JPH03101970A - Ink container, ink jet head integral with ink container, ink jet recorder with the head, and method of charging porous material with ink - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the use efficiency of a recording liquid to accomplish a small-sized container by a method wherein an ink is suctionally removed so that an amount of ink held in an area of a porous body only on the side of an air communicating port is smaller than that held in an area of an ink discharge part. CONSTITUTION:The pressure in an ink tank is reduced, and an ink is injected from a supply port 1200 so as to fill all through the ink tank. In this manner, a porous member 902 can be fully charged with the ink. A suck-out port 1401 is opened with the supply port closed, and the excess of the ink over a predetermined recording liquid injection amount is sucked out from the suck-out port. A gap between the supply port 1200 and the suck-out port 1401 is determined to be as proximate to a maximum dimension in a liquid jet recording head as possible and desirably meets a relation of (l1/l2)>=0.7. In this manner, the recording liquid is distributed to be concentrated on the side of the supply port, whereby the ratio of a suppliable ink amount to an injected ink amount is raised to approximately 80% or more.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ink tank, an inkjet head, and an inkjet recording device each having a configuration in which a porous body such as an ink absorber is accommodated in an ink storage container. The present invention also relates to a method of filling ink into a porous body. In particular, the present invention relates to an invention that is effective for a print head that integrates a print head that ejects a print liquid and a print liquid storage section that stores the print liquid to be supplied to the print head.

[Conventional technology]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an inkjet head has been put into practical use in which an energy generating section for forming recording droplets and an ink tank for supplying ink to the energy generating section are integrated. The ink tank of this type of inkjet head generally has a structure in which a compressed porous body is impregnated with ink. The ink held in this porous body is led out from the ink tank from the ink supply port to the discharge section 4 via the common liquid chamber by the capillary force of the nozzle according to the consumption of ink in the discharge section. Conventionally, in order for the porous body to prevent negative pressure inside the ink tank, an atmosphere communication port is provided to open a small portion of the ink tank (approximately 3% of the internal area of the tank) to the atmosphere.

[Problem that the invention is trying to solve]

However, in the conventional example, the amount of ink held by the porous body is increased to reduce the frequency of replacement, so the proportion of the porous body in the ink tank increases toward 100%. However, even though the amount of ink being filled has increased, the amount of remaining ink that cannot be supplied from within the tank for recording has increased. 6 In view of the current situation, the present inventors analyzed the ink retention state of a porous body and provided a novel method for filling ink into a porous body that can significantly improve the amount of ink remaining. The first object of the present invention is to supply an ink storage container that can supply good ink without wasting it, an inkjet head that can perform good recording thereby, and also to achieve miniaturization of a recording device. It has a different purpose.

In addition, as a result of studies from a different perspective than the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention can significantly reduce the remaining amount of ink, and as a result, the stored ink can be efficiently supplied, downsized, and the frequency of replacement can be significantly reduced. The second objective is to be able to reduce the

Still other objects of the present invention will be understood from the following description. [Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, after filling the ink storage container with ink exceeding the amount of ink that the porous body can hold, the partial region of the porous body on the atmospheric communication port side This ink filling method into an ink storage container is characterized by suctioning and removing only ink such that the amount of ink retained is smaller than that of the ink discharge area, so the stored ink can be reliably converted into a usable state. . In addition, as a result of examining the ink flow resistance in the area where the porous body is in close contact with the ink tank inner wall, we found a configuration that goes against the conventional technological trend. As set forth in claims 2 to 4, the porous body in the ink tank has an inner wall that accounts for 15% or more of the total internal area of the ink tank, and Non-contact,
The non-contact space thus formed is in communication with the atmosphere, and since the amount of ink held in the porous body in the area near the atmosphere communication space is smaller than that in the ink supply port area, the ink flows. By reducing the resistance, stably supplying ink, and using the head, stable recording was achieved.

In addition, in the invention described in claims 5 to 9 of the present invention, each structure is effective in reducing the size of the structure or further stabilizing the ink supply state and eliminating waste of remaining ink. We can provide an excellent configuration for

[Example] Figures 2 to 6 show preferred inkjet units IJU, inkjet heads IJH, ink tanks IT, inkjet cartridges IJC, and inkjet recording apparatus main bodies IJ to which the present invention is implemented or applied.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each of the RA and carriage HC and their relationship. The configuration of each part will be explained below using these drawings.

As can be seen from the perspective view in Fig. 3, the inkjet cartridge rJC in this example has a large ink storage ratio, and the tip of the inkjet unit IJU protrudes slightly from the front surface of the ink tank IT. It has a shape. This inkjet cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by a positioning means and electrical contacts (described later) of a carriage HC (FIG. 5) placed on the inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is detachable from the carriage HC. It is a disposable type. The configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 6 of this example are those to which a number of novel techniques developed at the stage of the establishment of the present invention are applied, so while briefly explaining these configurations,
I will explain the whole thing.

(i) Inkjet unit IJU structure or description The inkjet unit IJU is a bubble jet unit that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy to cause film boiling in ink in response to electrical signals. It is.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 indicates a structure in which electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows on the SL substrate and electrical wiring such as Aj2 for supplying electric power to the converters are formed by film-forming technology. This is a heater board.

200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100;
Wiring corresponding to the wiring of the heater board 100 (for example, connected by wire bonding) and a pad 201 located at the end of this wiring and receiving electrical signals from the main unit.
It has

1300 is a grooved top plate provided with partition walls for dividing a plurality of ink channels and a common liquid chamber for storing ink to supply ink to each ink channel, and is supplied from an ink tank IT. An ink receiving port 1500 that receives ink and introduces it into the common liquid chamber described above, and an orifice plate 400 having a plurality of ejection ports corresponding to each ink flow path are integrally molded. Although polysulfone is preferable as the integrally molded material, other resin materials for molding may also be used.

300 is a support made of metal, for example, that supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 on a flat surface, and serves as a bottom plate of the inkjet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a pressing spring, which has an M-shape and presses the common liquid chamber with light pressure at the center of the M-shape, and uses a front sag 501 to concentrate linear pressure on a part of the liquid path, preferably in the area near the discharge port. Press.

When pressing the heater board 100 and the top plate 1 300, the foot of the spring passes through the hole 312l of the support 300 and presses the support 300.
By engaging the back side of the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300, the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are crimped and fixed by the concentrated biasing force of the pressing spring 500 and its front sagging portion 501. The support body 300 also has positioning holes 312, 1900 and 2000 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT and the protrusions 1800 and 1801 for positioning and heat-sealing retention, as well as the carriage of the apparatus main body IJRA. It has protrusions 2500 and 2600 for positioning with respect to the HC on the back side. In addition, the support 300 also has a hole 320 that allows an ink supply pipe 2200 (described later) to pass therethrough, which allows ink to be supplied from an ink tank. The wiring board 200 is attached to the support body 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like.

Note that the recesses 2400 and 2400 of the support body 300 are provided near the positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600, respectively, so that the assembled inkjet cartridge IJ
C (Fig. 3), the three sides around it are parallel grooves 300.
At the extension point of the head tip region formed by a plurality of projections 2500.2, dust and ink are
It is located so that it does not reach 600. 3000 parallels are formed. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the lid member 800 forms the outer wall of the inkjet cartridge IJC, and together with the ink tank forms a space in which the inkjet unit IJU is accommodated. In addition, the ink supply member 600 in which the parallel grooves 3001 are formed has the ink conduit 1600 continuous to the ink supply pipe 2200 described above formed as a cantilever with the supply pipe 2200 side fixed, and the fixed side of the ink conduit and Sealed bottle 602 to ensure capillary action with ink supply tube 2200
is inserted. Note that 601 is a packing that seals the connection between the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and 700 is a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe.

Since this ink supply member 600 is molded, it is not only inexpensive and has high positional accuracy and eliminates deterioration in manufacturing precision, but also has a cantilevered conduit 1600, so that it can be used in mass production as described above for the conduit 1600. The state of pressure contact with the ink receptacle 1500 can be stabilized. In this example, a more complete communication state can be reliably obtained by simply pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under this pressure-contact state. Note that the ink supply member 600 is fixed to the support body 300 through the hole 1901.1 of the support body 300.
This can easily be done by projecting the backside bottle (not shown) of the ink supply member 600 to 902 through the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300, and heat-sealing the protruding portion to the backside of the support 300. be exposed. Note that this slight protruding area of the heat-sealed back surface is located in the indentation (
(not shown), the positioning surface of the unit IJU can be accurately obtained.

(ii) Ink tank IT configuration description After inserting the cartridge main body 1000, ink absorber 900, and ink absorber 900 from the side opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface of the cartridge main body 1000, insert the ink tank. and a lid member 1100 for sealing.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating ink, and is disposed within the cartridge body 1000.

1200 is a unit I consisting of each of the above parts 100 to 600.
It is a supply port for supplying ink to the JU, and also impregnates the absorber 900 with ink by injecting ink from the supply port 1 200 in a process before placing the unit in the portion 1010 of the cartridge body 1000. It is also an injection port for doing this.

In this example, the parts that can supply ink are the atmosphere communication port and this supply port, but the ribs 2300 in the main body 1000 and the lid member 1100 are used to ensure good ink supply from the ink absorber. The tank air presence area formed by the ribs 2500 and 2400 is connected to the atmosphere communication port 14.
Since the ink is formed continuously from the 01 side and extends over the farthest corner area from the ink supply port 1200, relatively good and uniform ink supply to the absorber can be achieved from the supply port 1 200 side. It is important that this is done.

This method is extremely effective in practice. This rib 100
0 has four ribs parallel to the carriage movement direction on the rear surface of the ink tank main body 1000 to prevent the absorber from coming into close contact with the rear surface. Further, the partial ribs 2400 and 2500 are similarly provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 on the corresponding extensions to the rib 1000, but unlike the rib i ooo, they are in a divided state and prevent air from entering. The existence space is increased compared to the former. Note that the partial ribs 2500 and 2400 are distributed over a surface that is less than half of the total area of the lid member 1000. These ribs made it possible to more stably guide the ink in the region of the farthest corner from the tank supply port 1200 of the ink absorber to the supply port 1200 side by capillary force.

1401 is an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member to communicate the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere. 1400 is a liquid repellent material placed inside the atmosphere communication port 1401, which prevents ink from leaking from the atmosphere communication port 1400.

The ink storage space of the ink tank IT mentioned above has a rectangular shape, and the long sides are on the sides, so the arrangement of the ribs described above is particularly effective. In the case of a case or a cube, cover member 1
By providing ribs throughout the ink absorber 900, the ink supply from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized. A rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for storing as much ink as possible within a limited space, but in order to use the stored ink for recording without wasting it, as mentioned above, it is necessary to It is important to provide ribs that can perform the above-mentioned action on two adjacent surface areas. Furthermore, the inner surface ribs of the ink tank IT in this embodiment are arranged in a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped ink absorber. This configuration is important because it can equalize the atmospheric pressure distribution and almost eliminate the remaining amount of ink with respect to the ink consumption of the entire absorber. Furthermore, to explain in detail the technical idea behind the arrangement of the ribs, when an arc is drawn with the long side as the radius and centered on the position where the ink supply port 1200 of the ink tank is projected on the quadrangular top surface of the rectangular parallelepiped, ,
It is important to arrange the ribs on the surface outside the arc so that the atmospheric pressure can be quickly applied to the absorbent body located outside the arc. In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example, as long as it is at a position where the atmosphere can be introduced into the rib arrangement area.

In addition, in this embodiment, the inkjet cartridge I
The rear surface of the JC head is flattened to minimize the space required when incorporated into the device, and the structure maximizes the ink storage capacity, resulting in a more compact device. Not only is it possible to do so, but it also has an excellent structure that reduces the frequency of cartridge replacement. Then, by using the rear part of the space for integrating the inkjet unit ZJU, a protruding part for the atmosphere communication port 1401 is formed there, and the inside of this protruding part is hollowed out, and the above-mentioned absorption An atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is formed over the entire thickness of the body 900. With this configuration, we were able to provide an excellent cartridge that has never been seen before. Note that this atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is much larger than the conventional one, and the atmospheric communication port 1401 is located above, so even if the ink leaves the absorber due to some abnormality, this large space will not be affected. The air pressure supply space 1402 can temporarily hold the ink and ensure that the ink is collected by the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge with no waste can be provided.

Further, the structure of the mounting surface of the unit rJU of the ink tank IT is shown in FIG. If L1 is a straight line passing approximately through the center of the protruding opening of the orifice plate 400 and parallel to the mounting reference plane on the bottom surface of the tank IT or the surface of the carriage, two positioning protrusions that engage with the holes 312 of the support body 300 are formed. 1012 is just $1! L. It is above. The height of this protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and positions the support 300. In this drawing, the claw 2100 that engages with the 90° engagement surface 4002 of the carriage positioning hook 4001 is located on the extension of the straight line L, and the positioning force on the carriage is applied to the straight line L. , and is configured to act in a plane region parallel to the reference plane. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, these relationships are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the ejection ports of the head.

Further, a hole 19 for fixing the support body 300 to the side surface of the ink tank is provided.
Ink tank protrusions 18 corresponding to 00.2000 respectively
00.1801 is longer than the above-mentioned protrusion 1012, and the part that protrudes through the support 300 is thermally fused to form the support 3.
This is for fixing 00 to its side. Let L be a straight line that is perpendicular to the line L1 and passes through this protrusion 1800, and L2 is a straight line that passes through the protrusion 1801.Since the approximate center of the supply port 1200 is located on the straight line L3, the mouth 1200 of the supply section This is a preferable configuration because it works to stabilize the connection state between the supply pipe 2200 and the supply pipe 2200, and reduces the load on the connection state even if a drop or impact occurs. Furthermore, the straight lines Lx and Ls do not coincide, and the protrusions 1800 and 1801 exist around the protrusion 1012 on the ejection port side of the head rJH, which further produces a reinforcing effect in positioning the head IJH with respect to the tank. Note that the curve indicated by L4 is the outer wall position when the ink supply member 600 is attached. Since the protrusions 1800 and 1801 are along the curve L4, they provide sufficient strength and positional accuracy even for the weight of the distal end side configuration of the head IJH. Incidentally, reference numeral 2700 denotes a tip collar of the ink tank IT, which is inserted into a hole in the front plate 4000 of the carriage and is provided in case of an abnormal situation where the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely poor.

Reference numeral 2101 is a retainer for the carriage, which is provided to a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC, and is provided to a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC.
This is a protective member for maintaining the mounted state even if a force is applied in the upward direction that causes the JC to enter the lower part of the bar at the pivoted mounted position and unnecessarily disengage from the positioned position as will be described later.

The ink tank IT has a shape that surrounds the unit IJU except for the lower opening by covering it with the lid 800 after the unit IJU is installed. Since the opening is close to the carriage HC, a substantial four-sided surrounding space is formed. Therefore, although the heat generated from the head IJH in this enclosed space is effective as a heat-retaining space, the temperature rises only slightly during long-term continuous use. For this reason, in this example, a slit 1700 with a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC in order to aid the natural heat dissipation of the support, thereby preventing a rise in temperature and ensuring a uniform temperature distribution throughout the unit IJU. We were able to make the process unaffected by the environment.

When assembled as an inkjet cartridge IJC, ink is supplied from inside the cartridge into the supply tank 600 through the supply port 1200, the hole 320 provided in the support 300, and the introduction port provided on the inner back side of the supply tank 600. After passing through the interior, the ink flows into the common liquid chamber from the outlet through an appropriate supply pipe and the ink inlet 1500 of the top plate 400. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is disposed at the above-mentioned connection portion for ink communication, and this seals the ink supply path to ensure an ink supply path.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of resin such as polysulfon, polyethersulfon, polyphenylene oxide, polybrobylene, etc., which has excellent ink resistance, and is molded together with the orifice plate part 400 in a mold. There is.

As mentioned above, the integrally molded parts include the ink supply member 600,
Top plate and orifice plate integrated, ink tank body 1
000, which not only achieves a high level of assembly accuracy but also is extremely effective in improving quality in mass production. Furthermore, since the number of parts can be reduced compared to the prior art, excellent desired characteristics can be reliably exhibited.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, in the above-mentioned shape after assembly,
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the ink supply member 6
00, the upper surface part 603 forms a slit S as shown in FIG.
A slit (not shown) similar to the slit S is formed between the lower lid 800 of the ink tank IT and the head side end 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lower lid 800 of the ink tank IT is bonded. These slits between the ink tank IT and the ink supply member 600 substantially act to further promote heat dissipation from the slit 1 700, and even if there is unnecessary pressure applied to the tank IT, it is directly supplied. This prevents any damage to the IJT members, particularly the inkjet unit.

In any case, the above-mentioned configuration of this embodiment is a configuration that has not been seen in the past, and each of them individually provides an effective effect, and in combination, each component provides an organic configuration. ing.

(iii) Description of attaching the inkjet cartridge IJC to the carriage HC In FIG. 5, 5000 is a platen roller that guides the recording medium P from the bottom to the top of the page.

The carriage HC moves along the platen roller 3000, and has a front plate 40 located on the front side of the inkjet cartridge IJC on the front platen side of the carriage.
00 (thickness: 2 mm) and a flexible sheet 4005 equipped with pads 2011 corresponding to the butts 201 of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC, and for generating elastic force to press this against each pad 2011 from the back side. An electrical connection support plate 4003 that holds a rubber pad sheet 4007, and an inkjet cartridge IJ.
Positioning hook 400 for fixing C to the recording position
1 is provided. The front plate 4000 has two positioning projecting surfaces 4010 corresponding to the aforementioned positioning projections 2500 and 2600 of the cartridge support 300, respectively, and receives a vertical force toward these projecting surfaces 4010 after the cartridge is mounted. For this reason, the front plate has a plurality of reinforcing ribs (not shown) on the platen roller side facing in the direction of the perpendicular force.

This rib is located at the front position L when the cartridge IJC is installed.
A head protection protrusion is also formed that protrudes slightly (approximately 0.1 mm) toward the platen roller.
The electrical connection support plate 4003 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 not in the direction of the ribs but in the vertical direction, and the proportion of lateral protrusion is reduced from the platen side toward the hook 400l side. This also serves the function of tilting the position when the cartridge is installed as shown in the figure.

In addition, in order to stabilize the electrical contact state, the support plate 4003 is used to position the hook side to apply force to the cartridge in the opposite direction to the direction in which the two positioning protruding surfaces 4010 act on the cartridge. It has two surfaces 4006 corresponding to the protruding surfaces 401G, which form a pad contact area between them and uniquely define the amount of deformation of the bottom of the rubber seat 4007 with a bottom corresponding to the butt 201l. These positioning surfaces come into contact with the surface of the wiring board 300 when the cartridge IJC is fixed at a recordable position. In this example, the wiring board 300
Since the pads 201 are distributed symmetrically with respect to the aforementioned line L, the amount of deformation of each hole of the rubber seat 4007 is made uniform, and the contact pressure of the pads 2011 and 201 is made more stable. The distribution of pads 201 in this example is two rows above, two rows below, and two columns vertically.

The hook 4001 has a long length that engages with the fixed shaft 4009, and uses this long movement space to rotate counterclockwise from the position shown in the figure, and then moves to the left side along the platen roller 5000. This positions the inkjet cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage HC. Although this hook 4001 may be moved by any means, it is preferable to use a lever or the like. In any case, when the hook 4001 is rotated, the cartridge IJC moves toward the platen roller and the positioning protrusion 2500.2600
moves to a position where it can come into contact with the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate, and as the hook 4001 moves to the left, the hook surface 4002 of 90'' is attached to the 9th part of the claw 2l00 of the cartridge IJC.
Cartridge rJc is positioned on the positioning surface 2 while being in close contact with the 0' surface.
Pads 500 and 2010 rotate in a horizontal plane around the contact area between pads 201 and 2011, and finally contact between pads 201 and 2011 begins.

When the hook 4001 is held in a predetermined position, that is, a fixed position, the pads 201 and 2011 are in complete contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are in complete surface contact, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the claw are in complete contact with each other. The two-surface contact and the surface contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 4006 are simultaneously formed, and the holding of the cartridge IJC in the carriage is completed.

(iv) General description of the main body of the apparatus FIG. 6 shows an inkjet recording apparatus I to which the present invention is applied.
In the general view of JRA, the carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005, which rotates via the drive force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013, is a pin (not shown). ) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 is a paper holding plate that holds the paper against the platen 5 in the direction of carriage movement.
Press against 000. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 are home position detection means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area and switching the direction of rotation of the motor 5013. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head, and 50l5 is a suction means that sucks the inside of this cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap. 5017 is a cleaning blade, 5
Reference numeral 019 denotes a member that allows this blade to move in the front and back direction, and these are supported by a main body support plate 5018. Needless to say, the blade is not of this type, but a well-known cleaning blade can be applied to this example. Also, 5
012 is a lever for starting suction for suction recovery;
It moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and the movement of the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching.

These catching, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that when the carriage reaches the home position side area, the desired processes can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005. Any of these can be applied to this example as long as they are activated. Each of the configurations described above is an excellent invention whether viewed singly or in combination, and represents a preferable configuration example for the present invention.

In order to explain in detail the present invention technically related to the above-mentioned FIGS. 2 to 6, the following description will be made using FIGS. 1 and 7 and subsequent figures.

(Embodiment of Filling Method) FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a liquid jet recording head. The inside of the ink tank is depressurized, and ink is injected from the supply port 1401 so that the entire ink tank is filled. This allows the ink to completely spread over the porous member 902. Next, with the supply port closed, take out the extraction port 1.
401 is opened, and excess ink exceeding a predetermined recording liquid injection amount is extracted from the extraction port. As a result, the ink on the supply port side remains in the retaining range of the porous member, and the ink on the extraction port 1 4 0 1 liter is extracted with 6 priority over the supply port side. If this area is illustrated, area 9
It becomes 01. This makes it possible to create a state in which the ink is distributed predominantly on the supply port side.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the liquid jet recording head, and the distance between the supply port 1200 and the extraction port 1401 is set as close as possible to the maximum dimension in the liquid jet recording head. Did the inventor experiment? According to the results, (1./1■)≧0. It is desirable that relationship 7 be satisfied. This creates a condition in which more ink on the supply port side is distributed to the supply port side without being extracted, and the amount of ink supplied to the recording head chip increases.

In the above configuration, when draining excess ink from the ink tank, it is drawn from the drain port side, but after the drain port is opened in standby and the recording head chip is connected to the ink tank, excess ink can be removed from the sweep port. It has been found that the distribution of ink in the porous member is approximately the same as the above distribution.

As explained above, according to the present invention, by distributing the recording liquid intensively on the supply port side, it is possible to increase the ratio of the ink material that can be supplied to the injected ink material to about 80% or more. It is possible to increase the number of pages printed using a liquid jet recording head with external dimensions. Furthermore, under the condition of the same number of prints, it is also possible to make the liquid jet recording head more compact.

FIG. 2 to FIG. io show other embodiments of forming an air communication space that exhibits an effective effect in addition to the ink retention distribution of the porous body according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows an ink tank in which ribs 30 are provided radially on the top surface of the ink tank for communication with the atmosphere. With this configuration, it is possible to adjust the proportion of air present in the central area and side areas of the enlarged absorber, which is a preferable configuration. one of. Fig. 9 shows a cylindrical protrusion, and Fig. 10 shows a part with a U-shaped cross section, which is attached to the inner wall of the tank as shown in the figure, so that a contact area can be obtained through a communicating path.

In FIG. 7, in (a), in the case of an absorber with very little air communication, the air communication area is formed after starting to use the route that takes the shortest distance toward the ink supply pipe 2200 to the head. Therefore, it is easy to understand why the ink held by the absorber remains without being supplied.

(b) and (c) are explanatory diagrams when the formation surface of the atmosphere communication region of the present invention is developed. As in the above embodiment, first, the rear part of the space for integrating the inkjet into the ink storage container is shown. In the case where a protruding part for an atmosphere communication port is formed there using the above, and the interior of this protruding part is hollowed out to form an atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire thickness of the porous body, (a) Compared to the above, the atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 over the entire thickness of the porous body can uniformize the ink supply in the thickness direction, and therefore exhibits an overall superior partial effect. In addition to this, the atmospheric pressure supply space 20 formed on the rear surface with respect to the head 4 decentralizes the above route,
Since it extends to the opposite corner of the supply area, it can be seen that the path to the supply ready state is wide open for the area that is least likely to be consumed. In addition, when the area 21 on the opposing surface of the atmosphere communication port, outside the area whose radius is the shortest distance r between the supply area and the area in the atmosphere communication state, is brought into the atmosphere communication state, a route 22 can be further formed. Therefore, it can be understood that the ink absorbed in the porous body 2 can be stably and reliably supplied to the head 4. In particular, in (c), the supply area and the area communicating with the atmosphere are placed opposite each other, so the area outside the shortest distance r is lateral 2
11 and 222, the effect of the present invention can be further improved by bringing these regions into a state of communication with the atmosphere.

FIG. 11 shows the ejection characteristics in this case. As shown in the figure, conventionally, when the open area is 3% of the total ink tank, the response frequency decreases. Due to the decrease in the response frequency, the discharge amount becomes extremely small (as shown in the upper diagram of Fig. 11).
Decrease print quality. Furthermore, in the case of high duty, the ejection may not be able to follow up and the ejection may fail. However, by increasing the open area of the absorber to the atmosphere, the flow of ink within the absorber becomes easier, and as long as it is maintained at 15% or more as shown in the figure, it will not affect ejection. Forming an atmosphere communication area of 15% or more does not depend on the position of the surface inside the ink tank, so the above-mentioned method is applied to the side, top, and bottom of the ink tank that communicates with the air vent. A similar structure may be provided to ensure an area of adhesion with the atmosphere. Of course, it is a more preferable configuration to form an atmosphere communication area of 15% or more in the configuration described in FIGS. 2 to 6 above.

The present invention provides excellent effects particularly in bubble jet recording heads and recording apparatuses among ink jet recording systems.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723-129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. generating thermal energy in the electrothermal transducer by applying at least one drive signal corresponding to recorded information to the electrothermal transducer that has not been stored and which causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling;
This is effective because film boiling is caused on the heat-active surface of the recording head, resulting in the formation of bubbles within the liquid (ink) in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. The elongation and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. If this drive signal is in the form of a pulse, the bubbles will be immediately and appropriately contracted for a certain length of time.
Particularly responsive liquid (ink) ejection can be achieved,
More preferred. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
Those described in the specification are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be achieved.

The configuration of the recording head includes, in addition to the combined configuration of ejection ports, liquid paths, and electrothermal converters (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned specifications, a heat acting section. U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,459,600 disclose a structure in which the structure is arranged in a region where the curve is bent.
The present invention also includes a structure using the specification of the above specification.

In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an open source patent publication for absorbing pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 138461 of 1981, which discloses a configuration in which holes correspond to discharge portions.

Furthermore, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining multiple recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head that is temporarily shaped may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the device body enables electrical connection to the device body and ink supply from the device body, or a chip-type recording head that is installed integrally with the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. for the recording head, which are provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, these include preheating means for the recording head using a caving means, a cleaning means, a pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording device is not limited to a recording mode of only mainstream colors such as black, but may also include a recording head configured integrally or a combination of multiple colors, or multiple colors of different colors or mixed colors. The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one full color image.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, after the ink storage container is filled with ink exceeding the amount of ink that the porous body can hold, only the ink in the partial region of the porous body on the air communication port side is filled. According to the ink filling method for the ink storage container, which is characterized by suctioning and removing the ink so that the amount of ink retained is smaller than the ink discharge area, the efficiency of using ink and recording liquid is improved compared to the conventional method. As a result, the container can be made smaller. Similarly, when the present invention is applied to a cartridge or a recording device, it is possible to simultaneously satisfy stable recording and miniaturization.

In addition to the above-mentioned effects, according to the invention in which 15% or more of the inner surface area of the ink tank is exposed to the atmosphere, good ejection characteristics can be obtained without decreasing the response frequency, making it possible to perform good printing.

Further, the ink supply of the porous body formed by the atmospheric communication port is centered at a position where the ink supply port is projected with respect to the upper surface in the ink flow direction from the atmospheric communication port to the ink supply port. According to the invention, the porous body forms an atmospheric communication space on the inner surface of the side wall of the ink storage container corresponding to an area that is at least the distance from the nearest area to the projected position of the mouth. Since ink can be consumed without waste, miniaturization can be achieved. Other effects of the present invention can be understood from the above description.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of FIG. A perspective view, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of how the cartridge IJC is attached to the device, FIG. 6 is an external view of the device of the present invention, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of ink flow, and FIGS. 8 to 10 are illustrations of other embodiments of the present invention, respectively. An example perspective view, FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b) are discharge characteristic diagrams, and FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a further configuration of the present invention. l... Ink tank 2... Absorber (porous body) 3... Supply port 4... Discharge part 5... Atmospheric communication port 6... Electrical contact part diagram L3 /3δl? 〃/ No. 14-02 No. // Figure (α2 fa period motion range long shot. 3; 6 g5 /0 (1 ro 1 poor

Claims (9)

[Claims] (1) An ink storage container having an atmosphere communication port and an ink discharge part for supplying ink to the outside of the container at different positions, and in which a porous body is stored in the container for holding ink. In the method of filling ink into a storage container, after filling the ink storage container with ink exceeding the amount of ink that the porous body can hold, only the ink in the partial region of the porous body on the side of the air communication port is filled with ink. A method for filling an ink storage container with ink, the method comprising suctioning and removing ink so that the amount of ink retained is smaller than that in a discharge region. (2) An ink storage container having an atmosphere communication port and an ink discharge part for supplying ink to the outside of the container at different positions, and in which a porous body is stored in the container for holding ink. In the method for filling ink into a storage container, the porous body is in non-contact with an inner wall of 15% or more of the total inner area of the ink tank, and the non-contact space formed thereby is in communication with the atmosphere. At this time, after filling the ink storage container with ink exceeding the amount of ink that the porous body can hold, only the ink in the partial area of the porous body on the air communication port side is larger than the ink discharge area. A method for filling ink into an ink storage container, characterized in that ink is removed by suction so that the amount retained is small. (3) An ink storage container that has an atmosphere communication port and an ink supply port for supplying to an inkjet head at different positions, and is integrated with the ink storage container filled with a porous material to store ink. An inkjet head formed in an inkjet head having an ejection portion that ejects ink using an ejection energy generating means provided in a liquid path,
In an inkjet head in which an ejection energy generating means operates in response to a predetermined electric signal, the porous body in the ink tank is not in contact with an inner wall of 15% or more of the total inner area of the ink tank, and the porous body An inkjet head characterized in that only a region near the non-contact portion retains a smaller amount of ink than the ink supply port region. (4) An ink storage container that has an atmosphere communication port and an ink supply port that supplies the ink to the inkjet head at different positions, and is filled with a porous material to store ink, and an ink storage container that is filled with a porous material to store ink, and an ink storage container that is filled with a porous material to store ink. An inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by including an inkjet head equipped with an ejection unit that ejects ink using an ejection energy generating means provided in a liquid path, the ink storage container and the inkjet head. a carriage for placing the inkjet head on the side of the ink storage container for reciprocating the inkjet head, and means for supplying an electric signal to the ejection energy generating means, and the porous body in the ink tank comprises: 1 of the total internal area of the ink tank
Only the ink in the area near the non-contact part of this porous body that does not contact with the inner wall of 5% or more has a smaller ink retention amount than the ink supply port area, and the non-contact space formed by this is smaller. An inkjet recording device characterized by supplying ink while communicating with the atmosphere. (5) An ink storage container that has an atmosphere communication port and an ink supply port for supplying to an inkjet head at different positions, and is integrated with the ink storage container filled with a porous material to store ink. An inkjet head formed in an inkjet head having an ejection portion that ejects ink using an ejection energy generating means provided in a liquid path,
In an inkjet head in which an ejection energy generating means is operated in response to a predetermined electric signal, the porous body has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the porous body has the above-mentioned shape with respect to the upper surface in the ink flow direction from the atmosphere communication port to the ink supply port. A side wall portion of the ink storage container that corresponds to an area that is centered on a projected position of the ink supply port and that corresponds to an area that is at least a distance from the nearest region of the porous body formed by the atmospheric communication port to the projected position of the ink supply port; The porous body has a member on its inner surface that can form an atmosphere communication space with respect to the inner surface, and only the ink in the area near the atmosphere communication space of the porous body has a larger ink retention amount than the ink supply port area. An inkjet head characterized by its small size. (6) An ink storage container that has an atmosphere communication port and an ink supply port that supplies the ink to the inkjet head at different positions, and is filled with a porous material to store ink; and an ink storage container that is filled with a porous material to store ink; An inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording by including an inkjet head equipped with an ejection unit that ejects ink using an ejection energy generating means provided in a liquid path, the ink storage container and the inkjet head. a carriage for placing the inkjet head on the side of the ink storage container for reciprocating the inkjet head, and means for supplying an electric signal to the ejection energy generating means, the atmosphere communication port and the ink supply port. is located on the lateral side above,
A non-contact space that is not in contact with the inner wall of the ink storage container and is in communication with the atmosphere is a part of the surface facing the atmosphere communication port and a part of the surface facing the atmosphere communication port. and a surface connecting these surfaces, and only the porous ink in the region near the atmosphere communication space has a smaller ink retention amount than the ink supply port region. Recording device. (7) A protruding portion provided at the rear of the space for integrating the inkjet head with the ink storage container and having the atmospheric communication port formed therein; 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an atmospheric pressure supply space is formed for the entire thickness of the body. (8) The ejection energy generating means is a thermal energy generating means, and the means for supplying the electrical signal performs recording by supplying the generating means with a drive signal that causes film boiling in the ink. The inkjet recording device according to item 7. (9) An ink storage container having an atmosphere communication port and an ink supply port for supplying to an inkjet head at different positions, and is integrated with the ink storage container filled with a porous material for storing ink. An inkjet head formed in an inkjet head having an ejection portion that ejects ink using an ejection energy generating means provided in a liquid path,
In an inkjet head in which an ejection energy generating means is operated in response to a predetermined electric signal, a protruding part for an atmosphere communication port is formed in the rear part of the space for integrating the inkjet into the ink storage container. The interior of this protruding portion is hollowed out to form an atmospheric pressure supply space for the entire thickness of the porous body, and only the porous body ink in the vicinity of this atmospheric pressure supply space is supplied from the ink supply port region. An inkjet head characterized by a small amount of ink retention.