JPH04173343A - Ink tank for recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce an ink residual quantity in an ink tank drastically by a method wherein the pore density of a porous body which is loaded in an ink tank is locally changed, and an ink guide-out port is provided at a location in which the pore density is high. CONSTITUTION:A porous body 2 which is loaded in an ink tank 1 is arranged in such a manner that the pore density of the porous body 2 becomes coarse to dense in order from a location which is away from an ink guide-out port 4 toward the ink guide-out port 4. Therefore, the ink in the ink tank 1 is consumed in order from the location in which the pore density of the porous body 2 is coarse to the location in which it is dense, and the last residual ink stays in the vicinity of the guide-out port. When the ink is replenished under this condition, the ink is gradually impregnated from the location in which the pore density is dense to the location in which it is coarse, and is held, and the ink in the ink tank 1 is restored to the original condition. By repeating this motion, the ink tank becomes usable for a long period of time. BY this method, an ink residual quantity in the ink tank becomes remarkably small, comparing with an ink tank in which a porous body with uniform pore density is loaded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ink tank for a printing apparatus, and more particularly to an ink supply system in a printing apparatus.

An ink tank in which a porous body is filled in the ink tank of a disaster recorder and the ink is absorbed by the porous body is known, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-31898. .

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an ink tank filled with a porous material inside the ink tank. In the figure, 1 is an ink tank, 2
3 is a porous body, 3 is an air communication hole, and 4 is an ink outlet hole for guiding the ink in the ink tank to the printing device.The porous body 2 used in conventional ink tanks all have uniform pore density. It was something.

As mentioned above, the inside of the recording liquid storage unit, such as an ink tank, is filled with a porous body having continuous microscopic pores, and the inside of this porous body, that is, the pores are filled with recording liquid (ink). In an ink tank, the recording liquid is trapped in the pores of the porous body, so there is little movement of the recording liquid against sudden vibrations, shocks, etc., and the recording liquid does not ripple or bubble. It has the effect of preventing the contamination of other substances, and is in practical use. However, in this case, there is a problem in that the recording liquid permeates into the porous body and a large amount of ink remains in the ink tank, compared to an ink tank that is not filled with a porous body.

The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances.
In particular, it is possible to partially change the pore density of the porous material filled in the ink tank, and to provide ink outlet ports in areas with high pore density, thereby reducing the amount of ink remaining in the tank. The purpose is to provide an ink tank that enables

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an ink tank for a recording device, which includes a porous body having different pore densities in the ink tank, and a portion of the porous body having a high pore density. On the other hand, an ink outlet hole is provided to supply ink to the printing device, and further, the porous body is made of one type of porous body, and the pore density of the porous body changes continuously. It is characterized by what it does. The present invention will be explained below based on examples.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ink tank for a recording device according to the present invention, and similarly to the prior art shown in FIG. Showing holes.

In the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. They are arranged so as to gradually change from sparse to dense (represented by diagonally lined density in the figure), and are configured so that the vicinity of the ink outlet hole 4 is in the densest state. Therefore, the ink in the ink tank 1 is sequentially consumed from a region of the porous body 2 with a sparse pore density to a region with a dense pore density, and the final remaining ink is located near the outlet hole 4. If you replenish ink in this state,
The ink is gradually impregnated from the denser areas to the sparser areas and is retained, so that the ink in the ink tank 1 is restored to its original state. By repeating this operation, the ink tank can be used for a long period of time. In this way, the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional technique in which the ink tank is filled with a porous material having a uniform pore density.

It should be noted that the porous body used in the present invention is preferably made of a polymer material from the viewpoint of mass, workability, etc., and examples of the material include polyvinyl alcohol (Kanebo).
, Everlight SF (trade name: Bridgestone), etc.

Above, an example using a porous body formed with different pore densities has been described, but there are other examples, such as
It is also possible to use a porous body with a uniform pore density and to have different compression ratios and to store the porous body in an ink tank. By changing the degree of compression of porous bodies with the same pore density, the same function as that of porous bodies with different pore densities can be obtained. In other words, the higher the compressibility of the porous material, the denser the pore density.
In the opposite case, it becomes "sparse".

Figures 2 and 3 show that when a porous body with a uniform pore density (both shown in Figure (a)) is partially compressed with different compression ratios and stored in the ink tank 1, the ink tank Without changing the shape of the porous body 2 (Figure (b)), that is, keeping it in the same shape as a conventional ink tank, the porous body 2 is processed to change its shape in advance (Figure (a)). The state shown in the figure is changed from the state shown in the figure (,) to the state shown in the figure (b) and stored in the ink tank 1. In other words, the degree of compression of the porous body 2 is partially reduced. In Fig. 3, the porous body 2 is not processed in advance and its shape is left unchanged as shown in the figure (,), and the ink tank 1 is stored in the ink tank. Change the shape of (b) as shown in the figure, and insert (,) inside it.
By housing the porous body 2 shown in the figure, the degree of compression of the porous body 2 is partially changed depending on the shape of the ink tank 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, and this embodiment is a porous body 2a having different pore densities.

2b, 2c, and 2d are stored in the ink tank,
The porous body 2a having a high pore density is provided with inlet and outlet holes.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the pore density of the porous material filled in the ink tank is partially changed, and the ink outlet is provided in the portion with high pore density. Therefore, the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank can be significantly reduced compared to the conventional method.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view for explaining an ink tank for a recording device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are cross-sectional views for explaining other embodiments of the present invention, and FIG. , is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ink tank. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Ink tank, 2... Porous body, 3... Atmospheric communication hole, 4... Ink outlet hole. Patent applicant Rico Co., Ltd. - Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 6 (a) (a)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink tank of a recording device has a porous body with different pore densities in the ink tank, and ink is supplied to the printing device to a portion of the porous body with a high pore density. An ink tank for a recording device, characterized in that an ink outlet hole for supplying ink is provided. 2. The ink tank for a recording device according to claim 1, wherein the porous body is made of one type of porous body, and the pore density of the porous body changes continuously.