JPS634952A - Ink supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the mounting of the title apparatus to an ink supply system and to prevent the leakage of ink at the times of mounting and detachment, by mounting a hollow member provided in a protruded state in order to guide the ink penetrated and received in a receiving member storing the ink and arranging an ink absorbing member in the vicinity of the part where the hollow member is provided in the protruded state. CONSTITUTION:In a state immediately after the leading end part T of an ink supply pipe 20 is inserted in an ink supply pipe receiving part 40, the ink supply pipe 20 does not yet reach a laminated seal film 34 and ink 36 is stored in an ink storege bag body 16 as it is. An ink absorbing body 9 is arranged around the protruded part of the ink supply pipe 20 present on the back surface side of a printing head part 8, for example, in a circular state. When the leakage of the ink 36 passing between the outside of the ink supply pipe 20 and the inside of the ink supply pipe receiving part 40 is generated at the time of mounting, the ink 36 is effectively caught by the ink absorbing body 9. Even when the printing head part 8 is pulled off from an ink cartridge 12 at the time of the replacement of said cartridge part 12, the ink 36 remaining in the outer peripheral part of the ink supply pipe transmits the ink supply pipe 20 to be effectively caught by the ink absorbing body.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (hereinafter referred to as Nahaku) ゛3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink supply device, and more specifically, is applied to an inkjet printer that uses ink as a recording material. The present invention relates to a suitable ink supply device.

[Prior Art] Conventional inkjet printers include a head that ejects ink onto a recording medium and an ink supply source for the head, which are separately provided at separate locations, and a supply pipe or the like is used to communicate between them. There is one that is connected via an ink supply system including member i.

However, such inkjet printers generally require long supply pipes, which not only creates complications in piping, but also tends to cause ink evaporation and air infiltration.

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 Japanese Patent Application No. 60-91236 not only eliminates the above-mentioned problems such as ink evaporation and air entrainment, but also makes it easy to handle the ink supply system including the head and ink supply source since no piping is required. On the other hand, when ink consumption progresses and the amount of ink remaining in the ink supply source becomes small or empty, the ink storage bag etc.
Since the head, which is more expensive than the members constituting the ink supply source, is also replaced at the same time, there is 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 the ink supply system and the ink supply source are connected in a printer in which the ink supply source and the head are separately provided at separate positions.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink supply device that does not cause ink leakage when attached to or removed from a head or an ink supply system leading to the head.

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 includes a hollow member that protrudes to penetrate into a storage member that stores ink and guide the stored ink. , an ink absorbing member is disposed near the protruding portion of the hollow member.

[Operation] That is, according to the present invention, when the hollow member enters the housing member or is removed from the housing member, ink leaking along the outer surface of the hollow member is absorbed by the ink absorbing member. Become. Therefore, it is possible to prevent accidents caused by ink leakage into equipment to which the ink supply device is applied.

[Example] FIG. 1 is an external view showing the entire ink ejection section of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

In this figure, 2 is a head plate including a plurality of ink ejection ports 4, and a substrate on which a six-piece head plate 2 is mounted. Reference numeral 8 denotes the entire print head section including the head plate 2 and the like, and is fixed to the main body of the recording apparatus (not shown) using, for example, bolts.

Reference numeral 12 denotes a replacement ink cartridge section, which is configured to be detachable from the print head section 8 described above. This cartridge section 12 includes a joint cover section 14 configured to fit with an ink supply pipe 20 (explained in FIG. 2) protruding from the print head section 8, and an ink storage bag body 1B.
(indicated by a broken line).

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a separated state of the ink ejection section shown in FIG. 1. The cartridge section 12 can be replaced by inserting or removing the replacement ink cartridge section 12 in the direction indicated by the arrow in this figure. Note that the 20 ink supply pipes shown in this figure are the above-mentioned ink supply pipes, and act as communication pipes for supplying the ink stored in the ink storage bag 16 to the head plate 2. Further, as will be described later, an ink absorber made of a water-supplying material is provided on the rear side of the print head section 8 in the figure around the portion where the ink supply tube 20 is protruded.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of the ink cartridge section 12. In this figure, 30 is a polyethylene thin film, 32
is a thin film of aluminum, and both of them form a flexible laminated film 34 as a body.

This flexible laminated film 34 not only prevents the ink 36 from leaking, but also functions as a sealing film that prevents atmospheric gases from getting mixed into the ink. That is, in order to reinforce the strength of the aluminum thin film 32 and increase its corrosion resistance while taking advantage of the airtightness and flexibility of the aluminum thin film 32, a resin such as polyethylene is used.
It is coated with.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink storage bag 16 is shown sandwiched between the back case 35 and the joint cover 14, and the inside of the bag 16 is always maintained at negative pressure. .

Further, the joint surfaces of the polyethylene thin film 30 and the joint cover 14 are kept in close contact with each other by adhesive or welding.

FIGS. 4(A) and 4(B) show the ink cartridge section 1.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing a membrane rupture state when the printer 2 is attached to the print head section 8. FIG. Here, FIG. 4 (^) shows the ink supply pipe 20.
This shows the state immediately after the tip T of the ink supply tube is inserted into the ink supply tube receiving section 40. As is clear from this figure, in this state, the ink supply pipe 20 has not yet reached the laminated sealing film 34, and the ink 36 remains contained in the bag body 16. In the figure, reference numeral 9 denotes an ink absorber disposed, for example, in a circular shape around the protruding portion of the ink supply tube 8 on the back side of the print head section 20 (see FIG. 7).

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4(B), as the ink cartridge section 12 is pushed forward, the tip T of the ink supply tube 20 penetrates the sealing film 34, and the sealing film comes into contact with the tip T. Only the area can be broken. Thus, the ink 36 is supplied to the head plate 2 (see FIG. 1) via the ink supply pipe 20.
sent to.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the part indicated by arrow A in FIG. 4 (11), and shows a case where ink 36 leaking between the outside of the ink supply pipe 20 and the inside of the ink supply pipe receiving part 40 occurs. It shows. Even if ink leaks during installation, the ink 36 will be effectively collected by the ink absorber 9 as shown by the arrow in the figure, so the ink supply device according to this embodiment can be applied. Accidents caused by ink leaking into the equipment can be reliably prevented.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the print head section 8 removed from the ink cartridge section 12, showing how the ink 36 adhering to the outer surface of the ink supply tube 20 flows. In this way, for example, when replacing the ink cartridge section 12, the print head section 8 can be replaced with the ink cartridge 12.
Even when the ink is pulled out from the ink supply tube 20, the ink 36 remaining on the outer periphery of the ink supply tube 20 travels through the ink supply tube 20 and is effectively collected by the ink absorber 9, thereby preventing accidents caused by ink falling into the device. can definitely be prevented.

As described above and as shown in FIG. 7, the ink absorber 9 can be arranged in a circular shape around the protrusion of the ink supply pipe 20, or, for example, around the protrusion. They may be arranged in a rectangular shape, and the shape is arbitrary.

Furthermore, instead of being provided all around the protrusion, they may be provided partially in the vicinity, and of course the number, location, and shape of the protrusions can be appropriately selected.

Further, in this example, a laminate of aluminum and polyethylene was used as the sealing film provided in the cartridge part, but the laminate of aluminum and polyethylene was used as the sealing film provided in the cartridge part, but the laminate is not limited to this example. Of course, any material can be selected as long as it is a sealing film that can maintain corrosion resistance and airtightness.

Further above, the case where the present invention is applied to an ink supply source that is directly coupled to a head is described;
It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied very effectively and easily even when using an ink supply source connected to an ink supply system including a supply pipe leading to the head.

[Effects of generation i] As explained above, 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 removal. An ink supply device that can ensure reliable ink communication when installed can be realized.

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

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an external view showing the entire ink ejection group of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, Fig. 2 is a view showing the separated state of the ink ejection part shown in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 is an illustration of the ink cartridge part. Figures 4(^) and (B) are sectional views showing the state of membrane rupture when the ink cartridge section is attached to the print head section, and Figures 5 and 6 are diagrams showing the cross-sectional configuration of this embodiment. 7 and 8 are rear views of print heads showing two embodiments of ink absorbers applicable to the present invention. 2...Head plate, 4...Ink discharge port, 6...Substrate, 8...Print head section, 1. ) 9... Ink absorber, 12... Replacement ink cartridge section, 16... Ink storage bag, 18... Tank section, 20... Ink supply pipe, 30... Polyethylene membrane , 32... Aluminum film, 34... Sealing film, 35... Back case, 40... Ink supply tube receiving part. Procedural amendment (method) September 24, 1981

Claims (1)

[Claims] It is characterized by comprising a protruding hollow member for penetrating into a accommodating member that accommodates ink and guiding the accommodated ink, and an ink absorbing member disposed near the protruding portion of the hollow member. Ink supply device.