JPH04120037U - ink supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Objective] To provide an ink supply device that allows inks of a plurality of colors to be installed at predetermined positions without fail and that does not stain hands when installing the ink. [Structure] By forming male threads with different diameters for each color in the ink discharge ports of ink cartridges containing various color inks, other than cartridge holders, female threads are formed to screw with the male threads. , it is impossible to install an ink cartridge.

Description

[Detailed explanation of the idea]

0001

[Industrial application field]

This invention is applicable to ink supply devices used in printing devices capable of color printing. It is related to

0002

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, ink supplies for printing devices capable of color printing, such as inkjet printers, The multiple colored inks used in the feeding device are solidified mixtures of wax and pigments or dyes. It is formed by oxidation and is solid at room temperature. And inkjet printer When using a printer, load each color ink of the same shape into the designated ink mounting part of the ink supply device. It was then heated and melted before being supplied to inkjet printers.

0003 However, in this type of inkjet printer, each color ink is visually Although the ink is installed in the designated ink mounting part according to the mark, the shape of the colored ink is the same. Therefore, there is a risk of applying colored ink to the wrong place. In some cases, the colored inks would mix and repair would take a long time and be extremely troublesome.

0004 Therefore, the present applicant has proposed various color Make the shape of the ink and the shape of the ink mounting part different for each color. We have proposed an inkjet printer that prevents you from loading colored ink by mistake. ing.

[0005]

[Problem that the idea aims to solve]

However, in the inkjet printer shown in the above publication, each color ink is Because the area around the ink is not covered, if you touch the ink when refilling or replacing it, , pigments or dyes may stain your hands, or impurities from your hands may adhere to the ink. It was.

[0006] In addition, the shape of each color ink and the shape of the ink mounting part are different for each color. It takes a lot of time in the manufacturing process to do this, and it also takes a lot of effort to If the color ink size is smaller than the color ink size, replenish the wrong color ink. There was also the problem that it sometimes stuck.

[0007] This invention was devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and is a method for supplementing colored ink. An easy-to-use design that eliminates the need to get your hands dirty when refilling, and also prevents you from refilling the wrong color of ink. The purpose of this invention is to provide a link supply device.

[0008]

[Means to solve the problem]

To achieve this purpose, the ink supply device of the present invention uses an ink cartridge. An ink supply device that supplies a plurality of color inks stored in the device body to the device body, Multiple ink cartridges that correspond one-to-one with each color ink, and each ink cartridge. One-to-one correspondence with ink cartridges, and only compatible ink cartridges can be installed and removed. It has a plurality of ink cartridge holders that can be used.

[0009]

[Effect]

The ink cartridge of the ink supply device of the present invention having the above configuration has each color ink cartridge. The ink cartridges are formed in one-to-one correspondence with each ink cartridge. Only compatible ink cartridges can be installed in the ink cartridge holder. Ru. The colored ink stored in the ink cartridge is different in color. It is supplied to the device itself without any problem.

0010

【Example】

An embodiment embodying the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 3, an ink cartridge used in the ink supply device 11 of the present invention is shown in FIG. The cylinder 1 is made of a material with good thermal conductivity, such as aluminum, and has a bottom surface 2. A male thread 3 is formed on the outer peripheral surface at the end opposite to the bottom surface 2. A cylindrical ink discharge port 5 is provided. This ink discharge port 5 has A cap 7 that covers the opening 5a of the ink discharge port 5 is screwed onto the male screw 3. It is. In addition, the inside of the ink cartridge 1 contains dye or pigment and wax. The main component is solid ink 9, which is solid at room temperature and melts when heated. There is. That is, hold the ink cartridge 1 with the opening 5a facing upward. , solid ink 9 in a molten state is poured into the inside through the opening 5a. and, By leaving it to cool, the ink solidifies and a solid ink is formed inside the ink cartridge 1. The link 9 will be stored.

0012 The ink supply device 11 also includes the ink cartridge, as shown in FIG. A cartridge holder 13 for mounting the cartridge holder 1 is provided, and the peripheral wall thereof is equipped with a heating element. 15 is built-in. This cartridge holder 13 has an ink cartridge. 1 is formed, and the upper part thereof is an opening 14 for installing an ink cartridge. It has been processed into a tapered shape so that it can be easily installed. And this cartridge An ink discharge port 5 of the ink cartridge 1 is formed inside the holder 13. Cartridge mounting part 1 having a female thread 19 formed to be screwed into a male thread 3 7 is provided. At the bottom of the cartridge holder 13, there is a cartridge at the top. It has an opening 20 that communicates with the mounting part 17, and contains the melt heated and melted by the heater 15. An ink tank 23 for storing melted ink 21 is provided, and this ink tank 2 3 includes a conduit for supplying the molten ink 21 to the printing section (not shown) of the main body of the device. 25 are connected. The ink tank 2 is located below the ink tank 23. A heater 27 is provided to maintain the molten ink 21 in the molten state in the molten state. There is.

[0013] Is the ink cartridge 1 installed in the cartridge holder 13? The detection switch 29 that detects whether or not the ink cartridge is in contact with the ink cartridge 1 An ink amount sensor 31 is installed to detect the remaining amount of solid ink 9 in the ink cartridge 1. I'm being kicked. This ink amount sensor 31 detects that the ink cartridge 1 is connected to a heater. Detects the temperature rise per hour of ink cartridge 1 when heated by 15 The amount of solid ink 9 in the ink cartridge 1 depends on the amount of rise. can be found. In addition, the ink tank 23 includes a A molten ink amount sensor 33 is provided to detect the amount of molten ink 21 . So These detection switch 29, ink amount sensor 31 and melted ink amount sensor 33 are all connected to a heating control circuit 35.

[0014] This heating control circuit 35 is a heater built into the cartridge holder 13. 15, and controls the operation of the heater 15. in particular, Amount of molten ink 21 in ink tank 23 detected by molten ink amount sensor 33 is less than a predetermined amount, the heating control circuit 35 applies current to the heater 15. The solid ink 9 in the ink cartridge 1 is melted by flushing. However, the amount of ink The sensor 31 detects that the amount of solid ink 9 in the ink cartridge 1 is low. or when the ink cartridge 1 is installed by the detection switch 29. If it is detected that the heater 15 is It is controlled by a control circuit 35.

[0015] On the other hand, the main body of the device has black, cyan, magenta, and yellow colors as shown in Figure 2. Corresponding to the four colors of low, the male screw 3 formed in the ink ejection port 5 and the male screw 3 The diameter of the female thread 19 formed in the cartridge mounting part 17 to be screwed together varies depending on the color. Different ink supply devices 11B, 11C, 11M, and 11Y are provided. . That is, in the black ink supply device 11B, the ink cartridge 1 A male thread 3B with a metric thread M30 pitch 3.5 is formed in the ink discharge port 5B of B. The cartridge mounting portion 17B of the cartridge holder 13B has a mate. A female thread 19B with a thread M30 and a pitch of 3.5 is formed. Similarly, In the ink supply device 11C, the ink discharge port 5 of the ink cartridge 1C C has a metric thread M24 male thread 3C with a pitch of 3.0, and the cart The cartridge mounting part 17C of the ridge holder 13C has a metric thread M24 pitch. A 3.0 female thread 19C is formed.

[0016] In the magenta ink supply device 11M, the ink cartridge 1 A metric thread M20 pitch 2.5 male thread 3M is formed in the ink discharge port 5M of M. There is a mate in the cartridge mounting part 17C of the cartridge holder 13M. A female thread 19C with a thread M20 and a pitch of 2.5 is formed. ink for yellow In the supply device 11Y, the ink discharge port 5Y of the ink cartridge 1Y has a main body. A male thread 3Y with a torque screw M16 pitch of 1.5 is formed, and the cartridge holder The cartridge mounting part 17Y of the da 13Y has a female metric thread M16 with a pitch of 1.5. A screw 19Y is formed.

[0017] Next, a method of using the ink supply device 11 configured as described above will be explained. .

[0018] First, the cap covering the ink ejection port 5 of the black ink cartridge 1B Remove the cap 7 and place this ink cartridge 1B in the designated cartridge holder 13B. to screw onto. Similarly, each ink cartridge for magenta, cyan, and yellow 1M, 1C, and 1Y also have predetermined cartridge holders 13M, 13C, and 13, respectively. Screw onto the Y cartridge mounting parts 17B, 17C, 17M, and 17Y. At this time , trying to screw the wrong type of ink cartridge 1 into the cartridge holder 13. However, each cartridge holder 13 has female screws 19B, 19C, 19M, Since the diameter of 19Y is different, it cannot be screwed on. And like this each After installing the ink cartridge 1 into each corresponding cartridge holder 13, By pressing the OFF print key, the molten ink 21 in the ink tank 23 is It is supplied to the printing unit and printing starts.

[0019] If the amount of molten ink 21 in the ink tank 23 is less than a predetermined amount, When detected by the melted ink amount sensor 33, the heating control circuit 35 A current is applied to the heater 15 built in the cartridge holder 13 to heat it. Then, this heat passes through the cartridge holder 13 and the ink cartridge 1, The solid ink 9 in the ink cartridge 1 is melted, and the molten ink 21 is ejected. The ink is discharged from the outlet 5 and stored in the ink tank 23. However, the detection switch 29, the ink cartridge 1 is not screwed into the cartridge holder 13. or when the ink amount sensor 31 determines that the ink cartridge 1 When it is detected that the amount of solid ink 9 inside is small, the heating control circuit 35 No current is passed through the heater 15.

[0020] With this configuration, it is possible to install the ink cartridge 1 in the wrong position. Therefore, the inks do not mix colors and print quality is not impaired. In addition, since the solid ink 9 is stored inside the ink cartridge 1, when it is installed, Your hands won't get dirty.

[0021] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and there may be no deviation from the spirit thereof. Various changes can be made within the scope.

[0022] For example, by changing the nominal diameter of the screw for each ink cartridge 1, Although the ink cartridge 1 was prevented from being installed incorrectly, the number of threads of the screws or the details It is also possible to change the characteristic values of screws, such as screws and coarse screws.

[0023]

[Effect of the idea]

As explained above, according to the ink supply device of the present invention, when replenishing color ink, it is possible to Because there is no need to smudge the color ink or replenish the colored ink in the wrong position, it is easy to print. This has the effect of not impairing the character quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ink supply device of this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the ink supply device in which ink cartridges for each color are installed.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of an ink cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Ink cartridge 3 Male screw 9 Solid ink 11 Ink supply device 13 Cartridge holder 19 Female screw

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] Claim 1: An ink supply device that supplies a plurality of color inks stored in ink cartridges to a device main body, the plurality of ink cartridges having one-to-one correspondence with each color ink, and one-to-one correspondence with each ink cartridge. and a plurality of ink cartridge holders to which only the corresponding ink cartridges can be attached and detached.