JPH0811321A - Ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify passage constitution by providing an ink cartridge receiving the ink supplied to a recording means and integrally providing a filter preventing foreign matter such as waste refuse from penetrating into an emitting orifice to the outer peripheral surface or side surface of a passage member having an ink passage. CONSTITUTION:Pipe-shaped passage members 15, 16, 17, 18 made of a metal having ink passages of corresponding ink colors are connected to the respective ink passages of an ink supply member 19 and filters 15a-18a preventing foreign matter such as waste refuse from penetrating into emitting orifices are integrally formed to the outer peripheral surfaces and leading end surfaces on the side connected to ink cartridges 10, 11 of the passage members 15, 16, 17, 18. These filters 15a-18a are constituted of a sintered metal having voids obtained by sintering a metal fine powder having the same material quality as the passage members 15-18. By this constitution, the ink passage constitution from emitting orifices to the ink cartridges 10, 11 can be simplified and ink passage vol. can be reduced.

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 recording by ejecting ink from a recording means onto a recording material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having functions such as a printer, a copying machine and a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is a sheet or a plastic thin plate based on image information. Images (including characters and symbols) on recording materials (recording media) such as (sheets for OHP)
Is configured to record. The recording device can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a heat sensitive type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type and the like depending on the recording system of the recording means used.

In a serial type recording apparatus which employs a recording system in which a main scanning is performed in a direction intersecting a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of a recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position and then the recording material is set. An image (including characters, symbols, etc.) is recorded by a recording unit (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves (main scanning) along, and after one line of recording is completed, a predetermined amount of paper is fed (sub-scan). An image is recorded in a desired range of the recording material by repeating the operation of performing (scanning) and then recording (main scanning) the image of the next row. On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that records a recording material only in the sub-scanning direction in which the recording material is fed in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and one line of recording is continuously performed at one time. A predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed, and an image is recorded on the entire recording material.

Among them, the ink jet type (ink jet recording apparatus) is a means for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means (recording head) onto a recording material, and it is easy to make the recording means compact and high definition. Images can be recorded at high speed, plain paper can be recorded without requiring special processing, running costs are low, and the non-impact method reduces noise and uses multicolor inks. Therefore, it has an advantage that it is easy to record a color image. Above all, a line type recording apparatus using a line type recording means in which a large number of ejection ports are arranged in the paper width direction can further speed up recording.

In particular, an ink jet type recording means (recording head) for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy,
Through the semiconductor manufacturing process such as etching, vapor deposition, and sputtering, the electrothermal converter formed on the substrate, the electrode,
By forming the liquid passage wall, the top plate, and the like, it is possible to easily manufacture a liquid discharge device having a high-density liquid passage arrangement (ejection port arrangement), and to further reduce the size. Further, by utilizing the advantages of IC technology and micro processing technology, it is easy to make the recording means long and planar (two-dimensional), and it is also easy to make the recording means full-multi and high-density mounting. is there. On the other hand, there are various requirements for the material of the recording material, and in recent years, in addition to the ordinary recording material such as paper and resin thin plate, thin paper and processed paper (paper with punch holes for filing and perforation). Paper, paper of any shape, etc.)
It has been required to use such as.

In the above ink jet recording apparatus,
A removable ink cartridge for supplying ink to the recording head is mounted, and an ink flow path for supplying ink from the ink cartridge to the ejection port of the recording head is provided. Further, in order to prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering the discharge port, a filter having pores of several microns to several tens of microns is arranged in the ink flow path. Furthermore, for the purpose of recovering (eliminating) ejection failure and clogging caused by bubbles generated in the ink flow path, a predetermined pressure (including negative pressure) is applied to the ejection port to eject the ink from the ejection port. To perform a recovery operation (suction recovery operation) to forcibly discharge,
It is also practiced to form a closed system at a discharge port portion (a discharge port surface) to provide a capping means for sealing the discharge port.

In a conventional ink jet recording apparatus, as a constitution of an ink supply system from an ink cartridge to a recording head, a flow passage member forming an ink flow passage is divided into an upstream side portion and a downstream side portion, and the space between them is divided into several parts. A structure for connecting with a filter for removing dust having pores of microns to several tens of microns, or a sponge impregnated with ink is housed in an ink cartridge, and the filter is connected to the ink cartridge of the flow path member. It is adopted that the part is placed in contact with the sponge. The filter is for preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering the ejection port of the recording head to cause ejection failure or clogging.

[0008]

However, the former configuration of the ink supply system has the following problems. That is, when bubbles are generated in the ink flow path from the filter to the ink cartridge,
Although a process is performed in which air bubbles are discharged together with the ink by forcibly discharging the ink from the discharge port by suction, the ink around the filter is extremely large because the ink flow passage cross-sectional area around the filter is extremely large. Regarding the flow, the flow is large in the central portion close to the ink flow path, and the ink flow is poor at the outer peripheral portion of the filter, and the ink becomes stagnant. If air bubbles accumulate in this stagnation area, a phenomenon in which the air bubbles are not removed occurs, which causes a problem of insufficient ink supply (refill failure) during ejection.

In recent years, the driving frequency of ejection has tended to increase, and it is expected that it will increase more and more due to the improvement of recording speed. As the ejection drive frequency increases, the flow rate of ink supplied during ejection increases. In order to secure this ink flow rate (measure against refilling), it is necessary to increase the cross-sectional area of the filter provided in the flow path. This is because the flow resistance of the ink passing through the filter is larger than the flow resistance of the portion that supplies the ink to the ejection port. That is, as the flow resistance is higher, the cross-sectional area of the filter portion is increased to secure the ink flow rate. Then, as the driving frequency increases, the cross-sectional area of the filter increases, and the problem that the bubbles cannot be removed by the suction recovery operation described above becomes worse.

As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to increase the suction pressure and suction amount of the suction pump to remove the bubbles. Even if the bubbles can be removed, the efficiency of the recovery process is low and a very large amount of ink is used. As a result, the running cost increases, the waste ink processing member becomes large, and the cost and the size of the apparatus increase. Further, when it is impossible to store the waste ink in the recording device, a means for exchanging the waste ink tank must be provided, and a mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the waste ink tank and the like are required, which reduces the cost of the recording device. It will invite up.
Furthermore, in the case of the method of exchanging the ink cartridge, a phenomenon occurs that bubbles are taken into the connection pipe portion when exchanging the ink cartridge. Therefore, the fact that air bubbles cannot be removed by the above-described suction recovery process becomes an even greater problem.

On the other hand, the latter structure of the ink supply system has the following problems. That is, since the filter is directly brought into contact with the ink-impregnated sponge, even if the ink cartridge is of a replacement type, air bubbles are not taken into the upstream side of the filter after replacement, so that the bubbles are not allowed to pass through the filter. Since it is not removed, the bubbles can be removed even if the amount of waste ink used for suction recovery is reduced. That is, the flow resistance of the ink in the filter portion is the highest, and the movement resistance of the bubbles is also the highest in the movement of the bubbles. Therefore, in terms of removing bubbles, the structure is somewhat good.

However, there is a drawback in that the volume of the flow path from the ejection port of the recording head to the connection portion with the ink cartridge becomes large, and therefore the suction amount must be increased. This means that since the cross-sectional area of the filter and the cross-sectional area of the flow channel are the same, a certain length portion of the flow channel member near the ink cartridge becomes large. When the ink cartridge is replaced, air bubbles are not taken in on the upstream side of the filter as described above, but a phenomenon occurs that air bubbles are taken in on the downstream side. That is, when the bubbles are on the downstream side of the filter, the suction pressure for removing the bubbles may be small.

However, air bubbles mixed in from the filter cannot be removed unless the ink of the volume of the ink flow path to the filter portion is discharged, and in order to completely remove the air bubbles, the suction amount is The volume of the flow path from the ejection port of the recording head to the connecting portion of the ink cartridge is required. As described above, since the cross-sectional area of the filter tends to increase, the amount of suction required for suction recovery also tends to increase, which is expected to become an even greater problem. Also, since the filter is directly connected to the ink cartridge, as the area of the filter increases,
There is also a problem in that the ink lead-out portion of the ink cartridge becomes large and the size of the apparatus becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional technique, and an object of the present invention is to simplify the flow path structure from the ejection port to the ink cartridge and to provide the flow from the ejection port to the ink cartridge. The path volume can be reduced, the amount of waste ink discharged during suction recovery can be minimized, and the running cost can be reduced.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of reducing the size and weight of the recording apparatus and reducing the cost by simplifying and downsizing the waste ink processing member.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, an ink cartridge containing ink for supplying to the recording means is provided. However, the above object is achieved by providing a filter integrally with the outer peripheral surface or the side surface of the flow path member having the ink flow path so as to prevent foreign matter such as dust from entering the discharge port. .

According to the invention of claims 2 to 7, in addition to the structure of claim 1, the flow path member is formed of a metal pipe, and the filter is formed of a metal filter of the same material or a different material. The filter is a filter for forming fine pores by laminating fine linear metal threads in a grid pattern, and the filter is a filter for sintering fine powder to form pores. , The filter is a filter that forms fine pores on a metal surface by utilizing a chemical reaction, the filter is connected to an ink outlet of an ink cartridge, or the ink cartridge is replaceable With the configuration, the above object can be achieved more efficiently.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, a carriage 1 is equipped with a recording head (recording means) 2 and a cartridge guide 3, and the carriage 1 is guided and supported so as to be reciprocally movable along guide shafts 4, 5. (Not shown). A recording material 6 such as a sheet of paper or a thin plastic plate is fed into the main body of the recording apparatus by a paper feed roller 7, and is fed between a paper feed roller 8 also serving as a platen roller, a pinch roller (not shown), and a paper pressing plate 9. Recording is performed while the sheet is nipped and pitch-fed (sub-scanning) through the front surface of the recording head 2 as the paper feed roller 8 rotates.

A home position HP of the carriage 1 is set at a position outside the recording area within the movement range of the carriage 1. In the vicinity of the home position HP, capping means provided with a rubber-like elastic material cap 21 capable of abutting (contacting) the ejection port surface of the recording head 2 and sealing (capping) the ejection port is arranged. It is set up. In the vicinity of the capping means, a recovery device (not shown) for cooperating with the capping means to eliminate ejection failure due to clogging of the ejection port of the recording head 2 or the like.
Is provided. In this recovery device, a negative pressure is generated inside the cap 21 by operating a suction pump or the like (not shown) in a state in which the ejection port is sealed by the cap 21, and this negative pressure causes bubbles along with ink from the ejection port. It is configured to suck out foreign matter such as adhered ink and dust.

In FIG. 1, in the recording apparatus of this embodiment,
Two types of ink cartridges are used, a color ink cartridge 10 that stores yellow, magenta, and cyan inks and a black ink cartridge 11 that stores black ink. These ink cartridges 10 and 11 are inserted into the cartridge guide 3 separately, and are exchangeably (detachably) positioned and attached to communicate with the recording head 2.

The recording head 2 is an ink jet recording means for ejecting ink by utilizing heat energy, and has an electrothermal converter for generating heat energy. Further, the recording head 2 uses the pressure change caused by the growth and contraction of bubbles due to film boiling generated by the thermal energy applied by the electrothermal converter to eject ink from the ejection port for recording. Is.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of an arbitrary ejection port group in the recording head 2. In FIG. 2, the ejection port surface 81 facing the recording material (recording paper or the like) 6 with a predetermined gap (for example, about 0.5 to 2.0 mm) ejects a plurality of ejections at a predetermined pitch. An electrothermal converter (heat-generating resistor, etc.) 8 for forming energy for ink ejection along the wall surface of each liquid passage 84 which has an outlet 82 and connects the common liquid chamber 83 and each ejection port 82.
5 are provided. The plurality of ejection openings 82 are arranged in a positional relationship such that they are arranged in a direction intersecting with the moving direction (main scanning direction) of the recording head 2. In this way, the corresponding electrothermal converter 85 is driven (energized) based on the image signal or the ejection signal to cause the ink in the liquid passage 84 to film-boil, and the ink generated from the ejection port 82 is ejected by the pressure generated at that time. The recording head 2 is configured.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a first embodiment of the connection structure between the flow path member and the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 is seen from the direction of arrow C in FIG. FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional view of a color (yellow) ink cartridge portion. 3 and 4, the aluminum plate 14
A plurality of electrothermal converters 85 that generate thermal energy used for ejecting ink from each ejection port 82 are attached to the, and a liquid chamber member 24 having a plurality of ejection ports 82 is attached. There is. A yellow ejection port group, a magenta ejection port group, a cyan ejection port group, and a black ejection port group are formed on the ejection port surface (front surface) 81 of the recording head 2.

These ejection port groups are arranged in a straight line in a direction intersecting with the moving direction of the carriage 1, and a space of several dots is provided between the ejection port groups. In the liquid chamber member 24, independent common liquid chambers (four chambers) 83 are formed for each of the four discharge port groups, and each common liquid chamber 83 has a plurality of discharge ports forming a corresponding discharge port group. A liquid passage 84 communicates with each of the 82. An ink supply member 19 is connected to the liquid chamber member 24.

The ink supply member 19 is provided with an independent ink flow path 19c for each ink color. These ink flow paths 19c are individually connected to the corresponding common liquid chambers 83. Further, in each of the ink flow paths 19c of the ink supply member 19, a pipe-shaped flow path member 15 having an ink flow path of a corresponding ink color,
16, 17, and 18 are connected. Each flow path member 15-
Filters 15a, 16a, 17a for preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering the discharge port 82 are provided in the respective 18
18a is integrally provided. The flow path member 15,
16, 17, 18 and the filters 15a, 16a, 17a, 18a provided therein have substantially the same configuration and action for each ink color, and when any one of them is described. First, the flow path member 15 and the filter 15a will be described as an example.

The ink supply member 19 is provided with mounting holes 19b for mounting the respective flow path members 15 to 18 in a state without air leakage. In addition, each flow path member 1
5 to 18 are formed, for example, by bending a pipe made of stainless steel (SUS304 or the like) into an L shape, and are guided and fixed in a guide groove 19a formed in the ink supply member 19. The ink cartridge 10 of each flow path member 15-18,
The filter 1 is attached to the tip end on the side connected to 11.
5a to 18a are integrally formed. In this embodiment,
These filters 15a and 18a are the flow path members 15 to
A few micron by sintering fine metal powder of the same material as 18
It is composed of sintered metal with pores of several tens of microns.

FIG. 5 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the parts of the filters 15a to 18a of the flow path members 15 to 18. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, each of the filters 15a to 1
8a is formed with the outer peripheral surface (D portion in FIG. 5) and the end surface (E portion in FIG. 5) of the tip end portions of the flow path members (pipes) 15 to 18 as filter surfaces. Therefore, the effective area of each of the filters 15a to 18a is the sum of the area of the D portion and the area of the E portion. That is, according to this embodiment, since the outer peripheral surface of the pipe-shaped flow path member itself is used as a filter, the area of the filter can be increased without increasing the ink flow path cross-sectional area.

The color and black ink cartridges 10 and 11 for supplying ink to the recording head 2 are
When the ink in the interior is used up, the user exchanges it for use, and is configured to be attached and detached in the direction of arrow B in FIGS. 3 and 4. Each ink cartridge has
An ink lead-out portion (rubber plug) 26 having an ink supply port 26a for taking out each color ink is fixed in a sealed state. The ink is supplied to the ink supply ports 26a of the rubber stoppers 26 of the respective ink colors by pipe-shaped corresponding flow path members 15 to.
By inserting (piercing) the tip portion of 18, the respective filters 15a to 18a are brought into direct contact with the ink 30 filled in the ink cartridge, and the ink is led out through the filter filters 15a to 18a.
It is performed by supplying the ink to the ejection port 82 of the recording head 2 through the ink flow paths of the flow path members 15 to 18 and the respective ink flow paths 19c in the ink supply member 19. Ink supply paths are indicated by arrows in FIG.

In FIG. 4, the ejection port surface 8 of the recording head 2 is shown.
1, the front plate 20 is disposed so as to surround the discharge port 82, and when the discharge port 82 is clogged or discharge failure occurs, the rubber-like elastic cap 21 is attached to the front plate 20.
A suction pump (not shown) through the tube 22 in a state in which the discharge port 82 is sealed by closely contacting with the (capping state).
A negative pressure is generated inside the cap 21 by the discharge port 82.
It is configured to suck out foreign matters such as bubbles and dust together with the ink.

According to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 above, the flow path members 15 to 18 having the ink flow paths for supplying the ink to the ejection port 82 of the recording head 2 and the dust to the ejection port 82. The flow path members 15 to 18 are integrated with filters 15a to 18a for preventing foreign matter such as
Since the outer peripheral surface and the tip end surface of the connection portion with the ink cartridges 10 and 11 are formed by the surface of the filter, the ink flow path configuration from the ejection port 82 to the ink cartridges 10 and 11 is simplified and the ejection port 82 is formed. It is possible to reduce the volume of the ink flow path from the ink cartridge 10 to the ink cartridges 11 and to minimize the amount of waste ink discharged at the time of suction recovery to reduce the running cost. It is possible to reduce the size and weight of the recording apparatus and to reduce the cost by simplifying and reducing the size of the recording medium. Further, since the ink channels 15 to 18 and the filters 15a to 181a are integrated, the area of the filter is increased. Even if the ink jet recording device which can maintain the above effects is provided.

In the above embodiments, the flow passage members (pipes) 15 to 18 have a circular flow passage cross-sectional shape, but the flow passage cross-sectional shape is arbitrary as long as the ink can flow through. The same effect can be obtained in this case as well. Further, the shapes of the filters 15a to 18a provided at the tip ends of the flow path members 15 to 18 are various shapes such as a conical shape or a truncated cone shape as shown in the second embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7. be able to. That is, the shapes of the filters 15a to 18a are also arbitrary, and by forming the filter in a part of the flow channel, as long as the filter area can be ensured without increasing the flow channel cross-sectional area, The effect can be obtained.

In each of the above-mentioned embodiments, the flow path members 15-18 are used.
Although the case where the entire outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the tip is used as the filter surface is shown, this may be configured such that a part of the outer peripheral surface is used as a filter. As shown as a third embodiment in FIGS. 8 and 9, a configuration may be used in which half of the pipe-shaped flow path members 15-18 are used as the filters 15a-18a, and the same effect can be obtained. .

In each of the above-described embodiments, as described in the first embodiment, the filters 15a to 18a are connected to the flow path members 15 to.
Although the case where the flow path members 15 to 18 and the filters 15a to 18a are formed integrally with each other is shown, the materials may be different from each other. Further, although metal is used as the material in the above-described embodiment, the material need not be limited to metal as long as it can form the ink flow path and has a filter function, and various other materials may be used. Good.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the fine powder of metal is sintered to form the pores has been described.
Instead of this, a filter having a structure in which fine linear metal threads are bonded in a lattice pattern to form fine pores may be used. Further, a filter having a structure in which pores are formed on the metal surface by using a chemical reaction such as etching may be used. That is, any manufacturing condition and internal configuration may be used as long as the filter has a structure having fine pores of several microns to several tens of microns.

In the above embodiment, the case where the filters 15a to 18a are provided at the most distal end portions of the flow path members 15 to 18 has been described.
When the rubber plug 26 of the ink cartridges 10 and 11 is pierced with 18a, the rubber plug 26 may be scraped, and minute scraps may adhere to the filter to cause clogging in the pores. Therefore, the fourth of FIG. 10 and FIG.
As shown as an example, the flow path members (pipes) 15 to 1
8 tip part (the part that is first penetrated by the rubber plug 26)
The other member (tip member) 15b to
18b is arranged, and filters 15a to 18a are arranged in front of it.
May be arranged to integrate them. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the tip member (separate member) 15
The flow path members (pipes) 15-18 may be configured to be smoothly attached and detached by tapering b-18b.

In the above embodiment, the serial recording method in which the recording means (recording head) is moved in the main scanning direction has been described as an example. However, the present invention is the entire width or a part of the recording material. The same can be applied to the case of the line recording method in which the line recording unit having a length covering the above is used to perform recording only in the sub-scan, and the same effect can be achieved. In addition to the color recording apparatus having one or a plurality of recording heads and recording in different colors, the present invention also provides a gradation recording apparatus using inks of the same color and different densities, and a recording combining these. The same can be applied to the device and the same effect can be achieved.

The present invention can be applied to an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element, but among others, thermal energy is used. Then, an excellent effect is brought about in an ink jet recording apparatus which uses a recording means of a method of ejecting ink. This is because such a system can achieve high density recording and high definition recording.

Regarding the typical structure and principle thereof, see, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4740.
This is preferably done using the basic principles disclosed in 796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but particularly in the case of the on-demand type, a liquid (ink) is used.
By applying at least one drive signal to the electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path in which is stored, which corresponds to the recorded information and causes a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling. , Generates heat energy in the electrothermal converter to cause film boiling on the heat acting surface of the recording means (recording head), and as a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in a one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal. So effective.

The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection openings by the growth and contraction of the bubbles to form at least one droplet. It is more preferable to make the driving signal into a pulse shape because bubbles can be grown and contracted immediately and appropriately, and thus a liquid (ink) with excellent responsiveness can be ejected. As this pulse-shaped drive signal, US Pat.
Those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,633,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat. No. 43131 of the invention relating to the rate of temperature rise of the heat acting surface.
If the conditions described in the specification of No. 24 are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the constitution of the recording head, in addition to the combination constitution of the ejection port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter (the linear liquid passage or the right-angled liquid passage) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications. US Pat. No. 4,558,333, US Pat. No. 4,558,333, which discloses a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of No. 459600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 123670/1984 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an opening for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy. The present invention is also effective as a structure based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 138461/1984, which discloses a structure in which the discharge section is associated with the discharge section. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, as described above, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording material (recording medium) which can be recorded by the recording apparatus. . As such a recording head,
Either a structure that satisfies the length by combining a plurality of recording heads or a structure as one recording head integrally formed may be used. In addition, even with the serial type as in the above example, the recording head fixed to the device main body,
Or even if the recording head is a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be electrically connected to the device body and supply ink from the device body when it is mounted on the device body, or even if the recording head itself is replaceable The invention is effective.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means or preliminary auxiliary means to the recording head provided as a constitution of the recording apparatus in the present invention because the effect of the present invention can be further stabilized. Specifically, in addition to the above-mentioned capping means, cleaning means, and suction recovery means for the recording head, a pressure-type recovery means, an electrothermal converter, or a heating other than this. It is also effective to perform stable recording by performing a preliminary heating means using an element or a combination thereof and a preliminary ejection mode for performing ejection different from recording.

As described above, regarding the type and number of recording heads to be mounted, for example, only one is provided corresponding to a single color ink, or a plurality of recording heads having different recording colors and densities are provided. A plurality of inks may be provided corresponding to the ink. That is, for example, the recording mode of the recording apparatus is not limited to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, but may be either the recording head is integrally configured or a combination of a plurality of recording heads may be used. The present invention is extremely effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of color colors or full colors by color mixing.

In addition, in the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but it is an ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower and softens or liquefies at room temperature, or an ink jet. In the method, the temperature of the ink itself is generally adjusted within a range of 30 ° C. or higher and 70 ° C. or lower to control the temperature of the ink so that the viscosity of the ink is within a stable ejection range. It may be in a liquid form. in addition,
To prevent the temperature rise due to the thermal energy from being positively used as the energy for changing the state of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or to use the ink that solidifies in the standing state for the purpose of preventing ink evaporation. In any case, the ink is liquefied by applying the thermal energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink is ejected,
The present invention is also applicable to the case of using an ink that has a property of being liquefied only by thermal energy, such as one that has already started to solidify when it reaches the recording medium.

The ink in such a case is disclosed in JP-A-54-54.
As described in JP-A-56847 or JP-A-60-71260, a form in which the electrothermal converter is opposed to a liquid sheet or a solid material held in the recesses or through holes of the porous sheet. May be In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, as the form of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, in addition to the one used as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. And the like may be used.

[0046]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the invention, the ink to be supplied to the recording means in the ink jet recording apparatus for recording by ejecting the ink from the recording means onto the recording material. Since a filter for preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering the discharge port is integrally provided on the outer peripheral surface or the side surface of the flow channel member having the ink flow channel, the discharge port To simplify the flow path configuration from the ink cartridge to the ink cartridge, and reduce the flow path volume from the ejection port to the ink cartridge, minimizing the amount of waste ink discharged during suction recovery and reducing running costs. In addition, the size and weight of the recording apparatus can be reduced and the cost can be reduced by simplifying and downsizing the waste ink processing member. That the ink jet recording apparatus is provided.

According to the invention of claims 2 to 7, in addition to the structure of claim 1, the flow path member is formed of a metal pipe, and the filter is a metal filter of the same material or a different material. The filter is a filter for forming fine pores by laminating fine linear metal threads in a lattice pattern, and the filter is a filter for sintering fine powder to form pores. In a certain configuration, the filter is a filter that forms fine pores on a metal surface by utilizing a chemical reaction, a configuration in which the filter portion is connected to an ink lead-out portion of an ink cartridge, or the ink cartridge is replaceable With this configuration, the flow path from the discharge port to the ink cartridge can be simplified more efficiently, and The flow path volume to the cartridge can be reduced, the amount of waste ink discharged at the time of suction recovery can be minimized to reduce the running cost, and the waste ink processing member can be simplified and downsized. As a result, an inkjet recording apparatus is provided which can reduce the size and weight of the recording apparatus and reduce the cost.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view schematically showing the structure of an ink ejection portion of the recording means in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of the connection structure between the flow path member and the ink cartridge according to the present invention.

4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a portion of the color ink cartridge as viewed in the direction of arrow C in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a filter portion of the first embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a filter portion of a second embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the filter portion of the second embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing a filter portion of a third embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the filter portion of the third embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing a filter portion of a fourth embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing a modification of the filter portion of the fourth embodiment of the flow path member according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Carriage 2 Recording Means (Recording Head) 3 Cartridge Guide 4 Guide Axis 5 Guide Axis 6 Recording Material 7 Paper Feed Roller 8 Paper Feed Roller 10 Color Ink Cartridge 11 Black Ink Cartridge 15 Channel Member (Pipe) 16 Channel Member ( Pipe 17 flow path member (pipe) 18 flow path member (pipe) 15a filter 16a filter 17a filter 18a filter 15b tip member 16b tip member 17b tip member 18b tip member 19 ink supply member 19a guide groove 19b mounting hole 19c ink channel 21 Cap 22 Tube 24 Liquid Chamber Member 26 Ink Outlet 26a Ink Supply Port 30 Ink 81 Discharge Port Surface 82 Discharge Port 83 Common Liquid Chamber 84 Liquid Path 85 Electrothermal Converter

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording by ejecting ink from a recording means to a recording material, which has an ink cartridge containing ink to be supplied to the recording means, and has a flow path member having an ink flow path. An ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that a filter for preventing foreign matter such as dust from entering an ejection port is integrally provided on an outer peripheral surface or a side surface of the ink jet recording apparatus. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flow path member is formed of a metal pipe, and the filter is formed of a metal filter of the same material or a different material. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter is a filter that adheres fine linear metal threads in a grid pattern to form fine pores. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the filter is a filter that sinters fine powder to form pores. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the filter is a filter that forms fine pores on a metal surface by utilizing a chemical reaction. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter portion is connected to an ink lead-out portion of an ink cartridge. 7. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is replaceable. 8. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit is an inkjet recording unit including an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy used to eject ink. 9. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the recording unit ejects the ink from the ejection port by utilizing film boiling generated in the ink by the thermal energy generated by the electrothermal converter. .