JP2000015826A - ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the amount of waste ink and reduce the number of replacements of ink cartridges, thereby reducing the running cost and used in a multicolor printing printing apparatus. To provide. SOLUTION: An ink cartridge 8 accommodates two ink packages 8a in an upper portion and supplies ink to a print head (not shown). The waste ink sucked by the purge operation is injected from the injection port 85 into the first waste liquid chamber 83a, and is absorbed by the absorber 87. Waste ink in first waste liquid chamber 8
When 3a is full, waste ink flows into the second waste liquid chamber 83b through the vent 86. The second waste liquid chamber 83b and the third waste liquid chamber 83 waste ink sequentially flow. Therefore, even if the first waste liquid chamber 83a is filled with waste ink, ink does not leak to the outside. In addition, the small ink package (not shown)
Two ink packages 9a are stored. Since the ink package is divided into two, the amount of ink wasted when replacing the cartridge is reduced, and the running cost is reduced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used for a printing apparatus configured to be capable of multicolor printing using a plurality of color inks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printing apparatus configured to be capable of multicolor printing using a plurality of color inks is a printing apparatus using four color inks or a high quality printing apparatus using six or eight color inks. However, if these inks are stored in separate containers and used as ink cartridges, the frequency of replacing the cartridges will increase, which will make the printer inconvenient. Since the colors of the inks are likely to be mixed, the device is seriously damaged, and a mechanism for preventing mounting errors must be provided.

On the other hand, when inks of all colors are housed together in an ink cartridge, if any one of the colors is lost, it is necessary to replace the entire ink cartridge, which is uneconomical and requires a high frequency of replacement. In particular, black ink used for monochrome printing such as character printing,
The frequency of use was high, and the black ink often disappeared first.

Accordingly, two ink cartridges are generally used: a cartridge containing a large amount of used black ink and a cartridge containing other inks, for example, inks of three, five, and seven colors such as yellow, magenta, and cyan. It was also divided into.

[0005]

However, the consumption amounts of three to seven or more colors, such as yellow, cyan, magenta, etc., other than the black ink housed together in one cartridge, or more, should always match. However, actually, for these three to seven colors, for example, magenta is generally used in a large amount. That way, despite the fact that there's enough ink left, except for the specific high-consumption color ink,
There is a problem that the cartridge has to be replaced and the amount of waste ink is increased, which is uneconomical.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it has been proposed to reduce the amount of waste ink and reduce the number of replacements of ink cartridges, thereby reducing running costs. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge used in a printing apparatus configured to be capable of color printing.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, an ink cartridge according to the first aspect of the present invention is an ink cartridge used in a printing apparatus configured to be capable of multicolor printing using a plurality of colors of ink. A first ink cartridge having storage means for storing two color inks; and a second ink cartridge having storage means for storing two color inks other than the two colors stored in the first cartridge. And an ink cartridge.

[0008] In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Compared with the ink cartridge for each color, the frequency of replacing the cartridge can be reduced, and the production cost of the cartridge itself can be reduced. On the other hand, the running cost can be reduced by reducing the amount of wastefully discarded ink and reducing the number of replacements of the ink cartridge as compared with an ink cartridge in which a large number of inks are collected.

In the ink cartridge according to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the first aspect, the amount of ink stored in the first ink cartridge is stored in the other ink cartridge. The amount of the ink is larger than the amount of the ink.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
By storing more ink of a color that is expected to be consumed more than other inks, the replacement frequency of the ink cartridge is averaged.

In the ink cartridge according to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the first or second aspect, the two color inks stored in each of the ink cartridges have the same amount. It is characterized by.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Even when purging is performed frequently, it is possible to reduce the situation where only one of the inks runs out.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, the ink cartridge of the two colors stored in the first ink cartridge is provided. It is characterized in that one color is black ink.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
By storing black ink (black ink), which is expected to consume a large amount, in an ink cartridge having a large ink storage amount, the replacement frequency of the ink cartridge is averaged.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a waste ink reservoir is provided in the first ink cartridge. Features.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the waste ink generated by the purging operation performed in the printing apparatus can be stored, it is not necessary to separately prepare a container or the like for storing the waste ink. Further, when the ink is exhausted, the ink cartridge is replaced. Therefore, the waste ink reservoir is also replaced with the replacement, and it is possible to prevent an accident that the waste ink overflows.

In the ink cartridge according to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the fifth aspect, the waste ink reservoir is arranged below the storage means of the first ink cartridge. Features.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
When waste ink is injected into the waste ink reservoir, a ventilation port for bleeding this volume of air can be provided on the storage means side above the waste ink reservoir, so even if ink leaks when the air is removed, Since the ink flows out to the storage means side, it does not easily leak to the outside of the ink cartridge.

In the ink cartridge according to the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the waste ink reservoir may include a plurality of liquids partitioned by a partition having a communication port. It is characterized by comprising a room.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
By having a plurality of liquid chambers, even if a large amount of waste ink is injected, ink does not enter the next liquid chamber until one liquid chamber is filled with ink, so that it is difficult for the ink to leak out.

In the ink cartridge according to the eighth aspect,
In addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to claim 7, the liquid chamber includes a waste ink absorbing member.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
By providing the waste ink absorbing member in the liquid chamber, the waste ink injected into the liquid chamber is absorbed and stabilized, so that the movement of the ink becomes difficult and the leakage of the ink to the outside is prevented.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the ink cartridge of the eighth aspect, the waste ink absorbing member is made of a water-absorbing polymer.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the waste ink absorbing member is made of a water-absorbing polymer, the waste ink once absorbed is fixed and does not leak to the outside.

In the ink cartridge according to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the seventh or ninth aspect, a part of the plurality of liquid chambers has an ink projecting downward. It is characterized by having a reservoir.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
The waste ink injected into this liquid chamber sinks downward due to gravity because of the ink reservoir that protrudes downward, and is stored in the projecting ink reservoir, so that the ink moves to another liquid chamber. Thus, waste ink is prevented from leaking to the outside.

[0027] In the ink cartridge according to the eleventh aspect, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the third to tenth aspects, the amount of waste ink that can be stored in the waste ink reservoir is the first ink cartridge. 1 provided for
It is characterized by being equal to or more than twice the amount of ink that can be consumed by the printing device out of the amount of color ink, multiplied by the number of ink cartridges.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Even if the purging operation is extremely large compared to the printing operation, the waste ink cannot be generated more than this amount. Therefore, it is possible to prevent an accident that the waste ink overflows from the waste ink reservoir and leaks outside.

In the ink cartridge according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the ink cartridge storage means is a flexible liquid storage container. It is characterized by being.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
The weight of the ink cartridge can be reduced, and thus the weight of the printing apparatus can be reduced. Further, even in a closed container having no vent hole to the outside, the ink can be satisfactorily supplied, so that there is no leakage of the ink to the outside.

In the ink cartridge according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the twelfth aspect, the storage means of the ink cartridge communicates with the print head by a flexible hollow tube. It is characterized by the following.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
In combination with the flexible liquid storage container, the ink storing means can be arranged at a place different from the print head, so that the weight of the carriage can be reduced and the CR motor (carriage motor) can be used. It is possible to reduce the load, save power, reduce the size and weight of devices such as motors, and improve the accuracy of head control. Furthermore, even if a large amount of ink is stored in the storage means,
Since it does not affect the mounting weight of the movable part, a large amount of ink can be stored.

In the ink cartridge according to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to the thirteenth aspect, the storage means for each color ink included in each ink cartridge is provided with the print head for discharging the corresponding ink. The height difference is equal.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Since the height difference between the ink storing means and the corresponding print head is set to be equal, the water pressure on the head due to the height difference becomes equal, whereby the meniscus formed at the nozzle opening of the head is formed uniformly, and the ink of each ink is formed. A well-balanced high-quality print result can be obtained.

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects, the printing apparatus has an ink jet head and discharges ink onto a recording medium. The printing apparatus is characterized by being an ink jet type printing apparatus that performs printing by using the above method.

In the ink cartridge according to this configuration,
Particularly high-quality printing results can be obtained by using an inkjet printhead.

[0037]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a first embodiment, which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The portable printer 1 incorporates a plurality of large ink cartridges 8 and small ink cartridges 9 (hereinafter abbreviated as ink cartridges 8/9) arranged at predetermined positions, and the ink cartridges 8/9 to the right of the print head. 15 and print head left 16 (hereinafter print head 1)
5/16), and the ink is supplied to the nozzle right 15a disposed on the print head 15/16.
And ink from the left nozzle 16a (hereinafter abbreviated as "nozzle 15a / 16a") of the printing paper PP while reciprocating the carriage 27 on which the print head 15/16 is mounted in the main scanning direction which is a direction orthogonal to the paper conveying direction. The printing is performed by discharging.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a portable printer 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the portable printer 1 includes a printer main body 3 which is a case formed in a substantially rectangular box shape. A paper discharge port 4 which is a rectangular opening formed wide in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the portable printer 1 is formed at a lower substantially central portion of the printer main body 3. The paper discharge port 4 is an opening for discharging the printed printing paper PP, and has a longitudinal width corresponding to the paper width of the printing paper PP. In the portable printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the width of the paper discharge port 4 in the longitudinal direction is formed to be larger than the A4 size paper width (about 210 mm). An opening / closing lid 7 for exchanging the ink cartridges 8/9 is provided at the upper part of the printer main body 3.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the portable printer 1. The arrow X in the figure indicates the transport direction of the printing paper PP, and the arrow Y in the figure indicates the moving direction of the print head 15/16 during the main scanning.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer main body 3 also serves as a substantially rectangular box-shaped main body frame 6, and a rectangular shelf-shaped cartridge frame 5 is provided in the upper space 1a of the main body frame 6. A partition plate 5a is provided on the entire rear side below the cartridge frame 5 to partition the upper space 1a and the lower space 1b, and the front side is open to the lower space 1b. The ink cartridges 8/9 are arranged horizontally with their upper ends aligned with the cartridge frame 5 above the partition plate 5a.

In the lower space 1b of the main body frame 6 of the portable printer 1, an arrow Y and an anti-arrow Y
The print heads 15/16 are mounted side by side along the main scanning direction on a carriage 27 that can reciprocate in the direction. The print head 15/16 performs printing by discharging ink. A nozzle right 15a is provided on the lower surface on the right side of the print head 15, and a large number of nozzles configured by piezo elements (piezoelectric elements) are provided. Two nozzle rows including the openings 18 are formed along the paper transport direction X. One of these nozzle rows is filled with magenta ink supplied from each ink package of the ink package 8a, and the other row is filled with black ink. A similarly configured nozzle left 16a is also provided on the lower surface of the print head left 16, and is filled with yellow and cyan inks. Hereinafter, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are abbreviated as Y, M, C, and K, respectively. And
These nozzle rows eject Y, M, C, and K inks to enable color printing.

According to the print head 15/16, when a voltage is applied to the plurality of nozzles 15a / 16a composed of piezo elements, distortion proportional to the voltage value causes a distortion in the nozzle 1
5a / 16a, the nozzle 15a / 16a contracts. Due to this contraction, the ink filled in the nozzle openings 18 of the nozzles 15a / 16a is discharged onto the printing paper PP and printing is performed.

The cartridge frame 5 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 above the print head 15/16.
, Two ink cartridges 8/9 formed in a substantially rectangular box shape are detachably stored in a horizontal state. Below the ink cartridges 8/9, the above-mentioned partition plate 5a is provided. Each ink cartridge 8
2, the ink cartridge large 8 disposed on the left side in FIG. 2 contains an ink package 8a filled with ink ejected from the print head right 15, and the ink package 8a is composed of two inks. The package is composed of magenta and black inks, each of which is filled with one color.

A lower portion of the large ink cartridge 8 is provided with a waste ink reservoir 8b for storing waste ink sucked by a purge operation for preventing clogging of a print head 15/16 described later.

On the other hand, on the right side of the large ink cartridge 8 in FIG. 2, a substantially rectangular box-shaped small ink cartridge 9 is removably disposed adjacent to the large ink cartridge 8 in a horizontal position with its upper end aligned. ing. Like the large ink cartridge 8, the small ink cartridge 9 accommodates an ink package 9a composed of two ink packages filled with ink ejected from the print head left 16; And cyan ink are respectively filled. The small ink cartridge 9 and the ink package 9a are formed smaller than the large ink cartridge 8 and the ink package 8a and contain a small amount of ink. Specifically, 8 ml of each color ink is stored in the ink package 8a, and 5.5 ml of each color ink is stored in the ink package 9a. This is based on the assumption that the ink ejection amounts of the nozzles 15a / 16a of the print head 15/16 are different.

The ink package 8a / 9a housed inside the ink cartridge 8/9 is formed in a substantially rectangular bag, and is formed of a plurality of film sheets made of polyethylene resin or the like, for example, a plurality of film sheets. It is formed of a laminated structure film material in which about ten sheets are laminated. The laminated structure film material forming this ink package 8a / 9a is:
By forming the rigidity to be large, shape resilience is imparted, and a change in shape of the ink package 8a / 9a can be suppressed. Therefore, even if the ink is supplied from the ink package 8a / 9a to the print head 15/16 and the ink inside the ink package 8a / 9a decreases, the ink package 8a / 9a is not crushed to the atmospheric pressure or the like. The internal pressure can be maintained at an appropriate negative pressure.

Further, the ink package size 8 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the outer shape of the ink package 8 is a horizontally long rectangular flat plate as a whole, and has a lower rectangular projection 84 at the lower left portion in FIG. reference). FIG. 8 is a view of the ink package 8 as viewed from the back (upper side in FIG. 7) along the line VII-VII in FIG. For convenience, the extraction port 88 and the injection port 85 are shown on the drawing. FIG. 10 is a view of the large ink package 8 as viewed from above (the upper side in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 8, an upper part and a lower part are separated by a partition wall 89, and an ink package storage part 82 is formed in the upper part, and two ink packages 8a are stored. On the back side (upper side in FIG. 7) of the ink cartridge 8, an extraction port 88 as shown in FIG. 8 is provided. The extraction port 88 is
A part of the ink package 8a is a large ink cartridge 8
The exposed portion is made of a rubber material film. As shown in FIG. 10, the ink extraction needle 10 is inserted into the rubber film. An extraction hole 10a is formed in the tip of the ink extraction needle 10 into which the ink has been inserted. Ink flows into the ink extraction needle 10 from the extraction hole 10a and is connected to the base of the ink extraction needle 10. Ink flows into the supply tube 12 communicating with the joined joint member 11 (not shown in FIGS. 8 and 10), and the ink is supplied to the print head 16.

A waste ink reservoir 8b is formed below the partition wall 89. In FIG. 8, a space is also provided between the right side wall and the right side of the ink package storage section 82, and this space also forms a part of the first waste liquid chamber 83a.
An injection port 85 is provided in this space. This inlet 85
Is made of a rubber film, into which an injection needle 70 is pierced, and the waste ink sucked by the purging operation is passed through a waste ink tube 66 connected to the injection needle through an injection hole 70a provided at the tip thereof to be a first ink. Fill the waste liquid chamber with waste ink. In this space, an absorber 87 is provided.

In the present embodiment, the absorber 87 is made of a material having many gaps composed of a large number of fibers, but may be a porous sponge-like material. In short, the absorber 87 absorbs liquid waste ink. Anything can be used as long as it is fixed. Therefore, in addition to those obtained by grafting acrylate to starch or those obtained by grafting acrylate to carboxymethyl cellulose, polyacrylates, vinyl chloride / acrylic acid copolymers, isobutylene / maleic acid copolymers, polyvinyl A water-absorbing high-molecular polymer such as an alcohol-based synthetic polymer may be used. In this case, since the absorbed waste ink is fixed between the polymer chains, there is little fear that the waste ink leaks.

The first waste liquid chamber 83a is a continuation of the aforementioned space,
The protrusion 84 protrudes below and further below the right-hand ink package 8a in FIG. This portion also houses an absorber similar to the absorber 87 described above, and absorbs waste ink injected into the first waste liquid chamber 83a from the injection hole 70a. Particularly, since the projection 84 has a shape projecting downward,
Waste ink absorbed by gravity is collected and stored here.

The left side of the first waste liquid chamber 83a has a space protruding upward, and the upper partition 89 of this space has a vent 86
Are drilled.

In FIG. 8, the space to the left of the first waste liquid chamber 83a and below the left ink package 8a is separated from the partition 89 by the second waste liquid chamber 83b, the third waste liquid chamber 83c, and the fourth waste liquid chamber 83.
It is divided into three spaces d. Each of the waste liquid chambers 83a / 83b / 83c partitioned by the partition wall 89 accommodates the above-described absorber 87.

Ventilation holes 86 are formed in the partition walls 89 that partition the first waste liquid chamber 83a, the second waste liquid chamber 83b, the third waste liquid chamber 83c, and the fourth waste liquid chamber 83d, so that air or waste ink can pass therethrough. It is configured. In addition, the fourth waste liquid chamber 8
A space protruding upward is provided on the left side in FIG. 8 of 3d, and a vent 86 is formed in the side wall.

The ink cartridge 8/9 is disposed above the print head 15/16 and supplies ink to the print head 15/16. The ink cartridge large 8 and the ink cartridge small 9 have the same height. , The four color ink packages housed in the ink packages 8a / 9a are arranged on the same horizontal plane, and the nozzles 15 on the nozzle surface of the print head 15/16
Since a / 16a is also arranged on the same horizontal plane, the height difference between the ink of each color stored in the ink package 8a / 9a and each nozzle corresponding to the ink of each color is configured to be the same. Therefore, the water pressure on the nozzles generated from the height difference can be kept constant, the internal pressures of the nozzles of the respective colors become uniform, and uniform ink can be supplied.

By maintaining the ink supply pressure of the ink supplied to the print head 15/16 at a uniform negative pressure, the ink liquid surface at the nozzle port 18 of the nozzle 15a / 16a of the print head 15/16 has a concave surface. Is formed, and these internal pressures are kept uniform.
It is possible to maintain the dischargeability of the ink discharged from the nozzles 15a / 16a of the print head 15/16 uniformly, and to maintain good print quality. For example, in the print head 15/16 of the present embodiment, the ink supply pressure is about 0 mmAq (water column) or more and about -300 mmAq with respect to the atmospheric pressure.
(Water column) Within the following range (operating pressure range), a concave meniscus can be formed on the ink liquid surface in the nozzle port 18 (see FIG. 6) of the nozzle 15a / 16a.
Note that the optimal operating pressure range (optimal operating pressure range) of the print head 15/16 when printing is performed by the portable printer 1 of the present embodiment is approximately -30 mmAq (water column) or less with respect to the atmospheric pressure. It is a pressure value of −100 mmAq (water column) or more.

On the left side of the ink cartridge 8/9 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 in FIG.
U, a control unit 34 including an input buffer memory, a head driving IC, and the like is provided. The control unit 34 is connected with four FPCs (flexible printed cables) for applying a voltage to each head.
The four head driving FPCs 35 are stacked on the rear edge portion (the back side in FIG. 2) of the control section 34 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, and the rear edge of the ink cartridge 8 in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1. In the portion (in the rear side in FIG. 2), the ink supply tubes 12 stacked in the vertical direction connected to the ink cartridges 8/9 described later are stacked on the front side in FIG. 16 is joined to the upper part. The FPC 35 for driving a head is a film-shaped one in which a wiring pattern to be a conductive layer is formed on a polyimide base material, and this is further covered with a protective film.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the portable printer 1 in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the IV line viewed from the right. For convenience, CR motor (carriage motor) 3
0 is omitted. In the upper part of FIG. 4, the ink package 8a /
9a, the ink extraction needle 10 is stabbed for each color. Each of the ink extraction needles 10 is for extracting the ink filled in the ink package 8a / 9a, and is formed of a corrosion-resistant metal material such as stainless steel or a ceramic material. The ink extraction needle 10 is formed in a hollow needle shape, and an extraction hole, which is an opening for extracting ink in the ink package 8a / 9a, is provided at a tip portion (left side in FIG. 4) of the ink extraction needle 10. 10 a is provided, and the extraction hole 10 a is formed so as to communicate with the space inside the ink extraction needle 10. For this reason, the ink extraction needle 10 is connected to the ink package 8a / 9a.
When the ink is inserted into the ink package 1a, the ink in the ink package 8a / 9a is removed by the extraction hole 10a.
It can flow into the space inside 0.

Further, the waste ink tube 66 (FIG. 7
Injection needle 70 for injecting waste ink carried by
Is stabbed into the first waste liquid chamber 83 of the waste ink, and the waste ink is injected.

As shown in FIG. 4, at the rear edge of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1 (right side in FIG. 4), each ink extracted from the ink packages 8a / 9a is inserted into four ink packages respectively. One end of a joint member 11 bent in a substantially L-shape is joined to the base (the opposite end (the right side in FIG. 4)) of the needle 10. On the other hand, ink supply tubes 12 are connected to the other end sides of these joint members 11, respectively. Each of the joint members 11 is formed in a hollow tubular shape, and a communication hole (not shown) communicating with the extraction hole 10a of the ink extraction needle 10 is formed in the inside thereof. Each supply tube 1
Reference numeral 2 denotes a flexible, substantially hollow cylindrical circular tube made of a synthetic resin such as polypropylene, polyethylene, polyurethane, polyvinyl chloride, etc., through which ink flows and supplies ink to the print head 15/16. Supply.

In this embodiment, each supply tube 1
Reference numeral 2 is a TYGON (registered trademark) tube manufactured by NORTON, and has a tube thickness of about 0.5 mm or more and about 1.5 mm or less, and a tube inner diameter of about 0.5 mm or more and about 0.5 mm. It is made of 1.5 mm or less. For example, each supply tube 12 of the present embodiment has a tube wall thickness of approximately 0.8 mm and a tube inner diameter of approximately 0.8 mm, and has an outer diameter (length twice as large as the tube wall thickness and tube inner diameter). And a TYGON tube of about 2.4 mm.
The minimum value (minimum radius of curvature) of the radius of curvature R of the curved portion in a state where each supply tube 12 is bent is approximately 20 mm.
It is.

The four supply tubes 12 will be described in further detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. More specifically, at the substantially central portion of the rear edge portion (back side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, ink of each color is provided. Each supply tube joined to the package 8a / 9a is fitted with an elongated square-shaped binder (not shown), stacked vertically and bundled in a line, and furthermore, on the front side, that is, curved. Inside the supply tube 12
The supply tube 12 is connected to the control unit 34 and further laminated with the four head driving FPCs 35 that are laminated, and the supply tube 12 is disposed on the back side, that is, outside the curved supply tube 12 due to interference with the main body frame 6. A protective film 14 for protection is laminated.

The protective film 14 is a protective member that is disposed so that when the ink supply tube 12 comes into contact with the inner wall of the main body frame 6, the sliding is performed smoothly. A material formed of a material having low adhesiveness and low tackiness in a film shape is used. Protective film 14
The print head 15 needs to be self-standing and integrated with the supply tube 12 and the head driving FPC 35.
Need to bend to move with the movement of / 16,
The thickness is preferably about 25 μm or more and 300 μm or less. In the present embodiment, it is formed of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) having a thickness of about 100 μm.

A rear edge portion of the upper space 1a (far side in FIG. 2)
At the approximate center of the head drive FP from the near side.
C35, supply tube 12, and protective film 14 are laminated in this order. These members are a binder 1 having a sun shape having a wide portion and a narrow portion of the opening.
3 binds at predetermined intervals. The narrow portion of the binder 13 is tightly fixed to the supply tube 12 so that the four rows of the supply tube 12 do not collapse. The wide portion of the binder 13 has a width 4 to 5 times the width of the narrow portion, and the four head driving FPCs 35 are bundled so as not to be largely separated from the bundle of the four supply tubes stacked. Yes, the inside is free to slide. Therefore, even if these bundles may be curved,
Since a space for the head FPC 35 to sufficiently escape to the inside is secured, the bending is not disturbed.
It can be easily curved. Further, a protective film 14 is provided outside the binder 13 so as to cover the supply tube 12.

The four supply tubes 12 and the head driving FPC 35 bundled by the above-mentioned binder 13 at intervals of about 5 cm are maintained on the same plane on the partition plate 5a while the laminated state is maintained. It is curved from the upper right hand direction to the front direction, and is further directed to the print head direction at the front edge portion (the front side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, and the print head 15/16 in FIG. Since it is at the initial position, it is curved to the left and is joined to the joint at the top of the print head 15/16. The inks of each color pass through the respective supply tubes 12 and pass through the predetermined print heads 1 of the respective colors.
It is transported to 5/16.

Since the supply tubes 12 are bundled and arranged in the vertical direction by the above-mentioned binder 13, each supply tube 12 is placed in the direction of gravity (the lower side in FIG. 2).
It can be prevented from hanging and bending toward. In addition, since the above-mentioned partition plate 5a is disposed below the supply tube 12, the four supply tubes 12 are supported from below by the partition plate 5a, and each supply tube 12 hangs down in the direction of gravity and is bent. Can be prevented. In addition, the head drive FPC 35 having elasticity similar to the elastic protective film 14.
Because the four stacked supply tubes 12 are sandwiched between them, it is possible to prevent sharp bends at portions other than the above-mentioned curved portions, and therefore the supply tubes 12 are bent or bent at sharp angles. Accordingly, there is no possibility that the inner cross-sectional area becomes small and energy loss of ink flowing in each supply tube 12 occurs. In addition, since the projection 84 (see FIG. 4) of the waste ink reservoir 8b of the large ink cartridge 8 is provided inside the curved supply tube 12, unintended bending at this portion can be prevented.

Here, the laminated bundle of the protective film 14, the supply tube 12, and the head driving FPC 35 is
For convenience, it is referred to as a harness 17. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the harness 17 is joined to the upper portion of the print head 15/16 from a substantially central portion of the rear edge portion (the rear side in FIG. 2) of the upper space 1a, and the print head 15/16 moves. Harness 1
(A), (B), and (C) show the state of 7 as viewed from above with a part omitted from the line III-III in FIG. 1. In FIG. 3, the Y direction is the main scanning direction.

FIG. 3A shows that the print head 15/16
This shows the state at the initial position before printing. That is,
The right print head 15 is at the left end of the print area 43 on the platen. This state represents the state located on the leftmost side in the figure. This state is also a state in which the print head left 16 is located above the flushing area left 42 at the same time. In this case, the harness 17 is in a state where the protective film 14 is pressed against the front wall (the lower side in FIG. 3A) of the main body frame 6 in order to stretch straight by its own elasticity. From this state, as shown in FIG.
When the R motor is rotated by applying a voltage to move the carriage 27 and move the print head 15/16 rightward in the drawing, that is, in the print direction Y, the harness 17 joined to the print head 15/16 also becomes Move accordingly. In this case, the harness 17 is connected to the front wall of the main body frame 6 (FIG. 3).
(A) With the protective film 14 pressed against the lower side),
The protective film 14 is moved while sliding on the front wall of the main body frame 6.

FIG. 3B shows a state in which the carriage 27 has moved in the Y direction. In this state, the harness 17 is connected to the rear wall of the main body frame 6 (FIG. 3B).
(The upper side), and the length of the harness 17 at the curved portion is shortened. Therefore, the harness 17 that has been in contact with the front wall (the lower side in FIG. The state is away from the front wall of the frame 6. Accordingly, the resistance of the movement of the carriage 27 is reduced, and the load on the CR motor 30 is reduced.

FIG. 3C shows a state in which the carriage 27 is further moved in the Y direction and is at the rightmost end. In this state, the print head right 15 is above the flushing area right 41. In this state, harness 1
Reference numeral 7 denotes a state separated from the front wall (the lower side in FIG. 3C) of the main body frame 6. Therefore, there is no sliding resistance with the front wall of the main body frame 6.

In this embodiment, as described above, 2
By providing a nozzle row of color in one print head,
Although the print head is made compact, it is of course possible to configure each nozzle row for discharging each ink with a separate print head. The choice depends on the balance between production costs and the need for compactness. Therefore, the number of heads is not limited to two, but may be several. This case will be described later.

The arrow X in FIG. 4 indicates the direction in which the printing paper PP is transported. As shown in FIG. 4, an insertion port 22 for inserting unused printing paper PP is formed in the lower rear part of the printer main body 3 (right side in FIG. 4). The transport direction of the printing paper PP inserted from the insertion port 22 (arrow X
In the downstream direction (in the direction), a transport roller 23 driven by an LF motor (line feed motor) 31 for transporting the print paper PP, and a pressing roller 24 for pressing the print paper PP against the transport roller 23 are provided. Are arranged, and the two cooperate to press and convey the printing paper PP while sandwiching them.

On the downstream side of the conveying roller 23 and the pressing roller 24, the printing paper PP discharged from the conveying roller 23
Paper discharge roller 25 driven by an LF motor 31 for discharging paper to the outside of the printer main body 3, and the paper discharge roller 25
And a pressing roller 26 for pressing the printing paper PP. The paper discharging roller 25 and the pressing roller 26 cooperate to discharge the printing paper PP from the paper discharging port 4.

The transport roller 23 and the discharge roller 25
The print head 15/16 described above is disposed above the printing paper PP located between the two. Print head 15/1
6 can reciprocate in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 4, that is, in directions indicated by arrows Y and Y in FIG. 2 along a guide bar 29 laid across the body frame 6 of the printer body 3. It is detachably mounted on the carriage 27. A plurality of nozzles 15a for discharging ink onto the printing paper PP sandwiched by the transport rollers 23 and the like are provided on the side of the printing paper PP of the printing head 15/16.
/ 16a are formed.

Next, the carriage 27 on which the print heads 15/16 are mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. Carriage 27 disposed in main body lower space 1b
Is provided such that a guide bar 29 extending in the main scanning direction is penetrated to the rear side (the right side in FIG. 4), and is movable in the main scanning direction while being guided by the guide bar. Then, a timing belt 36 is wound around a driving pulley 38 and a driven pulley 39 disposed at the left end of FIG. 2 while being supported by the rotation shaft of the CR motor 30 disposed at the right end of FIG. The carriage 27 is fixed at one position. When a voltage is applied to the CR motor 30 by the control unit 34, the CR motor 30 rotates to rotate the driving pulley 38, rotate the timing belt 36, and guide the carriage 27 to the guard bar 29 while moving the carriage 27 in the main scanning direction. (FIG. 2 Y direction and anti-Y direction).

In order to recognize the position of the carriage 27, a timing fence 33 is provided on the back side (the right side in FIG. 4) of the carriage 27. Timing fence 33
Is a glass plate with fine slits that constitute a linear encoder, and two sets of photosensors (light emitters composed of LEDs and light receivers composed of phototransistors) arranged slightly out of phase with respect to the slit cycle ) And a set of photosensors (both not shown) for detecting the origin, the light from the projector (not shown) transmitted through the timing fence 33 is detected by the light receiver (not shown). I do. Two sets of the photosensors are arranged so as to have a phase difference of 1/2 of the slit so that the traveling direction can be recognized. One set of photosensors is used for origin detection. The CPU provided in the control unit 34 accumulates and analyzes the data based on the pulse data obtained from the photo sensor, and performs incremental control for recognizing the position of the carriage 27. In addition to the above-mentioned transmission type timing fence 33,
As the timing fence 33, a fine striped pattern is printed or baked on a plate of aluminum or the like, and emitted by a laser projector, and reflected light from the timing fence 33 is detected by a light receiver to recognize the position in the same manner. A reflective timing fence 33 may be used. Further, a timing fence having an absolute type scale may be used.

The CR motor 30 is a DC motor, and can control the speed by PWM control or current value control. The CR motor 30 recognizes the current position based on the position information from the timing fence 33, and further controls the speed and acceleration of the carriage 27. And feedback control by PDI control is performed from these data.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 taken along the line VV in FIG. 4, and the arrow Y in the drawing indicates the moving direction of the carriage 27. Note that the discharge roller 2
5 omits the central part. As shown in FIG. 5, a driving force for reciprocating the carriage 27 in the left-right direction (the direction of the arrow Y and the direction of the opposite arrow Y) of FIG. CR to supply
A motor 30 is provided, and an LF motor 31 for rotating the transport roller 23 and the paper discharge roller 25 is provided below the motor 30.

Here, the flushing operation will be described with reference to FIGS. A print head 15 which is an ink jet head for discharging ink from a nozzle port 18
/ 16, a solvent having a drying property is used for the ink so that the ink is ejected onto the printing paper PP and then dried and fixed, but when the portable printer 1 is not used, the nozzle 15a is used. / 16a is the first cap 62
And the second cap 63 (hereinafter, abbreviated as cap 62/63) prevents drying. Further, during the printing operation, the nozzle port 18 always discharges ink in the case of monochrome printing, so that the ink stored in the nozzle port 18 is always replaced, and the viscosity of the ink does not increase due to drying.

However, in the case of color printing, there is an ink of a color that will not be used for a long time, and the ink stored in the nozzle port 18 exposed to the outside air without being ejected will dry and increase its viscosity. Therefore, if the printing operation is continued for a long time, the nozzle opening 18 of a specific color may be clogged. Therefore, when the printing operation is performed for a certain period of time, there is no printing paper PP, that is, the printing area 4
A flushing area for retreating the head 15a / 16a from the platen 32 corresponding to No. 3 is provided, and ink is discharged from the nozzles 15a / 16a to the nozzle port 18 by discharging ink from the nozzles 15a / 16a to a prepared ink absorber in this flushing area. The ink whose viscosity has increased is replaced with new ink to prevent clogging. In the case of the portable printer according to the present embodiment, the flushing operation is performed at the beginning and end of the printing operation, and every 10 seconds after the printing operation.

Next, the flushing mechanism of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 shows the carriage 27 on which the print heads 15/16 are mounted, the print area 43, and the printing paper P.
It is a figure showing the positional relationship of P, flushing area | region 41/42. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the carriage 27 has moved to the leftmost position in the drawing. In this state, the print head left 16 is located directly above the flushing area left 42,
At this time, the print head right 15 is located above the left end of the platen 32 which is the print area 43 (see FIG. 6). Since the width of the platen 32 in the Y direction is substantially equal to the maximum width of the printing paper PP on which the portable printer 1 can print, when the printing paper PP having the maximum width is used, printing is performed by the print head right 15 also at this position. Is possible. In the state of FIG. 3A, when the print head left 16 discharges ink from the nozzle 16a, the ink is left on the surface of the absorber left 42a corresponding to the ink recovery means of the present invention provided in the flushing area left 42. The adsorbed ink is quickly absorbed because the left absorber 42a is formed from a collection of fibers having a large number of gaps.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 3A, while the flushing operation is performed for the print head left 16 at the flushing area left 42, printing is started in the print area 43 for the print head right 15. it can. Therefore, since the flushing operation can be performed without pausing the printing operation, the flushing operation can be performed without impairing the throughput of the printing apparatus.

Similarly, FIG. 3C shows the carriage 27
Shows the state moved to the rightmost in the figure. In this state,
The print head right 15 is located just above the flushing area right 41, and the print head left 16 is
Is located above the right end of the platen 32 (see FIG. 6). Therefore, the print head right 15 is in a state in which a flushing operation is possible in the flushing area right 41, and the print head left 16 is in a state in which printing is possible if there is the printing paper PP so far. Therefore, in such a case, the flushing operation on the print head right 15 can be performed while performing the printing operation.

Next, the purge operation and its mechanism will be described. The purging operation is mainly intended to prevent the nozzles 15a / 16a of the print head 15/16 from being clogged as in the flushing described above. In the flushing operation described above, ink is periodically discharged to the flushing areas 41/42 in order to prevent the nozzles 15a / 16a from drying during printing. In contrast,
In the purging operation, when the printer is not used, the print head 15/16 is covered with the drying prevention cap 62/63 to prevent drying. However, the sealing degree of the cap 62/63 is not perfect and drying is gradually performed. If the ink is not used for a long time, the viscosity of the ink in the nozzles 15a / 16a increases due to drying, and the high-viscosity ink may not be discharged in the flushing operation. In such a case, the high-viscosity ink in the nozzles 15a / 16a is forcibly discharged by the suction pump.

Hereinafter, the purge mechanism of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 according to the present embodiment as viewed from above the line VI-VI in FIG. The section of the pump 65 is shown in cross section. Some are omitted.

LF motor 3 used to transport printing paper PP
When a voltage is applied to 1, the LF motor 31 rotates, but when purging, the LF motor gear 37
The driving force is transmitted to the pump driving gear 61. The driving force of the pump drive gear 61 is transmitted to the pump drive cam 64 by a bevel gear at the tip, and the pump drive cam 64 is rotated. The pump driving cam 64 is a cylindrical member having an internal cavity whose lower part is open, and a bevel gear that meshes with the bevel gear of the pump driving gear 61 is formed on the upper surface. On the upper surface, a groove (inner) 64a and a groove (outer) 64b, which are deformed annular guide grooves, are double-engraved, and a groove (horizontal) 64c is also engraved on the side surface. Further, a projection (not shown) corresponding to the photosensor 68 is provided on the open inner lower surface. The protrusion is detected by the photo sensor 68, and detects the initial position of the pump drive cam 64.

A pump 65 is disposed on the left side of the pump driving cam 64 in the drawing. The pump 65 has two pistons, a first piston 65d and a second piston 65e, and the piston 1 has a cylindrical rod, and the tip of the rod is guided by a groove (outside) 64b. A part 65b outside the follower is disposed. Also, the second piston 6
5e has a rod penetrating through the inside of the cylindrical rod of the piston 1, and at the tip of the rod, a follower 65a, which is a driven portion guided by a groove (inside) 64a, is disposed.
The pump 65 is provided with a suction port 65c and a discharge port 65f located rightward in the figure. An internal hollow purge tube 67 is connected to the suction port 65c, and the purge tube 67 communicates with the cap 62/63 and is connected. Therefore, the purging operation is performed on the first cap 62 and the second cap 63 at the same time. In addition, the discharge port 65f
Is connected to a waste ink tube 66 having a hollow inside and communicated with a waste ink reservoir 8b of the ink cartridge 8 in a large size. Therefore, any color ink is stored as waste ink in the waste ink reservoir 8b of the large ink cartridge 8.

On the right side of the pump driving cam 64 in the figure, two caps, a first cap 62 and a second cap 63
Are arranged, and the cap 62/63 is
Groove (horizontal) 64 engraved on the side surface by rotation of 4
The follower (not shown) is moved by c, and the cap 62/63 is moved up and down by the cap elevating unit 69.

Hereinafter, the purge operation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. When purging is required, a predetermined control means applies a voltage to the CR motor 30 (see FIG. 2), the carriage 27 moves, and the print head 15/16 moves the cap 62.
When moved to the top of / 63, the timing fence 33
, The purge operation is started. First, LF
The rotation of the LF motor 31 is transmitted to the pump drive cam 64 by the motor gear 37, and the pump drive cam 64 at the initial position is rotated. Then, the groove (horizontal) 64
The follower c is moved to move the cap elevating unit 69,
The cap 62/63 is raised and the print head 15/16
Of the nozzles 15a / 16a is hermetically covered.

In the initial position, the first piston 65d and the second piston 65e are substantially in contact with each other, the first piston 65d is in the initial position in the position to close the discharge port 65f, and the second piston 65e is in the initial position. In the position, the suction port 65c is in a position to close. Hereinafter the first piston 6
5d, second piston 65e and cap elevating unit 69
Performs the following operation under the guidance of the pump driving cam 64.

After the cap 62/63 is raised, the second piston 65e moves to the left, and the first piston 65d
The distance between the first piston 65d and the second piston 65e increases, the internal volume between the two pistons increases, a negative pressure is generated, and the suction port 65c closed by the first piston 65d is opened. Due to the negative pressure generated by the pump 65, the purge tube 6
A negative pressure is also generated in the caps 62/63 via. Therefore, the ink in the nozzle port 18 is sucked and the cap 62
/ 63, flows into the pump 65 from the suction port 65c through the purge tube 67, and is stored in the space between the first piston 65d and the second piston 65e. When a predetermined amount of ink flows into the pump 65, the negative pressure disappears. The cap 62/63 is slightly moved down by the cap lifting / lowering unit 69 to be lowered below the surface of the platen 32 (see FIG. 4), and the print head 15/16 is released thereafter.

Next, the first piston 65d and the second piston 65e simultaneously move rightward while keeping the distance between them constant. For this reason, the internal pressure is kept constant, and it is unlikely that the ink is further sucked in from the suction port 65c, or the ink is discharged to the reverse and the ink flows back to the purge tube 67 to return to the cap 62/63. Absent. The second piston 65e closes the suction port 65c, while the first piston 65d closes the discharge port 6c.
Open 5f. Here, the first piston 65d stops, and only the second piston 65e moves further rightward. Therefore, the first piston 65d and the second piston 6
The interval with 5e is reduced, and the internal volume between them is also reduced. Therefore, the waste ink stored in the pump 65 is pressurized and discharged from the discharge port 65f. The discharged waste ink passes through a waste ink tube 66 and is injected into a waste ink reservoir 8b provided in the large ink cartridge 8. Then, the first piston 65d and the second piston 65e are simultaneously moved leftward in a substantially contact state, and
5d closes the outlet 65f, and the second piston 65e stops at the position where it closes the inlet 65c.

Finally, a projection (not shown) projecting below the pump drive cam 64 is detected by the photo sensor 68, and the end of the purge operation is transmitted to the control section 34, and
The transmission of the driving force from the F motor 31 to the pump driving gear 61 is released by the LF motor gear 37 and the pump driving cam 6
The rotation of No. 4 stops at the initial position, and the purge operation ends.

Next, a method of using the portable printer 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. The cartridge member is mounted on the printer body 3 and the print head 15/16 mounted on the cartridge member is mounted on the carriage 27 mounted on the printer body 3. When the power is turned on after the cartridge 8/9 is mounted, before the printing is started, the ink in the nozzle port 18 may be dried or ink containing bubbles may be used.
A purge operation is performed prior to printing in order to suck and discharge the ink to which dust or the like has adhered and perform good printing. The initial position when the power is turned on is the nozzle 1 of the print head 15/16.
Since 5a / 16a is sealed by caps 62/63, as shown in FIG.
As a result, the pump driving gear 6 via the LF motor gear 37
The driving force is transmitted to 1 and a purge operation is performed.

Thereafter, the operation of the carriage 27 is confirmed, and the carriage 27 is stopped at the initial position for starting printing. When an unused printing paper PP is inserted into the insertion slot 22 of the portable printer 1, the printing paper PP is transported below the print head 15/16 by the transport roller 23 and the pressing roller 24 rotated by the LF motor 31. Is done. When the transported print paper PP passes below the print head 15/16 reciprocated in the main scanning direction (direction orthogonal to the paper transport direction) in the arrow Y or counter arrow Y direction, the print head 15 / Printing is performed using ink ejected from the 16 nozzles 15a / 16a.

The ink filled in each of the ink packages 8a and 9a of the ink cartridge 8/9 passes through the respective extraction holes 10a of the respective ink extraction needles 10 inserted into the respective ink packages 8a / 9a. 10, passes through each communication hole (not shown) of each joint member 11, flows into each of the four supply tubes 12, is supplied to the print heads 15/16, and is supplied to the print heads 15/16. It is discharged from 16 nozzles 15a / 16a.
The printed printing paper PP is printed by the LF motor 31.
Discharge roller 25 and press roller 26 rotated by
As a result, the paper is discharged from the paper discharge port 4.

As described above, the print head 15/16
It is mounted on a carriage 27 driven by a CR motor 30 and reciprocates in the lower space 1b of the portable printer 1 in the directions indicated by arrows Y and counter-arrows in FIG. 2, and ejects ink from the nozzles 15a / 16a. To print.
As described above, when the print head 15/16 is mounted on the carriage 27 and reciprocates, the four supply tubes 12 connected to the upper part of the print head 15/16 move the print head 1/16.
It is reciprocated with the movement of 5/16. Print head 1
When 5/16 moves to the right side (the right side in FIG. 2) of the lower space 1b of the portable printer 1, each supply tube 12
Is curved toward the print head 15/16,
The curved portion (bent portion) is supported by a partition plate 5a in the upper space 1a of the portable printer 1, and the portable printer 1
Of the print head 15/16 disposed in the upper space la of the print head 15/16.

The print head 1 is placed in the flushing area at the beginning and end of printing and about every 10 seconds during printing.
The flushing operation is performed with 5/16 saved. After the printing is completed, the carriage 27 is
/ 63, the driving force is transmitted to the pump driving gear 61 by the LF motor 31 via the LF motor gear 37, the purging operation is performed once, and the cap 62
/ 63 stops at the raised position, and the nozzles 15a / 16a
Is sealed by caps 62/63, and drying of the nozzles 15a / 16a when not in use is prevented.

The operation of the ink cartridge 8 will be described below. The ink package 8a will be described. At the top of the ink cartridge 8, two ink packages 8 a are horizontally arranged and housed,
Ink is supplied to the print head left 16 via the supply tube 12 with the same height difference. Further, since the laminate of the flexible constituent resin has an appropriate elasticity, it does not collapse under the atmospheric pressure, and the nozzle 16 on the left side of the print head 16 does not collapse.
An appropriate negative pressure can be applied to the ink in a. For this reason, it is possible to supply the optimum ink to the ink jet print head. The two ink packages 8a store the same amount of black ink and magenta ink. Here, the above-described purging operation consumes a large amount of ink. In particular, in the portable printer 1 that is used less frequently, the amount of ink consumed by this purging operation is larger than the amount of ink consumed by printing. Since the ink consumption by this purge operation consumes the same amount of each color ink,
For example, if the magenta ink package 8a is smaller, the magenta ink is consumed first, and the other black ink remaining in the large ink cartridge 8 will be wasted. If the amount of ink is the same, the likelihood is reduced.

Next, the waste ink reservoir 8b provided in the large ink cartridge 8 will be described. The waste ink sucked by the pump in the purging operation is discharged to the waste ink tube 6.
6 and is injected into the first waste liquid chamber 83a of the waste ink reservoir 8b from the tip of the injection needle 70. This waste ink is first absorbed by the absorber 87 above the first waste liquid chamber 83a,
When the waste ink is further absorbed, the waste ink is absorbed and diffused throughout the absorber 87 below the first waste liquid chamber 83a. For this reason, even if the waste ink is further injected, since there are many gaps, the waste ink can be continuously absorbed. Further, since the first waste liquid chamber 83a has a projection 84 at the lower part, the absorbed waste ink is settled at the lower part by its gravity and stored at the bottom part, and the absorbing power of the upper absorber 87 is restored.

Since the second waste liquid chamber 83b is separated from the first waste liquid chamber 83a by the partition wall 89, the first waste liquid chamber 83b
As long as the level of the waste ink does not rise to the ventilation port 86 formed in the partition wall 89 in the position a, the waste ink does not flow into the second waste liquid chamber 83b. Here, if the first waste liquid chamber 8
If there is no partition wall between 3a and the second waste liquid chamber 83b and the absorber is connected, the waste ink injected into the first waste liquid chamber 83a diffuses into the absorber 87 by capillary action and the absorber 8
7, the waste ink is distributed throughout. Then, the absorption rate of the waste ink of the absorber 87 decreases, so that the ink overflows to the third waste liquid chamber 83c earlier than when the waste liquid chamber is divided. That is, by dividing the waste liquid chamber and separating the absorber 87 by the partition wall 89, even the waste liquid chamber having the same internal volume can store more ink without overflowing.

Similarly, the second waste liquid chamber 83b and the third waste liquid chamber 8
Since the third waste liquid chamber 83c and the fourth waste liquid chamber 83d are separated from the partition wall 89 having the ventilation hole 86, more waste ink can be stored with the same internal volume. is there.

When the waste ink is injected into the first waste liquid chamber 83a, the internal pressure in the first waste liquid chamber 83a increases by the volume of the injected waste ink, and it is necessary to release the internal air to the outside by this volume. is there. In this case, firstly, the fourth waste liquid chamber 83 is passed through the vent 86 partitioning each waste liquid chamber described above.
It is also conceivable to release the air to the outside because it is perforated on the side wall of d. However, when the pressurized air is released through these vents 86, the waste ink may move with the flow of the air, which is contrary to the purpose of providing the angled partition wall 89 and restricting the movement of the ink. become.
Further, there is a case where the waste ink accumulates in the second waste liquid chamber 83b to the fourth waste liquid chamber 83d which are relatively narrow, and it is difficult for the air to pass through. In such a case, the air pressurized by the waste ink injected into the first waste liquid chamber 83a vigorously jets out of the vent 86 provided on the side wall of the fourth waste liquid chamber 83d with the ink. Something like that is also possible. Therefore, the waste ink absorber 87 is provided in the space on the left side of the first waste liquid chamber 83a.
The inconvenience is prevented by providing a ventilation hole in the upper partition wall 89 without providing the above. In particular, since the position of the vent is upward and at a high level, and the absorber 87 is not provided, it is possible to prevent the ejection of air accompanied by waste ink. Even if some waste ink leaks to the upper part, the upper part has a certain degree of airtightness, so that the amount of waste ink flowing to the outside is reduced.

When the absorber 87 is made of a polymer water absorbing material, the water absorption rate becomes extremely high, and the absorbed waste ink is fixed, so that the waste ink further leaks to the outside of the ink cartridge 8. Such accidents can be effectively prevented.

Here, the amount of waste ink that can be stored in the waste ink reservoir 8b is 24 ml in the present embodiment, but this point will be described. The amount of one ink is 8 ml in the present embodiment. If the amount of ink remaining in the ink package 8a in normal use is 2 ml, the amount of ink that can be consumed by printing is approximately 6 ml. Becomes It is assumed that all the ink is sucked by the purge operation and injected into the waste ink reservoir 8b. In this case, since the four colors of ink are simultaneously sucked according to the purge operation, the total amount of 24 ml is 4 times 6 ml.
Is sucked and injected into the waste ink reservoir 8b. Therefore, the waste ink reservoir 8b will not overflow if it is 24 ml. Conversely, if the amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink reservoir 8b becomes 24 ml, the ink package 8a
Since the remaining amount of ink is exhausted, the large ink cartridge 8 is necessarily replaced. This is the same even if the ink cartridge 9 is replaced halfway. Generally speaking, the amount of waste ink that can be stored in the waste ink reservoir is the amount of ink that can be consumed by the printing or purging operation of the amount of ink of one color of the ink package provided in the ink cartridge 8. The amount obtained by multiplying twice the amount by two, which is the total number of ink cartridges, is the storage amount required for the waste ink reservoir.

The ink cartridge 8 is replaced when either black or magenta ink stored in the ink package 8a is exhausted. The ink cartridge large 8 can be released by opening the opening / closing lid 7 in FIG. 1 and pulling out the ink cartridge large 8 by hand in the X direction shown in FIG. When the new ink cartridge 8a is similarly inserted in the direction opposite to the X direction along the cartridge frame 5, the ink extraction needle 10 and the injection needle 70 will
The ink extraction needle 10 and the injection needle 70 are pierced into the rubber film of the extraction port 88 and the injection port 85 while being stuck into the rubber film of the injection port 8 and the injection port 85. Then, when the ink cartridge 8 is inserted to the predetermined position, the mounting is completed.

Next, the ink package 9 will be described. FIG. 9 shows the ink package 8 in FIG.
It is the figure seen from the back side (the upper part of Drawing 7) in the VII line. FIG. 11 is a view of the ink package 9 viewed from above (FIG. 1 upper side). As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, the small ink cartridge 9 is the same as the large ink cartridge 8 except that there is no waste ink reservoir 8b and the capacity of the ink package 8a is different from the large ink cartridge 8. Therefore, other matters will be replaced with the description of the ink cartridge 8.

The capacity of the ink package 9a of the small ink cartridge 9 is 5.5 ml. The reason why the capacity is smaller than 8 ml which is the capacity of the ink package 8a is that the amount of cyan and yellow ink consumed by printing is smaller than that of black and magenta empirically. That is, the replacement frequency of the large ink cartridge 8 and the replacement frequency of the small ink cartridge 9a are made substantially the same.
Then, as in the description of the ink cartridge 8,
In some cases, the amount of ink consumed by purging or flushing is larger than the amount of ink actually supplied for printing. In such a case, the speeds of cyan and yellow ink consumption are equal. Therefore, by accommodating the cyan and yellow inks in the same small ink cartridge 9, the replacement frequency can be reduced by half compared to using separate ink cartridges.

The ink cartridge small 9 is mounted horizontally with the upper end of the ink cartridge large 8 aligned at the same level. Also, the nozzle 15a of the print head 15/16
/ 16a are disposed horizontally. From this, since ink can be supplied to each head 15/16 with the same height difference,
The meniscus posted on each nozzle port 18 becomes uniform, and each ink is printed in a uniform state.

As described above, according to the portable printer of the present embodiment, the two print heads 1 in the main scanning direction are used.
5/16 are arranged side by side, and the print head 15 is provided with two rows of nozzles 15 including a nozzle row for printing black ink and a nozzle row for printing magenta ink, and the print head 16 is a nozzle for printing cyan ink. With two rows of nozzles 16a consisting of a row and a nozzle row for printing yellow ink, the ink supplied to the same head is always purged and flushed simultaneously and in the same amount, and the amount is supplied for actual printing. Considering that the amount of ink may be much larger than the amount, two inks supplied to the same head are stored in the same amount by storing the same amount of ink in the same cartridge. Providing a portable printer of excellent quality that does not need to be replaced frequently, and does not waste ink by leaving ink in the cartridge. Rukoto can. This effect is particularly significant in portable printers where nozzle recovery is frequent.

The present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Can be easily inferred.

For example, in the present embodiment, Y, M, C,
It was a two-head type using four colors of K, but in addition to these, a six-color three-head type in which a special color such as a fluorescent color was added, or a light-colored Y, M in addition to Y, M, C, and K , C, and K, a total of eight colors and four heads may be used.

In the present embodiment, an ink jet type print head has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the ink jet type head, but may be applied to any printing method in which ink is ejected onto a recording medium by any method. Is possible. Further, the present invention can be similarly applied to a transfer type printer.

[0113]

As is apparent from the above description, claim 1
In the ink cartridge according to the invention, the frequency of replacing the cartridge can be reduced and the production cost of the cartridge itself can be reduced as compared with the ink cartridge for each color. On the other hand, the running cost can be reduced by reducing the amount of wastefully discarded ink and reducing the number of replacements of the ink cartridge as compared with an ink cartridge in which a large number of inks are collected.

In the ink cartridge according to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the first aspect, an effect that a larger amount of ink of a color that is expected to be consumed can be stored than other inks. There is. Therefore, an effect that the frequency of replacing the ink cartridge can be averaged can be achieved.

In the ink cartridge according to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to the first or second aspect, even when purging is frequently performed, only one of the inks is consumed. This has the effect of reducing the number of situations.

In the ink cartridge according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, a larger amount of ink is consumed by an ink cartridge having a larger ink storage capacity. By storing the assumed black ink (black ink), there is an effect that the replacement frequency of the ink cartridge can be averaged.

According to the ink cartridge of the fifth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the waste ink generated by the purging operation performed in the printing apparatus is replaced with the waste ink. There is an effect that it can be stored in the reservoir. Therefore, there is an effect that it is not necessary to separately prepare a container for accommodating the waste ink. Further, when the ink is exhausted, the ink cartridge is replaced. Therefore, the waste ink reservoir is also replaced with the replacement, and there is also an effect that an accident such as overflow of the waste ink can be prevented.

In the ink cartridge according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to the fifth aspect, when the waste ink is injected into the waste ink reservoir, a vent for removing air by this volume is provided. There is an effect that it can be provided on the storage means side above the waste ink reservoir. Therefore, even if the ink leaks when the air is evacuated, the ink leaks to the storage means side, so that there is an effect that the ink hardly leaks to the outside of the ink cartridge.

In the ink cartridge according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to the fifth or sixth aspect, by having a plurality of liquid chambers, even if a large amount of waste ink is injected, There is an effect that the ink does not enter the next liquid chamber until the ink is filled in one liquid chamber. Accordingly, an effect is obtained that the ink hardly leaks to the outside.

In the ink cartridge according to the eighth aspect,
In addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the seventh aspect, by providing the waste ink absorbing member in the liquid chamber, there is an effect that the waste ink injected into the liquid chamber can be absorbed and stabilized. Therefore, there is an effect that the movement of the ink is regulated and the leakage of the ink to the outside is prevented.

In the ink cartridge according to the ninth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the eighth aspect, since the waste ink absorbing member is made of a water-absorbing polymer, the waste ink once absorbed is fixed. It has the effect of being done. Therefore, there is an effect that there is no leakage to the outside.

According to the ink cartridge of the tenth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to the seventh or ninth aspect, since the ink cartridge has an ink reservoir projecting downward, the waste ink injected into the liquid chamber is provided. Has the effect of sinking downward due to gravity and being stored in the protruding ink reservoir. Therefore, there is an effect that the movement of the ink to the other liquid chamber is prevented, and the leakage of the waste ink to the outside is prevented.

In the ink cartridge according to the eleventh aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridges according to the third to tenth aspects, even if the purging operation is extremely large compared to the printing operation, the ink cartridge can be eliminated. Since the ink cannot be generated more than this amount, there is an effect that the waste ink is not injected into the waste ink reservoir more than the amount that can be stored. Therefore, there is an effect that the accident that the waste ink overflows from the waste ink reservoir and leaks to the outside can be prevented beforehand.

In the ink cartridge according to the twelfth aspect, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridge according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, the weight of the ink cartridge can be reduced, thereby reducing the weight of the printing apparatus. There is an effect that can be. Furthermore, since the ink can be satisfactorily supplied even in a closed container having no vent hole to the outside, there is an effect that the leakage of the ink to the outside can be prevented.

In the ink cartridge according to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the twelfth aspect, in addition to the flexible liquid storage container, the ink storing means is provided with a print head. There is an effect that it can be arranged in another place. Therefore, the weight of the carriage can be reduced, the load on the CR motor (carriage motor) can be reduced, and power can be saved, the size of the motor and the like can be reduced, and the accuracy of head control can be improved. . Furthermore, even if a large amount of ink is stored in the storage means, the weight of the movable portion is not affected, so that it is possible to store a large amount of ink.

In the ink cartridge according to the fourteenth aspect, in addition to the effect of the ink cartridge according to the thirteenth aspect, there is an effect that the height difference between the ink storing means and the corresponding print head is set to be equal. Therefore, the water pressure on the head due to the height difference becomes equal, the meniscus formed at the nozzle opening of the head is formed uniformly, and the effect of obtaining a high quality printing result in which each ink is balanced can be obtained. .

In the ink cartridge according to the fifteenth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the ink cartridges according to the first to fourteenth aspects, particularly high-quality printing results can be obtained by using an ink jet print head. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a portable printer 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the portable printer 1.

FIG. 3 shows a harness 1 as the print head 15/16 moves.
The portable printer 1 is moved to the position III- in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram viewed from above with a part omitted in line III. (A) is a diagram showing a state where the carriage 27 is at the leftmost position. FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a state where the carriage 27 is at an intermediate position. (C) is a diagram showing a state where the carriage 27 is at the rightmost position.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view schematically showing the portable printer 1 as viewed from the right direction along the line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 as viewed from the right along line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 shows a carriage 2 on which a print head 15/16 is mounted.
FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship among a print area 43, a print sheet PP, and a flushing area 41/42.

7 is a partial cross-sectional view of the portable printer 1 as viewed from above the line VI-VI in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the ink package 8 is replaced with a VII-VII shown in FIG.
It is the figure seen from the back side (FIG. 7 upper side) in the line.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a state in which the ink package 9 is replaced with a VII-VII shown in FIG. 7;
It is the figure seen from the back side (FIG. 7 upper side) in the line.

FIG. 10 is a diagram of the ink package 8 as viewed from above (FIG. 1 upper side).

11 is a diagram of the ink package 9 viewed from above (FIG. 1 upper side).

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 portable printer (printing device) 8 large ink cartridge 8a ink package (reserving means) 8b waste ink reservoir 9 small ink cartridge 9a ink package (reserving means) 12 supply tube 15 print head right 15a nozzle right 16 print head left 16a nozzle Left 18 Nozzle port 27 Carriage 83a First waste liquid chamber 83b Second waste liquid chamber 83c Third waste liquid chamber 83d Fourth waste liquid chamber 84 Projection 85 Inlet 86 Vent (communication port) 87 Absorber (waste ink absorbing member) 88 Extraction Mouth 89 partition

Claims (15)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge for use in a printing apparatus configured to be capable of multicolor printing using a plurality of color inks, wherein the first ink cartridge has a storage means for storing two color inks, And a second ink cartridge having storage means for storing inks of two colors other than the two colors stored in the first cartridge. 2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the amount of ink stored in the first ink cartridge is larger than the amount of ink stored in the other ink cartridge. 3. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the two color inks stored in each of the ink cartridges have the same amount. 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein one of the two colors of ink stored in the first ink cartridge is black ink. 5. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the first ink cartridge includes a waste ink reservoir.
The ink cartridge according to any one of the above. 6. The ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the waste ink reservoir is disposed below a storage unit of the first ink cartridge. 7. The ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the waste ink reservoir comprises a plurality of liquid chambers partitioned by a partition having a communication port. 8. The ink cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the liquid chamber includes a waste ink absorbing member. 9. The ink cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the waste ink absorbing member is made of a water-absorbing polymer. 10. The ink cartridge according to claim 7, wherein a part of the plurality of liquid chambers has an ink reservoir projecting downward. 11. The amount of waste ink that can be stored in the waste ink reservoir is twice the amount of ink that can be consumed by the printing device out of the amount of one color ink provided in the first ink cartridge. 11. The ink cartridge according to claim 3, wherein the number is equal to or more than the number obtained by multiplying the number of the ink cartridges. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the storing means of the ink cartridge is a flexible liquid storage container. 13. The ink cartridge according to claim 12, wherein the storage unit of the ink cartridge communicates with the print head by a flexible hollow tube. 14. A printing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said ink storage means of each ink cartridge has the same height difference as said print head which discharges the corresponding ink.
An ink cartridge according to claim 1. 15. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus has an inkjet head, and is an inkjet printing apparatus that performs printing by discharging ink onto a recording medium. ink cartridge.