JPH0667034U - ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] To increase the storage capacity of ink in an ink cartridge for an inkjet printer and maintain an appropriate back pressure regardless of the temperature change of the outside air to stably supply ink to the print head. [Constitution] The inside of the ink cartridge is divided into two chambers, a regulation chamber and a storage chamber, by a partition, an air hole communicating with the outside air is provided in the upper portion of the regulation chamber, and a supply port communicating with the print head is provided in the lowermost portion. The inside was filled with a fibrous material impregnated with ink. The storage chamber has an airtight structure filled with ink, and is connected to the adjustment chamber through a communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall, and a part of the fibrous material in the adjustment chamber is connected through the communication port to the storage chamber. I tried to reach the bottom.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an ink cartridge structure for an inkjet printer, and more particularly to an internal structure suitable for storing and supplying ink.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Ink cartridges used in various types of inkjet printers prevent ink from leaking and maintain a constant print head because ink leaks due to changes in outside air temperature and pressure when only ink is put into the container. Various structures and methods have been adopted to ensure that the back pressure of the mouse is applied.

As these methods, an ink holder (urethane foam) in the container is impregnated with the ink, the ink is held by the capillary force of the holder, and the back pressure in the container is adjusted to an appropriate negative pressure. It has been proposed (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-87242).

However, in this structure, the ink storage volume is reduced by the volume of the ink holder, and the ink is used up to the end due to the capillary force of the ink holder, and waste remains.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink container 13 is divided into two chambers in a vertical arrangement configuration in a main ink storage portion 15 for storing only ink and a secondary ink storage portion 14 for adjusting overflow ink. Has been proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-522). In this configuration, the ink flow path 18 is provided between the main ink storage section 15 and the secondary ink storage section 14, and the print head support section 16 that supports the print head 19, the ink flow path 18, and the secondary ink storage chamber 14 are provided. The porous member 17 is arranged between the two.

However, in this configuration, since the secondary ink storage chamber for adjusting the overflow ink is not in communication with the atmosphere, if the printing operation is not performed when the temperature changes, the secondary ink storage chamber is filled with the ink. At this time, a water column difference occurs between the print head and the secondary ink storage chamber, and the back pressure applied to the print head changes, causing the droplet size to fluctuate, which may cause ink leakage from the nozzle. Back pressure is difficult to adjust.

Further, as a conventional example in which the ink chamber is divided into two chambers, one shown in FIG. 4 is known (Japanese Patent Publication No. 50-99631). In this example, one ink chamber, the liquid reservoir 20 is filled with foamed plastic 21 impregnated with ink, and has a supply port 26 for supplying ink to the print head at the bottom. The liquid filling device 22, which is the other ink chamber, is provided with an air hole 23 in the upper part, and is filled with ink 24 inside, and a wick 25 is immersed therein. One end 27 of the wick penetrates the outer wall of the liquid filling device 22 and contacts the foamed plastic 21 through an opening 28 in the outer wall of the liquid reservoir 20 to supply ink.

However, in this structure, there is a problem in storing the ink because the liquid filling device has an air hole, and since the liquid reservoir is filled with the foamed plastic impregnated with the ink, the ink is filled to the end due to the capillary force. Waste is left without being used up, and back pressure increases as ink decreases, making it difficult to adjust back pressure.

[0009]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to provide an ink jet printer ink cartridge capable of increasing the amount of ink used and applying a constant back pressure to the print head.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 For the above-mentioned purpose, in the present invention, the inside of the ink cartridge is divided into two chambers, a storage chamber and a control chamber, by a partition arranged vertically, and the storage chamber is filled with ink to fill the control chamber. Was filled with the fibrous material impregnated with ink, and part of this fibrous material was made to reach the lower part of the storage chamber through the communication port provided in the partition wall. Furthermore, an air hole that communicates with the outside air is provided at the top of the adjustment chamber, a supply port that communicates with the print head is provided at the bottom, and the storage chamber is adjusted through a communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall. It was connected to the room and the rest was made airtight.

[0011]

【Example】

 FIGS. 1A and 1B are cross-sectional views showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention in two directions orthogonal to each other. The interior of the ink cartridge 1 is divided into two chambers, a regulation chamber 2 and a storage chamber 3, by a partition wall 10 arranged in the vertical direction. At the upper portion of the regulation chamber 2, there is an air hole 7 communicating with the outside air, At the bottom, there is a supply port 12 for supplying ink to the print head 9. The storage chamber 3 communicates with the adjustment chamber 2 through a communication port 8 provided in the lower half of the partition wall 10, and the remaining portion has an airtight structure. The storage chamber 3 is filled with the ink 11 and the adjustment chamber 2 is filled with the fibrous material impregnated with the ink. Part of this fibrous material reaches the bottom of the storage chamber 3 via the communication port 8.

The fibrous material filled in the adjustment chamber 2 is composed of a plurality of felt blocks 4, 5, and 6 having different fiber densities. The closer to the supply port 12 leading to the print head 9, the higher the fiber density of the felt block. It is arranged. In addition, the remaining ink amount can be optically detected by configuring a part of the wall surface of the storage chamber 3 with a transparent material.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 (A), (B) and (C). FIG. 2A shows the same initial state as in FIG. 2B and 2C are cross-sectional views of the cartridge showing the ink consumption state. Ink 11 is put in the storage chamber 3 without any gap. Ink is also impregnated in the felt 4, the felt 5, and the felt 6 filled in the adjustment chamber 2. When the water level of the ink soaked in the felt in the adjustment chamber 2 is above the communication port 8, the storage chamber 3 becomes the same as when the communication port 8 is covered with ink, and the storage chamber 3 becomes Ink is not leaked into the adjusting chamber 2 in a sealed state. When printing is performed by the print head 9, the ink in the ink cartridge 1 is consumed from the ink contained in the felt 4 of the adjustment chamber 2. In this case, if the fiber density is sequentially increased in the order of the felt 4, the felt 5, and the felt 6, it is more effective that the ink is guided toward the supply port due to the difference in the capillary force.

Further, when the printing operation continues and the ink level in the felt of the adjusting chamber 2 falls below the upper edge of the communication port 8 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 is supplied to the adjustment chamber 2 through the felt 5 by the amount of the air that has entered the storage chamber 3. As a result, this operation is repeated as long as the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 is above the communication port 8, and the water levels of the felts 5 and 6 in the adjustment chamber 2 do not change. The back pressure can be kept constant.

Further, when air expansion occurs due to environmental changes during ink supply from the storage chamber 3, the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 flows to the adjustment chamber 2 and is absorbed by the felt 4. When the internal pressure returns to the normal level again, the ink in the felt 4 returns to the storage chamber 3, but since the holding force of the felt 4 does not return all to the storage chamber 3, the state shown in FIG. The ink is supplied from.

When the printing operation is further performed and the water level of the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 falls below the communication port 8 as shown in FIG. 2C, the felt 5 inserted in the storage chamber 3 moves from the adjustment chamber 2 to the felt 5. Therefore, the ink 11 is sucked up and is supplied to the adjustment chamber 2 until all the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 has been sucked up. After that, ink is consumed in order of felt 5 and felt 6.

Here, when the position of the communication port 8 is set to the lowermost part of the partition wall 10, when the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 is air-expanded due to an environmental change with a small remaining amount, the ink 11 flows to the bottom of the adjustment chamber 2. Back pressure increases. Also, when the remaining ink level is detected, the liquid level will change and it will not be possible to confirm it reliably.

Therefore, the communication port 8 is preferably provided above the lower half portion of the partition wall 10 as in the embodiment. With this arrangement, if the liquid level is below the communication port 8 even if air expansion due to environmental changes occurs, the expanded air in the storage chamber 3 will pass through the communication port 8 and the felt 4 in the adjustment chamber 2. Since it is discharged to the outside through the air holes 7 through the ink, the liquid surface of the ink 11 does not change, and the back pressure does not change. Furthermore, since the liquid surface is stable, if the wall surface of the storage chamber 3 is made of a transparent material, the remaining ink amount in the storage chamber 3 can be accurately detected optically.

Further, with this structure, even if the ink in the storage chamber 3 becomes empty, the ink still remains in the felt 5 and the felt 6 in the adjustment chamber 2, so there is a concern that the ink will run out immediately after the warning. There is no.

After using all the ink in the ink cartridge 1, the ink cartridge 1 can be removed from the print head 9 and the ink cartridge 1 can be replaced to print again.

[0021]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, in the ink cartridge of the present invention, a sufficient storage volume of ink is ensured by the storage chamber filled only with ink and the adjustment chamber filled with fibrous material impregnated with ink. At the same time, it is possible to delete the wasteful amount of residual ink and properly maintain the back pressure by the cooperation of the adjustment chamber and the storage chamber. Further, by using a plurality of felt blocks having different fiber densities as the fibrous material, the ink flow can be guided more reliably. Furthermore, the optical detection of the remaining ink amount is easy and reliable.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 (A) is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 1 (B) is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention in a direction orthogonal to FIG. 1 (A).

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing an initial state of the ink cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the ink cartridge of the present invention in use.

FIG. 2 (C) is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the ink cartridge of the present invention in use.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional ink cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Cartridge 2 Adjustment Room 3 Storage Room 4 Felt Block 5 Felt Block 6 Felt Block 7 Air Hole 8 Communication Port 9 Print Head 10 Septum 11 Ink 12 Supply Port 13 Ink Container 14 Secondary Ink Storage 15 Main Ink Storage 16 16 Printing Head support 17 Porous member 18 Ink flow path 19 Print head 20 Liquid reservoir 21 Foamed plastic 22 Liquid filling device 23 Air hole 24 Ink 25 Wick core 26 Supply port 27 One end of the core 28 Opening

Claims (3)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer.
It is a trellis, and is divided into two chambers, a storage chamber and an adjustment chamber, by a partition wall vertically arranged in the central portion,
The airtight storage chamber filled with ink communicates with the adjustment chamber through a communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall, and an air hole for communicating the internal pressure with the outside air is provided at the top. A fibrous material impregnated with ink is filled in the inside of the adjustment chamber having a supply port for supplying ink to the print head at the bottom, and a part of this fibrous material serves as the communication port. An ink cartridge, wherein the ink cartridge reaches the bottom of the storage chamber via a via. 2. The ink cover according to claim 1, wherein the fibrous material is composed of a plurality of types of felt blocks having different fiber densities, and the felt blocks having a higher fiber density are arranged closer to the supply port. -Tridge. 3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a part of the storage chamber is made of a transparent material, and the remaining ink amount in the storage chamber can be optically detected. .