JPS60110458A - Ink tank for ink jet recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the sedimentation and deposition of pigment in ink by providing a stirrer for ink to the ink tank of an ink jet recorder using a pigment- based ink. CONSTITUTION:A bottomed ink tank 26 having an opening 26a on its upper part is placed on a magnetic stirrer 27. A cylindrical filter element 32 is attached to a filter receiver 28 as the stopper of the opening 26a to form the first chamber 33 to store ink filtered. The other portion becomes the second chamber 35, and on the bottom, a rotator 37 corresponding to the magnetic stirrer 27 is provided. When ink in the second chamber 35 is stirred by the rotator 37, the sedimentation and deposition of ink in the second chamber 35 can be prevented, and the flow of ink acts on even the inside of the first chamber 33 through the filter element 32. The sedimentation and deposition of pigment in the ink in the first chamber 33 can also be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to an ink tank for an inkjet recording device, and particularly to an ink tank suitable for a charge modulation type inkjet recording device using pigment-based ink.

[Background of the invention]

In an inkjet recording apparatus, the uniformity of ink greatly affects the quality of recorded characters. In particular, when ink containing impurities is ejected from a nozzle, the electrical characteristics change, making control of the amount of charge unstable or causing the nozzle to become clogged. In order to prevent this, a filter device is installed in the ink circulation path.

The ink circulation system and filter device of such a conventional inkjet recording apparatus are shown in FIGS. 1 to 3.

Figure 1 shows the ink circulation system, from ink tank 1 to nozzle 2.
A pressure pump 4, a filter device 5, a pressure regulator 6, and a pressure gauge 7 are installed in the ink supply path 3 leading to the ink supply path 3. Of the ink ejected from the nozzle 2, that which is not used for recording is captured by the gutter 8 and returned to the ink tank 1 via the ink recovery path 9.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the filter device 5 using a flat filter material. The filter case main body 11 and the filter case lid 12 are connected by a set screw 13, and a flat filter element 15 is held between the two with a gasket 1''4 interposed.
6 is provided, and the lid body 12 is provided with an ink outlet 17.

FIG. 3 shows 50 examples of filter devices using a cylindrical filter material. The filter case main body 18 and the filter case lid 19 are slidably fitted together via a packing 20, and are coupled with a set screw (not shown). At this time, the cylindrical filter element 21 is sandwiched between the two with packings 22 and 23 interposed therebetween. An ink inlet 24 provided in the main body 18 communicates with the outer space of the filter element 21, and an ink outlet □25 communicates with the inner space of the filter element 21.

When such a filter group [5] is installed in the ink supply path 3:, the following drawbacks occur when pigment-based ink is used.

(a) Since the ink inside the filter device is not subjected to stirring action, the pigment settles and the color density decreases.

(b) The 71c pigment that settles and accumulates and aggregates, clogging the filter element and causing problems due to clogging.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an ink tank for an ink shed recording device that is equipped with a filter device that prevents pigments in the ink from settling or depositing easily.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a first chamber in which the ink filtered by the filter element is introduced into the ink supply path using a filter element in the ink tank, and a means for stirring the ink. It is characterized in that it is divided into a second chamber, and the ink in the second chamber is agitated, and the ink in the first chamber is also agitated by the ink flow to prevent pigment from settling or depositing.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 4 shows an ink tank according to the present invention, in which a bottomed ink tank main body 26 having an opening 26 a at the top is placed on a magnetic stirrer 27 . The opening 2
A cylindrical filter element 32, which is held between supporting members 30 and 31 by screws 29, is attached to the filter receiver 28 serving as the stopper 6a, and by fitting the filter receiver 28 into the opening 261. Support member 30°3
1 and the filter element 32 form a first chamber 33 in the ink tank body 26 in which ink filtered by the filter element 32 is stored. This first room 3
3, an ink supply pipe 34 is inserted through the supporting member 30.
will be introduced. The other part of the ink tank main body 26 becomes a fs2 chamber 35, and an ink recovery pipe 36 that penetrates the filter receiver 28 opens in the second chamber 35, and the bottom part corresponds to the magnetic stirrer 27. A rotor 37 is provided.

Therefore, if the ink tank body 26 is filled with ink as shown in the figure, the ink in the second chamber 35 is filtered by the filter element 32 and enters the first chamber 33, from where it flows into the ink supply pipe 34. Supplied. When the ink in the second chamber 35 is stirred by the rotor 37, not only is the pigment of the ink in the second chamber 35 prevented from settling and depositing, but also the ink flow is passed through the filter element 32 into the first chamber. This also acts in the 20th chamber 33, and prevents the pigment of the ink in the 20th chamber 33 from settling and depositing.

Furthermore, since the filter element 32 is not installed in the middle of the ink supply pipe 34, replacement work is also facilitated.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention provides an ink tank with a first chamber that uses a filter element to guide ink filtered by the filter element to an ink supply path, and a second chamber that is provided with a means for stirring the ink. The ink in the second chamber is divided into two chambers, and the ink flow generated by stirring the ink in the second chamber also agitates the ink in the first chamber, which has the effect of preventing sedimentation and deposition of pigment.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

``Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of an ink circulation system of a conventional inkjet recording device, Figures 2 and 3 are a vertical side view of a filter device thereof, and Figure 4 is a vertical side view of an ink tank according to the present invention.26 ... Ink tank body, 27... Magnetic star, 32... Filter element, 33... First chamber, 34... Ink supply pipe, 35... Second chamber, 36... ...Rotor. Agent: Patent Attorney Akio Takahashi Figure 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an inkjet recording device that uses ink that uses pigment as a dye, the inside of the ink tank is connected to a first chamber that uses a filter element to introduce the ink filtered by the filter element to an ink supply path, and the ink is stirred. An ink tank for an inkjet recording device, characterized in that the ink tank is divided into a second chamber provided with a means for recording.