JPH08290585A - Ink reservoir and ink jet recorder using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an ink reservoir and an ink jet recorder using the same in which all components for the reservoir are provided, the technical reserving volume is increased, the funtionality is improved, and which can be easily manufactured with a low cost. CONSTITUTION: An ink reservoir 13 comprises a plurality of sheets 17 each having blade 15 extended in a plate state and an interval holder 16 protruding in the thickness direction of the blade 15, and laminated in the thickness direction of the sheets 17. The holder 16 is formed by disposing the blades 15 opposed at a desired interval substantially in parallel when the sheets 17 are laminated to hold ink 26 overflowed at the slits 18 between the laminated blades 15. Ink conducting holes are formed at the blades 15 and the holder 16, and the blades 15 are connected in the peripheral direction for surrounding the hole without cut.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, an ink jet printer in which an ink reservoir (also referred to as an ink flow rate regulator, collector, or bellows) is provided between an ink tank and a printer head, and the ink tank is filled with air. An ink reservoir that can be easily manufactured in the printing part from the ink tank to the ink jet head, which has a substitution hole, and can exhibit good functions, and can increase the ink capacity, and an ink jet recording using the same Regarding the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer (also referred to as an ink jet printer) for ejecting and ejecting ink droplets from a nozzle to deposit ink on recording paper for recording is disclosed in JP-A-2-293153, "Inkjet head". Has already been proposed. In the technique of this publication, an ink reservoir (also referred to as a collector) by an integral molding technique is used because of the description thereof.

In an ink jet printer which is constructed so that the amount of ink transferred from the ink tank to the ink jet head is always appropriate, and which has a collector, the action mechanism or function of the collector is as follows. There is. Mainly, when external pressure is applied, more specifically, when the atmospheric pressure decreases or when the temperature inside the ink tank rises, the same result that the pressure inside the ink tank rises is obtained. The ink that overflows from the ink tank is stored in the collector until the external pressure is balanced with the outside air pressure, which prevents the ink from flowing out of the head.

Further, when the internal pressure of the ink tank is lower than the external pressure, and if the ink is retained and retained in the collector, the retained ink is always returned to the inside of the ink tank before the ink is retained. When the pressure in the ink tank is still low, air is taken into the tank through the air replacement hole only. Furthermore, if ink is ejected when ink is present in the collector, the ink in the collector will decrease before the ink in the ink tank, and the ink in the ink tank will be used next. There is.

A collector having the above functions
Conventionally, they are integrally resin-molded and manufactured only by injection molding. In general, each of the parallel gap widths of the blades arranged in the comb shape of the collector is 0.2 or less due to the structure of the integrally molded mold or the function of the injection molding.
mm is the limit, and the depth of this blade (the distance from the peripheral edge to the shaft end) is 3 mm at the maximum. Furthermore, the minimum limit of the thickness of this blade is 0.3 mm, which is the collector with the maximum function that can be achieved with the current technology.

[0006]

In order to satisfy the above-mentioned function, the height of ink rise by the capillary force of the slit is higher than that of the water head from the head tip to the gap width (called a slit) of each blade. However, in the state of the art, as described above, there is a limit to the minimum distance between the blades, so there is a limit to the rise height due to the capillary force generated by the slits, so the length of the collector can be unavoidably reduced. You can't make a long ink jet head. Therefore, since there is a limit to the axial length of the collector, there is also a limit to the ink retention amount, and it is considered that the usable ink retention volume is about 0.4 ml (milliliter) in the current state of the art collector.

Here, when the volume of the ink tank is large, a large amount of ink comes out from the ink tank to the collector due to the expansion of the gas in the ink tank (the air that has already entered the ink tank through the air displacement hole). Therefore, the amount of ink to be retained by the collector increases. However, as described above, the current technology has a limit to the amount of ink that can be held in the collector, which inevitably causes a problem that the inner volume of the ink tank also has a limit. Frequent replacement of the ink tank is complicated, and if you want to increase the amount of ink, you have to increase the number in parallel, but this causes the inconvenience of increasing the inefficient space volume and makes it practical. Currently, the range is limited.

Further, as described above, the collector according to the state of the art approaches the manufacturing limit in order to improve the functionality (thickness: 0.3 mm, gap width: 0.2 mm) due to integral molding. It takes time to manufacture, which is an obstacle to cost reduction. Further, only a specific resin such as an ABS resin can be used as the material resin for the molding, and there is a problem that the range of selection of the raw material resin is narrow and the cost reduction is hindered. In addition, regarding the ink collector
Japanese Patent No. 8711 is disclosed. However, in the technique of this publication, an ink reservoir member (ink collector) having a comb-shaped vertical cross section is formed by stacking a plurality of disc-shaped flat members. However, the disc-shaped portion of the flat member is slit from the outer edge toward the center. Is cut, and the disk-shaped portion has a C-shaped ring state. Therefore, the disk-shaped portion is separated in the circumferential direction, has low rigidity against radial force, and is easily deformed. Therefore, in order to secure rigidity, the thickness cannot be made thin, and it is made thin. There is a limit. Therefore, the ink retaining function cannot be fully exerted. Further, since it is necessary to align the slits cut in the disk-shaped portion,
As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 2, the convex portion (3) and the concave portion (4)
Has a circular shape with a part missing, and therefore it is difficult to form, and it is necessary to make it thick, that is, there is a limit to making it thin. Therefore, there remains a problem that it is expensive and it is difficult to make the ink storage capacity sufficient.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In addition to providing all the necessary components for an ink reservoir, the ink can be made by relaxing the thinness of the blades. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink reservoir and an ink jet recording apparatus which can increase the technical reservoir capacity of the reservoir and improve the functionality thereof and can be manufactured easily and inexpensively.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following constitution. According to a first aspect of the present invention, in an ink reservoir for temporarily retaining overflow ink, a sheet having a blade portion that spreads in a plate shape and a space holding portion that protrudes in the thickness direction of the blade portion is provided. A plurality of blades are stacked in the thickness direction of the blades, and in the interval holding section, the opposed blades of the stacked sheets are positioned substantially parallel to each other at a desired interval, and Overflow ink is retained in the slits between the stacked blades, and the blades and the gap holders have ink-conducting holes that serve as ink-conducting paths when the sheets are stacked. The ink reservoir has a configuration in which the blade portion is formed and is continuously connected in the circumferential direction surrounding the ink conduction hole.

The invention of claim 2 is an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink reservoir for temporarily retaining overflow ink in an ink jet head, wherein the ink reservoir is
A plurality of sheet-like bodies each having a blade portion that spreads in a plate shape and an interval holding portion that projects in the thickness direction of the blade portion are stacked in the thickness direction of the blade portion, and the interval holding portion is ,
The opposing blades of the stacked sheets are positioned substantially parallel to each other with a desired spacing, and the overflow ink is retained in the slits between the stacked blades. The ink jet recording apparatus is characterized by the following.

The invention according to claim 3 has the structure of the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink reservoir and the ink jet head are integrated. Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink reservoir and the ink tank are integrated into a cartridge. Further, the invention of claim 5 has an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the ink tank is detachably attached to the ink reservoir. The invention of claim 6 is
The ink reservoir has a plurality of sheets stacked and accommodated in a cylinder, and the distance between the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and the outer peripheral surface of the blade portion is wider than the slit distance between the blade portions. The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 5 is provided.

[0013]

The inventor has made the present invention to increase the ink storage capacity of the ink storage body and the ink storage body (also referred to as a collector) of the ink jet recording apparatus and to improve the functionality. It is a thing. In the present invention,
A plurality of sheet-like bodies, each having a single plate-shaped blade portion and an interval holding portion projecting in the thickness direction of the blade portion integrally or separately, are stacked on the ink storage body in the thickness direction of the blade portion. ing. The interval holding portion is formed by projecting in the thickness direction of the sheet body so that the blade portions facing each other are positioned in parallel at a desired interval when the sheet bodies are stacked, or the interval holding portion is formed. The blade portion and the blade portion are separately formed, and the space holding portion is interposed between the blade portions. Ink-conducting holes, which serve as ink-conducting passages when the sheets are stacked, are formed in the blade portion and the gap holding portion, and the blade portion is continuously connected in the circumferential direction surrounding the ink-conducting hole. The slit between the stacked blades communicates with the ink tank, and the slit (also called the space between the blades) holds the overflow ink from the ink tank. To do.

When the slit forming portion of the collector manufactured by integral molding is cut transversely, the blade portion becomes a single sheet shape. According to the present invention, the same function as a conventional collector can be achieved by manufacturing, stacking and accumulating a single-wafer having a shape and structure similar to this single-wafer. Not only that, but also the sheet has a blade portion that spreads like a plate and is continuously connected in the circumferential direction surrounding the ink conduction hole, and the conventional blade portion forms a slit (slit). Unlike the above, there is no limitation on the thinness of the blades, and the storage capacity of the collector can be easily made large.

In consideration of the gap width of the slits (distance between the blade portions), the present invention forms the above-mentioned spacing holding portion, for example, a sheet having a step, or a spacer between the blade portions. It suffices to interpose a portion, and a desired gap width can be easily manufactured by setting this gap holding portion. This allows not only a great degree of freedom in design in designing the ink reservoir or the ink jet recording device, but also a quick response speed to external changes, such as ink jetting and spillage. It is possible to eliminate problems and improve the functionality as a flow rate adjuster.

Furthermore, since the conventional collector is integrally molded in a state where a plurality of blades are stacked, the thickness of the blade and the gap width of the slit are limited in manufacturing due to the structure of the mold or the function of injection molding. was there. On the other hand, since the single-wafer bodies of the present invention need only be molded one by one, there is no manufacturing limit for the thickness of the blade portions as described above, and therefore it is easy to make the thickness thinner and The total volume can be made smaller. At the same time, the thickness of the blades and the space holder can be reduced, so the total length of the collector when stacking the sheets (length in the stacking direction)
Can be shortened. Therefore, the head from the ink discharge end (for example, the ink jet tip) to the slit can be made small, so that the storage capacity is large, the volume efficiency is improved, the dead space is reduced, and the functionality as a flow rate adjuster is achieved. It is possible to improve the cost and further reduce the cost.

The structure of the stacked sheets is such that when the sheets are stacked one by one, the spaces formed by the upper and lower sheets are formed substantially parallel to each other (slit formation), and It has a vane portion for holding the overflowed ink, and a space holding portion (spacing holding portion) that is thicker than the vane portion or is separate from the vane portion to form this space. That is. Further, in the stacked sheets, a communication hole formed by a hole or a notch communicating with each other is formed,
Ink is supplied from the ink tank to the nozzle of the ink jet head or the like through this conduction hole.

It should be noted that, for example, the spacing holding portion may be formed with a thickness greater than that of the blade portion at approximately the center of the sheet body in the plane direction, or the spacing holding portion separate from the blade portion may be provided between the blade portions. Can be installed in the Also, an ink which is a groove continuously formed from the conduction hole toward the surface of the vane portion in the space holding portion and which allows the ink to flow between the conduction hole and the slit in a state where the sheet is stacked. It may have a flow groove. By doing so, the overflow ink from the tank can be made to flow in and out from the blade portion toward the conduction hole through the interval holding portion, so that the ink overflow to the slit is performed sequentially from the inside to the outside. The ink can be retained in the slits without waste.

In the present invention, the shape of the sheet is not limited.
For example, it is efficient for the storage capacity if the size (spreading in the direction of the blade portion) of each sheet is gradually increased / decreased along the overlapping direction while stacking the sheets. The size of the sheet may be stepped at any position along the overlapping direction. Further, the planar shape of the vane portion and the space holding portion may be various shapes such as a rectangle, a circle, and a polygon. Further, the facing surfaces of the blades forming the slits for storing ink do not have to be along the respective planes and may be curved surfaces, and the facing surfaces of the blades and the blades are stacked. It may be good if the shape is kept parallel at times.

Further, the material of the sheet is not dissolved, swelled, deformed or altered by the ink or paint used.
Any material may be used as long as it does not elute, etc., although it causes alteration of ink or the like. Therefore, in the conventional collector, only a certain material such as ABS resin can be used to achieve a desired function, whereas in the present invention, various resins (for example, polypropylene, P
OM, PVC, PET, etc.) can be used, and the material cost can be reduced. In this case, in order to generate a capillary force, the contact angle with the ink used needs to be less than 90 degrees in any case.

Further, in the present invention, there is a structure in which there is a structure in which the blade portions are provided with ink conducting slits for allowing the ink to flow between the blade portions so that the blade portions can communicate with each other. Is also good. Further, in the ink passage from the ink tank to the nozzle of the ink jet head, for example, a member for guiding the ink in the ink tank is fitted into the ink passage hole of the gap holding portion for letting the overflow ink into and out of the slit. A molded product having a slit for conduction can be fitted in the conduction hole. In addition to such molded products, it is possible to use pen cores such as felt-tip pens, which are so-called fiber cores formed by bundling fibers, those having no outer skin used for relay cores and battings. As an example, the structure according to the present invention has a structure in which the outer peripheral shape of the blade portion, the outer peripheral shape of the spacing holding portion, and the inner peripheral surface shape of the conduction hole are concentrically formed when viewed in the vertical direction of the sheet. In this case, it is possible to eliminate the need to consider the directionality of the circle of the sheet, but since the one formed of the fiber core can impart appropriate elasticity, it has good adhesion to the sheet, There are no functional variations and good results are shown.

The number, size and shape of the ink circulation grooves of the sheet are basically not limited, but the gap holding portions for forming the slits of the sheet (having a thickness at the center of the blade). Or to prevent the formation of slit gaps from becoming unstable when multiple sheets are stacked and the slits formed by a pair of blades are reduced. It is necessary to make the number or size according to the volume (multiplying the gap width and the area of the blade). However, it is preferable that the ink circulation groove is not deeper than the gap width of the slit. This is because the ink retained between the slits may be cut off at the groove and remain without returning to the ink passage.

A sheet having a space holding portion or an ink flow groove having a thickness larger than that of the blade portion for forming the slit of the sheet may be formed on both sides of the sheet, for example, in this case. The leaves can be stacked without considering the orientation of the leaves, and the required structure can be formed only on the other side without forming any one side.

The ink jet head has a structure in which the ink reservoir is contained in the container body. The ink reservoir is a cylinder in which a plurality of sheets are stacked and accommodated. The interval between the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and the outer peripheral surface of the blade may be wider than the slit interval between the blades. By doing so, the capillary force in the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and the outer periphery of the blade portion becomes weaker than the capillary force of the slit, and the ink retained in the slit is retained between the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder and the outer periphery of the blade portion. Can be prevented from remaining in.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are explanatory views of an ink jet printer (corresponding to an ink jet recording device) according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an ink jet head provided in the ink jet printer, and FIG. 2 is II- of FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are explanatory views of a sheet (all are shown with an axial length of about 100 times). 5 and 6 are explanatory diagrams of the first modification and the second modification.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a substrate 3 is attached to the side surface of a support 2 in the ink jet head 1, and a nozzle plate 4 is provided on the substrate 3 with an appropriate gap 5 therebetween. Are joined together. A plurality of heating resistors 6 are arranged on the substrate 3, and each heating resistor 6 is connected to a contact 8 by a wiring 7. Further, nozzles 9 are arranged on the nozzle plate 4 at positions facing the heating resistors 6.

An ink channel 10 communicating with a gap 5 provided between the substrate 3 and the nozzle plate 4 is formed on the upper surface of the support 2, and an ink tank fitting recess 11 is formed. ing. The ink tank 12 has an ink reservoir 13 in the lower half thereof, and an upper space of the ink reservoir 13 serves as an ink reservoir 14, and a lower end of the ink reservoir 13 is an ink on the upper surface of the support 2. It is watertightly fitted in the tank fitting recess 11.

The ink reservoir 13 has a relay core 20 in a state in which a plurality of the sheet-like members 17 are overlapped with each other in the direction of the central axis (denoted by reference numeral 17e in FIG. 3) and commonly to the ink passage 19 in the substantially center. It is stored in the lower portion of the ink tank 12 in a state of being inserted.

The ink reservoir 13 has a blade portion 15 and a blade portion 1 which spread in a plate shape as shown in FIGS.
5, a plurality of single sheets 17 having a space holding portion 16 projecting in the thickness direction of 5 are stacked in the thickness direction of the blade portion 15. Further, the interval holding portion 16 is formed so as to project in the thickness direction of the sheet body 17 so that when the sheet bodies 17 are stacked, the opposing blade portions 15 are positioned substantially parallel to each other with a desired spacing. Has been done. Further, the slits 18 between the blades 15 are connected to the ink tank 12 through the ink passages 19 in a state where the sheet bodies 17 are stacked, and the slits 18 from the ink tank 12 are connected to each other. It is designed to store overflow ink. When the sheets 17 are stacked on the vane portion 15 and the space holding portion 16, the ink passage 19 is formed.
The ink conduction hole portion 16c that becomes
No. 5 is continuously connected in the circumferential direction surrounding the ink conduction hole portion 16c.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, etc., the sheet-like body 17 has a substantially rectangular (or circular) flat plate shape as a whole, one side surface 17a is a flat surface, and the other side surface 17b has a sheet-like shape. A truncated cone-shaped space holding portion 16 is formed at a substantially central portion of the body 17, and the blade portions 15 are formed so as to continuously extend to the peripheral edge portion of the space holding portion 16. This feather part 1
Both sides of 5 are formed along a plane perpendicular to the axis 17e of the sheet 17. In addition, the space holding portion 16 is provided along a side surface portion 16a along a conical side surface shape with a large apex angle and along a vertical plane of the sheet body axis 17e, and when a plurality of sheet bodies 17 are stacked, another sheet body is formed. The contact surface portion 16 b that contacts the contact portion 17 is formed. Further, a through hole 16c having a circular cross section, which is a part of the ink conducting path 19, is formed in the center of the space holding portion 16 so as to penetrate along the direction of the axis 17e of the sheet 17. .

The space holding portion 16 has a through hole portion 16c.
From the through hole 16c toward the surface of the blade 15 and four ink circulation grooves 21 are formed at equal angles in the circumferential direction, the grooves having the same width and extending in the radial direction of the shaft 17e. There is. The ink circulation groove 21 is formed in a state where the sheets 17 are stacked, and the conduction hole portion 16c (ink conduction passage 19).
And the slits 18 allow the ink to flow. As shown in FIG. 4A, the bottom surface 21a of the ink circulation groove 21 is formed higher than the position of the upper surface of the blade portion 15 as a whole, and the thickness direction of the sheet 17 of the ink circulation groove 21 is in the thickness direction. It is formed so that the depth along is not larger than the interval of the slits 18 (small). That is, on the bottom surface 21a of the ink circulation groove 21,
The portion of the sheet body 17 close to the shaft 17e rises in a shelf shape to approach the contact surface portion 16b, and the portion far from the shaft 17e gradually lowers in a slope shape to the contact surface portion 16b. Get away from. From the shape of the bottom surface 21a, the sheet bodies 17 are stacked to form one side surface 17 of the sheet body 17.
In a, the other side surface 17b of the other sheet body 17 (abutting surface portion 16b)
When the blade is hit, the gap width of the in-groove slit 22 formed between the bottom surface 21a and the one side surface 17a is
It is smaller than the gap width of the slit 18 formed by 7 pieces. That is, the overall capillary force of the in-groove slit 22 is larger than the capillary force of the slit 18. Further, the bottom surface 21a is lowered outward from the shaft 17e, the gap width of the in-groove slit 22 is also large, and the capillary force becomes smaller as it gradually moves away from the central shaft 17e. After all, the capillary force becomes stronger as it gets closer to the central axis.

The slit 22 in the groove of the sheet 17
The capillary force overcomes the capillary force of the slit 18 and exerts a force to draw the ink in the slit 18, so that when the ink in the slit 22 in the groove decreases, the ink in the slit 18 is drawn and replenished. Therefore, if the ink in the groove 22 is exhausted, the ink in the slit 18 between the blades 15 is sucked up without fail, and the ink in the groove 22 will not run out.

In the ink reservoir 13, the rib body 23 presses the upper end portion where the sheet bodies 17 are stacked, and the rib body 23 is pressed.
The upper end surface 23a of the is opposed to the ink reservoir 14. Further, the outer peripheral portion of the rib body 23 is in close contact with the inner peripheral portion of the ink tank 12, and an air displacing port 24 having an appropriate position, for example, a slit shape, is formed in a part thereof so as to generate a capillary force.

The outer peripheral diameter of the blade portion 15 of the sheet 17 is
The inner diameter of the ink tank 12 is smaller than that of the ink tank 12, and the ink tank 12 and the ink tank 12 are spaced apart from each other.

The relay core 20 does not have a jacket used for a pen core body such as a felt-tip pen, which is a so-called fiber core formed by bundling fibers, a relay core body, batting, etc., and has an appropriate elasticity. It is preferable to use those having Of course, in addition to the resin-molded core body having the slits for guiding the ink, those made of an inorganic or organic sintered body or a metal having the same function can be used.

An air port 25 is formed in the side surface of the lower end of the ink tank 12, and the air port 25 is provided between the sheet 17 of the ink reservoir 13 and the ink tank 12 and the air replacement port 24.
Through the ink reservoir 13 and communicates with the inside of the ink reservoir 14. The lower end of the ink passage 19 of the ink reservoir 13 communicates with the ink passage 10 of the support 2,
The relay core 20 is inserted through the ink passage 19.
Ink 26 is filled in the ink reservoir 14 above the ink reservoir 13. The ink tank 12 is made of a transparent material so that the amount of ink can be visually recognized from the outside. In addition, the ink reservoir 13 is
A plurality of sheets 17 are stacked and accommodated in the lower portion of the cylindrical ink tank 12 communicating with the air replacement port 24, and the distance between the inner peripheral surface of the ink tank 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the blade portion 15 is equal to that of the blade portions 15. It is made wider than the interval of the slits 18 between. By doing so, the capillary force in the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the ink tank 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the blade portion 15 causes the slit 1 to move.
It becomes weaker than the capillary force of No. 8 and the ink retained in the slit 18 can be prevented from remaining between the inner peripheral surface of the ink tank 12 and the outer peripheral surface of the blade portion 15.

Here, the capillary force of the ink jet head 1 on the ink 26 is nozzle 9> relay core 20>
The air replacement port 24> the slit 18 is set. Further, in the ink jet head 1 in the state of FIG.
The capillary force of the slit 18 located above the ink reservoir 13 is equal to or greater than the capillary force corresponding to the combined length of the nozzle 9 and the ink droplets generated at the tip of the nozzle 9. Further, the intervals between the slits 18 may be the same. In addition, when the nozzle 9 is located below, the slit 18
The ink 26 that comes out and is retained is affected by the weight of the ink 26 (because the ink 26 becomes a water column), and if the slits 18 are evenly spaced, the ink amount increases as the slit 18 is closer to the nozzle 9. To store. Therefore, the thickness of the space holding portion 16 becomes thinner toward the upper side, that is, the slit 1
8 can be narrowed (capillary force can be increased) so that the ink 26 can be retained in each slit 18 without waste.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described. In the ink jet 1 of the embodiment, the ink 26 is transmitted through the relay core 20 of the ink reservoir 13 and the ink reservoir 1
4 is supplied to the ink flow path 10, and the ink flow path 10
Is further supplied to the gap 5 between the nozzle plate 4 and the substrate 3. When the print information signal is supplied, a thermal pulse is generated from the heat generating resistor 6, and the ink 26 in the gap 5 faces the heat generating resistor 6 due to the state change that occurs when the thermal pulse is applied. It is ejected from the nozzle 9 at the position to be attached and adheres to the recording paper, whereby printing is executed.

When the ink 26 is jetted from the nozzle 9 onto the recording paper and printing is continued, the ink in the ink flow path 10 decreases, but the reduced amount of ink 26 is relay core 20.
It is replenished from the ink reservoir 14 of the ink tank via the. Then, the ink 26 in the ink reservoir 14 decreases, and the internal pressure of the ink reservoir 14 decreases. Outside air is introduced into the ink reservoir 13 through an air port 25, and the inside of the collector 16 is at atmospheric pressure. When printing is continued and the difference between the internal pressure and the atmospheric pressure exceeds a certain value, that is, when it becomes stronger than the capillary force of the air displacement port 24, the air in the ink reservoir 13 passes through the air displacement port 24 and the ink reservoir part Enter within 14.

By the way, when the ink jet printer is not used, the ink jet head 1
External change, for example, when the atmospheric pressure is lowered or when the temperature in the ink tank 12 (ink reservoir 14) is increased by using the ink jet printer, the ink reservoir 14
This has the same effect as increasing the internal pressure. Then, when the ink 26 flows into the relay core 20 and becomes more than the ink that can be stored therein, the ink 26 that overflows to the ink reservoir 13 will be in the groove of the ink reservoir 13 (between the sheets 17). It passes through the inner slit 22 and enters the slit 18 between the individual leaf bodies 17, and is temporarily retained by the capillary force of the slit 18.

When the ink jet printer is used again with the temporary ink 26 retained in the ink reservoir 13 as described above, the ink 26 in the ink flow path 10 and the relay core 20 decreases. The reduced amount of the ink 26 is first replenished with the ink 26 retained in the slit 18 having a low capillary force, so that the ink 26 in the slit 18 is reduced. Then, the ink 2 in the slit 18
When 6 disappears, the amount of ink 26 in the ink reservoir 14 tends to decrease and the internal pressure in the ink reservoir 14 decreases,
Air enters from the air replacement port 24, and the amount of ink 26 in the ink reservoir 14 gradually decreases.

In order to confirm the function and effect of the present invention, the inventor performed injection molding with the following materials and dimensions to produce a sheet (18) having a structure shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
In this case, the relay core (20) obtained by bundling the fiber cores is formed as an ink conduction path with an outer diameter equal to the diameter of the conduction hole at the center of the sheet, and 50 sheets are aligned in the same direction on the front and back sides. The ink was stored in a separately prepared container (similar to the ink tank), and the relay core was inserted into the ink passage hole of the sheet to prepare an ink reservoir (13). Then, an ink reservoir and an ink tank were incorporated in the ink jet head, and necessary tests were conducted for items to be equipped as a raw ink type ink jet printer. The results are shown below.

Materials used: Duracon M450-44N (Polyplastics Co., Ltd.) Outside diameter of blade: φ18 mm Thickness of blade: 0.1 mm Spacing part (shape in which truncated cone overlaps blade) Outside bottom bottom Diameter: φ14mm Outer diameter of top bottom: φ10mm Height of truncated cone: 0.2mm Ink distribution groove (4 places are installed in the space holding part) Width: 2mm Depth: 0.1mm (thickness in this part: 0.2mm) Ink conduction Pore size: 6.7 mm

The ink jet printer according to the present invention and a conventional product (commercially available raw ink type ink jet head)
The results of the tests of and were as follows. Printer of the present invention Conventional product-Number of sheet blades 50 50-Ink retention amount (ml) 1.5 0.39-Effective length of ink reservoir (mm) 15 25-Vane length (mm) 0.1 0.3-Ink amount in ink tank (ml) 4 1

The ink is forcibly forced into the ink reservoir due to a change in outside temperature (after being left in a low temperature chamber and then at room temperature for a test) and a change in outside air pressure (after leaving in a decompression chamber and then a test in a normal pressure chamber). And a print test was conducted. Then, the ink in the ink reservoir was consumed before the ink in the ink tank (ink reservoir) was emptied, and then the ink in the tank was consumed. Also, set the water head at the end of the ink jet head and the tank side of the ink reservoir (the end of the ink reservoir that is located highest from the ink jet head) to an appropriate size, and keep the ink in a heated or depressurized state. Even when the ink was fully overflowed into the reservoir and left to stand, neither ink was seen to flow out to the head or the front part of the ink reservoir.
In the same condition, by repeating heating and cooling, the ink was overflowed into the ink reservoir and returned to the tank.
Similarly, no ink was found flowing out to the head or the front part of the ink reservoir.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned examples show the preferred embodiments of the present invention, and of course the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned examples. That is, in the above-described embodiment, the ink tank is integrated with the ink reservoir to be disposable as a cartridge, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the present invention. The ink reservoir may be integrated with the head to be disposable, or the ink tank 27 may be detachably attached to the ink jet head 1 of the above-described embodiment as in the first modification shown in FIG. . In the first modification, the rear end portion 28a of the case 28 in which the ink reservoir 13 is housed has a small diameter so that the front end of the ink tank 27 is externally fitted to the rear end portion 28a. The replacement port 29 can be formed in a slit shape. Since other configurations are similar to those of the above-described embodiment, the same parts are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

Further, in the embodiment, the blades and the interval holding portion are integrated in the sheet, but the sheet of the present invention is not limited to this. And can be formed separately. For example, as in the second modified example shown in FIG. 6, the sheet-fed body 30 has a C-shaped space holding portion 3 in a plan view.
0a and the blade portion 30b having a rectangular flat plate shape can be combined. In this case, the space holding portion 30a has a substantially ring shape and is C-shaped in which a notch 31 for ink circulation is formed, and a conduction hole portion 32 is formed in the central portion. Further, a conduction hole 33 is also provided in the central portion of the blade portion 30b, and the relay core 20 of the above-described embodiment is inserted into each of the conduction holes 32 and 33 at the time of stacking and assembling. In addition, in this 2nd modification, it replaces with the sheet body 17 of the said Example, uses this sheet body 30, and assembles similarly to the said Example,
The same ink reservoir function is achieved. In the second modified example, the space holding portion 30a and the blade portion 30 having a simple and simple structure are provided.
The sheet-shaped body 30 can be configured with b, and the designing and molding operations are easier.

[0048]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the production limit of the thinness of the vane portion is relaxed and the ink holding body having a large holding amount is provided without any technical restriction. In addition, it can be manufactured easily and inexpensively, and it can be advantageously used in an occupying volume or the like in order to increase the printing amount, and especially when it is provided in a four-color head in the case of color copying. Also,
By selecting appropriate materials, all water-based inks and oil-based inks can be used. Moreover, it is possible to obtain an ink jet recording apparatus in which there is no risk of ink leaking from the head and the front part of the ink reservoir due to temperature changes. According to claims 3 to 5, handling such as replacement is facilitated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment, (a) is a perspective explanatory view of an ink jet head, and (b) is an explanatory view of a support body of an ink jet head from which a nozzle plate is removed. .

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of a sheet body.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a sheet body, in which (a) is IV of (c).
FIG. 7B is a sectional view taken along line IV, FIG. 8B is a side view, and FIG.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a first modified example.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a sheet body of a second modified example,
(A) is sectional drawing which follows the VI-VI line of (c), (b) is a separated side view, (c) is a combined perspective view.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Jet Head 9 Nozzle 12 Ink Tank 13 Ink Reservoir 14 Ink Reservoir 15, 30b Blade 16, 16a Spacing Retainer 17, 30 Sheet Leaf 18 Slit 19 Ink Through Hole 20 Relay Core 24 Air Displacement Port 26 Ink

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An ink reservoir for temporarily retaining overflow ink from an ink tank, which has a sheet-like blade portion and a space holding portion protruding in the thickness direction of the blade portion. A plurality of bodies are stacked in the thickness direction of the blade portion, and the blade portions facing each other of the stacked sheet body are positioned substantially parallel to each other with a desired spacing in the spacing holding portion. The overflow ink is retained in the slits between the stacked blade portions, and the blade portion and the gap holding portion serve as an ink conduction path when the sheets are stacked. A hole is formed, and the blade portion is continuously connected in the circumferential direction surrounding the ink conducting hole without interruption. 2. In an ink jet recording apparatus having an ink reservoir for temporarily retaining overflow ink in an ink jet head, the ink reservoir has a blade portion that spreads in a plate shape and protrudes in a thickness direction of the blade portion. A plurality of sheet bodies having an interval holding part to be stacked in the thickness direction of the blade part, wherein the interval holding part has a desired interval between the facing blade parts of the stacked sheet bodies. Is placed substantially parallel to each other, and the overflow ink is retained in the slit between the stacked blade portions. Sheets are stacked on the blade portion and the space holding portion. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized in that an ink conducting hole is formed as an ink conducting path, and the vane portion is continuously connected in a circumferential direction surrounding the ink conducting hole. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink reservoir and the ink jet head are integrated. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ink reservoir and the ink tank are integrated into a cartridge. 5. The ink tank is detachably attached to the ink reservoir.
Alternatively, the ink jet recording device according to the item 3. 6. The ink reservoir comprises a cylinder in which a plurality of sheets are stacked and accommodated, and the gap between the cylinder inner peripheral surface and the blade outer peripheral surface is a slit interval between the blades. It is wider than the above.
The ink jet recording apparatus according to any one of the above.