JPS629428B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more particularly to a method of coupling an ink cartridge and an ink path in an ink path.

Inkjet printers have recently shifted from electric field type inkjet heads to ink-on-demand type inkjet heads, and have become smaller in size. A problem with miniaturization is that the internal volume of the ink tank is large due to the large amount of ink consumed by the ink jet, and as the device is small, the tank occupies a large proportion of the device. Ink cartridges were devised as a countermeasure, but
Since the internal volume is small, the number of replacements has increased, and air getting into the ink path during replacement has become a problem.

The conventional method will be explained with reference to FIG. The ink cartridge 1 has a connecting portion made of rubber 2 and an ink flow absorbing material 3, and the periphery is a variable bag. When combined with the ink jet head 6, the needle 4 attached to the tip of the ink path 5 is inserted into the rubber 2.
At this time, if the ink 7 in the needle 4 in b is not filled up to the tip of the needle, the ink 8 in the ink cartridge 1 will pass through the air bubbles 9 into the needle 4 as shown in c. The ink 7 is replenished before being filled, and air bubbles are mixed into the ink path 5. Conventionally, if this happens, use your finger 10 to remove the cartridge 1.
A method was adopted in which the air bubbles 9 were pushed out from the nozzle of the ink jet head 6 by pressing . In this method, even if air bubbles come out from the nozzle, the ink in the ink cartridge will be considerably consumed until the air bubbles are eliminated, and the proportion of ink that can be used for practical purposes will decrease. Further, the ink discharged at this time is not allowed to be absorbed by an ink absorbing material such as blotting paper and discharged outside. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the device will be contaminated, and it is not practical.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, prevents air bubbles from entering the head, and provides a method for supplying ink from an ink cartridge to a head of an inkjet recording device that is practically used, such as preventing air bubbles from entering the head and preventing the recording device from being contaminated. The purpose is to provide.

The ink supply method for an inkjet recording device of the present invention is a method for supplying ink from an ink cartridge to the head of an inkjet recording device, which is equipped with a nozzle for ejecting ink and a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle and applies a pressure change to the ink. , an ink supply means is provided between the head and the ink cartridge, and the ink supply means is capable of changing an internal volume at least when the ink is supplied, and has a narrow ink flow path formed on the side connected to the ink cartridge; After reducing the internal volume of the means and pushing out the ink in the ink flow path to the tip of the ink flow path, the ink flow path is coupled to the ink cartridge, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the head. It is something to do.

The ink supply method for the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS.

In Fig. 2A, the ink cartridge 1 is a cartridge made of a material that can be freely deformed, and has a material or structure that deforms in response to the pressure applied from the nozzle or ink path of the ink jet head. In the present invention, a material treated with metal is used for vinylidene chloride. The rubber 2 attached to a part of the ink cartridge 1 has rubber properties and is made of silicone rubber, raw rubber, or synthetic rubber, and an absorbent material 3 is provided on the outside to absorb ink discharged during binding. ing. As an embodiment of the present invention, the pressure change chamber 11 connected to the needle 4 of the joint part has an elastic body 16 on the needle 4 side, and the internal pressure is normally in a stable state, but the pressure change chamber 11 becomes elastic due to the force applied to the needle 4. The body 16 becomes convex 14 and the internal pressure becomes negative pressure. Further, by forming the recess 15, the internal pressure becomes positive pressure. At this time, by providing a valve 12 in the middle of the ink tube 13 that connects the pressure change chamber 11 and the ink jet head 6, for example, by changing the internal volume of the pressure change chamber 11, ink can be taken in and out from the tip of the needle 4. can. Furthermore, valve 1
2 has a shape in which the internal volume hardly changes even when opened and closed.

In B, the arrow 21 is on the ink cartridge 1.
This figure shows the situation in which the needle is inserted in the direction of . At this time, the valve 12 is first closed to prevent the ink from flowing into the ink head 6. It also operates to eliminate inflow from the pressure change chamber 11. When the needle 4 comes into contact with the rubber 2, pressure change chamber 1 is caused by frictional resistance.
The elastic body 16 of 1 is strained and deformed into a concave shape 17, and the ink inside 18 is transferred from the state 23, which is not filled with ink when there is no strain, as shown in FIG. When the ink 25 is filled as shown in FIG. With this method, when the needle is connected to the ink cartridge 1, the ink is discharged from the tip of the needle while the needle is being connected, so that the connection can be made without leaving any air bubbles inside the needle. After coupling, the elastic body 16 returns to its normal state by removing the pressing force in the direction of the arrow 21. At this time, the internal pressure becomes negative, but ink is replenished from the ink cartridge 1 to balance the internal pressure, and then the valve 12 is opened and connected to the ink jet head 6.

C shows the situation when the needle 4 is released from the ink cartridge 1. First, the valve 13 is closed to cut off the connection with the ink jet head 6. Subsequently, when the pressure change chamber 11 is moved in the direction of the arrow 22, the elastic body 16 becomes a convex shape 19 and sucks the ink 20 inside the cartridge. In this state, the needle 4 is deformed as 26 in E, and the amount of ink 29 in the pressure change chamber increases. When the needle is detached from the rubber 2, the elastic body 16 returns to its normal position and the ink 29 is pushed out from the needle 4. In this situation, even if the ink does not reach the end face of the needle 4 as shown in 30, the elastic body 16 that has been deformed into a convex part returns to its normal position, and the convex part 26 returns to its normal position as shown in 28, and the amount of change in 29 is reduced to 30. The ink is pushed out from the ink position 27 to the end face of the needle 4 as shown in 27.

As described above, according to the present invention, in order to prevent air bubbles from being mixed in when replacing an ink cartridge, the ink cartridges are combined while pushing out the ink when inserted, and also when the ink cartridge is removed, the ink is always pushed out after removal so that the ink is not in contact with the end surface of the needle. To enable smooth cartridge replacement by operating the ink cartridge as if the ink cartridge has been reliably reached, and ensuring that the ink cartridge is replaced without causing any air bubbles.

In the present invention, a pressure changing chamber is provided as an example of the embodiment, but the internal volume of the connected ink supply pipe itself may be changed.

The method of inserting the needle tube may be performed in one operation or in multiple steps.

Furthermore, since the valve and needle tip operate in conjunction with each other,
It is best to connect them using an interlocking drive system to prevent malfunction.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described with a small change in internal volume, depending on the situation, the change in internal volume may be quite large during initial insertion. Furthermore, although the range of inkjet printers is optimal for ink-on-demand type,
It can be applied to other methods and can be used with all other devices, machines, instruments, etc. that use ink.
It does not limit the scope of the claims.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIGS. 1a, b, and c are examples of conventional methods. 1... Ink cartridge, 2... Rubber, 3...
...Absorbent material, 4... Needle, 6... Ink jet head, 7, 8... Ink, 9... Air bubble, 10...
finger. Figure 2 A, B, C, D, and H show an embodiment according to the present invention. 11...pressure change chamber, 12...valve, 13...
...Ink tube, 14, 15...Status, 16...
...elastic body, 18...interior, 17, 19...state,
20...Ink, 21,22...Arrow, 23,2
4, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30... indicates the status.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a method for supplying ink from an ink cartridge to the head of an inkjet recording device, which is equipped with a nozzle for ejecting ink and a pressure chamber that communicates with the nozzle and applies a pressure change to the ink, at least when the ink is supplied, the internal volume does not change. an ink supply means having a narrow ink flow path formed on the side connected to the ink cartridge is provided between the head and the ink cartridge, reducing the internal volume of the ink supply means and narrowing the ink flow path. An inkjet recording apparatus characterized in that after pushing out the ink in the ink flow path to the tip of the ink flow path, the ink flow path is connected to the ink cartridge, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the head. Ink supply method.