JP5131046B2 - Liquid supply apparatus and printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus and a printing apparatus that supply liquid in a main tank to a head via a sub tank.

An example of the liquid supply apparatus is an apparatus that is incorporated in a printer connected to a personal computer or the like and supplies ink as a liquid to a print head.
In such a liquid supply device, a sub tank unit that is mounted on a carriage, receives ink from the ink cartridge via the ink supply tube to the storage chamber, and supplies the ink in the ink storage chamber to the recording head during printing, and the ink cartridge There is known one provided with pump means for replenishing the sub-tank unit with ink and pump control means for controlling the ink flow rate in response to a drive signal to the recording head (for example, see Patent Document 1).

However, the above-described pump means has a complicated structure and requires a large installation space. For simplicity and miniaturization, the pump means supplies ink using the driving force of the reciprocating movement of the carriage. (For example, refer to Patent Document 2).
An ink supply device described in Patent Document 2 includes a carriage that is reciprocated, an ink cartridge that stores ink supplied to an inkjet recording head provided on the carriage, and ink consumed by printing by the inkjet recording head. An ink holding unit that holds the ink, and is compressed by moving the carriage to a predetermined position to send ink to the ink holding unit, and restored by moving the carriage to a position away from the predetermined position to restore ink from the ink cartridge. An ink pump portion is provided for drawing in the ink.

JP 2001-270133 A JP 2007-160639 A

  By the way, the ink supply device of the type that compresses the ink pump unit by the driving force of the reciprocating movement of the carriage includes an ink holding unit that is a separate tank as a buffer for holding the ink delivered from the ink pump unit. This increases the size and cost of the device.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid supply apparatus and a printing apparatus that can be reduced in size and cost with a simple structure.

The liquid supply apparatus according to the present invention capable of solving the above problems includes a main tank in which liquid is stored, a sub tank that draws liquid from the main tank, a head that is supplied with liquid from the sub tank, and the head. A liquid supply device having a carriage to be moved,
The sub tank has a variable volume liquid chamber mounted on the carriage and moved together with the carriage.
An expansion unit that expands the liquid chamber by moving a movable member that is moved through an elastic portion as the carriage moves, and draws liquid from the main tank ;
The expansion means includes a swinging member that moves together with the carriage that is movable with respect to a main body and swings in contact with a regulating portion provided on the main body side, and the elastic portion includes the swinging member and A tension coil spring that is interposed between the movable members and expands the liquid chamber by moving the movable member by swinging the swing member;
The liquid chamber is at least partially covered with a flexible film, and the expansion means expands the liquid chamber by displacing the film by movement of the movable member, The film is integrally formed with a protrusion that is press-fitted into the movable member .

According to the liquid supply apparatus of this configuration, the expansion means expands the liquid chamber by drawing the carriage in one direction, and the liquid is drawn from the main tank to supply the liquid. For example, the compressed sub tank is expanded by the spring. Compared with the structure in which the liquid is drawn from the main tank and then the sub tank is compressed and the liquid is sent out, a separate tank is not required as a buffer for holding the liquid sent out from the sub tank when the sub tank is compressed. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the apparatus.
Further, since the expansion means is configured to expand the liquid chamber by the movement of the movable member moved through the elastic portion by the movement of the carriage and draw the liquid from the main tank, for some reason, the liquid chamber and the movable member Even when an excessive load is applied, the elastic portion is elastically deformed to absorb the load. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the drive system for moving the carriage.

  According to the liquid supply device having this configuration, when the swinging member comes into contact with the regulating portion on the main body side by the movement of the carriage and swings, this swinging force is transmitted to the movable member while the tensile coil spring is elastically deformed as appropriate. The member is moved to draw the liquid from the main tank into the liquid chamber. In other words, the expansion means can have a simple configuration including a restriction portion, a swing member, and a tension coil spring.

  According to the liquid supply apparatus having this configuration, the flexible film that covers at least a part of the liquid chamber and is displaced by the movement of the movable member is attached by press-fitting the integrally formed protrusion into the movable member. It can be assembled easily and no parts for mounting are required. Therefore, the assembly cost, the number of parts, and the part cost can be reduced. In addition, since there is no separate part for attaching the film to the movable member, and this separate part does not come into contact with the liquid, it is possible to reduce the chance of foreign matters mixed into the liquid.

  The movable member is preferably a piston that slides in a cylinder.

  According to the liquid supply apparatus having this configuration, the direction of the force received from the elastic portion is not constant because the movable member that is moved through the elastic portion when the carriage moves is a piston that slides in the cylinder. However, the movable member can be moved in a constant posture. Therefore, the liquid can be reliably sucked from the main tank without waste.

The printing apparatus according to the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs printing processing by ejecting ink from a head to a conveyed medium,
The apparatus for supplying ink to the head includes any one of the liquid supply apparatuses according to the present invention.

  According to the printing apparatus having this configuration, since the expansion means expands the liquid chamber and draws the liquid from the main tank and replenishes it by the movement of the carriage, the sub tank is compressed. In addition, a separate tank as a buffer for holding the ink sent out from the sub tank can be eliminated. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the printing apparatus.

Hereinafter, examples of embodiments of a liquid supply apparatus and a printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 to 11 are views for explaining an ink jet printer in which an ink supply mechanism is configured by a liquid supply apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the ink jet printer, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer with the printer cover open, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ink jet printer with the printer case removed, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ink pump unit and the regulating plate, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the bottom of the cylinder, FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the structure of the self-sealing unit, and FIG. 8 is an ink supply limit of the ink jet printer. FIG. 9 is a characteristic line showing the compliance characteristic of the flexible film. 10 shows characteristic diagram showing a load characteristic of the flexible film, 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the main portion of the ink supply mechanism at the time of head cleaning of the inkjet printer.

First, the structure of an inkjet printer that is a printing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet printer 1 uses a plurality of types of color inks to perform color printing on a part of roll paper that has been fed out. A paper cover 5 and an ink cartridge cover 7 are provided to be freely opened and closed. Further, on the front surface of the printer case 2, a power switch 3 and a feed switch, an indicator, and the like are also arranged.

When the roll paper cover 5 is opened, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper storage unit 13 that stores the roll paper 11 that is a medium to be printed is opened, and the roll paper 11 can be replaced.
When the ink cartridge cover 7 is opened, the cartridge mounting portion 15 is opened, and the ink cartridge (main tank) 17 can be attached to and detached from the cartridge mounting portion 15.

  In this case, the ink cartridge 17 is pulled out by a predetermined distance in front of the cartridge mounting portion 15 in conjunction with the operation of opening the ink cartridge cover 7.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a carriage 23 on which an inkjet head (head) 21 is mounted is provided above the paper storage unit 13 in the printer case 2. The carriage 23 is supported by a guide member 25 extending along the width direction of the roll paper 11 so as to be movable in the paper width direction, and includes an endless belt 26 a and an endless belt 26 a extending in the width direction of the roll paper 11. The carriage motor 26 b that is driven can reciprocate above the platen 28 in the width direction of the roll paper 11. The inkjet head 21 performs a printing process by discharging ink to a part of the roll paper 11 that has been fed.

  As shown in the drawing, the upper portion of the cartridge mounting portion 15 is a standby position (home position) of the carriage 23 that reciprocates. Below this standby position, a cap 27 that covers the ink nozzles of the inkjet head 21 exposed on the lower surface of the carriage 23, and an ink suction that sucks and discards the ink in each ink nozzle of the inkjet head 21 via the cap 27. A mechanism 29 is provided.

  The ink cartridge 17 is a cartridge case 18 in which a plurality of unillustrated color ink packs are accommodated. Each ink pack in the ink cartridge 17 is made of a flexible material and sealed with ink stored therein. When the ink cartridge 17 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 15, the ink pack 17 is moved to the cartridge mounting portion 15 side. An ink supply needle (not shown) provided is inserted and connected to the ink supply port of the ink pack. An ink flow path 31 fixed in the printer case 2 is connected to the ink supply needle of the cartridge mounting portion 15, and one end of a flexible ink supply tube 33 divided into each color is connected to the ink flow path 31. Is connected.

  The other end of the ink supply tube 33 is connected to an ink pump unit 34 for each color provided on the carriage 23. Each ink pump unit 34 is provided above the inkjet head 21 and is connected to a self-sealing unit 36 connected to the inkjet head 21.

In addition to the inkjet head 21, an ink pump unit 34 and a self-sealing unit 36 are integrally mounted on the carriage 23.
As a result, the ink in each ink pack in the ink cartridge 17 passes from the ink supply needle of the cartridge mounting unit 15 to the ink flow path 31, the ink supply tube 33, the ink pump unit 34 for each color, and the self-sealing unit 36 for each color. Then, the ink is supplied to each ink nozzle of the inkjet head 21.

The ink pump unit 34 draws ink from the ink cartridge 17 when the movable carriage 23 moves with respect to the main body of the printer 1, and the ink pump 17 moves to the main body side of the printer 1 by moving the carriage 23. A restricting plate (restricting portion) 37 shown in FIG. 4 for operating the portion 34 is disposed in front of the carriage 23 in the moving direction to the standby position.
In the ink jet printer 1, the ink cartridge 17, the sub tank 45, the ink jet head 21, the carriage 23, and the ink pump unit 34 constitute an ink supply mechanism (liquid supply mechanism).

Next, the ink pump unit 34 constituting the ink supply mechanism will be described by exemplifying a structure for one color.
As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, a check valve 41 is provided at the end of the flow path 31 on the ink cartridge 17 side, and a check valve 41 is provided between the ink cartridge 17 and the ink pump portion 34. The valve 41 allows ink to flow only from the ink cartridge 17 side to the ink pump unit 34 side.

  The ink pump unit 34 includes a sub tank 45 that draws ink from the ink cartridge 17 through the ink supply tube 33. The sub-tank 45 includes an upper divided body 46 and a lower divided body 47, and a flexible membrane (film) made of a flexible diaphragm between the upper divided body 46 and the lower divided body 47. 49 has an ink chamber (liquid chamber) 50 whose upper portion is covered by 49. The flexible membrane 49 is made of butyl rubber or the like having low moisture permeability and gas permeability.

  The ink chamber 50 communicates with the ink supply tube 33 and communicates with the flow path 42 on the self-sealing unit 36 side, and supplies ink from the ink cartridge 17 and supplies ink to the self-sealing unit 36 side. It is possible. The flexible film 49 is made of a flexible material that can be easily deformed. With the deformation of the flexible film 49, the capacity of the ink chamber 50 becomes variable, and is expanded and contracted. The ink pump unit 34 is provided with an expansion mechanism (expansion means) 52 that expands the ink chamber 50 by displacing the flexible film 49.

  The expansion mechanism 52 includes a cylindrical cylinder 53 that extends in the vertical direction, a piston (movable member) 54 that is slidably inserted in the cylinder 53, and an upper part of the upper divided body 46 above the cylinder 53. A swinging arm (swinging member) 56 supported swingably on a swinging shaft 55 disposed in the shaft, and a tension coil spring (elastic portion) 57 interposed between the swinging arm 56 and the piston 54. have.

  The cylinder 53 is made of a resin material such as polypropylene having low moisture permeability and gas permeability. The cylinder 53 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the piston 54, and a small-diameter inner peripheral surface 59 that slidably guides the outer peripheral surface of the piston 54 is formed at the upper portion, and the outer periphery of the piston 54 at the lower portion A stepped shape is formed in which a large-diameter inner peripheral surface 60 that forms a gap with the surface is formed.

  The piston 54 is made of a resin material such as polypropylene having low moisture permeability and gas permeability. The piston 54 is formed in a substantially bottomed cylindrical shape, and its swing arm 56 side is notched from the upper end to an intermediate position in order to place the swing arm 56.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a slit 65 penetrating along the axial direction extends in the radial direction at the center of the bottom portion of the piston 54. A pair of locking protrusions 66 are formed in parallel. Each locking protrusion 66 has an arcuate positioning recess 66a at the center of the opposing surface. A locking portion 67 that locks the lower end of the tension coil spring 57 is formed above the bottom of the piston 54.

  The swing arm 56 includes an arm portion 69 that extends from the swing shaft 55 into the cylinder 53, a vertical extension portion 70 that extends downward from the swing shaft 55, and an arm portion 69 of the vertical extension portion 70. Has an input portion 71 extending from the opposite end portion in the direction opposite to the arm portion 69. The tip of the arm 69 has a bowl shape, and the upper end of the tension coil spring 57 is locked to this portion.

  The flexible film 49 includes an annular thick base portion 74 sandwiched between the upper divided body 46 and the lower divided body 47 in a state of being fitted in the annular groove 73 of the upper divided body 46, and the base portion. The thin film part 75 which extends from the inner peripheral part of the cylinder 74 in a cylindrical shape and the thick substantially disk-shaped fixing part 76 which closes the opposite side of the film part 75 from the base part 74. It is a molded product.

  A tapered projection 77 is integrally formed at the center of the fixed portion 76, and the projection 77 is fitted into the slit 65 of the piston 54 by press fitting. As a result, the base undercut portion of the protrusion 77 is locked to the locking protrusions 66 on both sides, and as a result, the protrusion 77 is prevented from coming off from the slit 65. At this time, the protrusions 77 are fitted and positioned in the positioning recesses 66a of the both locking protrusions 66. In this state, the fixing portion 76 is integrated with the bottom portion of the piston 54, so that the fixing portion 76 and the membrane portion 75 of the flexible film 49 are displaced by the movement of the piston 54.

  Here, the piston 54 has a thick bottom portion that is in close contact with the fixed portion 76, and keeps moisture permeability and gas permeability from the bottom portion low. In other words, Q = k · A / t, where Q is the transmission rate, k is the material-specific transmission coefficient, A is the surface area, and t is the thickness. It is as small as possible, and the thickness t is made as thick as possible.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the self-sealing unit 36, a supply path 82, an intermediate path 83, and a discharge path 84 are formed in the unit main body 81. The downstream end of the flow path 42 is connected to the supply port 82 a formed in the supply path 82, and the inkjet head 21 is connected to the discharge port 84 a formed in the discharge path 84.

  An inflow port 85 a is formed in the wall portion 85 that divides the supply path 82 and the intermediate path 83, and the ink in the supply path 82 flows into the intermediate path 83 through the inflow port 85 a. Further, a communication port 86 a is formed in the wall portion 86 that divides the intermediate path 83 and the discharge path 84, and ink in the intermediate path 83 flows into the discharge path 84 through the communication port 86 a.

  A fulcrum portion 87 is formed on the wall portion 86 in the intermediate path 83, and a swing bar 91 is swingably supported on the fulcrum portion 87. The swing rod 91 is integrally formed with an operating rod portion 92 that is bent toward the wall portion 85 at one end thereof, and the tip of the operating rod portion 92 abuts against the wall portion 85. A closing plate 93 for closing the inlet 85a is formed. A compression spring 94 is provided between the closing plate 93 and the wall portion 86, and the closing plate 93 is biased toward the wall portion 85 by the biasing force of the compression spring 94. Further, the other end portion of the swinging rod 91 is formed with a pressing rod portion 95 that is bent toward the wall portion 86 and is inserted into the communication port 86 a of the wall portion 86.

  An opening 96 is formed in the side wall 81a of the unit body 81 on the discharge path 84 side. A liquid-tight and flexible film 97 is liquid-tightly connected to the opening edge portion of the opening 96. A pressing plate 98 is fixed to the central portion of the film 97 on the discharge path 84 side. The tip of the pressing rod portion 95 of the swinging rod 91 is in contact with the pressing plate 98.

  A compression spring 99 is attached between the pressing plate 98 and the wall portion 86, and the pressing plate 98 is pushed outward by the urging force of the compression spring 99. In the self-sealing unit 36, the closing plate 93 is pressed against the wall 85 by the pressure acting on the compression spring 94 and the closing plate 93, and the inflow port 85a is closed.

  In the self-sealing unit 36, when the pressing bar portion 95 of the swinging rod 91 is pressed by the pressing plate 98 as the volume of the portion covered with the film 97 decreases, the swinging rod 91 is moved by the fulcrum portion 87. The closing plate 93 is separated from the wall portion 85 by swinging around the connecting portion. As a result, ink flows from the supply path 82 through the inlet 85 a to the intermediate path 83 and the discharge path 84 and is supplied to the inkjet head 21.

By providing the self-sealing unit 36 on the upstream side of the inkjet head 21, even if ink pressure fluctuation occurs on the supply side due to acceleration / deceleration of the carriage 23, for example, the pressure fluctuation is applied to the inkjet head 21. Is blocked by the self-sealing unit 36.
This prevents problems such as unintentional ink ejection from the ink jet head 21 due to transmission of pressure fluctuations, ink dripping, or missing dots due to defective ejection.

  In the printer 1 having the above structure, when the carriage 23 is in the standby position, as shown in FIG. 5B, the input portion 71 of the swing arm 56 abuts on the regulation plate 37 outside the carriage 23, and the vertically extending portion 70 is vertical and the arm 69 and the input unit 71 are horizontal. At this time, the piston 54 is pulled up by the urging force of the tension coil spring 57. In this state, as shown in FIG. 5A, the film portion 75 of the flexible film 49 extends downward from the base portion 74 side. The folded shape is folded up at the intermediate portion and connected to the fixing portion 76.

  At this time, the film portion 75 is in close contact with the large-diameter inner peripheral surface 60 of the cylinder 53 on the lower divided body 47 side, with respect to the base portion 74 side than the folded portion. Here, the cylinder 53 that is in close contact with the base portion 74 side of the membrane portion 75 is thickened to keep moisture permeability and gas permeability from this portion low. That is, also in this part, a material having a low transmission coefficient k is used, the surface area A is made as small as possible, and the thickness t is made as thick as possible.

  Further, the carriage 23 moves away from the standby position to position the ink jet head 21 in the printable area, and then the ink jet head 21 discharges ink in the printable area to perform printing, so that the self-sealing unit 36 When ink is supplied to the inkjet head 21 and the pressure in the self-sealing unit 36 becomes negative, ink is supplied from the ink chamber 50 to the self-sealing unit 36 via the flow path 42.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, when the ink in the ink chamber 50 is decreased, the fixing portion 76 is deformed while the film portion 75 of the flexible film 49 is deformed by the negative pressure generated by the decrease in the ink. And the piston 54 descends. Then, the swing arm 56 connected to the piston 54 via the tension coil spring 57 swings so that the tip of the arm portion 69 is lowered. As a result, the side of the input portion 71 of the swing arm 57 is swung. The amount of protrusion is increased. At this time, the tension coil spring 57 is inclined with respect to the axis of the piston 54 and may generate a lateral force with respect to the piston 54. However, since the piston 54 is guided by the cylinder 53, the axial direction smoothly. Move linearly. The piston 54 is slidably guided to the cylinder 53 in its entire movable range.

  When the carriage 23 returns to the standby position from this state, as shown in FIG. 5B, the swing arm 56 that moves together with the carriage 23 comes into contact with the regulation plate 37 outside the carriage 23 at the input unit 71. The vertical extending portion 70 is vertically aligned and the arm portion 69 and the input portion 71 are horizontal. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5A, the tip of the arm portion 69 is raised, and the piston 54 connected via the tension coil spring 57 is slid up within the cylinder 53.

  Due to the movement of the piston 54 performed through the tension coil spring 57, the fixing portion 76 of the flexible film 49 of the ink pump portion 34 rises integrally with the piston 54, and the ink chamber 50 of the sub tank 45 is expanded to increase the capacity. Is done. As described above, when the capacity of the ink chamber 50 increases, the ink is sucked into the ink chamber 50 from the ink cartridge 17 through the ink flow path 31 and the ink supply tube 33 while opening the check valve 41.

  Here, in the ink pump unit 34, a compliance characteristic that is a volume change amount per pressure of the flexible film 49 is measured. As shown in FIG. 9, when the pressure is taken on the horizontal axis and the volume is taken on the vertical axis, the change point is obtained. A characteristic of having a range A1 having a large compliance and a range A2 having a small compliance with the change point X as a boundary was obtained. Here, when pressure (load) is P, flow rate (volume) is Q, and compliance is C, P = Q / C and C = Q / P.

  From the above characteristics, the movement range of the piston 54 during normal ink supply is set so that the operation range of the flexible film 49 is within the range A1 where the compliance is large from the change point X. Here, the normal ink supply time is an ink supply time except for a head cleaning in which the ink in each ink nozzle of the inkjet head 21 is sucked and discarded by the ink suction mechanism 29 via the cap 27.

  As a result, during normal ink supply, the volume can be greatly changed even if the pressure change is small, and printing can be performed efficiently in a range where the load (negative pressure) applied to the meniscus of the ink nozzle of the inkjet head 21 is small. Can do. The reaction force characteristic of the flexible film 49 is as shown in FIG. 10 when the position is taken on the horizontal axis and the load is taken on the vertical axis, and the above-described range A1 where the compliance is large is the range A3 where the load is low shown in FIG. Therefore, the load on the drive system including the carriage motor 26b is also reduced.

Specifically, during normal ink supply, the position of the piston 54 is set as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B so that the flexible film 49 is always displaced within the range A1 where the compliance is large. When the lower limit position is reached, the ink supply limit state is reached, printing is stopped, the carriage 23 is temporarily returned to the standby position, and the swing arm 56 is brought into contact with the regulating plate 37 so that ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 17 to the ink chamber 50. The ink usage allowance is set so that the ink is replenished. Even when the ink chamber 50 is replenished to the maximum extent, the flexible film 49 is within the range A1 where the compliance is large.
When the cleaning process is performed by the ink suction mechanism 29, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the flexible film 49 lowers the piston 54 beyond the lower limit position. The compliance is out of the large range A1.

  According to the ink supply mechanism and the ink jet printer of the present embodiment described above, the expansion mechanism 52 expands the ink chamber 50 by the movement of the carriage 23 in one direction, and draws ink from the ink cartridge 17 to replenish. Therefore, for example, compared with a structure in which the compressed sub tank is expanded by a spring and ink is drawn from the main tank, and the sub tank is compressed and the ink is sent out, the ink sent out from the sub tank is held when the sub tank is compressed. It is possible to eliminate the need for a separate tank as a buffer. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size and cost of the apparatus.

  The expansion mechanism 52 is configured to expand the ink chamber 50 by the movement of the piston 54 that is moved through the tension coil spring 57 by the movement of the carriage 23, and to draw ink from the ink cartridge 17, for some reason. Thus, even when an excessive load is applied to the ink chamber 50 and the piston 54, the tensile coil spring 57 can be elastically deformed to absorb this load. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the drive system including the carriage motor 26 b for moving the carriage 23 from being applied with an excessive load that is greater than the urging force of the tension coil spring 57.

  Further, when the carriage 23 moves and the swing arm 56 swings in contact with a regulating plate 37 provided on the main body side of the printer 1, the swing force is pulled and the piston coil 54 is elastically deformed appropriately and the piston 54. Then, the piston 54 is moved to draw ink into the ink chamber 50 from the ink cartridge 17. Therefore, the expansion mechanism 52 can be configured simply by including the restriction plate 37, the swing arm 56, and the tension coil spring 57.

  Further, since the flexible film 49 that covers at least a part of the ink chamber 50 and is displaced by the movement of the piston 54 is attached by press-fitting the protrusion 77 integrally formed in the piston 54, it can be easily assembled. This eliminates the need for mounting parts. Therefore, the assembly cost, the number of parts, and the part cost can be reduced.

  In addition, since there is no separate part for attaching the flexible film 49 to the piston 54, and this separate part does not come into contact with ink, the chance of foreign matters mixed into the ink can be reduced. The same effect can be obtained by integrating the piston 54 and the flexible membrane 49 by integral molding of different materials including the same component. For example, the piston 54 is made of polypropylene, the flexible film 49 is made of an elastomer containing polypropylene, and these are integrated by integral molding.

  In addition, since the movable member that is moved via the tension coil spring 57 by the moving force of the carriage 23 is the piston 54 that slides in the cylinder 53, the piston can be operated even if the direction of the force received from the tension coil spring 57 is not constant. 54 can be moved in a fixed posture. Therefore, ink can be reliably sucked from the ink cartridge 17 without waste.

Next, an ink supply mechanism having another structure will be described.
FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of an ink supply mechanism having another structure.
As shown in FIG. 12, in the ink pump part 34 constituting this ink supply mechanism, the expansion mechanism 52 uses a torsion coil spring (elastic part) 101 instead of the swing arm 56 and the tension coil spring 57. A torsion coil spring 101 is supported by the swing shaft 55 at the coil portion. The torsion coil spring 101 has a pair of arm portions 102 and 103 extending in a substantially orthogonal direction. One arm portion 102 is engaged with the engagement portion 104 of the piston 54, and the other arm portion 103 is engaged. The contact with the regulation plate 37 is possible.

  When the inkjet head 21 performs printing while the carriage 23 is away from the standby position, the ink in the ink chamber 50 is reduced, and the piston 54 is lowered while the film portion 75 of the flexible film 49 is deformed. The torsion coil spring 101 connected by the arm portion 102 swings so as to lower the tip of the arm portion 102 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 12, and as a result, the other arm of the torsion coil spring 101 is moved. The portion 103 increases the amount of protrusion toward the regulating plate 37 side.

  When the carriage 23 returns to the standby position, the arm portion 103 of the torsion coil spring 101 that moves together with the carriage 23 comes into contact with the restriction plate 37 as shown by a solid line in FIG. Then, the tip of the arm portion 102 is raised, and the piston 54 is slid in the cylinder 53 and raised.

  Due to the movement of the piston 54 performed via the torsion coil spring 101, the fixing portion 76 of the flexible film 49 of the ink pump portion 34 rises integrally with the piston 54, and the ink chamber 50 of the sub tank 45 is expanded to increase the capacity. As a result, ink is sucked from the ink cartridge 17 into the ink chamber 50.

  In such a configuration, the expansion mechanism 52 expands the ink chamber 50 by the movement of the piston 54 that is moved via the torsion coil spring 101 by the moving force of the carriage 23 and draws ink from the ink cartridge 17. Therefore, even if an excessive load is applied to the ink chamber 50 and the piston 54 for some reason, the torsion coil spring 101 can be elastically deformed to absorb this load. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the drive system including the carriage motor 26b for moving the carriage 23.

  Further, the expansion mechanism 52 can be configured to be simpler, including the restriction plate 37 and the torsion coil spring 101.

  In addition, although the spring was illustrated as an elastic part, you may be an elastomer provided with rubber | gum or elasticity. Furthermore, it may be formed integrally with other parts, for example, the function can be provided on the extension of the projection 77 of the flexible film, but the spring functions more than load management and aging. Is stable.

1 is an external perspective view showing an ink jet printer which is an example of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the state where the printer cover of the ink jet printer was opened. It is a perspective view of the state where the printer case was removed from the ink jet printer. It is a top view which shows the ink pump part and control board of an inkjet printer. The main part of an ink supply mechanism when the carriage of an inkjet printer is in a standby position is shown, (a) is a front sectional view and (b) is a side sectional view. It is a top view of the bottom part of the piston of an inkjet printer. It is sectional drawing which shows the structure of the self-sealing unit of an inkjet printer. The principal part of an ink supply mechanism when it is in the ink supply limit state of an inkjet printer is shown, (a) is a front sectional view, (b) is a sectional side view. It is a characteristic line figure which shows the compliance characteristic of the flexible film | membrane of an inkjet printer. It is a characteristic line figure which shows the load characteristic of the flexible film | membrane of an inkjet printer. The principal part of the ink supply mechanism at the time of head cleaning of an inkjet printer is shown, (a) is a front sectional view, and (b) is a side sectional view. It is a sectional side view which shows the principal part of the ink supply mechanism of the other structure of an inkjet printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer (printing apparatus), 17 ... Ink cartridge (main tank), 21 ... Inkjet head (head), 23 ... Carriage, 34 ... Ink pump part, 37 ... Restriction board (regulation part), 45 ... Sub tank, 49 ... flexible film (film), 50 ... ink chamber (liquid chamber), 52 ... expansion mechanism (expansion means), 53 ... cylinder, 54 ... piston (movable member), 56 ... swing arm (swing member), 57 ... Tension coil spring (elastic part), 77 ... Projection part, 101 ... Torsion coil spring (elastic part).

Claims (3)

A liquid supply apparatus comprising: a main tank in which liquid is stored; a sub tank that draws liquid from the main tank; a head that is supplied with liquid from the sub tank; and a carriage that moves the head;
The sub tank has a variable volume liquid chamber mounted on the carriage and moved together with the carriage.
An expansion unit that expands the liquid chamber by moving a movable member that is moved through an elastic portion as the carriage moves, and draws liquid from the main tank ;
The expansion means includes a swinging member that moves together with the carriage that is movable with respect to a main body and swings in contact with a regulating portion provided on the main body side, and the elastic portion includes the swinging member and A tension coil spring that is interposed between the movable members and expands the liquid chamber by moving the movable member by swinging the swing member;
The liquid chamber is at least partially covered with a flexible film, and the expansion means expands the liquid chamber by displacing the film by movement of the movable member, The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a protrusion is press-fitted into the movable member . The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1,
The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable member is a piston that slides in a cylinder . A printing apparatus that performs a printing process by discharging ink from the head to a conveyed medium,
  A printing apparatus comprising the liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 as an apparatus for supplying ink to the head.

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