JPH085184B2 - Ink jet device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Outline] The present invention is directed to an ink ejecting apparatus that uses a phase change ink so as to reduce the ink deterioration and to efficiently supply the ink. The object is achieved by micronizing and supplying the solid ink to the ink phase change portion that changes the phase of the ink to liquefy.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to an ink ejecting apparatus that uses phase change ink.

In a conventional ink ejecting apparatus using liquid ink, clogging due to ink drying on a nozzle surface occurs,
Therefore, stable operation is hindered and maintenance is troublesome.

On the other hand, phase-change ink that is solid at room temperature and melts by heating to have a viscosity that allows jetting has recently been used in some parts for an ink jet device. No clogging occurs, and highly reliable ejection characteristics and high-quality recording characteristics on various recording papers can be realized. The present invention is applied to this type of ink ejecting apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

Since the deterioration of the phase change ink (hot melt ink) due to oxidation increases as it is heated for a long time or heated at a high temperature, it is desirable to supply the necessary minimum amount and heat and melt it.

In order to realize this, there has been a conventional Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 61-98546,
The ones described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 98547, 98549 etc. have already been proposed. And, in these, a part of the hot melt ink in the form of lumps is brought into contact with a heating part such as a heater to be liquefied and supplied to an ink reservoir or the like, or the hot melt ink is made into pellets or powder granules, and this is used as a cartridge. A method of holding the ink in a plurality of storage chambers provided in the storage chamber and supplying it to a heated ink reservoir or the like in storage chamber units as needed is shown. According to these methods, the above demands are satisfied to some extent.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

However, these conventional methods have the following problems.

That is, in the former method (a method in which a portion of the lumped hot melt ink is brought into contact with the heating portion and liquefied and supplied), the entire ink lump does not melt during long-term work, depending on the thermal conductivity of the ink and the like. It is also heated up and the responsiveness of ink melting is poor. Further, it may undergo a heat cycle before it reaches the ink reservoir, leading to ink deterioration.

Further, in the latter method, the ink supply amount is regulated by the size of the pellet and the storage chamber of the cartridge, and the heated ink amount cannot be controlled in the minimum unit. However, if the pellets and powder particles are made small, it becomes difficult to handle. Further, in this method, the cost is increased by making the cartridge.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention provides an ink ejecting apparatus capable of solving the above-mentioned problems, and as a means therefor, in the present invention, a phase change portion for phase-liquefying a solid ink and an ink for storing the liquefied ink are stored. In an ink ejecting apparatus having a reservoir and an ejecting unit that receives and supplies the liquefied ink in the ink reservoir, a miniaturizing unit that miniaturizes the solid ink is provided, The solidified ink is supplied to the ink phase change section.

[Action]

The solid ink is atomized by cutting or breaking by the atomizing means and supplied to the ink phase change portion, where it is melted and stored in the ink storage portion. As described above, since the solid ink supplied to the ink phase change portion is miniaturized, the melting time here is short and the energy required for melting is small. Therefore, it is possible to supply ink with high responsiveness and efficiency. Further, since the solid ink can be supplied to the apparatus (to the cutting machine) in a large lump, the handling is easy, and a special cartridge is not required, and the cost is low.

Furthermore, if the miniaturization means is activated when the ink amount in the ink storage portion reaches the minimum allowable storage amount and stopped when the ink amount rises to the maximum allowable storage amount,
It is possible to control the amount of ink that is heated and melted and stored in the ink storage unit to a necessary minimum, and prevent deterioration of physical properties of the ink.

〔Example〕

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

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of an ink ejecting apparatus according to the present invention. In the present embodiment, the ink phase change portion is provided in the ink storage portion, and the ink is liquefied in the ink storage portion.
In the figure, 1 is a solid ink holding means, 2 is a solid ink atomizing means, 3 is an ink reservoir, and these constitute an ink ejecting device together with an ejecting means (not shown) including a head.

The holding means 1 has an ink holder 5 having a guide hole 4 for guiding the hot melt ink 100 which is a solid ink mass.
And a screw hole 6 concentric with the guide hole 4 and the ink holder 5
And a holding plate 7 fixed to the.

The miniaturization means 2 is composed of an ink carrier 8 and a cutter 9. The ink transporter 8 is composed of a screw rod 10 that is screwed into the screw hole 6 and a motor 11 that drives and rotates the screw rod 10.

The ink storage unit 3 includes an ink tank 12 and a heater 13 that heats the ink tank 12,
Reference numeral 12 communicates with the ink chamber of the ejecting means (not shown).
Reference numeral 14 is a filter provided in the ink tank 12.

The ink jet device of this example is configured as described above,
Next, the operation will be described.

The hot melt ink 100 is held in the guide hole 4 in a state where the base is press-fitted and fixed to the needle 14 at the tip of the screw rod 10. On the other hand, in the ink tank 12, a liquid hot melt ink 100 ′ melted by heating of the heater 13 is stored, and the temperature of the ink is set to a predetermined value by controlling the heater 13 by a sensor not shown. It is kept at the value. When the amount of ink in the ink tank 12 decreases and reaches the minimum allowable storage amount, the motor control unit is activated by a signal from an ink amount detection means (not shown) provided in the ink tank 12, and the motor 11 rotates. As a result, the hot melt ink 100 is given a rotational force and a forward force to the cutter 9 via the screw rod 10. By these forces, the tip of the hot melt ink 100 is rotated while being pressed against the blade 9a of the cutter 9 and is finely divided by cutting, and the finely divided hot melt ink 100 ″ falls into the ink tank 12 and melts. When the hot melt ink 100 ″ is supplied to increase the liquid amount in the ink tank 12 and reach the maximum allowable storage amount,
The motor 11 is stopped by the signal from the ink amount detection means,
Ink supply ends.

Since the fixed ink supplied to the ink tank 12 is thus miniaturized, the melting time in the ink tank 12 is short and the energy required for melting is small. Therefore, ink can be supplied quickly and efficiently.
Further, since the solid ink can be supplied to the cutting device 9 in a large lump (bar shape), it is easy to handle, and a special cartridge is not required, and the cost is low. Further, since the finer means 2 is adapted to operate only when the ink amount in the ink tank 12 is between the minimum allowable storage amount and the maximum allowable storage amount, the ink that is heated and melted in the ink storage section 3 is used. The amount can be controlled to a necessary minimum and deterioration of the physical properties of the ink can be prevented.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the ink ejecting apparatus according to the present invention. In the figure, 21 is a holding means, 22 is a miniaturization means, 3 is an ink storage part similar to the previous example, and these constitute an ink ejection device together with ejection means (not shown).

The holding means 21 has an ink holder 24 having a guide hole 23 for guiding the hot melt ink 100 and a holding plate 26 fixed to the ink holder 24 having a screw hole 25 concentric with the guide hole 23.
It is composed of

The miniaturization means 22 is composed of an ink carrier 27 and a cutter 28, and the ink carrier 27 is composed of an adjusting screw 29 screwed into the screw hole 25 and a spring 30.

The operation of the ink ejecting apparatus having such a configuration is as follows.

The hot melt ink 100 is biased to the right by a spring 30 embedded between the adjusting screw 29 and the tip end thereof, and the tip end thereof is cut by a cutting machine 28.
Get bitten inside. Although not shown in detail, the cutter 28 has a structure like an electric pencil sharpener, and the cutting blade itself is adapted to rotate. The cutter 28 operates when the ink amount in the ink tank 12 decreases and reaches the minimum allowable storage amount, and stops when the ink amount increases and reaches the maximum allowable storage amount. Then, by the operation of the cutting device 28 during this time, the hot melt ink 100 bitten in the cutting device 28 is atomized and supplied into the ink tank 12.

Instead of the spring 30 or the like, a pair of gears 31 and 32 shown in FIG. 3 are used as the hot melt ink conveying means, and the gears 31 and 32 are rotated in the opposite directions shown by the arrows so that the hot melt ink 100 May be sent.

 Also in the case of this example, the same effect as the previous example can be obtained.

In addition to the above-mentioned cutting blade type (cutting device 9) and electric pencil sharpener type (cutting device 28), a cutting device such as a grinder type or a grater type or a gear type The thing etc. can also be used. In the case of using a gear-shaped member for fine ink generation, since the advancing force can be obtained by the pull-in force due to the rotation of the gear, there is a case where the conveying means is not particularly necessary. In this case, the cutting machine itself becomes the miniaturization means.

Further, in the above embodiment, the shape of the hot melt ink 100 is rod-shaped, but it is also possible to use a shape other than rod-shaped.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the function of the ink phase change portion is included in the ink storage portion, but it may be separately provided.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the hot melt ink that has been miniaturized by cutting, breaking, etc. by the miniaturization means is supplied to the ink phase change portion and melted. The melting time is short and the energy required for melting is low. Therefore, it is possible to supply ink with high responsiveness and efficiency.

Also, supply of solid ink to the device (supply of cutting machine 1)
Since it can be made in a large lump, it is easy to handle and does not require a special cartridge, so the cost is low.

Further, by controlling the finer means so that the ink amount in the ink storage portion operates between the minimum allowable storage amount and the maximum allowable storage amount, the amount of ink that is heated and melted and stored in the ink storage portion can be reduced to the required minimum amount. The deterioration of the physical properties of the ink can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a structural explanatory view of an ink ejecting apparatus of a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a structural explanatory view of an ink ejecting apparatus of a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of another means for conveying ink to the cutting machine, in which 2,22 is a finer means, 3 is an ink storage portion, 100 is a fixed hot melt ink, and 100 'is a liquid hot liquid liquefied by phase change. Melt ink, 100 ″ is a finely divided solid hot melt ink.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An ink phase change section (13, 3) for changing the phase of a solid ink to liquefy, an ink storage section (3) for storing the liquefied ink, and a liquefaction in the ink storage section (3). An ink jetting device having a jetting means for receiving the supplied ink and jetting the same, the miniaturizing means (2,22) for miniaturizing the solid ink is provided, and the miniaturizing means (2,22) miniaturize the solid ink. An ink ejecting apparatus, characterized in that the solid ink thus prepared is supplied to the ink phase change section (13, 3). 2. The drive timing of the miniaturization means (2, 22) is
The ink ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink ejecting apparatus is set to operate only when the ink amount in the ink storage section (3) is between the minimum allowable storage amount and the maximum allowable storage amount.