube connection type ink supply apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to another invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
101; recording head; 201; sub tank; 202; sub tank frame;
203; flexible film; 204; ink buffer; 205; ink outlet;
206; elastic member, 207; atmosphere communication port, 208; spring, 209; atmosphere release valve,
210; ink replenishing port; 211; hole; 212; protective member;
301; ink cartridge; 302; spring; 303; ink refill valve;
401, 501, 601, 701; pressing member.

Claims (2)

Used in an inkjet head that forms an image by ejecting ink, and presses an ink container that includes at least an ink discharge port and a negative pressure maintaining member, and in which an ink cartridge that contains ink is detachably connected at a close position an air discharge method of an ink supply device which have a member,
The ink container includes an ink storage portion and an openable and closable atmosphere communication port,
When discharging the air, the ink storage portion which has been a negative pressure state can be pressed position the pressing member, open the air vent while maintaining a state of arranging the pressing member, the ink ink replenishment to said ink accommodating portion through an opening provided in part of the housing forming the container, after the ink replenishment completion, close the pressing member until until before Symbol air passage pressed state An air supply method for an ink supply apparatus , wherein the ink storage portion is shielded from the atmosphere. The connecting portion of the ink container and the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge or air discharge method of an ink supply apparatus of claim 1, wherein the opening and closing in response to the internal pressure of the ink container.

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