JP5982857B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus provided with a recording head for discharging droplets.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, a copying apparatus, a plotter, and a complex machine of these, for example, a liquid discharge recording type image forming apparatus using a recording head composed of a liquid discharge head (droplet discharge head) for discharging droplets An ink jet recording apparatus or the like is known.

  In such an image forming apparatus, it is known that liquid is fed from a main tank (liquid cartridge) on the apparatus main body to a head tank connected to a recording head via a liquid feeding path such as a tube. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-208082 A

  By the way, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the liquid cartridge is configured to be attached / detached horizontally from the front surface of the apparatus main body, or is configured to be attached / detached vertically from the upper side of the apparatus main body. There is a problem.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to improve the visibility when the main tank is attached and detached.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A recording head for discharging droplets;
A head tank for storing liquid supplied by the recording head;
A detachable main tank for storing liquid to be supplied to the head tank;
A main tank holder for mounting the main tank;
A liquid feed pump for feeding the liquid from the main tank to the head tank ,
The main tank holder is arranged obliquely so that the main tank can be mounted from the diagonally upper front of the apparatus main body,
The liquid feeding pump is a reversible pump, and is arranged outside the bottom of the main tank holder so that the liquid feeding direction is obliquely upward .

  According to the present invention, the visibility when the main tank is attached or detached can be improved, and the depth space of the apparatus main body can be reduced.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view of an external appearance in a state where the cartridge cover is also opened. It is the perspective explanatory view which similarly looked at the cartridge holder part from the lower side. FIG. 6 is an explanatory side view illustrating the cartridge holder portion with the horizontal inclination. It is a back surface explanatory drawing of a cartridge holder part similarly. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of the inside of the cartridge holder portion. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining an ink supply system of the image forming apparatus. It is sectional explanatory drawing which shows an example of an end detection apparatus. It is a section explanatory view of an end detection state similarly. It is explanatory drawing of the pressure fluctuation in a liquid feeding path | route used for description of the spring load of the spring of the end detection apparatus, and ink residual amount. 2 is a schematic side view illustrating an example of a mechanism unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part of the apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the cartridge cover opened, FIG. 3 is an oblique view of the cartridge holder portion viewed from below, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a back side explanatory view of the cartridge holder part, and FIG. 6 is a schematic side side explanatory view of the inside of the cartridge holder part.

  The image forming apparatus includes an apparatus main body 101 and a paper feeding device 102 disposed below the apparatus main body 101.

  Inside the apparatus main body 101, a cartridge holder portion 104, which is a main tank holder, is detachably attached to an ink cartridge 103, which is a main tank.

  Here, the cartridge holder portion 104 has an opening 104 a that opens obliquely upward toward the front surface of the apparatus main body 101, and a cover 105 that covers the front surface of the opening 104 a of the cartridge holder portion 104 is opened and closed on the apparatus main body 101. Be prepared for possible.

  With this configuration, when the ink cartridge 103 is mounted on the cartridge holder portion 104 of the apparatus main body 101, the ink cartridge 103 is inserted into the cartridge holder section 104 from the upper front side of the apparatus main body 101.

  In this way, by attaching the ink cartridge 103 to the cartridge holder 104 from the diagonally upper front of the apparatus main body 101 with respect to the apparatus main body 101, the inside of the ink cartridge 103 and the cartridge holder 104 during attachment / detachment can be easily seen. In addition, the operability of the attaching / detaching operation is improved.

  That is, in general, the ink cartridge 103 and the cartridge holder portion 104 are attached to and detached from, for example, the guide rib 103a (see FIG. 6) provided in the ink cartridge 103 and the guide groove 104b provided in the cartridge holder portion 104 (see FIG. 3). It is set as the structure which guides attachment / detachment by.

  At this time, in the configuration in which the cartridge holder unit 104 is arranged in the horizontal direction and the ink cartridge 103 is mounted in the horizontal direction, the inside of the cartridge holder unit 104 cannot be visually recognized. For example, the positional relationship of the guide rib 103a of the ink cartridge 103 with respect to, for example, the guide groove 104b on the holder portion 104 side may be shifted.

  Further, in the configuration in which the cartridge holder 104 is arranged in the vertical direction and the ink cartridge 103 is mounted from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction, the inside of the cartridge holder 104 becomes difficult to visually recognize. When the cartridge 103 is mounted, there is a possibility that the positional relationship of the guide rib 103a of the ink cartridge 103 with respect to, for example, the guide groove 104b on the cartridge holder portion 104 side is shifted.

  In any configuration in which the mounting direction is the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, the behavior when the ink cartridge 103 is inserted into and removed from the cartridge holder unit 104 becomes unnatural and the operability is not good.

  Further, since the cartridge holder portion 104 is arranged obliquely, the depth of the entire apparatus main body 101 can be suppressed as compared with the case where the cartridge holder portion 104 is arranged horizontally.

  That is, in the configuration in which the cartridge holder portion 104 is arranged in the horizontal direction and the ink cartridge 103 is mounted in the horizontal direction, the depth of the cartridge holder portion 104 is the depth D of the ink cartridge 103 (see FIG. 6). And the depth space of the apparatus main body 101 becomes large.

  On the other hand, in the configuration in which the cartridge holder portion 104 is arranged in the vertical direction and the ink cartridge 103 is mounted from the top to the bottom in the vertical direction, the height H of the ink cartridge 103 (see FIG. 3) is equivalent. In order to improve the operability, it is necessary to project all the cartridge holders 104 from the apparatus main body 101, and the apparatus main body 101 cannot be reduced in size.

  By arranging the cartridge holder portion 104 obliquely as in this embodiment, it is possible to improve operability and save space.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, the weight of the ink cartridge 103 acts as compared with the configuration in which the ink cartridge 103 is mounted in the horizontal direction, so that the ink cartridge 103 can be mounted with less force and the ink cartridge 103 is mounted in the vertical direction. Compared to the configuration, since the weight of the ink cartridge 103 does not act entirely, the impact at the time of mounting is reduced, so the burden on the needle portion connecting the liquid feeding path provided in the back of the cartridge holder portion 104 is reduced.

  Next, an ink supply system of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining the ink supply system.

  A needle (hollow valve) 112 provided on an end detection device 111 which is an end detection means for detecting that the ink cartridge 103 has reached an end state (including a near end state) is provided on the inner bottom surface side of the cartridge holder portion 104. Is provided protruding. By mounting the ink cartridge 103 in the cartridge holder portion 104, the needle 112 is inserted into the supply port portion of the ink cartridge 103.

  The ink cartridge 103 is discharged from the end detection device 111 through a liquid supply path 113A through a liquid supply pump 114 configured by a reversible tube pump, and further through a liquid supply path 113B to discharge a liquid constituting the recording head. It is connected to a head tank 115 that supplies liquid to the head 120.

  Here, the liquid feed pump 114 is disposed on the lower side of the cartridge holder portion 104 as shown in FIG.

  Thus, a positive pressure is always applied to the liquid feeding pump 114 due to a water head difference between the ink cartridge 103 and the liquid feeding pump 114, so that stable liquid feeding can be performed and air bubbles to the liquid feeding path 113A are generated. Intrusion can be reduced.

  Further, the end detection device 111 is directly provided in the cartridge holder portion 104 on the upstream side of the liquid feed pump 114.

  Thereby, it can be detected at an early stage that the ink cartridge 103 is in the end state.

  Next, an example of the end detection device will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing an example of the end detection device, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the end detection state.

  The end detection device 111 has a displaceable diaphragm 203 on a wall surface in the housing 201 that forms the flow path 202, and a detection rod 204 is attached to the diaphragm 203. The detection rod 204 is pulled outward (in the direction of the arrow) by a spring 206 provided between the detection unit 205 provided at the end and the housing 201.

  In this end detection device, when the inside of the ink cartridge 103 is in an end state and the liquid feed pump 114 is continuously driven, the pressure in the flow path 202 becomes negative and exceeds the pulsation range, and the spring 206 When the spring load is exceeded, the diaphragm 203 is deformed in a direction protruding into the housing 201 as shown in FIG.

  Due to the deformation of the diaphragm 203, the detection rod 204 moves in the direction of being pulled into the housing 201, and the detection unit 205 is detected by the sensor 207. At this time, the end state is detected.

  Here, the spring load of the spring 206 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the relationship between the pressure fluctuation in the liquid supply path and the remaining amount of ink.

  As the ink in the ink cartridge 103 is consumed, the remaining amount of ink changes, for example, as shown in FIG. FIG. 10A shows the pressure of the flow path 202 of the end detection device 111 that is a part of the liquid supply path 113A when the liquid is supplied by the liquid supply pump 114 and the ink in the ink cartridge 103 is consumed. As shown, pulsation (pressure fluctuation range 221) occurs.

  Therefore, the spring load of the spring 206 is set to be larger than the fluctuation range 221 of the pressure fluctuation that occurs when the liquid feed pump 114 is driven. Thereby, the diaphragm 203 is maintained in a state in which it is not displaced by the pressure fluctuation generated when the liquid feed pump 114 is driven.

  As described above, when the inside of the ink cartridge 103 is in the end state and the liquid feed pump 114 continues to be driven as it is, the pressure in the flow path 202 exceeds the pulsation range and becomes negative, and the spring 206 When the spring load is exceeded, the end state is detected. At this time, the end state is detected between the pressure fluctuation maximum value 222 during liquid feeding and the pressure 223 at which the negative pressure can be released, as shown in FIG. An end detection pressure range 224 is set.

  This negative pressure releaseable pressure 223 means that if the ink cartridge 103 is replaced without releasing the negative pressure in the liquid supply path 113 between the ink cartridge 103 and the liquid supply pump 114 at the time of end detection, Since air is mixed into the liquid path 113, the negative pressure is released by rotating the liquid feed pump 114 in reverse after the end detection and returning the liquid in the head tank 115 as much as possible into the ink cartridge 103. This is a pressure that can be returned to 0 kPa.

  When the end is detected, the printing operation is stopped, and as described above, the ink cartridge 103 is urged to be replaced after the head tank 115 is reversely fed to the ink cartridge 103.

  Next, an example of a mechanism unit of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a schematic side view of the apparatus, and FIG. 12 is a plan view of the main part of the mechanism of the apparatus.

  Inside the apparatus main body 101, a guide rod 1 as a guide member and a guide stay (not shown) are spanned on both side plates (not shown), and the carriage 5 is held on the guide rod 1 and the guide stay so as to be movable in the main scanning direction. Has been.

  A plurality of (here, five) liquid discharge heads 120 for discharging liquid droplets of each color of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are supplied to the carriage 5 and liquid is supplied to the heads. Recording head units (simply referred to as “recording heads”) 11a to 11e (referred to as “recording heads 11” when not distinguished from each other), and a nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles as a main scanning direction. They are arranged in the orthogonal sub-scanning direction and mounted with the droplet discharge direction facing downward.

  Here, the recording head 11a and the recording heads 11b to 11e are arranged by shifting the position of one head (one nozzle row) in the sub-scanning direction that is a direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction. Each of the recording heads 11a to 11e has two nozzle rows. The recording heads 11a and 11b eject black droplets having the same color, and the recording heads 11c to 11e eject magenta (M), cyan (C), and yellow (Y) droplets, respectively.

  Accordingly, monochrome images can be formed with a width corresponding to two heads in one scan (main scanning) using the recording heads 11a and 11b, and color images are formed using, for example, the recording heads 11b to 11e. be able to.

  The head tank of the recording head 11 is supplied from the ink cartridges 103k, 103c, 103m, and 103y, which are main tanks that are replaceably attached to the apparatus main body 101, through the end detection device 111 and the liquid feed pump 114. Ink of each color is supplied through the tube 16 (the liquid feeding path 113B described above). At this time, ink is supplied from one ink cartridge 103k to the two recording heads 11a and 11b that discharge droplets of the same color.

  On the other hand, in the recording area of the main scanning area of the carriage 5, the roll paper 320 is fed from the paper supply device 102, and intermittently in a direction (sub-scanning direction) orthogonal to the main scanning direction of the carriage 5 by the transport unit 21. It is conveyed to.

  The conveying means 21 includes a conveying roller 23 that conveys a roll paper 320 that is a roll-shaped medium fed from the sheet feeding device 102, a pressure roller 24 that is disposed opposite to the conveying roller 23, and a plurality of suction holes. A conveyance guide member 25 and a suction fan 26 as a suction unit that performs suction from a suction hole of the conveyance guide member 25 are provided.

  A cutter 27 serving as a cutting unit that cuts the roll paper 320 on which an image is formed by the recording head 11 at a predetermined length is disposed on the downstream side of the transport unit 21.

  The cutter 27 is attached to a wire or a timing belt 28, for example. The timing belt 28 is wound around a driving pulley driven by a driving motor (not shown) and a driven pulley, and the timing belt 28 is moved in the main scanning direction A via the driving pulley by the driving motor. 27, the paper is cut into a predetermined length.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 30 that performs maintenance / recovery of the recording head 11 is disposed on one side of the carriage 5 in the main scanning direction on the side of the conveyance guide member 25, and recording is performed on the side of the conveyance guide member 25 on the other side. Empty discharge receptacles 34 that perform empty discharge for discharging liquid droplets that do not contribute to image formation from the head 11 are respectively disposed.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 30 includes a first maintenance / recovery unit 31 held by the frame member of the apparatus main body 101, and a second maintenance / recovery unit 32 held by the frame member of the maintenance / recovery mechanism 30 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the sub-scanning direction. have. The second maintenance / recovery unit 32 is at the position shown in FIG. 2 when performing the maintenance / recovery of the recording head 11a, and moves to the same position in the sub-scanning direction as the first maintenance / recovery unit 31 when performing the maintenance / recovery of the recording heads 11b to 11e.

  The maintenance / recovery mechanism 30 includes, for example, a suction cap 41 and a moisturizing cap 42 that also serve as a moisturizing cap for capping the nozzle surface (surface on which the nozzle is formed) of the recording head 11, a wiper member 43 for wiping the nozzle surface, and image formation. And a blank discharge receiver 44 for receiving droplets (empty discharge droplets) that do not contribute to.

  The sheet feeding device 102 has upper and lower spool bearing bases, and inside the spool bearing base, a feeding mechanism is provided for feeding the roll paper 320 from the roll bodies 312A and 312B and rewinding the roll paper 320.

  The roll body 312 is obtained by winding a roll paper 320, which is a long roll-shaped medium, around a tube, which is a core member, in a roll shape.

  A pair of conveyance rollers 331 serving as a feeding unit that feeds the roll paper 320 from the roll body 312 is disposed. By rotating the transport roller pair 331, the roll paper 320 fed out from the roll body 312 is guided by the guide member 330, and passes through the transport roller pair 331A and 331B, and then the transport roller 23 and the pressure roller 24 of the transport unit 21. It is sent between.

  In the present application, the “paper” is not limited to paper, but includes OHP, cloth, glass, a substrate, etc., and means a material to which ink droplets or other liquids can be attached. , Recording media, recording paper, recording paper, and the like. In addition, image formation, recording, printing, printing, and printing are all synonymous.

  The “image forming apparatus” means an apparatus that forms an image by discharging liquid onto a medium such as paper, thread, fiber, fabric, leather, metal, plastic, glass, wood, ceramics, etc. “Formation” 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 (simply causing a droplet to land on the medium). ) Also means.

  The “ink” is not limited to an ink unless otherwise specified, but includes any liquid that can form an image, such as a recording liquid, a fixing processing liquid, or a liquid. Used generically, for example, includes DNA samples, resists, pattern materials, resins, and the like.

  In addition, the “image” is not limited to a planar image, and includes an image given to a three-dimensionally formed image and an image formed by three-dimensionally modeling a solid itself.

  Further, the image forming apparatus includes both a serial type image forming apparatus and a line type image forming apparatus, unless otherwise limited.

101 Main body 103 Ink cartridge (main tank)
104 Cartridge holder 111 End detection device 114 Liquid feed pump 115 Head tank 120 Recording head

Claims (1)

A recording head for discharging droplets;
A head tank for storing liquid supplied by the recording head;
A detachable main tank for storing liquid to be supplied to the head tank;
A main tank holder for mounting the main tank;
A liquid feed pump for feeding the liquid from the main tank to the head tank ,
The main tank holder is arranged obliquely so that the main tank can be mounted from the diagonally upper front of the apparatus main body,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid feeding pump is a reversible pump and is disposed outside the bottom of the main tank holder in a posture in which the liquid feeding direction is obliquely upward .

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