JPH06210870A - Ink container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve an ink holding efficiency in an ink container of a cartridge, in which the ink container and a recording head portion can be separated from each other. CONSTITUTION:A notch portion 212 is provided in a surface of an ink container 201, on which an atmosphere communication passage 206 is provided. So, an absorbing body in the ink container 201 is not brought into a large pressurized state, so that an ink holding efficiency is improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink container containing ink to be supplied to recording means for recording using liquid ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Up to now, an ink container mounted on a recording apparatus for recording using liquid ink has mainly used an absorber such as a sponge as an ink holding means.

An ink container using an absorber such as a sponge as the ink holding means has reliability for ink leakage from the container, and an ink ejection device section (recording head).
The stability of the ink supply to the ink is excellent, and a very simple structure is possible, and these functions can be realized at low cost.

Up to now, the ink discharge device section and the ink container section are mainly of the cartridge type in which the ink discharge recording section and the ink container section are integrated, and these ink jet cartridges are maintenance-free user exchange type. In addition, since the ink discharge recording unit and the ink container unit are integrated, it is possible to easily downsize the printer using the inkjet cartridge.

However, in recent years, in view of environmental problems and the long life of the recording head itself, a user who can easily separate the ink ejection recording section and the ink container section in which only the ink container section is replaced when the ink is used up Separate exchange type ink jet cartridges have been devised.

In the case of the user-separated exchange type in which such an ink container portion can be easily separated, the ink container need only be replaced when the user runs out of ink, as compared with the integrated type, and the ink container is further added. Since it is possible to reduce the size, it becomes possible to provide a smaller printer.

In such a container structure in which ink is held by a porous material such as a sponge in the ink container, a porous material such as a sponge is used to maintain the ink holding power and the stable supply of ink. It is necessary to provide an atmosphere communication port for generating a negative pressure and allowing the ink container itself to communicate with the atmosphere.

FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. 3 show the basic structure of an ink jet cartridge in which a conventional recording head unit and an ink tank unit are integrated.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet cartridge in which a conventional ink ejection device section 103 and an ink container 101 are integrated, and FIG. 2 shows a cross section taken along a broken line shown by the XY line in FIG. .

In FIG. 2, an ink container 101 contains an absorber 102 such as a sponge for holding ink therein, and a coupling projection 104 of an ink ejecting device portion 103.
The ink outlet port 105 that is opened so that the ink can be fitted into the ink container 101 and the atmosphere communication that takes in the atmosphere into the ink container 101 so that the ink in the absorber 102 is quickly replaced with the atmosphere as the ink in the absorber 102 is consumed. A mouth 106 is arranged.

Ink container 101 and ink discharge device section 10
The rubber member 111 ensures the airtightness of the joint portion with the connection member 3.

The absorber 102 is a side wall 1 perpendicular to the surface of the ink container 101 on which the ink outlet 105 is arranged.
It is compressed at 07 and its ink holding power is regulated.

Further, the absorber 102 is the ink ejection device section 10.
The contact portion is compressed by the coupling protrusion 104 of No. 3, and its meniscus force is set to be larger than that of the other portion compressed by the side wall 107. As a result, the ink in the absorber 102 moves to the ink outlet 105 without interruption as the ink is consumed, and prevents the ink from running out during use of the ink.

In addition, the coupling projection 1 of the ink discharge device 103
A filter 108 is provided at a portion of 04 that contacts the absorber 102.
Are attached to prevent impurities such as dust in the ink container from flowing into the ink ejection device unit 103.

The ink taken out from the filter 108 flows in the flow path 109 and is supplied to the ink ejection port 110, and is ejected in the direction of arrow a by an ink ejection means (not shown) to land on a recording medium such as paper.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ink jet cartridge shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 as seen from the side where the atmosphere communication port 106 is arranged.

The atmosphere communication port 106 is formed as a separate component because of the convenience of the molding method when the ink container is made of a resin material or the like.

[0018]

In the conventional ink jet cartridge as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the absorber at the portion compressed by the coupling protrusion 104 of the ink ejection device portion 103 is pushed into the coupling protrusion 104. Has a meniscus force larger than the meniscus force due to the compression of the absorber near the side wall 107 of the ink container 101 which is regulated by the side wall 107 of the ink container 101, whereby the ink in the absorber 102 is not interrupted as the ink is consumed. It is necessary to move to the section 105 and prevent the ink from running out during the use of the ink.

However, the problem here is the structure in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication port 106 in the figure.

The internal structure of the atmosphere communication port is normally divided into a plurality of chambers by providing a space inside, such as the atmosphere communication port 106, so that ink does not leak out even if it enters the communication port. It often takes a complicated structure, and usually has a structure that penetrates into the inside of the ink container.

When the ink container is set to be small for the miniaturization of the printer, it is necessary to make the absorber as large as possible while filling the inside of the ink container with as much ink as possible. In this case, the inside surface of the tank container of the atmosphere communication port directly contacts the porous body such as sponge, and the portion 112 of the absorber is locally strongly compressed by the atmosphere communication port member.

Therefore, the meniscus force at the portion 112 of the absorber near the atmosphere communication port member is regulated by the side wall 107 of the ink container 101, and the meniscus force due to the compression of the absorber near and the coupling of the ink ejecting device section 103. It becomes larger than the meniscus force of the absorber in the portion compressed by the protrusion 104, resulting in uneven distribution of ink residue due to ink consumption.

That is, ink is likely to remain in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication port member, resulting in a decrease in ink use efficiency in the ink container.

Further, since the ink is concentrated in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication port, the ink is likely to enter the communication port when placed at a high temperature during distribution or when the temperature cycle from low temperature to high temperature is repeated. However, there is a problem that ink leakage may occur.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems.
It is an object to provide an ink container that achieves efficient ink retention.

[0026]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention achieves the above-mentioned object. In an ink container in which ink is stored in a container body having an atmosphere communication port, the ink container body has an atmosphere communication port. It is characterized in that it has a part of a notch structure on the surface of the container on which is arranged.

The ink container of the present invention is effective when the ink container is set to be particularly small, and it is necessary to make the absorber as large as possible while filling the inside thereof with as much ink as possible while the ink container itself is small. However, in this case, the inside surface of the tank container of the air communication port directly contacts the porous body such as sponge, and the absorber is locally strongly compressed by the air communication port member. By arranging a part of the notch structure on the surface, without applying excessive pressure contact force to the absorber that was easy to pressure contact around the atmosphere communication port,
An efficient ink holding force can be set near the atmosphere communication port.

Further, it is possible to fill an optimum amount of ink, and it is possible to prevent ink leakage when the ink is placed at a high temperature during distribution or when a temperature cycle from a low temperature to a high temperature is repeated.

[0029]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the construction of an ink jet cartridge in which the separable ink ejection device section 203 and the ink container 201 of the first embodiment of the present invention are integrated, and FIG. The tangential cross section at the xy broken line portion shown is shown.

FIG. 6 is a view of the ink cartridge shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as seen from the surface side on which the atmosphere communication port is arranged.

In FIG. 5, an ink container 201 contains an absorber 202 such as a sponge for holding ink therein, and a coupling protrusion 204 of an ink ejecting unit 203.
The ink outlet port 205 that is opened so that the ink is fitted into the ink container 201 and the atmosphere communication that takes the atmosphere into the ink container 201 so that the ink in the absorber 202 is quickly replaced with the atmosphere as the ink in the absorber 202 is consumed. A mouth 206 is arranged.

Ink container 201 and ink ejection device section 20
The sealing property of the joint portion with 3 is secured by the rubber portion 211.

The absorber 202 is a side wall 2 perpendicular to the surface of the ink container 201 on which the ink outlet 205 is arranged.
It is compressed at 07 and its ink holding power is regulated.

Further, the absorber 202 is the ink ejection device section 20.
The contact portion is compressed by the coupling protrusion 204 of No. 3, and its meniscus force is set to be larger than that of the portion compressed by the other side wall 207. As a result, the ink in the absorber 202 moves to the ink outlet 205 without interruption as the ink is consumed, and prevents the ink from running out during use of the ink.

In addition, the coupling projection 2 of the ink ejecting unit 203
A filter 208 is provided in a portion of 04 that contacts the absorber 202.
Are attached to prevent impurities such as dust in the ink container from flowing into the ink ejecting unit 203.

The ink taken out from the filter 08 flows through the flow path 209 and is supplied to the ink ejection port 210, and is ejected by an ink ejection means (not shown) in the direction of arrow a and landed on a recording medium such as paper.

Further, as shown in the drawing, the surface of the ink container on which the atmosphere communication port 206 is arranged has a notch 212 in the lower part of the atmosphere communication port 206, and the space inside the ink container below the atmosphere communication port 206. Have been eliminated.

With the structure of the cutout portion 212, it is possible to prevent the absorber from being excessively pressed into contact with the atmosphere communication port, which has been a problem in the past.

That is, the notch 212 of the portion of the atmosphere communication port 206 projecting inside the ink container widens the contact area near the portion where the absorber contacts the atmosphere communication port 206 and scatters the compressed portion of the absorber to form a localized area. It was possible to prevent excessive compression of the absorber.

The cutout 212 is formed in the ink container 201.
By providing it on the surface where the air communication port 206 is arranged, the small ink container can be filled with the maximum amount of ink, and the uneven distribution of the ink residue due to the ink consumption can be prevented, and the ink use efficiency in the ink container can be improved. I was able to prevent the falling.

Further, since the conventional ink is concentrated in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication port, the ink penetrates into the communication port when placed at a high temperature during distribution or when the temperature cycle from low temperature to high temperature is repeated. It was also possible to prevent the drawback that it may be easy to cause ink leakage.

7 to 9 show another example of the cutout portion.

7 to 9 are views seen from the surface side where the atmosphere communication port of the ink cartridge is arranged.

In FIGS. 7 to 9, 312, 412 and 5 are shown.
Reference numeral 12 is a notch provided on the surface of the ink container 401, 501, 601 on which the atmosphere communication ports 406, 506, 606 are arranged.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration in which the notch portion provided in FIG. 6 is widened as it is.

FIG. 8 shows a configuration in which the cutout portion provided in FIG. 6 is arranged in the center of the ink container.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration in which the notch portion provided in FIG. 6 is arranged at a position far from the atmosphere communication port of the ink container.

According to this embodiment, the same effect as the ink container shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 was obtained.

That is, the portions of the atmosphere communication ports 306, 406, 506 shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 projecting inside the ink container are notched 312, 412, 512 so that the absorber contacts the atmosphere communication ports 306, 406, 506. It was possible to prevent the local excessive compression of the absorber by spreading the contact area near the part and scattering the compressed part of the absorber.

The cutouts 312, 412, 512 are connected to the atmosphere communication port 30 of the ink containers 301, 401, 501.
By providing it on the surface where 6, 406 and 506 are arranged, it is possible to fill the small ink container with the maximum amount of ink, and it is also possible to prevent uneven distribution of the ink residue due to ink consumption, and to improve the ink use efficiency in the ink container. I was able to prevent the falling.

Further, since the conventional ink is concentrated in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication port, the ink penetrates into the communication port when placed at a high temperature during distribution or when the temperature cycle from low temperature to high temperature is repeated. It was also possible to prevent the drawback that it may be easy to cause ink leakage.

10 to 12 show still another embodiment.

In the example shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the atmosphere communication ports 606, 706 and 806 are located in the center of the ink container.

10 to 12, 612 and 71
Reference numerals 2 and 812 denote notches provided on the surfaces of the ink containers 601, 701, and 801, respectively, on which the atmosphere communication ports 606, 706, and 806 are arranged.

By arranging these, FIG. 4 to FIG.
The same effect as the ink container shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 was obtained.

As described above in the embodiment, in the present embodiment,
The amount of protrusion of the cutout portion into the ink container having the same size as the amount of protrusion of the air communication port into the ink container is set, but of course, the amount relationship may be within a range in which the effect of the present invention appears. Some amounts of magnitude are within the scope of the invention.

In the present embodiment, the ink container and the ink discharge device section are separately provided.
Of course, an ink jet cartridge in which the ink container and the ink ejection device section are integrally formed is also desirable because the same effect can be obtained.

FIGS. 13A to 13C are perspective views schematically showing an embodiment of an ink container of an ink jet cartridge showing still another example.

The ink container shown in each drawing is an ink container that can be mounted upside down on the carriage of the recording apparatus, and is connected to this ink container portion to supply ink to the recording head. And an atmosphere communication port (not shown) for communicating the inside of the ink container with the outside air. Further, a claw portion 1002 that serves as a slip stopper when the ink container is removed from the recording device, and a cutout portion 1001 for engaging with a convex portion on the recording device side when the ink container is mounted on the recording device are provided. It is installed in two places so that it can be turned upside down.

In FIG. 13 (A), the above-mentioned cutout portion is arranged inside the side wall of the ink container, so that the convex portion on the recording device side can be protected from the outside when mounted on the recording device.

FIGS. 13B and 13C show the case where the side wall of the ink container is not arranged. Although there is no protection effect as described above, the manufacture of the ink container can be facilitated.

The cutout portion provided in the ink container also has a function of a guide member for defining the position or relative direction when the ink container is mounted on the carriage provided in the recording apparatus. .

In this case, the carriage is provided with a convex portion corresponding to the cutout portion of the ink container.

By thus functioning as a guide member for mounting the ink container, the ink container can be reliably mounted and the relative positioning can be performed, and erroneous mounting can be prevented.

[0066]

The ink container of the present invention is effective when the ink container is set to be particularly small, and the ink container itself is small, but the absorber is made as large as possible, and the inside thereof is filled with as much ink as possible. In this case, the inside surface of the tank container at the atmosphere communication port directly contacts the porous material such as sponge, and the absorber is locally strongly compressed by the atmosphere communication port member. By arranging a part of the notch structure on the container surface, the efficient ink holding power is set near the atmosphere communication port without applying an unnecessary pressure contact force to the absorber that was easy to pressure contact around the atmosphere communication port. can do.

Further, it is possible to fill an optimum amount of ink, and it is possible to prevent ink leakage when the ink is placed at a high temperature during physical distribution or when a temperature cycle from a low temperature to a high temperature is repeated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a conventional example.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing still another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing still another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing still another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing still another embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

13A to 13C are views showing another mode of an embodiment to which the present invention is applied.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Nakajima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Toshihiko Uda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Kenjiro Watanabe 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Torakata Nagata 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Stock In-company (72) Inventor Kotaki Yasuo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Keiichiro Tsukuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yohei Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink container in which ink to be supplied to a recording means is housed in a container body having an atmosphere communication port, the ink container body being cut into a part of a container surface on which the atmosphere communication port is arranged. An ink container having a notch structure. 2. The ink according to claim 1, wherein the notch structure is also used as a guide member that defines a relative direction when the ink container is mounted on a carriage provided in the recording apparatus. container.