JPH1199661A - Ink supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink supply device in which a negative pressure can be applied to ink being supplied to a print head without requiring an ink supply pressure regulating means. SOLUTION: When an ink package 30 is contained in an ink cartridge 40 and then the ink cartridge 40 is slid in the direction of an arrow X, an ink extraction member 22 is inserted into a through hole 42 and then the ink extraction member 22 is thrust into the ink encapsulating part 31 of the ink package 30. Consequently, ink is supplied to a print head through an ink supply tube 23, or the like. Since the ink extraction member 22 has outside diameter (d) of about 5 mm or less and the ink package 30 comprises a laminate film member of a plurality of film sheets composed of polyethylene resin, or the like, adhesion is sustained between the ink extraction member 22 and the laminate film member. Furthermore, since the ink package 30 has shape recovery properties, ink being supplied to the print head is kept at a negative pressure.

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 capable of applying a negative pressure to ink supplied to a print head without using ink supply pressure adjusting means.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet printing apparatus, ink supplied to a print head is ejected from a plurality of nozzles to perform printing. In such a printing apparatus, it is necessary to maintain the dischargeability of the ink discharged from the print head in order to maintain the quality of the printing result. This ink discharge property is maintained by the liquid surface of the ink supplied into the nozzles of the print head forming a concave meniscus (curved surface). Such a meniscus ink liquid surface is formed by adjusting the ink supply pressure of the ink supplied into the nozzles of the print head to a negative pressure.

[0003] The adjustment of the ink supply pressure is performed by the height difference between the print head and the ink package. For example,
If the ink package is arranged around the lower part of the print head, a difference in elevation occurs between the two and a head difference of negative pressure occurs. Although the ink supply pressure is adjusted to a negative pressure by such a head difference of the negative pressure, usually, a transport mechanism for transporting the printing paper is disposed below the print head.
The arrangement position and arrangement space of the ink package are limited. Therefore, in order to arrange the ink package at a limited position or space, the capacity of the ink package must be reduced, and the ink package needs to be frequently replaced.

Therefore, a method has been proposed in which a small sub-tank is provided below the print head and a large-capacity ink package is separately provided as a main tank at a desired position. According to this method, the ink in the ink package is supplied by pump-up to a sub-tank disposed below the print head, and the ink supplied to the sub-tank is adjusted to have a negative ink supply pressure. Supplied to the print head. Since such a small sub-tank has a small capacity, it can be easily disposed around the lower portion of the print head. Further, since the ink package is separately provided at a desired position, there is no need to reduce the capacity of the ink package.

[0005]

However, according to the adjustment of the ink supply pressure using the above-described sub-tank, the ink is pumped up from the sub-tank or the ink package for adjusting the ink supply pressure to the negative pressure to the sub-tank. Pump device and the like are required. Therefore, there is a problem that the number of components of the printing apparatus increases, and the size of the printing apparatus increases, and the manufacturing cost of the printing apparatus increases. Further, there is a problem that the driving power of the pump device and the like is required, and the power consumption of the printing device is increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and an ink supply apparatus capable of applying a negative pressure to ink supplied to a print head without using ink supply pressure adjusting means. It is intended to provide.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink supply device according to claim 1 is to supply an ink used for printing to a print head so as to seal the ink and use a polyethylene resin. Having an ink package formed of a film material having a shape restoring property, and a needle-like tip portion to be stabbed into the ink package. And an ink extraction member having an outer diameter of approximately 5 mm or less, and piercing a needle-like tip portion of the ink extraction member into the ink package to extract ink from inside the ink package;
The extracted ink is supplied to the print head.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the needle extracting portion of the ink extracting member is inserted into the ink package, whereby the ink extracting member penetrates into the ink package. The ink sealed in the ink package is extracted by the ink extracting member,
It is supplied to the print head and used for printing by the print head.

The ink package is formed of a film material having a laminated structure in which a plurality of film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like are laminated, and the outer diameter of the ink extracting member is formed to be approximately 5 mm or less. Therefore, when the needle-shaped tip of the ink extraction member is stabbed into the ink package and the ink extraction member penetrates the ink package, the film material forming the ink package and the outer periphery of the ink extraction member penetrated into the ink package The surfaces come into close contact with each other, thereby preventing ink leakage from the ink package and entry of air or the like into the ink package.

Further, since the film material forming the ink package has a shape restoring property, a change in the shape of the ink package due to a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ink package can be suppressed. Therefore, when the ink is extracted from the ink package by the ink extracting member, even if the internal pressure of the ink package is reduced, a change in the shape of the ink package is suppressed, and the inside of the ink package can be maintained at a negative pressure. As a result, an ink supply pressure adjusting means for maintaining the pressure applied to the ink supplied to the print head at a negative pressure becomes unnecessary.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus of the first aspect, the ink package includes an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, and a part of an outer surface of the ink sealing portion is substantially flat. It is formed in a shape or a concave shape. According to the ink supply device of the second aspect, the ink supply device operates in the same manner as the ink supply device of the first aspect, and the needle-like tip of the ink extraction member has a substantially planar shape or a concave shape of the ink sealing portion. The ink extraction member penetrates into the ink sealing portion by piercing into the outer surface formed in the ink sealing member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus according to the second aspect, the substantially flat or concave outer surface of the ink sealing portion is formed on both sides of the film material. By welding, it is formed on a surface that intersects the welded both sides.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus of the first aspect, the film material forming the ink package has a thickness of about 30 μm or more and about 300 μm or less. Is formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the ink package includes an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, and the ink sealing portion is vertical. The length in the direction is formed to be approximately 10 times or less the length in the horizontal direction.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the ink supply apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, the ink package includes an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, and the ink sealing portion is vertical. One of the longitudinal and lateral lengths is formed to be approximately 200 mm or less.

[0016]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a desktop printer 1 equipped with an ink supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional conceptual view of a nozzle portion 22a of a print head 21. The desktop printer 1 includes a printer main body 2 formed in a substantially box-like body, a printer cartridge 3 removably mounted on the printer main body 2 and having a print head 21 mounted thereon, and an ink cartridge 40 in which an ink package 30 is stored. It has. still,
In FIG. 1, the main body frame 12, the paper outlet 13, the head moving groove 14, and the cartridge frame 26 of the printer cartridge 3 of the printer main body 2 are shown by two-dot chain lines. The arrow X in FIG.
2 shows the mounting direction.

The body frame 12 of the printer body 2 includes
A platen roller 4, which is a transport roller for transporting the printing paper PP (see FIG. 2), is rotatably supported on a shaft, and a guide rod 17 is fixed in a state parallel to the platen roller 4. A driven gear 4a is attached to a left end portion of the platen roller 4, and the driven gear 4a
The gear is meshed with a drive gear 5 a rotated by the F motor 5. Therefore, by rotating the LF motor 5,
The printing paper PP can be conveyed by rotating the platen roller 4. The guide rod 17 is slidably fitted to the carriage 6, and supports the carriage 6 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the printing paper PP is transported. In FIG. 1, a part of the guide rod 17 is not shown.

The carriage 6 includes the printer cartridge 3
The carriage motor 7 is mounted on the right end of the main body frame 12.
Drive pulley 7a rotated by the main body frame 1
2 can reciprocate in a direction parallel to the guide rod 17 and the platen roller 4, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 2, via a belt 7c stretched between a driven pulley 7b provided at the left end of the printer body 2. it can. Therefore,
The print head 21 mounted on the carriage 6 can reciprocate in the longitudinal direction of the printer body 2 to perform printing on the print paper PP. It should be noted that the belt 7c is illustrated with a part thereof omitted to facilitate understanding of the platen roller 4 and the guide rod 17.

At the left end of the printer body 2, a plurality of nozzle openings 21b of the nozzle portion 21a of the print head 21 are provided.
Suction cap 8 capable of sealing (see FIG. 2)
And the nozzle portion 2 sealed by the suction cap 8
A suction pump 9 for sucking the ink in the nozzle port 21b of 1a is provided. When performing a process (purge process) for recovering the ink ejection state by the suction cap 8 and the suction pump 9, the carriage 6 on which the print head 21 is mounted is moved to the left side of the desktop printer 1 by the carriage motor 7. Then, each nozzle port 21b of the nozzle section 21a in the print head 21 is sealed with the suction cap 8. Thereafter, when the suction pump 9 is operated, bubbles and dried and solidified ink are sucked from the nozzle port 21b, and the ejection state of the nozzle port 21b of the nozzle section 21a can be recovered. In addition, this purging process
This is performed when the concave meniscus M (see FIG. 2) formed by the ink liquid level filled in the nozzle opening 21b is broken due to ink clogging or the like.

At the left side of the suction cap 8, a protective cap 10 that covers the nozzle 21 a of the print head 21 is provided.
Are arranged. The protective cap 10 is used for the print head 2
1, when the printing is not performed, that is, when the carriage 6 is in the standby state, the nozzle portion 21a is covered, the ink inside the nozzle portion 21a is prevented from evaporating, and the ink in each nozzle port 21b is prevented from drying. Is what you do.

A control circuit board 11 mounted with a CPU 11a for controlling the desktop printer 1 in accordance with a control program relating to the operation contents of the desktop printer 1 is provided below the printer main body 2. A PC card 15 is connected to the control circuit board 11 via a connection cord 16. The PC card 15 is inserted into a PC card slot of a personal computer (not shown) and inputs print data and the like output from the personal computer to the desktop printer 1. The desktop printer 1 has a PC card 15 inserted into a PC card slot.
Power is supplied from the personal computer via the connection cord 16.

On the front side wall of the main body frame 12 of the printer main body 2, printed printing paper PP is printed.
A paper outlet 13 is carried out. Unused printing paper PP is sent to the printer main body 2 at a position on the back side wall of the main body frame 12, that is, a side wall facing the side wall where the paper exit 13 is formed and facing the paper exit 13. A paper insertion opening (not shown) for insertion is provided. Further, since a rectangular head moving groove 14 is formed in the upper surface of the main body frame 12, when the printer cartridge 3 is attached to the printer main body 2,
The print head 21 can be mounted on the carriage 6 via the head moving groove 14.

The printer cartridge 3 is detachably formed on the printer main body 2, and includes a print head 21, an ink extraction member 22, an ink supply tube 23, mounting members 24 and 25, and the print head 21 and the like. And a cartridge frame 26 formed in a box shape for storage. The print head 21 includes a nozzle portion 21a formed of a piezo element (piezoelectric element). As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle portion 21a is provided with a plurality of nozzle ports (ink discharge ports) 21b. Each nozzle opening 21b is filled with ink supplied from the ink package 30. When a voltage is applied to the nozzle portion 21a composed of the piezo element, a distortion proportional to the voltage is generated in the nozzle portion 21a, and each nozzle port 21b contracts. Due to this contraction, the ink filled in each of the nozzle openings 21b is discharged onto the printing paper PP to perform printing.

Each of the nozzle ports 21b is approximately 180 d
The print head 21 is arranged at intervals of pi, and the carriage 6 on which the print head 21 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. It has become.

If the ink liquid surface below the inside of each nozzle opening 21b is formed in a concave meniscus M, the ink ejection property is maintained and a clear printing result can be obtained. The meniscus M having a concave surface is provided at each nozzle port 21.
By maintaining the ink supply pressure of the ink filled in the nozzle b at a negative pressure, the ink is formed in each nozzle opening 21b. For example, in the print head 21 used in this embodiment, the ink supply pressure is approximately 0 mmAq (water column) or more with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
Within a range (print head operating pressure range) of approximately -300 mmAq (water column) or less, it is possible to form a meniscus M in which the ink liquid level in each nozzle port 21b is concave. The method for maintaining the ink supply pressure at a negative pressure will be described together with an ink package 30 described later.

As shown in FIG. 1, a mounting member 24 for connecting the print head 21 and one end of the ink supply tube 23 is disposed above the print head 21. The end is attached to the ink extraction member 22 via the attachment member 25. The ink extracting member 22 is for extracting ink from the ink package 30 housed in the ink cartridge 40. The ink extracted by the ink extracting member 22 is supplied to the ink supply tube 23 and the mounting members 24,2.
5 to the print head 21. The ink supply tube 23 is integrally formed with a harness (not shown) for supplying electric power for driving the print head 21.

The ink extraction member 22 is made of a metal material such as stainless steel having corrosion resistance, a ceramic material, or the like.
1 to extract ink that has been stabbed and sealed inside. The ink extraction member 22 is formed in a hollow needle-like body (see FIG. 3), and has an ink extraction port 22a for extracting ink in the ink sealing portion 31 at its tip.
Are drilled. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 40 containing the ink package 30 is slid in the direction of arrow X and mounted on the printer cartridge 3 (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1), the ink extraction member 22 is inserted into the through hole 42 (see FIG. 3) via the ink sealing portion 31
The ink in the ink package 30 flows into the hollow ink extraction member 22 from the ink extraction port 22a.

As described above, the ink flowing into the ink extracting member 22 flows into the ink supply tube 23 via the mounting member 25, and is further supplied to the print head 21 via the mounting member 24. The outer diameter d (see FIG. 3) of the ink extraction member 22 will be described together with an ink package 30 described later.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the ink package 30 and the ink cartridge 4 accommodating the same will be described.
0 will be described. FIG. 3 shows the ink cartridge 4.
0 is an exploded perspective view. As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 40 is detachably formed in the printer cartridge 3 (see FIG. 1), and is formed in a substantially hollow box-like body. An upper portion of the cartridge body 41 of the ink cartridge 40 is opened to accommodate the ink package 30, and the ink package 3
After the 0 is stored, the canopy 43 is covered. After the canopy 43 is covered, the canopy 43 is welded to the cartridge main body 41, and the canopy 43 is attached to the cartridge main body 41. When the canopy 43 is attached, the cartridge body 41 and the canopy 43 may be attached to each other without welding, and the canopy 43 may be attached to the cartridge body 41 without welding.

A through hole 4 is provided on the left side of the cartridge body 41.
2 are drilled. The through hole 42 is a hole for inserting the ink extracting member 22 into the ink cartridge 40. By inserting the ink extracting member 22 into the through hole 42, the concave portion of the ink package 30 stored in the ink cartridge 40 is formed. The ink extraction member 22 can be stabbed into 32. By attaching a seal member such as packing made of NBR (acrylonitrile butadiene rubber) or the like to the through hole 42, when the ink cartridge 40 once mounted is removed from the printer cartridge 3, the inside of the ink cartridge 40 is removed. Can be prevented from leaking ink. When the ink package 30 is housed in the ink cartridge 40, the welded portions 33, 34, 35 of the ink package 30 may be folded and housed, or the welded portions 33, 34, 35 of the ink package 30 may be cut. And cartridge body 41
It may be stored inside.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ink package 30 is formed in a substantially rectangular bag, and is formed by laminating a plurality of, for example, about ten, film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like. It is composed of a laminated structure film material. An ink sealing portion 31 is formed at a substantially central portion of the ink package 30, and ink used for printing is sealed inside the ink sealing portion 31. A concave portion 32 is formed at a left edge portion of the ink sealing portion 31, and welding portions 33, 34, and 35 are formed at other edge portions. This recess 3
Reference numeral 2 denotes a portion into which the ink extracting member 22 is stabbed. Since both ends of the portion are supported by the welding portions 33 and 34, the portion 2 is formed in a substantially concave shape in a top view. Therefore, by inserting the ink extracting member 22 into the concave portion 32, the ink extracting member 22 can easily penetrate into the ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 30.

The method of manufacturing the ink package 30 is as follows. First, a rectangular laminated structure film material is superposed in a folded state, and one side of the superimposed edge portion is opposed to the folded edge portion. To form a welded portion 35 to form a hollow cylindrical body. Since this hollow cylindrical body is open at both edges facing each other, either one of them is welded to form a welded portion 33, and a bag body having an open edge at which the welded portion 34 is formed is opened. Is molded. After the formation of the bag, ink is injected into the bag from the open portion. After the ink is injected, the portion facing the welding portion 33 is welded, and when the welding portion 34 is formed, the concave portion 32 is formed at the edge portion of the ink sealing portion 31 and the ink sealing portion 3 is formed.
An ink package 30 in which ink is sealed in one is formed at one end of the above-described bag body. After the formation of the ink package 30, the welding portion 34 is cut off, and the ink package 30 is separated from the bag, thereby completing the manufacture of the ink package 30. When the ink is injected, by maintaining the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 at a positive pressure, it is possible to prevent air and the like from entering the ink sealing portion 31 of the unused ink package 30.

Next, a method for maintaining the ink supply pressure of the ink supplied to the print head 21 will be described. Since the ink package 30 is formed of the above-described laminated structure film material, when the ink extracting member 22 is stabbed, the ink package 30 has a property of being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the stabbed ink extracting member 22 (adhesion). I have. Therefore, it is possible to prevent ink leakage from the ink sealing portion 31 and intrusion of air or the like into the ink sealing portion 31. In particular, the ink extraction member 2
When the ink is extracted (ink consumption) by the step 2, the intrusion of air or the like into the ink sealing portion 31 is prevented, so that the volume corresponding to the amount of ink consumed in the ink sealing portion 31 is replaced by air or the like. Never. Therefore, the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 can be maintained at a negative pressure.

Further, by enhancing the rigidity of the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 30, the laminated structure film material is given shape resilience and the shape change of the ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 30. Is suppressed. Therefore, when ink is extracted from the ink sealing section 31 by the ink extracting member 22, the ink sealing section 31 is not crushed to the atmospheric pressure or the like, and the internal pressure P of the ink sealing section 31 is maintained at a negative pressure. Can be.
As a result, when the ink extracted by the ink extracting member 22 is supplied to the print head 21, the ink supply pressure of the ink can be maintained at a negative pressure.

Hereinafter, a specific method for increasing the rigidity of the laminated film material will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6 are graphs each showing a relationship between the ink consumption amount V and the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31. FIG.

FIG. 4 is a graph comparing ink packages 30 having different thicknesses w of the laminated structure film material. FIG. FIG. 6 is a graph comparing the ink packages 30 having different aspect ratios (h) with respect to the ink packages 30 having different lengths of the longitudinal length A and the lateral length B of the ink sealing portion 31. It is the graph which did. 4 to 6 show horizontal axes 51 and 6 respectively.
Numerals 1 and 71 indicate the ink consumption V of the ink sealed in the ink sealing section 31, and vertical axes 52, 62 and 72 indicate the internal pressure P of the ink sealing section 31. Arrow X in FIG. 3 indicates the mounting direction of the ink cartridge 40.

The thickness w of the laminated film material in each ink package 30 shown in FIG. 4 is 160 μm for the curve 53 (two-dot chain line) and 100 for the curve 54 (solid line).
μm, and curve 55 (dotted line) is 80 μm. FIG.
When the curves 53 to 55 are compared, the internal pressure P sharply decreases in the order of the curves 53, 54, and 55 as the ink consumption V increases. That is, the thickness w of the laminated film material
This is because, as is larger, the rigidity of the laminated structure film material forming the ink sealed portion 31 becomes larger, so that the shape resilience of the laminated structure film material becomes more remarkable, and the shape change of the ink sealed portion 31 is suppressed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the result of FIG. 4, the ink supply pressure, that is, the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 is set to about 0 mmAq or more and about -300.
In order to keep the print head operating pressure range below mmAq,
The thickness w of the laminated structure film material is about 30 μm or more and about 3
It is formed to be less than 00 μm.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the thickness w of the laminated structure film material is formed to be about 30 μm or more and about 300 μm or less.
In the heating (welding) step for forming 3, 34, 35, an excessive increase in the heating time and an excessive increase in the heating temperature are prevented. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the ink package 30 can be reduced. Further, by forming the thickness of the laminated structure film material within the above-described range, it is possible to reduce the resistance force when the ink extracting member 22 is stabbed into the ink package 30.

The aspect ratio h of the ink sealing portion 31 in each ink package 30 shown in FIG. 5 is “1” for the curve 63 (two-dot chain line) and “1.5” for the curve 64 (solid line).
And the curve 65 (dotted line) is “2”. Comparing the curves 63 to 65 in FIG. 5, the internal pressure P sharply decreases in the order of the curves 63, 64, and 65 as the ink consumption V increases. That is, as the aspect ratio h of the ink sealing portion 31 becomes smaller, the rigidity of the laminated structure film material forming the ink sealing portion 31 increases, so that the shape resilience of the laminated structure film material becomes remarkable, and the shape of the ink sealing portion 31 becomes larger. This is because the change is suppressed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the result of FIG. 5, the ink supply pressure, that is, the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 is set to about 0 mmAq or more and about −300 mmA.
In order to keep the print head operating pressure range of q or less, the aspect ratio h of the ink sealing portion 31 is substantially “10” or less, that is, the vertical length A (horizontal length B) of the ink sealing portion 31 is It is formed approximately 10 times or less the length B in the direction (length A in the vertical direction).

The vertical length A (horizontal length B) of the ink sealing portion 31 in each ink package 30 shown in FIG. 6 is 50 mm on the curve 73 (two-dot chain line) and 50 mm on the curve 74 (solid line). 70 mm, and curve 75 (dotted line) is 1
00 mm. Comparing the curves 73 to 75 in FIG. 6, as the ink consumption V increases, the internal pressure P changes with the curve 7.
It decreases rapidly in the order of 3, 74, 75. That is, as the length A in the longitudinal direction (length B in the horizontal direction) of the ink sealing portion 31 becomes smaller, the rigidity of the ink sealing portion 31 increases, so that the shape resilience of the laminated structure film material becomes remarkable, and the ink sealing portion 31 becomes smaller. Is suppressed. Therefore, in the present embodiment, based on the result of FIG. 6, the ink supply pressure, that is, the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 is set within the print head operating pressure range of about 0 mmAq or more and about -300 mmAq or less. The vertical length A (horizontal length B) of the sealing portion 31 is formed to be approximately 200 mm or less.

Next, the relationship between the adhesion between the ink package 30 and the ink extraction member 22 and the outer diameter d of the ink extraction member 22 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between the outer diameter d of the ink extraction member 22 and the pressing force F applied to the ink package 30. The pressing force F means that when the ink extraction member 22 having a different outer diameter d is inserted into the ink package 30 and the ink package 30 is pressed in the thickness direction, the ink extraction member 22 The pressing force that comes out of the package 30. The ink package 30 has a thickness w of the laminated structure film material of about 100 μm.

As shown in FIG. 7, the ink extracting member 2
2, the pressing force F with which the ink extraction member 22 comes out of the ink package 30 decreases. Based on this result, the outer diameter d of the ink extraction member 22 is adjusted to maintain the close contact between the outer peripheral surface of the ink extraction member 22 inserted into the ink package 30 and the laminated structure film material of the ink package 30. It is formed approximately 5 mm or less.

The ink package 30 thus formed
By supplying ink to the print head 21 using the ink extraction member 22, the ink supply pressure is adjusted to and maintained at a negative pressure. Therefore, there is no need for a sub-tank or a pump device for ink supply (ink supply pressure adjusting means) around the lower part of the print head 21 for reducing the ink supply pressure, and the number of components of the desktop printer 1 is reduced. Manufacturing costs can be reduced. Further, since the ink supply pump and the like are not required, the power consumption of the desktop printer 1 can be reduced.

Next, a method of assembling the desktop printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 3, the welded portions 33 to 35 of the ink package 30 are folded or cut, and the ink package 30 is housed in the cartridge body 41. After the ink package 30 is stored, the canopy 43 is covered on the top of the cartridge body 41, and the cartridge body 41 and the canopy 4
3 is welded, and the ink package 30 is housed in the ink cartridge 40 while being sealed.

When the ink cartridge 40 is slid in the arrow X direction while the through hole 42 of the ink cartridge 40 and the ink extracting member 22 are opposed to each other, the ink extracting member 22 is inserted into the through hole 42 of the ink cartridge 40. . After the insertion of the ink extraction member 22, the ink extraction member 2
2 is easily inserted into the ink sealing portion 31 from the concave portion 32 of the ink package 30 housed in the ink cartridge 40. Further, since the concave portion 32 of the ink package 30 is supported at both ends by the welded portions 33 and 34, the deformation of the ink sealing portion 31 due to the load caused by the stab of the ink extracting member 22 can be suppressed. .

When the ink cartridge 40 is further slid in the direction of arrow X, the ink cartridge 40 reaches the position indicated by the two-dot chain line (left side in FIG. The mounting on the cartridge 3 is completed. On this occasion,
Since the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 30 and the outer peripheral surface of the ink extracting member 22 are in close contact with each other,
Ink leakage from the ink package 30 and entry of air or the like into the ink package 30 are prevented.

The ink sealing portion 31 of the ink package 30
The ink extracting member 22 stabbed into the mounting member 25 extracts the ink into the inside through the ink extracting port 22a.
The ink is caused to flow into the ink supply tube 23 via. The ink flowing into the ink supply tube 23 is supplied to the print head 21 via the mounting member 24. By enhancing the rigidity of the laminated structure film material forming the ink package 30, the laminated structure film material is provided with shape resilience and the ink package 30.
Of the ink sealing portion 31 is suppressed. Therefore,
When ink is extracted from the ink sealing portion 31 using the ink extracting member 22, the ink sealing portion 31 is not crushed to the atmospheric pressure or the like, and the internal pressure P of the ink sealing portion 31 is maintained at a negative pressure. . Therefore, when supplying the ink extracted by the ink extraction member 22 to the print head 21,
The ink supply pressure of the ink is maintained at a negative pressure. Therefore, the meniscus M can be formed in each nozzle opening 21b, so that the ink ejection property of the print head 21 is maintained, and a clear print result can be obtained.

Next, the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the printer main body 2 while the print head 21 of the printer cartridge 3 is mounted on the carriage 6 of the printer main body 2. After the printer cartridge 3 is installed, the desktop printer 1
When the PC card 15 is inserted into the PC slot of the personal computer, the desktop printer 1 can transmit and receive print data and the like to and from the personal computer, and receives power supply from the personal computer.
It is ready for operation.

When the desktop printer 1 receives the transmission of the print data from the personal computer, the desktop printer 1
Print on P. In this case, first, the unused printing paper P
When P is inserted into the paper insertion slot (not shown), the printing paper PP is transported by the platen roller 4 along the transport path below the print head 21. Conveyed printing paper PP
When passing through the transport path below the print head 21,
Printing is performed using ink ejected from the nozzle openings 21b of the print head 21, and the printed printing paper PP is discharged from the paper discharge port 13.

Next, a desktop printer 100 according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The desktop printer 100 of the second embodiment is the same as the desktop printer 1 of the first embodiment.
Of the printer cartridge 3 of FIG. Hereinafter, the same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only different portions will be described. still,
FIG. 8 shows a desktop printer 1 using the ink package 30.
It is an exploded perspective view of 00.

The printer cartridge 103 of the desktop printer 100 has a print head 121 of the same type as the print head 21 disposed adjacent to the print head 21. The print head 121, like the print head 21, includes a nozzle portion 21a at a lower portion thereof and a plurality of nozzle ports 21b provided on a lower surface of the nozzle portion 21a. Also,
Each nozzle port 21b of the print head 121 is connected to the print head 2
In the front-back direction (the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the printer cartridge 3) with respect to each of the
It is provided at an interval of 0 dpi. Therefore, when printing is performed using both the print heads 21 and 121, the carriage 6 on which the print heads 21 and 121 are mounted moves forward or backward in the longitudinal direction of the printer main body 2.
Printing at a resolution of 360 dpi can be performed. Therefore, compared to the desktop printer 1 of the first embodiment, high-resolution printing can be performed in a short time.

Since the printer main body 2 of the desktop printer 100 is shared with the desktop printer 1 of the first embodiment, the desktop printer 100 is replaced by replacing the printer cartridge 103 with the printer cartridge 3 of the first embodiment. Can be used as 1.

Next, a desktop printer 200 according to a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The desktop printer 200 of the third embodiment is different from the desktop printer 1 of the first embodiment described above.
Printer cartridge 3 and ink cartridge 4
0 is changed. Hereinafter, the same portions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted, and only different portions will be described. FIG. 9 shows the ink package 3
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a desktop printer 200 using a printer No. 0;

Four ink cartridges 40 are mounted on the printer cartridge 203 of the desktop printer 200. Each ink cartridge 40 has four colors of black, yellow, cyan, and magenta in order from the top in FIG. An ink package 30 in which ink is sealed is stored. These four colors of ink are ejected from a plurality of nozzle openings (not shown) provided in the print heads 221 and 222, and full-color printing is performed on the printing paper PP.

In the desktop printer 200, since the printer main body 2 is shared with the desktop printers 1 and 100 of the first and second embodiments, the printer cartridge 203 can be replaced with the printer cartridge 3 or the second cartridge of the first embodiment. By replacing with the printer cartridge 103 of the embodiment,
It can be used as the desktop printer 1 or the desktop printer 100.

The mounting positions of the ink extracting members 22 on the mounting members 25 are respectively set at different positions in the front-rear direction in FIG. 9, and the through holes 42 of the ink cartridges 40 are connected to the respective ink extracting members 22. It is drilled corresponding to the position. Therefore, the printer cartridge 2
03, the ink cartridge 40 is always installed.
Unless the respective ink cartridges 40 are mounted in the order of black, yellow, cyan, and magenta from the top in FIG. 9, the respective ink extraction members 22 cannot be inserted into the respective through holes 42. Therefore, it is possible to prevent color mixing of ink due to incorrect mounting of the ink cartridge 40.

As described above, 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.

For example, in this embodiment, the entire ink package 30 is formed of a laminated film material,
The ink was extracted by piercing the ink extraction member 22 into 2. However, such an ink extraction method is not necessarily limited to this, and the ink may be directly sealed inside the ink cartridge without using an ink package. In this case, the laminated structure film material is welded to a part of the ink cartridge to form a portion into which the ink extraction member is pierced, and the ink extraction member is pierced into the laminated structure film material to remove the ink in the ink cartridge. May be extracted. In this case, the ink cartridge may be formed of a material compatible with the ink used for printing, for example, a polyoxymethylene (POM) resin.

[0059]

According to the ink supply device of the first aspect, since the film material forming the ink package is given shape restoring property, the shape change of the ink package due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ink package can be prevented. Is suppressed.
Therefore, even if the pressure in the ink package is reduced by the extraction of the ink, the ink package is not crushed by the external pressure, and the negative pressure can be maintained. Therefore, a negative pressure is applied to the ink extracted from the ink package by the ink extracting member and supplied to the print head, so that it is not necessary to separately provide an ink supply pressure adjusting unit for applying a negative pressure to the ink. As a result, there is an effect that the number of components of the printing apparatus using such an ink package can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The film material forming the ink package has a laminated structure in which a plurality of film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like are laminated, and the outer diameter of the ink extracting member is formed to be approximately 5 mm or less. When ink is extracted by the ink extraction member penetrating into the ink package, the film material and the outer peripheral surface of the ink extraction member come into close contact with each other. Therefore, there is an effect that it is possible to prevent ink leakage from the gap between the ink extraction member and the film material, and intrusion of air or the like. In particular, since the intrusion of air or the like into the ink package is prevented, the negative pressure inside the ink package can be maintained.

Further, since the extraction of the ink in the ink package is performed simply by piercing the needle-like tip portion of the ink extraction member into the ink package, the ink sealed in the ink package is easily extracted. There is an effect that can be.

According to the ink supply device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink supply device of the first aspect, a part of the outer surface of the ink sealing portion in the ink package has a substantially planar shape or a concave shape. Because it is formed,
There is an effect that the ink extracting member can be easily pierced and penetrated into the ink sealing portion of the ink package.

According to the ink supply device of the third aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink supply device of the second aspect, the outer surface of the ink sealing portion formed in a substantially flat or concave shape is formed of a film material. It can be formed by welding both side parts. Therefore, a member for forming the outer surface of the ink package in a substantially planar shape or a concave shape is separately provided.
Since it is not necessary to attach to the ink package,
There is an effect that the manufacturing process of the ink package can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

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 film material has a thickness of about 30 μm or more and about 300 μm or less. Because of this, there is an effect that the shape restoring property can be improved. Further, by forming the film material to a thickness of about 300 μm or less, an excessive increase in the negative pressure applied to the ink package is suppressed, so that the negative pressure applied to the ink supplied to the print head is controlled by the operation of the print head. There is an effect that it can be maintained within a possible range. Further, since the film material is formed to a thickness of about 300 μm or less, there is an effect that the ink extracting member can be easily pierced and penetrated into the ink package.

According to the ink supply device of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink supply device of the first aspect, the ink sealing portion of the ink package has a vertical length. Since it is formed approximately 10 times or less the horizontal length, there is an effect that the shape resilience of the film material forming the ink package can be improved.

According to the ink supply device of the sixth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink supply device of the first aspect, the ink sealing portion of the ink package is arranged in the vertical or horizontal direction. One of the lengths is approximately 20
Since the thickness is set to 0 mm or less, there is an effect that the shape resilience of the film material forming the ink package can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a desktop printer equipped with an ink supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial conceptual view of a nozzle portion of a print head.

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

FIG. 4 is a graph comparing ink packages having different thicknesses of a laminated structure film material.

FIG. 5 is a graph comparing ink packages having different ratios of the length in the vertical direction and the length in the horizontal direction (aspect ratio) in the ink sealing portion.

FIG. 6 is a graph comparing ink packages having different longitudinal lengths or lateral lengths of the ink sealing portion.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between an outer diameter of an ink extraction member and a pressing force applied to an ink package.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of a desktop printer according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view of a desktop printer according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Desktop printer 2 Printer main body 3 Printer cartridge (ink supply device) 4 Platen roller 5 LF motor 6 Carriage 7 Carriage motor 15 PC card 17 Guide rod 21, 121, 221, 222 Print head 21a Nozzle part 21b Nozzle port 22 Ink extraction member 22a Ink extraction port 23 Ink supply tube 30 Ink package 31 Ink sealing part 32 Concave part (part of outer surface of ink sealing part) 33, 34 Welding part (welded both sides) 35 Welding part 40 Ink cartridge 41 Cartridge main body 42 Communication Hole 43 Canopy A Vertical length (vertical length of ink-sealed part) B Horizontal length (horizontal length of ink-sealed part) d Outside diameter (outside diameter of ink extraction member) h Aspect ratio M Meniscus PP printing paper w Thickness (thickness of film material)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takamitsu Kawai 15-1 Naeshiro-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya-city Inside Brother Industries, Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] An ink supply device for supplying ink used for printing to a print head, wherein the ink supply device has a laminated structure in which a plurality of film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like are laminated while sealing the ink. An ink package formed of a film material having a shape restoring property, and an ink extraction member having a needle-like tip portion inserted into the ink package and having an outer diameter of about 5 mm or less. An ink supply device for piercing a needle-like tip of the ink extraction member into the ink package to extract ink from the ink package and supplying the extracted ink to the print head; apparatus. 2. The ink package according to claim 1, wherein the ink package includes an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, and a part of an outer surface of the ink sealing portion is formed in a substantially flat or concave shape. Ink supply device. 3. The substantially flat or concave outer surface of the ink sealing portion is formed on a surface intersecting the welded both sides by welding both sides of the film material. The ink supply device according to claim 2, wherein: 4. The ink supply device according to claim 1, wherein the film material forming the ink package has a thickness of about 30 μm or more and about 300 μm or less. 5. The ink package according to claim 1, further comprising an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, wherein the ink sealing portion is formed to have a length in a vertical direction of about 10 times or less a length in a horizontal direction. 5. The ink supply device according to any one of 1 to 4. 6. The ink package according to claim 1, further comprising an ink sealing portion for sealing the ink, wherein the ink sealing portion has one of a length in a vertical direction and a width in a horizontal direction of about 200 mm or less. Item 6. An ink supply device according to any one of Items 1 to 5.