JPH08276602A - Ink tank and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To impart excellent ink holding characteristics and to detect an ink consumption state by supplying ink from an ink liquid chamber provided with an electrode capable of detecting the amt. of ink when the liquid level of the ink in an ink supply liquid chamber housing an ink absorbing element adjusted in permeability and having an atmosphere introducing passage falls to the position of an upper communication passage. CONSTITUTION: An ink tank 19 is partitioned into an ink supply liquid chamber 100 and an ink liquid chamber 101 and two chambers 100, 101 are connected by upper and lower communication passages 108, 109. The ink supply liquid chamber 100 is almost closely packed with an ink absorbing element 103 adjusted in permeability and provided with an atmosphere introducing passage 104 and an electrode 106 is provided to the rear part of the ink liquid chamber 101. When the liquid level of the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 falls to the position of the upper communication passage 108, the ink is supplied to the ink supply liquid chamber 100 from the ink liquid chamber 101. The amt. of the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 at this time can be detected by the current outputted from the electrode 106 horizontally arranged to the rear part of the ink liquid chamber 101.

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 a recording device capable of storing ink in a recording device such as an inkjet recording device, a copying machine and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium using ink, an ink tank system for supplying ink to a print head has been roughly classified into two types according to an ink holding system.

One is an ink tank system in which an ink tank for holding ink is built into the main body of the recording apparatus and ink is supplied to the ink supply path from the ink tank to the recording head by using a tube or the like. In this method, the ink supply system between the ink tank and the recording head becomes large, and it is difficult to reduce the size and cost of the recording apparatus main body. Further, in the above-mentioned supply system, the ink is likely to be interrupted, the amount of ink consumption required for recovery becomes large, and the running cost of the ink tank increases. Further, in order to maintain the meniscus of the ink ejection portion, the ink tank is arranged at a position lower than the recording head and the negative pressure due to the head difference of the ink tank is used. Was invited. Further, the shape of the ink tank is greatly restricted when trying to reduce the head difference.

The other is to arrange an ink absorber inside the ink tank, hold the ink by its transmitting force, and maintain the meniscus of the ink ejecting hole by the balance with the penetrating force of the ink ejecting hole of the recording head. All absorber ink tank system. This all-absorber ink tank system holds less ink than the maximum holding capacity of the absorber, and utilizes the penetrating force at the gas-liquid interface between the atmosphere and the ink of the absorber that does not hold ink. To hold the ink,
The head pressure changes according to the fluctuation of the liquid surface due to the consumption of ink. That is, the negative pressure is changed by the amount of change in the head pressure, the meniscus of the ink ejection hole is changed, the print quality is deteriorated, and the shape of the ink tank is greatly restricted. Further, in this ink tank system, the amount of ink consumed from the ink ejection holes is smaller than the amount of ink held by the absorber. In other words, a large amount of ink remains in the absorber, resulting in a very high running cost. Furthermore, when detecting the remaining amount of ink, it is possible to provide two electrodes inside the ink absorber and outside the ink absorber to detect the presence or absence of the ink by utilizing the conductivity of the ink. Since the amount of ink remaining inside the absorber is large, the remaining amount of ink cannot be detected every time the ink is consumed. Further, since the electrode is constantly immersed in the ink, the ink is likely to be deteriorated due to the deterioration such as oxidation of the electrode.

On the other hand, JP-A-56-67269 and JP-A-59-98857 describe a spring bag ink tank system using an ink bag urged by a spring in the ink tank. The spring method is a method in which the negative pressure change is small because the pressing force of the spring does not change even if the amount of ink in the ink tank changes, but the spring shape is greatly restricted to obtain a predetermined internal negative pressure, and the ink tank bag Must be fixed so that they are hermetically sealed, which complicates the process and makes the ink tank very expensive.

Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-214666, a divided ink chamber ink tank system in which the ink tank is divided into a plurality of ink chambers and the ink chambers are communicated with each other by minute communication passages capable of generating negative pressure Is listed. This divided ink chamber ink tank method can simplify the structure and realize stable internal negative pressure generation compared to the above-mentioned spring bag method, but if the holding posture of the ink tank is changed, the internal negative pressure may change depending on the ink remaining amount. The pressure may decrease and ink leakage may occur, which limits the posture of the ink tank.

Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-040043 discloses an improved ink tank chamber type ink chamber system which improves the ink chamber type ink chamber system and is superior to environmental changes. In this ink tank system, a negative pressure generating member accommodating portion accommodating a negative pressure generating member and an ink accommodating portion accommodating ink adjacent to the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion are communicated by a communication passage (gap). In this method, a passage for introducing the atmosphere (atmosphere introducing passage) is introduced and formed up to the vicinity of the communication passage. In this ink tank system, the ink in the negative pressure generating member housing portion on the ink supply port side is first consumed. Next, when the ink level in the negative pressure generating member storage portion is lowered and the permeation force of the atmosphere introduction path becomes weaker than the permeation force of the negative pressure generation member, the ink in the ink storage portion passes through the negative pressure generation member from the communication path. Is consumed, and the atmosphere corresponding to the consumed ink amount is introduced through the atmosphere introduction passage and the communication passage. Furthermore, when all the ink in the ink containing portion is consumed, the ink in the remaining negative pressure generating member containing portion is consumed. In this method, when the environment changes and the atmosphere in the ink containing section expands, the ink moves from the ink containing section to the negative pressure generating member containing section by the volume increase. The ink contains a surfactant, etc., which improves the permeability of the ink to the negative pressure generating member, so the ink is absorbed by the negative pressure generating member before it leaks from the ink supply port, and it is effective against environmental changes. Is also excellent.

[0008]

However, in the conventional ink tank described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-040043, two electrodes are provided in the ink containing portion so that the resistance value changes with the decrease of the ink in the ink containing portion. Although it can be detected, there is a problem that the ink end (ink end) cannot be detected because the ink remaining in the negative pressure generating member storage portion is consumed even after the ink in the ink storage portion is consumed.

Further, when the ink tank body is made transparent so that the remaining amount can be confirmed, the ink in the ink containing portion is consumed even though the ink in the negative pressure generating member containing portion still remains. There is a problem in that there is a possibility of making an erroneous judgment that there is no more ink inside.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and is excellent in ink holding performance, and is also excellent in an ink tank capable of easily detecting a reduced state of ink and ink shortage, and an ink holding performance. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink tank and a recording device that can easily detect a reduced state of ink and ink shortage.

[0011]

In order to achieve this object, an ink tank according to a first aspect of the present invention accommodates an ink absorber whose permeability has been adjusted, and connects the ink absorber and the atmosphere. An ink supply liquid chamber having an introduction path, an ink liquid chamber adjacent to the ink supply liquid chamber, an ink supply passage communicating with the ink supply liquid chamber to supply ink to the recording head, an ink supply liquid chamber and an ink supply passage A filter disposed between the ink liquid chamber, an electrode arranged in the water level direction at the rear of the ink liquid chamber, and an upper communication passage and a lower communication passage that communicate the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber with each other. Have a configuration.

An ink tank according to a second aspect is the ink tank according to the first aspect.
In the ink tank described above, the filter has a structure in which the penetrating power of the filter is smaller than the penetrating power of the ink ejection port of the recording head.

The ink tank according to claim 3 is the ink tank according to claim 1.
In the above described ink tank, the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber are made of a material in which the ink inside is visible.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus having the ink tank according to the first aspect and a recording head which communicates with the ink tank via an ink flow path having an ejection energy generating portion.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus according to the fourth aspect, which comprises a carriage on which a recording head is mounted and a conveying member which conveys a recording medium to a position facing the recording head. are doing.

[0016]

With this configuration, the ink absorber having the adjusted transmission power can be accommodated, and the ink can be reliably held by the ink supply liquid chamber having the air introduction passage that connects the ink absorber and the atmosphere. When the ink level in the ink supply liquid chamber drops to the position of the upper communication passage, ink is supplied from the ink liquid chamber to the ink supply liquid chamber, and the amount of ink in the ink liquid chamber at this time is in the water level direction behind the ink liquid chamber. Since it can be known from the current output from the electrode arranged on the ink tank, it is possible to obtain the ink tank and the recording apparatus which are excellent in the ink holding performance and can easily detect the reduced state of the ink and the ink shortage.

[0017]

【Example】

 (Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a combined state of an ink tank, a carriage, a recording head and a head block according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 14 is a carriage as a moving base, 19 is an ink tank for holding and supplying ink, 50 is a recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper, 51 is an aluminum plate to which a flexible substrate 53 is fixed, 52 is a projection of the head block 63, 53-
Reference numeral 1 is a flexible substrate positioning hole, 54 and 57 are positioning grooves facing the positioning protrusions 55 and 56, 58 is an ink inlet port through which ink from the ink tank 19 flows, and 59.
Is an elastic body having an elastic force, 60 and 61 are filters for removing dust and the like in the ink, 62 is an ink flow path which is a passage of ink supplied to the recording head 50, 64 is an atmosphere communication hole which communicates with the atmosphere, Reference numeral 65 is a spring for pressing the ink tank 19 against the head block 63, 66 is a communication passage provided in the upper and lower portions of the partition wall of the ink tank 19, 67 is an electrode for charging, and 68 is a pad portion.

The recording head 50 of FIG. 1 uses the ink, which is a resistor, as an air bubble generating actuator, and generates heat energy for energizing the ink itself according to an electric signal to cause a boiling phenomenon in the ink itself. The head is an energized bubble-jet type head that performs recording by using an electrode to be used.

The ink tank 19 configured as described above
And the arrangement, connection, function, action, etc. of the peripheral portion will be described.

In FIG. 1, the recording head 50 is arranged on the head block 63, and by the positioning grooves 54, 57 in the head block 63 corresponding to the positioning projections 55, 56 of the carriage 14, the positioning grooves 54, 57 in the vertical and horizontal directions and in the rotational direction. Its position is determined. Electrodes for supplying electric power to the ink and electric wiring are not shown, and are formed on the glass substrate by a film forming technique so as to form a plurality of rows. A pad portion 68 for receiving an electric signal from the recording apparatus main body is provided, and the aluminum plate 5
The flexible substrate 53 fixed on the 1 is a wire bonding or TAB (TAPE AUTOMATED B) with the above-mentioned electric wiring.
ONDING) is connected by joining. The flexible substrate 53, to which the glass substrate is connected by the electric wiring, is positioned and adhered (bonded) to the protrusion 52 of the head block 63 based on the positioning hole 53-1 on the flexible substrate 53. The channel and the ink channel on the glass substrate are sealed and joined. A filter 61 is provided at the ink inlet port 58 of the head block 63 on the ink tank 19 side to prevent dust and air bubbles from flowing into the ink ejection portion.

From the ink tank 19 to the head block 6
The ink that has passed through the ink flow path 62 of No. 3 and the ink flow path on the glass substrate has a common liquid chamber and a plurality of inks laser-processed on a polyimide (not shown) corresponding to the electrodes necessary for boiling the ink. The flow path 62 and the nozzle are sequentially supplied.
The polyimide, in which the plurality of ink channels 62 are laser-processed, is adhered onto the glass substrate with a thermosetting adhesive or the like, thereby forming an ink ejection channel. The replaceable ink tank 19 includes an ink tank horizontal positioning groove (not shown) of the carriage 14, and a spring 6 provided on the carriage 14 to press the ink tank 19 against the head block 63.
5 is coupled to the head block 63 via the elastic body 59. The elastic body 59 has an elastic force at the joint between the head block 63 and the ink tank 19 in the direction opposite to the pressing direction of the spring 65, blocks the invasion of bubbles from the ink tank joint, and forms a gap with the ink tank 19. The tip is dome-shaped to complete the bond seal.

As described above, in the recording apparatus according to this embodiment, the replaceable ink tank 19 and the head block 63 are replaceable.
Bubbles can be prevented from entering from the joint portion with and the ink tank 19 can be replaced easily and surely.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the state of the ink tank filled with ink according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, 19 is an ink tank for holding and supplying ink, 100
Is an ink supply liquid chamber, 101 is an ink liquid chamber adjacent to the ink supply liquid chamber 100, 102 is an ink supply passage provided in the lower part of the ink supply liquid chamber 100, 103 is an ink absorber of the ink supply liquid chamber 100, 104 1 is an atmosphere introduction path corresponding to the atmosphere communication hole of FIG. 1, 105 is a filter corresponding to the filter 60 of FIG. 1, 106 is an electrode corresponding to the electrode 67 of FIG. 1, 107 is an electrode for supplying ink to the recording head 50. An ink supply port, 108 is an upper communication passage corresponding to the upper communication passage 66 in FIG. 1, and 109 is a lower communication passage corresponding to the lower communication passage 66 in FIG.

The ink tank 19 configured as described above
The connection, the ink supply operation, and the like will be described.

In the ink tank 19 of FIG. 3, the inner surface of the ink tank 19 is partitioned into two chambers, an ink supply liquid chamber 100 and an ink liquid chamber 101. The two chambers are connected by two communication passages, an upper communication passage 108 and a lower communication passage 109. The ink supply liquid chamber 100 is packed with an ink absorber 103 whose permeability has been adjusted with almost no space, an air introduction path 104 is provided, and a filter 105 is provided at the lower end of the ink supply liquid chamber 100, and the ink liquid chamber 101 is provided. An electrode 106 is provided on the rear portion (right side).
As described above, the system of the ink tank 19 according to the present embodiment is
It is an improved division ink chamber ink tank system.

The state shown in FIG. 3 is a state in which ink is sufficiently held in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 and the ink liquid chamber 101, and the ink in the ink absorber 103 is filtered by the filter 105.
Is maintained in a state in which the water head pressure from the filter 105, the water head pressure from the filter 105, the water absorption force of the ink absorber 103, and the pressure reduction of the ink liquid chamber 101 are balanced. Here, the ink supply port 10
When the ink is consumed from 7, the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 does not decrease, the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 is consumed, and the atmosphere is introduced from the atmosphere introduction path 104 by an amount corresponding to the ink consumption. As the ink at this time decreases, the filter 1
The negative pressure inside the ink supply liquid chamber 100 increases by the amount of decrease in the hydraulic head pressure from 05. At this time, since the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 is not consumed, the electrode 1 at the rear of the ink tank 19 is
06 is completely adjacent to the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101, that is, in a state of contact with the entire area.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber of the ink tank according to the embodiment of the present invention is reduced. As shown in FIG. 4, about 1/4 of the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 is consumed, and the water level in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 is slightly above the position of the upper communication passage 108. When the ink is further consumed from this state, the penetrating force by the ink absorber 103 becomes lower than the decompression of the ink liquid chamber 101, and the ink in the ink supply chamber 100 is not consumed and the ink is continuously discharged from the ink liquid chamber 101 to the lower part. As shown in FIG. 5, the air is consumed from the passage 109, and as much as the consumed ink, the atmosphere introduction passage 104 and the upper communication passage 1 are provided.
Atmosphere is taken in through 08. At this time, the upper communication passage 10
The meniscus formed on the ink absorber 103 in the vicinity of 8 breaks from the portion close to the upper communication passage 108, and the atmosphere is introduced so that the pressure of the ink liquid chamber 101 balances with the meniscus of the ink absorber 103. At this time, the meniscus of the ink absorber 103 with respect to the atmosphere is the ink liquid chamber 101.
The negative pressure inside the ink chamber 101 rapidly increases with the increase in the ink consumption of the upper communication passage 10.
After the air is introduced from No. 8, the ink instantaneously flows into the ink supply liquid chamber 100 through the lower communication passage 109 and is absorbed by the ink absorber 103, so that the liquid surface of the ink rises. That is, the state is close to that of the meniscus before introduction into the atmosphere. In other words, during ink consumption from the ink liquid chamber 101, the meniscus breaks in a stable state at all times to stabilize the internal negative pressure change during ink consumption in the ink liquid chamber 101. At this time, the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 gradually lowers the ink liquid level by replacing the ink consumption with the atmosphere.
The area adjacent to the ink in the electrode 106 provided in the water level direction of the ink liquid chamber 101 gradually decreases.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the ink in the ink liquid chamber of the ink tank according to the embodiment of the present invention is slightly reduced. In the state of FIG. 5, the ink surface is the ink tank 19
The ink tank 1 is located at the upper end in the height direction of the electrode 106 provided in the rear part, and the entire area of the electrode 106 is adjacent to the ink.
The change in the internal pressure inside 9 is stable as in the state of FIG.

When the ink is further consumed, the ink liquid chamber 1
The liquid level of 01 is lower than the liquid level of the ink supply liquid chamber 100, that is, the state shown in FIG. In this state, the internal pressure of the ink liquid chamber 101 becomes atmospheric pressure, and the ink below the upper communication passage 108 leaks to the ink supply liquid chamber 100. However, the ink leakage amount at this time is a slight amount and is absorbed by the ink absorber 103. Further, since the filter 105 having a smaller diameter than the ink absorber 103 is provided, no ink leaks by breaking the meniscus of the filter 105, and even if the ink level in the ink liquid chamber 101 drops, the ink immediately rises. Since the meniscus of the ink absorber 103 is formed in the vicinity of the communication passage 108, it is very gentle that the ink liquid chamber 101 is in the atmospheric pressure state. In this atmospheric pressure state, the ink level in the ink liquid chamber 101 is located completely below the electrode 106, and the ink and the electrode 106 are not completely adjacent to each other.

When the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 is completely exhausted, only the ink absorbed by the ink absorber 103 in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 remains in the ink tank 19 as shown in FIG. The internal negative pressure of the ink supply liquid chamber 100 increases due to the decrease of the ink liquid level due to the consumption of the ink absorbed by the body 103, that is, the decrease of the water head pressure from the filter 105 to the liquid surface. Naturally, during the ink consumption of the ink absorber 103, there is no ink in the ink liquid chamber 101, that is, ink adjacent to the electrode 106.

Next, the principle of detecting the presence or absence of ink will be described with reference to FIG.
The principle will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, 19 is an ink tank, 50 is a recording head, 61 is a filter, 6
2 is an ink flow path, 63 is a head block, 100 is an ink supply chamber, 101 is an ink supply chamber, 102 is an ink supply passage, 103 is an ink absorber, 104 is an air introduction passage, 1
Reference numeral 05 is a filter, 106 is an electrode, 107 is an ink supply port, 108 is an upper communication passage, 109 is a lower communication passage,
Since these are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 7, the same reference numerals are given and the description thereof will be omitted. Reference numeral 110 is a voltmeter that measures the potential difference of the resistor 111 to detect the current flowing through the resistor 111.

In the state shown in FIG. 8, the ink is stored in the ink tank 19
It is a state in which the electrode 106 is sufficiently filled and the electrode 106 is sufficiently adjacent to the ink in the rear portion of the ink tank 19. Further, the ink in the ink tank 19 is filled up to the minute ink ejection port on the recording head 50 by the purging operation, and the internal pressure in the ink tank 19 and the penetrating force of the ink ejection port are balanced.

Here, when the electrodes (not shown) formed on the recording head 50 are energized so that the ink is instantly positively charged, the ink tank 19 is caused by electrostatic induction using the wall of the ink tank 19 as a dielectric. The electrode provided outside the electrode is negatively charged. The electrode 106 is grounded, and the current from the electrode 106 flows in the Z direction shown in FIG. The value of this current is the value of the resistor 11 connected between the electrode 106 and ground.
It is detected by measuring the potential difference generated at 1 with the voltmeter 110. When the adjacent area between the electrode 106 and the ink is reduced, the charge amount of the electrode 106 is reduced, the current value is reduced, and the potential difference is reduced. Therefore, the ink amount in the ink tank 19 can be represented by the measured potential difference.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 19 and the measured potential difference, where the vertical axis represents the measured potential difference and the horizontal axis represents the remaining ink amount. The measured potential difference increases as it goes up, and the remaining ink amount increases as it goes to the left. Figure 9
3A, the position a shows the state of FIG. 3 in which the ink tank 19 is sufficiently filled with ink, and the position b shows the state in which the ink of the ink absorber 103 has lowered the liquid surface to the vicinity of the upper communication passage 108. That is, the state of FIG. 4 is shown. The state shown by the position c is the state of FIG. 5 in which the ink is further consumed from the state shown by the position b, the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 does not decrease, the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 is consumed, and it is equivalent to the ink consumption. This is a state in which a portion of the atmosphere has been replaced, that is, the liquid surface of the ink liquid chamber 101 drops as the ink is consumed. However, in this state, the area of the ink adjacent to the electrode 106 does not change. That is, between the points a and c, even if the ink is consumed, the area of the electrode 106 adjacent to the ink does not decrease, and the measured potential difference does not change.

When the ink is further consumed from the state of the position c, the ink liquid level in the ink liquid chamber 101 further drops,
The area of the electrode 106 adjacent to the ink also gradually decreases, and the state shown by the position d, that is, the state in which the electrode 106 is not adjacent to the ink, is shown in FIG. Between c and d, the area where the electrode 106 is adjacent to the ink decreases as the ink decreases. That is, the amount of electric charge charged on the electrode 106 decreases, and the measurement potential difference decreases. When the ink is further consumed, the ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 is exhausted, and a state shown in FIG. This state is the state indicated by the position e, and the ink absorbed by the ink absorber 103 decreases as the ink is consumed, and the filter 1
When the ink level drops below 05, the ink supply passage 102
Atmosphere enters through the filter 105.

The state between d and f is a state in which there is no ink adjacent to the electrode 106, but the electrode is slightly charged and a slight potential difference is measured. However, the state at the position f, that is, the ink filter 105 and the ink absorber 103
When the ink liquid chamber 101 and the ink slightly left in the ink supply passage 102 are completely shut off by the atmosphere, the charge amount of the electrode 106 becomes zero and the measured potential difference of the resistor 111 becomes zero.

Here, the state in which the ink in the ink tank 19 is low is called the near empty state, and the state in which the measured potential difference is zero is called the ink end state. In the near empty state, the measured potential difference is small, and in the ink end state, the measured potential difference is zero. Therefore, the known LED blinks or the beep sounds automatically to inform the user of the ink end state or the near empty state. I can inform you.
In particular, notifying the near-empty state can prompt the user to prepare an alternative ink tank and avoid sudden ink shortage.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to 8, the electrode 10
6 is arranged in the direction of decreasing the ink surface. With such an arrangement, the change in the measured potential difference with respect to the remaining ink amount between cd in FIG. 9 can be increased, and the near-empty state can be detected stably. If the ink tank 19 is made of a transparent material, the ink tank 19
The user can recognize the remaining amount of ink only.

By the way, the recording head 50 ejects ink droplets from the ink ejection port in accordance with the electric signal indicating the print data, and the ink in the ink tank 19 decreases accordingly, but it is ejected from one ink ejection port. It is necessary to detect the presence / absence of ink for each minimum ink reduction amount, which is the ink amount that decreases with each ink amount, that is, for each ink amount of ink droplets. Is not recognized by the recording head 50. That is, if the presence or absence of ink is detected each time the minimum ink reduction amount is ejected, the printing speed will decrease. In this case, if the presence or absence of ink is detected outside the printing range, the decrease in printing speed can be suppressed as much as possible. However, when the ink runs out suddenly within the print range, the recording head 50 executes the print operation in the absence of ink, that is, the blank print operation. Therefore,
By enabling printing of at least one line from the state of position f in FIG. 9 which is the ink end detection state, blank printing can be prevented. This function is particularly indispensable for an apparatus such as a printing apparatus such as a facsimile machine in which the user often leaves the printing apparatus.

Further, the ink tank 19 is left to stand and the ink supply liquid chamber 100 is filled with the atmosphere, and then the ink tank 1 is reused.
Even when 9 is attached to the recording apparatus, a filter 105 is provided in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 so as not to interfere with the ink supply, and the permeation force of the filter 105 is made at least weaker than the permeation force of the ink ejection port. As a result, the atmosphere does not enter the blank space due to the air entering from the ink ejection port during printing after the ink end.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ink absorber 103 whose transmission power is adjusted is accommodated, and the ink absorber 1
03 can be reliably held by the ink supply liquid chamber 100 having the air introduction passage 104 that communicates the air with the atmosphere and the liquid level of the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 drops to the position of the upper communication passage 108. And ink is supplied from the ink liquid chamber 101 to the ink supply liquid chamber 100, and the amount of ink in the ink liquid chamber 101 at this time is known from the current output from the electrode 106 arranged in the water level direction at the rear portion of the ink liquid chamber 101. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the ink tank 19 which is excellent in the ink holding performance and can easily detect the ink reduced state and the ink shortage.

(Second Embodiment) A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an ink tank according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 1 is a recording medium such as paper, 2 is a motor for driving a cam gear 3, 4 is a cleaning support member for supporting a cleaning blade, 5 is a cap support member for supporting a cap member 6a, and 7 is a main frame. A supported pulley, 8 is a photocoupler for detecting that a carriage 14 described later has reached a home position, 9 is a cleaning blade for cleaning the recording head 50, 9a is a cleaning supporting member for supporting the cleaning blade 9, and 10 is a recording. A paper presser for fixing the medium 1 to the platen 21, a pickup roller 11 as a conveying member for supplying the recording medium 1, and a carriage 1 described later.
Reference numeral 4 denotes a protrusion, 14 denotes a carriage on which the ink tank 19, the recording head 50 and the like are mounted, 15 denotes a drive motor for driving the timing belt 23, 17 denotes a drive pulley located between the drive motor 15 and the timing belt 23, 18
Is a carriage shaft for supporting the carriage 14, 19
Is an ink tank for storing ink ejected onto the recording medium 1, 20 is a carriage guide for supporting the carriage 14, and 24 is a main body supporting plate for supporting the motor 2.

Next, the function and operation of the ink jet recording apparatus thus constructed will be described.

The paper as the recording medium 1 is supplied from below the platen 21 to above by the pickup roller 11 as the conveying member, and the platen 2 is pressed by the paper presser 10 pressing the recording medium 1 in the moving direction of the carriage 14.
Fixed to 1. The carriage 14 is supported by a carriage guide 20 and a carriage shaft 18 which are arranged parallel to the printing surface, and is engaged with a timing belt 23 connected to a pulley 7 and a drive pulley 17 which are rotatably supported by the main frame. The pickup roller 11 reciprocates in the left-right direction with respect to the recording medium 1 fed. The timing belt 23 is driven by the drive motor 15 via the drive pulley 17, and is rotationally driven according to the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 15. The photocoupler 8 is a home position detecting unit that detects that the carriage 14 has reached the home position by the protrusion 13 and switches the rotation direction of the drive motor 15.

The image recording signal is transmitted to the recording head 50 (FIG. 1).
The recording medium is sent to the recording head 50 in synchronism with the movement of the carriage 14 for mounting the ink, and ink droplets are ejected at a predetermined position on the recording medium 1 to record an image. The cap support member 5 that supports the cap member 6a prevents clogging of the ink ejection portion of the recording head 50 with dried ink through the opening of the cap member 6a, and allows the ink in the ink tank 19 to reach the ink ejection portion. In order to supply, the suction recovery of the recording head 50 is performed. The cleaning support member 9a is a member that allows the cleaning blade 9 to move in the vertical direction with respect to the recording head 50. Cam gear 3
Separates the drive motor 15 from the main body support plate 24 in order to perform suction recovery operation, cleaning operation, etc. at a predetermined position.
It is rotationally driven by the motor 2 supported by the cap supporting member 5 and the cleaning supporting member 9a. The suction recovery operation, the cleaning operation and the like are not limited to this method, and may be a conventionally known method. The timing of the suction recovery operation, the cleaning operation, etc. is such that when the carriage 14 reaches the home position area, the photocoupler 8 causes the projection 13
By detecting that the carriage 14 is at the home position, the rotation of the motor 2 is controlled at a predetermined timing.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ink tank 19 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 and the recording head 50 communicating with the ink tank 19 via the ink flow path 62 having the ejection energy generating portion are provided. By having this, the ink can be reliably held by the ink supply liquid chamber 100 having the air introduction passage 104 that communicates the ink absorber 103 with the atmosphere, and the ink level in the ink supply liquid chamber 100 is higher. When the ink reaches the position of the communication passage 108, ink is supplied from the ink liquid chamber 101 to the ink supply liquid chamber 100, and the ink amount in the ink liquid chamber 101 at this time is the ink liquid chamber 101.
Since it can be known by the current output from the electrode 106 arranged in the water level direction at the rear part, it is possible to obtain the recording apparatus which is excellent in ink holding performance and can easily detect the reduced state of ink and the ink exhaustion.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, an ink supply liquid chamber containing an ink absorber whose permeability has been adjusted and having an atmosphere introducing passage for communicating the ink absorber with the atmosphere is provided in the ink supply liquid chamber. An adjacent ink liquid chamber, an ink supply passage that communicates with the ink supply liquid chamber to supply ink to the recording head, a filter arranged between the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink supply passage, and a rear portion of the ink liquid chamber. By providing an electrode arranged in the water level direction, and an upper communication path and a lower communication path that communicate the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber with each other, the air introduction passage that communicates the ink absorber with the atmosphere. The ink can be reliably held by the ink supply liquid chamber having the, and when the ink level in the ink supply liquid chamber drops to the position of the upper communication passage, the ink is supplied from the ink liquid chamber to the ink supply liquid chamber. , With this Since the amount of ink in the ink liquid chamber can be known from the current output from the electrodes arranged in the water level direction at the rear of the ink liquid chamber, it has excellent ink holding performance and facilitates ink depletion and ink exhaustion. It is possible to realize a detectable ink tank.

Further, by making the penetrating power of the filter smaller than the penetrating power of the ink ejection port of the recording head, it is possible to realize an ink tank which can be reused even if the ink tank is left unattended.

Further, since the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber are made of a material in which the ink inside is visible, it is possible to realize an ink tank in which the ink amount can be confirmed only by observing the ink tank. it can.

Further, by having the ink tank and the recording head which communicates with the ink tank through the ink flow path having the ejection energy generating portion, the ink having the air introduction path for communicating the ink absorber with the atmosphere. The ink can be reliably held by the supply liquid chamber, and the ink amount in the ink liquid chamber can be known from the current output from the electrode arranged in the water level direction at the rear of the ink liquid chamber. Excellent, and the state of ink reduction,
It is possible to realize a recording device that can easily detect ink shortage.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a combined state of an ink tank, a carriage, a recording head, and a head block according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a recording apparatus equipped with an ink tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where ink is filled in an ink tank according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ink in the ink supply liquid chamber of the ink tank according to the embodiment of the present invention has decreased in amount.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the ink in the ink liquid chamber of the ink tank according to the embodiment of the present invention is slightly reduced.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the amount of ink in the ink liquid chamber of the ink tank according to the embodiment of the present invention is greatly reduced.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where ink in an ink liquid chamber of an ink tank according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention is exhausted.

FIG. 8 is a principle explanatory view for explaining a detection principle of presence / absence of ink.

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank and the measured potential difference.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Medium 2 Motor 3 Cam Gear 4 Cleaning Support Member 5 Cap Support Member 6a Cap Member 7 Pulley 8 Photocoupler 9 Cleaning Blade 9a Cleaning Support Member 10 Paper Presser 11 Pickup Roller (Conveying Member) 13 Protrusion 14 Carriage 15 Drive Motor 17 Drive Pulley 18 Carriage Shaft 19 Ink Tank 20 Carriage Guide 21 Platen 23 Timing Belt 24 Main Body Support Plate 50 Recording Head 51 Aluminum Plate 52 Head Block Protrusion 53 Flexible Board 53-1 Flexible Board Positioning Hole 54, 57 Positioning Groove 55, 56 Positioning Protrusion 58 Ink inlet 59 Elastic body 60, 61 Filter 62 Ink flow path 63 Head block 64 Atmosphere communication hole 65 Spring 66 Communication path 6 Electrode 68 pad portion 100 the ink supply liquid chambers 101 ink liquid chamber 102 an ink supply passage 103 ink absorber 104 air intake path 105 filter 106 electrode 107 ink supply port 108 upper communicating passage 109 lower communication passage 110 voltmeter 111 resistor

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Ichizo Otsubo 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink absorber, the permeability of which is adjusted, is accommodated,
An ink supply liquid chamber having an air introduction path that connects the ink absorber and the atmosphere, an ink liquid chamber adjacent to the ink supply liquid chamber, and an ink supply liquid chamber that communicates with the ink supply liquid chamber and supplies ink to a recording head. An ink supply passage, a filter arranged between the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink supply passage,
An electrode arranged in the water level direction at the rear of the ink liquid chamber,
An ink tank comprising an upper communication passage and a lower communication passage that communicate the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber with each other. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the filter has a penetrating force smaller than a penetrating force of an ink ejection port of a recording head. 3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the ink supply liquid chamber and the ink liquid chamber are made of a material in which the ink inside is visible. 4. A recording apparatus comprising: the ink tank according to claim 1; and a recording head communicating with the ink tank via an ink flow path having an ejection energy generating section. 5. A carriage on which the recording head is mounted,
The recording apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a conveyance member that conveys a recording medium at a position facing the recording head.