JPH0820115A - Ink tank, ink jet head and ink jet device employing said tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent defective supply and leakage of ink when fibers are used as negative pressure producing body for an ink cartridge that stores ink to be used in an ink jet device. CONSTITUTION:Each of fibers of fibrous bodies 4a and 4b constituting a negative pressure-producing member in an ink cartridge 1 is deformed within elastically calculable limits and is put in the cartridge 1 under the state where a plurality of crosses are formed in different directions.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink tank and an ink jet device using the tank.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventional ink tanks (integrated in the head or exchangeable tank alone) used for ink recording are mainly filled with single or plural sponges. There is something. Generally, the sponge pore diameter is often in the range of 80 μm to 200 μm, and the volume of the sponge itself occupying the inside of the tank is also large. Therefore, even if the amount of ink is increased with respect to the given ink tank internal volume, there is sponge, and therefore a large increase cannot be achieved. In addition, there is a limit to the reduction of the amount of ink that cannot be used for recording while remaining inside the sponge.

On the other hand, the applicant of the present invention has disclosed the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 34353, it is proposed that the hole diameter of the sponge on the ink supply side be smaller than the hole diameter of the sponge in the tank.
Disclosed is an invention in which the ink supply property is improved. Further, the applicant of the present application has proposed a structure in which fibers are linearly bundled on the ink supply side in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-8405, and an invention that is effective in both the ink supply property and the reduction of the remaining ink amount is disclosed. are doing.

Since this fiber bundle structure has the directionality of ink supply and the efficiency of ink supply, an improvement thereof is disclosed in JP-A-5-96.
742 and JP-A-5-104735 exist. The former is an invention of a fiber bundle structure that exists from the bottom portion to the upper ink supply portion in the posture when the ink tank is in use, and is an invention that reduces the ink remaining amount at the bottom portion of the ink tank. In the latter, the inside of the tank itself is made into a sponge, and a protrusion is provided on the outside thereof, and then a fiber bundle is provided to this protrusion, and an ink supply path is formed for the sponge near the filter on the head side. It is an invention.

As described above, the invention of the internal structure of the ink tank is premised on the presence of the sponge, and does not significantly solve the problem of the ink amount reduction due to the ink remaining amount and the occupied volume by the sponge. .

On the other hand, in JP-A-6-79882,
In order to significantly increase the amount of ink inside the ink tank, the invention that attempts to improve the ink supply property by allowing the fibers extending from the upper side to the lower side (gravitational direction) to exist at a ratio of 20% or less at the maximum. Disclosure. However, the present invention has only a few fibers present in a straight line or unidirectionally packed fiber bundles.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-79882 discloses a modified example in which a nonwoven fabric such as polyester and polypropylene is laminated and filled in the tank, but this modified example also has only the conventional problems. .

[0008]

According to the studies made by the present inventors, in the present invention, there is little ink holding power, and it is found that fibers are contracted into a bundle due to ink filling. As a result, the inside of the ink tank is There was a phenomenon in which the portion filled with ink in the space was present in the vicinity of the ink supply port side and the ink supply performance from the ink tank was impaired.

The present invention solves a new problem in which, when fibers are used, the decrease in the fiber spacing during ink filling lowers the ink holding power itself of the entire tank, resulting in defective ink supply and ink leakage. Is the primary purpose.

Further, the present invention also provides an ink tank capable of enhancing the ink holding power by improving the fiber condition inside the space occupied by the fibers. This fiber state relates to the state of the inner wall of the tank and the relationship between the fibers.

The present invention is based on these objects.
Focusing on the difference in the fluidity of the ink between the inside of the tank and the side of the tank wall, which is another viewpoint, it gives a preferable invention about the single relationship between the tank inner wall material and the fiber material which has not been conventionally examined, Furthermore, the present invention also provides a preferable invention regarding the single relationship between the ink characteristics (particularly pigment ink) used and the fiber material.

On the other hand, according to a study by the present inventors, it was found that the influence of the fiber itself was a change in the characteristic due to the fiber diameter, and the second purpose is to provide an ink tank to which this characteristic is effectively applied. The purpose of.

To this end, the present invention provides an ink tank having a fiber having a suitable condition for the filter diameter with which the fiber is in direct contact, such as a head-side filter or a tank-side filter. Is the movement of the ink tank and ink that gives a preferable condition for the relationship between the fiber diameter occupying the main volume in the tank and the fiber diameter occupying the volume on the ink supply side from the ink tank to the outside (head side, etc.). The present invention provides an ink tank that can alleviate the filter resistance itself that governs the resistance.

[0014]

Therefore, according to the present invention,
An ink tank having a region containing a fibrous body on at least an ink supply side, wherein the fibrous body is deformed within a range of bending to an elastic body, and a plurality of intersections are formed in different directions to fill the region. It is characterized by

With the above construction, it is possible to prevent the spacing between the fibers when ink is filled from being reduced by the action of the ink due to the plurality of intersecting and elastic deformations.

Further, the ink tank is provided with a region for accommodating the fibrous body at least on the ink supply side, and is characterized in that the tank wall material and the fibrous body material are made of materials under the same conditions.

According to the above construction, it is possible to match the characteristics on the wall side with the characteristics of the ink flow inside the fiber inside the tank. Conventionally, the ink flow on the wall side is the same as the ink flow inside the tank. By being too different, the flow of ink and gas will be different, resulting in a large amount of ink remaining,
It is possible to prevent the ink consumption status from varying.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink tank according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a partially cutaway view of a connection state with an ink jet head.

The ink tank shown in these figures is in the form of a cartridge, that is, a form that can be attached to and detached from an ink jet device and replaced. The cartridge 1 is filled with fibers (fiber bodies) 4 as its negative pressure generating member. The fiber 4 is made of polypropylene and is filled with a plurality of fibers each having a diameter and a length of 100 μm and several cm to 10 cm in a state in which each has a plurality of intersections by drawing a random curve in a three-dimensional space. The internal volume of the cartridge 1 is 40 cc.
Is about 8 g. The fibers 4 are ones that are extremely long and integrated, and include those that fill the inside of the tank and those that have a large number of fibers.

The occupancy of the fibrous body with respect to the space of the region in which the fibrous body of the present invention is accommodated may be any range as long as there are a plurality of intersections, but a specifically preferable range is 10% or more. 35% or less, more preferably 15% or more 25
% Or less. This is because the ink filling ratio and the ink consumption ratio have a more preferable relationship.

The container 11 forming the case of the ink cartridge 1 is made of polypropylene like the fiber 4. An ink supply path 8 having one end opened toward the outside of the cartridge is formed on a part of the surface forming the container 11, and the other end of the ink supply path 8 has an appropriate pressure contact force with the fiber 4 via the filter 8A. Hold and touch. The atmosphere communication port 7 is formed in the lid 2, which is a surface facing the surface on which the ink supply path 8 is provided and which also forms a part of the container 11.
Is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the container 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the ink supply path and the like are formed therein. In contrast,
The fibers 4 to be filled are not randomly arranged according to a certain rule such as a bundle, but are randomly arranged. Therefore, the fibers 4 are effective in terms of ink retention and ink supply described later. Not only there, container 11
It is easy to follow the internal shape of the ink cartridge, so that it can be housed in the ink cartridge 1 without a gap. Then, after the fibers 4 are accommodated in the ink cartridge 1, the lid 2 forming a part of the container is attached by ultrasonic welding, whereby an appropriate density can be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ink cartridge 1
Is connected to an inkjet head 12 via an ink supply pipe 14 on a carriage (not shown) of the inkjet device. That is, the supply pipe 14 is inserted into the supply passage 8 of the cartridge 1.

The following tests were conducted on the ink cartridges shown above.

Two black inks are placed in the ink cartridge 1.
Although 8 g was injected and the ink cartridge 1 was rotated in all directions, no ink leaked through the ink supply passage 8 and the atmosphere communication port 7 which are the openings of the ink cartridge 1.

A silicon tube was inserted through the ink supply passage 8 and ink was continuously sucked at a flow rate of 2 g / min until the ink could not be taken out. After that, the remaining amount, that is, the amount of ink that could not be ejected by suction was 7.7 g. On the other hand, instead of the fiber 4 which is the negative pressure generating member of the present embodiment, an ink cartridge in which a conventionally known urethane foam (cell film processed by the explosion method) having a cell number of 35 cells / inch and a volume of 160 cc is inserted by compression. When the same suction was performed on the same, the ink remaining amount of substantially the same amount was shown.

From the above test, it is understood that the ink cartridge using the fiber 4 of the above embodiment has the same ink holding property and ink supplying property as the ink cartridge using the conventional urethane foam. To be done.

An ink cartridge to which the present invention is applied, which has a degree of freedom such that a plurality of fibers cross each other, exhibits at least the same function as the conventional product as described above. With or without, you may get two special advantages:

The first is an advantage relating to the storability of, for example, pigment ink or high PH ink. That is, compared to the urethane foam used as a conventional negative pressure generating member,
When the polyurethane fiber according to one embodiment of the present invention is used as a negative pressure generating member, the amount of ink solute deposited and the deterioration of the negative pressure generating member when the pigment ink is filled in the cartridge and stored for a long time are extremely small, Being able to withstand actual use.

As another example of the first advantage, it is shown that the deterioration of the polypropylene fiber is extremely small even for an ink having a high PH, for example, an ink having a PH of 10 or more, or an ink having a low PH, for example, an ink having a PH of 3 or less. You can

The inventors of the present invention measured the ink particle diameter, which is an index of the above-mentioned amount of deposition, in a shot bottle filled with ink only, ink and urethane foam, and ink and polypropylene fiber in an environment of 60 ° C. , We conducted each case and obtained the following results.

(Storage period) 2 weeks 2 months Ink only 0.093 (μm) 0.093 (μm) Urethane foam 0.112 (μm) 0.359 (μm) Polypropylene fiber 0.093 (μm) 0.118 (Μm) As is clear from the above measurement results, polypropylene fiber has good storability for pigment ink and can be said to be suitable as a negative pressure generating member of an ink cartridge containing the pigment ink.

In the second special invention, polypropylene forming fibers is a material suitable for reuse (recycling), and in particular, as shown in the above embodiment, the container of the cartridge is also formed of the same material as the fibers. By doing so, the treatment process at the time of recycling can be simplified.

For example, an ink cartridge in which used fibers and a container are integrated is heated to about 180 ° C. to evaporate residual ink components, and then a fiber (fiber diameter 100 μm) is obtained with a melt spinning machine although it is black. You can

The fibrous material was filled in a container in the same manner as described above to prepare an ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge was evaluated by the same method as described above. It was possible to obtain almost the same results as the polypropylene fiber. From this result, it can be understood that the ink cartridge of the present invention can be easily recycled.

A used ink cartridge, which is also integrated with a fiber and a container, is heated to about 180 ° C. to evaporate residual ink components, and then a resin chip is formed into an ink cartridge container and a lid by a molding machine. It is possible to

In the above recycling, it is possible to use 100% of the waste ink cartridge as described above, but by mixing the resin which has not been used for forming the fibers and the like at an arbitrary ratio. It can also be recycled.

Further, as a material for forming the ink cartridge according to the present invention, at least a container and a fiber having the same quality and capable of being molded can be used. In the organic system, for example, aramid is used. , Vinylon, acrylic, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, carbon, inorganic materials such as boron, glass (silica), alumina, zirconia, and metal materials such as tungsten motibden, steel, stainless steel, beryllium, titanium, aluminum, Magnesium, amorphous (F
e-Si-B type) and the like.

From the viewpoint of easiness of initial molding, organic type and metal type are preferable, and organic type is more preferable from the viewpoint of handleability. From the viewpoint of recyclability, organic thermoplastic resins that can be easily recycled without undergoing steps such as decomposition and purification are more preferable.

More preferable thermoplastic resins include, for example, polyethylene, polyvinyl chloride, polystyrene, acrylonitrile, polypropylene, polyamide, polyacetal, polyethylene terephthalate, polybutylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, polyphenylene oxide, polyphenylene sulfide, polyether sulfone, polyether. Examples thereof include ether ketone, polyether imide, polyamide imide, polysulfone, nylon, and polymide, and their composites,
It may be a modified product.

However, as described above, if importance is attached to the storage stability in ink jet inks, olefin resins such as polyethylene and polypropylene are particularly preferable.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic cross-sectional views of fibers composed of different materials. In addition, it is optional to mix other additives within a range not exceeding the above resin components.

In order for the fibers selected from the above materials to function as a more suitable negative pressure generating member of the ink cartridge, the fibers are randomly crossed within the ink cartridge as described above. It is more preferable that the ink be filled in the ink cartridge in a neat form such as a fiber bundle so that the space for filling the ink cartridge is reduced and the ink filling amount is reduced, resulting in an internal volume of the container. The amount of ink used is reduced.

FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the volume and the volume of the container 11 when it is assumed that the fibers 4 that are not filled in the container 11 are not filled.

As is apparent from this figure, the fibers 4 are compressed to some extent in the container 11 having a smaller volume, and the elastic force of each fiber produces a force corresponding to the compression.

In order to effectively exert the first and second advantages described above, after the fiber as the negative pressure generating member is filled in the cartridge, vibration, impact, etc. of the ink cartridge may be prevented. It is desirable that the volume does not shrink due to a physical external force. More specifically, when the fiber diameter is extremely small, the volume of the entire fiber may contract after the ink penetrates between the fibers, and the fiber may become a lump. In such a case, the lump of fibers cannot sufficiently fill the space inside the ink cartridge due to the volume contraction, and the case where the lump of fibers moves inside the cartridge and ink supply cannot be performed promptly occurs. It is presumed that this is due to the fact that the contact between the fibers causes the fibers to be attracted by the surface tension of the ink between them, reducing the distance between them and causing the volume to shrink as a whole. As a result, the fiber contracted from the inner volume of the ink cartridge moves in the ink cartridge and cannot come into contact with the filter of the ink supply path, so that the ink may not be rapidly supplied as described above.

From the above, it is preferable that the fiber volume in the ink cartridge does not shrink after coming into contact with the ink.

In order to achieve this, each fiber of the fibers 4 filled in the ink cartridge preferably has a plurality of intersections as shown in FIG. That is, when the fibers 4 come into contact with the ink, a force for moving the fibers in the direction of the arrow acts due to the surface tension of the ink or the like. It acts in a canceling direction, and it is possible to suppress the above-mentioned contraction of the fiber.

In addition to this structure, it is also preferable to use a fiber material having a fiber rigidity higher than the surface tension of the ink used, or a fiber having a fiber diameter, and to select the fiber according to the ink used. . It is also desirable to properly determine the amount of fiber used in the cartridge.

As a method of forming the plurality of intersections, there is a method of preparing a fiber bundle and scraping the fiber bundle a plurality of times in a direction orthogonal to the fiber bundle using a comb-shaped device.

Also, a plurality of crosses can be obtained by cutting the fiber bundle to an arbitrary length and stirring with a stirrer.

As another means, a negative pressure generating member having an apparent volume or more may be inserted into the cartridge container so that the fibers cannot move inside the ink cartridge, and then sufficiently pressed by the lid of the cartridge or the like. Good.

Furthermore, as in the fiber shown in FIG. 3, a negative pressure generating member is formed on the surface layer thereof by using a resin fiber having a low melting temperature, and thereafter, at a temperature not lower than the resin temperature of the fiber outer layer and at the core portion. It is also one of the preferable means to heat the temperature below the resin temperature and fix the whole fiber by welding the intersections on the premise that a plurality of intersections intersect.

For the above reason, the diameter and the filling amount of the fiber as the negative pressure generating member used in the embodiment of the present invention differ depending on the inner volume and shape of the ink cartridge, the configuration of the negative pressure generating member, the filling amount and the like. Although it cannot be specified in a general way,
Considering that the generation of negative pressure depends on the gap between fibers, if the pressure is extremely high, the negative pressure becomes low and ink leaks from the ink cartridge. Conversely, if it is extremely low, The negative pressure becomes too high and ink cannot be supplied from the ink cartridge to the inkjet head. Therefore, depending on the inner volume of the ink cartridge and / or the filling amount of the fiber, the fiber diameter is 5 μm to
The range of 1 mm is preferable, and more preferably 10 μm to
0.5 mm, more preferably 15 μ
It is m-45 micrometers.

Further, as a preferable range in the arrangement having a plurality of intersections, the vicinity of the supply port is 20 μm to 40 μm.
m and other regions preferably have a fiber diameter larger than 40 μm. The more preferable range of the other region is 50 μm to 10 μm.
0 μm.

The filling of the fibers into the ink cartridge is not particularly limited, but in order to suppress the movement of the fibers within the ink cartridge, as described above, the fibers are pressed in at least one direction. It is preferable to set. If a gap larger than the gap between the fibers occurs at the portion of the fiber 4 in contact with the filter 8A of the ink supply path 8, the ink supply from the ink cartridge to the inkjet head may be cut off. More preferably, it is pressed in the direction opposite to the filter.

5 and 6 are schematic views of an ink cartridge according to another embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 5, the fibers 4b having a smaller diameter are arranged in a state of being pressed against the surface of the filter 8A of the ink supply passage 8, and the fibers 4a having a larger diameter are arranged at the other portions so that the ink supply passage 8 side is provided. The fiber has a high density gradient. As a result, the ink in the ink cartridge is likely to concentrate on the ink supply path 8 side, and the amount of residual ink can be reduced.

FIG. 6 relates to an embodiment of the present invention, and an ink cartridge in which fibers 4b having a small diameter are arranged in a bag shape along the inner wall of the cartridge container 11 and fibers 4a having a larger fiber diameter are arranged inside thereof. It is a figure which shows typically.

In this cartridge, the fibers 4b arranged along the inner wall of the ink play a role of mainly generating a negative pressure of the ink cartridge, and the fibers 4a arranged inside thereof.
Has a relatively low negative pressure in order to increase the ink use efficiency. That is, since the negative pressure of the fiber 4a is weaker than that of the fiber 4b, the ink holding power is low, but the ink residual ratio is low. In this way, it is possible to easily carry out function separation in the ink cartridge.

The technique of providing a density gradient in the negative pressure generating member as described above is also known in the conventional ink tank using urethane foam or the like. However, in the case of urethane foam, the shape before changing into the cartridge is changed (including making a cut in the foam material), and the change in the compressibility of the foam material when it is inserted into the cartridge is used to make it negative. This is a method (1) of controlling the density distribution of the pressure generating member, or a method (2) of providing a protrusion or the like inside the ink cartridge to control the density distribution of the negative pressure generating member. In the case of the above method (1), the foam material having a different shape is inserted into the ink cartridge, and the foam material is likely to be wrinkled in the ink cartridge, and wrinkles are generated at an unexpected location, and the performance of the ink cartridge is deteriorated. May be inhibited.

Further, it is necessary to process the foam material into a different shape, which may increase the cost. Also in the method of (2) above, the foam material can have a simple shape, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped, but since the protrusion is generally provided in the ink cartridge, the volume in the ink cartridge decreases. As a result, the filling amount of ink is reduced, and as a result, the use efficiency of ink is reduced.

On the other hand, in the negative pressure generating member used in the present invention, the density gradient of the negative pressure generating member is provided as described above by simply mixing the fiber bodies having different fiber diameters and / or fiber shapes. It becomes possible. Therefore, in the present invention, disposing a plurality of fibers having different fiber diameters in the ink cartridge as the negative pressure generating member is a more preferable configuration in order to improve the function of the ink cartridge.

The technical concept of using the fibrous body for the negative pressure generating member, which is the basis for each of the embodiments described above, can be summarized as follows.

First, the length of the fibers forming the fibrous body is regulated to a predetermined length, whereby the fibrous body filled in the ink tank is deformed within a range in which it is elastically bent and a plurality of fibers are deformed. It is possible to form intersections.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the length, width, and height of the ink cartridge 1 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape are L,
N, M, and the diagonal line of the surface formed by M, N is l
In this case, the preferable range of the length of each fiber constituting the fibrous body is 1 (ell) or more. Furthermore, it is more preferably longer than the length F forming the diagonal line of the rectangular parallelepiped. As a result, the fibers filled in the container of the cartridge 1 can be deformed within the range of elastic bending to form a plurality of intersections.

Secondly, in the ink cartridge 1, fibrous bodies having different thicknesses are arranged at predetermined portions.

For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a fiber body 4b made of a fiber having a small fiber diameter is arranged so as to abut the filter 8A in the vicinity of the ink supply path. The fibrous body 4a is arranged so as to fill the inside of the cartridge 1 around the fibrous body 4b. As a result, it is possible to reduce the flow resistance of the filter, which has been conventionally dominant in the flow resistance in the ink supply from the ink tank to the inkjet head, improve the ink supply performance, and prevent the deterioration of the ink retention in the ink tank. It is possible.

To explain this more specifically, as shown in the table below,

[0071]

[Table 1]

By increasing the filter diameter as compared with the conventional example, the flow resistance in the filter, which is dominant in ink supply, can be reduced, thereby reducing the overall ink supply resistance. By disposing a fibrous body having a small fiber diameter in the vicinity, it is possible to prevent the concentration of ink in the ink supply path and the leakage of ink through the filter and the ink supply path.

FIG. 9 shows an embodiment in which the second technical idea is applied when another negative pressure generating member is used.

As shown in FIG. 9, 40a is a felt made of relatively thick fibers, and 40b is a felt made of fibers thinner than 40a. Although this embodiment does not have the degree of freedom of fibers as in the above-mentioned invention, since the size relationship of the fiber diameter is provided inside the tank with respect to the supply port side, the ink fluidity in the tank is improved and the filling ratio of the fibers is improved. On the other hand, there is an advantage that the ink filling can be increased, and at the same time, the ink remaining amount can be reduced. Further, the diameter of the filter 8A can be made larger than that of the conventional one by bringing the felt 40b made of fine fibers into contact with the filter 8A.

It should be noted that although the ink cartridge of each of the above-mentioned embodiments is not described as being provided with a rib inside the container for introducing air into the container, such a rib may be provided, and in this case, at least the ink is used. It is necessary to ensure proper contact between the feed line filter and the fibers.

FIGS. 10A to 10H are sectional views showing other examples of the sectional shape of each fiber constituting the fiber 4.

The cross-sectional shape of the fiber may be any shape as shown in these figures, but in particular, in order to increase the void volume in the ink cartridge when it is filled in the ink cartridge, as shown in FIG. It is more preferable that the fibers have irregularities in the cross section as shown in (f) to (h) or the hollow structure as shown in FIGS. 10 (e) and (g). Further, if the fiber cross-sectional shape is as shown in FIGS. 10 (e) to 10 (h), even if the fiber bundle shape is used, it is possible to reduce the void volume in performing a predetermined function as the negative pressure generating member. None preferred.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the structure of the ink cartridge using the fiber as the negative pressure generating member according to the embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 11, the ink tank cartridge 1 of this embodiment is provided with a supply passage 8 for connecting with an ink jet recording head 12, and a negative pressure generating member accommodating portion accommodating fibers 4 as a negative pressure generating member. 53 and an ink containing portion 56 that is adjacent to the negative pressure generating member containing portion 53 via a rib 54 and contains the ink that is communicated with the communicating portion 57 of the ink cartridge bottom 55.

In FIG. 11, 7 is an atmosphere communication port for communicating the inside of the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion 53 with the atmosphere, 59 is a rib for improving the strength of the ink accommodating portion 56, and 60 is an inside of the ink tank cartridge 1. Is an opening for filling the ink with, and 61 is a sealing material for sealing the opening. The rib 54 is provided with a groove 54A for performing gas-liquid exchange between the ink in the ink containing portion 56 and the atmosphere introduced into the negative pressure generating member containing portion 53 via the atmosphere communicating port 58.
As a result, first, the ink in the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion 53 is consumed, and when the liquid level in the accommodating portion 53 reaches the groove 54A, the ink in the ink accommodating portion 56 is passed through the communicating portion 57 by the gas-liquid exchange. It is supplied to the housing portion 53 side and starts to be consumed.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a printer as an ink jet recording apparatus which can use the ink cartridge shown in FIG.

In FIG. 12, 101 is a printer, 102 is an operation panel section provided on the upper front part of the housing of the printer 101, and 103 is a paper feed cassette mounted from the opening on the front surface of the housing. 1
Reference numeral 04 is the paper (recording medium) supplied from the paper feed cassette 3.
Reference numeral 105 denotes a paper discharge tray that holds the paper discharged through the paper conveyance path in the printer 101. 10
Reference numeral 6 is a body cover having an L-shaped cross section. The body cover 106 covers the opening 107 formed in the right front part of the housing, and is rotatably attached to the inner end of the opening 107 by a hinge 108. A carriage 110 supported by a guide or the like (not shown) is arranged inside the housing.
The carriage 110 is provided so as to be capable of reciprocating along the width direction of the paper passing through the paper transport path, that is, the longitudinal direction of the guide 9 and the like.

The carriage 110 in this embodiment includes a stage 110a which is held horizontally by a guide or the like,
An opening (not shown) formed on the stage 110a in the vicinity of the guide for mounting the inkjet head, and the ink cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1B mounted on the stage 110a in front of the opening.
a cartridge garage 110b for accommodating k,
It is roughly configured with a cartridge holder 110c for preventing the cartridge housed in the garage 110b from coming off.

The stage 110a is slidably supported by the guide at the rear end thereof, and the lower side of the front end thereof is mounted on a guide plate (not shown). The guide plate may also function as a paper pressing member for preventing the lifting of the paper conveyed through the paper conveyance path described above, and the stage cantilevers with respect to the guide depending on the thickness of the paper. It may have a function of lifting up.

An ink jet head (not shown) is attached to the opening of the stage 110a with its ink ejection port facing downward.

The cartridge garage 110b has four
Through holes for simultaneously storing the individual ink cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1Bk are formed in the front-rear direction, and engaging recesses for engaging the engaging claws of the cartridge holder 110c are formed on both outer sides. There is.

The cartridge holder 10c is rotatably attached to the front end of the stage 110a by a hinge 116. The dimension from the front end surface of the garage 110b to the hinge 116 is determined in consideration of the dimension of the cartridge 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1Bk protruding from the front end of the garage 110b when the cartridge 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1Bk is housed in the garage 110b. . The cartridge holder 11
0c is a substantially rectangular plate shape. Cartridge holder 11
0c protrudes in the direction perpendicular to the plate surface on both sides of the upper part apart from the lower part fixed by the hinge 116, and when the holder 110c is closed, the garage 11c.
0b of the engaging recess 110d of a pair of engaging claws 110
e is provided. Further, the holder 110c is formed with a fitting hole 120 for fitting the handle portion of each of the cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C and 1Bk in the plate portion thereof. These fitting holes 120 are located at positions corresponding to the above-mentioned handle portion,
It has a shape and a size.

[0088]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, when fibers are used, the reduction of the fiber spacing at the time of ink filling lowers the ink holding power itself of the tank as a whole and causes ink supply failure. It is possible to prevent ink leakage and the like.

Further, it is possible to provide an ink tank effectively applied with a characteristic change depending on the fiber diameter.

Further, it is possible to provide an ink tank which gives a suitable condition to the diameter of the fiber in the ink tank and an ink tank which can relieve the filter resistance itself which governs the dynamic resistance of the ink.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a configuration of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ink cartridge in a connection relationship with an inkjet head.

3 (a) and 3 (b) are cross-sectional views showing another configuration of the fiber according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the size relationship between the volume of fibers and the volume of a cartridge container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink cartridge according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an ink cartridge according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the size of the cartridge and the length of the fiber in each example of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining an action when fibers having different diameters are used.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation described in FIG. 8 when another negative pressure generating member is used.

10 (a) to 10 (h) are cross-sectional views showing some examples of cross-sectional shapes of fibers according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of an ink cartridge that uses fibers as a negative pressure generating member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

12 is a perspective view showing an example of an ink jet recording apparatus using the ink cartridge shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the action of multiple crossing of fibers according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Cartridge 2 Lid 4, 4a, 4b, 4c Fiber 7 Atmosphere Communication Port 8 Ink Supply Channel 8A Filter 11 Container 12 Inkjet Head 14 Ink Supply Pipe 40a, 40b Felt

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. An ink tank having a region for accommodating a fibrous body on at least an ink supply side, wherein the fibrous body is deformed within a range of elastic bending,
An ink tank, wherein a plurality of intersections are formed in different directions to fill the area. 2. The ink tank supplies ink by interposing a filter of an inkjet head or a filter of the ink tank on the ink supply side, and the fiber diameter is larger than the diameter of the filter. The ink tank according to item 1. 3. The in-tank region adjacent to the fibrous body accommodating region forms a fibrous body accommodating second region, and the fiber diameter of the second region is larger than the fiber diameter of the accommodating region. The ink tank according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein in the tank inner wall region where the fibrous body contacts, most of the fibrous body has a curved line in contact with the tank inner wall. . 5. An ink tank having a region for accommodating a fibrous body on at least an ink supply side, wherein the tank wall material and the fibrous body material are made of materials under the same conditions. 6. The ink tank according to claim 5, wherein the material under the same condition is an olefin resin. 7. The ink tank according to claim 5, wherein at least one of the tank wall and the fibrous body is formed of a remelted material. 8. The ink tank according to claim 7, wherein the remelting temperature is equal to or higher than the boiling point of the ink solvent. 9. An ink tank comprising a region containing a fibrous body on at least an ink supply side, wherein the fibrous body is deformed within a range of bending to an elastic body,
An ink tank, characterized in that a plurality of intersections are formed in different directions and filled in the area and is made of an olein-based resin, and the ink tank contains a pigment ink. 10. An ink tank having a non-woven fabric or felt-like region that constitutes a fibrous body, wherein the ink tank supplies ink by interposing a filter of an inkjet head or a filter of the ink tank on an ink supply side. The ink tank is characterized in that the fiber diameter is larger than the diameter of the filter. 11. An ink tank having a non-woven fabric or felt-like region that constitutes a fibrous body, wherein a tank inner region adjacent to the fibrous body storage region forms a second fibrous body storage region, An ink tank, wherein the fiber diameter of the second region is larger than the fiber diameter. 12. An ink jet device comprising an ink tank and an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a medium, wherein the ink tank has a region accommodating a fibrous body at least on the ink supply side. An ink tank, wherein the fibrous body is deformed within an elastically bending range,
An inkjet device, wherein a plurality of intersections are formed in different directions to fill the area. 13. An ink jet device comprising an ink tank and an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a medium, wherein the ink tank has a region accommodating a fibrous body at least on the ink supply side. An ink jet device, which is an ink tank, wherein the tank wall material and the fibrous body material are made of materials under the same conditions. 14. An ink jet device comprising an ink tank and an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a medium, wherein the ink tank has a region accommodating a fibrous body at least on the ink supply side. An ink tank, wherein the fibrous body is deformed within a range of bending into an elastic body,
An ink jet apparatus, characterized in that a plurality of intersections are formed in different directions and are filled in the area, and are made of an olein-based resin, and the ink tank stores a pigment ink. 15. An ink jet device comprising an ink tank and an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a medium, wherein the ink tank has a region in which a fibrous body is formed of a non-woven fabric or felt. An ink tank, wherein the ink tank supplies ink by interposing a filter of an inkjet head or a filter of the ink tank on an ink supply side, and the fiber diameter is larger than a diameter of the filter. Inkjet device. 16. An ink jet device comprising an ink tank and an ink jet head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink tank onto a medium, wherein the ink tank has a non-woven fabric or felt-like region that constitutes a fibrous body. In the ink tank, the tank inner region adjacent to the fibrous body storage region forms a second fibrous body storage region, and the fiber diameter of the second region is larger than the fiber diameter of the storage region. Characteristic inkjet device.