JPH11277759A - Ink supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink supply apparatus which can maintain a supply pressure of ink supplied to a printing head at an appropriate negative pressure. SOLUTION: An ink extraction needle 36 pierced into an ink-sealed part 3 of an ink package 31 extracts ink inside via an extraction hole 26a and sends the ink to an ink feed tube 24 via a mount member 25. The ink entering the ink feed tube 24 is supplied to a printing head via a mount member. Since a restriction plate 31f set at the ink-sealed part 31a is attracted by a magnetic force of a magnet member 34, the ink-sealed part 31a of the ink package 31 of an ink cartridge is not changed suddenly in shape even if an internal pressure in the ink-sealed part 31 is lowered subsequent to the extraction of ink, and a negative pressure in the ink-sealed part 31a is maintained within an optimum operation pressure range.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink supply apparatus for extracting ink from an ink package and supplying the extracted ink to a print head, and more particularly, to maintaining an ink supply pressure supplied to a print head at an appropriate negative pressure. The present invention relates to an ink supply device capable of performing the following.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet printer which performs printing by discharging ink, ink is supplied to a print head from an ink package filled with ink, and the ink is discharged from the print head to printing paper to perform printing. Will be In such an ink jet printer, it is necessary to maintain the dischargeability of the ink discharged from the print head in a preferable state in order to improve the print quality. The ink ejection property is maintained by forming a concave meniscus (curved surface) on the liquid surface of the ink supplied into the nozzles of the print head. The meniscus ink surface is formed by adjusting the supply pressure of the ink supplied into the nozzles to a negative pressure within a predetermined range.

Various proposals have been made for adjusting the ink supply pressure. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication
The ink package described in US Pat.
The ink is filled, and the inside thereof is covered with an elastically deformable spring member. In such an ink package, when ink is extracted from the ink package, even if the internal pressure of the ink package is reduced, a change in shape of the ink package is suppressed by the spring member encapsulated therein. And the supply pressure of the ink supplied to the print head is adjusted to a negative pressure.

[0004]

However, in such an ink package, as the amount of ink inside the ink package decreases, the amount of displacement of the spring member increases, and the restoring force of the spring member that suppresses a change in the shape of the ink package increases. As a result, the negative pressure in the ink package rapidly increases. Therefore, there is a problem that the meniscus is destroyed by an excessively large negative pressure even though the ink remains in the ink package, and the ink cannot be completely used up.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink supply device capable of maintaining a supply pressure of ink supplied to a print head at a proper negative pressure. The purpose is.

[0006]

In order to achieve this object, an ink supply device according to the present invention comprises an ink package provided in a printing device and filled with ink used for printing. The ink is extracted from the package and supplied to the print head. The first magnetic member is attached to the ink package and is formed of a magnetic material. The first magnetic member is disposed at an interval facing the first magnetic member. And a second magnetic member formed of a magnetic material, and one of the second magnetic member and the first magnetic member is formed of a magnet body that applies a magnetic force for attracting the other.

According to the ink supply device of the first aspect, ink is supplied to the print head from the ink package provided in the printing device, and the ink is ejected from the print head to printing paper to perform printing. However, a first magnetic member is attached to the ink package, and the second magnetic member is disposed at a distance from the first magnetic member, and one of the magnetic members is a magnet. When the internal pressure of the ink package is reduced due to the extraction of ink, the ink package can be used even if the internal pressure of the ink package is reduced. Is suppressed, and the inside of the ink package is maintained at an appropriate negative pressure.

Further, when the ink package changes its shape due to the extraction of the ink and contracts, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are separated from each other, so that the interval between the magnetic members becomes large, and the distance between the magnetic members becomes large. Therefore, the internal pressure of the ink package is maintained at an appropriate negative pressure without a sudden increase in the negative pressure in the ink package (a sudden decrease in the absolute pressure in the ink package).

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus of the first aspect, the first magnetic member is formed of a metal material having magnetism such as iron, and the second magnetic member is formed of a magnet. The body is formed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply device according to the first or second aspect, an ink extraction amount storage device for storing an ink extraction amount extracted from the ink package, and the ink extraction device. According to the ink extraction amount stored in the amount storage device, one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member is relatively moved with respect to the other, and the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are moved. And a control device for changing the size of the interval width.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the ink supply device operates in the same manner as the first or second aspect of the invention, and the amount of ink extracted from the ink package is stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. The control device moves one of the first magnetic member or the second magnetic member relative to the other in accordance with the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device, When the size of the gap width of the magnetic members is changed by the control device, the magnitude of the attraction force due to the magnetic force of the magnet body is determined based on the size of the gap width. Is changed, and the negative pressure in the ink package is changed. That is, when the interval width between the magnetic members is reduced, the suction force generated between the magnetic members increases, and the negative pressure in the ink package increases (the absolute pressure in the ink package decreases). When the width is increased, the suction force generated between the magnetic members decreases, and the negative pressure in the ink package decreases (the absolute pressure in the ink package increases). Therefore, the magnitude of the negative pressure in the ink package is changed by the control device in accordance with the change in the ink extraction amount, and the internal pressure of the ink package is maintained at an appropriate negative pressure.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply device according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising: an ink extraction amount storage device configured to store an ink extraction amount extracted from the ink package; A magnetic force control device that changes the magnitude of the magnetic force of the magnet body according to the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device.

According to the ink supply device of the fourth aspect, the ink supply device operates in the same manner as the ink supply device of any one of the first to third aspects, and the amount of ink extracted from the ink package is equal to the amount of ink extracted. The magnetic force control device changes the magnetic force of the magnet forming one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member in accordance with the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. When the magnetic force of the magnet body is changed by the magnetic force control device, the magnitude of the attraction force generated between the magnetic members is changed, and the internal pressure of the ink package whose shape change is suppressed by the attraction force is moderate. It is maintained at a negative pressure. That is, when the magnetic force of the magnet body is increased, the attraction force generated between the magnetic members increases, and the negative pressure in the ink package increases (the absolute pressure in the ink package decreases). Accordingly, the suction force generated between the magnetic members decreases, and the negative pressure in the ink package decreases (the absolute pressure in the ink package increases). Therefore, the magnitude of the negative pressure in the ink package is changed by the magnetic force control device according to the change in the amount of extracted ink, and the internal pressure of the ink package is maintained at an appropriate negative pressure.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus of the first aspect, the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are each formed of a magnet. A polarity changing device is provided for changing the polarity of one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member to be the same or different from the other.

According to the ink supply device of the fifth aspect, the ink supply device operates in the same manner as the ink supply device of any one of the first to fourth aspects, and the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member each have a magnet. When the polarity of the magnetic members is made the same by the polarity changing device, a repulsive force is generated between the magnetic members, and the ink package is compressed. Therefore, for example, when the ink is dried and solidified in the print head and ink clogging or the like occurs, the polarity change device changes the polarity of each magnetic member to the same, thereby compressing the ink package, and drying by the compression. The solidified ink is forcibly ejected from the print head, and the ink ejectability of the print head is restored.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows an ink package 3 according to an embodiment of the ink supply device of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the portable printer 1 including the printer cartridge 3 on which the ink cartridge 1 and the magnet member 34 are mounted. As shown in FIG. 1, a portable printer 1 includes a printer body 2 formed in a substantially rectangular box shape, a printer cartridge 3 in a substantially rectangular box shape detachably formed on an upper portion thereof, and a printer cartridge thereof. And a substantially rectangular box-shaped ink cartridge 30 containing an ink package 31 mounted on the ink cartridge 3 and sealed with ink used for printing. In FIG. 1, the main body frame 4 of the printer main body 2, the paper carry-out port 16, the head moving groove 17, and the printer cartridge 3
Is indicated by a two-dot chain line.
In FIG. 1, the magnet member 34 mounted (disposed) on the printer cartridge 3 is not shown.

The main body frame 4 of the printer main body 2 is formed in a substantially rectangular box-like body, and has a columnar paper feed roller 5 serving as a roller member for transporting the printing paper P (see FIG. 2). Are arranged while being rotatably supported,
A guide rod 6 for guiding reciprocal movement of a carriage 8 described later is provided. The respective axial directions of the paper feed roller 5 and the guide rod 6 are directed to the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 2, and the paper feed roller 5 and the guide rod 6 are arranged such that their axes are substantially parallel to each other.
It is arranged in each.

A driven gear 5a is provided at the left end of the paper feed roller 5.
The driven gear 5a is provided with an LF motor 7
The gear is meshed with the drive gear 7a rotated by the rotation. Therefore, by driving the LF motor 7, the driven gear 5
The print paper P can be transported by rotating the paper feed roller 5 via the drive gear 7a and the drive gear 7a. The guide rod 6 is penetrated by the carriage 8 so that the carriage 8 can move in the axial direction of the paper feed roller 5, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the printing paper P. In FIG. 1,
The illustration of a part of the guide rod 6 is omitted.

The carriage 8 includes a print head 22 described later.
Is mounted in a rectangular frame having an opening vertically penetrated therethrough. The carriage 8 is connected to a drive pulley 9a rotated by a CR motor 9 mounted on a right end portion of the main body frame 4 and a driven pulley 9b provided on a left end portion of the main body frame 4 via a belt 9c. The printer is configured to be able to reciprocate in a direction (axial direction) parallel to the axis of the guide rod 6 and the paper feed roller 5, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 2. Therefore, the print head 22 mounted on the carriage 8 is
Can be printed on the printing paper P by reciprocating in the longitudinal direction. It should be noted that the belt 9c is partially omitted in order to facilitate understanding of the paper feed roller 5 and the guide rod 6.

At the left end of the printer body 2, a plurality of nozzle openings 22b in the nozzle portion 22a of the print head 22 are provided.
A suction cap 10 capable of sealing (see FIG. 2) and a purge motor 11 for supplying power for sucking ink in each nozzle port 22b sealed by the suction cap 10 are provided. Therefore, when the ink surface filled in the nozzle opening 22b cannot form a concave meniscus M (see FIG. 2) due to a cause such as ink clogging, the purging process can be performed. That is,
The ink in the nozzle port 22b is sucked by the suction cap 10 driven by the purge motor 11, and the ink ejection state can be recovered. Specifically, CR
The carriage 9 on which the print head 22 is mounted is moved to the left side of the portable printer 1 by the motor 9, and each nozzle port 22 b of the print head 22 is sealed with the suction cap 10. Thereafter, when the purge motor 11 is operated, bubbles and dried and solidified ink are sucked from the nozzle port 22b, and the ejection state of the nozzle port 22b is recovered.

At the left side of the suction cap 10, a protective cap 1 that covers the nozzle portion 22 a of the print head 22.
2 are provided. The protection cap 12 is used when the printing is not performed by the print head 22, that is, when the carriage 8
When the printer is in the standby state, it covers the nozzle portion 22a, prevents the ink inside the nozzle portion 22a from evaporating, and avoids drying of the ink in each nozzle port 22b.

A control circuit board 13 for controlling the operation of the portable printer 1 is mounted below the printer body 2. The control circuit board 13 has various electronic components mounted thereon and is electrically connected to a PC card 15 via a connection cord 14. This PC
The card 15 is a known PCMCIA card for connecting a personal computer (not shown) and other external devices (for example, a printer or the like), and is inserted into a PC card slot provided in the personal computer.
The print data and the like output from the personal computer are input to the portable printer 1. The portable printer 1 is supplied with power from a personal computer (not shown) via the PC card 15 inserted into the PC card slot and the connection cord 14. Therefore, when printing is performed using the portable printer 1, there is no need to connect the portable printer 1 and an AC power supply. The portable printer 1 can be used outside or the like.

On the side wall on the front side of the main body frame 4 of the printer main body 2, a paper outlet 16 for carrying out the printed printing paper P from the printer main body 2 is provided. Unused printing paper P is inserted into the printer main body 2 at a position facing the paper outlet 16 on the side wall on the back side of the main body frame 4, that is, the side wall facing the side wall provided with the paper outlet 16. Paper insertion opening (not shown) is provided. Further, a head moving groove 17 which is a rectangular opening is provided on the upper surface of the main body frame 4. When the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the printer main body 2, the print head 22 is moved through the head moving groove 17.
Can be mounted on the carriage 8. Since the head moving groove 17 is formed wide in the longitudinal direction of the main body frame 4, the head moving groove 17 is mounted on the carriage 8 when the carriage 8 reciprocates in the printer main body 2 in the longitudinal direction. The print head 22 can be reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the printer body 2.

A connector 18 for supplying an electric signal based on print data to the print head 22 and electric power for driving the print head 22 is provided on the upper surface of the main body frame 4 at a position behind the head moving groove 17. Have been.
The connector 18 is electrically connected to a control circuit board 13 (not shown) disposed on the bottom of the main body frame 4 and has a plurality of connection holes 18a formed in the upper surface thereof. Each of the connection holes 18a is formed so that a plurality of connection pins (not shown) provided on the lower surface of a mounting member 25 provided in the printer cartridge 3 described later can be inserted.

According to the printer main body 2 configured as described above, since the heavy parts such as the LF motor 7 are disposed in the printer main body 2 disposed below the portable printer 1, The center of gravity of the portable printer 1 can be located on the printer main body 2 side. Therefore, the portable printer 1 can be installed in a stable state. In addition, the vibration of the portable printer 1 when the carriage 8 and the paper feed roller 5 are driven is suppressed, and the portable printer 1 can be prevented from tipping over due to the vibration. The body 2 can also be prevented from falling.

The printer cartridge 3 is provided with a cartridge frame 21 which is formed in a substantially rectangular box shape and is detachably formed on an upper portion of the printer main body 2. The printer cartridge 3 includes a print head 22, an attachment member 23 to which the print head 22 is attached, a supply tube 24 having one end joined to the attachment member 23, and an end connected to the other end of the supply tube 24. A mounting member 25 to be combined and an ink extraction needle 26 attached to the mounting member 25 are provided.

The print head 22 includes an ink package 31
The printing is performed by discharging the ink supplied from the nozzle unit 22. The nozzle unit 22 includes a piezo element (piezoelectric element).
a. As described above, since the nozzle portion 22a of the print head 22 is formed of a piezo element, power consumption can be reduced as compared with other printers using a bubble jet system or a thermal system. As a result, the power consumption of the portable printer 1 is reduced. Power can be supplied to the printer 1.

At the top of the print head 22, a mounting member 2 for joining the print head 22 and one end of the supply tube 24 is provided.
The other end of the supply tube 24 is attached to an ink extraction needle 26 via an attachment member 25. The ink extraction needle 26 is for extracting ink from an ink package 31 described later housed in the ink cartridge 30. The ink sealed in 31 can be supplied to the print head 22.

The supply tube 24 is disposed in the cartridge frame 21 such that the vicinity of the mounting member 23 is largely curved, and the other portions are substantially linear.
Therefore, the length of the supply tube 24 can be reduced as compared with a conventional ink supply tube or the like that is bent at a plurality of locations. Therefore, the supply tube 2
4 can reduce the flow path resistance inside, and also can reduce the amount of ink sucked by the purge process. In addition, since the supply tube 24 is formed to have a length smaller than the length of a conventional ink supply tube or the like, the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

A harness line (not shown) for outputting an electric signal based on print data to the print head 22 and supplying electric power for driving the print head 22 is formed integrally with the supply tube 24. The harness wire is electrically connected to the nozzle 22 a of the print head 22. Also, the mounting member 2 joined to the supply tube 24
A plurality of connection pins (not shown) electrically connected to the harness line of the supply tube 24 project downward from the lower surface of the supply tube 5. It is formed so that it can be inserted into a plurality of connection holes 18a provided. Therefore, when the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the printer main body 2 and each connection pin of the mounting member 25 is inserted into each connection hole 18a of the connector 18, the print head 22 and the control circuit board 13 are electrically connected, An electric signal based on the print data is output from the control circuit board 13 to the print head 22, and electric power for driving the print head 22 is supplied.

The print head 22 and the ink extraction needle 2 described above
6. The supply tube 24 and the attachment members 23 and 25 (hereinafter referred to as the print head 22 and the like) are joined or attached by welding or bonding with an adhesive or the like. Sex is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to prevent air or the like from entering the supply tube 24 from the joint portion or the attachment portion, and to prevent air bubbles from being mixed into the ink supplied to the print head 22. For this reason, the ink ejection property of the print head 22 can be maintained.
In addition, ink leakage from the supply tube 24 is prevented.

The ink extraction needle 26 is formed of a corrosion-resistant metal material such as stainless steel or a ceramic material, and is inserted into an ink sealing portion 31a of an ink package 31, which will be described later, and is sealed inside. This is for extracting the ink. The ink extraction needle 26 is formed in a hollow needle-like body, and a space in the ink extraction needle 26 is formed so as to communicate with the supply tube 24 via the attachment member 25. The tip of the ink extraction needle 26 is provided with an extraction hole 26a which is an opening for extracting ink in the ink sealing portion 31a.
Are formed so as to communicate with the space in the ink extraction needle 26. Therefore, the ink extraction needle 26 is
When inserted into the inside, the extraction hole 26a allows the ink in the ink package 31 to flow into the space in the ink extraction needle 26, and also to flow into the supply tube 24 via the attachment member 25. .

FIG. 2 shows the nozzle portion 22a of the print head 22.
FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of nozzle ports (ink ejection ports) 22b are provided in the nozzle section 22a of the print head 22 described above. Each nozzle opening 22b is filled with ink supplied from the ink package 31. As described above, when a voltage is applied to the nozzle portion 22a formed of the piezo element, a distortion proportional to the voltage occurs, and the nozzle portion 22b contracts due to the distortion of the nozzle portion 22a. Can be. Accordingly, printing can be performed by discharging the ink filled in each nozzle port 22b onto the printing paper P. In addition, each nozzle port 22b is approximately 180 dp.
They are provided at a pitch (interval) corresponding to i. That is,
The nozzle openings 22b are provided at a pitch (interval) of about 0.7 mm. Therefore, the carriage 8 on which the print head 22 is mounted moves forward or backward in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 2 (see FIG. 1), so that printing at a resolution of 180 dpi can be performed.

Further, a concave meniscus M is formed on the ink liquid surface below the inside of each nozzle port 22b. Dischargeability is maintained, and a clear printing result can be obtained. The concave meniscus M can be formed in each nozzle port 22b by maintaining the ink supply pressure of the ink filled in each nozzle port 22b at a negative pressure. For example, in the print head 22 of this embodiment, the ink supply pressure is about 0 mmAq (water column) or more and about -300 mmAq with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
(Water column) Within the following range (operating pressure range), a concave meniscus M can be formed on the ink liquid surface in each nozzle port 22b.

The optimum operating pressure range (optimum operating pressure range) of the print head 22 when printing is performed by the portable printer 1 of this embodiment is approximately -10 mmAq with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
(Water column) or less and approximately -100 mmAq (water column) or more.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the ink cartridge 30. An arrow X in the drawing indicates a mounting direction of the ink cartridge 30, and the ink package 31 is shown through the ink cartridge 30. As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 30 is formed in a rectangular box shape, and is formed so as to be detachable from the printer cartridge 3. The ink cartridge 30 includes an ink package 31 in which ink used for printing is sealed, a case body 32 enclosing the ink package 31, and a case lid 33 covered by the case body 32.

The ink package 31 is formed in a substantially rectangular bag, and has a thickness t (see FIG. 1) formed by laminating a plurality of (for example, about ten) film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like. 4 (a)) (a film material having a shape restoring property). An ink sealing portion 31a is formed substantially at the center of the ink package 31, and the ink used for printing is sealed inside the ink sealing portion 31a. A concave portion 31b is formed at the left edge portion of the ink sealing portion 31a, and welding portions 31c, 31d, and 31e are formed at other edge portions.
The concave portion 31b is a portion into which the ink extraction needle 26 is stabbed, and is formed in a substantially concave shape in a top view by forming and supporting welding portions 31c and 31d at both ends.
Therefore, by inserting the ink extraction needle 26 into the concave portion 31b, the ink sealed portion 31 of the ink package 31 is inserted.
The ink extraction needle 26 can easily penetrate into a.

Further, since the ink package 31 is formed of the above-mentioned laminated film material, when the ink extraction needle 26 is stabbed, the ink package 31 comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the stabbed ink extraction needle 26 ( (Adhesion).
Accordingly, it is possible to prevent ink from leaking from the ink sealing portion 31a and entry of air or the like into the ink sealing portion 31a. In particular, when ink is extracted by the ink extraction needle 26, the infiltration of air or the like into the ink sealing portion 31a is prevented, so that the volume corresponding to the ink consumption amount (ink extraction amount) in the ink sealing portion 31a is reduced. It is not replaced by air or the like. Therefore, the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at a negative pressure. Moreover, the print head 22
Bubbles are prevented from being mixed into the ink supplied to the
The meniscus M formed in each of the nozzle openings 22b of the print head 22 can be prevented from being broken by such bubbles, and the ink discharge performance of each of the nozzle openings 22b of the print head 22 can be maintained. That is, good print quality can be maintained.

Further, by enhancing the rigidity of the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 31, it is possible to impart shape resilience to the laminated structure film material. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the ink extraction needle 2
6, when the ink is extracted from the ink sealing portion 31a, the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at a negative pressure without being crushed by the atmospheric pressure or the like.
As a result, when the ink extracted by the ink extraction needle 26 is supplied to the print head 22, the ink supply pressure of the ink can be maintained at a negative pressure, and the print quality can be maintained satisfactorily.

The ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 31
A rectangular thin plate-like suppressing plate 31f is attached (attached) to a substantially central portion of the upper surface of a. The suppression plate 31f can be used even when the above-described shape restoring property is not given to the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 31 itself.
In order to suppress a sudden change in the shape of the ink sealing portion 31a accompanying the extraction of the ink, a magnet member 34 described later is used.
Is attracted by the magnetic force. This suppression plate 31f
Is formed of a magnetic material having magnetism such as iron,
The plate thickness is formed to be approximately 0.5 mm. Further, the length in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) is formed to be approximately 1/3 or more of the length in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) of the ink sealing portion 31a, and the length in the transverse direction (perpendicular to the longitudinal direction) is determined by ink extraction. It is formed larger than the diameter (outer diameter) d of the needle 26. In the present embodiment, the suppression plate 31f has an adhesive or the like applied to its lower surface and is attached to the upper surface of the ink sealing portion 31a. However, the suppression plate 31f is attached to the ink sealing portion 31a. In this case, an adhesive tape coated with an adhesive on both sides, a so-called double-sided tape may be used.

The case body 32 and the case lid 33 that enclose the ink package 31 to which the suppression plate 31f is attached.
Is formed of a synthetic resin such as an ABS resin into a hollow box-like body, and is formed so as to be able to accommodate the ink package 31. The lower surface of the ink package 31 is adhered to the lower inner wall surface of the case body 32 with an adhesive or the like, and an insertion hole 32a is formed in the left inner wall erected at the left end of the lower inner wall surface. I have. The insertion hole 32a is a hole for inserting the above-described ink extraction needle 26 into the case body 32, and has an inner diameter larger than the diameter d of the ink extraction needle 26. Therefore, the ink extraction needle 2 is inserted into the insertion hole 32a.
6, the ink extraction needle 26 can be inserted into the recess 31b of the ink package 31 housed in the ink cartridge 30. A case lid 33 is welded to the right side wall of the case body 32. Ink package 3
When the case 1 is stored in the case body 32, the case lid 33 is welded to the case body 32 after the ink package 31 is inserted into the case body 32 with the case cover 33 removed. . The case body 32 may be made of a metal material such as a stainless steel material. When attaching the ink package 31 to the case body 32, an adhesive tape having an adhesive applied to both sides, that is, a so-called double-sided tape may be used.

FIG. 4A is a partial side sectional view of the ink cartridge 30 in a state where the ink extraction needle 26 is inserted into the ink package 31, and FIG. 4B is a sectional view of the ink package 31 contracted by ink extraction. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional side view of an ink cartridge 30 that stores the ink cartridge. FIG.
As shown in FIG.
Is the cartridge frame 2 of the printer cartridge 3
1 is detachably mounted. At an upper portion of the cartridge frame 21 and at a position facing the above-described suppressing plate 31f, a magnet member 34 composed of a known permanent magnet is disposed at a distance L1 from the suppressing plate 31f. The magnet member attracts the suppression plate 31f attached to the ink sealing portion 31a by its magnetic force, and suppresses a sudden change in shape of the ink sealing portion 31a. That is, the magnet member 34 is constituted by a permanent magnet, and
Since the suppression plate 31f is formed of a magnetic material such as iron, a suction force is generated between the two by the magnetic force of the magnet member 34, and the suction force causes the shape of the ink sealing portion 31a to which the suppression plate 31f is attached. The change is suppressed.
Therefore, even if the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 decreases due to the extraction of the ink, the sudden change in shape of the ink sealing portion 31a is suppressed by the attractive force of the magnetic force of the magnet member 34. Can be maintained at a negative pressure.

The tip of the ink extraction needle 26 is disposed below the suppression plate 31f in the ink sealing portion 31a. At the tip of the ink extraction needle 26,
The above-mentioned extraction hole 26a is provided. This extraction hole 2
FIG. 4A shows an outer peripheral surface of the ink extraction needle 26 shown in FIG.
Each extraction hole 26a is formed so as to penetrate in the front-rear direction of FIG. Have been. That is, the ink sealed in the ink sealing portion 31a flows into the ink extraction needle 26 from each of the extraction holes 26a.

As shown in FIG. 4B, in a state where the ink is extracted from the ink package 31 and the amount of the ink inside the ink sealed portion 31a is reduced, the shape of the ink sealed portion 31a of the ink package 31 is changed and withered. In addition, the distance L2 between the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 described above is as shown in FIG.
It becomes larger than the interval L1 shown in (a) (L2> L1).
As described above, when the width of the gap between the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 is increased and the two are relatively separated from each other, the attraction force due to the magnetic force of the magnet member 34 is reduced accordingly. Suppressing a sudden increase in the negative pressure in the sealing portion 31a (a sudden decrease in the absolute pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a) and reducing the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a to an appropriate negative pressure, that is,
It can be maintained within the aforementioned optimum operating pressure range.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the performance of the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 according to the relationship between the ink consumption (ink extraction amount) of the ink sealed in the ink sealing portion 31a and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a. It is. The horizontal axis 41 in FIG. 5 indicates the amount of ink consumed by the ink sealed in the ink sealing section 31a, and the vertical axis 42 indicates the internal pressure of the ink sealing section 31a. In FIG. 4, the internal pressure is indicated by a relative pressure (gauge pressure) with respect to the atmospheric pressure. That is, the ink sealing section 3
The internal pressure of 1a is approximately 0 mmAq, which is approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure.

The curve 43 (two-dot chain line) indicates the relationship between the ink consumption and the internal pressure, and indicates the relationship between the ink consumption and the internal pressure.
Shows the performance of According to this curve 43, the suppression plate 3
In the ink package 31 not using 1f, the internal pressure (initial pressure) of the ink sealing portion 31a is positive when the ink consumption is approximately 0 cc. In such an initial pressure region, the amount of ink (the remaining amount of ink) remaining in the ink sealing portion 31a is still large, and the ratio of the amount of ink consumed to the remaining amount of ink is small even if ink is consumed. Internal pressure does not decrease so much.
Therefore, in the ink package 31, when the ink consumption is small, the ink supply pressure to the print head 22 cannot be maintained at the negative pressure. On the other hand, as the ink consumption increases, the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a decreases (falls) to a negative pressure, and finally reaches a negative pressure within the optimum operating pressure range.
Since the amount of ink in the ink sealing portion 31a has been reduced by a considerable amount, the descending slope of the curve 43 is sharp. For this reason, the ink consumption section dV43 in which the internal pressure of the ink sealing section 31a is maintained within the optimum operating pressure range is reduced.

A curve 44 (dashed-dotted line) shows the performance of the ink package 31 in which the shape change is suppressed by the conventional spring member due to the relationship between the ink consumption and the internal pressure. According to this curve 44, the ink package 31 using the spring member can maintain the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a in the vicinity of the ink consumption of approximately 0 cc within the optimum operating pressure range due to the restoring force of the spring member. . Moreover, when the ink consumption is small, the descending slope of the curve 44 is small, so that the ink consumption section dV44 in which the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a is maintained within the optimum operating pressure range is longer than the above-described ink consumption section dV43. (DV4
4> dV43). However, in the ink package 31 in which the change in shape is suppressed by the spring member, the restoring force of the spring member that suppresses the change in shape is larger than the restoring force of the laminated structure film material of the ink package 31 shown by the curve 43. If the amount further increases, the internal pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a will drop sharply. Therefore, the ink supply pressure drops rapidly, and the meniscus M in the nozzle opening 22b of the print head 22 is destroyed, so that the ink sealed inside the ink package 31 cannot be completely used up.

A curve 45 (solid line) shows the performance of the ink package 31 in which the shape change is suppressed by the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 of the present embodiment due to the relationship between the ink consumption and the internal pressure. As shown in this curve 45,
According to the ink package 31 in which the shape change is suppressed by the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34, the suppression plate 31f attached to the ink sealing portion 31a that seals the ink is:
Since the magnetic member 34 is attracted by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet constituting the magnet member 34, the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a is maintained at a negative pressure. In addition, when the ink consumption is about 0 cc, the ink package 31
1a can be maintained within the optimum operating pressure range,
The falling gradient of the internal pressure can be made gentler than that of the ink package 31 shown by the other curves 43 and 45. Therefore, in the ink package 31 in which the shape change is suppressed by the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 of the present embodiment, the ink consumption section dV45 in which the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a is maintained within the optimum operating pressure range is described above. It can be made larger than the ink consumption sections dV43 and dV44 (d
V45>dV44> dV43), and a larger amount of ink can be supplied to the print head 22 at an ink supply pressure within the optimum operating pressure range as compared with the various ink packages 31 shown by the curves 43 and 44.

As described above, the ink package 31 (curve 45) of which the shape change is suppressed by the suppression plate 31f and the magnet member 34 of the present embodiment has a higher ink consumption than the conventional ink package 31 (curves 43 and 44). Even if the amount is large, the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a is adjusted to the optimum operating pressure range (about -10 mmAq or more and about -100 mmAq or less).
Can be maintained within. Therefore, according to the ink package 31 of the present embodiment, even if the ink consumption increases,
It is possible to maintain the ink discharge property from each nozzle port 22b of the print head 22, and to obtain a high quality print result.

Next, a method of manufacturing the ink package 31 will be described. The manufacturing method of the ink package 31 is as follows. First, the rectangular laminated structure film material is overlapped in a two-fold state, and one side of the overlapped edge part opposing to the folded edge part is welded. Welding part 31e
To form a hollow cylindrical body. This hollow cylindrical body is open at both edges facing each other, so one of them is welded to form a welded portion 31c, and the welded portion 31c is formed.
An edge portion where d is formed is formed into an open bag. After the formation of the bag, ink is injected into the bag from the open portion. After the ink injection, the portion facing the welding portion 31c is welded, and when the welding portion 31d is formed, the concave portion 31b is formed at the edge portion of the ink sealing portion 31a and the ink is sealed in the ink sealing portion 31a. An ink package 31 is formed at one end of the above-described bag. After the formation of the ink package 31, the welding portion 31d is cut, and the ink package 31 is separated from the bag. Thereafter, the suppression plate 31f is attached to the upper surface (see FIG. 3) of the outer peripheral surface of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 with an adhesive or the like, and the manufacture of the ink package 31 is completed. In addition, when the ink is injected, by maintaining the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a at a positive pressure, it is possible to prevent air or the like from entering the ink sealing portion 31a of the unused ink package 31.

Next, a method of assembling the portable printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, when the ink cartridge 30 is slid in the direction of arrow X while the insertion hole 32a of the ink cartridge 30 and the ink extraction needle 26 face each other, the insertion hole 3
The ink extraction needle 26 is inserted into 2a. Ink extraction needle 2
After the insertion of the ink package 6, the ink extraction needle 26
One of the recesses 31b easily penetrates into the ink sealing portion 31a. Also, the concave portion 31b of the ink package 31
Since both ends are supported by the welding portions 31c and 31d, the deformation of the ink sealing portion 31a due to the load caused by the insertion of the ink extraction needle 26 can be suppressed.

When the ink cartridge 30 is further slid in the direction of the arrow X, the ink cartridge 30 is moved to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line of FIG.
(Left center), and the mounting of the ink cartridge 30 on the printer cartridge 3 is completed. After the mounting of the ink cartridge 30 is completed, the ink cartridge 30 is inclined downward to the side where the mounting member 25 is disposed (the left side in FIG. 1), that is, the ink cartridge 30 is moved from the left end portion of the ink cartridge 30 shown in FIG. The printer cartridge 3 is attached to the printer cartridge 3 in a state of being inclined downward to the left end.
Therefore, for example, when air or the like is mixed into the ink package 31 during the manufacture of the ink package 31, such air or the like is collected above the left end portion of the ink cartridge 30 shown in FIG. Air and the like can be prevented from being mixed. Further, the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 31 and the ink extraction needle 2
Since the outer peripheral surface of the ink package 31 is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink package 31, ink leakage from the inside of the ink package 31 and entry of air or the like into the ink package 31 are prevented. The inclination angle of the ink cartridge 30 mounted on the printer cartridge 3 may be approximately 0 ° to approximately 10 °, and most preferably, approximately 0 ° to approximately 3 °.
° is desirable.

The ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 31
The ink extraction needle 26 stabbed into “a” extracts the ink into the inside thereof through the extraction hole 26 a and flows the ink into the ink supply tube 24 through the attachment member 25. The ink flowing into the ink supply tube 24 is
Is supplied to the print head 22. In the ink package 31 of the ink cartridge 30, since the suppressing plate 31f attached to the ink sealing portion 31a is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet member 34, the shape change of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 is suppressed. I have. In addition, the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 31 is given a shape restoring property, and the shape change of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 is suppressed. Therefore, the ink extraction needle 26 is moved from the ink sealing portion 31a.
When the ink is extracted using the ink sealing unit 31
Even if the internal pressure of a decreases, the ink sealed portion 31a is not crushed to the atmospheric pressure or the like, and the internal pressure of the ink sealed portion 31a is maintained at a negative pressure. Therefore, when supplying the ink extracted by the ink extraction needle 26 to the print head 22,
The ink supply pressure of the ink is maintained at a negative pressure. as a result,
Since the meniscus M can be formed in each nozzle opening 22b, the ink ejection property of the print head 22 is maintained,
Clear print results can be obtained.

Next, the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the printer body 2, and the print head 22 provided on the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the carriage 8 provided on the printer body 2. After installing the printer cartridge 3,
When the PC card 15 of the portable printer 1 is inserted into the PC slot of the personal computer, the portable printer 1
Is capable of transmitting and receiving print data and the like to and from the personal computer, is operable by receiving power supply from the personal computer, and receives print data from the personal computer.
Print on. In this case, first, an unused printing paper P is inserted into a paper insertion slot (not shown), and the printing paper P is transported by the paper feed roller 5 through a transport path below the print head 22 mounted on the carriage 8. Conveyed. The transported printing paper P is printed by ink ejected from each nozzle port 22b of the print head 22 when passing through the transport path below the print head 22, and the printed printing paper P is transferred to the paper exit 16 It is carried out from.

As described above, according to the ink package 31 and the magnet member 34 of this embodiment, the suppression plate 31f attached to the ink package 31 is formed of a magnetic material having magnetism. The magnet member 34 disposed at an interval while facing the suppression plate 31f is made of a permanent magnet. Therefore, between each restraining plate 31f and the magnet member 34, an attraction force is generated by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet constituting the magnet member 34, and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 is reduced by extracting the ink. Also, the rapid change in the shape of the ink package 31 can be suppressed, and the internal pressure of the ink package 31 can be maintained at a negative pressure.

When the ink package 31 changes its shape due to the extraction of the ink and contracts, the suppression plate 3
The interval width between 1f and the magnet member 34 is changed from the interval L1 to the interval L2.
And the attractive force of the permanent magnet decreases, so that the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a does not suddenly increase (absolute pressure in the ink package sharply decreases), and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a is appropriately reduced. Negative pressure, that is, within the optimum operating pressure range. Therefore, when the ink extracted by the ink extraction needle 26 is supplied to the print head 22, a meniscus M is formed in each of the nozzle openings 22b, and the ink ejection property of the print head 22 can be maintained. Can be maintained.

The suppression plate 31f attached to the ink package 31 is formed of a magnetic material having magnetism such as iron. Therefore, for example, the manufacturing cost of the entire ink package 31 can be reduced as compared with a case where a change in shape is suppressed by separately attaching a spring member formed of a spring steel material or the like to the ink package 31.

Next, a portable printer 50 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The portable printer 50 of the second embodiment is configured so that the negative pressure in the ink package 31 can be changed in accordance with a change in the amount of ink consumed by extracting the ink. Hereinafter, the same portions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only the portions unique to the second embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 shows a portable printer 50 according to the second embodiment.
3 is a partial sectional side view of the ink cartridge 30 in a state where the ink extraction needle 26 is inserted into the ink package 31 in FIG. 3, and shows a schematic internal structure of an electromagnet 52 in a transparent manner. As shown in FIG. 6, the suppression plate 51 is a known permanent magnet formed in a rectangular thin plate shape.
It is attached (applied) to a substantially central portion of the upper surface of one ink sealing portion 31a. The suppression plate 51 is attracted by the electromagnet 52 in order to suppress a sudden change in the shape of the ink sealing portion 31a due to extraction of the ink.
The suppression plate 51 is formed to have a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm, and the length in the longitudinal direction (longitudinal direction) is set to the ink sealing portion 31a.
Of the ink extraction needle 26 is formed so as to be approximately 1/3 or more of the vertical length A of the ink extraction needle 26 in the horizontal direction (the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction). The upper portion (upper side in FIG. 6) of the suppression plate 51 has a positive polarity (+ pole in FIG. 6), while the lower side (lower side in FIG. 6) has a negative polarity (−side in FIG. 6). ) Polarity. In addition, the lower surface of the suppression plate 51 is attached to the upper surface of the ink sealing portion 31a with an adhesive or the like. In addition, when attaching the suppression plate 51 to the ink sealing portion 31a, an adhesive tape coated with an adhesive on both sides,
A so-called double-sided tape may be used.

At a position facing the suppression plate 51,
An electromagnet 52 is provided on an upper portion of the cartridge frame 21. The electromagnet 52 is a known electromagnet, and includes a substantially columnar iron core 52a formed of a ferromagnetic material having a high magnetic permeability such as soft iron, and a coil 52b wound around the iron core 52a. The coil 5 of the electromagnet 52
A terminal 52c is electrically connected to one end of 2b, and a terminal 52d is electrically connected to the other end. Moreover, the terminals 52c and 52d are electrically connected to an electromagnet control circuit 62 described later (see FIG. 7), and the electromagnet 5 is connected via the terminals 52c and 52d.
2 and the electromagnet control circuit 62 are electrically connected.

According to the electromagnet 52, the coil 52
When a current is applied to terminal b from terminal 52c to terminal 52d, the polarity at the portion of electromagnet 52 opposite to suppression plate 51 is negative, that is, the upper surface of suppression plate 51 (upper side in FIG. 6) is non-polar. Changed to the same polarity. Therefore, in such a case, since an attractive force is generated between the suppression plate 51 and the electromagnet 52, even if the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 decreases due to the extraction of the ink, the ink sealing portion 31a
Can be suppressed, and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at a negative pressure.

On the other hand, when a current is applied to the coil 52 b of the electromagnet 52 from the terminals 52 d to 52 c, the polarity of the electromagnet 52 at the portion opposite to the suppression plate 51 is positive, that is, The polarity is changed to the same polarity as the side surface (upper side in FIG. 6). Therefore, in such a case, the suppression plate 51
A repulsive force is generated between the ink package 31 and the electromagnet 52, so that the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 can be compressed. Therefore, when the ink is dried and solidified in the nozzle opening 22b of the print head 22 and ink clogging or the like occurs, the ink package 31 is compressed, and the dried and solidified ink is forcibly ejected from the nozzle opening 22b. Thus, the ink ejection property of the print head 22 can be restored.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the portable printer 50 configured as described above.
As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit C of the portable printer 50 includes:
CPU53, ROM54, RAM55, EEPROM5
6, PCMCIA connector 57, head drive circuit 5
8, CR motor control circuit 59, LF motor control circuit 6
0, an ink cartridge exchange switch 61, and an electromagnet control circuit 62, which are interconnected via an input / output interface 63. Further, the print head 22 described above is connected to the head drive circuit 58,
The above-mentioned CR motor 9 is connected to the R motor control circuit 59, the above-mentioned LF motor 7 is connected to the LF motor control circuit 60, and the above-mentioned electromagnet 52 is connected to the electromagnet control circuit 62.

The CPU 53 includes a PCMCIA connector 5
7 is controlled based on various signals transmitted / received to / from a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “PC”) 100 via a connection cord 14 and a PC card 15 connected to the PC 7. , A printing operation, and the like. The ROM 54 has a CP
It is a non-rewritable memory for storing various control programs executed by U53. The RAM 55 is a rewritable memory for storing various data, and has a print memory 55a.

The print memory 55a is a memory for storing print data output from the PC 100 via the connection card 14 and the PC card 15 connected to the PCMCIA connector 57. That is, data output from the PC 100 to the portable printer 50 and printed is stored in the print memory 55a.

The EEPROM 56 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory, and the data stored in the EEPROM 56 is retained even after the power of the portable printer 50 is turned off.
The EEPROM 56 has an ink consumption memory 56.
a, a duty ratio memory 56b is provided. The ink consumption memory 56a is a memory that stores the ink consumption of the ink supplied to the print head 22. The ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a is
Each time the ink inside the ink sealing portion 31a is consumed by the purge process or the printing process, the ink is sequentially updated and used for adjusting the negative pressure inside the ink sealing portion 31a. That is, based on the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a,
By changing the magnitude of the current supplied to the electromagnet 52 to change the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52, the ink sealing portion 31a
Is maintained within the optimum operating pressure range.

The duty ratio memory 56b is a memory for storing the duty ratio of a chopper-shaped rectangular wave current (rectangular wave current) output from the electromagnet control circuit 62 to the electromagnet 52. The duty ratio of the rectangular wave current stored in the duty ratio memory 56 b
Rewriting is performed based on the ink consumption stored in 6a. That is, the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is rewritten and changed in a range of approximately 0% to approximately 100% according to an increase in the ink consumption. For example, when an unused ink package 31 is used, that is, when the ink consumption is approximately 0 cc, the ink sealing portion 31a
Must be set to a negative pressure within the optimum operating pressure range, and the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 needs to be increased. To remember.

When the ink consumption increases due to the extraction of the ink, if the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 is too large,
Since the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a drops rapidly, it is necessary to reduce the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 with an increase in ink consumption. Therefore, in such a case, every time the ink consumption increases by approximately 0.5 cc, the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is set to a predetermined value (for example,
It is rewritten and stored as a value obtained by subtracting the value of about 10%). For example, when the ink consumption amount stored in the ink consumption amount memory 56a is approximately 0 cc or more and less than approximately 0.5 cc, and the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is approximately 100%, the ink consumption amount If the ink consumption stored in the memory 56a is approximately 0.5 cc or more and approximately 1.
When rewritten to a value less than 0 cc, the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is rewritten to approximately 90% and stored. When the ink is extracted, the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is reduced by approximately 10 every time the ink consumption increases by approximately 0.5 cc.
The value is subtracted by% and stored in the duty ratio memory 56b.

As described above, as the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a increases, the duty ratio of the rectangular wave current supplied to the coil 52b of the electromagnet 52 is reduced, so that the power is supplied to the electromagnet 52. Therefore, the effective current of the electromagnet 52 can be reduced. Due to the decrease in the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52, the suppression plate 5
Since the attraction force generated between 1 and the electromagnet 52 is reduced,
The internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at an appropriate negative pressure without the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a rapidly decreasing (absolute pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a rapidly increasing).

The PCMCIA connector 57 is a connector to which the connection cord 14 connected to the PC card 15 is connected, and the head drive circuit 58 is a circuit for driving the print head 22 described above. According to the head drive circuit 56, based on the print data stored in the print memory 55a, a voltage is applied to the piezo element constituting the nozzle portion 22a of the print head 22, and ink is discharged from each nozzle port 22b. It is ejected. CR
The motor control circuit 59 is a circuit for driving the CR motor 9 that drives the carriage 8 on which the print head 22 is mounted, and is electrically connected to the CR motor 9. The LF motor control circuit 60 is a circuit for driving the LF motor 7 that supplies a rotational force to the paper feed roller 5,
It is electrically connected to the LF motor 7.

The ink cartridge exchange switch 61 is
This is a switch for detecting whether or not the ink cartridge 30 has been replaced, and is provided near the ink cartridge 30 of the printer cartridge 3. Since the presence or absence of replacement of the ink cartridge 30 is detected by the ink cartridge replacement switch 61, when the used ink cartridge 30 is replaced with an unused ink cartridge 30, the duty ratio memory 56b is initialized and The duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b can be rewritten to the maximum value (for example, approximately 100%).

The electromagnet control circuit 62 is a circuit for outputting a chopper-shaped rectangular wave to the electromagnet 52 to control the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 by chopper control.
2 are electrically connected. By controlling the duty ratio of the rectangular wave output from the electromagnet control circuit 62, that is, by performing pulse width modulation, the effective current supplied to the coil 52b of the electromagnet 52 is controlled, and the magnitude of the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 is increased. The change of the size is made. For example, by increasing the duty ratio of the rectangular wave output from the electromagnet control circuit 62, the effective current supplied to the electromagnet 52 can be increased and the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 can be increased, while the electromagnet control circuit 62 By reducing the duty ratio of the rectangular wave output from the, the effective current supplied to the electromagnet 52 is reduced, and the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 can be reduced.

Next, each process executed by the control unit C of the portable printer 50 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG.
9 is a flowchart of a printing process. In this printing process, first, the ink cartridge exchange switch 61 checks whether the ink cartridge 30 has been exchanged (S1). If the ink cartridge 30 has been exchanged (S1: Yes), the duty ratio memory 56b Is initialized. For example, the maximum value of the duty ratio (about 100%) is stored in the duty ratio memory 56b.

When the ink cartridge 30 has not been replaced (S1: No), or after the processing of S2, the processing is stopped.
Then, it is checked whether or not print data is stored in the print memory 55a (S3). Print memory 55
If print data is stored in a (S3: Ye
s) Based on the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b, a chopper-shaped rectangular wave current is supplied from the terminal 52c to the terminal 52d of the coil 52b of the electromagnet 52 by the electromagnet control circuit 62 (S4). Therefore, the polarity of the portion of the electromagnet 52 facing the suppression plate 51 can be set to the negative polarity, that is, the same polarity as the upper surface of the suppression plate 51 (upper side in FIG. 6). Therefore, in such a case, an attractive force is generated between the suppression plate 51 and the electromagnet 52, so that even if the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 decreases due to the extraction of the ink, the ink sealing portion 31
The abrupt change in the shape of a can be suppressed, and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at a negative pressure.

After the processing in S4, the processing shifts to S5, where the print head 2 driven by the head driving circuit 58
Ink is ejected from each nozzle port 22b of No. 2 to perform printing (S5). When printing is performed by the process of S5,
Since the ink consumption increases by the amount used for printing,
The ink consumption is calculated and stored in the ink consumption memory 56a (S6). After that, the duty ratio stored in the duty ratio memory 56b is rewritten and stored based on the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a (S7).
For example, the amount of ink consumed is approximately 0.5 c
When c has increased, the content of the duty ratio memory 56b is rewritten to a duty ratio obtained by subtracting approximately 10%. Therefore, when the process of S4 is performed next time, the effective current supplied to the electromagnet 52 is reduced based on the rewritten duty ratio, and the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 is reduced.

After the processing in S7, whether or not printing has been completed is determined.
That is, it is checked whether or not all the print data stored in the print memory 55a has been printed (S8). If the printing has not been completed (S8: No), the process proceeds to S3, and The processes from S3 to S8 are repeatedly executed until printing of the print data stored in 55a is completed. When print data is not stored in the print memory 55a (S3: No), or when all print data stored in the print memory 55a is printed (S8: Ye
s), the printing process shown in the flowchart of FIG. 8 ends.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of the purge process. In this purging process, first, the coil 5 of the electromagnet 52
A current is applied at a predetermined duty ratio from the terminal 52d to the terminal 52c in the terminal 2b at a predetermined duty ratio (S11), and the polarity of the electromagnet 52 at the portion facing the suppression plate 51 is positive, that is, the upper surface of the suppression plate 51 (see FIG. (Upper side). After that, the processing shifts to S13 where the coil 5 of the electromagnet 52 is moved.
It is checked whether or not a predetermined time has elapsed from the start of energization from the terminal 52d to the terminal 52c in 2b (S1).
2), the energization by the processing of S11 is continued until a predetermined time elapses (S12: No). Therefore, a repulsive force is generated between the suppression plate 51 and the electromagnet 52 until the predetermined time elapses (S12: Yes), so that the ink package 31 can be compressed. Therefore, the print head 2
When the ink is dried and solidified in the second nozzle opening 22b and ink clogging or the like occurs, the dried and solidified ink is forcibly ejected from the nozzle opening 22b to recover the ink ejection property of the print head 22. it can. On the other hand, when the predetermined time has elapsed (S12: Yes), the duty ratio memory 5
Based on the duty ratio stored in 6b, a chopper-shaped rectangular wave current is supplied from the terminal 52c to the terminal 52d of the coil 52b of the electromagnet 52 (S13), and the polarity of the electromagnet 52 in the portion of the electromagnet 52 facing the suppression plate 51 is determined. Is the negative electrode,
That is, the polarity is made non-identical to the upper side surface (the upper side in FIG. 6) of the suppression plate 51, and this processing ends. Therefore, an attractive force is generated again between the suppression plate 51 and the electromagnet 52, and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be reduced to a negative pressure.

As described above, the portable printer 5 of the second embodiment
0, the electromagnet control circuit 62 controls the coil 52 of the electromagnet 52 stored in the duty ratio memory 56b in accordance with the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a.
b, the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 is changed by changing the duty ratio of the chopper-shaped rectangular wave current supplied to
The attraction force generated between the electromagnet 52 and the suppression plate 51 can be changed. Therefore, even if the ink consumption increases abruptly, the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 can be maintained within the optimum operating pressure range without abrupt increase.

Further, a current is supplied from the terminal 52d of the coil 52b of the electromagnet 52 to the terminal 52c at a predetermined duty ratio so that the polarity of the electromagnet 52 at the portion facing the suppression plate 51 is positive, that is, the polarity of the suppression plate 51 is reduced. Upper side (Fig. 6
(Upper side), a repulsive force is generated between the suppression plate 51 and the electromagnet 52, and the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 can be compressed. Accordingly, when the ink is dried and solidified in each nozzle opening 22b of the print head 22 and ink clogging or the like occurs, the ink sealing portion 31
a and compresses the dried and solidified ink into each nozzle port 22b.
From the nozzle port 22b to recover the ink dischargeability of each nozzle port 22b. Moreover, each nozzle port 22b
A device for recovering ink clogging, for example, a purge motor 11 mounted on the portable printer 1 of the first embodiment.
There is no need to separately provide a nozzle or the like, and the nozzle port 22b where the ink is clogged can be cleaned.
0 The overall manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Next, referring to FIG. 10 to FIG.
A portable printer 70 according to the embodiment will be described. In the portable printer 70 of the third embodiment, similarly to the portable printer 50 of the second embodiment, the negative pressure in the ink package 31 is changed according to the change in the amount of ink consumed by the ink extraction. It is configured so that it can be changed. Hereinafter, the same portions as those of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.
Only the parts unique to the embodiment will be described.

FIG. 10 shows a portable printer 7 according to the third embodiment.
FIG. 7 is a partial sectional side view of the ink cartridge 30 in a state where the ink extraction needle 26 is inserted into the ink package 31 at 0, and an arrow Y in the drawing indicates a moving direction of each of the magnet members 72. As shown in FIG.
In order to suppress a sudden change in the shape of the ink sealing portion 31a due to the extraction of ink, the magnet members 72, 72
Is attracted by the magnetic force. This suppressing member 71
Is made of a magnetic material having magnetism such as iron. The attachment plates 71a, 71a attached to the upper surface and the lower surface of the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31, respectively, and these attachment plates 71a, 71a And a connection shaft 71b rotatably connected. Each of the attachment plates 71a, 71a is a rectangular thin plate formed in substantially the same shape, and has a thickness of approximately 0.5 mm. Each mounting plate 7
The right side of FIG. 1a, 71a (the right side of FIG. 10) is a connecting shaft 71b.
The restraining member 71 is formed so as to be openable in a substantially rectangular shape in a side view via the connecting shaft 71b.

The restraining member 71 includes a pair of mounting plates 7
1a and 71a are the ink sealed portions 3 of the ink package 31.
1a is attached to the ink sealing portion 31a with an adhesive or the like while sandwiching 1a. That is, the attachment plate 71a attached to the upper surface (the upper side in FIG. 10) of the ink sealing portion 31a descends from the opposite side (hereinafter, referred to as "free end side") of the connection shaft 71b toward the connection shaft 71b. The attachment plate 71a attached in an inclined state and attached to the lower surface (the lower side in FIG. 10) of the ink sealing portion 31a is attached in a state in which it is inclined downward from the connecting shaft 71b toward the free end. Is being worn. Therefore, the attachment plate 71a attached to the upper surface of the ink sealing portion 31a moves toward the connecting shaft 71b from the free end side.
The width of the gap with the inner wall surface on the upper side of FIG. 2 (the upper side in FIG. 10) is increased, and the mounting plate 71a mounted on the lower surface of the ink sealing portion 31a also goes from the free end side to the connecting shaft 71b side. Accordingly, the width of the gap with the inner wall surface on the lower side (lower side in FIG. 10) of the case body 32 is increased. For this reason, the distance L3 between the attachment plate 71a and the magnet member 72 at the free end side end portion.
Are the attachment plate 71 and the magnet member 72 on the connection shaft 71b side.
(L3 <L4).
When attaching the suppressing member 71 to the ink sealing portion 31a, an adhesive tape having an adhesive applied to both sides, that is, a so-called double-sided tape may be used.

At the upper and lower portions of the free ends of the mounting plates 71a, 71a, and at the upper and lower portions of the cartridge frame 21, magnet members 72, 72 made of known permanent magnets are provided. Are arranged respectively. Each of the magnet members 72, 72 is disposed at a distance L3 from the facing attachment plates 71a, 71a.
Due to the magnetic force of the magnet members 72, 72, each mounting plate 71
a, 71a. Such a magnet member 7
The attachment plates 71a, 71a attached to the ink sealing portion 31a are attracted by the magnetic forces of 2, 72, respectively, thereby suppressing a change in the shape of the ink sealing portion 31a. Even if the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a decreases, the rapid change in shape of the ink sealing portion 31a can be suppressed, and the internal pressure of the ink sealing portion 31a can be maintained at a negative pressure.

Each of the magnet members 72, 72 is directed in the direction of arrow Y or counter-arrow Y in the figure by a driving solenoid 75 (see FIG. 11) driven by a solenoid drive circuit 74 (see FIG. 11) described later. It is formed so that it can reciprocate. That is, each of the magnet members 72, 72 can reciprocate between the solid line position and the two-dot chain line position in FIG. 10 via the driving solenoid 75. Moreover, the above-described restraining member 71 has a pair of attachment plates 71.
a, 71a are attached to the ink sealing portion 31a in a state of being inclined from the connection shaft 71b side to the free end side, and the distance L3 between the attachment plate 71a and the magnet member 72 at the free end side end is The distance between the attachment plate 71 and the magnet member 72 on the connecting shaft 71b side is smaller than the distance L4 (L3 <L
4). Therefore, by moving each of the magnet members 72, 72 from the solid line position in FIG. 10 to the two-dot chain line position, the width of the gap between the attachment plate 71a and the magnet member 72 is increased. Can reduce the suction force. On the other hand, by moving the magnet member 72 from the two-dot chain line position to the solid line position in FIG.
Since the interval width between 1a and the magnet member 72 is reduced, the attraction force by the magnetic force of the magnet member 72 can be increased.

As described above, by moving each of the magnet members 72, 72 in the direction of the arrow Y or the direction opposite to the arrow Y via the driving solenoid 75, the attraction force by the magnetic force of the magnet member 72 can be changed. , Even if the ink consumption increases sharply, the ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 31
Therefore, it is possible to maintain the negative pressure within the optimum operating pressure range without abrupt increase.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the portable printer 70 configured as described above. As shown in FIG. 11, the control unit C of the portable printer 70 includes an EEPROM 56, a purge motor control circuit 73,
A solenoid drive circuit 74 is provided, and these are connected to each other via an input / output interface 63.
The purge motor control circuit 73 includes a purge motor 11
, And a driving solenoid 75 is connected to the solenoid driving circuit 74.

The EEPROM 56 is a non-rewritable nonvolatile memory, and the data stored in the EEPROM 56 is retained even after the power of the portable printer 70 is turned off.
The EEPROM 56 is provided with a magnet position memory 56c. The magnet position memory 56c stores a driving solenoid 7 driven via a solenoid driving circuit 74.
5 is a memory for storing the movement position of each of the magnet members 72, 72 moved by 5. The moving position of each of the magnet members 72, 72 stored in the moving position memory 56c is rewritten based on the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a. That is, the moving position stored in the moving position memory 56c is rewritten and changed in the range from the solid line position of the magnet members 72, 72 shown in FIG. For example, when an unused ink package 31 is used, that is, when the ink consumption is approximately 0 cc, it is necessary to make the inside of the ink sealing portion 31a a negative pressure within an optimum operating pressure range, and the magnetic force of the electromagnet 52 Needs to be increased, the movement position memory 56
The moving position stored in c is rewritten and stored as a solid line position (initial position) in FIG.

In the case where the ink consumption increases due to the extraction of the ink, if the attraction force due to the magnetic force of each of the magnet members 72, 72 is too large, the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a drops sharply. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce the attraction force due to the magnetic force of each of the magnet members 72, 72 as the ink consumption increases. Therefore, in such a case, every time the ink consumption increases by about 0.5 cc, the movement position stored in the movement position memory 56c is set to a predetermined distance width (for example, about 5 mm).
It is rewritten and stored at the position moved in the direction of arrow Y by the distance. For example, when the ink consumption amount stored in the ink consumption amount memory 56a is equal to or more than approximately 0 cc and less than approximately 0.5 cc, the movement position stored in the movement position memory 56c is the solid line position (initial position) in FIG. Then, the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a is approximately 0.5c.
When the value is rewritten to a value equal to or more than c and less than approximately 1.0 cc, the movement position stored in the movement position memory 56c is shown in FIG.
Approximately 5 mm from the solid line position (initial position) in the direction of arrow Y
Rewrite and store the position moved by the distance. Further, when the ink is further extracted, the ink consumption amount becomes approximately 0.5.
Each time cc is increased, a position obtained by moving the moving position stored in the moving position memory 56c by about 5 mm in the direction of the arrow Y is stored in the moving position memory 56c.

As described above, as the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a increases, the respective magnet members 72, 72 are moved in the direction of the arrow Y or the direction opposite to the arrow Y via the driving solenoid 75. Accordingly, the distance between the magnet member 72 and the attachment plate 71a of the suppressing member 71 can be changed to change the attraction force due to the magnetic force of the magnet member 72. It is possible to maintain the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a of the package 31 within the optimum operating pressure range without abrupt increase.

The purge motor control circuit 73 is a circuit for controlling and driving the above-described purge motor 11 (see FIG. 1). The solenoid drive circuit 74 is a circuit for driving a drive solenoid 75 for changing the position of the pair of magnet members 72, 72, and the drive solenoid 75 is electrically connected. A driving solenoid 75 driven via this solenoid driving circuit
And each of the magnet members 72, 72 are connected via a slide mechanism (not shown), and each time the ink consumption increases by about 0.5 cc due to the extraction of the ink, the driving solenoid 75 is driven. Then, each magnet member 72 is moved by a predetermined distance width (for example, approximately 5 mm) in the arrow Y direction.

Next, each process executed by the control unit C of the portable printer 70 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the printing process. In this printing process, first, the ink cartridge exchange switch 61 checks whether or not the ink cartridge 30 has been exchanged (S21). If the ink cartridge 30 has been exchanged (S21: Yes), the movement position memory 56c Is initialized. For example, the solid line position (initial position) in FIG. 10 is stored in the movement position memory 56c as the movement position.

If the ink cartridge 30 has not been replaced (S21: No), or after the process of S22, the process proceeds to S23 to check whether or not the print data is stored in the print memory 55a. (S23). If the print data is stored in the print memory 55a (S2
3: Yes), the respective magnet members 72, 72 are moved by the solenoid driving circuit 74 and the driving solenoid 75 based on the moving positions of the respective magnet members 72, 72 stored in the magnet position memory 56c (S24). After the process of S24, the process proceeds to S25, where ink is ejected from each nozzle port 22b of the print head 22 driven by the head drive circuit 58, and printing is performed (S25).

When printing is performed by the process of S25, the ink consumption increases by the amount used for printing, so the ink consumption is calculated and the ink consumption is stored in the ink consumption memory 56a ( S26). Thereafter, based on the ink consumption stored in the ink consumption memory 56a, the moving positions of the respective magnet members 72, 72 stored in the magnet position memory 56c are rewritten and stored (S27). For example, when the ink consumption increases by approximately 0.5 cc due to the extraction of the ink, the movement position memory 56
The moving position memorized in c is approximately 5 m in the direction of arrow Y in FIG.
It is rewritten and stored at the position moved by m. Therefore,
When the process of S24 is performed next time, each magnet member 72 is moved based on the rewritten movement position,
The attraction force due to the magnetic force of each magnet member 72, 72 is reduced.

After the process of S27, it is checked whether or not the printing is completed, that is, whether or not all the print data stored in the print memory 55a has been printed (S28). Is (S28: No), the process proceeds to S2.
The process proceeds to S3, and the processes from S23 to S28 are repeatedly executed until the printing of the print data stored in the print memory 55a is completed. When the print data is not stored in the print memory 55a (S23: No) or when all the print data stored in the print memory 55a is printed (S28: Yes), the printing shown in the flowchart of FIG. The process ends.

As described above, according to the portable printer 70 of the third embodiment, the driving solenoid 75 driven by the solenoid driving circuit 74 uses the ink consumption memory 56a.
Each magnet member 72,
72 can be moved in the direction of arrow Y or counter-arrow Y in FIG. Moreover, the pair of attachment plates 7 of the suppression member 71
1a and 71a extend from the connecting shaft 71b side to the free end side,
That is, since the magnet members 72 are moved in the direction of the arrow Y or in the direction opposite to the arrow Y because they are attached to the ink sealing portion 31a of the ink package 31 in a state inclined in the direction of the arrow Y. Thereby, the interval between the attachment plate 71a and the magnet member 72 can be changed. Therefore, by changing the distance between the two, the magnitude of the attraction force due to the magnetic force of each of the magnet members 72, 72 can be changed, and the negative pressure in the ink sealing portion 31a can be changed. Therefore, the ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 31
The internal pressure a can be maintained within the optimum operating pressure range.

In the ink supply device according to the third aspect, the control device performs the process of S24 in FIG. 12, and the magnetic force control device according to the fourth embodiment performs the process of S4 in FIG.
The processes of S11 and S13 in FIG. 9 correspond to the polarity changing device according to claim 5 respectively.

The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. That can be easily inferred.

[0098]

According to the ink supply device of the first aspect, the first magnetic member attached to the ink package, and the first magnetic member disposed at an interval facing the first magnetic member. Each of the two magnetic members is formed of a magnetic material, and one of the magnetic members is formed of a magnet.
Therefore, an attractive force is generated between the magnetic members due to the magnetic force of the magnet body. Even if the internal pressure of the ink package decreases due to the extraction of the ink, a rapid change in the shape of the ink package is suppressed, and the internal pressure of the ink package is reduced. There is an effect that a negative pressure can be maintained. Further, when the ink package changes its shape due to the extraction of the ink and contracts, the gap width between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member increases and the suction force decreases, so that the negative pressure in the ink package decreases. There is an effect that the internal pressure of the ink package can be maintained at an appropriate negative pressure without abrupt increase (absolute pressure in the ink package rapidly decreases).

According to the ink supply device of the second aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink supply device of the first aspect, the first magnetic member attached to the ink package is made of a metal such as iron. Made of material. Therefore,
For example, there is an effect that the manufacturing cost of the entire ink package can be reduced as compared with a case where a change in shape is suppressed by separately attaching a spring member formed of a spring steel material or the like to the ink package.

According to the ink supply device of the third aspect, in addition to the effects provided by the ink supply device of the first or second aspect, the control device controls the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. Accordingly, by changing the size of the gap width between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member, it is possible to change the magnitude of the attraction force due to the magnetic force of the magnet body and change the negative pressure in the ink package. it can. Therefore, there is an effect that the internal pressure of the ink package can be maintained at an appropriate negative pressure.

According to the ink supply device of the fourth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink supply device of the first aspect, the magnetic force control device is stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. The magnitude of the magnetic force of the magnet that forms one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member can be changed according to the amount of ink extracted, thereby changing the attraction force generated between the magnetic members. Therefore, even if the amount of extracted ink increases rapidly, there is an effect that an appropriate negative pressure can be maintained without abrupt increase in the negative pressure in the ink package.

According to the ink supply device of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink supply device of any one of the first to fourth aspects, in addition to the effects of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member by the polarity changing device. By changing the polarity to the same, a repulsive force is generated between the magnetic members, and the ink package can be compressed. Therefore, for example, when ink is dried and solidified in the print head and ink clogging or the like occurs, the ink package is compressed and the dried and solidified ink is forcibly ejected from the print head, and the ink discharge of the print head is performed. There is an effect that sex can be restored. In addition, since the print head in which the ink is clogged can be cleaned without separately providing a device for recovering the ink clog of the print head, there is an effect that the manufacturing cost of the entire printing apparatus can be reduced. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a portable printer including a printer cartridge having an ink package and a magnet member according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of a partial cross section of a nozzle portion of a print head.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the ink cartridge.

FIG. 4A is a partial side sectional view of the ink cartridge in a state where an ink extraction needle is inserted into the ink package, and FIG. 4B is a part of the ink cartridge that stores the ink package contracted by extracting the ink; It is a side sectional view.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the performance of the suppression plate and the magnet member based on the relationship between the ink consumption of the ink sealed in the ink sealing unit and the internal pressure of the ink sealing unit.

FIG. 6 is a partial side sectional view of an ink cartridge in a state where an ink extraction needle is inserted into an ink package in the portable printer of the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a portable printer according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a printing process of the portable printer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a purging process of the portable printer according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a partial side sectional view of an ink cartridge in a state where an ink extraction needle is inserted into an ink package in the portable printer according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of a portable printer according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of a printing process of the portable printer according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Portable printer (printing apparatus) 3 Printer cartridge (ink supply apparatus) 22 Print head 31 Ink package 31f, 51 Suppression plate (1st magnetic member, 2nd magnetic member) 34, 72 Magnet member (1st magnetic member, 1st magnetic member) 2 magnetic member) 52 electromagnet (first magnetic member, second magnetic member) 56a ink consumption (ink extraction amount) memory (ink extraction amount storage device) 62 electromagnet control circuit (part of magnetic force control circuit)
(Part of the polarity changing device) 71 Suppression member 71a Attachment plate (first magnetic member, second magnetic member) 74 Solenoid drive circuit (part of control device) 75 Driving solenoid (part of control device) P Printing paper

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink supply device provided in a printing apparatus and filled with ink used for printing, wherein the ink supply device extracts ink from the ink package and supplies the ink to a print head. A first magnetic member formed of a magnetic material;
An ink comprising: a second magnetic member formed of a magnetic material; and one of the second magnetic member and the first magnetic member is formed of a magnet that applies a magnetic force for attracting the other. Feeding device. 2. The ink supply device according to claim 1, wherein the first magnetic member is formed of a metal material having magnetism such as iron, and the second magnetic member is formed of a magnet. . 3. An ink extraction amount storage device for storing an ink extraction amount extracted from the ink package, and the first magnetic member or the second magnetic member according to the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. A control device for moving one of the magnetic members relative to the other and changing a size of an interval between the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member. Item 3. The ink supply device according to item 1 or 2. 4. An ink extraction amount storage device for storing an ink extraction amount extracted from the ink package, and a magnitude of a magnetic force of a magnet body is changed according to the ink extraction amount stored in the ink extraction amount storage device. The ink supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a magnetic force control device that performs the control. 5. The first magnetic member and the second magnetic member are each formed of a magnet body, and the polarity of one of the first magnetic member and the second magnetic member is the same or different from the other. 5. A device according to claim 1, further comprising a polarity changing device for changing the same.
The ink supply device according to any one of the above.