JPH06320747A - Ink tank, ink tank integrated type head cartridge and ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the destruction of an absorbing member due to the lead-out port pressed to the absorbing member in using a monofilament like absorbing member composed of a thermosetting melamine condensate as the absorbing member received in the ink tank of an ink jet printer. CONSTITUTION:A lead-out port or the filter 4 provided thereto is pressed to a monofilament like absorbing member 8 through an absorbing member 7 having the high modulus of elasticity. By this constitution, the pressing force thereof is properly relaxed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink tank, an ink tank integrated head cartridge in which the tank and an ink jet print head are integrally formed, and an ink jet printing apparatus including the ink tank or the head cartridge. In particular, the present invention aims to improve the configuration in which an ink holding absorber is provided in the ink tank.

Printing includes ink application to all ink supports that receive various inks such as cloth, thread, paper, and sheet material, and includes all types of information processing devices or printers as output devices thereof. However, the present invention can be applied to these.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, many absorbers contained in this type of ink tank are made of urethane resin foam. When such a urethane foam is formed, a film is formed so as to include a cavity (pore) at the time of its formation, and a large number of pores are isolated from each other, so that they can function as an absorber for ink impregnation. Heating,
Film removal treatment such as washing is performed.

However, when the urethane foam is used as an absorber in the ink tank, the urethane foam is stored in a compressed state in the storage space of the ink tank, or it is suitable at the communicating portion with the ink lead-out connection member. Although that part may be compressed due to the provision of the negative pressure gradient, it is extremely difficult to completely remove the film even by the above film removal treatment, and in reality, a considerable amount of film residue is attached to the pores. For this reason, the residue of the film complements between adjacent pores during compression, which hinders the ink flow inside the absorber that should occur as ink is consumed, that is, the ink supply to the outside of the ink tank is reduced. May cause trouble.

[0005]

[Related Art] On the other hand, an absorbent body made of a foam formed of a thermosetting melamine condensate completely different from the urethane foam is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-501392 corresponding to International Publication No. WO91 / 02652. Proposed. Since the absorbent body has an inherently net-like structure, which is formed of a completely skeleton network in which no thin film exists in the gaps of the foam network, it does not require film removal treatment, Since the fibers that make up the circuit network are fine, it is possible to fill a larger amount of ink than urethane foam, and the initial filling of ink because it is water-repellent to urethane foam that exhibits water repellency. Advantages such as easy processing, ink is not left behind by the film or its residue like urethane foam when ink is consumed because it does not originally have a film, and therefore ink can be used up efficiently. have.

[0006]

However, it is said that the absorber made of the thermosetting melamine condensate disclosed in the above publication is basically preferably used in an uncompressed state,
Ink is supplied by the action of gravity to an ink lead-out portion provided below the ink tank. That is, when the ink supply direction to the ink lead-out portion is vertically downward, the ink consumption efficiency is good, and the efficiency becomes lower as the supply position goes up with respect to the ink tank, so that the posture when using the ink tank is limited. There's a problem. Further, when it is in a preferable uncompressed state, it is difficult to bring the absorber into close contact with the inner wall of the storage part, and therefore, a gap is created between the absorber and the inner wall of the storage part, so that the space is provided in the storage part. When the air taken in from the atmosphere communication port or the ejection port of the ink head stays in the void, air bubbles are mixed in the ink supplied to the ink head as the ink is ejected, and the quality of recording is remarkably increased. Will be disturbed. Especially, the ink tank part and the ink head are integrated,
In an apparatus in which printing is performed by reciprocally scanning the integrated product with respect to a print medium or the like, such a problem is likely to occur because the ink tank portion is shaken by the reciprocal scanning. Furthermore, when there is such an influence of vibration, or when there is a member that abuts the absorber near the ink outlet, the absorber deteriorates with time near the ink outlet, forming a void here. Therefore, it is considered that the adverse effect due to the retention of air becomes more remarkable. In more extreme cases, it is predicted that the atmosphere communication port and the void near the outlet will communicate with the atmosphere. If such a situation occurs, not only will the desired ejection operation not be possible, but the ink supply Ink existing in the path leaks out from the ink ejection port and stains the inside of the apparatus.

Further, since the ink is supplied to the ink outlet by utilizing the effect of gravity, if the print head or the like is driven at a high frequency which is particularly desired recently, there is a possibility that the ink supply cannot follow this. . Therefore, it is conceivable to increase the pore size to some extent and reduce the flow resistance in order to improve the followability, but in this case, the ink holding capacity of the absorber decreases and ink leakage from the atmosphere communication port etc. occurs. There is a risk.

In the above publication, while maintaining the useful or preferable characteristics in the uncompressed state, the gap space of the structure is adjusted.
Therefore, it is said that the compressive force may be desirable in a specific application example for the sake of convenience (the above-mentioned publication, page 4, lower right column, lines 18 to 21).

It is considered that the above description is made by paying attention to the balance between the inner size of the storage space and the outer size of the absorber, but the present inventors have found the advantage of the absorber made of the thermosetting melamine condensate. It has been found that, while making good use of it, it is sufficient to appropriately compress and use the absorber for smooth and reliable ink supply regardless of the posture of the ink tank. However,
The present inventors have to perform compression in an appropriate direction in order to perform smooth supply corresponding to the structure of the absorbent body, and the absorbent body has a so-called “sagging” in the compressed portion because the fiber structure is relatively fragile.
Alternatively, they have also found technical problems such as the possibility of breakage, and the occurrence of "sagging" makes it impossible to maintain the compressed state, resulting in the same problem as in the non-compressed state and the above-mentioned problems.

In addition, a filter for removing foreign matters is generally provided in the ink outlet portion from the absorber, and the opening area of the outlet portion is determined according to the desired supply amount. However, the thermosetting melamine condensate has a structure. It has also been found as a technical problem that peeling may occur during processing, storage, or subsequent use due to its brittleness, and the peeled pieces may clog the filter, making it impossible to maintain the desired supply amount.

None of these technical problems have been suggested in the above publications, and the present invention provides a compound having an amino group, such as a thermosetting melamine condensate, which is a porous body having a three-dimensional network structure. The present invention aims to solve at least one of the above-mentioned technical problems while utilizing the advantages of an absorber composed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of aldehyde and formaldehyde.

[0012]

To this end, the ink tank of the present invention comprises a porous three-dimensional branched network and is a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde. An absorbent body formed of a body, a pressing means for pressing the absorbent body against the ink outlet to the outside, and a relaxing means for relaxing the pressure acting on the absorbent body by the pressing. To do.

Here, the pressing means may include an ink supply pipe having the outlet and being in pressure contact with the absorber.

A filter can be provided at the outlet.

The easing means may have at least the pressing portion having a second absorbent body having a high elastic modulus, which is interposed between the outlet and the absorbent body.

Alternatively, the relaxing means may be a lead-out port having a convex spherical shape toward the absorber.

Alternatively, the relaxing means may be a lead-out port abutting portion of the absorber having a size larger than that of the draw-out port.

Alternatively, the easing means has a pushing length L of the outlet port pushed into the absorber by the pressing force and an area of the outlet abutting portion of the absorber, which is converted into a circle. Regarding the diameter W, W / L is 0.1
The abutting portion defined in the range from 1 to 10 can be used.

In addition, it is possible to further include a second pressing means for pressing the absorber toward the outlet and ensuring the pressing by the pressing means.

Further, it is possible to further include second relaxing means for relaxing the pressure acting on the absorber by the pressing by the second pressing means.

The ink tank of the present invention has a porous 3
An absorber formed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde, which has a dimensional branched network, and the foam corresponding to the deterioration of the characteristics of the absorber. Compensation means for imparting an acting force to the body.

Here, the compensating means may include a foam inserted between the ink outlet side of the ink tank and the absorber and having a better elastic characteristic or capillary force than the foam. it can.

Further, the compensating means may have an elastic pressing mechanism for pressing the absorber in accordance with the deterioration of the characteristics of the absorber.

The ink tank of the present invention has a porous 3
An absorber provided with a three-dimensional branch circuit network and formed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde, and an ink supply pipe inserted for discharging ink. It is characterized by comprising a receiving portion for receiving and a pressure relaxation member interposed between the receiving portion and the absorber.

In the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention, the ink tank, the print head for printing by ejecting the ink supplied from the ink tank onto the print medium, and the print head and the print medium are opposed to each other. It is characterized in that it is provided with means for physically moving.

Further, the head cartridge of the present invention is characterized by integrally comprising the above ink tank and a print head for performing printing by ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a print medium. To do.

Further, the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention is characterized by including the ink tank integrated head cartridge and means for relatively moving the ink tank integrated head cartridge and the print medium.

In the above, the print head may be provided with an element for generating thermal energy that causes film boiling of the ink, as energy used for ejecting the ink.

[0029]

According to the present invention, since it is possible to efficiently and appropriately press the absorber to the outlet through the pressing means, it is possible to easily inject the ink into the absorber of the ink tank and to use the monofilament having a high ink use efficiency. Since the absorber can be used, the manufacturing cost of the head and the running cost can be reduced.

[0030]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment 1) FIG. 1 shows an example of the structure of an ink tank integrated head cartridge as an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the liquid passage 1 is a discharge port 1 for discharging ink.
Corresponding to A, a plurality of heads H are provided in a direction orthogonal to the drawing. As means for generating energy used to eject ink from the ejection port 1A, an electrothermal converter that heats the ink to cause it to foam and eject it by the foaming pressure, for example, a pressure element It is possible to use an electromechanical conversion element that causes vibration in the ink. Ink is supplied from the ink tank 5 to which the head H is attached via the base plate 3 through the supply pipe 2 to the plurality of liquid passages 1 or the common liquid chamber 1C commonly communicating with them. The other end of the supply pipe 2 is formed as an ink outlet of the ink tank, and a filter 4 is provided at the outlet so that dust or the like that may be present in the absorber clogs the liquid passage 1 or the like to improve print quality. The deterioration is prevented, and the minute bubbles in the absorbent body are prevented from reaching the liquid passage 1 and causing ejection failure. Considering the number and size of the liquid passages 1, the driving frequency of the energy supply means, etc., the opening area of the outlet is large in pressure loss when the amount of ink passing per unit time is large, and the frequency response of the energy supply means. From this viewpoint, it is preferable to increase the property since the property deteriorates. On the other hand, when the filter is provided at the outlet as in this example, the cost of the ink tank can be reduced as much as possible from the viewpoint of cost. It is preferable to properly determine the outlet opening area. In this example, the filter 4 is provided at the outlet that presses against the high-elasticity absorber 7 and the filter 4 itself is in close contact with the high-elasticity absorber 7. However, it should be provided in the middle of the supply pipe leading to the liquid passage 1. You can also Further, as a constituent material of the filter 4, metal, resin or the like can be used.

In this example, in the ink tank 5,
Basically, the single fibrous absorber 8 is provided. The monofilamentary absorber 8 has a porous three-dimensional branched network such as a thermosetting melamine condensate without a cell membrane, and is based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde. An absorber made of thermosetting foam is used. Since this single fibrous absorber does not have a cell membrane, the ink tank 5
This has the advantage that the amount of ink remaining in the absorber is extremely small when the ink inside is used.

Since a commonly used absorber such as urethane foam has a cell film, ink droplets adhere to the residual film portion, and finally about 10 to 20% of the initial filling amount of ink remains. There was a lot of waste. Therefore, it is preferable to use the monofilamentary absorber 8 as the absorber as the ink impregnating material.

The ink tank 5 of the present example is further provided with a high elastic absorber 7 made of urethane foam or the like or a member having a high elastic modulus in an appropriate portion of the single fiber absorbent 8. The position where this is provided is a position where a large pressure is applied to the single fibrous absorbent body 8, and in the case of this example, first is the outlet or the pressure contact portion of the filter 4. Further, in this example, ribs are formed on the inner wall of the ink tank 5 holding the absorber to apply pressure so as to bring the absorber into close contact with the filter 4, so that it is also provided at this portion.

In other words, in the case of this example, the outlet port which is the other end of the supply pipe 2 that has entered the ink tank or the filter 4 itself provided here functions as a pressing means, while the rib 6 is the second. Although the single-filamentary absorber has many inferior elastic forces, for example, a thermosetting melamine condensate is used when a large pressure is applied, that is, as shown in FIG.
When the monofilamentary absorber 8 is directly pressure-contacted with the filter 4 or the outlet as shown in Fig. 3, the structure of the three-dimensional branch circuit network is destroyed, and the original shape is not restored even after the pressure is removed. It causes permanent deformation. In this example, a high-elasticity absorber is provided on the surface facing the outlet and the rib, and the single-fiber absorber 8 is adapted to be elastically deformed while being in close contact with the protrusions.
It relieves the pressure on. Therefore, the single fibrous absorber 8
Does not deform and the structure is not destroyed.

Next, the necessity of pressing the absorber against the outlet or the filter 4 will be described.

FIG. 3 shows the flow of ink in the ink tank 5 of this embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows the distribution of the hole size of the absorber in the tank to explain the ease of ink movement. The minute pores in the absorber vary in manufacturing size. The mechanism by which the absorber holds the ink is the capillary force of the pores, and as is clear from the principle of the capillary phenomenon, the smaller the pore size, the stronger the power of absorbing the ink. Therefore, if there are variations in the hole size, uneven ink absorption will occur,
During the process of consuming ink, the ink remains in the small pore size (high capillary force) part. In this state, the ink consumption efficiency will decrease. This is shown by the shaded area in FIG. The capillary force of the absorber varies in the ink tank, and the flow of the ink supplied to the liquid path 1 is directed toward the filter only by the viscosity of the ink. In this example, since the high-elasticity absorber 7 is provided on the side that comes into pressure contact with the outlet or the filter 4, the amount of compression increases toward the outlet, increasing the amount of absorption and moving the ink as shown by the arrow in FIG. The direction can be turned to the outlet side.

The distribution of pore size in the absorber by this method is shown by the thick line in FIG. As is clear from the figure, by compressing the absorbent so that the pore size becomes smaller than the minimum pore size when the absorbent is used in the uncompressed state,
The ink has a force of collecting near the outlet having a small pore size, that is, a large capillary force. Further, at this time, if the highly elastic absorber 7 having a smaller pore size than the single fiber absorber 8 is used, the amount of ink remaining after the head is used is further reduced,
Ink use efficiency increases. Also, the position of the outlet with respect to the outside of the ink tank is limited to the lower side in the vertical direction when the absorber is used in a non-compressed state because the flow of ink is only due to its own weight. Can also supply ink. That is, it is possible to relax the restrictions on the posture when using the ink tank or the head cartridge.

As described above, it is very effective to appropriately compress the monofilament-shaped absorber, but as shown in FIG. 2, the monofilament-shaped absorber having low elasticity is applied to the conventional high-elasticity absorber. As described above, if the filter 4 or the outlet is directly compressed, the structure is destroyed, the shape of the hole is destroyed, the capillary force is not generated, and the powdered fiber covers the filter to prevent clogging. Will cause it.

In this embodiment, the rib 6 is provided to press the monofilamentary absorber 8 or the like toward the outlet or the filter 7, that is, the pressure exerted by the rib 6 is large. The high-elasticity absorber 7 is also interposed between the ribs 6 and the single fibrous absorber. However, when the pressing area of the member that performs such pressing is large, the single fibrous absorber 8 may be structurally damaged. If a pressure that does not occur or is not a problem is applied, it is not necessary to dispose the high-elasticity absorber in that portion. In such a case, for example, the rib 6 may not be provided and a compressive force may be applied to the absorber on the entire inner wall of the ink tank on the opposite side of the outlet or the filter 4.

Further, a compressive force may be applied to the other inner wall so as to generate an appropriate ink flow in the absorber, or the outer size of the absorber is set to be slightly larger than the inner size of the ink tank, and the ink is absorbed by the absorber. It may be stored in a state of being appropriately compressed by the inner wall of the tank.

The same applies to the embodiments described below.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 5 is an embodiment in which a spring is used as a second pressing means for pressing the absorber against the filter or the outlet. Then, the pressing force of the spring 11 is applied to the single fiber absorbent body 8 via the plate-shaped member 10 having a relatively large area. According to this example, the pressing force can be accurately controlled.

The second pressing means is not limited to the compression coil spring as shown in the figure, and any suitable means can be used as long as it utilizes the elastic restoring force of the material. For example, a plate made of metal or resin can be used. A spring or a pneumatic spring can be used.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 shows an embodiment in which a convex spherical outlet or a filter 9 is used. In this embodiment, when the filter is pressed against the absorber, stress concentrates on the edge portion and absorbs it. It was designed to prevent the body from being destroyed.
Therefore, the outlet or the filter 9 can be directly pressed against the single fiber absorbent body 8 instead of the high elastic absorbent body 7 described above. (Embodiment 4) FIG. 7 shows a large area of the filter abutting portion on the absorber 8 side from the outlet or the filter 4. The required area of the filter is determined by the set value of the ink flow rate, and it is preferable to keep it to the minimum necessary from the viewpoint of cost reduction, but if the amount of pushing into the absorber is increased to obtain the above-described absorber compression effect with a small filter, A large load is applied to the absorber. Therefore, as in the present example, by making the filter abutting portion size b larger than the filter size a, it is possible to secure a sufficient compressed volume of the absorbent body while suppressing the stress acting on the absorbent body to be small, and thus the outlet port or The filter 4 can be directly pressed against the single fiber absorbent body 8 instead of the high elastic absorbent body 7 described above. The abutting portion of the dimension b is usually 1 m with respect to the effective area of the filter 4 having the dimension a where ink actually passes
The margin is less than m, but the effect is increased by determining the size of the abutting portion so that the margin is 1 mm or more.

(Embodiment 5) FIG. 8 defines the length of the pushing amount L with respect to the diameter W of the circle when the area of the abutting portion of the single fiber absorbent body 8 against which the filter is abutted is converted into a circle. An example is shown.

As described with reference to FIG. 4, the pushing amount L
The larger the value, the better the ink use efficiency, but if the filter width is smaller than L, the fiber structure of the absorber will be destroyed. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that W / L be 10 or less for the relationship between L and W. desirable. Further, it is preferable to increase L in order to increase the ink use efficiency by the compression effect of the absorber, but this is determined by the variation in the pore size of the absorber,
For example, melamine resin has a pore size of about 50 μm to 2
For 50 μm, it is strongly desirable to set W / L to 0.1 or more. Therefore, the range of W / L

[0048]

If 0.1 ≦ W / L ≦ 10, as shown in FIG. 9, the capillary force in the vicinity of the filter can be made larger than the dispersion of the capillary force due to the dispersion of the pore size, and the ink use efficiency can be further improved. .

(Embodiment 6) FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of compression of the absorber.

This is the member 11 on which the filter is supported.
Is made movable and the filter 4 is pressed against the absorber 8 by the filter pressure spring 10. Thereby, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained. Further, by using an elastic member for the filter, it is possible to achieve a similar absorber compression effect.

(Embodiment 7) FIG. 11 shows an embodiment for further improving the ink use efficiency.

Absorber 8 having low elasticity like melamine resin
When the filter part 4 is close to the inner wall surface of the ink tank 5, stress is likely to be applied to the absorber 8, but if the filter parts are arranged at substantially equal distances from the inner wall surfaces of the tank 5, the absorber can be compressed most efficiently.

(Embodiment of Apparatus) FIG. 12 is shown in FIGS.
An embodiment of an inkjet device to which the head cartridge shown in FIG. 8, FIG. 10 or FIG. 11 is applied is shown.

Here, 109 is a head cartridge described in each of the above embodiments, and 111 is a carriage for mounting the head cartridge and scanning in the S direction in the drawing. Reference numeral 113 is a hook for attaching the head cartridge 109 to the carriage 111, and 115 is a lever for operating the hook 113. The lever 115 is provided with a marker 117 for instructing a scale or the like provided on a cover (not shown) of the printing apparatus so that the print position and the set position by the print head of the head cartridge can be read. Reference numeral 119 is a support plate that supports an electrical connection portion for the head cartridge 109. Reference numeral 121 is a flexible cable for connecting the electric connection part and the main body control part.

Reference numeral 123 is a guide shaft for guiding the carriage 111 in the S direction, and is inserted into a bearing 125 of the carriage 111. 127 is a timing belt to which the carriage 111 is fixed and which transmits power for moving the carriage 111 in the S direction, and is stretched around pulleys 129A and 129B arranged on both sides of the apparatus. The driving force is transmitted from the carriage motor 131 to one pulley 129B via a transmission mechanism such as a gear.

A transport roller 133 regulates the surface to be printed of a print medium such as paper and transports the print medium at the time of printing, and is driven by the transport motor 135. Reference numeral 137 is a paper feed tray 104 for the print medium.
Paper pan for guiding the print position from the side 139
Is a feed roller which is disposed in the middle of the feeding path of the print medium to press the print medium toward the transport roller 133 and transport the print medium. Reference numeral 134 denotes a platen that faces the ejection port of the head cartridge 109 and regulates the print surface of the print medium. Reference numeral 141 denotes a paper discharge roller that is arranged on the downstream side of the print position in the print medium conveyance direction and discharges the print medium toward a paper discharge port (not shown). Reference numeral 142 is a spur provided corresponding to the paper discharge roller 141, and the roller 1 is provided via a print medium.
41 is pressed, and the conveyance force of the print medium by the paper discharge roller 141 is generated. Reference numeral 143 denotes a feed roller 139, a holding plate 145, and a spur 1 when setting a print medium.
42 is a release lever for releasing the respective biases.

Reference numeral 145 is a holding plate for suppressing the floating of the print medium in the vicinity of the printing position and for ensuring the close contact with the conveying roller 133. In this example, a print head that prints by ejecting ink is used. Therefore, the distance between the ink ejection port forming surface of the print head and the printed surface of the print medium is relatively small, and the distance must be strictly controlled to avoid contact between the print medium and the ejection port forming surface. It is effective to dispose the holding plate 145. 1
Reference numeral 47 is a scale provided on the pressing plate 145, and 149 is a marker provided on the carriage 111 corresponding to the scale.
With these, the print position and the set position of the print head can be read.

Reference numeral 151 denotes a cap made of an elastic material such as rubber which faces the ink ejection port forming surface of the print head at the home position, and is supported so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the print head. This cap 15
1 is used for protection of the print head during non-printing, and for suction recovery processing of the print head. The suction recovery process is performed by causing the cap 151 to face the ejection port forming surface and driving an energy generating element provided inside the ink ejection port and used for ejecting ink to eject ink from all ejection ports. This causes bubbles and dust,
Preliminary ejection processing for removing ejection failure factors such as ink that has become thicker and is no longer suitable for printing), or in addition to this, ink is forcibly ejected from the ejection port while being covered with the ejection port formation surface and the cap 151. This is the process of removing the cause of ejection failure.

A cap 153 acts as a suction force for forcibly discharging the ink, and at the time of the suction recovery process by the forced discharge and the suction recovery process by the preliminary discharge.
1 is a pump used for sucking the ink received. 155 is a waste ink tank for storing the waste ink sucked by the pump 153, and 157 is a tube connecting the pump 153 and the waste ink tank 155.

Reference numeral 159 denotes a blade for wiping the ejection port forming surface of the print head. The blade 159 protrudes toward the print head side to perform wiping in the course of head movement, and retracts so as not to engage with the ejection port forming surface. It is movably supported in position and. Reference numeral 161 is a motor, and 163 is a cam device for receiving the transmission of power from the motor 161 to drive the pump 153 and move the cap 151 and the blade 159.

(Others) The case where the present invention is applied to an ink tank integrated head cartridge and an ink jet printing apparatus using the head cartridge has been described above. Of course, the invention can be effectively applied,
The present invention is applied not only to so-called serial printers that perform printing by moving and scanning a print head on a print medium, but also to so-called line printers in which print elements are aligned according to the printable width of the print medium. It goes without saying that you can do it.

Further, in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the other end of the supply pipe is projected into the ink tank, and the outlet port or the filter itself provided therein is brought into pressure contact with the absorber so as to have a function as a pressing means. However, the outlet may be, for example, a hole provided in the ink tank wall, and in that case, a pressing means such as a spring or a rib can be provided correspondingly. That is, for example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the spring or rib as the second pressing means can function as the pressing means.

Further, considering the present invention from another point of view, the characteristics of the single fibrous absorber are apt to be deteriorated due to so-called "sagging" and the like, and accordingly the ink supply property is deteriorated. Therefore, it is effective to provide a compensating means for compensating for this and imparting an acting force to the foam, that is, a compensating means for imparting an acting force for collecting ink at the outlet to maintain ink supply. I'm doing this. Corresponding to the above-mentioned embodiment, the compensating means is provided near the outlet and is superior in elastic characteristics or capillary force to the single-fiber absorbent, and the high elastic absorbent shown in FIGS. FIG. 5 that presses the fibrous absorber by following the change in shape of the fibrous absorber
The spring shown in (1) corresponds to this, but it goes without saying that other forms can be adopted.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The following effects were obtained by efficiently and appropriately pressing the absorber to the outlet by the pressing means.

1. As the absorber of the ink tank, it becomes possible to use a monofilamentary absorber that is easy to inject ink and has high ink use efficiency, and thus it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and running cost of the head.

2. Since the capillary force can be made to have a gradient, it has become possible to further improve the ink use efficiency in addition to the use of the single fiber absorbent body.

3. Since the degree of freedom in the direction of drawing from the ink tank is increased, it is effective in improving the degree of freedom in designing the print head or the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a comparative example of the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a flow of ink in the cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the distribution of the pore size of the absorber in the tank of FIG. 1 and explaining the ease of ink movement.

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the distribution of the pore size of the absorber in the tank of FIG. 8 and illustrating the ease of ink movement.

FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration example of an ink tank integrated head cartridge according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink jet printing apparatus using any embodiment of the head cartridge of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Liquid Channel 1A Discharge Port 2 Supply Pipe 3 Base Plate 4 Filter 5 Ink Tank 6 Absorber Compression Rib 7 High Elastic Absorber 8 Monofilament Absorber 9 Filter 10 Absorber Holding Plate 11 Absorber Holding Spring 109 Head Cartridge 111 Carriage 133 Conveyor roller

Front page continued (72) Inventor Hiroshi Sugitani 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kazuaki Masuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Jun Kawai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Masahiko Hikuma 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yohei Sato 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Torakata Torada 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Tanetani Yoichi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. An absorbent body comprising a porous three-dimensional branched network and formed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde, and the absorbent body. An ink tank comprising: a pressing unit that presses the ink to an ink outlet port to the outside; and a relaxation unit that relieves the pressure applied to the absorber by the pressing. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the pressing unit has an ink supply pipe that has the outlet and is brought into pressure contact with the absorber. 3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the outlet is provided with a filter. 4. The relaxation means has at least the pressing portion having a second absorber having a high elastic modulus, which is interposed between the outlet and the absorber.
The ink tank according to any one of 1 to 3. 5. The relaxation means is a lead-out port having a convex spherical surface facing the absorber.
The ink tank according to any one of 1 to 3. 6. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the relaxing means is a lead-out port abutting portion of the absorber having a size larger than that of the draw-out port. 7. The easing means has a push-in length L of the lead-out opening pushed into the absorber by the pressing,
Regarding the diameter W of the circle when the area of the outlet abutting portion of the absorber is converted to a circle, W / L is 0.1 to 1
The ink tank according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the abutting portion is defined in a range of 0. 8. The second pressing means for pressing the absorber toward the outlet and ensuring the pressing by the pressing means, further comprising: second pressing means. Ink tank. 9. The ink tank according to claim 8, further comprising second relaxing means for relaxing the pressure acting on the absorber by the pressing by the second pressing means. 10. A porous three-dimensional branch network is provided,
An absorber formed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde, and a compensation for imparting an action force to the foam in response to deterioration of the characteristics of the absorber. An ink tank comprising means and. 11. The compensating means includes a foam inserted between the ink outlet side of an ink tank and the absorber and having a better elastic characteristic or capillary force than the foam. 10. The ink tank according to item 10. 12. The ink tank according to claim 10, wherein the compensating unit has an elastic pressurizing mechanism that presses the absorber in accordance with deterioration of the characteristics of the absorber. 13. A porous three-dimensional branch circuit network is provided,
An absorber formed of a thermosetting foam based on a condensation product of a compound having an amino group and formaldehyde, a receiver for receiving an ink supply pipe inserted for drawing out ink, and the receiver An ink tank, comprising: a pressure relief member interposed between the absorber and the absorber. 14. The ink tank according to claim 1, a print head for performing printing by ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a print medium, the print head and the print medium. An ink jet printing apparatus comprising means for relatively moving and. 15. The ink jet print according to claim 14, wherein the print head has an element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink, as energy used for ejecting the ink. apparatus. 16. An ink tank according to any one of claims 1 to 13 and a printhead for performing printing by ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a print medium, which are integrally provided. An ink tank integrated head cartridge characterized by the above. 17. The ink tank according to claim 16, wherein the print head has an element that generates thermal energy that causes film boiling in the ink, as energy used to eject the ink. Integrated head cartridge. 18. An ink jet print comprising the ink tank integrated head cartridge according to claim 16 or 17, and means for relatively moving the ink tank integrated head cartridge and a print medium. apparatus.