JPH05345421A - Ink cartridge to be used for ink jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an ink cartridge that is attachable to and detachable from an ink jet recording head and is capable of supplying ink stably when attached to the ink jet recording head. CONSTITUTION:A water-retention porous material 3 for being impregnated with ink and non-water-retention material 4 in a size for sufficiently covering all of nozzle ports provided to an ink path 2 of an ink jet recording head are incorporated in an ink cartridge 1. The non-water-retention material 4 is so arranged that one end thereof is made to contact with the porous material 3 while the other end thereof is inserted into an ink supply port 5 provided to the cartridge 1, and is furthermore stuck fast to a joint material 6 that is pressed against the nozzle ports provided to the ink path 2. The ink supply port 5 is made in a size capable of covering all of the nozzle ports.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used in an ink jet recording head used in printers, facsimile machines and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an output device of electronic equipment such as a word processor and a personal computer, a printer provided with an ink jet recording head is known. Some recording heads of this type use removable ink cartridges.

FIGS. 6a and 6b are schematic cross-sectional views showing an example of the prior art using this type of ink cartridge, in which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the ink path portion 2 of the ink jet recording head and the ink supply port 5. The positional relationship with the ink receiving portion 12 is shown.

Since the ink supply port 5 of the ink cartridge 1 is small with respect to the ink receiving portion 12 including the nozzle hole 11 in the ink jet recording head, only a part of the nozzle hole 11 is covered. Therefore, the ink supply port 5 and the ink receiving portion 12 are provided at a position in the ink path portion 2 where the ink supply port 5 of the ink cartridge 1 abuts.
In order to stabilize the connection with, a sponge (nonwoven fabric) larger than the ink receiving portion 12 is provided as the joint material 6,
When the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the ink jet recording head, the tip of the ink supply port 5 of the ink cartridge 1 is brought into contact with the joint material 6 so that the ink is smoothly supplied from the ink cartridge 1 to the nozzle holes 11. I was doing.

[0005]

However, in the conventional ink jet recording head, the resistance at the contact portion between the sponge (nonwoven fabric) of the joint material and the tip of the ink supply port of the ink cartridge and the resistance inside the sponge are different from those of the viscosity of the ink. Due to the rise, the flow rate became insufficient and printing became impossible. In addition, since the volume of the sponge provided in the ink path is large in order to stabilize the connection with the ink cartridge, if the sponge portion has dried, it is necessary to print again. It took a long time to wait for the recovery of sponge (absorption of water). Further, since the ink supply port of the ink cartridge covers only a part of the nozzle hole due to its structure, the supply of ink to each nozzle hole is not always constant.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge for an ink jet recording head, which can stably supply ink when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet recording head.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, a water-retaining porous member for impregnating ink and a non-water-retaining material are incorporated in an ink cartridge, A nozzle hole provided with a material having no water retention property, one end of which is in contact with the porous member and the other end of which is inserted into an ink supply port provided in the ink cartridge, and which is provided in an ink path portion of an inkjet recording head. The ink cartridge arranged inside the ink cartridge so as to come into close contact with the joint material that is in contact with the ink cartridge is adopted. The non-water-holding material on the ink cartridge side is sized to cover all the nozzle holes. Further, the shape of the ink supply port is set to cover all the nozzle holes. As the material for the joint material, it is advantageous to use the same material as the material having no water retention property on the ink cartridge side. Furthermore, it is desirable to have a structure of a connecting portion so that ink leakage does not occur when the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet recording head. Therefore, a burring structure is adopted inside the cartridge insertion opening of the ink path portion. .. As the burring structure, a packing material with burrs can be used.

[0008]

Since the porous member having water retention for impregnating the ink and the material having no water retention are in contact with each other, the ink transmitted to the material having no water retention is guided to the ink supply port by the capillary phenomenon. .. Therefore, the ink below the ink supply port can be easily sent out. Moreover, by providing a material having a higher density than the porous member for impregnating the ink and having no water retention property in the ink supply port portion, and by making the inside of the cartridge insertion port of the ink path portion a burring structure, Ink leakage from the transfer surface (the cartridge mounting / removing surface) can be significantly reduced.

[0009]

EXAMPLES The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.
It shows a state in which the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the inkjet recording head. As shown in the figure, a water-retaining porous member 3 for impregnating ink and a material 4 having no water-retaining property are built in the ink cartridge 1, and the material 4 having no water-retaining property is provided at one end thereof. Is in contact with the porous member 3, and the other end is inserted into the ink supply port 5 provided in the ink cartridge 1 and is in contact with the nozzle hole 11 provided in the ink path portion 2 of the ink jet recording head. It is arranged in the ink cartridge 1 so as to be in close contact with the joint material 6. The material 4 having no water retention property is preferably arranged so that a part thereof is in contact with the lower surface of the porous member 3 as shown in the figure. Porous member 3
Is a member in which the capillary path is intricately intricate, and is formed of a material that is easily impregnated with a liquid, such as a sponge or felt made of polyester or another material. A non-woven fabric is used as the material 4 having no water retention property. As the material of the joint material 6, it is advantageous to use the same material as the material 4 having no water retention property on the cartridge 1 side, and a non-woven fabric is used. An ink supply port 5 is provided on the side surface of the cartridge. Although the ink supply port 5 is provided below the side surface of the cartridge, it does not matter even if it is located at a relatively high position on the side surface as shown in FIG. 2a and 2b show the nozzle 11 as seen from the ink cartridge insertion port 9 and the ink cartridge 1 as seen from the ink supply port 5, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 5, the inside of the ink cartridge insertion port 9 of the ink path portion 2 is formed so as to have a structure of a connecting portion that prevents ink leakage when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on an ink jet recording head. The burial structure is adopted. This frog structure has a frog 8
A rubber-made packing material 7 provided with is used. Figure 3
Has a burring structure as seen from the insertion direction of the ink cartridge without the ink cartridge, and deforms when the ink cartridge is inserted to prevent ink leakage. FIG. 4 shows the positional relationship between the ink cartridge insertion opening 9 and the joint member 6 and the respective dimensions when viewed from the insertion direction of the ink cartridge. Here, A and T are the length and width of the joint material 6, and A ′ and T ′ are the length and width of the ink cartridge insertion port 9, respectively.

[0012]

According to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained by using the ink jet recording head equipped with the ink cartridge having the above structure.

1) When the ink cartridge is attached to the ink path, it is possible to stably supply the ink and prevent the ink from leaking when the ink cartridge is attached or detached.

2) It is possible to always supply ink stably even if the capacity of the ink cartridge changes.

3) Even if the viscosity of the ink changes due to drying of the ink cartridge or the like, defective printing due to insufficient ink flow is improved.

4) Even if the inside of the ink path portion is dried, it recovers in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment showing a state in which an ink cartridge of the present invention is mounted on an inkjet recording head.

FIG. 2a shows the nozzle as viewed from the ink cartridge insertion port.

FIG. 2b shows the ink cartridge as viewed from the ink supply port.

FIG. 3 is a burial structure viewed from the insertion direction of the ink cartridge without the ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 shows a positional relationship between an ink cartridge insertion port and a joint member when viewed from the insertion direction of the ink cartridge.

FIG. 5 shows a burial structure inside an ink cartridge insertion port of an ink path portion.

FIG. 6a is a schematic sectional view showing an example of a conventional technique in which an ink cartridge is attached to an ink path portion of an inkjet recording head.

FIG. 6b is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a positional relationship between the ink supply port and the ink receiving portion in FIG. 6a.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge 2 Ink path part 3 Sponge 4 Nonwoven fabric 5 Ink supply port 6 Joint material 7 Rubber-made packing material 8 Carriage 9 Cartridge insertion port 10 Nozzle part 11 Nozzle port 12 Ink receiving part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A water-retaining porous member for impregnating ink in an ink cartridge, and a non-water-retaining material having a size that covers all nozzle holes provided in an ink path portion of an ink jet recording head. And a material having no water retention property, one end of which is in contact with the porous member and the other end of which is inserted into an ink supply port provided in the ink cartridge and which is provided in the ink path portion. An ink cartridge used in an ink jet recording head, wherein the ink cartridge is arranged in the ink cartridge so as to be in close contact with a joint material that is in contact with a nozzle hole.