WO2011050759A1

WO2011050759A1 - Ink cartridge for inkjet printer

Info

Publication number: WO2011050759A1
Application number: PCT/CN2010/080052
Authority: WO
Inventors: 马浩铭
Original assignee: 珠海纳思达企业管理有限公司
Priority date: 2009-10-30
Filing date: 2010-12-21
Publication date: 2011-05-05
Also published as: EP2524810A1; CN101693424B; CN101693424A; DE202010001340U1

Abstract

An ink cartridge (1) for an inkjet printer includes a cartridge body and a detecting mechanism (3, 5, 6) for detecting the ink cartridge and the residual amount of ink. The cartridge body comprises an ink storage chamber (20, 21) for storing ink, an ink outlet (7) for supplying ink to the printing head of the printer and an atmosphere inlet (2). The ink storage chamber (20, 21) comprises a first ink chamber (20) and a second ink chamber (21), and a first negative pressure mechanism (9) and a second negative pressure mechanism (8) are arranged between the first ink chamber and the second ink chamber. The first negative pressure mechanism and the second negative pressure mechanism are cooperated to control the ink in the first ink chamber to be consumed more preferentially than the ink in the second ink chamber; and the second negative pressure mechanism ensures that negative pressure will not generate until the ink in the ink storage chamber is consumed to a certain amount. Because negative pressure will not generate until the ink in the ink storage chamber is consumed to the certain amount, and negative pressure is generated only when the residual amount of the ink is less in the end, so such technical problems will not occur that parts in the ink cartridge are easy to be damaged and deformed due to negative pressure existing all the time during use and thus the printing quality is influenced.

Description

Ink cartridge on inkjet printer

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge on an ink jet printer. Background technique

The ink cartridge of the existing inkjet printer is provided with a negative pressure mechanism in the ink cartridge. The negative pressure mechanism can generate a negative pressure inside the ink cartridge, but the negative pressure is generated at the beginning of the printing of the ink cartridge, and is maintained until the ink consumption. When the ink cartridge is in a negative pressure state for a long time, it is easy to suck out the ink of the print head, which causes damage to the print head and affects the print quality.

There is also a type of inkjet printer that uses a non-axial ink supply design that replaces the ink cartridge under the printhead and uses a suction pump to pump ink into the non-replaceable ink cartridge above the printhead. The ink cartridge above the print head is in communication with the nozzle and has a negative pressure mechanism to hold the ink. The replaceable ink cartridges of such printers only serve to hold the ink. However, the replaceable ink cartridge is a constant pressure structure, and the internal buoy is used to detect the amount of ink. Since the buoy has a certain weight, the buoy cannot accurately detect the amount of ink when the amount of ink is small, so the printer program is set up like this. Function: When the occlusion part on the other side of the buoy is not detected, the printer will prompt the ink to be exhausted after the printer prints 2-3ML of ink according to the internal counting device.

Based on this function of the printer, a replaceable ink cartridge with an ink bag (shown in Figure 1) was invented for use with the printer. Such an ink cartridge does not have a passage that is electrically connected to the air, so it does not come into contact with air. However, due to the requirements of the printer when the ink volume is exhausted, the ink cartridge divides the ink bag into two parts, one part is used for detection and the other is used for containing ink, and the two are in communication. In order to check the installation of the ink cartridge, a part of the ink bag is sealed with a silicone film. Because the sealing materials of the two parts of the ink bag are different, the density and toughness of the two ink bags are all the same. Therefore, the reflection of the suction force is difficult to control. It is often the case that the ink bag containing the ink is dried first, and the ink bag is dried. Case. At this time, when the detecting unit detects that the ink is exhausted, there is less than 2 ml of ink in the ink cartridge. As a result, the ink supply to the print port is insufficient and the print head burns out. Summary of the invention

The present invention provides an ink cartridge for an ink jet printer to solve the technical problem that the ink cartridge on the conventional ink jet printer has been under negative pressure during use, causing damage and deformation of components in the ink cartridge to affect print quality.

In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution drawn by the present invention is:

An ink cartridge for an inkjet printer, comprising a casing, a detecting mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink, the casing comprising an ink storage chamber for storing ink, and an ink outlet for supplying ink to the printing head of the printer And an air inlet, the ink storage chamber includes a first ink chamber and a second ink chamber, and a first negative pressure mechanism is disposed between the first ink chamber and the second ink chamber, wherein the first ink A second negative pressure mechanism is further disposed between the cavity and the second ink chamber, and the first negative pressure mechanism and the second negative pressure mechanism cooperate to control the ink in the first ink chamber to be preferentially consumed than the ink in the second ink chamber. The second negative pressure mechanism generates a negative pressure when the ink in the ink storage chamber is printed to a certain amount.

The first negative pressure mechanism is a gravity valve, and the second negative pressure mechanism is a buoyancy valve.

The gravity valve includes a gravity valve seat and a gravity spool that is denser than the ink.

The buoyancy valve includes a buoyant valve seat and a buoyant valve seat having a lower density than ink.

The detecting mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink includes a first detecting component matching the first sensor on the printer, a second detecting component matching the second sensor on the printer, and a software disposed on the cartridge body communicating with the ink storage chamber a support cap, the second detecting component comprises a movable rod and a fixed shaft disposed on the box, the movable rod is connected to the casing shaft through a fixed shaft, and the soft support cap is located at the movable rod in gravity The corresponding position of the sagging function is to abut the movable rod when the movable rod position adjusting member exceeds the soft body supporting cap.

The front wall of the casing provided with the ink outlet is further provided with an elastic member, one end of the elastic member is fixedly connected with the front wall of the casing, and the other end is bent to abut against the wall of the printer ink cartridge accommodating space, the elasticity a support position is provided on the component; the movable lever is supported by the elastic component Support.

The gravity valve controls a negative pressure value that is greater than a dry resistance value of the software support cap.

The support position is a hollow portion provided on the elastic member.

A latching position is disposed on the front wall of the box body for providing the ink outlet, and one end of the elastic member is fixedly connected to the box body through the card position.

After the above technical solution is adopted, since the second negative pressure mechanism is added in the ink storage chamber, the second negative pressure mechanism generates a negative pressure when the ink in the ink storage chamber is printed to a certain amount, in the ink storage chamber. When the ink is not used to a certain amount, no negative pressure is generated in the ink storage chamber, and the negative pressure is generated only when the remaining amount of ink is small, which solves the problem that the ink cartridge on the existing inkjet printer has been under negative pressure during use. A technical problem that affects print quality by causing damage to and damage to components inside the cartridge. In addition, because the software support cap is used to alarm the remaining amount of ink, the control is more precise and the manufacturing process is simple. Finally, because of the space saved by the buoy, more ink can be loaded, saving the user's printing cost. DRAWINGS

Figure 1 is a schematic view of an ink cartridge that produces print defects.

2 is a schematic view of an ink cartridge of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic view showing the state of the ink cartridge at the beginning of loading the printer of the present invention

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing the state of the ink cartridge when the buoyancy valve is sealed during printing according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the dry state of the soft support cap of the present invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view showing the ink cartridge state when the gravity valve of the present invention is opened.

Figure 7 is a schematic view of a cartridge cartridge in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 8 is a schematic view of the ink cartridge loading machine of the present invention.

Figure 9A is a schematic view of the inner buoyancy valve seat and the gravity valve seat of the present invention.

Figure 9B is a cross-sectional view of the inner buoyancy valve seat and the gravity valve seat of the present invention.

Figure 9C is a schematic view of the inner software support cap of the present invention.

Figure 9D is a cross-sectional view of the inner soft body support cap of the present invention. Figure 10 is a schematic view showing the fluid flow when the buoyancy valve is opened and the gravity valve is sealed according to the present invention.

Figure 11 shows the new buoyancy valve seal, and the gravity valve opening is a schematic diagram of fluid flow.

In the figure: 1. Ink cartridge 2. Atmospheric inlet 3. First detecting part 4. Elastic part 5. Second detecting part

6. Software support cap 7. Ink outlet 8. Buoyancy valve 9. Gravity valve 10. Cartridge bin 102. Second sensor 104. First sensor 105. Cartridge cover 61. Soft support film 62. Connecting channel 63. Support cap sealing rib

81. Buoyancy valve seat 82. Buoyancy valve core 811. Spool seal 812. Fluid passage 813. Seat seal rib

91. Gravity valve seat 92. Gravity valve core. detailed description

The ink cartridge for an inkjet printer shown in FIG. 2 includes a casing, a detecting mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink, and the casing includes an ink storage chamber for storing ink, and supplies ink to the printing head of the printer. The ink outlet port 7 and the air inlet port 2, the ink storage chamber includes a first ink chamber 20 and a second ink chamber 21, and a gravity valve 9 and a buoyancy valve 8 are disposed between the first ink chamber 20 and the second ink chamber 21, and gravity The valve 9 and the buoyancy valve 8 cooperate to control the ink in the first ink chamber 20 to be preferentially consumed by the ink in the second ink chamber 21, and the buoyancy valve 8 generates a negative pressure when the ink in the ink storage chamber is printed to a certain amount, the atmospheric inlet 2 is disposed on the first ink chamber 20.

The detecting mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink includes a first detecting member 3 matched with the first sensor on the printer, a second detecting member matching the second sensor on the printer, and a software support disposed on the cartridge body to communicate with the ink storage chamber The cap 6, the second detecting component comprises a movable rod member 5 and a fixed shaft disposed on the box body, the movable rod member is connected to the box shaft through the fixed shaft, and the soft body supporting cap is located corresponding to the movable rod member sagging under the action of gravity The position abuts the movable rod when the movable rod position adjusting member exceeds the soft body supporting cap, and the front wall of the box body provided with the ink outlet is further provided with an elastic member 4, and one end of the elastic member 4 is fixed to the front wall of the box body. The other end is connected to the wall of the printer ink cartridge accommodating space by bending, and the elastic member 4 is provided with a support position; the movable rod member is supported by the support position on the elastic member, and the support position is a hollow portion provided on the elastic member a card position is arranged on the front wall of the ink outlet of the box body, and one end of the elastic component is fixed by the card position and the box body Make a connection.

The air outside the ink cartridge enters the inside of the casing 1 through the atmosphere inlet. The function of the ink outlet 7 is to transfer ink from the inside of the ink cartridge 1 to the print head of the printer.

The first detecting unit 3 is detected in conjunction with the first sensor 104 of the printer. After the ink cartridge is installed, the first detecting unit 3 blocks the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the first sensor 104, and as shown in Fig. 8, the light receiving portion of the first sensor 104 receives no light. The detection of the ink cartridge installation is successful after the second detecting component 5 is detected in the printer.

The second detecting unit 5 cooperates with the second sensor 102 of the printer to detect that after the ink cartridge is installed, the second detecting unit 5 blocks the light emitted from the light emitting portion of the second sensor 102, so that the light receiving portion of the second sensor 102 does not receive the light. After the first detecting component 3 is detected in the printer, the ink cartridge mounting is successfully detected, as shown in FIG.

The function of the elastic member 4 is to detect the installation of the second detecting member. Because the ink cartridge is loaded into the printer, it has the following status:

Initially, both sensors in the printer are on. As the ink cartridge is installed, the light is emitted from the emitting portion of the second sensor 102, blocked by the movable lever 5, and cannot be returned to the receiving portion of the second sensor 102. In this state, the second sensor 102 is disconnected, and the first sensor 104 is not The contact first detecting member 3 is in an on state.

Then, light is emitted from the emitting portion of the second sensor 102. Since the elastic member 4 contacts the wall of the ink cartridge compartment 10, the elastic member 4 is displaced, and the movable lever member 5 is no longer supported, and the movable lever member 5 is displaced about the fixed axis, and The amount of displacement of the second sensor 102 in the moving direction is greater than that of the second sensor 102. At this time, the detected position of the movable lever 5 has passed the sensing position of the second sensor 102, and the light is incident on the receiving portion of the second sensor 102. The optical path of the two sensors 102 is turned on, and the light emitted from the transmitting portion of the first sensor 104 is blocked by the first detecting unit 3, and the optical path of the first sensor 104 is in an off state.

As the cartridge is installed, light is emitted from the emitting portion of the second sensor 102, and at this time, the movable lever 5 is supported by the soft support cap 6 at the rear, as shown in FIG. 4, the displacement is stopped, and the position is stopped. In the detecting position of the second sensor 102, the movable lever 5 blocks the light emitted by the second sensor 102, and the light cannot return to the receiving portion of the second sensor 102. In this state, the optical path of the second sensor 102 is disconnected, and the first The light emitted from the emitting portion of the sensor 104 is still blocked by the first detecting member 3, the optical path of the first sensor 104 is also in an off state, and the ink inlet of the printer is engaged with the ink outlet port 7 of the ink cartridge, and the ink is smoothly supplied.

When the elastic member 4 is in the initial state in the above process, as shown in FIG. 3, the movable rod member 5 is supported, and when the movable rod member 5 passes through the detecting position of the second sensor 102 once, the elastic member 4 is no longer supported. The movable lever 5, after which the movable lever 5 is supported by the soft support cap 6. When the ink cartridge is taken out by the printer, the elastic member 4 re-supports the movable lever 5 to reset the movable member 5. In order to reinstall the machine, repeat the above installation process.

Another function of the elastic member 4 is to eject the cartridge from the cartridge compartment 10 when the cartridge is removed from the printer. The process is that when the ink cartridge is loaded into the ink cartridge compartment 10, as shown in FIG. 7, the elastic member 4 is deformed, and since the ink cartridge cover 105 is closed, the elastic member 4 cannot be reset after being deformed, and when the ink cartridge cover 105 is opened, The elastic member 4 is reset and the ink cartridge is ejected.

The function of the soft support cap 6 is to support the movable lever member 5 after the ink cartridge is installed, so that the second detecting member 5 stays at the detecting position of the second sensor 102, so that the installation detection is successful, as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9C, the soft support cap 6 includes: a flexible support film 61 which can support the movable rod member 5 and can be dried according to internal pressure changes; a communication passage 62 can be connected to the ink chamber; a soft support cap seal The rib 63 seals the ink chamber as shown in Figure 9D.

Another function is to cooperate with the printer's ink detection. The ink detection will be performed by the following process: As the printing consumes, the ink quantity is continuously reduced. When the ink of the ink cartridge is exhausted, under the suction of the printer ink supply needle, The inner buoyancy valve 8 and the gravity valve 9 are adjusted. When the ink is almost exhausted, the soft support film 61 of the soft support cap 6 is dry, and the soft support film 61 no longer supports the movable rod 5, and the movable rod 5 The movement continues by gravity, leaving the position that blocks the optical path of the second sensor 102. Light is directed to the light receiving element, at which time the first sensor 104 of the printer is blocked, The second sensor is unoccluded, so that the printer prompts that the ink is about to run out and then signals the user.

Buoyancy valve 8 , the role of the gravity valve 9 is to adjust the pressure inside the ink cartridge, so that the inside of the soft support cap 6 is dry, as shown in Figure 5, and then achieve the purpose of ink detection.

The buoyancy valve 8 includes: a buoyant valve seat 81 as shown in Fig. 9A and a buoyancy valve core

82, wherein the buoyancy valve seat 81 is characterized by a valve core sealing portion 811 that cooperates with the buoyancy valve core 82, a fluid passage 812 for communicating the ink chamber and the ink outlet port, and a valve seat 81 can be fixed and The valve seat sealing rib 813 sealed around the valve seat 81; a spool 82, characterized by a density lower than that of the ink, and can cooperate with the seat sealing portion 811 to seal the fluid passage 812, as shown in Fig. 9B.

The gravity valve 9 comprises: a gravity valve seat 91 and a gravity valve core 92, wherein the gravity valve seat 91 has the same structural features as the buoyancy valve seat 81; a valve core 92 characterized by a density greater than that of the ink and at a certain pressure ( > -3KPa ) can be fitted with the seat seal to seal the fluid passage, as shown in Figure 8. The negative pressure value controlled by the gravity valve is greater than the dry resistance value of the soft support cap.

The control process of the buoyancy valve 8 and the gravity valve 9 is as follows:

When the ink in the ink cartridge is not consumed, the buoyancy valve core 82 of the buoyancy valve 8 has a density lower than that of the ink, so that the buoyancy valve core 82 floats above the ink, and the buoyancy valve 8 is in an open state, and the internal pressure of the ink cartridge is the same as the outside. Since the gravity valve 92 of the gravity valve 9 has a density greater than that of the ink, the gravity spool 92 cooperates with the seat seal to close the gravity valve. The flow of ink is shown in the dotted line in Figure 10.

As the printing consumes, the ink level continues to decrease, and when the buoyancy spool 82 mates with the seat seal, the buoyancy valve 8 closes, and since the gravity valve 9 is also closed, the chamber adjacent the ink outlet is sealed. Since the ink supply needle of the printer has a certain suction force, it does not affect the printing.

After both the buoyancy valve 8 and the gravity valve 9 are closed, the pressure of the ink chamber that communicates with the soft support cap 6 gradually decreases with the consumption of printing, and reaches a certain value (-0.5 - -3 KPa), the soft body branch The flexible support film 61 of the cap 6 is deformed to no longer support the second detecting member 5. At this point, the printer indicates that the ink is about to run out (there is still 2-3ml of ink in the cartridge).

After the ink is finished, the ink supply needle of the printer will continuously suck the ink. When the pressure of the ink outlet reaches a certain value (-3KPa), the pressure generated by the atmospheric pressure and the pressure difference in the cavity can overcome the gravity valve 9. The gravity of the gravity spool 92, the gravity spool 92 leaves the sealing position, the gravity valve 9 opens, and the air can enter the ink chamber communicating with the soft support cap 6 through the fluid passage, as shown in Fig. 6, the fluid flow at this time is as shown in Fig. 11. Show. When the pressure in the chamber is reduced, the pressure generated by the difference between the atmospheric pressure and the pressure in the chamber is insufficient to overcome the gravity of the gravity spool 92 of the gravity valve 9, the gravity valve core 92 returns to the sealing position, and the gravity valve 9 is reclosed. As the ink is consumed, the gravity valve 9 is continuously turned on and off to balance the pressure in the chamber until the ink is used up.

This negative pressure control mode has high control precision and can accurately control the pressure of the soft support cap 6 when it is dry, ensuring the accuracy of the printer's ink detection.

Claims

Claim

What is claimed is: 1. An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer comprising a casing, a detecting mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink, the casing comprising an ink storage chamber for storing ink, and an ink supply to the print head of the printer An ink inlet and an air inlet, the ink storage chamber includes a first ink chamber and a second ink chamber, and a first negative pressure mechanism is disposed between the first ink chamber and the second ink chamber, wherein the a second negative pressure mechanism is further disposed between the ink chamber and the second ink chamber, and the first negative pressure mechanism and the second negative pressure mechanism cooperate to control the ink in the first ink chamber to be preferentially inked than the second ink chamber When the second negative pressure mechanism prints the ink in the ink storage chamber to a certain amount, a negative pressure is generated.

An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein said first negative pressure mechanism is a gravity valve, and said second negative pressure mechanism is a buoyancy valve.

An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer according to claim 2, wherein said gravity valve comprises a gravity valve seat and a gravity valve core having a density greater than that of ink.

An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer according to claim 2, wherein said buoyancy valve comprises a buoyant valve seat and a buoyancy valve cartridge having a density smaller than that of ink.

The ink cartridge of the inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink cartridge and the ink comprises a first detecting means matching the first sensor on the printer, a second detecting member matched with the second sensor on the printer and a software supporting cap disposed on the casing in communication with the ink storage chamber, the second detecting member including a movable rod and a fixed shaft disposed on the casing, The movable rod is connected to the casing rotating shaft through a fixed shaft, and the soft supporting cap is located at a corresponding position where the movable rod is suspended by gravity to abut the movable rod when the movable rod position adjusting member exceeds the soft supporting cap Pieces.

The ink cartridge of the inkjet printer according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the front wall of the cartridge body on which the ink outlet is provided is further provided with an elastic member, one end of the elastic member and the cartridge The front wall of the body is fixedly connected, and the other end is abutted against the wall of the printer ink cartridge accommodating space by bending, and the elastic member is provided with a support position; the movable rod member is supported by the elastic member Position support.

7. The ink cartridge of the ink jet printer according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the gravity valve controls a negative pressure value greater than a dry resistance value of the software support cap.

An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer according to claim 6, wherein said support position is a hollow portion provided on the elastic member.

9. The ink cartridge of the inkjet printer according to claim 6, wherein the front wall of the cartridge body on which the ink outlet is provided is provided with a card position, and one end of the elastic member passes the card position and the The box is fixedly connected.