JPH01247167A - Ink recovery device for ink-jet recording equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive reduction of solvent ingredients in exhausted air and to check rise of equipment costs, by providing a condensation channel composed of metallic material with high heat conductivity in a recovery channel between a gutter and an ink fountain and by installing the said condensation channel while being connected to a metallic casing of the equipment. CONSTITUTION:Ink stirred into air by a recovery pump 11 at a gutter 9 and a recovery channel 10 is guided into a condensation channel 12. The condensation channel 12 is composed of metallic material with high heat conductivity and is provided with an inlet 12a, a condensation wall 12b and an outlet 12c, which are directly connected to a metallic casing 14 so that the casing 14 can be used as a radiator. Mixture of air and ink taken in from the inlet 12a hits against the condensation wall 12b and solvent ingredients vaporized in the air condenses into liquid and is brought back into the ink. The ink is then guided through the outlet 12c and a recovery channel 13 and is brought back to a ink fountain 1. The recovery channel 13 is made larger than the recovery channel 10 in diameters, so that it serves to prevent the ink from becoming misty condition being mixed again with the air and to reduce occasions of re-vaporization of the solvent by slowing down the speed of the running liquid. The condensation channel 12 is connected to the casing part cooled by a blower 15 which cools by ventilation the inside of a casing body 14 of the equipment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink recovery device for an ink jet recording apparatus.

[Prior art] Ink particles ejected from a nozzle and turned into particles are charged and modulated to print on a recording material, and ink particles that are not used for printing are captured in a gutter, and the ink in the gutter is sucked together with air. In a charge modulation type inkjet recording device that collects ink into an ink reservoir, the solvent component of the collected ink is volatilized into the ink and released. Since the volatilization and release of the solvent component changes the physical properties of the ink and causes environmental pollution, efforts have been made to reduce the volatilization of the solvent component in the ink recovery channel. In the invention described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-2024, a gas-liquid separator is provided in the ink flow path, and the ink is recovered after the gas-liquid separator separates the ink from the air.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, this conventional device has the problem that the solvent components volatilized into the air in the recovery channel between the gutter and the gas-liquid separator are released into the outside air as they are, polluting the environment. be.

An object of the present invention is to use an inexpensive configuration to reduce the pollution of the environment due to the solvent components volatilized into the air in the recovery flow path being discharged directly into the outside air.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention prints on a recording material by modulating the charge of ink particles ejected from a nozzle into particles, and also captures ink particles that are not used for printing in a gutter. In a charge modulation type inkjet recording device that sucks ink together with air and collects it in an ink reservoir, a condensation channel made of a material with high thermal conductivity is provided in a recovery channel between the gutter and the ink reservoir, and The apparatus is characterized in that the condensation flow path is connected to a metal casing of the apparatus.

[Operation] The solvent component volatilized in the recovery channel is condensed and recovered when passing through the condensation channel, so the amount discharged to the outside air together with the air is reduced, and environmental pollution is reduced. Moreover, since the condensing flow path is cooled by heat dissipation to the metal casing of the device, there is no need to add a special cooling device, and price increases can be suppressed.

[Example] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The drawing shows an ink circulation flow path and a condensation flow path of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

1 is an ink reservoir, 2 is a pressure pump that sucks ink, pressurizes it, and sends it to the rear path, 3 is a filter, 4 is a pressure regulating valve to keep the ink pressure constant, and 5 is a pressure gauge that indicates the ink pressure. , 6 is a solenoid valve that switches between ejecting and stopping ink, 7 is a nozzle that ejects pressurized ink and converts it into single particles, 8 is an ink particle, and 9 is a nozzle that captures ink particles that are not used for printing. The collecting gutter 11 is a collecting pump that continuously sucks the ink captured by the gutter 9 together with air and collects it into the ink reservoir 1.The ink ejected from the nozzle 7 is charge-modulated and used for recording.

Incidentally, inside the recovery channel 10 from the gutter 9 to the recovery pump 11, the ink is mixed with air and becomes a mist, and therefore a large amount of solvent components are volatilized. The heat generated by the motor and solenoid that drive the recovery pump 11 is transmitted to the ink, so that the volatilization of the solvent component is further promoted.

According to the present invention, ink (gas-liquid mixture) stirred with air by the gutter 9, the recovery channel 10, and the recovery pump 11 is introduced into the condensation channel 12. The condensing channel 12 is made of a metal material with high thermal conductivity (0.1 W/mk or more), and the inlet 12a, condensing wall 12b, and outlet 12c are directly connected to the metal casing 14 of the inkjet recording device. The housing 14 is attached so as to be used as a heat sink. The mixture introduced from the inlet 12a collides with the condensation wall 12b, and the solvent component that had been volatilized in the air condenses into a liquid and returns to the ink. The ink then returns to the ink reservoir 1 from the outlet 12c via the recovery channel 13. The recovery channel 13 is configured to have a larger diameter than the recovery channel 10, and by slowing down the flow rate, the ink is prevented from being mixed with air again and turned into a mist state, and re-volatilization of the solvent is reduced.

Since the condensation flow path 12 improves the condensation efficiency of the solvent component as the temperature is lower, the condensation flow path 12 is connected to the housing portion that is cooled by the blower 15 that cools the inside of the device housing 14. be done.

Note that when the outside of the device housing 14 is at a lower temperature, if part or all of the recovery channels 10 and 13 are arranged outside the housing 14, the efficiency of condensing the volatilized solvent component is further improved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention condenses and recovers volatilized solvent components by providing a condensation channel made of a material with high thermal conductivity in the recovery channel between the gutter and the ink reservoir. Therefore, the amount of solvent components in the exhaust gas can be reduced. Moreover, since the metal casing of the device is used for heat dissipation in the condensing channel, there is no need to add a special cooling device, and an increase in price can be suppressed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing shows the ink circulation flow path and condensation flow path of the inkjet recording device according to the present invention. 31... Ink reservoir, 7... Nozzle, 8... Ink particles, 9 ...Gutter, 10.14...
Recovery channel, 11... Condensation channel, 14...
...Equipment housing.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Ink particles ejected from a nozzle and turned into particles are charge-modulated to print on a recording material, and ink particles not used for printing are captured in a gutter, and the ink in the gutter is mixed with air. In a charge modulation type inkjet recording device that collects ink by suction into an ink reservoir, a condensation channel made of a material with high thermal conductivity is provided in the recovery channel between the gutter and the ink reservoir, and the condensation channel is An ink recovery device for an inkjet recording device, characterized in that the device is coupled to a metal casing of the device. 2. The ink recovery device for an inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the condensation channel is provided between a recovery pump provided in the recovery channel and the ink reservoir. 3. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the condensation flow path is coupled to the housing portion cooled by a blower that cools the housing by passing air through the housing. Collection device.