JPH0852884A - Ink receiving container in ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the accurate residual amt. of ink by providing a communication port to the central part in the lateral direction of the lower end part of the partition wall partitioning an ink receiving chamber and an ink impregnated material receiving chamber so as to allow both receiving chambers to communicate with each other. CONSTITUTION:An ink receiving chamber 4 and an ink impregnated material receiving chamber 5 receiving an ink impregnated material 9 are partitioned through a partition wall 2 and the ink supply port 6 communicating with a recording head is provided to the ink impregnated material receiving chamber 5. In the ink receiving container of this ink jet recording apparatus, the communication port 3 allowing both receiving chambers 4, 5 to communicate with each other is provided to the central part in the lateral direction of the lower end part of the partition wall 2. As a result, the improved ink receiving container of the ink jet recording apparatus reduced in the irregularity of a head value and relatively easy to mold can be obtained.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink container used in an ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink contained in one ink containing chamber is guided to the other ink impregnating material containing chamber through a communication port provided in the entire width direction of the lower end of a partition wall, and once absorbed by the impregnating material. 2. Description of the Related Art An ink container for supplying a recording head, that is, an ink tank is widely used as an ink container for an inkjet recording apparatus.

This kind of ink tank is newly used when the surface of the ink in the ink impregnating material, that is, the interface where the ink and the outside air come into contact with each other through use, and the air in the impregnating material flows into the ink containing chamber. Since the ink is supplied to the ink impregnating material, the compressibility of the ink impregnating material stored in the ink impregnating material storage chamber is partially different, and there is a deviation in the width direction due to the drop of the ink interface due to use. In such a case, the interface in contact with the communication port at any part in the width direction blows air into the ink containing chamber to guide the ink inside into the ink impregnating material containing chamber, resulting in a water head value of the ink tank. There is a problem that it varies from time to time.

To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-400
In the ink tank disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 43, a vertical groove communicating with the communication port is provided in the center of the partition wall surface on the absorber storage chamber side in the width direction, and the air is passed through this groove regardless of the compression ratio of the ink impregnating material. In order to keep the water head value constant in this way, it is necessary to make the grooves fairly fine so that the water head value of the ink does not vary from ink tank to ink tank. Therefore, there arises a problem that it is considerably difficult to perform the injection molding of the ink tank.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its object is to:
An object of the present invention is to provide an improved ink storage container for an ink jet recording apparatus that has a small variation in water head value and is relatively easy to mold.

[0006]

That is, according to the present invention, as an ink storage container in an ink jet recording apparatus for achieving such a problem, a lower end portion of a partition wall which divides an ink storage chamber and an ink impregnating material storage chamber is used. In the widthwise center,
A communication port is provided so that both storage chambers communicate with each other.

[0007]

Embodiments Now, the embodiments shown in the drawings will be described. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention.

The ink container indicated by reference numeral 1 in the figure, that is, the ink tank, is integrally formed of a transparent synthetic resin material through which the inside can be seen, and the inside thereof is accommodated by a partition wall 2. The chamber 4 and the ink impregnating material containing chamber 5 are partitioned from each other, and each of these chambers 4,
5 communicates with each other through a slit-shaped communication port 3 provided at the center of the partition wall 2 in the lower end width direction.

An ink supply port 6 communicating with a recording head (not shown) is formed in a part of the ink impregnation material storage chamber 5, and a porous ink impregnation material 9 made of urethane foam or the like is further provided inside thereof. It is enclosed in a compressed state like an ordinary ink tank.

When the ink tank 1 thus constructed is filled with ink, the ink is contained in the ink impregnating material accommodating chamber 5 in a state of being absorbed by the ink impregnating material 9, and also in the ink accommodating chamber 4. Is filled with ink.

Therefore, when the ink tank 1 is loaded in the carriage and recording and writing are performed, the ink in the ink impregnating material containing chamber 5 forms a surface tension inside the ink impregnating material 9, and at the beginning, as shown in FIG. As indicated by A in 1 (a), the interface is lowered in parallel from the upper side to the lower side at a speed substantially proportional to the consumption amount, and then from B to C, the supply port 6
The amount is gradually reduced while reducing the interface into a substantially hemispherical shape centered on.

When the ink impregnating material 9 has a partial difference in compressibility, this interface is gradually deformed into a distorted hemispherical shape and descends, but as shown in FIGS. 1 (a) and 1 (b). Since the communication port 3 is provided at the center of the lower end portion of the partition wall 2 as shown in FIG. 5, the ink consumption until the interface reaches this portion does not differ much between ink tanks, and the interface is here. When it reaches, the air from the supply port 6 sequentially flows into the storage chamber 4 from the communication port 3 to replenish the ink impregnating material storage chamber 5 with ink in an amount corresponding to the consumption amount in order.

Therefore, the ink in the ink containing chamber 4 is
There is no slight variation for each ink tank 1, and it will decrease from the stage when consumption has advanced to a certain extent by an amount commensurate with the consumption amount, so that the ink end can be predicted to some extent accurately from the remaining amount. Become.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the porous ink impregnating material 9 is accommodated in the ink impregnating material accommodating chamber 5 with a relatively small compression rate. That is, in the case of this embodiment, each corner 7 where the partition wall 1 and the inner surface and the bottom surface of the ink impregnating material containing chamber 5 intersect is prevented so that the communication port 3 and the supply port 6 do not directly communicate with each other. The ink impregnating material 9 is weakly compressed and sealed so that a gap 7 is formed therein.

In this case, since the compressibility of the ink impregnating material 9 becomes substantially uniform as a whole, the interface is properly reduced to a hemispherical shape and descends as the ink is consumed. The ink consumption amount up to 3 can be made uniform for each ink tank.

FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, in which a semicircular communication port 13 is provided in the center of the partition wall 2 of the ink tank 1 in the width direction of the lower end thereof. When the injection molding is performed, the communication port 13 can be easily slid, the moldability is improved, and the molding accuracy and the molding speed can be further increased.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 is applied to an ink cartridge of a color printer, and one ink container is divided into three ink tanks of different colors to make the whole compact. The ink tanks 24c, 24m, and 24y and the impregnating material chamber 25c are respectively separated by partition walls 22 from
25 m and 25 y are formed so that they are communicated with each other through a communication port 23 provided at the center of the lower end width direction.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, a communication port for communicating both ink storage chambers and an ink impregnating material storage chamber is provided at the center in the width direction of the lower end of the partition wall. As a result, the compressibility of the ink impregnated material enclosed in the individual ink tanks partially varies, and the interface of the ink that descends with the consumption amount in the ink impregnated material is deformed like an example. As a result, it is possible to eliminate a large difference in the ink consumption amount for each ink tank until the ink interface reaches the communication port, and the ink in the ink storage chamber is properly placed in the ink impregnation material storage chamber according to the consumption amount. Can be flowed in. Furthermore, since the communication port is provided at the center of the lower end of the partition wall, even if the ink tank is laid down sideways, it is possible to suppress the unexpected outflow of ink unless the interface of the ink is located at least in the middle of the ink impregnation material storage chamber. In addition, even if the ink flows out, the outflow amount can be stopped to about half of the ink containing chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are a side view and a plan view showing an ink tank in cross section, which is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the same tank with a part thereof cut away.

3A and 3B are a side view and a plan view showing a cross section of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an intertank showing still another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 In-tank 2 Partition 3 Communication port 4 Ink storage chamber 5 Ink impregnation material storage chamber 6 Ink supply port 7 Gap 9 Ink impregnation material

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink supply which divides and forms one side through a partition into an ink storage chamber for storing ink and the other as an ink impregnation material storage chamber for storing an ink impregnation material, and communicates with a recording head in the ink impregnation material storage chamber. An ink container for an ink jet recording apparatus having a mouth, characterized in that a communication port for communicating the both chambers is provided at the center of the partition wall in the lower end width direction. . 2. The ink container of the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the communication port is a slit-shaped hole. 3. The ink container according to claim 1, wherein the communication port is a semicircular hole.