JPS6322655A - Ink feeder of ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate the necessity for installation of an ink cartridge on a carriage, by a method wherein the ink cartridge part of an ink jet printer is independently stored in the title printer and when the ink in the carriage is emptied, diluted solution is supplied by connecting the ink discharge port on the ink cartridge side to the ink suction port on the carriage side. CONSTITUTION:Printing is carried out under a state in which a carriage 210 exists at a home position and when the ink tank in the carriage is almost empty, the carriage approaches the left end. When the carriage stops at the position where the needles of ink suction ports 212, 213 have broken through discharge ports (rubber) 205, 206, the pump in the cartridge tank is actuated and a fixed amount of ink or diluted solution is sent out. When a fixed amount thereof flows into the ink tank in the cartridge, the carriage starts printing. When the injection solution is diluted solution, mixing is made sufficiently by vibrating the carriage several times (short, quick reciprocating motion) before start of printing.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Five-four ratios! The present invention provides an ink supply device for an inkjet printer;
More specifically, the present invention relates to a device for supplying ink into the carriage from an ink cartridge provided on the printer main body side in a carriage scanning charge control type inkjet printer.

Figure 4 shows an example of the configuration of a conventional inkjet printer. In Figure 1, 121 is a carriage on which an inkjet head is mounted.

122 is a carriage harness, and 123 is a platen.

124 is a knob, 125 is a high voltage power supply, 126 is an ink supply system, 127 is an ink cartridge, 128 is an ink supply and collection tube, 129 is a control POB (vertical installation),
130 is a power source, and 131 is a fan, which, as is well known, scans the carriage 121 in the direction of the arrow while ejecting ink droplets from an inkjet head, and prints on the recording paper on the platen 123. However, in the above conventional inkjet printer, (a) the ink supply system is located at the rear, so the ink supply system and the control system are close to each other, and the control system is contaminated by ink leaked from the ink supply system. There is a risk of failure.

(b) The distance between the ink supply system and the carriage is long, and the ink supply and recovery tubes are long, making it difficult to arrange them.

(C) Since the ink supply tube passes under the platen, workability during maintenance of the ink supply system is poor.

(d) There is no complete protective means between the ink supply system and the control system to prevent ink leaked from the ink supply system from flowing into the control system.

(e) In an inkjet printer, the user replaces the ink cartridge, but if the ink supply system is located at the rear of the printer, the following problems arise. In other words, the top of the printer is usually used to attach options such as a tractor feed, auto sheet feeder, and letter guide, but since the ink cartridges are located at the rear of these options, the user has to avoid them when replacing them, making it difficult to replace them. Bad sex.

(f) When aiming at downsizing and cost reduction as a printer, if the ink supply system is placed at the rear of the printer, the electrical component POB will be separated and the number of POBs will increase, leading to an increase in cost.

(g) In a normal printer, as shown.

The cooling fan is placed on the rear side of the printer, and a ventilation window is provided on the opposite side. Because of this arrangement, the cooling effect of the fan becomes worse.

(h) Generally, in inkjet printers,
Ink particles become unstable at low or high temperatures, so in conventional printers, a heater is provided just in front of the head to raise the ink temperature at low temperatures. However, since no measures have been taken against high temperatures, it is necessary to devise measures to avoid placing the pump near high-temperature parts as much as possible; be.

5 and 6 were developed to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, and FIG. 5 shows a plan configuration diagram thereof, and FIG. 6 shows a front view thereof. Power supply POB
132 is a cover opening, and other parts having the same functions as those in FIG. 4 are given the same reference numerals as in FIG. 4. In this example, as shown in Figure 1.

Ink supply system 126. The ink cartridge 127 and the like are disposed at the front of the printer, thereby solving the drawbacks of the prior art as described above and achieving the following effects.

(a) Even if ink leaks from various parts of the ink supply system,
Since the ink supply system and the printer main body are separated, ink does not adhere to the control system and cause a malfunction.

(b) Since the ink pressurizing pump and the carriage are close to each other, the tube for supplying ink to the carriage (head) or collecting ink from the gutter can be short, and bending or breaking due to the tube arrangement can be avoided. This can prevent damage caused by damage and improve reliability. In addition, by making the tube shorter, the amount of moisture in the ink inside the tube evaporates when the printer is stopped for a long period of time is reduced, and the amount of air that permeates into the tube is reduced accordingly. changes quickly and becomes stable.

(C) In inkjet printers, the ink supply system is a precision component and requires cleaning, assembly, etc. in an extremely clean environment, so it is a separate process from the printer itself. By placing the ink supply system in front of the printer, you can easily attach the ink supply system to the printer body after assembling and adjusting the printer body, and at the same time, you can easily remove just the ink supply system, making it easier to work. , maintainability is improved.

(d) As mentioned above, in an inkjet printer, the user replaces the ink cartridge;
In this case, if the ink cartridge is located at the front of the printer, the ink cartridge can be easily replaced.

(e) In general, inkjet printers generate less heat at the front than at the rear, and the temperature rise at the front is due to heat escaping through the open window of the platen.

Considering the problem of ink droplet instability at high temperatures, it is advantageous to locate the ink supply system at the front of the printer.

(f) When aiming to downsize the printer, the width dimension is determined depending on the paper used, but the depth dimension may be reduced. In that case, it is more advantageous to have a horizontally elongated structure than a rectangular or vertically elongated structure. In particular, in serial printers, the main body is the platen, so
Since it is divided into front and rear parts with the platen as a boundary, a horizontally elongated configuration is advantageous for miniaturization, and arranging the ink supply system at the front of the platen is advantageous for this horizontally elongated configuration.

However, since the above-mentioned inkjet printer performs supply and recovery using a carriage harness, there are problems in terms of reliability such as concerns about durability, increased cost, and contamination of air bubbles. Furthermore, since the ink supply system and the carriage are connected by a harness with an ink tube, there are many maintenance problems.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining another example of an inkjet printer previously proposed by the present applicant. In the figure, 1 is a platen, 2.2' is a pressure roller, 3 is a deflector, and 4 is a paper Pale roller, 5 is v! , 8 papers. The recording paper 5 is inserted from behind the platen 1 by hand or by an automatic sheet feeder, passes between the deflector and the platen, and is ejected in the direction of the arrow. Reference numeral 6 denotes side plates. There are one side plate 6 on each side, and a main guide shaft 7 is fixedly inserted between the two side plates. Similarly, a stay 8 is also passed through the side plates 6. 9 is the main guide, 10 is the rear guide.

11 is a plate-shaped carriage base, the main guide 9 and the rear guide IO are made of resin, and the carriage base 1
A main guide 9 and a rear guide 1o are fixed to a carriage base 11 with screws. 12 is a timing belt (with teeth), and one of the 6 pulleys at both ends, which are endlessly fixed to both side plates 6.6, is an idler, which applies tension to the belt 12 to remove the walnuts. The other pulley is a motor pulley. The other end 9' of the main guide 9 has the same shape as the tooth profile of the belt, and the tooth portions of the main guide 9 are in close contact with the carriage base 11, thereby preventing the belt from slipping. When a carriage motor (not shown) (for scanning) rotates, the belt 12 rotates, and the main guide 9 and rear guide 10 move along the main guide shaft 7 and stay 8.
A carriage base 11, which is integrally fixed to 0, reciprocates. In the figure, the part below the carriage base 11 constitutes a carriage scanning system.

In addition, although not shown, there are sensors and sensor plates that determine the start position and home position. Furthermore, a carriage-mounted ink supply system (hereinafter referred to as "ink supply system") is mounted on the carriage base 11.

There is also an ink supply system (simply referred to as an ink supply system), which is constructed integrally and is attached to and detachable from the carriage space 11 with screws. The ink supply system is roughly divided into four plate-shaped substrates 13, 14, 15, and 16 stacked together, and the substrates are fixed to each other by screws or ultrasonic welding. , a liquid chamber, etc. are provided, and each unit, such as a valve, a solenoid, a head, etc., is mounted on this stacked body.

The explanation will be given below in the order of the ink flow paths.

Reference numeral 17 denotes the ink cartridge body, which is approximately square in shape. This ink cartridge 17 has a space 18, and in this space there are a bellows-shaped (polyethylene thin plate) ink tank 19A and a diluent tank 19B, and each tank contains new ink and diluted liquid independently. It's in. The diluent tank 19B contains pure water (containing a preservative) to be replenished to lower the viscosity when the viscosity of the ink in use rises above a predetermined value. The upper part of each bellows has a stepped portion, and a spring 20, 21 is inserted between the stepped portion and the stepped portion of the ink cartridge 17. This spring usually compresses the bellows.

It works by pushing the liquid in the tank downwards. The other end of the bellows has a narrow part 22.23, and a rubber bushing 24.25 is attached to the tip of the bellows so as to enclose the narrow part 22.23.

The narrow openings 22 and 23 are in close contact with the bushes 24 and 25 to prevent ink from leaking.

There are boxwoods 26 and 27 in the middle of the bushing, which completely fit into the ink cartridge main body 17 to prevent the bellows from coming off (moving) when the cartridge is installed. 28 and 29 are hollow needles made of stainless steel, and the tips are sharp so that the bushings can be easily inserted into them. When you pull out the cartridge body 17, the bushing 24.2
5, and as soon as it comes out of the hollow needle 28.29, the opening of the bushing 24.25 closes due to its rubber elasticity, so ink will not drip out.Also, when inserting the ink cartridge 17, make the bushing hollow. By inserting the needle into the hollow needle, the ink inside the bellows will be transferred to the lower end 30.3 of the hollow needle.
It flows up to 1. The lower end 30° 31 is in contact with the rubber sheet 32, and no further ink flows through the substrate 14.
An ink liquid chamber (tank) 41 is dug in, and a slight space is provided above the tank 41. This is to improve the mixing of the diluted liquid and to enlarge the opening for venting air to the gutter, as will be described later. 42 and 43 are the upper limit line and lower limit line of ink, and the ink detection electrode rod 45 is placed at a height equal to the lower limit line 43.
is the provision. 46 is a lead wire for detection.

Next, ink replenishment will be explained. When the ink in the tank 41 is between the lines 42 and 43, the ground electrode 4
7 and the detection electrode 45 are electrically connected by ink, so the resistance value shows a certain value. However, the consumption of ink increased and
When the ink falls below the line No. 3, the electrical connection between these electrodes is lost and the resistance value becomes high. This determines that the ink has run out and replenishes the ink. In other words, the detector 45 has one detector only in the ink liquid chamber 41.
When the ink level falls below the detection line 43, the resistance value between the detection electrode 45 and the ground electrode 47 becomes a much larger value than when the ink level is above the detection line 42, and this resistance change is detected. As a result, under the control of the CPU (not shown), the ink is out for a certain period of time.
The new ink supply valve is opened and a certain amount of new ink in the bellows 19A is inserted into the ink chamber 41.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of replenishing ink. To replenish ink, first, the solenoid 48 is energized. Then, the actuator 49 rotates around the fulcrum 51 to release the pressure on the valve seat 32 and normally release the spring 5.
(the valve seat 32 is pressed against the hollow needle 28), the ink in the bellows flows down with the help of internal pressure, and
Go through it and fall into the tank from 53. The solenoid 48 is energized for a time corresponding to the ink height changing from the position of line 43 to the position of line 42, and then.

When the current is turned off, the valve seat 32 is brought into close contact with the hollow needle 28 by the spring 50, preventing the ink from flowing down and stopping the ink supply. If the resistance value between the detection electrode 45 and the ground electrode 47 does not decrease after a certain period of time has passed, that is, if the ink chamber 41 is not filled with ink, it is determined that the ink in the bellows 19A has run out. Even if a large amount of diluent remains in the diluent bellows 19B, the new ink and diluent integrated cartridge 17 is replaced with a new one.

When replenishing diluted liquid, the increase in viscosity is detected by a method such as pressure increase detection, and the bellows 19 is activated based on the detection signal.
The valve leading from B to the ink chamber 41 is opened, and the diluted liquid in the other bellows, that is, the bellows 19B, flows into the ink chamber 41.The diluted liquid is normally not conductive, so it is used to detect the remaining amount. It is difficult to install a sensor, but as mentioned above, if you provide a diluent in the cartridge that is integrated with the new ink, you only need one sensor, and at least replace the diluent at every ink replacement cycle. This eliminates mold growth and improves reliability. The solenoid 48 is provided separately for ink and diluent, and by opening the solenoid for the diluent, the diluted liquid is dropped from the pipe 53 into the tank 41 in the same way as described above. The liquid will spread on the liquid surface, but in order to mix it quickly, it is best to move the carriage from side to side.

Next, the path of ink within the tank will be explained. The ink coming out of the liquid chamber 41 passes through the first filter 54 and rises once through the conduit 56 and enters the second filter 58 through the conduit 57. 55.59 is a rubber grommet. The reason why the first filter 54 enters the second filter 58 from the top to the bottom is to serve as an air trap. In other words, a considerable amount of air is contained in the liquid chamber 41, and as the liquid level fluctuates, this air passes through the first filter 54 and enters the conduit 56. Raise the pipe once and send air to pipe 57.
Air is drawn out from the conduit 60 and only the ink is allowed to pass through the second filter 58 . Note that the pipe line 60 and the liquid chamber 41 are connected by a pipe line 61. The ink that has passed through the second filter 58 rises again from the conduit 62 and descends from the suction port 63 of the pump.

through the inserter 68 and the valve seat 64 . It passes through the valve 65 and enters the liquid chamber 66. 69 is a valve seat on the discharge side, 70 is a valve, and 71 is an inserter. 67 is a diaphragm, 72 is an armature, 73 is a fixing screw for the armature and diaphragm,
74 is a pump solenoid core, and 75 is a coil. Now, when the coil 75 is energized (approximately 50 Hz), the armature 72 is attracted to the iron core side, the diaphragm 67 is bent downward, and the inside of the liquid chamber 66 becomes negative pressure, so that the suction side 6
3. Ink enters the liquid chamber 66 from 6. When the power is turned off, the ink in the liquid chamber 66 is pushed up by the restoring force of the diaphragm 67 and comes out from the ejection side. This is repeated at 50 Hz, and the ink pressure increases. (diaphragm pump). The ink discharged from the discharge side passes through the third filter 76 and enters the accumulator (ACC).

The accumulator is a liquid chamber that takes care of the pulsation of the pump.
77 is a diaphragm, and 78 is a liquid chamber. In other words, pressurized ink enters the liquid chamber 78 from below, but because it enters intermittently, the pressure value changes. This is absorbed by the deflection of the diaphragm 77 to keep the pressure constant.

The third filter 76 is called a main filter, and has the finest mesh, for example, two layers of 3 μm and 710 μl. The ink leaving the accumulator attempts to enter the valve liquid chamber 80 through the conduit 79. In FIG. 7, the valve body 81 is closed because the valve liquid chamber 8o is in the OFF state, and the ink is sealed by the rubber valve 82. In FIG. 9, when an ink jetting command is issued, the valve solenoid 87 is energized and the armature 88 is pulled.
The lever 84 moves around the O-ring 85 in the direction of the arrow, which opens the pipe 79 side and at the same time opens the pipe 92 side (valve E
XT) is closed, ink fills the liquid chamber 80, and then
It pops out from the head through the air pipe 93. 95 is an O-ring that also serves as an ink seal and a fulcrum for vertical adjustment of the head. The head and valve are jointless, and when assembling the head, loosen the screw 96 and attach the flange 9.
After loosening 4 and widening the O-ring 95, insert and remove the head. Thereafter, the screw is tightened to bring the O-ring into close contact with the pipe 93, thereby eliminating the joint and allowing easy replacement.

When stopping ink ejection, the solenoid 87 is de-energized. Then, the return spring 86 moves the lever 84 in the direction opposite to the arrow, resulting in the state shown in FIG. At this time, since the pipe line 92 (EXT) side opens, the valve liquid chamber 80
The ink inside passes through the conduit 83 and is discharged from the conduit 91. At this time.

The screw 89 prevents the ink from flowing out because it may open suddenly, and because the tube diameter is large, there is a risk that the ink inside the head will also be emptied, creating a negative pressure inside the head and drawing air from the nozzle. I'm trying to put some resistance on the road. This is done by controlling the gap between 90 and 97. The ink coming out of the pipe line 91 enters the tank 41. Further, some of the ink leaving the accumulator passes through the conduit 79 to the valve liquid chamber 8o, and some ink passes through the conduit 99 and is released to the outside. The purpose of the conduit 99 is to remove air, etc., measure pressure, and replace ink. By loosening the screw 98, ink, air, etc. are discharged.

100 is a head housing, and the ink that enters through a pipe 93 passes through a final filter (built in the head), and then passes through a pipe 1 in a ceramic helad body 101.
04 and exits from the nozzle 105. 102 is a piezo vibrator, and 103 is a heater. The heater 103 is patterned around the outer circumference of the body, and directly heats the body and heats the ink inside. 106 is a charging electrode, 107 is a cap, and the cap 107 pushes the charging electrode 106. The jetting direction of the head is adjusted using a spring 109 and a screw 108. When the screw 1o8 is turned, the head moves up and down around the O-ring 95, thereby maintaining a constant positional relationship (height) with the regulator 110. Deflection electrode (high voltage side)
, 112 is a deflection electrode (GND). Conventionally, ink that enters the gutter is collected by a collection pump, but in the case of the illustrated example, it falls naturally and enters the ink tank 41.

This eliminates the need for a recovery pump and reduces costs. Reference numeral 113 is a pipe line for collected ink.

According to the above inkjet printer, the control circuit is removed in the inkjet printing process.

All parts of the ink supply system are placed on the carriage, so
The overall size of the printer becomes extremely small, and the disadvantages caused by separation of the movable part and the fixed part are eliminated.

Furthermore, since one function is consolidated in the carriage and the number of parts can be significantly reduced, it is possible to significantly reduce costs. Furthermore, the ink tubes that were conventionally connected by a carriage harness are no longer necessary because the circulation system is configured on the carriage.

A carriage harness can be configured with signal lines and high voltage wires,
Since a flexible tube can be used for the signal line, there are advantages such as a very low cost. However, when the entire ink supply system is installed on the carriage as described above, the entire supply system, including the ink cartridges, is mounted on the carriage, so there are problems with increased speed due to increased weight, and the need for a high-output motor. There are problems such as an increase in cost due to the necessity of the ink cartridge, a large number of replacements due to the small capacity of the ink cartridge (which cannot be increased due to space constraints), and further drawbacks such as increased vibration and noise.

Purpose The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances.
In particular, in charge-controlled inkjet printers, the ink cartridge part of the inkjet printer is housed separately in the main body, and when the ink in the carriage is empty, the ink discharge port on the ink cartridge side is connected to the ink suction port on the carriage side. The pressurized ink is supplied as a diluent into the carriage, thereby eliminating the need for an ink cartridge on the carriage.Furthermore, the ink cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body, and it also has a supply pump. The purpose of this design is to allow tube piping to be installed up to the connecting portion, and to allow the placement of the cartridge to be arbitrarily selected.

Structure In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes an ink cartridge containing ink or a diluent fixed in a printer main body, an ink discharge port on the ink cartridge side, and an ink suction port on the carriage side. The ink discharge port and the ink suction port are connected by an ink empty in the carriage, and the ink or diluent in the ink cartridge is supplied to the carriage side. Hereinafter, an explanation will be given based on one embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention improves the disadvantages of carriage-mounted inkjet printers, and reduces the number of replacements of the ink cartridge by increasing the capacity of the ink cartridge, and also reduces the weight by removing the ink cartridge from the carriage. This makes it possible to reduce the weight and significantly reduce the size, reduce costs, reduce size, increase speed, and has an optimal configuration especially for color production, which requires multiple supply systems.

Furthermore, the present invention has an ink supply system mounted on the carriage, and a circulation system configured on the carriage as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8.
This method can be applied to the inkjet printer shown in the figure, but cannot be applied to the printers shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, which have a recovery system on the printer main body side. That is, the inkjet printer shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 has an ink supply system (supply 2 recovery pump) as described above.

valves, ink cartridges) are fixed to the main body, pressurized ink passes onto the carriage through the carriage harness, and unused ink enters the collection pump again from the gutter via the collection tube, the disadvantages of which are mentioned above. It is as follows. Also.

The printer shown in Figures 7 and 8 is a carriage-mounted type that eliminates the carriage harness, greatly improving reliability, but on the other hand, the weight increases, and the printer shown in Figures 4 to 6 In the previous printer, the carriage weight was about 200g, but it has increased about three times as much. This also affects control difficulties, noise, vibration, etc. at high speeds.

Since the ink cartridge is placed on the carriage, space is limited, and the limit is approximately 15 cc each for the diluent and ink. Conventionally, the capacity is about 60cc, so this is 1/4 of the capacity, and the frequency of replacement is increasing. In order to solve these problems, in the present invention, only the cartridge is placed on the main body side, and other ink supply systems are provided on the carriage, thereby reducing the size and weight of the carriage, and solving the above problems. By placing the cartridge on the main body side, it is possible to increase the capacity and extend the lifespan.

Fig. 1 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan view. an ink cartridge having a liquid;
202 is an ink tank and ink pressure pump unit, 203
204 is an ink feeding tube, 204 is an ink dilution liquid feeding tube, 205 is an ink discharge port, and 206 is an ink dilution liquid discharge port, all of which are attached to the main body of the printer. 21o is a carriage, 211 is a carriage 210
212 is an ink suction port;
213 is an ink diluent inlet.

214 is a valve part, 215 is a pump part, 216 is an inkjet head, 217 is a charging electrode, 218 is a deflection electrode, 219 is a gutter, and 22o is a platen, which, as is well known, jets ink droplets from the inkjet head 21G and also serves as a carriage 210 in the direction of the arrow along the carrier axis 211, and the ejected ink droplets are transferred to the charging electrode 2.
17, the deflection electrode 218 is charged according to the printing information signal.
At that load 1! The ink droplets are deflected according to the amount and printed on the recording paper on the platen 220, while ink droplets that are not used for printing are allowed to travel straight without being charged or deflected and are captured and collected in the gutter 219.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the carriage 210 is in the home position. When printing is performed in this state and the ink tank in the carriage becomes nearly empty, the empty sensor is activated and the carriage approaches the left end.

The needles of the ink suction ports 212 and 213 are the discharge ports (rubber) 20
5. The left and right end position sensors of the carriage operate at the position where 206 is squeezed, and when the carriage stops, the pump inside the cartridge tank operates and pumps out a fixed amount of ink or diluent. When a certain amount of ink flows into the ink tank in the cartridge (in response to a pump stop signal), the carriage moves to the right again and starts printing.

If the injection liquid is a diluted liquid, shake the carriage several times (small back and forth movements) to mix well before starting printing. In this way, the ink or diluent in the cartridge is injected into the carriage. In the illustrated example, the connection part is provided at the left end, but there is no problem with the right end, or the ink and diluent can be separated on the left end and the diluent on the right end. be. Also, the ink cartridges 201, 202 side and the ejection port 2o5゜206
By connecting the ink cartridges with tubes 203 and 204, the ink cartridge can be placed in a location where it can be easily replaced by the user, and there are fewer restrictions on placement, and by fixing the feed pump to the main body, it can be used for a long period of time.

All you have to do is replace the ink cartridge.

FIG. 3 shows an application of the above inkjet printer to a color inkjet (drum-wound type) in which ink discharge ports 205, 206 and ink suction ports 212, 213 are provided for each of YMCB colors. , making small-sized color inkjet possible.

Kazuo Hiro: As is clear from the above description, the present invention is compact, lightweight, has low noise, low vibration, and has high speed.

Cost reduction, easier cartridge replacement, longer life,
There are advantages such as the ability to miniaturize the color configuration.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a main part configuration diagram for explaining an embodiment of an inkjet printer according to the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan configuration diagram, and Fig. 3 is an example of the case where the present invention is applied to a color inkjet printer. 4 to 9 are diagrams for explaining an example of a conventional inkjet printer. 200... Frame of the printer body, 2o1... Ink cartridge, 2o2... Pump and ink tank, 203, 204... Tube, 205, 206...
...Ink discharge port, 21o...Carriage, 212゜213...Ink suction port, 216...Head, 21
7... Charge electrode, 218... Deflection electrode. Figure l Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) An ink cartridge containing ink or diluent is fixedly provided in a printer main body, and has an ink discharge port on the ink cartridge side and an ink suction port on the carriage side, and when the ink in the carriage is empty, the ink An ink supply device for an inkjet printer, characterized in that an ejection port and an ink suction port are connected to each other, and ink or diluent in the ink cartridge is supplied to a carriage side. (2) The inkjet according to claim (1), wherein the ink discharge port and the ink suction port are connected to one or both of the left and right ends of the reciprocating motion of the carriage. Printer ink supply device. (3) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer as set forth in claim (1), wherein the connection between the ink discharge port and the ink suction port is outside the carriage travel range during printing. (4) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer according to claim (1), characterized in that the printer is provided with an ink pressurizing means for feeding pressurized ink into the carriage. (5) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer according to claim (1), wherein the pressurized ink is supplied by a spring means. (6) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer according to claim (1), wherein the pressurized ink is supplied by a feed pump. (7) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer according to claim (1), characterized in that the ink cartridge and the ink ejection section are connected by a pipe material such as a pipe. (8) The ink supply device for an inkjet printer according to claim (1), wherein the ink supply unit is fixed to the printer main body, and only the ink cartridge is removable.