JPS58211460A - Ink jet sucking and recovery equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to make a structure simple and small size, also prevent the staining due to an ink leakage, by prohibiting the discharge of an ink when a discharged ink vessel is not provided in a fixed position. CONSTITUTION:When the interior of a cylinder 10 is made a vacuum by pushing down a piston 11, the excess of an ink and an air is aspirated from a subtank through an ink sucking tube 4 and an air evacuating tube 5 and when the piston 11 returns by a spring 15, the sucked ink gathers in a space 23 via an discharge hole 11B. In case of a discharged ink cassette 18 being provided, the valve 19 preventing an ink leakage is pushed upward and the ink is discharged in the cassette 18 via the connecting hole 19B. When it is not provided, the valve 19 preventing the ink leakage is positioned under, its side hole 19B1 is under the O- ring of the base 17 and the ink leakage is prevented by closing the space 23 tight. Thus,the staining due to the ink leakage is prevented by a simple and small size structure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an inkjet suction recovery device for resolving ejection failure of a jet nozzle of an inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which a conventional inkjet suction recovery device is attached to an inkjet recording apparatus. A sub-tank 1 stores ink supplied from the main tank 2 and discharges the ink using an inkjet nozzle (not shown) housed inside.

3 is the main body of the inkjet suction recovery device, and a cap 5 that seals the discharge tip of the sub-tank 1 is attached via the ink suction tube 4. As shown in the figure, the tip of the sub-tank 1 is sealed with the cap 5. By pressing down the piston lever, the tip of the inkjet nozzle is sucked and the ejection failure is resolved. Reference numeral 6 denotes an air release tube for releasing excess air in the sub-tank 1, which sucks air when the piston lever 7 is pressed down.

The ink sucked from the nozzle in this manner is discharged via the discharge tube 8 to a discharge ink container 9 fixed to the outside f, and is stored there. 9A is a ventilation hole of the container 9. By the way, when the drain ink container is fixed outside like this, the capacity of the drain ink container must be increased.
Also, space is required to arrange the ink tubes. Therefore, it is possible to make the waste ink container into a cassette and make it removable, but in this case, it is necessary to always check whether the waste ink container is installed in the specified position, and if the container is not installed. When a suction recovery operation is performed on the nozzle, the suctioned ink leaks out as waste ink, seriously staining the surrounding area. For example, if a small amount of ink of 0.1g spreads around, if the film thickness is 0.1ml, 3
- It will tarnish the strength.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate these drawbacks and provide an inkjet suction recovery device that is compact and free from the risk of staining the surrounding area with suctioned ink.

The present invention will be described in detail below based on drawings of embodiments.

FIG. 2 shows a manual pump type inkjet suction recovery device according to an embodiment of the present invention, which is suitable for use in the inkjet recording apparatus shown in FIG. Reference numeral 10 denotes a cylinder forming the upper outer wall of the pump-type suction recovery device, and a piston 11, which is a sliding member, is fitted into the inner wall of the cylinder 10 so as to be slidable in the direction of the wall surface. The above-mentioned ink suction tube 4 and air vent tube 5 are connected to the side wall of the cylinder to suction excess ink and air from the sub-tank 1. A tip lever portion 11A of the piston 11 protrudes upward from a hole formed in the clay wall of the cylinder, and the root portion of the lever portion 11A is sealed by an O-ring 12 which is a sealing member. An elastic ring 13 made of synthetic rubber or the like is integrally attached to the outer peripheral surface of the piston 11 that makes sliding contact with the inner wall of the cylinder, and a discharge hole 11B is formed in a part of the piston 11 in the direction of its movement. A film-shaped check valve 14 made of synthetic resin is attached to the lower surface of 11B. When the piston 11 is pushed down in the direction A against the return spring 15, the check valve 14 closes the discharge hole 11B, and therefore a negative pressure is generated in the space 16 between the piston 11 and the cylinder 10, and this negative pressure causes the discharge hole 11B to close. Air is sucked from the sub tank 1 through the suction tube 4 and the air vent tube 5. Furthermore, when the depressed piston 11 is released, the piston 11 moves upward in the direction B by the force of the return spring 15, and at this time, the check valve 15 opens the discharge hole 11B, so that the ink and air accumulated in the space 16 are discharged. released downwards. A base 17 is attached to the lower opening of the cylinder 10 for holding the cylinder in an airtight manner. Below this base 17 is a waste ink cassette 18 which is a container for storing waste ink sucked from the sub-tank.
A storage chamber 17A is formed for accommodating the cylinder, and a communication hole is formed above the storage chamber 17A to communicate the inside of the cylinder. This communication hole has an ink leakage prevention valve 19 for selectively communicating the inside of the cylinder with the storage chamber 17A.
is attached in a state where it is always urged downward (in the A direction) by the urging spring 20. The lowered position of the leak prevention valve 19 is regulated by the snap ring 21, and the raised position is regulated by the stepped portion 19A of the leak prevention valve 190. The seal between the communication hole and the leakage prevention valve 19 is the O ring 2.
It is done by 2. A T-shaped communication hole 19B is formed in the leakage prevention valve 19. Drain ink cassette 18
A protrusion 18A is formed on the upper surface, and the cassette 18 is mounted as shown in FIG. 3 while being guided by a guide groove 17B formed on the upper surface of the storage chamber of the base 17. At this time, the ink leakage prevention valve 19 is
is pushed upward, and the side hole 19B1 of the communication hole 19B
appears above OIJ song 2. Therefore, the space 23 formed by the lower surface of the piston 11, the cylinder 10, and the base 17 communicates with the inside of the ink discharge cassette 18 via the communication hole 19B and the injection port 18C on the upper surface of the cassette, and the ink in the space 23 is discharged into the cassette 18,
It can be stored. The system is designed so that the lower surface of the piston does not come into contact with the upper surface of the leakage prevention valve 19 even if the piston li is pushed down to the lowest position with the L/bar 11A with the ink discharge cassette 18 installed. , the prevention valve 19 is connected to the piston 11
The ink suction recovery operation will not be adversely affected by hindering the descent of the ink. Furthermore, when the discharge ink cassette 18 is installed in the storage chamber 17A, the leakage prevention valve 19 does not seal the inlet 18C as shown in FIG. 4, and the communication hole 19B communicates with the outside through the gap 18C1. in a state. As a result, the inside of the cylinder 10 is brought into communication with the atmosphere.

When the discharge ink cassette is not installed in the storage chamber 17A, the side hole 19B1 of the communication hole 19B is inserted as shown in FIG.
is located below the OIJ ring 22, and the space 23 is in a sealed state. Therefore, the ink accumulated in the space 23 will not leak outside and will not stain the surrounding area. The drain ink cassette 18 is replaced as appropriate when the amount of stored ink increases.

FIG. 5 shows the other side of the discharged ink cassette, and the ink cassette 24 is divided into two chambers, a discharged ink storage chamber 24A and a storage chamber 24B of the main tank 25, which are integrally formed. Like the discharge ink cassette 18, the ink cassette 24 has an inclined surface 24B and an inlet 24C, and is connected to a connecting needle 26 fixed to the inkjet recording apparatus and connected to the sub tank 1 in the main tank storage chamber 24B. Since an elastic plug is provided, the main tank 25 and the drained ink storage chamber can be set to use simply by inserting the ink cassette 24 in the C direction.

However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to, for example, a manual pump-type ink recovery system.

As described above, according to the present invention, the structure is simple and small,
Furthermore, it is possible to provide an inkjet suction recovery device that is free from stains due to ink leakage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of a conventional suction recovery device Fig. 2 A sectional view of the suction recovery device of the present invention Fig. 3 A sectional view of the suction recovery device of the present invention (with the cassette installed) Fig. 4 A sectional view of the drained ink cassette Fig. 5 Other drained ink Cassette cross-sectional view 1jj"""""'A Kiyoyama prevention -3:

Claims (1)

[Claims] An inkjet suction recovery device that discharges ink sucked from an inkjet nozzle into a waste ink container, characterized in that ink discharge is prohibited when the waste ink container is not installed in a predetermined position.