JPH04156339A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an ink cartridge low in running cost capable of substantially increasing an ink receiving amount by dividing an ink holding part into an ink supply part formed from an ink impregnating material and arranged so as to include the ink supply orifice of a head and an ink tank holding ink so as to communicate with the ink supply part. CONSTITUTION:An ink holding part 2 is divided into porous sponge (a porous material being an ink supply part) 4 and an ink tank 5. The sponge 4 is held in the holding member 7 provided on the bottom plate 6a of a cartridge case 6. A hole 9 is formed to the lower part of the rear outer wall of the holding member 7 and the ink 8 in the ink tank 5 penetrates in the holding member 7 through the hole 9 to be infiltrated in the sponge 4. A head 3 is constituted so that the nozzle part 3a thereof is fitted in the cartridge case 6 and the rear part thereof is inserted in the front outer wall of the holding member 7 and the ink supply orifice 10 provided to the rear part of the head is included in the sponge.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] An ink cartridge for use in an inkjet printer that includes an ink holding portion and a head that receives ink supply from the ink holding portion and substantially increases the ink storage capacity. The purpose of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge with a low running cost and an ink holding part, and a head that receives ink from the ink holding part, wherein the ink holding part is impregnated with ink. The ink supply device is divided into an ink supply section made of a material and arranged so as to surround the ink supply port of the head, and an ink tank that holds ink and communicates with the ink supply section.

Further, in the ink cartridge having the above structure, the ink supply section is formed of a porous material.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used in an inkjet printer, which includes an ink holding portion and a head that receives ink from the ink holding portion.

[Conventional technology] Traditionally, inkjet printers have had problems with low reliability due to clogged nozzles, etc., but in recent years, the use of disposable cartridges that integrate the head and ink tank has reduced reliability. A product has appeared that covers this. In such an ink cartridge, in order to smoothly supply ink to the head, a porous sponge or the like is impregnated with ink, and the sponge is pressed and connected to the ink supply port of the head.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

However, in this method of using ink-impregnated porous material,
The usable ink capacity is small compared to the volume of the cartridge, and the head can only be used for a significantly shorter period than its lifespan, resulting in wasted resources and increased running costs. Furthermore, increasing the ink capacity requires the cartridge to be larger than necessary. Furthermore, an operator may inject ink unsuitable for the apparatus into an empty ink cartridge and reuse it, causing problems such as damage to the entire fruiting apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge that can substantially increase ink capacity and has low running costs.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink cartridge including an ink holding portion and a head that receives ink from the ink holding portion, wherein the ink holding portion is an ink supply section formed of a material impregnated with ink and disposed so as to surround the ink supply port of the head; and an ink tank configured to hold ink and communicate with the ink supply section. do.

Further, in the ink cartridge having the above structure, the ink supply section is formed of a porous material.

[For production]

Since the ink holding part is divided into an ink supply part made of a material impregnated with ink, such as a porous material, and an ink tank surrounding it to hold ink, the amount of ink stored is substantially reduced. It is possible to increase the running cost and reduce the running cost.

In addition, the porous material used in the ink supply section has the function of supplying an appropriate amount of ink to the head regardless of the remaining amount of ink to prevent ink from flowing out from the nozzle and disrupting print quality.
It has a filter function that prevents air bubbles contained in the ink from flowing into the head, and a barrier function that prevents the vibration of liquid ink from being transmitted to the head even if the liquid ink is vibrated due to external disturbances. In order to effectively fulfill these functions, the material and porosity of the porous material may be appropriately set.

〔Example〕

The invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of the structure of the ink cartridge of this example, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1. The ink cartridge 1 includes an ink holding portion 2 and a head 3. .

The ink holding portion 2 is divided into a porous sponge (a porous material serving as an ink supply section) 4 and an ink tank 5. The sponge 4 is held within a holding member 7 provided on the bottom plate 6a of the cartridge case 6. The ink tank 5 has a concave shape with a cartridge case 6 as an outer case, and ink 8 is stored inside. A hole 69 is formed at the bottom of the outer wall at the rear of the holding member 7 (on the right side in FIG. 2), and the ink 8 in the ink tank passes through this hole 9 and enters the holding member 7, where it is impregnated into the sponge 4. .

In the head 3, the nozzle part 3a is fitted into the cartridge case 6, and the rear part is fitted into the front outer wall of the holding member 7, and the ink supply port 10 at the rear part is surrounded by the sponge 4. Reference numeral 11 indicates a nozzle formed in the nozzle portion 3a, and reference numeral 12 indicates an electrode portion for driving a piezoelectric element (not shown), which is arranged to face a pressure chamber communicating with each nozzle 11.

The ink cartridge 1 of the present invention is structured as described above, and its operation will be explained next.

The ink in the ink tank 5 enters the holding member 7 through the hole 9 and is impregnated into the sponge 4, and the ink impregnated into the sponge 4 is supplied into the head 3 through the ink supply port 10. When a carrier (not shown) carrying this ink cartridge 1 travels along the platen, by driving a piezoelectric element corresponding to a predetermined pressure chamber at a predetermined time, pressure is generated in the pressure chamber and the nozzle is activated. Ink droplets are ejected from the platen, and recording is performed on the recording paper on the platen.

In the above description, the sponge 4 is held in the holding member 7, but the sponge 4 may be directly in contact with the ink 8 in the ink tank 5 without using the holding member 7. The ink supply section (sponge 4) and the ink 8 may be communicated with each other.

The ink cartridge 1 of the present invention has the above-described configuration 1, in which the ink holding portion communicates with an ink supply portion formed of a material impregnated with ink, and an ink holding portion that holds ink. Since it is divided into a tank and a tank, the amount of ink that can be stored is substantially increased. This is because when using only an ink-impregnated sponge without providing an ink tank as in the past, the ink impregnated into the sponge becomes about 1/3 of the volume, but with the present invention, an ink tank is provided. It is realized because it is done.

Further, reference numeral 13 shown in FIG. 1 is an air hole provided in the cover of the cartridge case 6. However, if the air hole 13 is simply provided in this way, there is a risk that the ink inside the cartridge will be squirted out from the air hole 13 when the cartridge is swung around. To prevent this, an air vent structure shown in FIG. 3 may be adopted. In this structure, a porous body 14 such as a sponge is disposed inside the air hole 13, and an internal air hole 15 is provided to bend the air passage into two stages, thereby preventing ink from being ejected.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the amount of ink stored is substantially increased, the ink cartridge can be made smaller, and the cartridge can have an ink amount commensurate with the life of the head. In addition, it is easier to fill ink into an ink tank than to impregnate a porous material with ink, so instead of using a disposable cartridge, it is a replaceable head that can be used without replenishing ink and replaced when its service life is over. By doing so, it is possible to save resources and reduce running costs.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the general structure of an ink cartridge I-ridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. This is a side view showing another air vent structure. In the figure, 1 is an ink cartridge, 2 is an ink holding part, 3 is a head, 4 is a sponge (ink supply part), 5 is an ink tank, 8 is an ink, 10 is an ink supply It is the mouth.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) The ink holding portion (2) and the ink holding portion (2).
), wherein the ink holding portion (2) is formed of a material impregnated with ink and the ink supply port (10) of the head (3) is provided with an ink supply port (10).
An ink cartridge characterized in that it is divided into an ink supply section (4) disposed so as to enclose the ink supply section (4), and an ink tank (5) that holds ink and communicates with the ink supply section (4). (2) The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply section (4) is formed of a porous material.