JPS6313749A - Ink-supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate fitting an ink supply source to an ink-supplying system and prevent leakage of an ink from occurring at the time of fitting or replacing the ink supply source, by a method wherein a valve part which is opened when fitting an ink head to the ink supply source and is closed when separating the ink head from the ink supply source is provided in an ink-supplying passage in the ink head. CONSTITUTION:With a bank casing 1 fitted to a front casing 4, the tip of a piston 15 pushes to open a valve 13, and is displaced until it comes into contact with a valve stopper 14, whereby an ink inlet port 4A is opened. With further insertion, the piston 15 is retracted against a return spring 17, thereby opening an ink-supplying hole of a cover 3, so that an ink 19 in a bag 2 flows through an ink inlet passage 18 into an ink pool part 20 in the front casing 4, and is ejected through an ink-ejecting port. When the tip of the piston 15 is separated from the valve 13, a negative pressure is developed in the interior of a spongy elastic member 9, and the ink inlet port 4A is closed by the valve 13. Simultaneously, the piston 15 is pushed by the return spring 17, thereby closing the ink- supplying hole of the cover 3. Accordingly, leakage of the ink is prevented from occurring at the time of fitting or replacing the back casing 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Applications] The present invention relates to an ink supply device, and more particularly to an ink supply device suitable for use in inkjet printers that use ink as a recording material.

[Prior Art] Conventional inkjet printers include a head that ejects ink onto a recording medium and an ink supply device that serves as an ink supply source for the head, which are separately provided at separate locations, with a gap between them. Some are connected via an ink supply system including a communication member such as a supply pipe.

However, such inkjet printers generally require long supply pipes, which poses problems in that not only is the piping complicated, but the ink is likely to evaporate and air may be mixed in.

In contrast, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 60-91236 an ink jet printer in which a head and an ink supply source are formed as an integral member. This special request was made in the 1980s! No. 11236 not only eliminates the above-mentioned problems such as ink evaporation and air entrainment, but also has the advantage that the ink supply system including the head and ink supply source is easy to handle because no piping is required. If ink consumption progresses and the amount of ink remaining in the ink supply source becomes small or empty, the head, which is more expensive than the components that make up the ink supply source such as the ink storage bag, will also be replaced at the same time. , there was a cost problem.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Therefore, the ink supply source can be attached to the head so that an integrated assembly is formed in the attached state, and only the ink supply source is connected when the ink is consumed. It may be possible to make them exchangeable. However, in such a case, when connecting the head and the ink supply source, it is necessary to ensure ease of installation, prevention of ink leakage during installation or replacement, and reliable ink communication in the installed state. These are various points that need to be ensured even when connecting the ink supply system and the ink supply source in a printer in which the ink supply source and the head are separately provided at a position separated from each other.

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is designed to be easily installed in a head or an ink supply system leading to the head, prevent ink leakage during installation or replacement, and ensure reliable ink communication when installed. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink supply device that can obtain the status.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink supply device that can reduce the running cost of an inkjet printer.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an ink supply path of an ink head that can be attached to an ink supply source, which is opened by attachment to the ink supply source, and is separated from the ink supply source. The invention is characterized in that it is provided with a valve portion that can be closed by doing so.

[Function] In the present invention, since a valve is provided in the ink supply path of the ink head that opens only when the ink head is installed, the ink supply hole of the ink head is blocked by the valve when replacing the ink supply source, and the ink supply hole of the ink head is blocked from the front case side. Prevents ink leakage and air inclusion.

〔Example] Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of one embodiment of the present invention. Here, 1 is a back case that constitutes an ink supply section of the inkjet recording apparatus, and is also referred to as an ink cartridge. Reference numeral 2 denotes an elastic bag housed in the back case 1 and filled with ink in advance, and is also referred to as an ink tank. , 3 are attached to the opening side of the bag body 2, and the back case 1
It is a substantially flat cover fixed to one end of the.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a substantially flat front case that is detachably attached to the cover 3 side of the back case 1 and receives ink from the bag body 2 inside the back case 1, and is also referred to as an ink head. Reference numeral 5 denotes a substrate fixed to the front side of the front case 1, 6 a head plate fixed above the substrate 5, and 7 a plurality of ink discharge ports opened in the head plate 6. The ink introduced into the front case 4 is ejected from the ink ejection lower toward the recording medium as flying γ11 droplets in response to a drive signal applied to the substrate 5.

FIG. 2 shows the external appearance of the above-mentioned embodiment device separated. Here, 8 is a cylindrical receiving part integrally formed to protrude from the front side of the cover 3, and 9 is a tubular sponge-like elastic member fixed to the inner wall of this receiving part 8. Also, I
O is an ink supply pipe protruding from the back side of the front case 4 mentioned above. When installed, this ink supply tube IO is inserted into the cylinder of the above-mentioned receiving portion 8 and is airtightly fitted by the sponge-like elastic member 9. Reference numeral 11 designates a plurality of positioning and locking bottles protruding from and fixed at predetermined positions on the back surface (mounting side surface) of the front case 4, and a bottle holder formed on the outer edge of the cover 3 is fitted into the groove 12.

FIG. 3 shows a cross section of the above-described embodiment device in a mounted state.

Here, 13 is a plate-shaped or bowl-shaped valve provided in the supply path of the ink supply pipe 1O of the front case 4, and can close the opening of the ink supply pipe 1O from the inside. 14
is a valve stopper fixed at a predetermined position in the supply path. Reference numeral 15 designates a piston that is slidably disposed within the receiving portion 8 of the cover 3 of the back case 2;
It has 6.

Reference numeral 17 denotes a coil-shaped return spring disposed on the back side of the piston 15, which presses the piston 15 toward the valve 13 to close the ink flow passage 15 of the piston 15.

In the above configuration, when the back case (ink cartridge) 2 is inserted into the front case 4, the tip of the piston 15 pushes open the valve 13 and is displaced until it comes into contact with the valve stopper 14, as shown in FIG. The ink inlet 4^ on the case 4 side is opened. After that, when the back case 2 is further inserted, the piston 1 resists the return spring 17.
5 retreats, the ink supply hole of the cover 3 that had been blocked by the piston 15 is opened, and an ink inflow path 18 is formed.

As a result, the ink 19 in the bag body 2 passes through the ink inflow path 8 and enters the ink reservoir 20 in the front case 4.
and is ejected from the ink ejection lower (see FIG. 1).

FIG. 4 shows a cross section of the above-mentioned embodiment device in a separated state.

When the cover 3 is pulled out from the inserted state shown in FIG. 3 and separated from the front case 4, it becomes as shown in FIG. The inside becomes negative pressure, and the ink inlet 4A is closed by the valve 13. At the same time, the return spring 17 pushes the piston 15 and closes the ink supply hole of the cover 3.

In this way, when replacing an ink tank (ink cartridge), the valve 13 in the supply path of the front case 4 can prevent ink from flowing out and air from flowing in (mixing in) from the front case 4 side (head side). Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the holes in the ink inflow paths on both the front case 4 and cover 3 sides are closed in the separated state, ink outflow on the cover 3 side is also prevented.

In the above-described embodiments, the present invention is applied to an ink supply source that is directly connected to a head. Of course, the present invention can be applied very effectively and easily even when using an ink supply source.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the present invention, since a valve is provided in the ink supply path of the ink head that opens only when the ink head is installed, the ink supply hole of the ink head is blocked by the valve when replacing the ink supply source. This has the effect of preventing ink from flowing out from the front case side and air from entering.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is easy to install the head or the ink supply system leading to the head, and there is no ink leakage during installation or replacement, and a reliable ink communication state can be ensured when the head is installed. An ink supply device can be realized.

Furthermore, when the present invention is directly coupled to a head, there is no need to replace the head, so the running cost of the inkjet printer can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the embodiment in Fig. 1 in a separated state, and Fig. 3 is a side cross section showing the embodiment in Fig. 1 in a mounted state. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a state in which the front case and cover of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are separated. 61... Back case, 2... Bag body, 3... Cover, 4. ...Front case, 5.. Board, 9.. sponge-like elastic member, 10.. ink supply pipe, 13.. valve, 14.. valve stopper, 15.. piston, 17..・Return spring, ]8... Ink inflow path. Engraving of the drawings (no changes to the content) The present invention is a little different from the famine illusion, page 1, Azumaaki Kariri's current situation, gray state, Shiba arrival j A + food ρ Figure 2 procedural amendment (October 22, 1985 #Ko-cho-cho-no-miya 1, Indication of the case Patent application No. 158261/1988 2, Name of the invention Ink supply device 3, Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Patent applicant (100 ) Canon Co., Ltd. 4, Agent address: 3rd floor, Seiko Building 6, 5-1-31 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107 Telephone: (03)589-1201 (Representative) Mr.
Name (7748) Patent Attorney Yoshi Tani -6, Drawing plan subject to amendment 7, Contents of amendment

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ink supply device characterized in that an ink supply path of an ink head that can be attached to an ink supply source is provided with a valve portion that opens when the ink supply source is attached and closes when the ink supply source is separated.