JPH06226992A - Ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable communication of an ink tank and a head unit without applying a pressure to the head unit when loading the ink tank and irrespective of slippage thereof. CONSTITUTION:A head unit 20 is horizontally attached to a communication member 10 which is mounted on a top face of a carriage 1 so that the difference in level between an ink tank 40 and the head 24 is minimized and a pressing force being generated when the ink tank 40 is loaded, is not applied to the head unit 20. An elastic connection member 30 is disposed between the communication member 10 and head unit 20 so that it is possible to obtain steady communication of an ink passages 14, 25 irrespective of the slippage thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle to write a recording image such as characters on a recording medium, and more specifically to a type in which an ink tank is carried on a carriage. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle to perform recording and writing on a recording medium according to recording information is roughly classified into one in which an ink tank is placed at a proper place in an apparatus main body. Some are mounted on the carriage.

Among these, the type in which the ink tank is mounted on the carriage has an advantage that a long ink supply pipe does not have to be run around, but on the other hand, this type has the ink tank on the carriage. There are various restrictions in that it must be installed in a limited space.

In the ink jet recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-141443, ink is supplied without trouble even if a positional deviation occurs between an ink tank mounted on a carriage and a head unit supported by the carriage. In order to be able to do so, the two are connected by a flexible pipe, but in such a structure, both ends of the pipe must be connected to them in a narrow space. It is difficult to attach.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-166342.
The device proposed in Japanese Patent Publication has a large-diameter communication hole at the lower end of an ink tank, and a hollow needle that communicates with the head is inserted from below into a blind plug that closes the opening end. However, it has the advantage that both can be easily connected regardless of the positional deviation between the ink tank and the head unit, but on the other hand, in the case where the ink tank is roughly attached and detached However, there is room for further improvement in that it adversely affects the head unit located therebelow.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to:
It is possible to easily and reliably connect the ink tank and the head unit to each other regardless of the positional deviation.
Moreover, it is another object of the present invention to provide a new ink jet recording apparatus that does not directly affect the head unit due to the attachment and detachment of the ink tank.

[0007]

That is, the present invention is, as an ink jet recording apparatus for achieving the above object, an ink jet recording apparatus which is attached to a part of a carriage and communicates with an ink tank from an upward end portion of a head unit. A coupling member having an ink passage extending substantially horizontally toward the facing surface and a coupling member coupled in a substantially horizontal direction with respect to the coupling member, and one end of which is open at a portion facing the opening end of the ink passage and the other end of which is open. From a head unit having an ink passage communicating with the recording head, and an elastic joint member interposed between the connecting member and the head unit and having a sealing portion on one surface for bending the opening end of the ink passage. It will be.

[0008]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described below. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention with an ink tank attached, FIG. 2 is an exploded view, and FIG. 3 is a full view thereof.

In the drawing, reference numeral 1 is a carriage which is guided by a guide rod 2 and reciprocates along a platen (not shown). The carriage 1 is provided with an ink tank holder 4 for holding an ink tank 40 on its upper surface. Further, a lever 3 that engages with and supports an engaged portion of the ink tank 40 is rotatably and pivotally supported by the holder 4.

By the way, reference numeral 10 in the drawing denotes the ink tank 4.
A connecting member interposed between 0 and the head unit 20,
The connecting member 10 does not apply a downward force generated when the ink tank 40 is attached to the head unit,
Moreover, a function is provided to surely combine them while absorbing the positional deviation between the two.

The connecting member 10 has a substantially U-shaped planar shape, and a cylindrical portion for receiving the communication pipe 41 of the ink tank 40 is provided at the center of the upper surface of the main body 11 for connecting the left and right legs 12, 12. 13 is integrally formed so as to project from the inner surface 11a of the main body 11 and an ink through hole 14 is provided in a horizontal direction at the center of the cylinder portion 13. The cylinder portion 13 is aligned with the through hole 14. In the center of the ink tank 40
The hollow needle 15 that is inserted into the communication hole 42 is provided so as to project upward.

The connecting member 10 is fixed to the lower surface of the carriage 1 by fitting a tubular portion 13 into an opening 5 provided near the guide rod 2 of the carriage 1, and in this state, the left and right leg portions 12, The head unit 20 can be attached between the two.

That is, the left and right legs 1 of the connecting member 10
The positioning dowels 1 and 2 are provided in the middle part of the inside of the dowels 2 and 12.
6 and 16 are formed in a protruding manner, holes 23 and 23 provided in the left and right overhanging portions 22 and 22 of the head base body 21 are fitted into these positioning dowels 16 and 16, and both of them are fixed by screws 17 and 17. It is configured to be attached integrally.

One end of an ink supply pipe 25 leading to the head 24 faces the head substrate 21 at a position corresponding to the ink passage hole 14 of the connecting member 10, and the ink supply pipe 25 and the connecting member 10 side. Ink through hole 1
4 is configured to be connected via an elastic joint 30 described later.

The elastic joint 30 is attached to the facing surface 26 of the head base 21 so as to be connected to one end of the ink supply pipe 25, and the main body 11 of the connecting member 10 is also attached.
As shown in FIG. 4, an annular ridge 33 having a diameter much larger than the diameter of the ink passage hole 14 is formed on the front surface 32 that comes into contact with the inner surface, and the head unit 20 is attached to the left and right leg portions 12.
By fixing the elastic joint 30 to the inner surface of the main body 11 of the connecting member 10 by fixing the elastic joint 30 to the inner surface of the connecting member 10, the peripheral surface of the ink through hole 14 is sealed by the annular ridge 33, so that there is a positional deviation between them. Even if it occurs, the ink passage hole 14 and the ink supply pipe 25 are configured to communicate with each other without leaking the ink to the outside.

Reference numeral 27 in the figure denotes a piezoelectric element for pressing the elastic plate of the head 24 to eject ink droplets, 28 denotes a circuit board fixed to the upper surface of the head base 21, and 43 denotes ink. A stopper that seals the end of the communication hole 42 of the tank 40, and 44 are porous materials in the ink tank 40, respectively.

In the embodiment constructed as described above, the head body 21 is horizontally inserted between the left and right leg portions 12, 12 of the connecting member 10 fixed to the carriage 1 to form the positioning dowels 16, 16. It is positioned as a reference and fixed by screws 17, 17.

As a result, the elastic joint 30 which is connected to one end of the ink supply pipe 25 and is located on the facing surface 26 of the head base 21 is pressed against the inner surface 11a of the main body of the connecting member 10 and extends horizontally. The circumference of the ink through hole 14 is sealed by an annular ridge 33.

Therefore, the head unit 20 is coupled to the connecting member 10 in a state where the head difference H between the head 24 and the ink through hole 14 is made as small as possible, and furthermore, the ink through hole 14 and the ink supply pipe. The members 25 are surely communicated with each other regardless of the positional deviation between the members.

When the connecting member 10 is fixed to the carriage 1 in this state, the cylindrical portion 13 formed at the center of the upper portion of the main body 11 is positioned on the upper surface of the carriage 1 through the opening 5 of the tank holder 4, so that When a new ink tank 40 is pushed onto the carriage 1 so as to be aligned with the positioning frame 3, the communicating pipe 41 exerts no load on the head unit 20 horizontally connected to the connecting member 10. The hollow needle 15 which is fitted into the tubular portion 13 without being pushed and which is projected upward at the center of the tubular portion 13
Irrespective of a slight positional deviation, the stopper 43 at the end of the communication hole 42 is penetrated to establish communication between the ink tank 40 and the head unit 20.

In the above embodiment, the elastic joint 30 is used.
The annular ridge 33 provided on the front surface 32 of the elastic member 30 seals the periphery of the ink through hole 14 on the connecting member 10 side, but the annular ridge 33 is provided on the rear surface 32 of the elastic joint 30. Alternatively, the strip 33 may be pressed against the facing surface 26 of the head substrate 21 to seal the periphery of the ink supply pipe 25.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the connecting member for connecting the head unit in the horizontal direction is interposed between the ink tank and the head unit, it is possible to accurately mount the head unit. Not only can the ink tank be mounted on the carriage without applying a strong force, but also the ink tank and head unit can be combined with the head difference that affects the ejection of ink drops being kept as small as possible. Can be achieved.

Moreover, since the elastic joint is interposed between the connecting member and the head unit, and one of the ink passage opening ends is surrounded and sealed by the sealing portion provided on one surface thereof, the connecting member is simply used. Just attach the head unit,
The two can be surely communicated with each other regardless of the positional deviation between them.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an inkjet recording apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the whole of the same device.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing an elastic joint.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 carriage 10 connecting member 13 cylinder part 14 ink through hole 15 hollow needle 16 positioning dowel 20 head unit 21 head base 25 ink supply pipe 30 elastic joint 33 annular ridge

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A connecting member which is attached to a part of a carriage and which has an ink passage extending substantially horizontally from an upward one end communicating with an ink tank toward a facing surface of a head unit; and the connecting member. A head unit having an ink passage that is connected in a substantially horizontal direction and has one end opening at a portion facing the opening end of the ink passage and the other end communicating with the recording head; the connecting member and the head unit; Intervened between
An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: an elastic joint member having a sealing portion that surrounds the ink passage opening end on one surface.