JPS6174847A - Ink reservoir - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use ink without wastefulness by reducing the residual amount of unusable ink, by forming at least a part of an ink receiver as an ink receiving bag comprising a flexible film deformable in an up-and-down direction, and supporting and fixing the upper surface side of the ink receiving bag by a rigid member. CONSTITUTION:When an ink reservoir is received in a receiving apparatus 18 and a lid part 19 is closed, an ink feed-out pipe 5 pierces through the septum 14 of the ink reservoir to reach the interior of an ink receiving bag 12. By this structure, the ink in the ink receiving bag 12 is fed out through the ink feed-out pipe 5 and flows through an ink supply pipe 6 to reach the ink jet orifice communicated with the ink chamber in a recording head 20. In a process wherein ink consumption advances and residual amount of the ink in the ink receiving bag 12 is reducing, the liquid surface of the ink is unchangeable because a flat plate 13 having rigidity is present at a constant position and the flexible part of the bottom surface or side surface of the ink receiving bag 12 is sunk to contract the volume of said bag 12. Therefore, the pressure of the ink in the recording head supplied from the ink receiving bag 12 is not varied.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is characterized in that recording ink is jetted or ejected from a nozzle and deposited on a recording medium, thereby producing 111Ii.
The present invention relates to an ink reservoir that replenishes ink to a recording nozzle of a recording device such as an inkjet recording device or a pen recorder that forms an image.

[Prior art]

Pen recorders that form images by depositing ink onto a recording medium include pen recorders that supply ink from an ink bottle to the tip and record data, and pen recorders that eject ink from nozzles to create ink dot images on a recording medium. There is an inkjet recording device that forms.

2. Description of the Related Art An inkjet recording apparatus records characters, figures, etc. on recording paper by ejecting small droplets of ink from a narrow nozzle. In this case, high-quality characters,
In order to draw figures, etc., K must eject fine ink droplets of equal diameter regularly and intermittently. In order to make the ink droplets fly smoothly and to stably draw characters, figures, etc. on the recording paper, the properties of the ink itself must be sufficiently uniform and stable. Yes, but is it also possible that air bubbles get mixed into the ink? EL must be used to prevent light.

BACKGROUND ART A sealed ink reservoir is used as an ink supply device in an inkjet recording apparatus in order to keep the ink in a stable state without exposing it to the outside air. This ink storage M container contains ink in a highly airtight bag or container with a 5VC glow to prevent air from entering. In general, the ink reservoir is an ink cartridge that is detachable from the receiver of the recording station, and can be replenished with new ink by replacing the ink cartridge.

Among the above-mentioned ink cartridges, in the conventional sealed type ink cartridge which supplies ink using hydrostatic pressure, the entire bag containing the ink is made of a flexible membrane (
・Ru. In an ink storage bag using such a flexible membrane,
Since the entire flexible membrane deforms irregularly, the entire amount of ink in the ink storage bag cannot be used up, and unused ink remains in the bag and is wasted, which is a practical problem. It had become.

Figure 8 (Al shows an example of such a conventionally used ink cartridge.The ink cartridge is attached to the housing 1.
．． A flexible ink storage bag 2 is housed in the housing 1 and stores ink 3 therein, and is coupled to the ink storage bag 2 to lead the ink to an external recording head (not shown) of an inkjet recording device. It consists of an ink lead-out section 4. By inserting the ink outlet tube 5 connected to the ink supply tube 6 connected to the recording head into the ink outlet section 4, the ink 3 in the ink storage bag 2 is transferred to the ink outlet tube 5.
, and is supplied into the recording head via the ink supply pipe 6.

Furthermore, the ink storage bag 2 has a sealed structure to prevent air from entering inside. Therefore, as the ink is used, the ink storage bag 2 gradually shrinks. As a result, residual ink portions A are formed at several locations, making it difficult to use these residual ink and being uneconomical.

In addition, in the conventional ink car) IJ Buji,
I
If vibrations or shocks are applied during transportation or when replacing an ink cartridge, the ink storage bag 2 will easily move from a predetermined position inside the housing 1. As a result, a relative force is applied to the ink outlet section 4 fixed to the body 1 and the moving ink storage bag, and the joint between the ink outlet section 4 and the ink storage bag 2 is torn, causing ink to leak out. There was this inconvenience. Special K: If a large external force is applied to the housing 1, such as by dropping or overturning the ink cartridge, the ink storage bag 2 will be The ink storage bag 2 collides strongly with the inner wall of the housing 1, and in addition, excessive force is applied to the ink outlet portion 4, causing an accident in which the ink storage bag 2 ruptures.

Further, when the ink in the ink storage bag 2 has been consumed to a certain extent, if the 5IC ink storage bag 2 moves inside the housing 1 as described above, the ink storage bag 2 will move as shown in FIG. 1(B). The ink may be bent, and as a result, the ink cannot be drawn out to the end, and the ink remains and is wasted.

As a proposal for solving these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-2
An ink cartridge shown in Japanese Patent No. 4284 is known. In this method, a flat ink storage bag for storing ink is directly adhered to the inner wall of a sealed housing. However, in this method, and in the conventional ink reservoir as shown in FIG. 8, even if the ink in the ink storage bag is consumed and the remaining amount decreases, To keep the liquid pressure as constant as possible, the ink collection
The bag is made as flat as possible, and the top surface of the ink storage bag changes in height by only a few degrees between when it is full of ink and when it is empty. However, even with such a flat ink storage bag, as the top surface of the ink storage bag descends as the ink is consumed, the ink pressure also decreases, resulting in an extremely flat shape. The ink storage bag has a disadvantage that it has a large projected area in plan view, and the space 7 actor becomes extremely poor.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Problems in the prior art regarding ink reservoirs that the present invention aims to solve are summarized as follows.

(1) The ink storage bag inside the housing of the ink reservoir is irregularly deformed and a residual ink portion is formed, making it impossible to consume the entire amount of ink.

(2) The ink storage bag inside the housing moves due to external force or the like, causing deformation or damage to the ink storage bag.

(3) In a conventional ink reservoir using an ink supply method using hydrostatic pressure, the top surface of the ink storage bag lowers as the ink is consumed, so the hydraulic pressure of the ink supplied from the ink storage bag fluctuates.

It is an object of the present invention to eliminate such conventional drawbacks, to maintain a constant hydraulic pressure in the supply of ink to the recording head in a stable and reliable manner, and to reduce the amount of unusable ink remaining so as to eliminate wasted ink. (It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink reservoir that can be used easily, has a low number of replacements, and is easy to manufacture.)

[Means for solving problems]

An ink reservoir of the present invention that solves this problem is an ink reservoir comprising an ink container having a sealed structure for storing ink, and a housing housing the ink container, in which at least a portion of the ink container is The ink storage bag is formed by a flexible membrane that can be deformed in the vertical direction, and the upper surface side of the ink storage bag is supported and fixed by a rigid member.

〔Example〕

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

(Example 1) Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an ink reservoir (cartridge type) according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an ink container taken out from the casing of the ink reservoir. . Third
The figure is a schematic cross-sectional view of the ink reservoir of the present invention installed in a receiving device within the main body of an inkjet recording apparatus.

The housing 11 is made of ABS, polystyrene, polypropylene,
It is a cartridge-shaped container made of resin such as polyvinyl chloride. Here, IIA is a vent hole that constantly communicates the interior of the housing 11 with the atmosphere and supplies pressurized electricity into the interior of the housing 11 as required.

An opening is provided at the bottom of the housing 11 to form an ink outlet section, and the ink in the ink storage bag 12 is guided out to the recording head side.

The ink storage bag 12 is made of a flexible film that airtightly encloses recording ink, and stores and replenishes the ink while maintaining hydrostatic pressure. This ink storage bag 12 is made of polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, nylon, polypropylene,
It can be made from a single thin film such as Cero7Ano or a composite laminate made from a combination of these. For example, a polymer film having a three-layer laminate structure in which a polyvinylidene chloride film is coated on both sides with polyethylene or the like, or a two-layer structure film in which a nylon film is laminated on a polyvinylidene chloride film is used. As the ink storage bag 12, a thin film made of a material with low gas permeability, barrier properties, stability that does not cause chemical changes with ink, and good flexibility is selected. A foldable bag-shaped ink storage bag 12 is formed by bending or drawing such a thin film.

The opening on the top surface of the ink storage bag 12 is fitted and sealed with a rigid flat plate 13. The flat plate 13 is made of a plastic plate such as polyethylene or polyvinyl chloride. The contact portion between the flat plate 13 and the ink storage bag 12 is sealed by adhesive or heat fusion, and it is also possible to use an elastic backing in the form of a QIJ ring, if necessary.

At the center of the upper surface of the flat plate 13, a hollow protrusion 13A serving as an ink lead-out portion is provided. An elastic septum 14 is fitted into the hollow protrusion 13A, and is screwed and closed by a cap 15. The septum 14 is made of an elastic material such as butyl rubber, butadiene rubber, inpre/rubber, noricorn rubber, acrylic rubber, etc., and a material is selected that does not undergo chemical changes when in contact with ink.

A plurality of male threaded bolts 16 are inserted and fixed in portions near both ends of the upper surface of the flat plate 13. This bolt 16
is inserted into the play hole on the upper surface of body A 11, and is screwed and fixed by nut 17. FIG. 1 shows an ink reservoir R in which an ink container as shown in FIG. 2 is internally fixed inside a housing 11. In such an ink storage 5, the ink storage bag 12 is sealed and fixed by a flat plate 13, and the i-body 11 is further sealed and fixed.
Since the top surface is fixed with screws, it will not move inside the housing 11 due to external force or the like.

FIG. 3 shows the ink reservoir accommodated in the ink reservoir receiving device 18 within the main body of the ink jet flange device. The lid 19 of the receiving device 18 is hinged to the receiving device I8 and can be opened and closed.

The hollow needle-shaped ink outlet tube 5 is fixed or supported by a spring in the arm portion 19IC, and the base portion of the ink outlet tube 15) (
A tubular ink supply pipe 6 is connected thereto. The ink supply pipe 6 is the connector part of the receiving device 18! It is connected to the recording head 20 through the main body of the inkjet recording device through 8A.

An ink reservoir is housed within the receiving device 18 and a lid 19 is provided.
When the lid is closed, the ink outlet tube 5 passes through the septum 14 of the ink reservoir and reaches the inside of the ink storage bag 12. As a result, the ink in the ink storage bag 12 is led out through the ink outlet pipe 5, flows through the ink supply pipe 6, and is communicated with the ink chamber for whitening the recording head through the ink jetting port (nozzle) K.
reach With such a configuration, the operability of ink supply by the ink reservoir is improved.

As described above, when the ink in the ink storage bag 12 is communicated with the ink chamber of the recording head whitening and the ink is consumed,
The relationship between the remaining ink ψ in the ink storage bag 2 and the hydrostatic pressure of the ink applied to the recording head whitening nozzle will be explained with reference to FIG.

That is, the curved line in the figure shows the characteristics of a conventional ink reservoir using an ink storage bag whose entire surface is made of a flexible membrane, as shown in Figure 741. As shown in curve A, the liquid level in the ink storage bag 2 decreases as ink is consumed, so as the remaining amount of ink decreases, the ink pressure in the recording head gradually decreases until it falls below the remaining ink amount. , the ink pressure drops somewhat rapidly due to the physical properties of the membrane of the ink storage bag 2, such as hardness and stiffness.

On the other hand, in the ink storage device according to the present invention, as ink consumption progresses and the amount of ink remaining in the ink storage bag It remains unchanged in the normal position #, and the flexible portion on the bottom or side surface of the ink storage bag 12 is depressed and its volume is reduced. As a result, the ink pressure inside the recording head supplied from the ink storage bag 12 does not fluctuate by 9 degrees as shown in the horizontal portion of the track @B. As the ink consumption approaches the end and there is only a small amount of ink remaining in the ink storage bag 12, the ink pressure gradually increases, and when no more ink can be supplied, the ink pressure begins to decrease rapidly.

The ink pressure at the beginning of the sudden drop is higher and more rapid than curve A, so if the sudden drop is detected and an alarm or operation stop signal is generated, the ink pressure will be earlier than the curve A. Therefore, the signal can be generated more reliably.

(Example 2) FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the ink reservoir according to the present invention. This is characterized by the fact that the transparent body of the ink reservoir M5 and the flat plate are integrally constructed, and the inner plane is the surface that comes in contact with the ink. First of all, ink storage i!
The outer periphery of the ink storage bag n is brought into close contact with the inner flat surface portion 21A of the main body 21 of the container, and is tightly attached and fixed by adhesive or heat fusion. Numerals ``n'' and ``sae'' designate an elastic gasket and a presser plate for pressing the outer peripheral edge of the ink storage bag B, which are tightly attached and fixed to the main body 21 using screws or the like.

An opening 21 B is provided in the inner plane portion 21 A of the main body 21 , which communicates with an ink outlet path 21 C and is connected to the septum housing 5 . Sebutamuno Kunfugu Otsu has a septum heart inside and is fixed to the main body 21. By passing the ink outlet tube 5 through the septum 26, the ink outlet channel 2 inside the ink storage bag n is
The ink flows into the ink outlet pipe 5 through the ink supply pipe 6 and reaches the recording head through the ink supply pipe 6. The septum housing δ is provided on the side of the ink reservoir, so when installing the ink reservoir, simply place the ink reservoir on the stand of each receiver of the recording apparatus main body and slide it sideways. Since it is connected to the outlet pipe, it is easy to operate and the structure of the device is simple. Note that the septum housing is installed above the ink storage device, and the ink outlet tube 5 is installed as shown in Figure @1.
It is also possible to insert it from above. Even in such an ink reservoir, the ink pressure does not vary because the top surface of the ink '1V container n remains constant.

(Embodiment 3) FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing still another embodiment of the ink reservoir M and container according to the present invention. In the figure, the same structural parts as in FIG. 5 are given the same reference numerals. The body of the ink reservoir, (1
The inner side is formed with a dome-shaped concave portion 31A. An ink storage bag 32 is attached to the outer periphery of this concave portion with adhesive or heat fusion.
Fixed by screws.

The ink storage bag 32 made of a flexible film has a concave portion 31A.
It is formed into a substantially symmetrical shape 5 with the mounting surface on the outer periphery of the center as the center. In this 5 ink storage M, in the container,
Even if the remaining amount of ink decreases as ink consumption progresses and the ink storage bag 32 deforms irregularly, the ink storage bag 32 will be inverted and almost in close contact with the concave surface 31A of the main body at the end of the treatment, so that the ink can be removed. It is possible to derive almost the entire amount without leaving anything behind. Note that the shape of the concave portion il A may be a part of a sphere, a beak shape, a semicylindrical shape, or other shapes.

(Embodiment 4) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing still another embodiment of the ink storage container according to the present invention. The side surface of the ink storage bag 42 built into the container 41 has a multi-stage hair shape and can be folded freely.For this reason, the ink storage bag 42 causes complicated wrinkles and tension deformation in the process of ink consumption. There is no need to worry.

The inside of the ink reservoir housing 41 is divided into two upper and lower chambers, and the upper chamber houses the ink storage bag 42 and a flat plate 43 that supports and seals it. Further, the lower chamber is an ink waste liquid collection basin 44, and a polymer absorber 45 is housed inside. Examples of the polymer absorbent include powdered materials and porous materials formed by connecting powder particles. For example, Acryac CA (Nippon Shokubai Chemical Products), 5T-67-to, 5T-57 Suri-Tepkusu (
All of them are accompaniment movements even if you use any of them (products of Den-Iken Phenix Laboratory) etc. Since the above-mentioned polymeric absorbent has a very large absorption capacity and a high water absorption rate, a large amount of ink can be recovered with a small amount of the polymeric absorbent. For example, swelling 11
The magnification is about 350 times that of tap water. Furthermore, since it has excellent water retention, there is no problem such as ink oozing out due to impact or the like. Furthermore, even if the waste liquid collection container has a complicated shape, if it is made of a powdered polymer absorber, the volume can be effectively utilized and the cost of the ink storage device will not increase.

A storage bag 42 and a polymer absorbent material 45 as described above
An ink reservoir containing a built-in ink reservoir is connected to the ink outlet tube 5 and connected to the recording head via the ink supply tube 6 to supply ink, and the opening 41A of the upper chamber of the ink reservoir housing 41 is connected to the tube. Connect it to a pressurizing pump (not shown).

When performing a purge process to discharge air bubbles and foreign matter inside the recording head, K operates the pressure bonder to introduce pressurized air into the opening 41A through the tube, pressurizing the upper chamber. The ink in the ink storage bag 42 is pressurized and drawn out to reach the recording head, and air bubbles and foreign matter are ejected from the nozzle along with the pressurized ink. This waste ink is collected by a recovery device through a tube into the opening 41 of the ink reservoir.
It enters the lower chamber from B and is absorbed by the polymer absorber 45. The opening 41C is connected to a pressure reducing pump (not shown) through a tube, and the waste liquid is collected from the lower chamber 4.
This is effectively done by reducing the pressure of 4.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the ink storage ML device of the present invention, the upper opening of the ink storage bag is fixed to a flat plate, and the ink liquid level is always fixed upward, so that the ink storage ML device according to the present invention Despite the decrease in the remaining amount, there is no change in the height of the ink level, and when ink is supplied to the print head using hydrostatic pressure, a constant ink pressure is always applied to the ink chamber in the print head, and the ink 1 The print quality from Shōgo is stable.

Yo gamma cool savings! The ink outlet part in the i-container and the inside of the ink storage bag do not become clogged during ink consumption, and almost the entire amount of the ink storage bag is stably drawn out.

4, 117: Explanation of the tube thickness on page 1, ``811 zo 1 is a cross-sectional view of the ink reservoir according to Honkyo Mei,
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the ink storage body led out from the housing of the ink storage device, and Figs. A schematic sectional view, FIG. 4 is a miniature diagram showing the relationship between the remaining amount of ink and the ink pressure, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the ink reservoir according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an ink reservoir M according to another embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ink reservoir.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an ink reservoir consisting of an ink container with a sealed structure for storing ink and a housing housing the ink container, at least a portion of the ink container is formed by a flexible film that can be vertically deformed. What is claimed is: 1. An ink storage device comprising: an ink storage bag comprising an ink storage bag, the upper surface of the ink storage bag being supported and fixed by a rigid member. (2) The ink according to claim 1, wherein the inner wall surface of the rigid member that contacts the ink and the ink storage bag are substantially symmetrical about the boundary surface thereof. Reservoir.