JPS60204348A - Protective member of liquid jet recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the titled protective member preventing the leakage of ink and the damage of an emitting orifice and capable of easily discriminating the color of ink, constituted by providing an absorber and forming a window to at least a part of an absorber provided place. CONSTITUTION:A cap 6 having a shape fixable in a tightly engaged state is fitted around a liquid jet recording head 1, which has a connector part 2 communicated with an apparatus main body and integrated with an ink storage tank, to protect said recording head 1. Pref., the cap 6 is formed of a transparent material (e.g., glass) as a whole and window 7 is provided to the part opposed to an emitting orifice 4. A white ink absorber 8 is arranged to the inside of the window 7 so as to be positioned between said window 7 and the emitting port 4 in order to allow the emitting port 4 to contact with or be brought closer to the ink absorber 8 when the cap 6 is fitted to the head.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to a protection member for protecting an ejection port in a liquid jet recording apparatus when the recording head portion thereof is stored alone.

[Prior Art] The liquid jet recording method has recently attracted attention because it generates negligible noise during recording and can record on so-called plain paper.

As for liquid jet recording methods, methods that utilize piezoelectric elements or methods that utilize volume change due to the phenomenon of ink boiling due to thermal energy have been proposed so far, but in these liquid jet recording devices, Improving the performance of the mechanically operated ink ejection unit, the so-called recording head unit, plays a large role in the reliability of the product.

In other words, such a recording head section has problems such as durability and lifespan, such as how many times it can withstand ejection, deterioration of the recording head member due to ink, etc., and problems such as ink sticking.
Solving these problems is a major challenge for the realization of products.

As a means to solve these problems, it has been proposed to make the recording head part easily detachable from the apparatus main body and replaceable. According to this, by making it replaceable, it becomes possible to use it once and for all, and there is no need to consider long-term durability such as 3 or 5 years or deterioration of the recording head member.

Furthermore, in conventional devices that have a recording head fixedly attached to the main body of the device, in order to change the color of the ink,
All the previous ink had to be drained and the head part had to be cleaned, but if the print head was integrated with the ink tank and the print head was replaceable, multiple types of heads with different colors could be used. It is possible to replace the head with any desired color by preparing it,
It is also possible to record by partially changing the color.

However, since it becomes possible to change the color of ink by replacing the recording head, the following problems arise. In other words, since the head may be replaced by the user, there is a risk that the user's hands may get dirty with ink when replacing the head.
Furthermore, if the recording head is dropped during replacement, the ejection ports may be deformed and stable ejection may not be possible. Furthermore, when the ink color is black or cyan, for example, even if the ink tank is transparent and you can see the ink color, the color is too dark and you can only tell that it is black, so do not use the color you want to replace. There is also a risk of making a mistake. In order to prevent this, even if a method is adopted in which printing heads are marked with colors before being shipped, it is not an easy method as there may be cases where the color instructions are incorrect at the time of shipping.

[Objective J] The present invention has been made in view of the various problems mentioned above, and the object thereof is to provide a recording head having a replaceable ink tank, and furthermore, to provide a recording head with a replaceable ink tank, which is designed to prevent the ink color from being misplaced at the time of shipment. To provide a liquid jet recording head that does not have to worry about displaying the wrong color, does not misjudge the color of ink at the time of replacement, and does not have the risk of getting one's hands dirty.

[Example] The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are an external view and a sectional view, respectively, showing an embodiment of an ejection port protection member for a liquid jet recording head according to the present invention.

Here, reference numeral 1 denotes a recording head integrated with an ink storage tank, and this head 1 is provided with a connector portion 2 for easy connection to a drive circuit of the main body of the liquid jet recording apparatus.

Inside the recording head l, an energy generating element 3 for ejecting ink is disposed, and the heat generated by this element 3 causes stagnation (a drastic change in state) or shock waves cause the ejection port 4 to A portion of the ink 5 is ejected as a droplet.

However, such a head structure is merely an example for explaining the present invention, and the detailed structure thereof will not be mentioned here. In addition, as a darning head, Fig. 1,
It is not limited to the shape shown in FIG. 2, and may have any shape. In other words, any liquid jet recording head that can perform recording by ejecting ink in the form of droplets from the ejection ports 4 may be used.

The protection member of the present invention has a cap 8 that covers the discharge port 4 of the head as described above. The cap 6 has a shape that can be tightly fitted and fixed to the discharge port 4, and a window 7 made of a transparent member is provided in a portion facing the discharge port 4.

Note that it is preferable that the entire cap 6 is made of a transparent material, and that the window 7 is formed in a portion of the cap 6 that faces the discharge port 4 .

A white ink absorber 8 is disposed inside the window 7 between the ejection port 4 and the ejection port 4 contacts or approaches the ink absorber 8 when the head is inserted into the cap 8. Keep it.

Although the cap 6 and the window 7 may be open to the atmosphere, they are preferably made of transparent members in order to make the discharge port 4 less likely to be clogged. The transparent member to be bent may be made of any transparent material, such as glass, plastic such as vinyl chloride or acrylic, and can be integrally formed of such material.

The ink absorber 8 may be any sponge-like, porous, or fibrous material as long as it absorbs and retains ink moderately and is colored by the ink. For example, spongy Velkurin (product name,
(manufactured by Kanebo), a sintered body made of sintered ceramic particles, or paper.

By attaching the protective member with the above structure at the time of shipment of the recording head, the cap 6 protects the ejection opening 4, so that even if the recording head is accidentally dropped, the ejection opening 4 will not be damaged. Problems such as the ejection direction becoming unstable or ejection becoming impossible due to damage do not occur.

In addition, the ink absorber 8 absorbs and retains ink moderately and is colored, so it is possible to preserve the recording head during the period from shipping the recording head to use, or when discontinuing use or replacing the recording head during use. There is no risk of ink sticking to the ejection port due to ink evaporation.
Moreover, by observing the colored state of the ink absorber 8 through the window 7, the color of the ink in the recording head can be immediately determined without making a mistake.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the protective member of the present invention, in which:
The same parts as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are given the same reference numerals. In this example, one end of the ejection port cap 10 attached to the recording head 1 is integrally extended along the head 1, and the extending portion 11 forms a holder for the recording head 1. The remaining configuration is the same as above.

FIG. 4 shows still another embodiment of the protection member of the present invention. In this embodiment, a groove 21 is formed on the open end side of the cap 20, and a groove 21 is formed in this groove 21 to improve the sealing performance of ink. A sealing member such as rubber is provided.

FIG. 5 shows yet another embodiment of the invention, in which:
The window 7 is not formed in the portion facing the discharge port 4, and the cap 6 is
Place it on the top surface. It goes without saying that the window 7 may be provided on the side surface of the cap 6 as shown by the dotted line.

[Effects] As is clear from the above, according to the present invention, by protecting the ink ejection ports of a single liquid jet recording head that is integrated with an ink tank with a cap, leakage and solidification of ink and the closure of the ejection ports are prevented. Damage can be prevented, and since this cap has a window and an ink absorber is installed inside the window, the ink color of the individual head can be immediately determined, and the ink color of the recording head at the time of shipment. There is no need for erroneous packaging due to misidentification of the color of the ink, no misunderstanding of the color of the ink by the user, and no need to worry about getting your hands dirty when replacing the head.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an external view showing one embodiment of the protective member of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a sectional view thereof, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 4 is a further embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another embodiment of the present invention. 1...Liquid (ink) ejection recording head 4...Ink ejection port 5...Ink 6...Ejection port cap 7...Window 8...White ink absorber 10...Ejection cap 11 ... Head holder 20 ... Discharge cap 21 ... Groove 22 ... Sealing member. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd. Representative Patent attorney Yoshi Tani −

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] l) A protective member for a liquid jet recording head that has an ejection port for ejecting liquid to form flying droplets and performs recording using the droplets, wherein the protective member is an absorbent material. has
A protective member for a liquid jet recording head, characterized in that a window is formed in at least a part of the portion where the absorber is provided. (Hereafter, margin)