JP2003103803A - Ink cartridge for ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent leakage of ink or intrusion of air through an ink supply opening. SOLUTION: In the vicinity of the ink supply opening 2 of a container 1, a valve element 60 for normally closing the ink supply opening 2 by an energizing force and being pushed to open the ink supply opening 2 upon insertion of an ink supply needle 70 is provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge suitable for mounting on a carriage carrying an ink jet recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Ink jet printers use an ink jet recording head that applies pressure to a pressure generating chamber that communicates with a common ink chamber and a nozzle opening to eject ink droplets from the nozzle opening. An ink cartridge to be supplied is mounted, and ink droplets are ejected onto recording paper in conformity with print data while reciprocating the carriage.

By the way, since the nozzle opening of the recording head is located at a position lower than the ink liquid level of the ink cartridge, head pressure acts on the nozzle opening, so that a porous body is usually housed in the ink cartridge. In order to prevent the ink from seeping out from the nozzle opening, the pressure of the ink cartridge is made slightly lower than the nozzle opening due to the surface tension of the porous body.

However, when the ink is consumed and the amount of the ink absorbed by the porous body decreases, the surface tension of the porous body increases and the supply of the ink to the recording head tends to be delayed, so that the inside of the cartridge may be delayed. There is a problem that the above ink cannot be completely consumed. Further, since the amount of ink that can be stored in the cartridge is reduced by the substantial volume of the porous body, there is a problem that the size of the ink cartridge becomes large.

In order to solve such a problem, for example, US Pat. No. 4,677,447 (JP-A-62-231759)
As shown in Fig. 2, the ink tank and the cavity are separated by a wall provided with a through hole in the lower part of the ink tank which is inseparably attached to the recording head, and an umbrella check valve is movably provided in this through hole. There has been proposed an ink cartridge for an ink jet recording head configured to open a valve to discharge the ink stored in a tank into a cavity and supply the ink to the recording head when the ink pressure in the recording head decreases.

[0006]

According to this, since it is not necessary to store the porous body in the cartridge, it is possible to increase the substantial ink storage amount in the tank, but it is possible to improve the permanent recording head. No proposal has been made yet for the optimum structure of the ink supply port of the ink cartridge that is attached and detached via a connecting means such as an ink supply needle.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide an ink cartridge capable of preventing leakage of ink from an ink supply port.

[0008]

In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, an ink cartridge for an ink jet printer having an ink chamber for storing ink and an ink supply port is provided in the vicinity of the ink supply port. In addition, a valve element is normally provided to close the ink supply port by a biasing force, and to open the ink supply port when the ink supply needle is pressed and moved.

[0009]

The valve body normally closes the ink supply port to prevent ink leakage and air intrusion, and when the ink supply needle is inserted into the ink supply port, the valve body moves to close the ink supply port. Open to supply ink to the recording head.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which reference numeral 1 is a container constituting an ink cartridge main body, and an ink supply port 2 into which an ink supply needle of a recording head is inserted on a bottom surface 1a. Is formed, and the space inside the container is divided into an ink chamber 4 and an ink supply chamber 5 by a membrane valve seat 3 described later.

Reference numeral 3 denotes the above-mentioned membrane valve seat, which is formed by forming a through hole 6 in the center of an elastic film such as a rubber film or a polymer elastomer film having durability against ink, and It is stretched on the stepped portion 7 formed in the lower portion.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a valve element, which is vertically movably inserted into a through hole 10 provided in the valve assembly 9 and has a thickness capable of ensuring a gap to allow ink to flow down. , And the length thereof is slightly longer than the thickness of the valve assembly 9, and the lower portion normally seals the through hole 6 of the membrane valve seat 3 by means of the valve body support member 11 which will be described later. Three
Has been hit by. The valve assembly 9 is formed with an ink flow path 15 that guides ink.

Reference numeral 11 denotes the above-mentioned valve element support member, which is stretched on the surface of the valve assembly 9 and always makes the valve element 8 elastically contact the membrane valve seat 3, while the valve element 8 descends from a certain position. The through hole 12 is formed in the elastic membrane made of the same material as the membrane valve seat 3, and the top portion of the valve body 8 is held by the through hole.

The upper surface of the container 1 is sealed by a lid member 13 having an atmosphere communication hole 14. On the ink chamber side of the lid member 13, a recess 30 surrounding the communication hole 14 and a communication port 32 located at a constant distance from the recess 30.
And a narrow groove 31 forming a capillary connecting them is formed. A flexible film 33 is stretched on the upper surfaces of the recess 30 and the groove 31 so that the flexible film 33 is slackened so as to be separated from the through hole when the lid member 13 is located above.

The membrane valve seat 3, the valve body support 11, and the valve body 8 are preferably assembled integrally with the valve assembly 9, and are inserted into the stepped portion 7 of the container 1 to be incorporated in the container 1. Has been.

In this embodiment, when the container 1 is tilted and the ink in the ink chamber 4 comes into contact with the lid member 13, the flexible film 33 receives the pressure of the ink and the convex portion 1 around the through hole 14 is received.
4a is contacted, the through hole 14 is sealed, and the leakage of the ink from the atmosphere communication hole 14 is prevented.

When the ink supply port 2 is inserted into the ink supply needle of the recording head on which the carriage is mounted, the ink supply chamber 5 and the recording head are connected. In this state,
Since the flexible film 33 of the lid member 13 hangs down by gravity and the through hole 14 is opened, the ink chamber 4 communicates with the atmosphere through the recess 30, the groove 31, and the communication hole 32.

In this state, when printing is performed and ink droplets are ejected from the recording head, the ink in the ink supply chamber 5 flows into the recording head from the ink supply port 2, and the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 gradually decreases. In response to the pressure drop in the ink supply chamber 5, the membrane valve seat 3 receives the pressure from the ink chamber 4 and descends while expanding into a spherical shape having a radius R due to its elasticity. At this time, the valve body 8 follows the membrane valve seat 3 (FIG. 2A), so that the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 is prevented from being excessively lowered, and the ink from the ink chamber 4 to the ink supply chamber 5 is prevented. The ink is prevented from flowing in and the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 is prevented from rising excessively. As a result, the pressure of the recording head is maintained in a constant negative pressure state with respect to the ink chamber 4.

When ink consumption in the recording head further progresses and the membrane valve seat 3 further lowers, the valve body 8 is prevented from lowering below a certain position by the valve body support member 11, so that the valve body 8 is lowered. Very slightly away from the membrane valve seat 3 (Fig. 2
(B)). As a result, the ink in the ink chamber 4 passes through the narrow gap formed between the valve body 8 and the membrane valve seat 3 and the through hole 6
Flow into the ink supply chamber 5.

When the pressure of the ink supply chamber 5 rises a little due to the inflow of ink, the membrane valve seat 3 is elastic and the valve body 8 is closed.
It moves to the side and makes elastic contact with the valve body 8, and the through hole 6 is blocked by the lower surface of the valve body 8. This stops the flow of ink from the ink chamber 4 into the ink supply chamber 5. As a result, the ink chamber 3
The pressure of the ink supply port 2 is maintained constant regardless of the amount of ink.

Thereafter, each time the pressure in the ink supply chamber 6 drops slightly, the membrane valve seat 3 expands slightly downward to form a gap with the valve body 8, and the ink in the ink chamber 3 is replenished from this gap. Let it flow into the supply chamber 5. Since the membrane valve seat 3 formed of the elastic membrane comes into contact with and separates from the valve body 8 in accordance with the consumption of ink, if the elasticity of the membrane valve seat 3 is set to an appropriate size, the pressure at the start of ink supply is reduced. Not only can the pressure difference at the time when the ink supply is stopped, that is, the offset be made extremely small, but also all the ink in the ink chamber 4 can be discharged to the recording head.

On the other hand, when the environmental temperature rises while printing is suspended, the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 rises, but the membrane valve seat 3 is opened to the atmosphere in response to this pressure. Move to the ink chamber 4 side. As a result, the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 is prevented from rising, and the optimum negative pressure is maintained between the ink supply chamber 5 and the recording head regardless of the temperature rise. Therefore, leakage of ink from the recording head due to the pressure increase is prevented. Will be prevented.

FIG. 3 shows a membrane valve seat 3 having a thickness of 0.04 mm.
And the effective diameter, that is, the elastically deformable area has a diameter of 2
The present invention in which the lower limit position of the valve body 8 is set so that the radius R of the spherical surface is 26 mm on the verge of flowing out, that is, in the critical state with the valve body 8 (FIG. 2 (A)). This shows the change in the water head value of the ink cartridge, and the increase in the water head value is small even when a large amount of ink of 5 g / min is supplied, and the print head can be used even if a large amount of ink is consumed by the print head. It can be seen that the ink can be smoothly supplied without applying an excessive negative pressure to the ink.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing process, the ink supply port 2
2 is sealed by the seal 16 and a negative pressure is applied to the ink chamber 4 to remove the air in the cartridge, the pressure in the ink chamber 4 becomes lower than that in the ink supply chamber 5.
As shown in (c), the valve body 8 moves to the ink chamber side against the elastic force of the valve body support member 11 to form a space between the membrane valve seat 3 and the valve body 8, so that the membrane Regardless of the presence of the valve seat 3 and the valve body 8, the air in the entire cartridge can be removed, and the entire cartridge including the ink supply chamber 5 can be filled with ink.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the valve element 8, in which the lower surface of the valve element 8 is the membrane valve seat 3
There is provided a flat plate-shaped positioning piece 35 that comes into contact with the upper surface of the valve assembly 9 when it comes into contact with.

According to this embodiment, when the valve body 8 is in contact with the membrane valve seat 3, the positioning piece 35 contacts the upper surface of the valve assembly 9, and the valve body 3 is supported by the valve assembly 9. Since the vertical posture is maintained as much as possible, the through hole 6 of the membrane valve seat 3 can be surely sealed even against vibration due to movement of the carriage or the like.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 20 is a valve element, and a valve element accommodating chamber 9a formed in the valve assembly 9 is constantly lowered by a spring 21. The lower limit position is defined by the positioning piece 36 formed on the valve body 20 coming into contact with the lower convex portion 9b of the valve body accommodating chamber 9a. Note that reference numerals 22 and 23 in the drawing respectively denote through holes that connect the ink chamber 4 and the ink supply chamber 5.

In this embodiment, in response to the pressure drop in the ink supply chamber 5, the membrane valve seat 3 receives the pressure from the ink chamber 4 and descends while expanding into a spherical shape having a radius R due to its elasticity. At this time, the valve body 20 follows the membrane valve seat 3 due to the elasticity of the spring 21, and the positioning piece 36 has the convex portion 9b.
Since the valve body 20 is held in a vertical posture by contacting with the ink (FIG. 6A), the pressure of the ink supply chamber 5 is prevented from being excessively lowered, and the ink chamber 4 is transferred to the ink supply chamber 5. The flow of ink is blocked. As a result, the membrane valve seat 3 contacts the valve body 20 regardless of rocking due to movement of the carriage, so that the ink pressure of the recording head is maintained at a constant negative pressure state with respect to the ink chamber 4.

When the ink consumption in the recording head progresses and the membrane valve seat 3 further lowers, the valve body 20 is prevented from lowering below a certain position by the protrusion 9b of the valve body accommodating chamber 9a. 8 is slightly separated from the membrane valve seat 3 (Fig. 6).
(B)). As a result, the ink in the ink chamber 4 passes through the narrow gap formed between the valve body 8 and the membrane valve seat 3 and the through hole 6
Flow into the ink supply chamber 5.

When the pressure of the ink supply chamber 5 rises slightly due to the inflow of ink, the membrane valve seat 3 is elastic by itself, and the valve body 2 is closed.
It moves to the 0 side and makes elastic contact with the valve body 20, and the through hole 6 is blocked by the lower surface of the valve body 8. This stops the flow of ink from the ink chamber 4 into the ink supply chamber 5. As a result, the pressure of the ink supply port 2 is maintained constant regardless of the amount of ink in the ink chamber 3.

On the other hand, in the manufacturing process, the ink supply port 2
When the ink is sealed with the seal 16 and a negative pressure is applied to the ink chamber 4 to remove the air in the cartridge, the pressure in the ink chamber 4 becomes lower than that in the ink supply chamber 5.
As shown in (c), the valve body 8 moves toward the ink chamber against the spring 21 to form a gap between the membrane valve seat 3 and the valve body 20, so that the membrane valve seat 3 and the valve body Regardless of the presence of 20, the air in the entire cartridge can be removed, and the entire cartridge including the ink supply chamber can be filled with ink.

In the above embodiment, the valve body 20
An elastic member for bringing the valve seat 3 into contact with the membrane valve seat 3 is incorporated in the valve assembly 9, but as shown in FIG.
May be formed into a cap shape, the cap portion 37a may function as a positioning piece and a stopper, and the apex may be elastically pressed by the spring 38 toward the membrane valve seat 3 side.

According to this embodiment, since the valve element 37 and the spring 38 can be attached from the outside of the valve assembly 9, the assembling work can be simplified.

Although a spring is provided above the valve body in the above-described embodiment, the container 40 is separated from the ink chamber 42 by the partition plate 41 having the through hole 41a as shown in FIG. The ink supply chamber 43 is separated into the ink supply chamber 43, the membrane valve seat 44, and the through hole 45 of the membrane valve seat 44 on the lower surface.
A spring 47 for accommodating a valve body 46 composed of a spherical surface 46a that seals the valve and a support portion 46b that extends perpendicularly from the spherical surface 46a and penetrates the through hole 45 of the membrane valve seat 44, and constantly presses the support portion 46b downward. It is apparent that the same effect can be obtained even if the support is provided via the. In addition, reference numeral 48 in the figure
The valve body 46 is fitted in the lower end of the support portion 46b so that the valve body 46 is in a vertical position, and a positioning guide hole is provided, and 49 is an ink supply port.

According to this embodiment, since the lower portion of the valve body 46 is pulled downward by the spring 47, the posture is stable irrespective of the buoyant force of the ink, and thus the ink is irrelevant to the swing of the carriage. Can be stably supplied to the recording head.

FIG. 9 shows another embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 50 is a liquid level stabilizing film, which is a soft porous body that can follow the movement of the membrane valve seat 3. And a lattice-shaped film, and a through hole 51 that fits into the valve body 8 is formed in a region facing the valve body 8, the periphery is fixed to the assembly 9, and the central portion is provided with a valve. It is fixed to the body 8.

In this embodiment, when the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 decreases due to the consumption of ink, the membrane valve seat 3 separates from the valve body 8 and the ink in the ink chamber 4 becomes a liquid level stabilizing film 5.
It passes through 0 and flows into the ink supply chamber 5.

When the ink consumption further progresses and the liquid surface of the ink chamber 4 drops to the vicinity of the assembly 9, the ink vibrates violently near the valve body 8 due to the movement of the carriage.
The pressure fluctuations are suppressed as much as possible by the liquid level stabilizing film 50, and then the ink passes through the through hole 6 of the film valve seat 3, so that the ink pressure of the recording head is increased regardless of the decrease in the ink amount in the ink chamber 4. Is kept constant.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the valve element is elastically contacted with the membrane valve seat 3 by using the elastic means.
By positively utilizing the elastic force of the membrane valve seat 3 itself, an elastic member for elastically contacting the valve body with the membrane valve seat 3 can be eliminated.
FIG. 10 shows an embodiment in which an elastic member for elastically pressing the valve body against the membrane valve seat is unnecessary. In the figure, reference numeral 24 is a membrane valve seat, and a through hole 25 is formed in a region facing a valve body 28 described later. Is formed,
The periphery is fixed by the valve assembly 27. A valve element 28 is immovably fixed to the valve assembly 27 so as to be in a vertical posture. Reference numeral 29 in the figure denotes a through hole that connects the ink chamber 4 and the ink supply chamber 5.

In this embodiment, when the pressure difference between the ink chamber 4 and the ink supply chamber 5 is less than a predetermined value, the membrane valve seat 24
Elastically contacts the valve body 28 with the through hole 25 by its own elasticity, so that the flow of ink from the ink chamber 4 to the ink supply chamber 5 is stopped.

On the other hand, when the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 drops, the membrane valve seat 24 drops while expanding in a spherical shape.
When the through hole 25 separates from the valve body 28, the ink flows from the ink chamber 4 into the ink supply chamber 5, the ink supply progresses, and the pressure in the ink supply chamber 5 rises, the membrane valve seat 24 strikes a differential pressure. It wins and makes elastic contact with the valve body 28 to stop the outflow of ink.

When air enters the recording head, the pressure for ejecting ink droplets is absorbed by the bubbles generated in the flow path of the recording head due to the air, causing defective printing. It is necessary to prevent air from being sucked into the recording head when the ink in the ink cartridge is used up.

FIG. 11 shows an embodiment of an ink cartridge which prevents the infiltration of air into the recording head when the ink of the recording head is finished. The connection between the ink supply port 52 and the ink supply chamber 53 is shown in FIG. A conical valve seat 54, which opens upward in the region, is formed, a spherical float valve 55 that floats by buoyancy is accommodated therein, and a valve retainer plate 56 such as a net through which ink can pass is provided on the upper part. It is configured by a shutoff valve. In addition, reference numeral 57 in the drawing denotes the valve body 5.
8 shows a membrane valve seat that abuts 8 to control the inflow of ink from the ink chamber.

In this embodiment, when the ink cartridge is mounted on the recording head, the floating valve 55 is stuck to the valve retainer plate 56 by the buoyancy, and the ink supply port 52 is opened and the recording head is opened. Ink is supplied to the ink.

On the other hand, when the ink consumption of the cartridge progresses and the water level of the ink drops near the ink supply port 52, the float valve 55 loses the buoyancy due to the ink and the valve seat 54.
To contact (state shown by dotted line in the figure). Therefore, even if printing is further advanced, since the ink supply port 52 is sealed, infiltration of air into the recording head is prevented,
It is possible to prevent the occurrence of printing failure.

When the ink cartridge is mounted on the recording head, it is not normally inserted or removed until the ink in the ink chamber is exhausted, but it may still be ejected from the recording head by an incorrect operation. is there. As described above, once the mounted cartridge is removed from the recording head, the ink supply port 2 is opened to the atmosphere and air enters the ink supply chamber or the ink chamber, which adversely affects the recording operation.

FIG. 12 shows an embodiment for preventing the above-mentioned inconvenience caused by the attachment / detachment of the ink cartridge. In the figure, reference numeral 60 is an expandable valve element provided in the ink supply port 61. An ink supply needle fitting hole 62 into which the ink supply needle 70 fits is provided in the lower part. Further, a through hole 64 that connects the ink supply chamber 63 and the ink supply needle fitting hole 62 when moved to the upper limit position is provided.

In this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in (a), the valve body 60 elastically contacts the bottom portion 63a of the ink supply chamber 63 due to elasticity to reliably prevent the outflow of ink from the ink supply chamber 63.

When the ink supply needle 70 is inserted into the fitting hole 62, the valve body 60 extends to the upper limit position and separates from the bottom surface 63a of the ink supply chamber 63, and the communication hole 64 is exposed in the ink supply chamber 63. Yes (Figure (b)). As a result, the ink supply chamber 63 and the ink flow path 70a of the ink supply needle 70 are connected via the communication holes 64 and 70b, and the ink supply chamber 6
The ink of No. 3 flows into the ink supply needle 70, and the ink is supplied to the recording head.

When the ink cartridge mounted on the recording head is removed, the valve body 60 moves downward to shut off the ink supply chamber 63 and the ink supply port 61 (FIG. 9A), so the ink supply chamber 63. It is possible to prevent the outflow of ink from the printer and the infiltration of air into the ink supply chamber 63.

[0051]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Normally, the valve body closes the ink supply port to prevent ink leakage and air intrusion, and when the ink supply needle is inserted into the ink supply port, the valve body moves to open the ink supply port. Ink can be supplied to the recording head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

2 (a) and 2 (b) are diagrams showing the operation of the membrane valve seat and the valve disc, respectively, when mounted on the recording head.
Further, FIG. 3C is a sectional view showing a state of the valve element when the ink cartridge is filled with the ink.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between an ink discharge amount of an ink cartridge and a head value.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing, in an enlarged manner, the vicinity of an ink supply chamber of an embodiment of an ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing, in an enlarged manner, the vicinity of the ink supply chamber of the embodiment of the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

6 (a) and 6 (b) are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the membrane valve seat and the valve body when mounted on the recording head, and FIG. 6 (c) shows ink in the ink cartridge. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of a valve body in the case of filling.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the ink supply chamber of the embodiment of the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the ink supply chamber of the embodiment of the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the ink supply chamber of the embodiment of the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the ink supply chamber of the embodiment of the ink cartridge to which the present invention is applicable.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of an ink supply port.

12A and 12B are enlarged views of an ink supply port of an embodiment of the ink cartridge of the present invention. FIG. 12A shows a state in which the recording head is not mounted. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the recording head is mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 container 2 Ink supply port 3 membrane valve seat 4 ink chamber 5 Ink supply chamber 6 through holes 7 Step 8 valve 9 valve assembly 25 Soft porous membrane

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. In an ink cartridge for an inkjet printer, which has an ink chamber for storing ink and an ink supply port, the ink supply port is always closed by an urging force in the vicinity of the ink supply port, and an ink supply needle. An ink cartridge for an inkjet printer including a valve body that opens the ink supply port when the ink cartridge is pressed and moved by the ink cartridge. 2. The ink for an ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is made of a stretchable material to express the biasing force and has a fitting hole that engages with a tip of the ink supply needle. cartridge.