JP5994309B2 - Image forming apparatus, liquid cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a liquid cartridge.

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

  In such an image forming apparatus, there is known a type in which a head tank is provided on the recording head side and a liquid cartridge which is a replaceable main tank is provided on the apparatus main body side, and liquid is supplied from the liquid cartridge to the head tank. ing.

  In such a liquid supply system, a negative pressure interlocking valve is provided on the head tank side, and liquid is constantly pressurized from the liquid cartridge side, and the difference between the pressure on the head tank side and the pressure on the supply flow path side is constant. There is known a constant supply system in which the negative pressure interlocking valve is opened when the value exceeds the above value so that liquid is supplied from the supply flow path to the head tank.

  As a liquid cartridge, a cartridge that can accommodate waste liquid generated by the operation of maintaining and recovering a recording head is known.

  Further, the suction pump used for sucking ink from the recording head and the liquid feeding pump for feeding ink to the recording head or the head tank are used together, and the ink supplied to the recording head is stored (stored). Ink storage means having a flexible ink bag and ink recovery means for recovering ink ejected from the recording head, and supply waste ink and air recovered by the ink recovery means to the recording head Thus, there is known a system provided with a return path for use as a pressurizing unit of an ink storage unit at the time of pressure recovery for performing maintenance recovery (Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-162838 A

  However, in the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, the ink bag is disposed in the housing of the liquid cartridge, and the ink bag is pressurized by supplying waste ink and air between the housing and the ink bag. As a result, pressure resistance is required for the housing, and the cartridge structure is complicated and the size is increased.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to enable pressure supply of liquid from a liquid cartridge with a simple structure.

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention provides:
A recording head for discharging droplets;
A replaceable liquid cartridge containing liquid to be supplied to the recording head;
A suction cap that includes a suction cap that seals a droplet discharge surface of the recording head and a suction unit that is connected to the suction cap; and
The liquid cartridge is
A liquid storage chamber for storing the liquid;
A waste liquid storage chamber to store a waste liquid of the previous SL liquid, and
The volume of the liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the stored liquid,
The volume of the waste liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the waste liquid stored,
The liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber are disposed to face each other.
A wall member for partitioning between the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber ;
The wall member is displaceable in a direction in which the other volume decreases when one volume of the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber increases and the other volume increases when one volume decreases . ,
The area of the wall member in contact with the liquid storage chamber is different from the area of the wall member in contact with the waste liquid storage chamber,
An elastic member that pressurizes the liquid storage chamber in a direction opposite to the pressure applied from the waste liquid storage chamber;
The waste liquid and air are fed into the waste liquid storage chamber of the liquid cartridge by the suction means, and the liquid is pressurized and supplied from the liquid storage chamber to the recording head side.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, liquid can be pressurized and supplied from a liquid cartridge with a simple structure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating a liquid supply / discharge system in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram for explaining the operation of the liquid cartridge. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge used for explanation of pressure concerning a liquid storage room. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a liquid supply / discharge system in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. It is typical explanatory drawing explaining an example of a suction pump. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a maintenance / recovery operation of a horizontal image forming apparatus. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge for explanation of an example of a pressure detection means in a waste liquid storage chamber. It is a typical explanatory view of a liquid cartridge concerning a 4th embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a side explanatory view of a mechanism unit of an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is principal part plane explanatory drawing of the mechanism part.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view illustrating a liquid supply / discharge system in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus includes a recording head 1 that ejects liquid droplets, a head tank 2 that supplies liquid to the recording head 1, and an exchangeable liquid cartridge 3 that stores liquid to be supplied to the recording head 1. Liquid is supplied from the cartridge 3 to the head tank 2 via the supply path 4.

  Further, a suction cap 5 for sealing the droplet discharge surface of the recording head 1 and a liquid connected to the suction cap 5 and sucking and discharging the liquid from the recording head 1 with the suction cap 5 sealing the droplet discharge surface of the recording head 1. A suction pump 6 that is a suction means to be discharged and a discharge path 7 for returning the discharged liquid (waste liquid) sucked by the suction pump 6 to the liquid cartridge 3 are provided.

  Next, a first embodiment of the liquid cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of the liquid cartridge.

  The liquid cartridge 3 includes, in a cartridge case (housing) 11, a liquid storage chamber 12 that stores (stores) liquid supplied to the recording head 1, and a waste liquid storage chamber 13 that stores waste liquid and air sent from the suction pump 6. have.

  Here, the volume of the liquid storage chamber 12 can be changed according to the remaining amount of liquid stored, and has a wall surface 14 that can be expanded and contracted, for example, a bellows-shaped wall surface. The waste liquid storage chamber 13 has a volume that can be changed according to the amount of waste liquid and air remaining therein, and has a wall surface 15 that can be expanded and contracted, for example, a bellows-shaped wall surface.

  The liquid storage chamber 12 and the waste liquid storage chamber 13 are arranged to face each other and are partitioned by a partition wall 16 that is a common wall member between the liquid storage chamber 12 and the waste liquid storage chamber 13. When one volume of the storage chamber 12 and the waste liquid storage chamber 13 increases, the other volume decreases, and when one volume decreases, the other volume increases.

  Further, an elastic member 18 that pressurizes the wall portion 17 facing the partition wall 16 of the liquid storage chamber 12 toward the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is disposed between the liquid storage chamber 12 and the cartridge case 11. Further, the wall portion 19 facing the partition wall 16 of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is fixed.

  The liquid storage chamber 12 is connected to the head tank 2 through the supply path 4, and the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is connected to the suction pump 6 through the discharge path 7.

  With this configuration, as shown in FIG. 3A, the waste liquid generated in the maintenance / recovery operation of the recording head 1 or the like that does not contribute to image formation from the state where the liquid is sufficiently present in the liquid storage chamber 12 is provided. When sent to the waste liquid storage chamber 13, as shown in FIG. 3B, the waste liquid storage chamber 13 expands and the volume increases.

  Here, since the liquid storage chamber 12 is pressurized (pressed) by the elastic member 18, the liquid storage chamber 12 is expanded as shown in FIG. Shrink to reduce volume. Furthermore, as the waste liquid storage chamber 13 expands, the liquid storage chamber 12 further contracts and the volume decreases as shown in FIG.

  At this time, since the liquid storage chamber 12 is pressurized by the elastic member 18, the pressure applied to the liquid storage chamber 12 can be managed by the expansion / contraction amount of the elastic member 18, and the compression amount of the elastic member 18 is constant. Thus, by controlling the volume of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 (controlling the amount of waste liquid and air sent into the waste liquid storage chamber 13), the pressure applied to the liquid supplied from the liquid storage chamber 12 can be managed.

  Next, a second embodiment of the liquid cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of the liquid cartridge.

  In the present embodiment, an elastic member 18 is disposed between the waste liquid storage chamber 13 and the cartridge case 11 to pressurize the wall portion 19 facing the partition wall 16 of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 toward the liquid storage chamber 12 side. Yes. In this case, the wall 17 of the liquid storage chamber 12 is fixed.

  Even if comprised in this way, the effect similar to the said 1st Embodiment can be acquired.

  Here, the pressure applied to the liquid storage chamber 12 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory view of a liquid cartridge provided for the description.

  The contact area of the portion that exchanges pressure by pressing the waste liquid storage chamber 13 and the liquid storage chamber 12, that is, the ratio of the wall surface area on the waste liquid storage chamber 13 side of the partition wall 16 to the wall surface area on the liquid storage chamber 12 side. The pressure ratio between the waste liquid storage chamber 13 and the liquid storage chamber 12 can be controlled to be constant.

  5A shows a case where the contact area of the liquid storage chamber 12 is smaller than that of the waste liquid storage chamber 13, FIG. 5B shows a case where the contact area of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 and the liquid storage chamber 12 is the same, and FIG. The case where the contact area of the liquid storage chamber 12 is larger than the chamber 13 is shown.

  For example, if the contact area (wall surface area) on the waste liquid storage chamber 13 side is A, the contact area (wall surface area) on the liquid storage chamber 12 side is B, and the pressure applied to the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is P, the liquid storage chamber The pressure Q applied to 12 is Q = P × A / B.

  Further, if the force applied to the liquid storage chamber 12 by the elastic member 18 is F and the area where the liquid storage chamber 12 receives the force F from the elastic member 18 is C, the pressure Q applied to the liquid storage chamber 12 is Q = F / C.

  Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a liquid supply / discharge system in the image forming apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, a recording head 1 that discharges black, cyan, magenta, and yellow droplets, head tanks 2a to 2d that supply liquids of each color to the recording head 1, and liquid cartridges 3a to 3 that store liquids of the respective colors. 3d, a suction cap 5 that seals the droplet discharge surface of the recording head 1, and a suction pump 6 connected to the suction cap 5.

  Liquid is supplied from the liquid cartridges 3a to 3d to the head tanks 2a to 2d via the supply paths 4a to 4d.

  And between the suction pump 6 and each liquid cartridge 3a-3d, it connects via the discharge path 7, the branch means 20, and the branch discharge paths 21a-21d.

  In this liquid supply / discharge system, waste liquid and air are sent to the branching means 20 by the suction pump 6, and in the branching means 20, the pressure for supplying the liquid from the liquid cartridge 3 of each color to the recording head 1 is optimal for the waste liquid and air. And are distributed to each liquid cartridge and fed.

  Thus, by supplying liquid from the liquid cartridge 3 with the pressure generated by the operation of the suction pump 6, a pump dedicated to supply becomes unnecessary.

  At this time, when the pressure necessary for supply to the liquid cartridge 3 cannot be generated only by sending the waste liquid, the suction cap 5 is opened and air is sucked into the liquid cartridge 3 by the suction pump 6. By sending, necessary pressurization can be performed.

  Next, a method for managing the distribution amount of each liquid cartridge such as waste liquid by the branching means will be described.

  First, as the branching unit 20, a switching valve that can switch a path (branch discharge paths 21a to 21d) from one path (discharge path 7) in four directions is used.

  In this case, the pressure in each liquid cartridge 3 is detected, the switching valve of the branching unit 20 is switched for the liquid cartridge 3 with insufficient pressure, and waste liquid or air is supplied to the liquid cartridge with insufficient pressure. Can send.

  Further, as the branching unit 20, all the liquid cartridges 3 communicate with each other through the branching unit 20, so that all the liquid cartridges 3 can be made the same system and all the internal pressures can be made equal.

  In this case, the fluid can always freely move between the liquid cartridges 3 in the branching means 20, so that when the internal pressure of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is lower than the waste liquid storage chamber 13 of the other liquid cartridge 3, the waste liquid of the other liquid cartridge 3 is used. Waste liquid and air flow from the storage chamber 13, and when it is high, the waste liquid and air flow to the other liquid cartridge 3.

  Therefore, it is only necessary to detect only a certain pressure in the system that communicates with each other and to send an appropriate amount of waste liquid or air from the suction pump 6.

  In this case, a tube pump whose flow path is always closed is used as the suction pump 6 even when the suction operation is not performed.

  An example of such a tube pump will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic explanatory view of the tube pump.

  This tube pump has a tube 41 wound around a part of the inner peripheral surface of the pump case 40, and a roller 43 attached to the rotating member 42 and crushed to handle the tube 41. Even if the member 42 stops at any position, any roller 43 crushes the tube 41 and closes the flow path.

  As described above, the liquids of the respective colors can be supplied at different pressures by making the contact areas of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 and the liquid storage chamber 12 different for each color.

  Next, a liquid cartridge according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a schematic explanatory view of the cartridge.

  In the liquid supply / discharge system in the image forming apparatus according to the first and second embodiments described above, when the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber becomes excessively large, the waste liquid or air in the waste liquid storage chamber is caused to flow back to the suction cap to be discharged as waste liquid. Can't handle.

  That is, since the liquid supplied from the liquid cartridge 3 is consumed by printing, the amount of waste liquid returned from the suction pump 6 to the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is always smaller than the amount of liquid supplied from the liquid storage chamber 12.

  In this case, taking into account the amount of liquid consumed by printing, the contact area between the waste liquid storage chamber and the liquid storage chamber 12 is filled with the waste liquid storage chamber 13 only with the waste liquid as described above, and the pressure in the liquid storage chamber 12 is targeted. The value can be

  However, when such a configuration is adopted, when an excessive pressure is applied to the liquid storage chamber 12, if the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber 13 cannot be reduced, the excess pressure remains applied. .

  Therefore, in the liquid cartridge of the present embodiment, the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is provided with gas-liquid separation means 25 for separating gas and gas (here, waste liquid). This gas-liquid separation means 25 opens to discharge air out of the cartridge case 11 when the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber 13 becomes a predetermined value or more.

  The gas-liquid separation means 25 is made of a porous material having a characteristic of allowing gas to pass therethrough and not allowing liquid such as ink to pass through, and is made of a water-repellent resin fiber membrane such as PTFE as a material. And a differential pressure valve that is a regulating valve that maintains a difference between the primary side pressure and the secondary side pressure or a difference between each pressure and a pressure different in the system at a certain value.

  Then, air is taken into the waste liquid storage chamber 13 by the suction pump 6, and the waste liquid storage chamber is filled with the waste liquid and air, the pressure in the liquid storage chamber 12 becomes excessive, and the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is predetermined. When the value exceeds the value, only the air is discharged from the gas-liquid separation means 25 to reduce the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber 13.

  Thereby, it is possible to prevent excessive pressure from being applied in the liquid storage chamber 12.

  Here, the maintenance and recovery operation in the horizontal image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a schematic explanatory view for explaining the same.

  In the horizontal type image forming apparatus, the droplet discharge surface of the recording head 1 is arranged along the vertical direction, and droplets are discharged from the nozzle 1a in the horizontal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, the maintenance and recovery operation in such a configuration is performed by sealing the droplet discharge surface with the suction cap 5 and sucking and discharging from the nozzle 1a into the suction cap 5 by the suction pump 5. After opening the air release valve 60 of the suction cap 5 as shown in FIG. 6B, and discharging all the waste liquid discharged into the suction cap 5 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4D, decap is performed.

  Here, when the waste liquid is sucked and discharged into the suction cap 5, in order to prevent the waste liquid from dripping due to the decap, it is necessary to drive the suction pump 6 until the waste liquid in the suction cap 5 is completely sucked. Always inhale air.

  For this reason, when used in an image forming apparatus having such a recording head arrangement, as described above, the configuration in which the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is provided with the gas-liquid separation means is effective.

  Next, an example of the pressure detection means in the waste liquid storage chamber will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 10 is a schematic explanatory view of a liquid cartridge provided for the description.

  Here, the expansion / contraction amount of the elastic member 18 pushing the liquid storage chamber 12 is detected. That is, a filler 31 that moves with the wall surface pressed by the elastic member 18 of the liquid storage chamber 12 and a sensor 32 that detects the filler 31 are provided. In the second embodiment, it is provided on the waste liquid storage chamber 13 side.

  At this time, if the direction in which the filler 31 crosses the sensor 32 is also detected, it can be detected whether the pressure in the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is higher or lower than a predetermined value or a predetermined range.

  Note that a pressure-sensitive sensor that directly senses pressure can be used for pressure detection.

  Next, a liquid cartridge according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic explanatory view of the liquid cartridge.

  In the present embodiment, the wall 51 of the liquid storage chamber 12 and the wall 52 of the waste liquid storage chamber 13 are connected by the connecting member 53 so that the pressure change in the waste liquid storage chamber 13 is applied to the liquid storage chamber 12. ing. Here, the connecting member 53 and the wall portions 51 and 52 constitute the wall member of the present invention.

  Next, an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention including the liquid discharge head according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 is an explanatory side view of the mechanism of the apparatus, and FIG. 13 is an explanatory plan view of the main part of the mechanism.

  This image forming apparatus is a serial type image forming apparatus, and a carriage 233 is slidably held in the main scanning direction by main and slave guide rods 231 and 232 which are guide members horizontally mounted on the left and right side plates 221A and 221B. The main scanning motor that does not perform moving scanning in the direction indicated by the arrow (carriage main scanning direction) via the timing belt.

  The carriage 233 includes a liquid discharge head for discharging ink droplets of each color of yellow (Y), cyan (C), magenta (M), and black (K) and a head tank that stores ink supplied to the head. The recording head 234 is integrated with a nozzle row composed of a plurality of nozzles arranged in the sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction, and the ink droplet ejection direction is directed downward.

  Each of the recording heads 234 has two nozzle rows, and one nozzle row of one recording head 234a has a black (K) droplet, the other nozzle row has a cyan (C) droplet, and the other nozzle row has the other nozzle row. One nozzle row of the recording head 234b discharges magenta (M) droplets, and the other nozzle row discharges yellow (Y) droplets. Here, a configuration in which droplets of four colors are ejected in a two-head configuration is used, but it is also possible to arrange four nozzle rows per head and eject each of the four colors with one head.

  Further, the ink of each color is replenished and supplied from the ink cartridge 210 of each color, which is a liquid cartridge, to the tank 235 of the recording head 234 through the supply tube 236 of each color. The ink cartridge 210 is composed of the liquid cartridge described in the above embodiments.

  On the other hand, as a paper feeding unit for feeding the paper 242 stacked on the paper stacking unit (pressure plate) 241 of the paper feed tray 202, a half-moon roller (feeding) that separates and feeds the paper 242 one by one from the paper stacking unit 241. A separation pad 244 made of a material having a large coefficient of friction is provided opposite to the sheet roller 243 and the sheet feeding roller 243, and the separation pad 244 is urged toward the sheet feeding roller 243 side.

  A guide 245 for guiding the paper 242, a counter roller 246, a conveyance guide member 247, and a tip pressure roller 249 are used to feed the paper 242 fed from the paper feeding unit to the lower side of the recording head 234. And a holding belt 251 which is a conveying means for electrostatically attracting the fed paper 242 and conveying it at a position facing the recording head 234.

  The conveyor belt 251 is an endless belt, and is configured to wrap around the conveyor roller 252 and the tension roller 253 so as to circulate in the belt conveyance direction (sub-scanning direction). In addition, a charging roller 256 that is a charging unit for charging the surface of the transport belt 251 is provided. The charging roller 256 is disposed so as to come into contact with the surface layer of the conveyor belt 251 and to rotate following the rotation of the conveyor belt 251. The transport belt 251 rotates in the belt transport direction when the transport roller 252 is rotationally driven through timing by a sub-scanning motor (not shown).

  Further, as a paper discharge unit for discharging the paper 242 recorded by the recording head 234, a separation claw 261 for separating the paper 242 from the transport belt 251, a paper discharge roller 262, and a paper discharge roller 263 are provided. A paper discharge tray 203 is provided below the paper discharge roller 262.

  A double-sided unit 271 is detachably attached to the back surface of the apparatus main body. The duplex unit 271 takes in the paper 242 returned by the reverse rotation of the transport belt 251, reverses it, and feeds it again between the counter roller 246 and the transport belt 251. The upper surface of the duplex unit 271 is a manual feed tray 272.

  Further, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 that is a head maintenance / recovery device according to the present invention includes a recovery means for maintaining and recovering the nozzle state of the recording head 234 in the non-printing area on one side of the carriage 233 in the scanning direction. Is arranged. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 281 includes a suction cap 282a for capping each nozzle surface of the recording head 234, a moisturizing cap 282b, a wiper blade 283 as a blade member for wiping the nozzle surface, and a thickened recording. In order to discharge the liquid, an empty discharge receiver 284 that receives a droplet when performing an empty discharge for discharging a droplet that does not contribute to recording, a suction pump (not shown) connected to the suction cap 282a, and the like are provided.

  Further, in the non-printing area on the other side in the scanning direction of the carriage 233, there is an empty space for receiving a liquid droplet when performing an empty discharge for discharging a liquid droplet that does not contribute to the recording in order to discharge the recording liquid thickened during the recording. A discharge receiver 288 is disposed, and the idle discharge receiver 288 is provided with an opening 289 along the nozzle row direction of the recording head 234 and the like.

  In this image forming apparatus configured as described above, the sheets 242 are separated and fed one by one from the sheet feeding tray 202, and the sheet 242 fed substantially vertically upward is guided by the guide 245, and is conveyed to the conveyor belt 251 and the counter. It is sandwiched between the rollers 246 and conveyed, and further, the leading end is guided by the conveying guide 237 and pressed against the conveying belt 251 by the leading end pressing roller 249, and the conveying direction is changed by approximately 90 °.

  At this time, a positive output and a negative output are alternately applied to the charging roller 256, that is, an alternating voltage is applied, and a charging voltage pattern in which the conveying belt 251 alternates, that is, in the sub-scanning direction that is the circumferential direction. , Plus and minus are alternately charged in a band shape with a predetermined width. When the sheet 242 is fed onto the conveyance belt 251 charged alternately with plus and minus, the sheet 242 is attracted to the conveyance belt 251, and the sheet 242 is conveyed in the sub scanning direction by the circumferential movement of the conveyance belt 251.

  Therefore, by driving the recording head 234 according to the image signal while moving the carriage 233, ink droplets are ejected onto the stopped paper 242 to record one line, and after the paper 242 is conveyed by a predetermined amount, Record the next line. Upon receiving a recording end signal or a signal that the trailing edge of the paper 242 has reached the recording area, the recording operation is finished and the paper 242 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 203.

  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.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Head tank 3 Liquid cartridge 4 Supply path 5 Suction cap 6 Suction pump 7 Discharge path 11 Cartridge case 12 Liquid storage chamber 13 Waste liquid storage chamber 16 Partition wall 18 Elastic member 20 Branch means

Claims (6)

A recording head for discharging droplets;
A replaceable liquid cartridge containing liquid to be supplied to the recording head;
A suction cap that includes a suction cap that seals a droplet discharge surface of the recording head and a suction unit that is connected to the suction cap; and
The liquid cartridge is
A liquid storage chamber for storing the liquid;
A waste liquid storage chamber to store a waste liquid of the previous SL liquid, and
The volume of the liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the stored liquid,
The volume of the waste liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the waste liquid stored,
The liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber are disposed to face each other.
A wall member for partitioning between the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber ;
The wall member is displaceable in a direction in which the other volume decreases when one volume of the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber increases and the other volume increases when one volume decreases . ,
The area of the wall member in contact with the liquid storage chamber is different from the area of the wall member in contact with the waste liquid storage chamber,
An elastic member that pressurizes the liquid storage chamber in a direction opposite to the pressure applied from the waste liquid storage chamber;
An image forming apparatus, wherein the waste liquid and air are sent to the waste liquid storage chamber of the liquid cartridge by the suction means, and the liquid is pressurized and supplied from the liquid storage chamber to the recording head side. A plurality of the liquid cartridges;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for mutually connecting the waste liquid storage chambers of the plurality of liquid cartridges. It said suction means includes a plurality of waste liquid storage chamber, an image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in Tei Rukoto are connected via a switchable branch means the connection path.   The suction means and the plurality of waste liquid storage chambers communicate with each other via a branching means.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the gas-liquid separating means is provided in the waste liquid storage chamber. A liquid cartridge containing liquid to be supplied to the recording heads for ejecting liquid droplets,
A liquid storage chamber for storing the liquid;
A waste liquid storage chamber to store a waste liquid of the previous SL liquid, and
The volume of the liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the stored liquid,
The volume of the waste liquid storage chamber can be changed according to the amount of the waste liquid stored,
The liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber are disposed to face each other.
A wall member for partitioning between the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber ;
The wall member is displaceable in a direction in which the other volume decreases when one volume of the liquid storage chamber and the waste liquid storage chamber increases and the other volume increases when one volume decreases . ,
The area of the wall member in contact with the liquid storage chamber is different from the area of the wall member in contact with the waste liquid storage chamber,
A liquid cartridge comprising an elastic member that pressurizes the liquid storage chamber in a direction opposite to the pressure applied from the waste liquid storage chamber.

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