JP7183222B2 - Liquid storage container and recording device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid container and a recording device.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a liquid storage container (also referred to as an ink tank in this specification) capable of storing ink consumed by a print head that ejects ink is known. An ink tank generally includes an ink containing chamber for containing ink and an ink supply port for supplying ink from the containing chamber to the print head. An ink tank having such a configuration is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200010.

JP 2014-58084 A

Among the inks used in the printing apparatus, there are inks, such as pigment inks, in which the colorant tends to settle due to aggregation or the like. When such ink is stored in the ink tank described in Patent Document 1 and used, the high-concentration component settles in the ink storage chamber, resulting in an uneven density, which causes density unevenness in the recorded image. there is a risk of

An embodiment of the present invention includes a liquid storage chamber for storing liquid, an injection section for injecting liquid into the liquid storage chamber, and a liquid for supplying the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber to a print head. The injection part has a supply port and a partition plate for dividing the liquid storage chamber, and is arranged in a first direction intersecting a first side wall of the liquid storage chamber and a second side wall facing the first side wall. and the liquid supply port are arranged apart from each other, and the partition plate faces the third side wall and the third side wall of the liquid storage chamber connecting the first side wall and the second side wall, A plurality of partition plates are arranged to contact a fourth side wall of the liquid storage chamber connecting one side wall and the second side wall, each extending in the first direction, and One end of each of the plurality of partition plates in the first direction is arranged so as not to contact another partition plate and not to contact the first side wall , and at least one of the plurality of partition plates The liquid storage container is characterized by having a notch formed on one side .

According to the present invention, it is possible to make the density of the supplied recording liquid (ink) more uniform, and to print an image of good image quality.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the main part of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the ink tank in Embodiment 1; Front view of ink tank in embodiment 1 A diagram for explaining the internal structure of the ink tank in the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the arrangement position of the ink supply port and the arrangement position of the air supply port in the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the ink tank in Embodiment 2;

[Example 1]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, the same code|symbol is provided to the same element through each drawing.

<Configuration of recording device>
In this embodiment, a serial type ink jet printing apparatus (hereinafter abbreviated as "printing apparatus") will be described as an example of a printing apparatus (printer).

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal configuration of the main part of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. For the sake of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the coordinate axes are set such that the main scanning direction is the x-axis direction, the sub-scanning direction is the y-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the x-axis and the y-axis is the z-axis direction. do.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording apparatus 11 includes a recording head 13 held by a carriage 12 as a recording unit, and an ink supply path 14 for supplying recording liquid (that is, ink) from an ink tank 15 to the recording head 13 . Prepare. Further, the recording apparatus 11 includes a feed roller, a transport roller 16, a discharge roller, a main chassis, a timing belt, and a carriage motor 204 as components for feeding and transporting a sheet (recording medium). Prepare.

While being supported by the main chassis, the carriage 12 receives driving force from a carriage motor 204 via a timing belt, and moves along the main scanning direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the print medium. This allows the recording head 13 to reciprocate along the main scanning direction together with the carriage 12 .

A code strip for detecting the position of the carriage 12 is stretched parallel to the timing belt. The codestrip is formed with markings, for example, at a pitch of 150 to 280 lines per inch. On the other hand, the carriage 12 is equipped with an encode sensor for reading the code strip.

The recording head 13 records an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium based on image data. Note that any recording medium may be used as long as an image can be formed by making ink droplets land thereon. For example, various materials and forms such as paper, cloth, optical disk label surface, plastic sheet, OHP sheet, and envelope can be used as the recording medium.

The recording apparatus 11 also includes a maintenance section provided within a moving range of the carriage 12 in the main scanning direction. The maintenance section includes a recovery unit that performs recovery processing on the print head 13, and is arranged so as to be able to face the print head ejection section.

The recovery unit includes a cap section that caps the print head ejection section, and a suction mechanism that forcibly sucks ink while the print head ejection section is capped to remove residual air bubbles and thickened ink in the print head ejection section. Prepare. When recovery processing is performed by the recovery unit, the function of the print head 13 is recovered. As a result, the ejection characteristics of the recording head 13 are maintained.

<Structure of Liquid Container>
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the liquid storage container (that is, the ink tank 15 in FIG. 1) according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, coordinate axes are set in the same manner as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, an ink inlet 21 is provided in the upper portion of the ink tank 15, and a removable tank cap 22 is attached to the ink inlet 21. As shown in FIG. A liquid containing chamber (that is, an ink containing chamber) 33 capable of containing ink is provided below the ink inlet 21, and a space for containing air is normally provided below the ink containing chamber 33. A buffer chamber 34 is provided.

The buffer chamber 34 is formed by partitioning the inside of the ink tank 15 so that the bottom wall of the ink containing chamber 33 is part of the ceiling wall of the buffer chamber 34 .

A liquid supply port (that is, an ink supply port) 24 is provided at the end of the bottom wall surface of the ink storage chamber 33 , and the ink storage chamber 33 is connected to a tube (not shown) through the ink supply port 24 and an ink flow passage 26 . and connected to the ink supply path 14 .

An air supply port 23 for communicating with the outside of the ink tank 15 is provided at the end of the bottom wall surface away from the ink supply port 24. The air supply port 23 communicates with the buffer chamber 34 to supply ink. The storage chamber 33 communicates with the outside of the ink tank 15 via the buffer chamber 34 . With such a configuration, when the ink in the ink containing chamber 33 is consumed in a sealed state realized by attaching the tank cap 22 to the ink containing chamber 33 filled with ink, external air is removed from the ink containing chamber. 33. Further, with this configuration, when the air in the space above the ink level in the ink storage chamber 33 expands due to atmospheric pressure fluctuations or temperature changes, the ink pushed out into the buffer chamber 34 can be stored. Ink can be prevented from leaking out of the tank 15 .

FIG. 3 is a front view of the liquid storage container (ink tank 15) according to the first embodiment. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 3, coordinate axes are set in the same manner as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, an index 31 indicating the amount of ink remaining in the ink containing chamber 33 is formed on the front surface of the ink tank 15 . Since the ink surface is visible from the outside, the user can check the remaining amount of ink contained in the ink containing chamber 33 by looking at the ink surface and the indicator 31 .

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the liquid storage container (ink tank 15) in Example 1 when viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 4A, coordinate axes are set in the same manner as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the ink tank 15 has a first side wall 27 and a second side wall 28 that form the ink containing chamber 33 . The first side wall 27 is formed parallel to the zx plane, and the second side wall 28 is formed to face the first side wall 27 . That is, the first side wall 27 and the second side wall 28 are formed parallel. Therefore, at this time, the positions of the first side wall 27 and the second side wall 28 in the y-axis direction are different.

The ink tank 15 also includes a partition plate (rib) 25 extending from the first side wall 27 toward the second side wall 28 along the xy plane. The partition plate 25 divides the ink containing chamber 33 into an upper portion and a lower portion, and a communication path is formed between the divided ink containing chambers.

Here, the ink supply port 24 is formed at a position near the first side wall 27 in the y-axis direction. Also, the air supply port 23 is formed at a position near the second side wall 28 in the y-axis direction.

In this embodiment, the ink used in the recording apparatus 11 is assumed to be pigment ink. Pigment ink has the property that the pigment component settles in the gravitational direction over time. Due to this property, the pigment component that settles in the ink containing chamber 33 in this embodiment settles on the upper surface of the partition plate 25 and then settles near the air supply port 23 , so air is supplied on the bottom wall surface of the ink containing chamber 33 . The pigment concentration near the mouth 23 will be the highest. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pigment concentration near the ink supply port 24 from increasing.

Also, the air in the space above the ink level in the ink storage chamber 33 expands or contracts due to atmospheric pressure fluctuations or temperature changes, or ink is consumed by printing. Outflow or inflow of ink from the buffer chamber 34 . Due to such inflow and outflow of ink, the ink having a high concentration near the air supply port 23 is agitated.

Furthermore, when there is no ink in the buffer chamber 34, when the ink is consumed for printing or the like, air from the buffer chamber 34 flows through the air supply port 23 into the ink containing chamber 33 as air bubbles (FIG. 4B). reference). As a result, the ink in the ink containing chamber 33 flows, and the high-concentration ink that settles near the air supply port 23 is agitated.

Note that this embodiment is not limited to using pigment ink. In other words, this embodiment can be applied to any type of ink that causes uneven concentration of ink in the ink tank over time.

<Positional relationship between air supply port and ink supply port>
The positions where the air supply port 23 and the ink supply port 24 are provided will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, in FIGS. 5A and 5B, coordinate axes are set in the same manner as in FIG.

FIG. 5A shows an arrangement example of the ink supply port 24. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5(a) is a schematic diagram showing the internal configuration of the ink containing chamber 33 when viewed from above. 24 is schematically shown. Actually, since the ink supply port 24 is provided in the lower part of the ink containing chamber 33 partitioned by the partition plate 25, it cannot be visually recognized when the ink containing chamber 33 is viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the tip 251 of the partition plate 25 is positioned between the first side wall 27 and the second side wall 28 in the y-axis direction. At this time, the ink supply port 24 can be formed at any position closer to the first side wall 27 than the tip 251 of the partition plate 25 in the y-axis direction (that is, any position within the range indicated by single hatching in the figure). is.

FIG. 5B shows an arrangement example of the ink supply port 24 and the air supply port 23. As shown in FIG. FIG. 5(b) is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the ink containing chamber 33 as seen from above. , and the positional relationship is schematically illustrated.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the air supply port 23 is positioned closer to the second side wall than the ink supply port 24 in the y-axis direction. In this way, the air supply port 23 can be formed at any position (any position within the range indicated by cross hatching) closer to the second side wall 28 than the ink supply port 24 in the y-axis direction.

As described above, according to this embodiment, it is possible to easily eliminate uneven density of the ink stored in the ink storage chamber 33, and to supply ink with a more uniform density during printing.

[Example 2]
In the first embodiment, the case where the liquid container (ink tank) has one partition plate (rib) has been described. In this embodiment, a case where the liquid container includes a plurality of partition plates will be described. However, in the following description, the description of the contents common to the first embodiment is simplified or omitted.

<Internal configuration of liquid storage container>
FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the liquid storage container (ink tank) according to the second embodiment. Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 6A, coordinate axes are set in the same manner as in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6A, the ink tank 15 in this embodiment includes a first partition (first rib) 61, a second partition (second rib) 62, and a third partition (third rib) 63.

The first partition plate 61 extends from the first side wall 27 toward the second side wall 28 along the xy plane. The second partition plate 62 is formed above the first partition plate 61 and extends from the second side wall 28 toward the first side wall 27 along the xy plane. The third partition plate 63 is formed above the second partition plate 62 and extends from the first side wall 27 toward the second side wall 28 along the xy plane.

As described above, in this embodiment, the first partition plate 61, the second partition plate 62, and the third partition plate 63 are arranged so as to overlap in the vertical direction (z-axis direction) in the ink containing chamber. By arranging a plurality of partition plates so as to overlap each other in this manner, the ink flow path in the ink containing chamber becomes longer than when there is only one partition plate. By lengthening the ink flow path, it is possible to prevent high-concentration ink from settling on the bottom wall surface of the ink containing chamber, and prevent high-concentration ink from concentrating on the bottom wall surface of the ink containing chamber. .

In addition, by arranging a plurality of partition plates so as to overlap in the vertical direction (z-axis direction), the ink inlet 21 and the uppermost partition plate (the third partition plate 63 in the example of FIG. 6A) ) becomes shorter. As a result, the drop distance of the ink during ink injection is shortened, and it is possible to suppress the generation of air bubbles during ink injection.

As shown in FIG. 6B, each of the first partition plate 61, the second partition plate 62, and the third partition plate 63 may have a notch. The notch 64 of the first partition plate 61 and the notch 66 of the third partition plate 63 are formed near the first side wall 27, and the notch 65 of the second partition plate 62 is formed near the second side wall 28. . At this time, as shown in FIG. 6B, by forming cutouts 64, 65, and 66 at different xy-coordinate positions, high-concentration ink is supplied to the vicinity of the ink supply port 24. to prevent it from settling.

The notch 64 allows air bubbles generated in the vicinity of the first side wall 27 to escape upward without remaining on the lower surface of the first partition plate 61, and the notch 65 allows air bubbles generated in the vicinity of the second side wall 28 to escape to the second partition plate. 62 It is possible to escape upward without staying on the lower surface. In this way, air bubbles generated during ink injection or ink consumption can be released to the upper part without remaining on the lower surface of the partition plate. Accordingly, the user can accurately check the remaining amount of ink by looking at the ink surface and the indicator 31 .

In the above example, the case where there are three partition plates is described, but the ink tank 15 in this embodiment may have a plurality of partition plates. That is, a partition plate extending upward (in the positive direction of the z-axis) from the bottom wall surface of the ink containing chamber and extending from the first side wall 27 toward the second side wall 28 , and from the second side wall 28 to the first side wall 27 . It is sufficient that the ink tank is formed so that the partition plates extending in the direction of .

15 ink tank 24 ink supply port 25 partition plate (rib)
251 partition plate (rib) tip 27 first side wall 28 second side wall 33 ink storage chamber

Claims (11)

a liquid storage chamber for storing liquid; an injection section for injecting liquid into the liquid storage chamber; a liquid supply port for supplying the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber to a print head; and a partition plate for sorting the
the injection part and the liquid supply port are spaced apart in a first direction intersecting a first side wall of the liquid containing chamber and a second side wall facing the first side wall;
The partition plate faces a third side wall of the liquid storage chamber connecting the first side wall and the second side wall and the third side wall, and connects the first side wall and the second side wall. arranged to contact a fourth sidewall of the liquid storage chamber;
A plurality of partition plates are provided so as to extend in the first direction, and one end of each of the plurality of partition plates in the first direction does not contact another partition plate, and arranged so as not to contact the first sidewall ;
A liquid storage container , wherein a notch is formed in at least one of the plurality of partition plates . 2. The liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of partition plates are arranged so that positions in the direction of gravity are different when the liquid is supplied from the liquid storage chamber to the recording head. a liquid storage chamber for storing liquid; an injection section for injecting liquid into the liquid storage chamber; a liquid supply port for supplying the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber to a print head; and a partition plate for sorting the
the injection part and the liquid supply port are spaced apart in a first direction intersecting a first side wall of the liquid containing chamber and a second side wall facing the first side wall;
The partition plate faces a third side wall of the liquid storage chamber connecting the first side wall and the second side wall and the third side wall, and connects the first side wall and the second side wall. arranged to contact a fourth sidewall of the liquid storage chamber;
A plurality of partition plates are provided so as to extend in the first direction, and the plurality of partition plates have different positions in the gravitational direction when liquid is supplied from the liquid storage chamber to the recording head. is placed in
A liquid storage container , wherein a notch is formed in at least one of the plurality of partition plates . 4. The liquid storage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the notch is provided closer to the injection section than the liquid supply port in the first direction. 5. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the partition plate is arranged horizontally in a posture for supplying the liquid from the liquid container to the recording head. container. A recording apparatus, comprising: a recording head for ejecting liquid; and the liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. A recording apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a supply path connecting said liquid supply port and said recording head. 8. A recording apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a cap for capping said injection part. 9. A recording apparatus according to claim 6 , further comprising a carriage on which said recording head is mounted. a recording head for ejecting liquid onto a medium;
a liquid storage chamber for storing liquid; an injection section for injecting liquid into the liquid storage chamber; a liquid supply port for supplying the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber to the recording head; A recording apparatus having a partition plate for sorting chambers and a liquid storage container having
the injection part and the liquid supply port are spaced apart in a first direction intersecting a first side wall of the liquid containing chamber and a second side wall facing the first side wall;
The partition plate faces a third side wall of the liquid storage chamber connecting the first side wall and the second side wall and the third side wall, and connects the first side wall and the second side wall. arranged to contact a fourth sidewall of the liquid storage chamber;
A plurality of partition plates are provided so as to extend in the first direction, and the positions of the plurality of partition plates in the gravitational direction are different when the liquid is supplied from the liquid storage chamber to the recording head. provided in
A recording apparatus , wherein a notch is formed in at least one of the plurality of partition plates . One end of each of the plurality of partition plates in the first direction is arranged so as not to contact another partition plate and not to contact the first side wall. Item 11. The recording apparatus according to Item 10 .

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