JPS591800Y2 - Inkjet printer deflection electrode - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a deflection electrode for collecting ink mist generated when ink particles collide with recording paper in an inkjet printer.

An inkjet printer is a device that ejects charged ink particles, applies an electric field to the ink particles, arbitrarily deflects the flight angle, and reaches a desired position on a recording sheet to draw a pattern.

In this case, when ink particles collide with the paper surface during a recording operation, fine droplets bounce back, that is, ink mist is generated.

Such scattering caused by the generation of ink mist adheres to other areas of the recording paper and the print head, degrading print quality.In particular, if it adheres to the deflection electrode, it becomes ink droplets and affects the distribution of the deflection electric field. bring about abnormalities.

In the end, not only will printing distortion occur, but
There was a habit of causing electrical discharge between the deflection electrodes and causing the device to malfunction.

The above-mentioned ink mist generally has the characteristic that the larger the ejected ink particles are, the greater the density of the ink particles ejected onto the recording paper, and the greater the ejection speed of the ink particles, the more frequently the ink mist is generated.

However, these factors are determined by the specifications of the inkjet printer, such as printing speed, print size, and number of dots per character, and cannot be changed independently.

As a solution to this problem, some improvement was achieved by constructing the deflection electrode from a porous metal body with absorbing properties.

However, there is a limit to the ability of the deflection electrode to collect ink mist, and a problem will eventually arise.

Therefore, one possible method is to replace the deflection electrode itself.
The downside is that you don't know when to replace it.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, the present invention provides a removable cartridge equipped with an absorbent material that absorbs ink on the deflection electrode.
The ink mist collected by the deflection electrode is absorbed by the absorbent material in the cartridge, and by replacing the cartridge, the problem of the ink collection ability of the deflection electrode is solved.

The present invention also improves the ink absorption effect from the deflection electrode to the absorbent material of the cartridge while making it easy to attach and detach the cartridge to the deflection electrode by adding some innovations to the structure of the cartridge itself that includes the absorbent material.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an outline of the inkjet printer of the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an ink droplet generating means that includes a nozzle and is also equipped with a charging electrode that charges the formed ink droplets according to a video signal sent thereto.

This ink droplet generating means 1 applies ultrasonic vibrations to the ink liquid flow pumped by the pump 2, and separates the ink liquid flow into ink particles of a number equal to the excitation frequency of the ultrasonic vibrations. Inject from.

When ink particles are ejected from the tip opening 1a, the ink particles are charged and charged in response to a print charging signal (video signal) supplied from a character pattern generation circuit, etc., when they pass through a charging electrode section. It flies in a state of being blown away.

The platen 4 to which the tip opening 1a and the recording paper 3 are attached
A pair of deflection electrodes for deflecting the charged ink particles is provided in the gap therebetween.

This pair of deflection electrodes is provided with an upper deflection electrode 5 and a lower deflection electrode 6 facing each other via an ink particle passage, and by applying a predetermined electric field between both electrodes, the ejected charged ink particles can be deflected as desired. Angle deflection.

When the deflected charged ink particles 7 reach the recording paper 3 mounted on the platen 4, they form dots of a print pattern.

On the other hand, ink particles that are not used for printing are not charged and are therefore collected by the pump 2 via the ink collection gutter 8 and the ink collection pipe 9 without being deflected.

A head consisting of the above-mentioned ink generating means 1, deflection electrodes 5, 6, ink recovery gutter 8, etc. is mounted on a canopy 10, and is moved laterally parallel to the platen 4 by a slide shaft 11 to scan the recording paper.

In this printing operation, when the deflected charged ink particles 7 reach the recording paper 3 mounted on the platen 4, fine droplets, that is, ink mist 12 are generated.

The ink mist 12 adheres to the surface or vicinity of the upper deflection electrode 5 due to the repelling force caused by the collision with the recording paper 3 and the suction force acting between the ink mist 12 and the upper deflection electrode 5 .

The upper deflection electrode 5 is made of an absorbent porous metal body, and absorbs ink mist attached to its surface into the interior.

Further, the upper deflection electrode 5 is held by an insulating holder 13.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an inkjet printer head equipped with an ink mist recovery cartridge of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the ink mist recovery cartridge of the present invention.

The ink mist recovery cartridge 14 is made of a transparent container so that the inside of the exterior can be seen through, and an absorbent material 15 that absorbs ink is housed in this container.
is made to protrude further from the open end of the container.

The cartridge 14 also includes an upper deflection electrode holder 1.
A notch 17 and a convex portion 1 are provided at the tip of the container in order to allow the container to be attached to and removed from the holding hole 16 provided in the upper deflection electrode 5 and communicated with the upper deflection electrode 5.
B.

The convex portion 18 is engaged with the outer periphery of the holding hole 16 of the upper deflection electrode holder 13 to prevent the ink mist collection cartridge 15 from falling off.

The cutout 17 is provided so that the ink mist collection cartridge 15 can be deformed and easily attached and detached.

The absorbent material 15 is made of an absorbent material, such as porous or fibrous material, and has cushioning properties so that it can be brought into close contact with the upper deflection electrode 5.

The ink mist collection cartridge is sticking out a little.

In the configuration described above, ink mist 12 is generated when ink particles 7 collide with recording paper 3.

Most of this ink mist 12 is absorbed by the upper deflection electrode 5 due to its suction force.

The ink mist absorbed inside the upper deflection electrode spreads over the entire upper deflection electrode and when it reaches the contact surface with the absorbent material 15, the ink mist begins to penetrate into the absorbent material 15 as shown by the arrow, and the ink mist collection cartridge is removed. It will be collected within 14 days.

The ink mist attached to the upper deflection electrode 5 in this way is
Ink mist recovery cartridge 1 via the upper deflection electrode
It will be collected within 4 days.

Therefore, by appropriately replacing the ink mist collection cartridge 14, the upper deflection electrode 5 can be kept in a good condition at all times.

As described above, according to the deflection electrode of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, an absorbent material is accommodated in a cartridge consisting of a container with one end open, and the end of the absorbent material located on the cartridge opening side is connected to the cartridge opening. Further, a retaining convex portion and a notch having a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction from the open end of the car I ridge are provided on the opening edge of the cartridge, and a convex portion on the opening end of the cartridge is provided on the deflection electrode. Form a hole slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the
By deforming the open end of the cartridge, it is inserted into the hole of the electrode, and the convex part of the opening of the cartridge is held and held at the inner peripheral edge of the hole, and the absorbent material protruding from the cartridge is brought into close contact with the ink absorbing part of the deflection electrode. Because of this structure, the cartridge can be attached to and removed from the electrode simply by pressing and inserting or removing it, and when the cartridge is attached, the absorbent material protrudes from the open end of the cartridge. It is brought into close contact with the ink absorbing portion of the deflection electrode, and the ink absorption effect from the deflection electrode to the absorbent material of the cartridge is improved, thereby making it possible to maintain the deflection electrode even better.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an overview of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view of a head section showing an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing ink mistakes 1 to recovery cartridges of the present invention. It is a diagram. 1: Ink particle generating means, 3: Recording paper, 5: Upper deflection electrode, 6: Lower deflection electrode, 12: Ink mist, 13: Upper deflection electrode holder, 14: Ink mist recovery car 1
- Ridge, 15: Absorbent material, 16: Holding hole, 17: Notch, 18: Convex portion.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The deflection electrode of an inkjet printer, which deflects charged ink particles to reach a recording paper to form a desired pattern, is made of a porous metal body with absorbing properties, and further absorbs the ink absorbed by the deflection electrode. In a deflection electrode of an inkjet printer that is detachably provided with an absorbent material, the absorbent material is housed in a cartridge consisting of a container with one end open, and the end of the absorbent material located on the cartridge opening side is inserted through the cartridge opening. Further, the opening edge of the cartridge is provided with a retaining projection and a notch having a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction from the opening end of the cartridge, and the deflection electrode is provided with an outer diameter of the opening end projection of the cartridge. A slightly smaller hole is formed in the cartridge, and the opening end of the cartridge is deformed to be inserted into the hole of the electrode, and the opening convex part of the cartridge is held and held at the inner peripheral edge of the hole, and the absorbent material protrudes from the cartridge. A deflection electrode for an inkjet printer configured to be in close contact with the ink absorbing portion of the deflection electrode.