JPH0679543U - 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. [Structure] 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 outside air is provided in the upper portion of the regulation chamber, and a fibrous material impregnated with ink is provided inside. Filled. The storage chamber has an airtight structure filled with ink, a supply port that communicates with the print head is provided at the bottom, and it communicates with the adjustment chamber through the communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall. A part of the material was made to reach the bottom of the storage chamber through the connection port.

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 with 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 structure, an 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 for supporting the print head 19, the ink flow path 18, and the secondary ink storage section. A porous member 17 is arranged between the chamber 14 and the chamber 14.

However, in this configuration, since the secondary ink storage chamber for adjusting the overflow ink is in communication with the atmosphere, if the printing operation is not performed when the temperature changes, the ink will be stored in the secondary ink storage chamber. 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 and causing ink leakage from the nozzle. It may occur and it is difficult to adjust the back pressure.

Further, a conventional example as shown in FIG. 4 is known (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-180357). In this example, a small chamber 22 containing a capillary element 21 is provided below the ink container 20, and the small chamber 22 is liquid-connected to the ink container 20 through a port 23. A print head 28 is attached to the tip of a conduit 29 provided at one end of the ink container 20. An air supply device 26 having a vent hole 24 and a foam 25 is configured to supply air bubbles from the port 27 to the ink container 20 to maintain the back pressure at a predetermined pressure. Ink can pass through the port 23 between the ink container 20 and the capillary element 21, and the capillary element 21 maintains a back pressure below ambient pressure in the printhead 28 so that the ink container is at ambient pressure. It is configured to perform an operation of supplying ink to the ink container 20 or receiving an ink from the ink container 20 according to a change in pressure inside the ink container 20.

However, with this structure, when the ink in the ink container is reduced and the air in the ink container expands, all the ink flows into the small chambers, and all the ink in the ink container cannot be used.

[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 interior of the ink cartridge is divided into two chambers, a storage chamber and a control chamber, by a vertically arranged partition wall, and the storage chamber is fully filled with ink and the ink is filled at the bottom. Has a supply port that communicates with the print head, the storage chamber communicates with the adjustment chamber through a communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall, and the rest has an airtight structure. The adjustment chamber was filled with ink-impregnated fibrous material, and a 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. In addition, an air hole communicating with the outside air was provided at the top of the adjustment chamber.

[0011]

【Example】

 FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention. The interior of the ink cartridge 1 is divided into two chambers, a regulation chamber 2 and a storage chamber 3, by a partition 10 arranged in the vertical direction, and an air hole 7 communicating with the outside air is provided in the upper portion of the regulation chamber 2. . The storage chamber 3 has a supply port 12 for supplying ink to the print head 9 at the bottom, and the storage chamber 3 communicates with the adjustment chamber 2 via a communication port 8 provided in the lower half of the partition wall 10. The part 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 filling the adjustment chamber 2 is composed of a plurality of felt blocks 4, 5 and 6 having different fiber densities, and the felt block having a higher fiber density is closer to the communication port 8 leading to the storage chamber 3. Are arranged. In addition, the remaining ink amount can be optically detected by constructing a part of the wall surface of the storage chamber 3 with a transparent material.

Next, the operation of the ink cartridge of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. While FIG. 1 described above shows the initial state before use, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge showing the ink consumption state. In the initial state, the storage chamber 3 is filled with the ink 11 without any gap. Ink is also impregnated in the felt blocks 4, 5, 6 filled in the storage chamber 2. When the water level of the ink permeating the felt in the adjustment chamber 2 is above the communication port 8, the storage chamber 3 becomes the same as the state where the communication port 8 is covered with ink, and the storage chamber 3 is sealed. In this state, the ink does not flow into the adjustment chamber 2. 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 densities are sequentially increased in the order of the felt blocks 4, 5, and 6, it is more effective that the ink is guided toward the supply port due to the difference in capillary force.

Further, when the printing operation continues and the ink level in the felt block 6 of the adjustment 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 block 6 by the amount of the air in 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 level in the felt block 6 in the adjustment chamber 2 does not change. Can maintain a constant back pressure.

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 into the adjustment chamber 2 and is absorbed by the felt block 5 and the felt block 4. Again, when the internal pressure returns to normal, the ink absorbed in the adjusting chamber 2 returns to the storage chamber 3 but does not all return to the storage chamber 3 due to the holding force of the felt blocks 4 and 5, so that the ink in FIG. Then, ink is supplied to the print head 9.

Further, when the printing operation is performed and the water level of the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 falls below the communication port 8, the ink 11 is sucked up by the capillary force of the felt block 6 inserted in the storage chamber 3 3 is kept in a sealed state.

Therefore, if the felt block 6 is inserted from the communication port 8 up to the top of the supply path 12 as in the embodiment, air expansion due to environmental changes occurs when the ink is low, and the ink 11 in the storage chamber 3 is adjusted. Even when absorbed in the chamber 2, the ink 11 can be supplied to the print head 9 without being cut off.

Further, with this structure, even if the ink in the storage chamber 3 becomes empty, the ink still remains in the felt block 6 in the adjustment chamber 2, so there is no fear of running out of ink immediately after the warning. .

After all the ink in the ink cartridge 1 has been used, the ink cartridge 1 can be printed again by removing the ink cartridge 1 from the print head 9 and replacing the ink cartridge 1.

[0020]

[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.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of an ink cartridge according to the present invention.

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

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of a conventional ink cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal structure of 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 Partition 11 Ink 12 Supply Port 13 Ink Container 14 Secondary Ink Storage 15 Main Ink Storage 17 17 Perforated Quality member 20 Ink container 21 Capillary element 22 Small chamber 26 Air supply device

Claims (2)

[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 air-tight storage chamber filled with ink is provided with a supply port for supplying ink to the print head at the lowermost portion, and communicates with the adjustment chamber through a communication port provided in the lower half of the partition wall. The fibrous material impregnated with ink is filled in the inside of the adjusting chamber having an air hole for communicating the internal pressure with the outside air at the upper part, and a part of the 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 communication port. -Tridge.