JP3461192B2 - Ink container and ink jet recording cartridge - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink container detachable from the recording head,
The present invention also relates to a small inkjet cartridge that can be detached from an inkjet recording apparatus, and an inkjet recording apparatus equipped with the same.

[0002]

[Description of Related Art] Various recording systems have been developed today, and among them, the inkjet recording system in which ink is ejected from an ejection port according to a recording signal to perform recording is intended to reduce the size and noise of an apparatus. It has been widely used in recent years because it is easy. In some cases, an ink supply source for an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink toward a recording medium such as paper is integrated with the recording head. However, in this method, when the ink is used up, the recording head itself is often still usable, and from the viewpoint of resource saving, it is desired that the ink storage portion be detachable from the recording head and replaceable. On the other hand, as a conventional method of connecting a replaceable ink container to an inkjet recording head, a needle connected to a pipe is inserted into an ink container plugged with an elastic member such as rubber to secure a flow path to the inkjet recording head. There was a way.
In this case, the ink was contained in a polymer bag provided in the ink container. However, this method has a large length for arranging the length of the needle, the stopper of the ink container, and the like, and is not a method that can be adapted to the recent trend toward miniaturization of the apparatus. Not only that, but stable ink holding is desired as an ink container mounted inside the apparatus, which has been more frequently carried with the downsizing of the apparatus. Therefore, it is desirable to use a polymer porous absorber as an ink container inside the container. However, in this case, it becomes difficult to supply the ink to the head by the needle method. There is a void around the needle that communicates with the outside world, and even though there is sufficient ink in the absorber, air is sucked in through the void, and printing cannot be performed. Therefore, in order to solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 23, a method of pressing a pipe against a polymer absorber impregnated with ink can be considered. In this case, airtightness is required so that air does not enter the ink flow path from the connection part. In order to solve this, it is necessary to dispose an O-ring around the connection pipe and bring the recording head into close contact with the ink container. However, in this method, when the user connects the ink container to the recording head in which the O-ring is set in advance at the factory, the air leaks from the joint portion of the recording head and the ink container due to the O-ring, and the reverse occurs. There was a problem that the ink leaked to the outside. The reason for this is that when the ink container is connected for the first time, the O-ring pressed on the connection surface of the ink container does not slide well and is twisted, so that the connection surface between the connection surface of the ink container and the connection surface on the recording head side opposite to the connection surface. There is a gap between them. Although this problem does not always occur and its frequency of occurrence is not high, it is likely to occur due to a combination of dimensional variations in molding of the recording head portion, dimensional variations in O-ring, and the like. In particular, a so-called biting phenomenon, in which the elastic member forming the O-ring sticks to the head-side protrusion when left under a stress, promotes this phenomenon. At this time, even if the O-ring is pushed in the attachment / detachment direction on the joint surface of the ink container, the O-ring does not slide easily and twists, and in some cases, the OR ring is damaged or broken. Therefore, when connecting the ink container for the first time after manufacturing, it is necessary to exert a force that pulls off the O-ring in the direction perpendicular to the sliding surface of the O-ring from the sliding surface. On the other hand, in the head after the ink container has been exchanged many times, this portion is usually wet with ink, and the frictional force acting between the O-ring and the side surface of the protrusion is extremely small, which causes almost no trouble. Does not occur. However, when the ink container is removed, the O-ring sometimes rises slightly from the joint surface on the recording head side due to the small frictional force. In this state, if the ink is left for a long period of time, the ink may be dried, and the same problem may occur again when newly connecting the ink container. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to reliably connect an ink container and a recording head in an ink container detachable ink jet recording device, and to prevent air from the connecting portion. This is to prevent the ink from entering the internal ink flow path and, conversely, the ink from leaking from the ink flow path.

[0003]

According to the present invention, the surfaces of the recording head and the ink container, which are involved in joining the recording head and the ink container, are inclined with respect to the surface perpendicular to the attachment / detachment direction of the recording head and the ink container (tank). By doing so, when the ink tank is joined for the first time after use after manufacturing, a part of the O-ring is pushed first by the inclined joint surface of the ink container, so that the movement starts smoothly and the above problems can be solved. I can.

[0004]

【Example】

[First Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a carrier 203 is equipped with a head cartridge 202 in which a recording head 200 constituting a recording unit and an ink container 201 are connected. One end of the carrier 203 on the recording head 200 side is fitted to a lead screw 213 rotatably attached to the chassis 1 so as to be slidable in the axial direction, and the other end of the carrier 203 has a guide. Is provided, and the guide is slidably fitted in the guide rail 2 formed on the chassis 1 in parallel with the axial direction of the lead screw 213. The carrier 203 is configured to be capable of reciprocating in its axial direction as the lead screw 213 rotates while keeping its posture always constant.

That is, the lead screw 213
As shown in the figure, the lead screw gear 257 fixed to the left end of the screw meshes with the pinion gear 256 fixed to the output shaft of the carrier motor 255, and the lead screw 213 is spirally formed at a predetermined pitch. Lead pins (not shown) attached to the carrier 203 are fitted into the formed guide strips. Therefore, when the lead screw 213 rotates with the forward rotation and the reverse rotation of the carrier motor 255, the carrier 203 reciprocates.
Details of scanning the carrier 203 will be described later.

A flexible cable 211 transmits a print signal from the electric circuit described later to the recording head 200. The flexible cable holder 16 positions and holds the pinch roller frame 11 on the pinch roller frame 11.

The recording head 200 is driven in synchronism with the reciprocating movement of the carrier 203 to eject ink in accordance with a recording signal, thereby recording one line on the recording material 3. That is, the recording head 200 has a fine liquid discharge port (orifice), a liquid passage, and an energy acting portion provided in a part of the liquid passage, and energy for generating droplet forming energy that acts on the liquid in the acting portion. Equipped with generating means.

As an energy generating means for generating such energy, a recording method using an electrothermal converter such as a piezo element, electromagnetic waves such as a laser are radiated to generate heat, and droplets are ejected by the action of the heat generation. There are a recording method using an energy generating means, a recording method using an energy generating means for heating a liquid and discharging the liquid by an electrothermal converter such as a heating element having a heating resistance.

Among them, in a recording head used in an ink jet recording method for ejecting a liquid by thermal energy, liquid ejection ports for ejecting a recording liquid to form ejection droplets may be arranged at high density. Therefore, it is possible to record with high resolution. Among them, the recording head using the electrothermal converter as the energy generating means can easily be made compact, and has the advantages of the IC technology and the microfabrication technology, which have been remarkably improved in the technology and the reliability in the recent semiconductor field. This is advantageous because it can be used in two parts, high-density mounting is easy, and the manufacturing cost is low.

When one line is recorded by scanning the carrier 203, the recording material 3 is conveyed by one line by the conveying means and the next line is recorded.
Is carried by a rotary pair of the transport roller 4 and the pinch roller 8 that is in pressure contact with the transport roller 4, and a rotary pair of the discharge roller 7 and the spur 6 that is in contact with the discharge roller 7.

To explain this concretely, the recording material 3 whose recording surface faces the ejection opening surface of the recording head 200 is
The pinch roller 8 makes pressure contact with the conveying roller 4, and the conveying roller 4 is appropriately rotated by the paper feed motor 5 to convey the recording roller 4 to the recording position as needed. After recording, the recording material 3 is pressed against the discharge roller 7 by the spur 6 and is discharged and conveyed outside the apparatus by the rotation of the discharge roller 7.

The conveyance roller 4 and the discharge roller are driven by the paper feed motor 5, and the driving force is transmitted by the reduction gear train 15.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a paper sensor, which is the recording material 3
The presence or absence of is detected.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the head cartridge portion and the carrier portion of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 200 is a recording head for ejecting ink by an electric signal, 201 is an ink container for accommodating the ink and supplying it to the recording head 200, 203
Is a carrier provided in the main body of the recording apparatus for holding and scanning the recording head 200 and the ink container 201, 204 is a head lever for holding and releasing the recording head, 205 is an ink tank lever for attaching and detaching the ink container 201, 20
Reference numeral 7 is a head holder spring for fixing the recording head 200 to the carrier 203, and 208 is an ink tank 201.
A tank case that holds the head cartridge section and the carrier section of the recording apparatus.

The recording head 200 includes a substrate on which a plurality of electrothermal conversion elements that generate thermal energy used for ejecting ink and a drive circuit for driving the electrothermal conversion elements are formed, and the plurality of electrothermal conversion elements on the substrate. A discharge port and a liquid path corresponding to each of the conversion elements, and a top plate for forming a common liquid chamber communicating with each liquid path are stacked, and a signal is applied to the drive circuit from the recording apparatus main body. Electrical contacts are provided. Further, a sensor for detecting the state of the head from the recording apparatus main body can be arranged inside the recording head 200. Specifically, a temperature detection sensor for detecting the temperature in the vicinity of the electrothermal conversion element, an ink Ink remaining amount detection sensor that detects this when there is no ink in the common liquid chamber, or
A head type discrimination sensor for identifying the type of the head cartridge when the head cartridge is used while exchanging different types of ink or different types of heads.
The printing apparatus main body can judge the signals from these sensors and control the signals applied to the electrothermal conversion elements in the previous period to optimize the printing state. Then, the recording head configured as described above is mounted on the recording apparatus so that the ejection port surface on which the ejection ports are arranged faces the recording medium.

Next, the recording head 200 is attached to the carrier 203.
The method of connecting mechanically and electrically to the. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the connection portion of the recording head 200 to the carrier 203 as seen from the direction of FIG. 2a, and FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the mounting sequence. In the figure, 225 is a fixing pin 225 which is fixed to the carrier 203 and engages with a hole provided in the recording head 200 to perform positioning in the directions of arrow a and arrow b in FIG. A stopper for receiving the recording head 200 to be pressed, 211 is a flexible cable for electrically connecting the recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200, 211a
Is a positioning hole a provided in the flexible cable 211, 211b is a positioning hole b provided in the flexible cable 211, and 212 is a flexible cable 211.
Flexible cable 2 sandwiched between carrier and carrier 203
A flexible cable pad that elastically supports 11.
212a is a positioning hole a provided in the flexible cable pad 212, 212b is a positioning hole b provided in the flexible cable pad 212, and 212c is an ink barrier 227 that prevents ink from entering the contact portion.
Is a head contact portion provided on the recording head 200 and electrically connected to a heater portion in the recording head 200,
Reference numeral 27a denotes positioning holes a and 227b provided in the head contact portion 227, and positioning holes b and 227c provided in the head contact portion 227 are stopper abutting locations where the end surface of the stopper 226 abuts.

The recording head 200 has a head holder spring 20.
7 is pressed in the direction a through a lever (not shown), and its position is uniquely determined by the engagement between the hole provided in the recording head 200 and the positioning pin 225 and the interference with the stopper 226. In this way, the recording head 200 and the carrier 203 are mechanically connected. Also,
Head contact portion 22 provided on the recording head 200
7 and the flexible cable 211 are provided with a plurality of electrical contacts at opposite positions, and by pressing these with a predetermined pressure, the recording apparatus main body and the recording head 200 are electrically connected. At this time, since it is necessary to press-contact a plurality of electrical contacts at one time, a flexible cable pad 212 made of an elastic material is put in the pressing part in order to press-contact them uniformly. The material of the flexible cable pad 212 is, for example, silicon rubber, and has a plurality of protrusions at positions corresponding to the above-described electrical contacts so that the stress of pressing is concentrated on the contacts. Furthermore, the above-mentioned electrical contacts provided on the flexible cable 211 may be formed in a protruding shape in order to further concentrate the stress when pressed and to ensure the connection.

The reaction force generated when pressed is the head holder spring 20 that presses the recording head 200.
Since it is configured to be much smaller than the force of 7, the position of the recording head 200 will not be displaced by the reaction force from the flexible cable pad 212.

Further, the carrier 203, the flexible cable pad 212, the flexible cable 211, the head contact portion 227 and the head cartridge 203.
Are required to be accurately positioned with respect to each other in order to obtain a reliable electrical connection and good recording quality. For that reason, they are configured as follows. That is, with the two positioning pins 225 of the carrier 203 as a reference, one of the positioning pins 225 has a positioning hole a212a and a positioning hole a2.
11a and the positioning hole a227a are fitted in common, and the other positioning pin 225 has the positioning hole b212.
b, positioning hole b211b and positioning hole b227b
Are commonly fitted to determine the positions in the directions of FIG. 4a and FIG. 4b. Further, the position of the recording head 200 in the direction of FIG. 4c can be accurately determined by pressing the end surface of the stopper 226 from the direction of FIG. 3a until the end surface of the stopper 226 comes into contact with the stopper contact location 227c of the head contact portion 227.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 226 is formed with a predetermined inclination θ with respect to the carrying directions X1 and X2 of the carrier 203. When the recording head 200 is positioned on the carrier 203, the recording head 20 is positioned.
The nozzles # 1 to #m arranged at a constant pitch P of 0 are configured to be inclined by a predetermined amount d with respect to the nozzle length L. The distance G between the stoppers 226 is set larger than the nozzle height H so that the accuracy of the predetermined amount d is maintained.

Next, the configuration and electric circuit of the information processing apparatus incorporating the recording apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an information processing apparatus 400 incorporating the recording apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure, 401 is the above-mentioned printer unit, 40
Reference numeral 2 denotes a keyboard unit including keys for inputting characters, numbers and other characters, keys for giving various commands, and a display unit including a 403 display unit.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electric circuit configuration of the information processing apparatus according to this embodiment. In the figure,
Reference numeral 501 is a controller that performs the main control, and 502 is a microcomputer type C that executes a certain procedure.
PU, 503 is a RAM provided with an area for expanding text data and image data, an area for work, etc., 504
Is a ROM storing fixed data such as a program corresponding to the above procedure and other font data, and 505 is a CPU
Printer unit 401 to create an execution cycle of 502
A timer 506 creates a necessary timing in the recording operation by the, and an interface unit 506 connects a signal from the CPU 502 and a peripheral device.

Reference numeral 507 denotes a controller of the printer unit 401, and 508 detects the presence / absence and type of the recording head 200, the output value of the sensor for detecting the temperature of the recording head 200, and the presence / absence of ink in the ink tank 201. A head detection unit that detects print head information such as sensor output, 509 is a line buffer for storing print data of the print head 200, and 510 is a head driver that sends a print signal and power to the print head 200.
a, b, and c are motor drivers for sending signals and electric power necessary for driving the carrier motor 255, the paper feed motor 5, and the automatic paper feed motor 323, 512 is the home position sensor 270, the paper sensor 14, Paper feed initial sensor 320a, paper feed switching sensor 32
0b, etc. is a sensor detection unit that detects the output of the sensor. Further, 404 is an external storage device such as an FDD, HDD, or RAM card, and 405 is an external interface for communicating with another information processing device or directly connecting to an internal bus to control peripheral devices. Is. Although not included in the block diagram of FIG. 7,
In addition, there is a power supply unit for supplying electric power to the above electric circuit, which includes, for example, a rechargeable battery, a disposable dry battery, or an AC power supply converter when the information processing apparatus main body is fixed and used. and so on.

Recording is performed on the recording material (paper) 3 in the recording device section by the above-mentioned electric circuit configuration. The outline of ejection control of the recording head will be described below with reference to timing charts of FIG. .

FIG. 8 is a timing chart of the ejection of the recording head 200 for achieving the recording shown in FIG. 9 while conveying the carrier 203 in the X1 direction (FIGS. 1 and 5).

The discharge is sequentially performed in the order of the nozzles # 1 to #m. t1 represents a discharge time difference between the nozzles # 1 and # 2, tm-1 represents a discharge time difference between the nozzles # 1 and #m, and tcycle represents a discharge cycle of the same nozzle. Usually, it is desirable to keep the time difference between ejections of adjacent nozzles constant. That is, tm-1 = (m-1) * t1.
Here, the carrier 203 is moved in the X1 direction at a velocity R / tcyc.
The nozzle inclination d (FIG. 5) is obtained by discharging at tm−1 = d × tcycle / R while being transported by le.
And the time difference tm-1 of the ejection of the nozzles are canceled out, and the recording without the deviation (tilt) as shown in FIG. 9 is realized. When recording is performed while the carrier 203 is conveyed in the X2 direction, the ejection order may be reversed and the ejection may be sequentially performed in the order of #m to # 1.

FIG. 10A shows the recording head 20 of this embodiment.
6 is a schematic diagram showing a combined state of 0 and the ink container 201 from the nozzle surface side. FIG. The ink container 201 is attached to the recording head 200 attached to the carrier 203 in the Xa direction by the lever 205. FIG. 10B is a view of the recording sheet surface showing the inclination relationship in each direction, and the ink container attaching / detaching direction Xa is the carrier conveying direction X during printing.
1 and X2, the nozzle arrangement direction is inclined by an angle θ from the direction perpendicular to the ink container attachment / detachment direction Xa.

The nozzle inclination amount d is t in order to average the energy applied to the recording head and the ink supply.
_{m-1 = t cycle / 2~t} cycle is desirable, therefore d =
R / 2 to R are desirable. Also, the pitch of the normal nozzles P = R
In many cases, the inclination amount d = P / 2 to P
Is desirable.

FIG. 10 (c) shows the relationship between the head cartridge and the carrier after the ink container 201 is attached. In this figure, the O-ring shown in FIG. 10A is hidden behind the head and the ink container and is invisible.
FIG. 11A is a diagram for explaining the operation according to the present invention. It shows that the joint surface of the ink container is just starting to come into contact with the left cross section of the O-ring. When this portion is first pushed in, a portion of the inner head portion of the O-ring that is in contact with the coupling protrusion portion and the periphery thereof exert a force in a direction slightly lifted up against the contact surface, so that the O
The frictional force between the ring and the side surface of the protrusion is reduced, and the ring slides easily. Especially when the ink container is joined to the head for the first time, all parts are dry, and the elastic member (silicon rubber) that constitutes the O-ring is adsorbed and the contact surface On the other hand, the action of the force in the peeling direction, though small, produces an extremely large effect. In the head after the ink container has been exchanged many times, this portion is usually leaked with ink, and the frictional force acting between the O-ring and the side surface of the protrusion is extremely small, so that almost no trouble occurs. do not do. However, when the ink container is removed, the O-ring sometimes rises slightly from the joint surface on the recording head side due to the small frictional force. In this state, if the ink is left for a long period of time, the ink dries, and the same problem may occur again when a new ink container is joined. Therefore, it is extremely important to first push the O-ring from one side of the joint surface of the ink container. Now, in this figure, the force acting in the direction of peeling the O-ring from the slide surface of the head side protrusion is only on the left side in FIG. 11 (a). The right part does not pull off because the tension works from the left part, rather than pressing it against the slide surface, so it seems difficult to slide the right part even if the left part slides, but actually the left part Once the part comes off the sliding surface, the whole part easily moves. The reason for this is considered as follows. The right half of the O-ring that has been partially peeled off in FIG. 11B is still entwined with the axis from the boundary point P. The left half is already off axis. Therefore, the force generated by being pressed against the joint surface of the ink container is concentrated and acts only on the point P as the tension F1 along the O-ring. Therefore, the point P is easily peeled off from the shaft by the component force F2. As a result, the boundary point P moves to the right. This occurs one after another, and finally the O-ring is completely peeled off from the shaft and slid along the axial direction to adhere to the joint surface on the recording head side to achieve the initial purpose. The inclination angle of the joint surface with respect to the plane perpendicular to the ink container attachment / detachment direction is effective even if the inclination angle is within 1 °, but may be large. However, the extremely large size is not desirable in terms of volume efficiency.

FIG. 12 shows one embodiment of the ink container. Since only the container is described in this figure, the description of the internal state is omitted. The container is two members, the lid 1
81 and a main body 201. The joint surface relating to the present invention is indicated by 199. Reference numeral 183 is a hole into which the protrusion of the recording head is inserted inside the ink container. Reference numeral 184 is a claw for fitting and fixing the head portion. 185 acts as a sealing part when it is connected to the mouth 186 of the container body by ultrasonic welding or other means. In this example, the lid member is inclined and joined to the main body, and an inclination angle is generated on the joint surface.
185 have different heights along the perimeter of the lid member. FIG. 13 shows another design example of the ink container. In FIG. 12, the thickness of the lid member is constant, but in this case, the inclination angle is generated in the joint surface 199 by changing the thickness of the lid member. In this case, the height of the sealing portion 185 is constant along the circumference. FIG. 14 shows another design example of the ink container, which is the same as the case of FIG.
A depression 188 is provided around the circumference 9. Therefore, the joint surface 199 is formed at the bottom of this recess. FIG. 15 further shows another design example of the ink container. In this example, the inclination of the joint surface is provided only around the fitting hole 189. FIG. 16 shows another design example of FIG. 13 in which the lid member of FIG. 13 forms the main body of the ink container. Similarly in FIG. 17, FIG.
The container body is formed on a member provided with an inclined surface by a modification of the above.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 18 shows a second embodiment according to the present invention. The function of the O-ring in this example is different from the previous examples. The sealing operation of the O-ring is performed on a surface parallel to the attachment / detachment of the ink container. FIG.
The ink container side slide surface and the side surface 220 of the recording head side protrusion are involved in sealing. With this method, the sealing is retained without applying a large force in the attachment / detachment direction, so the mechanism is superior to the design examples up to now. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the joint portion in more detail. The sealing portion on the ink container side and the sealing portion on the recording head side are indicated by black circles. In this example, the diameter of the slide surface on the ink container side is set to be slightly smaller than the outer shape of the O-ring. For this reason, a force perpendicular to the sliding surface is exerted to achieve sealing. Even in this example, the inclination angle of the joining surface according to the present invention with respect to the surface perpendicular to the ink container attaching / detaching direction plays an important role. As in the previous examples, the O-ring that has passed the time after manufacturing causes "sticking" to the head side protrusion. Therefore, when the ink container is first joined, the O-ring does not slide normally and a sealing failure occurs. Therefore, it is necessary to start pushing the O-ring from one side as in the previous embodiments. An easy way to achieve this is in FIG.
That is, the joint surface on the ink container side and the joint surface on the recording head side, which are shown in (3), are inclined with respect to the plane perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the ink container. Because of this inclination angle, when the ink container is joined, the point Q, which is the edge of the joint surface on the ink container side, first comes into contact with the O-ring, and the O-ring is the same as in the previous embodiments.
Start pushing the ring from one side. Therefore, the "sticking" of the O-ring is released, and the normal O-ring sealing operation can be realized. 20 and 21 show an embodiment in this case. In these examples, there is a feature difference in the thickness of the lid member of the ink container. Also, the same shape as in the case of FIG.
That is, there is a recess into which the O-ring fits,
The depth of the depression is large in order to take a large amount of sliding portion on the side surface of the depression.

(Other Embodiments) In the above description, the O-ring has been used to achieve the adhesion between the ink container and the recording head. However, the O-ring is not always essential, as long as adhesion is achieved,
For example, a member obtained by simply punching a plate-shaped rubber into a washer may be used. Even in that case, the present invention is similarly effective.

The joint surface between the ink container and the ink jet recording head according to the present invention described above is
The angle is empirically about 0.5 ° with respect to the plane perpendicular to the ink container attachment / detachment direction, but the effect is recognized, but the larger the angle, the better. However, if this angle is too large, a space that does not contribute to the function is taken up in each of the ink container and the recording head, resulting in poor volume efficiency, which is not preferable for a small printer. For example, in the case where the ink container has a cross section of about 20 mm × 20 mm and a length of about 40 mm, and foamed polyurethane is used as the ink absorber inside, the limit is considered to be about 30 °. If this angle becomes too large, the ink absorber cannot be pushed deeply into the interior of the container, especially the part of the side where an acute angle is formed due to the inclination angle, and it is not involved in ink storage. Is generated. However, since this depends on the flexibility of the absorber used, the range of the limit value is somewhat wide.

In the above description, the sealing member is fitted in the protrusion on the recording head side. On the contrary, the protrusion is provided on the ink container side, and the sealing member is arranged around the protrusion, and the recording head side is provided. The effect of the present invention is not lost even in the structure in which the sealing member is pushed by the joining surface of.

[0037]

As described above, according to the present invention, the joint surface provided on each member of the ink container and the recording head is inclined with respect to the surface perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the ink container. This allows the customer to easily release the bite on the sliding surface of the O-ring when connecting the ink container for printing, especially after a certain period of time has passed since the production, resulting in printing failure due to ink shortage, We were able to solve problems such as a large amount of ink remaining.

Further, since the joint surface has an inclination angle with respect to the plane perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the ink container, the force along the joint surface is generated as a component force of the force applied in the attaching / detaching direction when the ink containers are joined. To do. This force is a force that causes a relative displacement between the ink expectation and the inkjet recording head along the joint surface. Since this force is finally received by the fitting claws and the like, relative force is not provided in the direction along the joint surface according to the present invention without providing a special fixing pin or a special force generating means other than attachment and detachment. It is effective for realizing an ink jet recording cartridge that can be used for precise positioning and is more reliable against vibration and the like.

Further, this inclination angle is effective in preventing erroneous insertion of the ink container. For example, as shown in FIG. 22, an erroneous insertion preventing groove is often provided on the side opposite to the joint surface of the container, but this groove significantly reduces the internal volume of the ink container. However, by utilizing the inclination angle according to the present invention, there is an effect that it can be used as an erroneous insertion prevention mechanism without significantly reducing the usable volume of the ink container. Further, in recent years, there is an effect that it can be used to distinguish by changing the inclination angle for each color in a color printing apparatus which has been required more and more.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a carrier section of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a partially enlarged view of a carrier section of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a method of connecting the carrier portion and the head cartridge portion of the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a method of positioning the carrier portion and the head cartridge portion of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing an information processing apparatus incorporating the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing an electric circuit configuration of an information processing apparatus incorporating the first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the ejection timing of the recording head of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a recording result of the first embodiment of the inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a first inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the attaching / detaching directions of the carrier portion, the recording head, and the ink container of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the O-ring and the ink container according to the present invention and the principle thereof.

FIG. 12 is an example of an ink container.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of another ink container.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of another ink container.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of another ink container.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of another ink container.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of another ink container.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram of an ink container when sealing on a slide surface is used.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of the principle.

FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example.

FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining another effect of the present invention.

FIG. 23 is a diagram showing the reason for reaching the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 chassis 2 Guide rail 3 Recording material 4 Conveyor rollers 5 Paper feed motor 6 spurs 7 discharge roller 8 pinch rollers 9 pinch roller spring 10 pinch roller holder 11 pinch roller frame 12 Release angle 13 Release lever 14 Paper sensor 15 Reduction gear train 150 pump units 200 recording head 201 ink container 202 head cartridge 203 career 204 head lever 205 tank lever 207 Head holder spring 208 tank case 210 lead pin spring 211 flexible cable 211a Positioning hole a 211b Positioning hole b 212 flexible cable pad 212a Positioning hole a 212b Positioning hole b 212c ink barrier 213 Lead screw 213a Positioning hole a 213b Positioning hole b 220 Ink connection part (head) 221 Ink connection part (ink container) 225 Positioning pin 226 stopper 227 Head contact part 227a Positioning hole a 227b Positioning hole b 227c Stopper contact location 228 Carrier bearing 1 229 Carrier bearing 2 255 carrier motor 256 pinion gear 257 lead screw gear 270 HP sensor 320a Paper feed initial sensor 320b Paper feed switching sensor 323 Automatic paper feed motor 400 Information processing device 401 printer section 402 keyboard 403 display 404 External storage device 405 external interface 501 controller 502 CPU 503 RAM 504 ROM 505 timer 506 Interface section 507 controller 508 Head detector 509 line buffer 510 head driver 511 motor driver 512 sensor detector

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175 B41J 2/05 F16J 15/06 F16J 15/10 F16J 15/16

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A pipe-shaped coupling protrusion and the coupling protrusion.
A ring shape that is fitted into and can move along the coupling protrusion
A sealing member, and is supplied from the joint part.
Ink jetting to print on the recording medium
An ink container that is detachably attached to the recording head
In addition, the connecting protrusion of the inkjet recording head and the seal
An ink supply opening that joins with a ring member interposed, and the ink jet recording head and the ink container are attached to and detached from each other in the extending direction of the coupling protrusion, and a surface having the coupling protrusion of the inkjet recording head. An ink container, wherein a surface of the ink tank having an ink supply opening is inclined with respect to a surface perpendicular to a mounting / dismounting direction of the inkjet recording head and the ink container. 2. An ink is contained and supplied.
An ink container having an ink supply opening for supplying the ink, and the ink in the ink container is discharged to record on a recording medium.
And a pie that is joined to the ink supply opening.
Equipped with a ridged coupling protrusion, it can be attached to and detached from the ink
A flexible ink jet recording head, which is fitted on the coupling protrusion and moves along the coupling protrusion.
A sealing member having a ring shape that can be removed, and the ink jet member is provided in a direction in which the coupling protrusion extends.
Ink cartridge for attaching / detaching the recording head to / from the ink container.
In the ink jet recording cartridge, the surface of the ink jet recording head having the coupling protrusion and the surface of the ink container having the ink supply opening are inclined with respect to a plane perpendicular to the attachment / detachment direction of the ink jet recording head and the ink container. Inkjet recording cartridge characterized by being. 3. The ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the ink jet recording cartridge is removable from a carrier. 4. The ink jet recording cartridge according to claim 2, wherein an elastic member is used as a sealing member.