KR101295417B1 - Ink supply apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The ink supply apparatus according to the present invention, the ink storage unit for storing the ink to be supplied to the image forming machine, and the interconnection between the image forming apparatus and the ink storage unit is stored in the ink storage unit while blocking the back flow of the ink supplied to the image forming machine And an ink supply unit for supplying ink to the image forming apparatus, wherein the ink storage unit and the ink supply unit are installed outside the image forming apparatus. According to this configuration, it is possible to improve the supply efficiency of the ink supplied from the outside to the image forming machine, it is possible to improve the problems caused by poor ink supply.

Description

Ink Supply Unit {INK SUPPLY APPARATUS}

The present invention relates to an ink supply apparatus, and more particularly, to an ink supply apparatus capable of smoothly supplying ink without replacing a cartridge to an image forming apparatus using ink.

In general, an image forming machine for forming a predetermined image by using an ink such as an inkjet printer and a multifunction printer has a built-in ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is detached from the chemical generator when the built-in ink is consumed, replaced with a new ink cartridge, or refilled and reused.

Therefore, a general image forming machine has a problem in that consumable costs are excessively generated due to frequent replacement or frequent refilling of ink cartridges. In addition, the depletion of the ink cartridge causes deterioration in workability such as the image forming operation being stopped indefinitely, and in addition, deterioration in image quality such as an image being formed in an unwanted quality.

Accordingly, in recent years, a separate ink supply means for supplying ink to the ink cartridge of the image forming machine is provided, but when ink is supplied from the ink supply means to the ink cartridge, a back flow of the ink is caused to cause another problem. Let's do it.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink supply apparatus capable of supplying ink efficiently from the outside of an image forming machine.

An ink supply apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object, the ink storage unit for storing the ink to be supplied to the image forming machine, and the image forming apparatus and the ink storage unit interconnected, the back flow of the ink supplied to the image forming machine And an ink supply unit for supplying the ink stored in the ink storage unit to the image forming unit while blocking the ink, wherein the ink storage unit and the ink supply unit are installed outside the image forming unit.

According to one side, the ink supply unit, the ink suction port connected to the ink storage unit, the supply body is provided with the ink discharge port is connected to the image forming machine, the ink suction port is connected to the ink suction port to the primary storage, A differential pressure valve provided with a first chamber provided on one surface of the supply body, a second chamber provided on the other surface of the supply body so as to receive the ink from the first chamber and guide the ink to the ink outlet. It is installed in the chamber, and includes a differential pressure valve for controlling the supply pressure of the ink.

According to one side, one side and the other side of the supply body is sealed by a cover.

According to one side, the ink supply unit, the first ink flow path for interconnecting the ink suction port and the first chamber, the second and third ink flow path for sequentially connecting the first chamber and the second chamber and And a fourth ink passage connecting the second chamber and the ink discharge port to each other.

According to one side, the first ink flow path is formed on one side of the first communication groove communicating with the ink suction opening and the other side is in communication with the first chamber, is formed on one surface of the supply body, the second ink flow path A second communication groove communicating with the first chamber is formed on one side and a third communication groove communicating with the third communication passage is formed on the other side, and is formed on the other side of the supply body, and the third ink flow passage is provided on one side. A fourth communication groove communicating with the third communication groove and communicating with the second chamber is formed at the other side, and is formed on one surface of the supply body, and the fourth ink flow path communicates with the second chamber at one side. Five communication grooves are formed and the other side is formed with a sixth communication groove communicating with the ink outlet, is formed on one surface of the supply body.

According to one side, the differential pressure valve, the support body is inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber, is installed in the support body to face the second chamber, selectively opening and closing the connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path And an elastic body disposed between the support body and the valve body to move the valve body by the pressure of the ink discharge port.

According to one side, the valve body, when the discharge pressure of the ink is higher than the reference value, the connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path by the negative pressure inside the valve body that exceeds the elastic pressing force of the elastic body When the discharge pressure of the ink is lower than the reference value, the connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path is closed by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body.

According to one side, the ink storage unit is provided with at least one so that at least one or more inks having different colors, respectively, and the ink supply unit is provided with at least one so as to be connected to each of the at least one ink storage unit.

An ink supply apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is provided on the outside of the image forming machine, the ink storage unit for storing the ink to be supplied to the image forming machine, located in parallel with the ink storage unit, And an ink supply unit for supplying the ink stored in the ink storage unit by interconnecting ink storage units, and controlling the supply pressure of the ink to be constant at all times.

According to one side, the ink supply unit, a supply body is provided with an ink suction port connected to the ink storage unit, the ink discharge port connected to the image forming machine, a first body connected to the ink suction opening to store the ink primary Chamber, a second chamber receiving the ink from the first chamber and guiding it to the ink discharge port, a first ink flow path connecting the ink suction port and the first chamber to each other, wherein the first chamber and the second chamber are mutually connected. Second and third ink passages sequentially connected to each other, a fourth ink passage connecting the second chamber and the ink discharge port to each other, and a differential pressure valve chamber in which the second chamber is provided, thereby providing a supply pressure of the ink. And control the differential pressure valve.

According to one side, one side of the first ink flow path is formed with a first communication groove communicating with the ink suction opening, the other side is in communication with the first chamber, one side of the second ink flow path is in communication with the first chamber A second communication groove is formed and the other side is formed with a third communication groove communicating with the third communication flow path, one side of the third ink flow path communicating with the third communication groove, and the other side communicating with the second chamber. Four communication grooves are formed, one side of the fourth ink flow path is formed with a fifth communication groove communicating with the second chamber and the other side is formed with a sixth communication groove communicating with the ink outlet.

According to one side, the first chamber and the first, third and fourth ink flow path is formed on one surface of the supply body, the second chamber and the second ink flow path is formed on the other surface of the supply body, One side and the other side of the supply body are each sealed by a cover.

According to one side, the differential pressure valve, the support body is inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber, the valve body is installed on the support body to face the second chamber, and is operated to selectively open and close the fifth communication groove, And an elastic body provided between the support body and the valve body to move the valve body by the pressure of the ink.

According to one side, the valve body, when the discharge pressure of the ink is higher than the reference value to open the fifth communication groove by the negative pressure inside the valve body that exceeds the elastic pressing force of the elastic body, the discharge pressure of the ink When the temperature is lower than the reference value, the fifth communication groove is closed by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body.

According to one side, the ink storage unit is provided with at least one so that at least one or more inks having different colors, respectively, and the ink supply unit is provided with at least one so as to be connected to each of the at least one ink storage unit.

According to the present invention having the configuration as described above, first, the ink can be continuously supplied from the outside to the image forming machine for forming an image with ink, so that frequent ink cartridge replacement or frequent refilling of the image forming machine is unnecessary. As a result, it is possible to reduce existing maintenance costs or to improve problems such as deterioration of quality.

Second, the ink can be supplied without backflow, thereby preventing the ink supply interruption and contributing to the continuous ink supply.

Third, since ink is supplied to the image forming machine in precisely corresponding to the suction pressure, it is possible to contribute to the improvement of the printing quality through the supply quality.

1 is a perspective view schematically showing an ink supply apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 2 is a perspective exploded perspective view of the ink supply unit shown in Figure 1 in a state viewed from one side,
3 is a perspective exploded perspective view of the ink supply unit shown in FIG. 1 in a state viewed from the other surface;
4 is a plan view schematically showing a state in which the ink supply unit shown in FIG. 1 is viewed from one surface;
5 is a plan view schematically showing a state of the ink supply unit shown in FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which ink supply by the differential pressure valve shown in FIG. 2 is opened, and
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state in which ink supply by the differential pressure valve shown in FIG. 2 is closed.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, an ink supply apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an ink storage unit 10 and an ink supply unit 20.

For reference, the ink supply apparatus 1 described in the present invention is connected to an image forming machine P such as a printer and a multifunction apparatus for forming a predetermined image using ink, and supplies ink.

The ink storage unit 10 stores ink to be supplied to the image forming machine P. Here, the ink storage unit 10 is provided with at least one so that at least one or more inks having different colors are stored. In this embodiment, the ink storage unit 10 is illustrated as being separated into four to supply the ink of the four colors of red, blue, yellow and black, respectively. However, the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and the type and color of the ink stored by the ink storage unit 10 may be variously changed.

The ink supply unit 20 interconnects the image forming apparatus P and the ink storage unit 10, and smoothly supplies the ink stored in the ink storage unit 10 from the image forming apparatus P without being flowed back. At least one ink supply unit 20 is provided corresponding to at least one ink so as to be connected to at least one ink storage unit 10 provided to store at least one ink to have different colors.

For reference, the ink storage unit 10 and the ink supply unit 20 are provided outside the image forming unit P, as shown in FIG. 1, thereby providing an ink cartridge C provided inside the image forming unit P. Ink). At this time, the ink storage unit 10, the ink supply unit 20 and the ink cartridge C of the image forming apparatus P are connected to each other by a predetermined connection means such as a connection hose (H), and ink is supplied.

2 and 3, the ink supply unit 20, the supply body 30, the first chamber 40, the second chamber 50, the first to fourth ink flow path for supplying the ink 50, 60, 70, 80, and the differential pressure valve 100 is included.

The supply body 30 is provided with an ink suction opening 31 connected to the ink storage unit 10 and an ink discharge opening 32 connected to the image forming machine P. The ink suction opening 31 and the ink discharge opening 32 are provided to face the supply body 30. The supply body 30 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame shape, and one surface 30a (see FIG. 2) and the other surface 30b (see FIG. 3) of the supply body 30 are respectively sealed by a cover 33. . At this time, the cover 33 may be formed of the same material as the supply body 30, or may be formed of a predetermined sealed body such as vinyl.

For reference, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the ink supply unit 20 in a state viewed from the one surface 30a of the supply body 30, and FIG. 3 is a state viewed from the other surface 30b of the supply body 30. An exploded perspective view of the ink supply unit 20.

The first chamber 40 is provided on one surface 30a of the supply body 30, as shown in FIG. 2, so as to be connected to the ink suction opening 31 to store ink first.

The second chamber 50 is provided on the other surface 30b of the supply body 30, as shown in FIG. 3, to receive ink from the first chamber 40 and guide the ink to the ink discharge port 32.

The first ink passage 60 connects the ink suction opening 31 and the first chamber 40 to each other. To this end, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, one side of the first ink flow path 60 is formed with a first communication groove 61 communicating with the ink suction opening 31 and the other side of the first chamber 40. Communicate with The first ink flow path 60 is formed on one surface 30a of the supply body 30 so as to communicate with the first chamber 40.

The second and third ink passages 70 and 80 are formed on the other surface 30b and one surface 30a of the supply body 30, respectively, so that the first chamber 40 and the second chamber 50 are respectively formed. Are connected to each other sequentially. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, one side of the second ink flow path 70 formed on the other surface 30b of the supply body 30 may include a first chamber 30 provided on one surface 30a of the supply body 30. A second communication groove 71 communicating with 40 is formed, and the third communication groove 72 is formed at the other side to communicate with the third ink flow path 80. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the third ink flow path 80 formed on one surface 30a of the supply body 30 has a second ink flow path provided on the other surface 30b of the supply body 30. The fourth communication groove 81 communicates with the third communication groove 72 and communicates with the second chamber 50 on the other side so as to communicate with the 70.

The fourth ink passage 90 connects the second chamber 50 and the ink discharge port 32 to each other. The fourth ink flow path 90 is formed on one surface 30a of the supply body 30 as shown in FIG. 4, and one side of the fourth ink flow path 90 communicates with the second chamber 50. The sixth communication groove 92 is formed and the other side is in communication with the ink discharge port (32).

The plurality of flow paths 60 before the ink supplied from the ink storage unit 10 is supplied to the image forming machine P due to the first to fourth ink flow paths 60, 70, 80, and 90 as described above. By moving through the 70, 80 and 90, the stabilized ink is supplied without bubble generation.

The differential pressure valve 100 is installed in the differential pressure valve chamber 101 to control the supply pressure of the ink. The differential pressure valve 100 includes a support body 110, a valve body 120, and an elastic body 130 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. For reference, the second chamber 50 is provided in the differential pressure valve chamber 101.

The support body 110 is inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber 101. The support body 110 may have a shape corresponding to that of the differential pressure valve chamber 101 and be closely inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber 101. At this time, one side of the support body 110 is formed with a hole 111 so that pressure for guiding the control operation by the differential pressure valve 100 can be applied.

6 and 7, the valve body 120 is installed in the support body 110 to face the differential pressure valve chamber 101 to selectively open and close the fifth communication groove 91. . At this time, the valve body 120 is preferably formed of a material having elasticity, such as rubber.

The elastic body 130 is installed between the support body 110 and the valve body 120 to operate the valve body 120 by the pressure of the ink. Here, the elastic body 130 elastically pressurizes the valve body 120 toward the inner surface of the support body 110. At this time, as shown in Figure 6, when the discharge pressure of the ink discharged through the ink discharge port 32 is higher than the reference value by the negative pressure inside the valve body 120 that exceeds the elastic pressing force of the elastic body 130 5 Open the communication groove (91). On the contrary, as shown in FIG. 7, when the discharge pressure of the ink discharged through the ink discharge port 32 is lower than the reference value, the valve body 120 is connected to the fifth communication groove 91 by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body 130. ). By this configuration, the ink discharge pressure through the ink discharge port 32 is controlled to be kept constant.

For reference, the elastic body 130 described in the present invention is illustrated as a coil spring, but is not necessarily limited thereto.

An ink supply operation of the ink supply apparatus 1 according to the present invention having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink stored in the ink storage unit 10 is supplied to the ink cartridge C of the image forming apparatus P via the ink supply unit 20. Here, the ink supply by the ink supply unit 20 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6.

First, when ink flows into the ink suction opening 31 connected through the ink storage unit 10 and the connection hose H, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the ink passes through the first communication groove 61. It is first stored in the first chamber 40 via the first ink flow path 60 provided on one surface 30a of the supply body 30. The first ink stored in the first chamber 40 is the second ink flow path 70 provided on the other surface 30b of the supply body 30 through the second communication groove 71 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5. After passing through), as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4 through the third communication groove 72, it is introduced into the third ink flow path 80 provided on one surface 30a of the supply body 30. As the ink flowing into the third ink flow path 80 is shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the second chamber 50 provided on the other surface 30b of the supply body 30 through the fourth communication groove 81. As secondary storage.

On the other hand, the second chamber 50 communicates with the ink outlet 32 through which the ink is discharged, whereby the differential pressure valve 100 installed in the second chamber 50 is operated by the pressure of the ink outlet 32 to operate the ink. Supply pressure is controlled. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, when the ink discharge pressure of the ink discharge port 32 is increased to a reference value or more, the fifth communication groove 91 is opened by a negative pressure exceeding the elastic pressing force of the elastic body 130. . Therefore, the ink is introduced into the fourth ink passage 90 through the fifth communication groove 91 and then discharged to the ink outlet 32 through the sixth communication groove 92 as shown in FIG. 4. do. On the contrary, when the ink discharge pressure of the ink discharge port 32 is lowered to the reference value or less, the fifth communication groove 91 is closed as shown in FIG. 7 by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body 130.

By repeatedly opening and closing the differential pressure valve 100, the ink can be provided to the ink cartridge C without being flowed back.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiments thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims. It can be understood that

1: ink supply device 10: ink storage unit
20: ink supply unit 30: supply body
31: ink inlet 32: ink outlet
40: first chamber 50: second chamber
60: first ink euro 70: second ink euro
80: third ink euro 90: fourth ink euro
100: differential pressure valve 101: differential pressure valve chamber
110: support body 120: valve body
130: elastomer

Claims (15)

An ink storage unit for storing ink to be supplied to the image forming machine; And
An ink supply unit which connects the image former and the ink storage unit to each other and supplies the ink stored in the ink storage unit to the image generator while blocking a back flow of the ink supplied to the image former;
Including, the ink storage unit and the ink supply unit is installed outside the image forming machine,
The ink supply unit,
A supply body provided with an ink suction port connected to the ink storage unit and an ink discharge port connected to the image former;
A first chamber connected to the ink suction opening and provided on one surface of the supply body to store the ink firstly;
A second chamber provided on the other surface of the supply body to receive the ink from the first chamber and guide the ink to the ink discharge port; And
A differential pressure valve installed in a differential pressure valve chamber in which the second chamber is provided, and controlling a supply pressure of the ink;
Ink supply device comprising a.
delete The method of claim 1,
One side and the other side of the supply body is an ink supply device is sealed by a cover.
The method of claim 1,
The ink supply unit,
A first ink passage connecting the ink suction opening and the first chamber to each other;
Second and third ink passages sequentially connecting the first chamber and the second chamber to each other; And
A fourth ink passage connecting the second chamber and the ink discharge port to each other;
Ink supply device comprising a.
5. The method of claim 4,
The first ink flow passage is formed on one side of the first communication groove communicating with the ink suction opening and the other side is in communication with the first chamber, is formed on one surface of the supply body,
The second ink flow path is formed on the other side of the second communication groove communicating with the first chamber is formed on one side and the third communication groove communicating with the third ink flow path, the other side is formed on the other side of the supply body,
The third ink flow passage is formed on one side of the supply body in communication with the third communication groove on one side and the fourth communication groove in communication with the second chamber on the other side,
The fourth ink flow path is formed with a fifth communication groove communicating with the second chamber on one side and a sixth communication groove communicating with the ink discharge port on the other side, the ink supply device is formed on one surface of the supply body.
5. The method of claim 4,
The differential pressure valve,
A support body inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber;
A valve body mounted to the support body so as to face the second chamber, the valve body being operable to selectively open and close a connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path; And
An elastic body provided between the support body and the valve body to move the valve body by the pressure of the ink discharge port;
Ink supply device comprising a.
The method according to claim 6,
The valve body opens the connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path by a negative pressure inside the valve body that exceeds the elastic pressing force of the elastic body when the discharge pressure of the ink becomes higher than a reference value. And the discharge pressure of the ink is lowered to the reference value or less, the ink supply device for closing the connection between the second chamber and the fourth ink flow path by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body.
8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The ink storage unit is provided with at least one so that at least one or more inks having different colors are stored respectively,
And at least one ink supply unit is connected to each of the at least one ink storage unit.
An ink storage unit provided outside the image forming unit and storing ink to be supplied to the image forming unit;
An ink supply unit positioned to be parallel to the ink storage unit and supplying the ink stored in the ink storage unit by interconnecting the image forming unit and the ink storage unit, and controlling the supply pressure of the ink to be constant at all times;
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The ink supply unit,
A supply body provided with an ink suction port connected to the ink storage unit and an ink discharge port connected to the image former;
A first chamber connected to the ink suction port and configured to first store the ink;
A second chamber receiving the ink from the first chamber and guiding the ink to the ink discharge port;
A first ink passage connecting the ink suction opening and the first chamber to each other;
Second and third ink passages sequentially connecting the first chamber and the second chamber to each other;
A fourth ink passage connecting the second chamber and the ink discharge port to each other; And
A differential pressure valve installed in a differential pressure valve chamber in which the second chamber is provided, and controlling a supply pressure of the ink;
Ink supply device comprising a.
delete 10. The method of claim 9,
One side of the first ink flow path is formed with a first communication groove communicating with the ink suction opening and the other side is in communication with the first chamber,
One side of the second ink flow path is formed with a second communication groove communicating with the first chamber and the other side is formed with a third communication groove communicating with the third ink flow path,
One side of the third ink flow passage is in communication with the third communication groove and the other side is formed with a fourth communication groove in communication with the second chamber,
One side of the fourth ink passage is formed with a fifth communication groove in communication with the second chamber and the other side is an ink supply device is formed with a sixth communication groove in communication with the ink discharge port.
12. The method of claim 11,
The first chamber and the first, third and fourth ink flow paths are formed on one surface of the supply body, and the second chamber and the second ink flow paths are formed on the other surface of the supply body.
One side and the other side of the supply body is an ink supply device is sealed by a cover.
The method of claim 12,
The differential pressure valve,
A support body inserted into the differential pressure valve chamber;
A valve body mounted to the support body so as to face the second chamber and operative to selectively open and close the fifth communication groove; And
An elastic body provided between the support body and the valve body to move the valve body by the pressure of the ink;
Ink supply device comprising a.
The method of claim 13,
When the discharge pressure of the ink rises above the reference value, the valve body opens the fifth communication groove by the negative pressure inside the valve body that exceeds the elastic pressing force of the elastic body, and the discharge pressure of the ink falls below the reference value. The ink supply device for closing the fifth communication groove by the elastic pressing force of the elastic body when lowered.
The method according to any one of claims 9 and 11 to 14,
The ink storage unit is provided with at least one so that at least one or more inks having different colors are stored respectively,
And at least one ink supply unit is connected to each of the at least one ink storage unit.

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