JPH09109406A - Ink jet printer and ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To always properly perform the supply of ink without generating clogging in a filter in a detachable ink cartridge. SOLUTION: A filter frame receiver 843 is fixed to the inside of the ink supply port 831 of the ink cartridge mounted on an ink jet printer in a detachable manner and a filter frame 851 movable in a center axial direction is arranged therein and a sheet like ink filter 860 is provided to the leading end opening part of the filter frame 851 under tension. Therefore, the sheet like ink filter 860 is not bent and wrinkled and pushed in an ink supply chamber from the rear surface side thereof by the circular leading end surface of an ink filter cylinder 707 on the side of an ink jet head and the leading end surface of the filter cylinder 707 is brought into contact with an ink impregnated felt 835 in a surface contact surface under pressure through the sheet like ink filter 860. The clogging of a filter and rise in dynamic pressure in a case using a columnar felt filter can be avoided and the proper supply of ink can be ensured.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an ink supply portion of an ink cartridge which is detachably attached to an inkjet printer. Also,
The present invention relates to an ink jet printer in which an ink cartridge having an improved ink supply portion is detachably mounted and used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an ink jet printer, there is known a type in which an ink cartridge in which ink is stored is detachably mounted and printing is performed by an ink jet head using ink supplied from the mounted ink cartridge. There is.

In this type of ink jet printer,
An ink introducing portion is formed in the head case of the inkjet head. The ink introducing portion has a shape protruding from the head case, an ink introducing port is formed at the tip thereof, and an ink filter is attached to the ink introducing port.

On the other hand, an ink supply port into which the above-mentioned ink introduction portion can be inserted is formed on the side of the ink cartridge which is detachably mounted, and a columnar felt is provided inside the ink supply port. The filter is arranged so as to be movable in the insertion direction of the ink introduction portion. The ink cartridge is filled with an open-cell body (foam) made of synthetic resin and saturated with ink.

When the ink cartridge is mounted with the ink supply port of the ink jet head aligned with the ink supply port, the front end face of the ink supply unit inserted into the ink supply port is pressed against the end face of the felt filter. The felt filter is pushed in and the foam impregnated with the ink is compressed by the felt filter. As a result, the ink with which the foam is impregnated passes through the ink filter at the tip of the ink introduction section to reach the ink introduction section, and is supplied to the ink chamber formed inside the inkjet head through this.

[0006]

The ink supply mechanism for supplying the ink from the detachable ink cartridge thus constructed to the ink jet head has the following problems to be solved.

That is, the ink is introduced from the side of the ink impregnated foam inside the ink cartridge into the ink introducing portion on the side of the ink jet head inserted into the ink supply port of the ink cartridge through the felt filter having a cylindrical shape. . Since the column-shaped felt filter generates fine felt powder after long-term use, the fine felt powder is mixed in the ink passing through the filter and is supplied to the ink introduction section on the inkjet head side. In particular, such felt fine powder is likely to be generated in an environment where heating and cooling are repeated. As a result, the ink filter attached to the front end surface of the ink introduction portion is likely to be clogged.

Further, since the columnar felt filter has a certain thickness or more, the dynamic pressure tends to be high.
To reduce the dynamic pressure, the felt filter can be made thinner, but if it is made thinner, the filter rigidity will decrease.
An appropriate surface contact state cannot be ensured between the tip surface of the ink introducing portion on the side of the inkjet head that is pressure bonded here,
Further, the ink-impregnated foam may not be compressed sufficiently.

An object of the present invention is to propose an ink cartridge capable of eliminating such a bad effect. Also,
An object of the present invention is to propose an inkjet printer in which such an ink cartridge is detachably mounted and used.

[0010]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides an ink cartridge which is detachably connected to an ink jet head mounted in an ink jet printer and supplies ink to the ink jet head. In, an ink supply chamber filled with an ink-impregnated synthetic resin open-cell body, an ink supply port opened in the ink supply chamber, and a cylindrical shape having both ends opened inside the ink supply port And a sheet-shaped ink filter fixed to the opening end on the ink supply chamber side of the filter frame so as to cover the opening end on the ink supply chamber side, and the filter frame can be moved in the axial direction of the filter frame. At the same time, the inside of the ink supply port should be prevented from coming out of the ink cartridge from the ink supply port. It has adopted the held configuration.

As a mechanism for holding the filter frame as described above, it is possible to employ a structure in which a cylindrical filter frame receiver having both ends holding the filter frame is opened. In this case, the filter frame receiver has a fixed portion that is fixed inside the ink supply port and a protruding portion that protrudes inside the ink supply chamber. The filter frame may be movable in the axial direction of the filter frame, and may be held so as not to come out of the ink cartridge from the filter frame receiver.

Generally, the ink supply port is a circular opening, and the filter frame receiver and the filter frame are cylindrical. In this case, by setting the inner diameter of the protruding portion larger than the inner diameter of the fixed portion of the filter frame receiver, the annular step surface for preventing the filter frame from coming off is formed on the inner circumference of the filter frame receiver. A structure formed on the surface can be adopted.

On the other hand, in the ink jet printer of the present invention, the ink cartridge having the above-mentioned structure is detachably mounted, and the ink supply port of the ink cartridge mounted in the ink cartridge mounting portion is inserted. An ink jet head having an ink introducing portion that can be pressure-bonded to the ink filter is used.

[0014]

In the present invention, a sheet-shaped ink filter is used in place of the conventional cylindrical felt filter, and this is attached so as to cover the open end of the cylindrical filter frame. Therefore, the sheet-shaped ink filter is pressed against the ink-impregnated foam side by the tip surface of the ink introduction portion on the ink jet head side in a flat surface state without bending or wrinkling due to the filter frame. As a result, an appropriate surface contact state can be formed, and ink is properly supplied. Also, since a sheet-shaped ink filter is used, the dynamic pressure can be lowered, and fine powder of felt is mixed in the ink as in the case of using a felt filter, and the tip of the ink introduction part The problem that the attached ink filter is likely to be clogged is also avoided.

[0015]

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

(Overall Structure) The ink jet printer of this embodiment is provided with a tape cartridge mounting portion in which a tape-shaped recording medium is stored in a rolled-up state, and a tape fed from the tape cartridge mounted here. This is a type of printing on a flat recording medium using an inkjet head. In particular, the printer of this example is of a type called a label printer, a label word processor, or the like that prints on the front surface of a tape-shaped recording medium having an adhesive layer covered with a release paper on the back surface.

FIG. 1 shows an ink jet printer 1 of this example.
Is shown. As shown in this figure, the inkjet printer 1 has a main body casing 101 having a thin rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole, and a front half of the upper surface thereof is an operation surface 102. Various keys are arranged here, and a print button 103 for instructing a print operation, a power button 104, and the like are also included. A liquid crystal display unit 107 for displaying character information and the like input through the keys on the operation surface 102 is arranged on the rear side of the upper surface of the casing 101.

On the other hand, the rear end surface 1 of the main body casing 101
01a has a tape outlet 10 at the center position on the upper end side.
1b is formed, and the tape-shaped recording medium after printing is discharged to the outside through this. Also,
An opening / closing lid 105 is attached to the lower side of the discharge port 101b. When the lid 105 is opened, a mounting portion 4 for the tape cartridge 3 described later is formed inside.
Therefore, the tape cartridge 3 can be replaced by opening the lid. At the center of the upper surface of the main casing 101, an opening / closing lid 106 for replacing an ink cartridge 8 described later is arranged.

Inside the main body casing 101, a power source unit, a battery such as a nickel cadmium battery, etc. (not shown) are mounted in the front portion where the operation surface 102 is located. The drive mechanism unit 2 having the configuration shown in FIG. 2 is mounted on the rear portion.

(Drive Mechanism Unit) In the drive mechanism unit 2 of this example, the tape cartridge 3 as the supply source of the tape-shaped recording medium T is detachably mounted, and the cartridge 3 mounted therein. The inkjet head 7 that prints on the tape-shaped recording medium T that is fed from the inkjet head 7, the ink cartridge 8 that is detachably mounted to supply ink to the inkjet head 7, and the inkjet head 7 in the width direction of the recording medium T. ,
In this example, the carriage 9 is reciprocated in the width direction of the drive mechanism unit. An ink cartridge mounting portion 901 for detachably mounting the ink cartridge 8 is formed on the carriage 9. further,
A head cap mechanism 11 for closing the ink nozzles of the ink jet head 7 is provided.

Explaining each part in detail, the drive mechanism unit 2 is a base 21 for mounting the above-mentioned respective parts.
The base 21 is formed with a right side wall 22 and a left side wall 23 which are vertically raised. Right side wall 22
A motor mounting plate (not shown) extends horizontally on the upper side of the carriage motor 91, and a carriage motor 91 is mounted on the motor mounting plate. The output shaft of the motor 91 extends downward, and a pulley 92 is fixed to the lower end of the output shaft. On the opposite side of the left side wall 23, a tension pulley (not shown) is rotatably supported at the tip of a tension lever 93 supported on the base. A timing belt 95 is stretched between these pulleys in a constant tension. The timing belt 95 is connected to the upper side of the carriage 9 on which the inkjet head 7 is mounted. The lower side of the carriage 9 has left and right side walls 22, 23.
It is movably supported in the axial direction by a carriage guide shaft 97 laid between the two.

The drive mechanism of the carriage 9 is constructed as described above, and by driving the motor 91, the carriage 9 connected to the timing belt 95 reciprocates straight in the width direction of the tape-shaped recording medium T. Moving. Therefore, the head 7 mounted there moves linearly back and forth in the width direction. Therefore, by driving the head 7 in synchronization with this movement, desired printing can be formed on the surface of the tape-shaped recording medium T being conveyed.

The ink cartridge 8 detachably mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion 901 of the carriage 9 includes, for example, three ink tanks 83 (83-1, 8).
3-2, 83-3), and cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are stored in each. Therefore, the ink jet head 7 also has ink nozzles (not shown) corresponding to each color.

(Ink Supply Mechanism Between Inkjet Head and Ink Cartridge) In FIG. 3, only the inkjet head 7 mounted on the carriage 9 and the ink cartridge 8 connected to the back side of the inkjet head 7 are taken out. It is shown.

The ink jet head 7 is provided with a horizontally long rectangular parallelepiped head case 701 as a whole. The front wall portion of the head case is a head body 702 formed by semiconductor manufacturing technology.
A large number of ink nozzles (not shown) are formed on the surface of, and ink droplets are ejected from these nozzles. A connection portion 703 connected to the ink cartridge side is formed on the back surface side of the head case 701. The connecting portion 703 has a concave portion 705 surrounded by a peripheral wall 704 that is curved in a semicircular shape on both left and right sides, and an ink introducing portion for introducing each color ink into the ink jet head is provided on the bottom surface of the concave portion 705. Constituting needle-like protrusion 706 (706-
1, 706-2, 706-3) are projected. A cylindrical ink filter cylinder 7 is provided on the outer periphery of each needle-shaped protrusion 706.
07 is attached and fixed there. In FIG. 3, for ease of understanding, the ink filter cylinder 707 mounted and fixed to the needle-shaped protrusion 706-3 is shown separately from the needle-shaped protrusion.

On the other hand, on the ink cartridge 8 side, three vertically long ink tanks 83 (83-1,
83-2, 83-3) are laterally connected. Circular ink supply ports 831 are opened below the front wall of the ink cartridge 8. When the ink supply port 831 is inserted into the recess 705 on the side of the inkjet head 7, the three ink filter cylinders 707 protruding from the recess 705 form the ink supply port 8.
31 is inserted into each ink tank 83. In this state, the ink of each color stored in each ink tank 83 is inserted into the ink supply port 831 and the ink filter cylinder 707 and the needle-like protrusions 706 inside thereof.
And is supplied to the inkjet head 7 side.

The head case 701 of the ink jet head 7 is formed with mounting portions 708 on the left and right sides for attaching to the carriage 9, and these portions are fixed to the side of the carriage 9 by screws or the like. . Further, as shown by an imaginary line, a flexible cable 709 for wiring is arranged inside the head case 701 through a slit 701a opened on the back surface thereof.
The cable 709 is connected to the front inkjet head main body in the head case, and the other end is connected to the drive control circuit side of the inkjet head (not shown). The inkjet head is electrically driven through this cable to perform an ink ejection operation.

FIG. 4 shows a sectional structure of the ink jet head 7 mounted on the carriage 9 with the ink cartridge 8 mounted thereon. FIG.
6 shows a state before the ink cartridge 8 is attached to the inkjet head 7 or a state after the ink cartridge 8 is removed.

As shown in these figures, an ink supply path for supplying ink to each ink chamber (not shown) formed in the front head main body 702 is provided in the upper part of the head case 701 of the ink jet head 7. 710 is formed horizontally toward the rear side. The rear end opening 711 of the ink supply path 710 is widened in a taper shape, and a mesh filter 712 made of stainless steel is attached thereto. The base end side of the needle-like protrusion 706 forming the ink introducing portion is attached to the opening 710.

The needle-like protrusion 706 includes a cylindrical body 731 having a small diameter and a large-diameter flange 7 formed on the base end side thereof.
32 and a conical head 733 formed at the tip thereof, a flange 732 is fixed to the head case 701 side of the inkjet head. Needle-like protrusion 706
An ink introducing passage 735 is formed in the inside of the mesh in the axial direction, and the opening 736 on the base end side is formed in the mesh filter 7.
Ink supply path 7 formed in the head case via 12
10 to the rear end opening 711. Ink introduction path 7
The tip end side of 35 communicates with a plurality of ink introduction holes 736 formed in the conical head portion 733 of the needle-like protrusion 706.

An ink filter cylinder 707 is attached and fixed to the outer periphery of the needle-like protrusion 706. The ink filter cylinder 707 is provided with a cylindrical filter case 741, and the needle-like protrusion 706 is inserted from the opening of the filter case 741 on the proximal end side.

A circular opening on the front end side of the filter case 741 is an ink inlet 742, and an ink filter 751 is attached to the ink inlet 742 and covers the opening. As the ink filter 751, for example, a mesh filter made of stainless steel can be used. Instead of this, a non-woven fabric mesh or a synthetic fiber mesh may be used.

A large-diameter flange 743 is formed on the base end side of the filter case 741 to form an annular end surface 744. An O-ring 745 made of butyl rubber or the like is fixed to the annular end surface 744.

Next, each of the ink tanks 83 of the ink cartridge into which the filter cylinder 707 is inserted,
A vertically long rectangular parallelepiped hollow case 832 is provided, and the inside is vertically partitioned by a horizontal partition plate 833, and an upper compartment thereof is an ink chamber 834 that stores ink, and a lower compartment is an ink compartment. The ink supply chamber 836 is filled with the foam 835 that is filled with the ink. The upper and lower chambers have communication holes 837 formed in the partition plate 833.
Is communicated through.

As described above, the lower ink supply chamber 83
An ink supply port 831 is formed on the lower side of the front wall of No. 6. The ink supply port 831 is defined by a cylindrical protrusion 841 protruding forward from the front wall of the case 832. The circular opening 8 inside the cylindrical protrusion 841
A cylindrical filter frame receiver 843 is fixed to 42. The filter frame receiver 843 has a small-diameter mounting portion 844 fitted and fixed inside the circular opening 842.
And a large diameter protruding portion 845 protruding into the ink supply chamber 836.

A cylindrical filter frame 851 is slidably inserted into the protruding portion 845 of the filter frame receiver 843 of this structure through the opening 846 on the ink supply chamber side in the direction of the central axis. A sheet-shaped ink filter 860 is stretched on an annular end surface 852 of the filter frame 851 on the ink supply chamber side. Ink filter 86 of this example
0 is a mesh filter made of stainless steel. Instead of this, a non-woven mesh filter or a synthetic resin mesh filter may be used. In addition, the filter frame 8
51 is made of polystyrene resin. The material of the filter frame may be any material as long as it has good ink resistance and good ink filter weldability.

Here, on the inner peripheral surface of the filter frame receiver 843, a small-diameter mounting portion 844 and a large-diameter protruding portion 84 are provided.
5, an annular step surface 847 facing the ink supply chamber side is formed. Therefore, this filter frame receiver 84
3, the filter frame 8 inserted into the large-diameter protruding portion 845.
The annular end surface of 51 hits the annular step surface 847 and does not escape from the ink supply port 831 to the outside. Although the filter frame 851 can be freely moved to the inside of the ink supply chamber, the foam 8 impregnated with the ink is formed in the ink supply chamber.
35 is filled, the elastic force of the foam 835 always keeps the annular step surface 84 of the filter frame receiver 843.
It is in the state of being pushed toward 7.

When the ink cartridge 8 is connected to the ink jet head 7, as shown in FIG. 4, the filter cylinder 707 on the ink jet head 7 side.
Is inserted into the ink supply port 831 of each ink tank 83 of the ink cartridge. Since the axial length of the filter cylinder 707 is set to a sufficient size, the ink filter 75
The circular front end surface (ink introduction port) covered with 1 hits the back surface side of the sheet-like ink filter 860 stretched at the opening end of the filter frame 851, and this ink filter 860
Push it toward the ink supply chamber.

The sheet-shaped ink filter 860 is attached to the filter frame 851 which is movably arranged inside the filter frame receiver 843. Therefore, when the sheet-shaped ink filter 860 is pushed by the filter cylinder 707, the sheet-shaped ink filter 860 stretched at the opening end together with the filter frame 851 forms the foam 8.
It moves into the ink supply chamber against the elastic force of 35 and compresses the foam 835.

As described above, the sheet-like ink filter 860 is used.
When is pressed, the portion of the foam 835 in the ink supply chamber that is in close contact with the ink is compressed, and due to the capillary phenomenon, the ink collects from the peripheral side to the compressed portion. Then, via the sheet-shaped ink filter 860,
It is introduced to the inkjet head 7 side through the inside of the filter cylinder 741.

Since the filter cylinder 741 and the ink supply port 831 are held in a liquid-tight state by the O-ring 745 arranged on the outer circumference of the base end side of the filter cylinder 741 on the ink jet head 7 side, Ink does not leak to the outside through these spaces.

(Tape cartridge and its mounting part)
The tape cartridge 3 of this example and its mounting portion 4
Will be described. FIG. 6 shows a sectional structure of the tape cartridge 3. The tape cartridge 3 of this example has a rectangular parallelepiped cartridge case 31,
In the internal space 32, a tape roll 33 around which the tape-shaped recording medium T is wound is arranged at the center. The middle portion of the front wall 34 of the cartridge case 31 in the vertical direction is exactly the same as the inkjet head 7 in the mounted state.
It is supposed to face the ink nozzle of. The front wall portion 34A functions as a guide member (hereinafter, simply referred to as "paper guide") that defines the printing position of the inkjet head 7, and the tape-shaped recording medium T is conveyed along this surface. An upper guide wall 35 and a lower guide wall 36 are integrally formed in the cartridge case 31 above and below the front wall portion 34A with a certain distance from the surface thereof, and between the front wall portion 34A and the front wall portion 34A. The transport path is divided and formed. The opening 35A between the upper and lower guide walls 35 and 36 is a printing opening for allowing ink droplets ejected from the inkjet head 7 side to pass to the recording medium T side.

Below the front wall 34, a feeding port 37 for feeding the tape-shaped recording medium T is formed. A pair of left and right tape pressing rollers 38 are arranged inside the feeding port 37. These rollers 3
8 is pressed toward the feeding port 37 side by a leaf spring 41 attached inside the case 31. Further, these rollers 38 are supported on the case 31 side in such a state that they can be pushed inward from the feeding port 37 by a certain distance against the spring force of the leaf spring 41. In the initial state, the tip of the tape-shaped recording medium T is held by being sandwiched by the spring force between the edge of the feeding port 37 and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 38.

On the other hand, the case front wall portion 34A which functions as a paper guide has an ink recovery window 42 on its left and right sides. Inside the case front wall portion 34A, the case inner wall 43
The waste ink collecting section 44 is partitioned and formed, and the ink absorbing material 45 is filled therein. Part of the ink absorbing material 45 is exposed to the inkjet head side through the pair of recovery windows 42.

Here, the ink jet printer 1 of this example
The tape-shaped recording medium T is similar to that described in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-256868 filed by the present applicant.
It is possible to set a print width Tp that is wider than the width Tw, and it is possible to perform solid printing and the like over this print width Tp. When such solid printing is performed, the printing at the portion deviated from the left and right edges of the tape-shaped recording medium T is
In this case, the ink is ejected from the ink jet head 7 at the point, and the ink drops directly go to the front wall portion 34A of the tape cartridge 3. However, in the front wall portion 34A of the tape cartridge 3 of this example, the ink recovery window 42 is opened at the left and right positions corresponding to the position where the printing is performed as described above. Therefore, the ink droplets ejected during the overflow printing pass through these ink collection windows 42, hit the ink absorbing material 45 of the ink collecting section 44 in the cartridge case, and are absorbed and held there. Therefore, even if the print-out is performed, there is no problem that the ink droplets stain each part of the tape cartridge mounting portion 4. Further, it is not necessary to separately provide a recovery unit in the printer body for recovering such ink droplets.

Next, in the tape cartridge 3 of this example, the following structure is adopted so that the tape-shaped recording medium T can be always fed out and conveyed in an appropriate state. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, entanglement prevention guide plates 46 are attached to the outside of the pressing rollers 38 arranged on the left and right of the tape feeding port 37, respectively. The entrainment prevention guide plate 46 is a plastic thin plate, and the upper end side thereof is fixed to the lower end surface of the front wall portion 34A, and is directed downward with the upper edge of the feeding port 37 and the pressing roller 38 closed. It is extended.
The lower end side is curved inward of the cartridge case so as not to interfere with the tape-shaped recording medium T fed from the feeding port 37.

Since such an entrainment prevention plate 46 is arranged to partially block the space between the upper edge of the feeding port 37 and the pressing roller 38 at the left and right positions, the tape-shaped recording medium T is provided from this gap. It is possible to prevent the tip of the tape from being caught in the cartridge case again.

In the tape cartridge 3 of this embodiment, the guide auxiliary plate 4 is provided inside the lower guide wall 36 formed in the lower portion of the front wall portion 34A which functions as a paper guide.
7 is attached. The lower end side of the guide auxiliary plate 47 spreads away from the wall wall portion 34A, and gradually approaches the front wall portion 34A side toward the upper end side.
By disposing such a guide assist plate 47, the tape-shaped recording medium T fed from the tape cartridge 3
Are reliably guided toward the printing position.

Next, the mounting portion 4 on the printer main body side, in which the tape cartridge 3 having the above-described structure is mounted, will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the mounting portion 4 has at least two positioning pins 400 attached to the lower side of the front wall thereof to define the mounting position of the tape cartridge 3. The feed roller 61 is arranged above these pins 400. This feed roller 61 is
It is rotatably bridged between the left and right side walls 22, 23. The position of the feed roller in the front-rear direction is determined by the pressing roller 3 when the tape cartridge 3 is mounted.
It is set so that the roller 38 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the roller 8 against the spring force and slightly pushed inward of the cartridge. With this setting, when the tape cartridge is mounted, a state is formed in which the front end of the tape-shaped recording medium T is sandwiched between the pushing roller 38 and the feeding roller 61. When the feed roller 51 is rotated in the feeding direction in this state, the feeding of the tape-shaped recording medium T is started.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The tape-shaped recording medium transporting mechanism of the present example including is equipped with a paper feed motor 62 mounted on the left side wall 23 of the drive mechanism unit, and a reduction gear train 63 for transmitting the output to the feed roller 61. . The reduction gear train 63 is provided on the left side wall 23.
Is rotatably supported on the outer surface of each. The tape-shaped recording medium T conveyed by the feed roller 61 is conveyed upward along the paper guide defined by the front wall portion 34A of the tape cartridge 3, and its front wall portion 34A.
Printing is performed by the inkjet head 7 at the middle printing position. The portion of the tape-shaped recording medium T after printing is conveyed along a conveying path between the front wall portion 34A and the upper guide wall 35, and is defined by a pair of guide plates 54 and 55 extending obliquely rearward from the upper end thereof. The ejecting roller 56 ejects the tape from the opened tape ejecting port 101b on the rear side of the main body case.

Although not shown in the figure, a cutting mechanism for cutting the tape-shaped recording medium T after printing at the position where the printing ends is arranged in the transport path downstream of the printing position. When one printing operation is completed, the tape-shaped recording medium T is cut and ejected to the outside. on the other hand,
The tape-shaped recording medium T after being cut is fed by the feed roller 51.
As a result, the tape is conveyed backward to the position of the tape pressing roller 38 until it returns, and the start of the next printing operation is awaited at that position.

(Effects) As described above, in the ink jet printer 1 of this example, the filter frame 851 is movably arranged inside the ink supply port 831 of the ink cartridge 8 which is detachably mounted therein. Filter frame 8
The sheet-shaped ink filter 86 is provided on the annular end surface 852 of
It adopts a configuration with zeros. With this configuration, the circular tip end surface of the filter cylinder of the inkjet head can be pressure-bonded to the sheet-shaped ink filter 860 from the back surface side without bending or wrinkling. Therefore, the filter cylinder 7 on the inkjet head side
The circular tip surface of No. 07 and the felt 835 filled in the ink supply chamber 836 are attached to the sheet-shaped ink filter 860.
It is possible to perform appropriate pressure contact in a surface contact state via.

As a result, the ink is properly supplied. That is, it is possible to avoid clogging of the ink filter due to generation of fine powder of felt as in the case of using a conventional columnar felt filter. Further, since the sheet-shaped ink filter is used, the dynamic pressure can be kept low.

(Other Embodiments) The above description is an example in which the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer for printing on a tape-shaped recording medium fed from a tape cartridge. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other inkjet printers. For example, the present invention can be applied to an ink jet printer provided with a mounting portion to which a plurality of recording medium cartridges such as postcards, which are stored in a stacked state, can be attached and detached.

On the other hand, as an ink jet printer to which the present invention can be applied, as in the above example, cyan,
It can be applied even if it is not a type that carries out color printing by mounting ink tanks of three colors of magenta and yellow. For example, it can be applied to an inkjet printer that uses only black ink, and can also be applied to an inkjet printer that can mount ink tanks of four or more colors.

[0056]

As described above, according to the present invention, in the ink cartridge detachably attached to the ink jet printer, the cylindrical filter frame is movably arranged inside the ink supply port. A sheet-shaped ink filter is attached to the open end of the filter frame. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to avoid the problem that the filter is likely to be clogged with the fine powder of felt as in the case of using a conventional columnar felt filter. Further, in the present invention, since the sheet-shaped ink filter can be used, the dynamic pressure can be suppressed to a low level, and the ink can always be appropriately supplied.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an inkjet printer to which the present invention has been applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a drive mechanism unit incorporated in the printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing only an inkjet head mounted in the printer of FIG. 1 and a removable ink cartridge connected to the inkjet head.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ink cartridge is connected to an inkjet head mounted on the printer of FIG.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ink cartridge is mounted on or removed from an inkjet head mounted in the printer of FIG.

6A and 6B are views showing a tape cartridge of the printer of FIG. 1 and a mounting portion thereof, FIG. 6A being a schematic sectional view thereof, and FIG. 6B being an explanatory view showing a front wall thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Inkjet printer 101 ... Main body casing 2 ... Drive mechanism unit 3 ... Tape cartridge 7 ... Inkjet head 701 ... Head case 702 ... Head body 706 ... Needle-like protrusion (Ink introduction part) 707 ... Filter cylinder 710 ... Ink supply path 735 ... Ink introduction path 736 ... Ink introduction port 741 ... Filter case 742 ... Ink filter 745 ... O-ring 8 ... Ink cartridge 83 ... Ink tank 831 ... Ink supply port 835 ... Ink impregnation foam 836 ... Ink supply chamber 843 ... Filter frame receiver 844 ... Small diameter of filter frame receiver Attachment part 845 ... Large-diameter protruding part of filter frame receiver 847 ... Annular step surface (filter Strain relief) 851 ... filter frame 860 ... sheet-like ink filter T ... tape-shaped recording medium

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A detachable connection to an inkjet head mounted on an inkjet printer,
In an ink cartridge that supplies ink to the inkjet head, an ink supply chamber filled with an ink-impregnated synthetic resin open-cell body, an ink supply port opened in the ink supply chamber, and the inside of the ink supply port And a sheet-shaped ink filter fixed to the opening end of the filter frame that covers the opening end on the ink supply chamber side of the filter frame. The ink cartridge is movable in the axial direction of the filter frame and is held inside the ink supply port so as not to slip out of the ink cartridge from the ink supply port. 2. The filter frame receiver according to claim 1, further comprising a cylindrical filter frame receiver holding both ends of the filter frame, wherein the filter frame receiver is fixed inside the ink supply port. And a projecting portion projecting inside the ink supply chamber, the filter frame is movable in the axial direction of the filter frame, and at the same time, the filter frame is pulled out from the filter frame receiver toward the outside of the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is held inside the protruding portion of the filter frame receiver so as not to exist. 3. The ink supply port according to claim 2, wherein the ink supply port is a circular opening, the cylindrical filter frame receiver is fixed coaxially inside the circular opening, and the filter frame receiver is coaxial inside the filter frame receiver. The cylindrical filter frame is arranged, and by setting the inner diameter dimension of the protruding portion larger than the inner diameter dimension of the fixed portion of the filter frame receiver, an annular step surface for preventing the filter frame from coming off is formed. An ink cartridge formed on an inner peripheral surface of the filter receiver. 4. An ink cartridge mounting portion to which the ink cartridge according to claim 1 is detachably mounted, and the ink supply of the ink cartridge mounted to the ink cartridge mounting portion. An ink jet printer having an ink introducing portion which is inserted into a mouth and can be pressure-bonded to the ink filter.