JPH08295029A - Ink cartridge and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ink jet recording apparatus certainly introducing ink into a head when an ink cartridge is replaced and capable of washing the interior of the head. CONSTITUTION: An ink chamber 42 in which ink is housed and an ink introducing liquid chamber 41 in which a mixed liquid is housed are provided to an ink cartridge 2 in a state separated by an ink partition wall 39 and a slidable inner plug 36 is housed in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 in close contact with the seal provided to one end of the ink cartridge 2. The mixed liquid in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 is sent into a head 2a through a hollow needle 32 by inserting the hollow needle 32 on the side of a printer 1 in the ink cartridge 2 to fill the head 2a with ink. By this constitution, the interior of the head 2a is washed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge which contains ink to be supplied to a head for recording on a recording medium and which can be attached to and detached from a connecting portion of the head and a head for recording on the recording medium, The present invention relates to an inkjet device having an ink cartridge that contains ink to be supplied and a connecting member that detachably connects the ink cartridge to the head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet device in which an ink cartridge is attachable / detachable is disclosed in JP-A-5-84924, and a schematic structure will be described below with reference to FIG.

A print head 103 is mounted in proximity to the platen 101 on a carriage 102 that reciprocates along the platen 101. Above the print head 103, an ink container 107 that accommodates a foam 106 made of a porous member such as polyurethane foam inside is detachably attached. The ink container 107 is provided with a ventilation hole 109 for allowing the intake of air into the lid 108 thereof, and a cylindrical protrusion 110 which is in close contact with the foam 106 is formed on the inner bottom surface thereof. ing. An ink holding chamber 111 for taking out and holding the ink in the foam 106 is formed downward from the center of the protrusion 110. The end of the ink holding chamber 111 is sealed by a blind plug 112 made of an elastic member such as rubber. The ink holding chamber 111 is closed by a blind plug 112 and a foam 106. By inserting a hollow needle 105 communicating with the print head 103 through the filter chamber 104 into the blind plug 112, the ink impregnated in the ink container 107 is supplied to the print head 103.

[0004]

However, in the above-described ink jet device, when replacing the ink container 107, the old ink container 107 is removed and the new ink container 107 is attached, but the new ink container 10 is used.
The ink remaining in the print head 103, the filter chamber 104, or the hollow needle 105 by the time 7 is attached is dried, or ink or foreign matter that adheres to the inside due to long-term use remains inside. In addition, when ink is introduced into the print head 103, air bubbles in the print head 103 may remain and hinder printing.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a recording apparatus capable of surely introducing ink into the head when replacing the ink cartridge and cleaning the inside of the head. And to provide an ink cartridge.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink cartridge which accommodates ink to be supplied to a head for recording on a recording medium and is attachable to and detachable from a connecting portion of the head. An ink storage part for supplying the head and a liquid storage part for storing a liquid not used for recording, and when the head is attached to the connection part, the connection part causes the ink to pass through the liquid storage part. It is characterized in that it is connected to the accommodating portion.

In the ink cartridge of the second aspect, a moving member is provided so as to be slidable in the liquid containing portion, and when the head is attached to the connecting portion, the connecting portion engages with the moving member and the moving member is attached. It is characterized in that the volume of the liquid container is reduced and the liquid is supplied into the head.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink cartridge which is connected to a connecting portion of a head which ejects ink to record on the recording medium.

In the ink cartridge of the fourth aspect, the volume of the liquid containing portion is 0.5 to 3 times the volume of the ink flow path.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in a recording apparatus having a head for recording on a recording medium, an ink cartridge for containing ink to be supplied to the head, and a connecting member for detachably connecting the ink cartridge to the head. The ink cartridge includes an ink storage unit that supplies the head and a liquid storage unit that stores a liquid that is not used for recording. When the ink cartridge is attached to the connection member, the connection member is the liquid. It is characterized in that it is connected to the ink containing portion via the containing portion.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a moving member that is slidable in the liquid containing portion of the ink cartridge, and the connecting member is the moving member when the ink cartridge is mounted on the connecting member. To reduce the volume of the liquid storage portion and supply the liquid into the head.

In the recording apparatus of claim 7, the head is
It is characterized in that ink is ejected to perform recording on the recording medium.

In a recording apparatus according to an eighth aspect, the volume of the liquid containing portion of the ink cartridge is 0.5 to 3 times the volume of the ink flow path.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, after the ink cartridge is mounted, the liquid filled in the head is sucked from the ejection port of the head.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the suction amount for sucking the liquid is equal to or larger than the volume of the ink flow path.

[0016]

In the ink cartridge of the present invention having the above structure, when the head is mounted on the connecting portion, the connecting portion supplies the head through the liquid storing portion for storing the liquid not used for recording. Is connected to the ink containing portion. Thereby, when the ink cartridge is replaced, the liquid is supplied to the inside of the head to clean the inside of the head,
The dried ink is dissolved and the ink is surely introduced.

Further, in the recording apparatus of the present invention, when the ink cartridge having the ink containing portion for supplying to the head and the liquid containing portion for containing the liquid not used for recording is attached to the connecting member, A connecting member is connected to the ink containing portion via the liquid containing portion. As a result, when the ink cartridge is replaced, the liquid is supplied into the head to clean the inside of the head, dissolve the dried ink, and reliably introduce the ink.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

As shown in FIG. 1, a paper feed roller 16 is provided in the housing 21 of the printer 1 so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, and the guide shaft 4 is provided along the paper feed roller 16. Is provided. A carriage 3 is slidably attached to the guide shaft 4, and a belt 7 is attached to the carriage 3. And
The belt 7 is wound around the idle pulley 8 and the drive pulley 6. The drive pulley 6 is rotated by the drive motor 5, and the rotation of the drive pulley 6 moves the carriage 3 along the guide shaft 4 via the belt 7 in the arrow B direction in FIG. On the carriage 3, a head 2a that ejects ink and an ink cartridge 2 that contains the ink
And are individually detachably attached. A platen portion 18a provided below the paper feed roller 16
The head 2a is attached to the carriage 3 (see FIG. 2).

The printing paper 17 is inserted into the housing 21 from the rear of the printer 1 in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1, is conveyed in the direction of arrow D along the paper feed roller 16, and is guided by the paper guide 18 shown in FIG. Is discharged from the housing 21 of the printer 1. When the print paper 17 is conveyed by the paper feed roller 16 and the nip roller 16a, the head 2a ejects ink as the carriage 3 moves, and the platen portion 18a becomes the print position.
Then, the required data is printed on the printing paper 17.

A cap 9 is provided at the non-printing position on the left side of the paper feed roller 16 in FIG. 1, and a cap rubber 10 for closely contacting the head 2a is provided on the cap 9.
Is attached. Further, the cap 9 is attached to the head 2a so as to be movable in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 1, and the cap rubber 10 is appropriately brought into close contact with the head 2a. A connecting tube 12 is attached to the cap 9 and is connected to the pump 11. A discharge tube 13 is connected to the pump 11, and the discharge tube 13 is connected to a waste ink tank 14 containing an adsorbent 15.

Paper feed roller 16 at the non-printing position
A flexible wiper blade 22 is mounted on the shaft 23 (FIG. 2) between the and the cap 9. The wiper blade 22 is movable in the direction of arrow F in FIG. 1 and normally stands by at the retracted position (the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 2) where it does not come into contact with the head 2a. Is moved to a forward position (position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 2) capable of sliding contact with the head 2a.

Further referring to FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 2
The details of the carriage 3 will be described. The interior of the ink cartridge 2 is separated into an ink chamber 42 and an ink introducing liquid chamber 41 by a rubber elastic partition 39. The ink chamber 42 stores the foam 40 impregnated with the ink, and the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 stores the liquid for introducing the ink having a low surface tension, the liquid for cleaning the head, and the liquid for dissolving the dried ink. A mixed liquid 38 in which a liquid is mixed is stored. Further, a rubber inner plug 36 having an inner plug hole 37 in the center thereof is provided in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 so as to be slidable in the up and down direction in the drawing. This inside plug 36
Is provided at the end far from the partition wall 39, and an airtight seal 35 is provided so as to be in close contact with the inner plug 36.
Is sealed.

A hollow needle 32 is provided on the carriage 3. The hollow needle 32 is thicker than the inner plug hole 37. Further, a conical sharp portion 34 is provided at the tip of the hollow needle 32, and the sharp portion 34 is provided.
Is provided with an ink introduction hole 33 for supplying the ink or the mixed liquid 38 from the ink cartridge 2 to the head 2a. The distance between the ink introducing holes 33 is smaller than the diameter of the inner plug hole 37. The carriage 3 is also provided with a cartridge guide 31 for mounting the ink cartridge 2.

Next, the operation of the printer 1 will be described. The printing paper 17 is inserted into the housing 21 of the printer 1 in the direction of arrow C, and is conveyed along the paper guide 18 by the paper feed roller 16 and the nip roller 16a. Then, the head 2a attached to the carriage 3 moved in the direction of the arrow B by the drive motor 5 ejects ink according to the data input when it is sent to the position of the print paper 17, and then onto the print paper 17. Form an image. After that, when the head 2a prints a certain amount or the user operates the head 2a as necessary, the maintenance of the head 2a is performed.
1a is moved to the non-printing position on the left side of the paper feed roller 16 in FIG. Next, the cap 9 approaches the head 2a, the cap rubber 10 comes into close contact with the head 2a, and the vicinity of the nozzle of the head 2a is covered. Then, the head 2a is driven by the pump 11.
The ink and air bubbles inside, as well as the foreign substances adhering to the vicinity of the nozzle, are sucked and discharged to the adsorbent 15 inside the waste ink tank 14.

The wiper blade 22 can be engaged with the head 2a by the moving means when the nozzle surface of the head 2a is contaminated with ink, paper dust or the like, or whenever the head 2a prints a fixed amount. It is moved to the advanced position (the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 2). After that, the head 2a is moved in the moving direction of the carriage 3 so that the head 2a
Are cleaned by the wiper blade 22. In this way, the maintenance operation of the head 2a is performed.

Next, the mounting of the ink cartridge 2 on the carriage 3 will be described with reference to FIG. The ink cartridge 2 is moved closer to the carriage 3 in the direction of arrow G.
Then, the ink cartridge 2 approaches the carriage 3 along the cartridge guide 31 on the carriage 3 side. First, the sharp portion 34 at the tip of the hollow needle 32 is pierced by the seal 35 at the central portion of the inner plug hole 37, and the sharp portion 34 becomes the inner plug hole 3.
Hit the center of 7. When the ink cartridge 2 is further pushed in the G direction, the inner plug 36 rises, the volume in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 decreases, and the mixed liquid 38 becomes the ink introducing hole 3
It is introduced into the head 2 a through the nozzle 3. When the ink cartridge 2 is further pushed in the G direction, the inner plug 36 reaches the upper surface of the ink introducing liquid chamber 41, all the mixed liquid 38 in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 is sent to the head 2a, and the inside of the head 2a is cleaned. At this time, the sharp portion 34 pierces the partition wall 39,
The ink introducing hole 33 comes into contact with the foam 40, and the head 2a
Ink is supplied to. When the volume of the ink introducing liquid chamber 41 is set to 0.5 to 3 times the total volume of the head 2a which is an ink flow path and the volume of the hollow needle 32, the head 2a is effectively
The inside can be washed. More preferably, 1 to 3
If it is doubled, it can be surely washed.

The ink cartridge 2 is attached to the carriage 3
The nozzle surface of the head 2a when the cap 9
Covered by. Then, before the first printing after the mounting, the pump 11 is driven to suck and remove the mixed liquid 38 supplied into the head 2a, and the head 2a is filled with the ink from the ink chamber 42. The amount of suction is
When the volume of the ink flow path from the ink cartridge 2 (volume in the head 2a or the like) is larger than the volume, the mixed liquid 38 is added to the head 2
It can be removed from inside a, and good recording can be performed.

As described above, in this embodiment, every time the new ink cartridge 2 is replaced, the head 2a is forcibly filled with the mixed liquid 38 prior to the ink, so that the head 2a can be cleaned. Thus, the initial introduction of the ink to the head 2a can be reliably performed. Further, even when the ink cartridge 2 is left unattached when the ink cartridge is replaced and the ink in the head 2a or the ink flow path is dried, the ink cartridge 2 is replaced with a new one. The clogging can be cleared. At this time, the inside of the head 2a is wetted by the mixed liquid 38, so that the air bubbles do not stick to the inside of the head 2a and cannot be removed properly. Therefore, the air bubbles hinder the ink ejection or the ink droplets are bent. There is no possibility that ink droplets will be ejected or ink droplets will not be ejected at all.

In this embodiment, in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41, a liquid for introducing the ink having a low surface tension, a liquid for cleaning the head, and a liquid for dissolving the dried ink are mixed and mixed. The liquid 38 was stored, but only a liquid for introducing ink having a low surface tension, only a liquid for cleaning the head, only a liquid for dissolving the dried ink, and various liquids were mixed. The liquid may be stored in the ink introducing liquid chamber 41.

[0031]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, each time a new ink cartridge is replaced, a liquid not used for recording is forcibly filled in the head prior to the ink. Therefore, as compared with the case of using only ink, the inside of the head is cleaned, and the initial introduction of ink into the head can be reliably performed. Further, even when the ink cartridge is exchanged and the ink cartridge is left unattended and the ink in the head or the like is dried, the ink clogging can be eliminated by simply replacing the ink cartridge with a new one. At this time, since the inside of the head is wetted by the liquid, air bubbles do not stick to the inside of the head and can not be removed properly, so the air bubbles hinder ink ejection, ink droplets are bent and ejected, There is no possibility that ink drops will not be ejected at all.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the periphery of the wiper blade of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink cartridge and a carriage in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing replacement of the ink cartridge in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the vicinity of a conventional carriage.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 2 Ink Cartridge 2a Head 17 Printing Paper 32 Hollow Needle 36 Inner Plug 38 Mixed Liquid 39 Partition 41 Ink Introducing Liquid Chamber 42 Ink Chamber

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge which contains ink to be supplied to a head for recording on a recording medium and which can be attached to and detached from a connecting portion of the head, and which contains an ink container to be supplied to the head and a liquid not used for recording. An ink cartridge, comprising: a liquid storage portion, wherein the connection portion is connected to the ink storage portion via the liquid storage portion when the head is mounted on the connection portion. 2. A moving member is provided so as to be slidable in the liquid containing portion, and when the head is mounted on the connecting portion, the connecting portion engages with the moving member to reduce the volume of the liquid containing portion. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the liquid is reduced and the liquid is supplied into the head. 3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is connected to a connecting portion of a head that ejects ink to perform recording on the recording medium. 4. The volume of the liquid storage portion is 0.5 to 3 times the volume of the ink flow path.
3. The ink cartridge according to item 3. 5. A recording apparatus comprising: a head for recording on a recording medium; an ink cartridge for containing ink to be supplied to the head; and a connecting member for detachably connecting the ink cartridge to the head. The cartridge includes an ink storage unit that supplies the head and a liquid storage unit that stores a liquid that is not used for recording. When the ink cartridge is attached to the connection member, the connection member causes the liquid storage unit to move. A recording apparatus, wherein the recording apparatus is connected to the ink storage section via the ink storage section. 6. A moving member is provided slidably in the liquid containing portion of the ink cartridge, and the connecting member engages with the moving member when the ink cartridge is mounted on the connecting member. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the volume of the liquid container is reduced to supply the liquid into the head. 7. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the head ejects ink to perform recording on the recording medium. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the volume of the liquid storage portion of the ink cartridge is 0.5 to 3 times the volume of the ink flow path. 9. After mounting the ink cartridge,
The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the liquid filled in the head is sucked from an ejection port of the head. 10. The recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the suction amount for sucking the liquid is equal to or larger than the volume of the ink flow path.