TW580440B - Conic spiral spring based negative pressure structure for ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed is a conic spiral spring based negative pressure device of an ink cartridge, which provides a mechanism to prevent leakage of ink from a printing head during the non-printing period of the ink cartridge, comprising an ink container and at least a conic spiral spring that can be compressed to the wire diameter thereof. By the operation of the conic spiral spring, a negative pressure is constantly maintained between the ink container and the surrounding atmosphere. In addition, the ink container is provided at one side thereof with an air chamber for in and out flow of surrounding air, which cooperating with an ink chamber provided with suitable negative pressure regulation, achieves a desired value of negative pressure by the variation of volume of the air chamber, compressing the conical spiral spring to cause axial deformation thereof. Since the conical spiral spring can be compressed to a size of the wire diameter, the expandable volume of an air bag can be increased.

Description

580440 V. Description of the invention (1) [Field of the invention] The present invention is a negative pressure structure, especially a negative pressure structure that uses a spring and an air bag design to control the negative pressure of the ink in the ink tank. [Background of the Invention] The key technology of inkjet printing includes the design of inkjet print head (丨 nk_jeth ead), the design of ink channels, the design and assembly of ink cartridges, precision processing and assembly, etc., and the improvement of printing quality has always been The current-rmal bubble) principle of current manufacturers who want to improve is to pass a current through the inkjet—work Φ4 octave _… 4 knives heat to boiling and squeeze from magnetic piezoelectric ceramic printing; and The negative pressure value of the exuding machine is accustomed to the nature of the ink bag. Even if the ink has an ink amount, the shape of the gas and water ejection is made by using the top system. The type of negative species known to 'make the ink surface' is narrow. Effective use of Piezo elec trie, in which the ink ejection force α of the thermal bubble head is equipped with a micro heating element, and the heating element will instantly force the ink to 1 thermal bubble in a short time. The ink is immediately ejected by the ejection of the rapidly expanding bubbles for printing; the other piezoelectric type: when the technology is described, the = negative pressure adjustment is used to form a water storage tank before the ink is used = the ink will not leak out spray Head. The “M concave pressure adjustment device” is mainly used; among them, the use of foamed materials is very high, and the space of the airbag can also be 2. The adaptation rate between kings has been greatly reduced; and the factor technology of the material itself is more difficult to use. There is a very ideal tolerance, and the use of air bag negative pressure 580440 V. Description of the invention (2) The characteristics of the adjustment device are between the two above-mentioned methods, the space occupied by the device itself is not as foam material It is large and easy to manufacture. Generally, the air-intake negative pressure adjustment device is composed of a general compression spring, a pressure plate and an air bag, and a compression spring with an appropriate wire diameter is used to obtain a predetermined negative pressure value. Based on the consideration of sensitivity And the working range of negative pressure is actually quite narrow, it is necessary to increase the number of spring coils so that the close height after compression is relatively increased. Therefore, the minimum compression length of the general compression spring is the total number of turns of the compression spring. With the wire size, the larger the total number of turns of the compression spring, the higher the minimum compression length. Since the changeable space of the airbag is limited by the change of the compression spring, Reduced length is increased, the variation of the stroke of the bag is shortened, the supply amount of the ink decreases, the space is limited to the lateral ink cartridge arrangement, the more significant the impact is more difficult to apply in the large capacity ink cartridge. [Objective and Brief Description of the Invention] The main purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem that the airbag cannot be effectively used, and provide a negative pressure structure that can increase the expansion space of the airbag and improve the negative pressure quality of the ink in the ink cartridge. Another object of the present invention is to solve the problems that the lateral space of the ink cartridge structure is limited and the deformation stroke of the air bag is short. In order to achieve the above purpose, the cone spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge of the present invention is arranged in the ink storage tank to adjust the negative pressure value of the ink, so that the ink does not leak out of the inkjet head when the ink cartridge is not printing. Including an ink-receiving space and at least one conical spring compressible to a wire diameter size, by the action of the conical spring, the ink-receiving space and the external environment have a constant negative pressure value, and

580440 V. Description of the invention (3) One side of the ink holding space can be provided with an air space for the atmosphere to enter and exit to match the appropriate negative pressure adjustment to the ink holding space. Because the conical spring can be compressed to its wire diameter, it can The space where the atmospheric space can be expanded is increased, so the stroke of the negative pressure in the ink ice box can be adjusted by the atmospheric space and the conical spring, so that the negative pressure value between the ink holding space and the external environment is stable, and it can also be used in the ink cartridge The horizontal space on the structure is limited, so that the deformation period of the air bag is short. In addition, in order to reduce the manufacturing cost, the air bag can be formed to form an atmospheric space. [Detailed description of the invention] Please refer to [Figure 1], which is a structural diagram of the negative pressure structure of the cone spring of the present invention. The cone spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge mainly includes an ink holding space 10 and at least one The conical spring 20 has a constant negative pressure value between the ink containing space 10 and the external environment by the action of the conical spring 20. The conical spring negative pressure structure is arranged in the ink storage tank 2 of the ink cartridge 1 to adjust the negative pressure value of the ink, so that when the ink cartridge 1 is not printed, an ink storage hole is formed in the ink ejection hole. The recessed liquid-gas interface in tank 2 prevents the ink from oozing out of the inkjet head. The ideal value of negative pressure is to be controlled in the range of 2-10 inch water column pressure, that is, to provide a slight negative pressure so that the ink will not leak. It is also difficult for the inkjet head to eject ink due to excessive negative pressure. The elastic force of the conical spring 20 is determined by its wire diameter and number of turns. Therefore, the conical spring 20 with an appropriate wire diameter and number of turns can be selected according to the predetermined negative pressure value of the ink holding space 10, and the other At least one conical spring 20 can be arranged in parallel (as shown in [Figure 3]) or in series (as shown in [Figure 4]) to achieve a predetermined negative pressure value of the ink storage tank 2.

580440 、 Explanation of the invention (4) According to the experimental results, the cone-shaped bomb 20 used in the present invention can obtain the relationship curve between the elastic force and the compression as shown in [Figure 5], which represents the compression amount of the cone spring 2 and The elastic force is nearly linear and is the same as a general compression spring, so it has the characteristics of easy control; and a test that has the above-mentioned 1 life and cooperates with an ink-receiving space 10 can be "," the ink-receiving space revealed by Erji The relationship between the negative pressure value and the volume change diagram: Ink = Strict = It can be seen that the negative repeated value and the volume change approximately linearly. Therefore, when the accumulation with the external environment changes A, it can still make m between 10 See ί?: Ί 生The negative pressure value of the hydraulic interface. The product is small, as shown in Le Guang] No, because the spring force of the cross-section cone spring IP cone spring 20 can be applied evenly, it can be used in At least one end is provided with a pressure plate 21 to increase the force application area: as shown in the space 10, the cone spring 20 can be installed in the ink tank, so that the ink tank space η is equal to the valley ink space 10 and the outside world. The pressure of the environment changes. The cone-shaped bomb 4 and the external environment have a constant negative pressure value; The initial position s ^ is a conical compression spring, and its movable stroke can be set (such as [Figure 2 ^ Office shape spring 2 〇 Compression reaches the final position t of the wire diameter size changes at the same time: shape spring; U by The volume production 10 of the ink holding space 10 and the outer ring production 2 compress and deform in the axial direction, so that the volume of the ink holding space 0 changes to a normal negative pressure I, and when the ink holding space i has a branch size. Time, causing the conical spring 20 to be squeezed out of the pressure f '. See also [the first HI 1 secret-丄 々, Q structure can include a toilet g,] No, the cone of the present invention Spring negative

Page 7 /, Atmospheric space 3 0 which borders the world, the big 580440 V. Description of the invention (5) The air space 3 0 can be set on one or both sides of the ink containing space 10, by the atmospheric space The volume change of 30 due to the ingress and egress of the outside air, and at the same time, the conical spring 20 acts to deform in the axial direction, resulting in a constant negative pressure value between the ink containing space 10 and the external environment. When the conical spring 20 is placed in the ink containing space 10, the volume of the atmospheric space 30 changes to the maximum volume, so that the conical spring 20 can be squeezed to the size of the wire diameter. Therefore, the atmospheric space can be increased. Variable stroke of 30. In addition, since the ink in the ink containing space 10 cannot flow into the atmospheric space 30, the proper liquid-gas interface must be formed between the atmospheric space 30 and the ink containing space 10 or a complete seal must be formed. Manufacturing technology and cost can be completed. Therefore, the atmospheric space 30 can be formed by at least one air bag 31 to solve the above problems. One end of the air bag 31 can be fixed on the wall surface of the ink cartridge 1 and has a The air inlet 32, which is connected to the external environment, is used for the external environment gas to enter and exit the air bag 3 1 to change the volume of the air bag 31. The air bag 31 can be fixed in another way. Figure 8], the neck 3 3 attached to the air bag 3 1 is pressed by a tongue piece 3 4 provided on the inner wall of the ink cartridge 1 to be fixed in the ink cartridge 1 and within the neck 3 3 An air duct 3 5 is provided to allow air from the external environment to enter the air bag 31, and this fixing method can be used to prevent the air bag 31 from tearing due to repeated expansion. The conical spring 20 can be set in the atmospheric space 30 to respond to the pressure change in the ink containing space 10 and the atmospheric space 30, so that the ink containing space 10 and the external environment have a constant negative pressure value. Where the conical spring 20 is a conical tension spring, when the conical spring 20 is in the initial position, the ink-containing space 10 reaches a maximum volume, and the volume of the atmospheric space 30 changes.

580440 V. Description of the invention (6) At the same time, the conical spring 20 is stretched and deformed in the axial direction. When the volume of the atmospheric space 30 changes to the maximum volume, the conical spring 20 is brought to the final position; and the cone The initial position of the spring 20 is its wire diameter size, and the ink holding capacity of the ink holding space 10 is the maximum. Referring again to [Figure 1], a supplementary air hole 1 1 may be added to a predetermined position on the wall surface of the ink containing space 10, and when the negative pressure value between the ink containing space 10 and the external environment is increased to destroy the complementary air hole 1 1 Liquid-gas interface (usually before the atmospheric space 30 reaches the maximum volume), the gas enters the ink-containing space 10 through the gas-filling hole 11 to perform the gas-filling action. For the negative pressure structure of the conical spring of the present invention, a preferred embodiment is proposed with the following illustration: [First Embodiment] In this embodiment, the conical spring 20 is set in the ink holding space 10 to respond to The change in pressure between the ink containing space 10 and the external environment causes a constant negative pressure value between the ink containing space 10 and the external environment. Please refer to [Figure 9-1], which is the first embodiment of the present invention A schematic diagram of the structure. The negative pressure structure of the conical spring includes an ink holding space 10, an inner conical spring 20, an air bag 31 provided on the side of the conical spring 20, and an air bag 31 provided between the above components. Pressure plate 21; wherein the conical spring 20 is a conical compression spring, and the neck 33 of the air bag 31 is provided with an air inlet 32 communicating with the external environment, and the air inlet 32 allows outside air to enter Inside the air bag 31, the air bag 31 is expanded; one end of the conical spring 20 is fixed to the wall surface of the ink storage tank 2 and the other end is fixed to the pressure plate 2 1; a predetermined position of the ink storage tank 2 may be set One supplementary air hole 1 1 to match to provide proper negative pressure

580440 V. Description of the invention (7) Adjust the ink storage tank to the maximum volume with the air bag 3 and the conical spring 2 0, as in [9-12] When the ink holding space 1 is within the ink space 1 〇 The negative 'At this time, the air in the ink-capacity space 1 is simultaneously transmitted from the air bag 3' and the air bag 0 to the equilibrium position. When the spring 20 is also uniformly applied to the air bag 3 1 through the pressure plate. When the pressure value of the external environment decreases, the ejection elongation is extended, and the liquid-gas interface of the ink-containing empty outlet is made. [Second embodiment] In this embodiment, there are two air bags 3 1 The second embodiment of the invention includes an ink containing space 1 0 spring 2 0 two sides of the air has an air inlet 32 2 ° 1 volume generation The change is the same as its compression deformation in the axial direction to make the conical spring 20). The ink in 0 is sprayed, and the ink is reduced by the amount of ink in the inkjet. 1 The air inlet 32 enters 3. The pressure plate air bag in contact with 3. 1 squeezes the cone 2. 1 pushes the cone spring 2. When the ink pressure is controlled to decrease, the cone-shaped spring 2 will be formed between the liquid-gas interface of the hole and the outside environment. Please refer to [Article 10] The structure and the cone-shaped elastic bag 3 1; of these two, when the valley ink space 10 is squeezed through the pressure plate 21, 'when the air bag 31 is expanded and squeezed to the size of the wire diameter (the control of the ink head to overcome the predetermined amount of ink ejected by the container head and Raise the negative pressure, and simultaneously enter the air bag 3 1 to expand 2 1 to squeeze the conical spring 2 when the spring 2 0, the reaction force generated by the conical spring 0 is even in the negative pressure ink storage tank 2 Negative depression, while the negative pressure value of the cone-shaped elastic yellow 2 can still maintain the mouth set in the ink-holding space 1-10 [Figure 1]], this type of elastic impulse negative pressure structure is a spring 20 and set in a cone When the air bag 3 is connected, and the amount of ink in the bag is reduced,

Page 10 580440 V. Description of the invention (8) At this time, the gas expands from the volume of the air inlet, while the cone 20 reaches the equilibrium position, 疋 the negative pressure value, and when the two-shaped spring 20 is pressed according to its characteristics Wire diameter size, which can make the airbag stabilized by the negative pressure value of the airbag 31. The airbag can be enlarged until its line reaches the predetermined negative pressure to the ink storage, and it will be compressed even when the ink gradually decreases. [Third implementation of this Implementation of 'response to the ink-containing space 1 see [1st and 1st series, because of the 3 1 swelling 3 1 and the shape of the stroke diameter diameter pressure value storage tank 2 box 1 to 3 ink bags 】 In the example, the capacity of ink empty 0 and the large 1-1 3 2 advance spring caused the air bag 3 to shrink to one of the hollow cones that was compressed into a cone-shaped elastic jacket for the ink shortness. Inside, enter the environmental water tank 1 1 and discharge the air bag 2 0 along the body line diameter of the ink space 1 It can be seen that the minimum compression spring 2 0 increases the spring 2 0 water tank 1 and the air supply is changed from the ink supply air temperature The inner part of the inner bag is compressible, and the tapered hole on the negative structure is stored in 1 1 for storage. In order to make the ink power possible, the conical spring 20 is set in the atmospheric space 30 and the pressure change between f 1 0 and the atmospheric space 30, so that there is a constant negative pressure value between the spaces 30. Please refer to the figure] and [Figure n-2], this is the book; in Tian 2 2, the two air bags 31 are actuated, and when the cone-shaped bomb 10 and the external environment > the product expands to the maximum: : At the moment when the pre-master dare to be large, at this time (as shown in [1 η 〇1, 1 0 ~ 2], the tapered spring is used to the diameter of the wire, in other words, the stroke of the ink pressure transverse space spring 2 0 It is designed to make the air tank 1 of the air-supplying head 2 and the negative pressure higher than the external section. The size of the conical spring spring 2 0 is limited due to the increase in the water tank 1 so that the most compressed ink consumption hole 1 1 Before the ink supply is smooth, the spring

Page 11 580440 V. Description of the invention (9) A schematic diagram showing the structure of the third embodiment and a schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the invention moving to the final position. The conical spring negative pressure structure includes an ink containing space 10, and An air bag 3 1 provided in the ink-receiving space 10-side, and a conical spring 20 provided in the air bag 31, wherein the neck 3 3 of the air bag 31 is provided with an air inlet communicating with the external environment. The port 3 2 and the air inlet 32 allow the outside air to enter the air bag 31 and expand the air bag 31. The cone spring 20 is a cone-shaped stretch spring. When the cone spring 2 0 At the initial position, the ink-containing space 10 reaches the maximum volume, and the volume of the atmospheric space 30 changes and the cone spring 20 stretches and deforms in the axial direction. When the volume of the atmospheric space 30 reaches the maximum volume, The conical spring 20 reaches the final position, and the initial position of the conical spring 20 detracts from its wire diameter dimension. The ink holding capacity of the ink holding space 10 is the maximum. In addition, an air supply hole 1 1 may be provided at a predetermined position of the ink storage tank 2 to provide appropriate negative pressure adjustment to the ink storage tank 2. Due to the volume change of the air bag 31 and the influence of the conical elasticity 20 in the axial deformation, an appropriate negative pressure value exists between the ink containing space 10 and the atmospheric space 30. Since the conical spring 20 is placed in the air bag 31, the space for holding the spring is less in the ink containing space 10, so the expandable space of the air bag 31 can be increased. Comparison between the use of conical springs and the conventional compression springs in the negative pressure structure: Because general compression springs can only use the number of coils or wire diameter to control the negative pressure value, the use of conical springs can simultaneously adjust the wire diameter and the coil The predetermined negative pressure value of the ink is set, so the conical spring can be used in a wide range. For any situation (such as: short stroke space, etc.), it is easy to choose the appropriate cone.

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Page 13 580440 Brief description of the drawings [Brief description of the drawings] Fig. 1 is a structural schematic diagram of the negative pressure structure of the cone spring of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the conical spring of the present invention to the final position. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the parallel arrangement of the conical springs of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a serial arrangement of the conical springs of the present invention. Fig. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the compression amount and the elastic force of the cone spring of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the negative pressure value and the volume change of the ink containing space of the present invention. Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of a negative pressure structure with a pressure plate design of the present invention.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of the air bag fixing method of the conical spring negative pressure structure of the present invention.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the operation of the first embodiment of the present invention to the final position. 10-10 are schematic diagrams of the structure of the second embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 10 to 2 are diagrams showing the operation of the second embodiment of the present invention to the final position. 11-1 are schematic diagrams of the structure of the third embodiment of the present invention. Figures 1 1 to 2 are diagrams showing the operation of the third embodiment of the present invention to the final position

intention. [Brief description of drawing number] Ink cartridge .............. 1 Ink storage tank ............ 2

Ink-capacity space ........... 10 Fill air holes ............ 11

Page 580440

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Claims (1)

580440 6. Application patent scope 1. A cone spring negative pressure structure of an ink cartridge includes: an ink containing space, which is arranged in the ink cartridge; and at least one cone spring; by the action of the cone spring, Make the ink holding space and the external environment have a constant negative pressure value. 2. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the diameter and number of turns of the conical spring are set according to the predetermined negative pressure value of the ink holding space. 3. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the conical springs can be arranged in series. 4. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein the conical elastics can be arranged in parallel. 5. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein at least one end of the conical spring can be provided with a pressure plate, and the spring force of the conical spring can be uniformly applied by the pressure plate. 6. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of patent application, wherein a gas supplement L c is provided at a predetermined position on the wall surface of the ink holding space 7. As described in item 6 of the scope of patent application The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge, wherein the air supply hole performs air supply when the ink holding space reaches a predetermined negative pressure value. 8. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the conical spring can be set in the ink containing space so as to respond to the pressure change of the ink containing space and the external environment to make the capacity Ink space and the outside world Page 16 580440 6. Scope of patent application There is a constant negative pressure value between environments. 9. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 8 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the conical spring is a conical compression spring, and its operable stroke is compressed from the initial position to the conical spring. The final position of the wire size. 10. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 8 in the scope of the patent application, wherein the volume of the ink containing space is changed and the cone spring is compressed and deformed in the axial direction. When the volume of the ink containing space changes, At the smallest volume, the cone spring is squeezed to the wire size. 1 1. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 1 of the scope of the patent application, which further includes an atmospheric space that communicates with the external conducting environment, and the conical bombardment responds to the atmospheric space and ink holding capacity. The pressure change in the space makes the negative pressure value between the ink holding space and the external environment 〇2. The tapered elastic negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 11 of the patent application scope, wherein the atmospheric space It can be set on one side of the ink containing space. 03. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 11 of the patent application scope, wherein the atmospheric space can be set on both sides of the ink containing space. 14. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in Item 11 of the scope of the patent application, wherein the conical elastic can be set in the atmospheric space to respond to the pressure change in the ink containing space and the atmospheric space. Make the ink holding space and the external environment have a constant negative pressure value. Page 17 580440 VI. Patent application range 1 5. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 14 of the patent application range, wherein the conical spring is a conical tension spring. When the spring is in the initial position, the ink containing space reaches the maximum volume, the volume of the atmospheric space changes and the conical spring stretches and deforms in the axial direction. When the volume of the atmospheric space changes to the maximum volume, the conical spring is brought to the final position. . 16. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 15 of the scope of patent application, wherein the initial position of the conical spring is its wire diameter size, and the ink holding capacity of the ink holding space is the largest. 17. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 11 of the scope of patent application, wherein the atmospheric space can be formed by at least one air bag. 18. The conical spring negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge according to item 17 in the scope of the patent application, wherein the neck of the air bag can be pressed by a tongue provided on the inner wall of the ink cartridge to be fixed to the ink cartridge. An air duct is provided in the neck to allow air from the external environment to enter the air bag. 19. The tapered elastic negative pressure structure of the ink cartridge as described in item 17 of the scope of the patent application, wherein one end of the air bag is fixed on the wall surface of the ink cartridge and has an air inlet that communicates with the external environment. Page 18