JPH09267487A - Ink tank for recording head, recording head cartridge, and recorder using the recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent ink from oozing along a weld in forming an ink tank by providing a recessed part around a tank opening part for feeding ink in the ink tank to a recording head in the ink tank for the recording head. SOLUTION: An ink jet cartridge for an ink jet recorder is composed of an ink jet head 111, and an ink tank unit 112. The ink tank unit 112 has an absorbing component 113, an ink tank cover 114, and an atmosphere communicating opening part 115, and an opening part is provided. Since the opening part 101 is an ink feed opening, ink always exists there. Since a weld 103 in forming the ink tank extends therefrom, ink may ooz along the weld 103 by capillary force. By providing a recessed part 102 around the opening part 101 herein, the recessed part 102 being a buffer chamber of ink, and the capillary force acting on at two positions on the bottom of the recessed part 102 prevent the ink from diffusion of oozing.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink tank for an ink jet recording apparatus for recording by an ink jet method, an ink jet recording head using the ink tank, and an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with the recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, printing according to an ink jet method can reduce noise generated at the time of printing to a negligible level, high-speed printing is possible, and a so-called plain paper is required without special processing. It has attracted attention because of its advantages such as fixing and printing.

Among them, for example, JP-A-54-51837.
Publication and German patent publication (DOLS) 28430
The inkjet printing method described in Japanese Patent No. 64 has a feature different from the printing methods according to other inkjet methods in that thermal energy is applied to a liquid to obtain a driving force for ink ejection. There is.

That is, according to the printing method disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, the liquid subjected to the action of thermal energy undergoes a state change accompanied by a sharp increase in volume, and the action force generated by the state change causes Liquid is ejected from an orifice at the tip of the recording head of the printer to form flying droplets, and the droplets adhere to a recording medium such as recording paper to perform recording.

In particular, according to the ink jet printing method disclosed in DOLS 2843064,
Not only is it very effectively applied to the so-called drop-on-demand printing method, but the recording head can be easily embodied as a line printer type head with high density and multi-orifice, so that high resolution and high quality can be achieved. It has the feature that images can be obtained at high speed.

The recording head of the printer apparatus applied to the above printing method communicates with an orifice provided for ejecting a droplet, and thermal energy for ejecting the droplet acts on the liquid. A recording head substrate provided with an ink discharge section having a liquid flow having a heat acting section which is a part of the structure and an electrothermal converter (heat generating material) as means for generating heat energy. It includes.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a conventional ink jet cartridge. This inkjet cartridge is composed of a head section 202 having an ejection section 202a and an ink tank 203 for supplying ink to the head section. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a color type inkjet head cartridge having a plurality of ink tanks and a plurality of heads integrated has been put into practical use.

[0008]

The present invention is particularly intended to solve the problems in the color ink jet head cartridge as shown in FIG. The ink tank 112 is a resin molded product, and as the resin, noryl or the like is often used. When a through hole such as 101 is provided in such an ink tank, shallow scratches such as microcracks may be formed in stripes on the surface called weld like 103. This has no problem in the function of the tank. Here, 101 is an opening for supplying ink from the ink tank to the inkjet head.

However, when the ink for the ink jet head adheres to this weld, the ink runs along the weld due to the capillary force. Particularly, in the tank of the ink jet head cartridge, the opening for supplying ink is in contact with the ink, the ink runs along the weld extending from the opening, and depending on the kind, the 401 shown in FIG.
It looks like the ink tank has cracks. In the case of a single color ink tank, it is not noticeable if the ink color and the tank color are the same, but in the case of a plurality of color ink tanks as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, some colors are always different and conspicuous. There is a place.

Conventionally, black has been used as the color of the ink tank, so it has not been considered a problem, but in order to differentiate it from the black head in order to produce an image as a color head in the recent development of color, Colors other than black are often used for ink tanks of color heads.

There is also a method of correcting with xylene or the like after molding to eliminate the weld, but the cost is increased because of the additional processing. There is also a method of selecting at the weld generation level, but the yield is deteriorated, and the cost is similarly increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and its object is a color ink jet cartridge, and a recording head capable of preventing ink bleeding along a weld at the time of molding an ink tank. To provide an ink tank, a recording head cartridge, and a recording device using the recording head.

[0013]

The above object is achieved by the present invention described below. That is, the present invention is characterized in that an ink tank for a recording head of an inkjet recording apparatus is provided with a concave portion around a tank opening for supplying ink to the recording head from an ink tank made of a molding resin. An ink tank for a device is disclosed.

The recess is provided all around the tank opening, and the recess forms a part of the tank opening. The color of the injected ink is different from the color of the ink tank.

According to the present invention, there is provided a recording head for an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the ink tank provided in the recording head is the ink tank of the present invention, and the recording head. Disclosed is an inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the recording head is the inkjet recording head of the present invention.

In order to achieve the above object, the ink tank of the present invention is provided with a recessed portion such as 102 around a through hole which is in contact with the ink as shown in 101 in FIG.
Even if the ink bleeds along the line 03, the ink is stopped at the recess.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention particularly provides an excellent effect in an ink jet recording head and an ink jet recording apparatus which perform recording by flying droplets using thermal energy among ink jet recording systems. . The surface configuration and principle of these recording heads and recording apparatuses are described in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4740796.

The method using this principle can be applied to both the on-demand type and the continuous type, but is particularly effective for the on-demand type. The on-demand system is as follows. One or more drive signals that give a rapid temperature rise exceeding nucleate boiling corresponding to the recorded information to an electrothermal transducer arranged corresponding to the sheet or liquid path holding the liquid (ink). By applying the heat, thermal energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, causing film boiling on the heat-acting surface of the recording head to form bubbles in the liquid (ink) one-to-one corresponding to the drive signal. The ink is discharged from the ink discharge port by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form and fly one or more droplets.

If the driving signal at this time has a pulse shape, the growth and contraction of the bubbles are instantaneously and appropriately performed in response to the application of the signal, and the ink ejection with excellent responsiveness can be achieved.
Suitable driving signals are those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262. Also, U.S. Pat.
By adopting the set conditions of the invention relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface described in the specification of JP-A No. 4, further excellent recording can be performed.

The structure of the ink jet recording head of the present invention is a combination of the discharge port, the liquid passage, and the electrothermal converter as described in the above-mentioned specifications (straight liquid flow passage constitution or right-angled liquid constitution). Flow channel configuration), and US Pat.
A configuration in which the heat acting portion is disposed in a bent region as disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 58333 and the specification of Japanese Patent No. 4459600 may be adopted.

In addition to the above structure, a structure in which a slit common to a plurality of electrothermal converters is used as a discharge portion of the electrothermal converters (disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-123670) and pressure of heat energy are used. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on a configuration (disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-138461) in which an opening that absorbs waves corresponds to a discharge portion.

Further, a full line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum recording width that can be recorded by the recording apparatus may be used. The full-line type recording head may have a configuration in which a plurality of recording heads as disclosed in the above specification are combined or an integrated configuration.

Other types of recording heads include a replaceable chip type recording head which enables electrical connection to the recording apparatus main body and supply of ink from the recording apparatus main body, or ink integrated with the recording head itself. A cartridge type recording head provided with a tank may be used.

It is preferable to add recovery means for the printhead, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as constituent units of the ink jet printing apparatus of the present invention, in order to further stabilize the effects of the present invention. Specific examples of these means include a capping unit for the recording head, a cleaning unit, a pressurizing / suctioning unit, a preheating unit, and a predischarge unit. Further, as the recording mode of the recording apparatus of the present invention, in addition to the recording mode of only the mainstream color such as black, a multi-color mode of different colors or a full-color mode of mixed colors may be provided.

In the above-described recording head and recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink is described as a liquid, but any ink that solidifies at room temperature or lower, even if it softens or liquefies at room temperature or higher. For example, it can be used in the present invention. In general, in the ink-jet method, the ink itself is adjusted to 30 to 70 ° C. to control the viscosity of the ink to a stable ejection range. Such ink is
Liquefies by applying thermal energy according to the recording signal,
An ink that is ejected as liquid ink and starts to solidify immediately upon reaching the recording medium is used. Depending on the liquefaction of the ink, it is possible to prevent temperature rise due to excessive thermal energy,
The evaporation of the ink can be prevented by the fact that the ink is solid at around normal temperature or solidified after ejection.

The above ink may be held as a liquid or solid in a recess or through hole of a porous sheet or the like, and may be provided at a position facing the electrothermal converter (JP-A-54-54).
56847 and 60-71260.)
In the present invention, the film boiling method is most effective for each of the above-mentioned inks.

The ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is provided integrally or separately as an image output terminal of information processing equipment such as a word processor and a computer, a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmitting / receiving function. It may take a form.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the embodiments with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment.
111 is an inkjet head, 112 is an ink tank unit, 113 is an absorbing member that holds ink, 114
Is a tank lid, and 115 is an atmosphere communication port. 101 is an opening for supplying ink from the ink tank to the head, 102 is a recess dug in the outer periphery of the tank of the present invention,
103 is a weld generated from 101.

Since 101 is an ink supply port, there is always ink, and the weld extends from there, so that the ink spreads through the weld due to the capillary force.
However, by providing the recess of the present invention around the opening, the recess serves as an ink buffer chamber, and a capillary force acts at two bases of the recess in a direction orthogonal to the direction in which the weld extends. As a result, ink bleeding does not proceed.

Since the position where the weld is generated is almost determined by the shape of the ink tank and the design of the mold, the entire circumference of the recessed opening is desirable, but it also functions at a specific position as in this embodiment.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment. Steps are provided in a triangular recess. Thus, Embodiment 1
The same effect can be obtained, and the more triangles there are, the greater the effect of stopping ink bleeding.

Next, an ink jet pudding (IJRA) which is a recording apparatus equipped with the above color ink jet cartridge will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view showing an example of an ink jet printer (IJRA) equipped with a color ink jet cartridge which is an embodiment of the recording head cartridge of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, the spiral groove 500 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5009 to 5011 in association with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013.
The carriage HC that engages with 4 is a pin (not shown)
And supported by the guide rail 5003 and arrows a and b
Reciprocate in the direction. The carriage HC is equipped with an integrated inkjet cartridge IJC (see FIG. 1) having a recording head IJH and an ink tank IT built therein.

A pressing plate 5002 is provided on the platen 5000 of the recording paper P along the moving direction of the carriage HC.
Press against Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote photo couplers, which are home position detectors for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage HC in a predetermined area and for switching the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013. 501
A member 6 supports a cap member 5022 that caps the entire surface of the recording head IJH. Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction device that suctions the inside of the cap member 5022, and suctions the recording head IJH through the opening 5023 in the cap. A head recovery device is constituted by these members, and the head is recovered by the following suction recovery operation. In association with capping the inkjet cartridge IJC by the cap member 5022 of the head recovery device, ink is sucked by the suction device 5015 and ink is pressure-fed by an appropriate pressurizing means provided in the ink supply path to the inkjet cartridge IJC. ,
The thickened ink in the nozzle is removed by forcibly discharging the ink from the ejection port. It should be noted that the inkjet cartridge IJC is protected by capping at the end of recording or the like.

Reference numeral 5021 denotes a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage HC, and the driving force from the driving motor moves by a known transmission mechanism such as clutch switching. Controlled.

5017 is a cleaning blade, 501
Reference numeral 9 denotes a member that supports the cleaning blade 5017 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction.
18 supported. When performing cleaning, the cleaning blade 5017 is projected in the movement path of the inkjet cartridge IJC mounted on the carriage HC, and dew condensation, wetting, or dust on the ejection surface of the cartridge is wiped off as the carriage HC moves. The cleaning blade 5017 is not limited to the illustrated form, and it goes without saying that a known cleaning blade can be applied to this example.

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery described above are configured so that desired processing can be performed at respective corresponding positions when the carriage HC comes to a predetermined area on the home position side, and desired processing is performed at known timing. It is ready to operate.

[0040]

As described above, according to the present invention, by forming the groove around the through hole of the molded product, it is possible to prevent the ink from bleeding along the weld, the yield is high, and the processing cost is low. A head cartridge can be provided. Further, since the tank uses a color other than black, it can be differentiated from the black head and the image as a color inkjet cartridge can be enhanced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of an ink tank for an inkjet cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing a conventional inkjet cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an ink tank for a conventional inkjet cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view showing a problem of a conventional head.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing another example of the ink tank of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing a printer in which the inkjet cartridge of the present invention is mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 Through Hole (Opening) 102 Recess 103 Weld 111 Inkjet Head 112 Ink Tank Unit 113 Absorbing Member 114 Tank Lid 115,204 Atmospheric Communication Port 201 Inkjet Cartridge 202 Head 202a Ejection 203 Ink Tank 401 Crack

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Masami Takeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Keizo Naganuma 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Takeshi Yamakubo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ink tank for a recording head of an inkjet recording apparatus, wherein the ink tank is provided with a concave portion around a tank opening for supplying ink to the recording head from an ink tank made of a molding resin. An ink tank for an inkjet recording device. 2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the recess is provided all around the tank opening. 3. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the recess forms a part of a tank opening. 4. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein the color of the ink injected into the ink tank is different from the color of the ink tank. 5. An ink jet recording head for an ink jet recording apparatus, wherein the ink tank provided in the recording head is the ink tank according to any one of claims 1 to 4. 6. An inkjet recording apparatus comprising a recording head, wherein the recording head is the inkjet recording head according to claim 5.