JP2001038922A - Inkjet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: Provided is an ink jet printer that drives a carriage with a small space and a low load while securing a sufficient amount of ink to be supplied to a print head by fixedly disposing an ink container. A print head includes a chip substrate having an ink reservoir formed on an upper surface thereof, and a partition wall laminated thereon.
3, a heating element 24 surrounded by the element, an orifice plate 25 on the partition wall 23, an orifice 26 and an ink receiving hole 27 formed in the element, a drive circuit (not shown) for driving the heating element 24 to generate heat, and an ink supply film. Signal supply FPC41,
The film-like members 35, 36, and 37 constituting this, the ink circulation hole 34 in contact with the external tank formed in the film-like member 37, and the printed wiring and the film-like member 35 disposed on the outer surface side 37-1 thereof. The ink flow passage 31 is formed in the film-like member 36 that communicates with the orifice plate 25 formed in the film member 36 that communicates the ink flow holes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to an ink container fixed to a printer main body to secure a sufficient amount of ink supplied to a print head while saving space and reducing load. The present invention relates to an ink jet printer that drives a print head to reciprocate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is an ink jet printer that mounts a print head on a carriage and performs printing while reciprocating the print head in the main scanning direction by the carriage. In such a print head moving type ink jet printer, there are roughly two methods of supplying ink to the print head.

[0003] One method is to mount an ink cartridge on a carriage together with a print head. This method has an advantage that the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the print head smoothly because the print head and the ink cartridge are arranged close to each other.
On the other hand, when the size of the cartridge is increased in order to increase the ink supply amount, the weight of the carriage increases, the inertia of the carriage increases, and the drive system of the carriage has a disadvantage of increasing the size.

However, if the size of the ink cartridge is reduced by giving priority to the miniaturization of the printer apparatus, the amount of ink that can be printed at one time is reduced due to the reduced amount of ink supply. The inconvenience that the ink cartridge must be replaced occurs. When the ink cartridge is small, the ink cartridge is frequently replaced as described above.
There is also the disadvantage of increased running costs.

[0005] On the other hand, another method is a method in which an ink cartridge is exchangeably fixed to the printer main body, and a tube connecting the ink cartridge and the print head is used to supply ink to the print head. This method has the advantages that the size of the ink cartridge fixed to the printer apparatus main body can be increased, so that the number of printed sheets is large and the running cost can be reduced.

However, if the number of colors of ink is at least three as in a color printer, the number of tubes corresponding to the number of colors of ink is bundled, and the flexible tube is deformable following a reciprocating print head. In order to avoid damage by contacting other parts with the movement of the carriage (that is, the print head) as the carriage (that is, the print head) moves, damage such as coating a spiral tube made of metal wire or resin into the tube, etc. Preventive measures must be taken. In addition, since the flexible tube is easily crushed by bending and the internal flow passage is easily clogged, a certain thickness (thickness) is required from the viewpoint of strength so as not to be crushed. In any case, as a result, there is a problem that a large space is required for moving the tube, and the size of the printer apparatus as a whole becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described conventional circumstances,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet printer in which an ink container is fixedly arranged in a printer apparatus main body and a carriage is driven with a small weight and a low weight while securing a sufficient amount of ink to be supplied to a print head.

[0008]

The structure of an ink jet printer according to the present invention will be described below. An ink jet printer according to the present invention includes a printer device main body, an ink holding means mounted on the printer device main body, a reciprocating carriage mounted with a print head, and supplying ink to the print head from the ink holding device. An ink jet printer having a flexible ink supply unit, wherein the ink supply unit is configured to include a laminated film member, and an ink flow path formed in the film member. .

The ink supply means may comprise, for example, three laminated film members, a slit-shaped ink flow path formed in the intermediate laminated film member, And an ink circulation hole formed at a position corresponding to the end of the slit-shaped ink flow path of the film-like member laminated on the substrate. The two film-shaped members, the groove-shaped ink flow passage formed on the lamination surface of the one film-shaped member, and the groove-shaped ink flow passage of the one film-shaped member or the other film-shaped member And an ink circulation hole formed at a position corresponding to the end of the ink passage.

The film member is provided with a signal line for supplying a signal from the main body of the printer to the print head.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a print head of the ink jet printer according to the first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of the ink supply film, and FIG. FIG. 3B is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′, and FIG. 4D is a sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the print head 1 is
A chip substrate 3 pierced through the ink receiving hole 2 from front to back, a partition 4 laminated on the surface (upper surface of the drawing) of the chip substrate 3, a heating element 5 surrounded by the partition 4, a partition 4
Orifice plate 6 laminated on the
Orifice 7 formed at a position facing the heating element 5, a driving circuit (not shown) for driving the heating element 5 to generate heat, and a terminal hole (not shown) of the orifice plate 6 formed in a terminal of the driving circuit.
And an ink supply film 9 as an ink supply means having one end adhered to the back surface (the lower surface in the figure) of the chip substrate 3. The other end of the flexible signal line 8 is connected to a control device (not shown) of the printer main body.

The ink supply film 9 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), (c), and (d), an end connected to the chip substrate 3 is provided with an ink supply port 2 for supplying ink to the print head 1 through the ink receiving hole 2 of the chip substrate 3. Two ink circulation holes 11 are provided at the opposite end, and two ink circulation holes 12 for receiving ink from an ink cartridge as ink holding means fixed to a printer device main body (not shown) are provided at opposite ends. An ink flow path 13 is formed between the ink circulation holes 11 and 12 so as to communicate the ink circulation holes 11 and 12, respectively.

The ink supply film 9 is formed by laminating three film-like members 14, 15, and 16, and an ink flow path 13 is formed in the film-like member 15 laminated in the middle in a slit shape. The other two film-like members 14 and 16 laminated on the outside of the film-like member 15, that is, on both sides, respectively,
Are formed from above and below to form a cylindrical ink flow path 13 in the ink supply film 9 as a whole.

The film-like member laminated on the outside of the film-like member 15 (in this embodiment, the film-like member 14 laminated above) is provided with the slit-like ink flow path 13.
The above-described ink circulation holes 11 and 12 are formed at positions corresponding to the end portions of the ink. One ink supply path composed of the ink circulation holes 12, the ink flow paths 13, and the ink circulation holes 11 supplies one color of ink. The ink supply film 9 shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 1 (d) has two ink supply paths, that is, the print head 1 shows a configuration when printing is performed using two colors of ink. I have.

By the way, the above-mentioned flexible signal line 8
Is composed of an FPC (flexible printed circuit board). . The FPC is used for wiring that is bent into a narrow space or wiring that is repeatedly bent using flexibility. Most printers of the type in which the print head 1 moves and prints as in this example are used. Printer, FPC
Are used as signal lines to the print head. Such an FPC can be bent only in the longitudinal direction without being deformed in the width direction when the FPC is widened to some extent, for example, 20 mm, and does not hinder movement even without a guide device, and is extremely simple. It can be constructed in a narrow moving space with a simple structure.

The ink supply film 9 of the print head 1 of the present invention is formed using a film-like member made of the same material as the above-mentioned FPC. Therefore, the ink received from the external ink cartridge to the ink circulation hole 12 is supplied from the ink circulation hole 11 to the ink receiving hole 2 of the print head 1 via the ink flow path 13. This ink supply film 9
Has a three-layer structure, the ink flow path 13 formed in a slit shape in the central film-like member 15 does not collapse even if it is bent sharply, and therefore does not require a large moving space. That is, the flexible signal line 8
In the same manner as described above, the print head 1 can be moved in a narrow moving space without any trouble without a guide device.

FIG. 2A is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a print head of an ink jet printer according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the ink supply film, and FIG. ) Is a sectional view taken along the line CC ′ of FIG.
(d) is a diagram showing another configuration example. As shown in FIG. 1A, the print head 20 includes a chip substrate 22 having an ink reservoir 21 formed on an upper surface thereof, a partition wall 23 laminated on the upper surface of the chip substrate 22, and surrounded by the partition wall 23. Heating element 2
4. An orifice plate 25 laminated on the partition wall 23; an orifice 26 formed at a position of the orifice plate 25 facing the heating element 24; and an ink formed at a position substantially facing the ink reservoir 21. Receiving hole 27, heating element 2
4 is provided with a drive circuit (not shown) for generating heat, a flexible signal line 28 connected to a terminal of the drive circuit, and an ink supply film 29 as an ink supply means having one end adhered to the entire surface of the orifice plate 25. . The other end of the flexible signal line 28 is connected to a control device (not shown) of the printer device main body.

The ink supply film 29 is shown in FIG.
(b) is turned upside down and joined to the orifice plate 25 as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 5A, 5B and 5C, the end joined to the ink jet head 5 communicates with the ink receiving hole 27 of the orifice plate 25 to supply ink to the print head 20. Flow hole 31
And an elongated hole 32 for opening the flight path of the ink ejected from the orifice 26 is formed. The above-mentioned ink circulation hole 31
Communicates with one end of an ink flow path 33 formed inside the ink supply film 29, and the other end of the ink flow path 33 communicates with another ink circulation hole 34.

The ink supply film 29 receives ink from an ink tank or an ink cartridge fixed to a printer main body (not shown) into the ink circulation hole 34 and transfers the ink from the ink circulation hole 31 through the ink flow path 33. The ink is supplied to the ink receiving hole 27 of the print head 20.

The ink reservoir 21 of the print head 20 is provided for facilitating the supply of ink when the ink is ejected from the orifice 26, and is for ensuring the amount of ink as a buffer. . The ink reservoir 21 may be perforated on the surface of the chip substrate 22 as shown in the figure, or an ink reservoir of a required size (width) may be provided by a partition.

In this embodiment, the ink supply film 29 is also 3
A plurality of film members 35, 36, and 37 are laminated, and an ink flow path 33 is formed in a slit shape in the film member 36 laminated in the middle. The configuration of the ink supply path including the ink circulation hole 34, the ink flow path 33, and the ink circulation hole 31 is the same as the ink circulation hole 12 shown in FIG.
The configuration is the same as the configuration of the ink supply path including the ink flow path 13 and the ink circulation holes 11. The long hole 32 is larger than the nozzle row in which the plurality of orifices 26 of the print head 20 are juxtaposed, and is formed through three film-like members 35, 36 and 37.

The ink supply film 29 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (d), two film-like members 38 and 39 are used.
Can also be configured. In this case, a groove-like ink flow path 33 is formed on the lamination surface of one of the film-like members 39,
By laminating the other film-shaped member 38 on the lamination surface on which the groove-shaped ink flow path 33 is formed, a cylindrical ink flow path 33 having the same configuration as that shown in FIG. The other film-shaped member 38 has an end (both ends) of the ink flow path 33.
The two ink circulation holes 31 and 34 are located at positions corresponding to
Is formed. Also in this case, the long hole 32 is formed to penetrate the two film-like members 38 and 39.

In the above-described embodiment, the ink supply film 29 has a shape for printing with one color of ink, but the ink flow path 31, the ink flow path 33, and the ink flow path 34 Of the ink supply films 29 are arranged in the short direction of the ink supply film 29, and the long holes 32 are provided by the number of ink colors, that is, the number of nozzle rows.
9 can be applied to a print head of a printer for multicolor printing if they are arranged in the longitudinal direction.

Although shown in an enlarged manner in the above-mentioned drawings, the widths of the ink flow paths 33 and the long holes 32 and the ink flow holes 31 and 3
The diameter of 4 is about several tens of μm, and there is no problem in providing a plurality of them, for example, four to six in parallel as described above, according to a plurality of ink colors.

In the first and second embodiments, the ink supply film 9 or 29 and the flexible signal line 8 or 28 are separately arranged on the chip substrate 3 or 22. However, since the ink supply film 9 or 29 uses the same film-shaped member as the FPC, that is, the flexible signal line 8 or 28, as described above, in the present invention, these ink supply films and the FPC are integrated. A print head having a simple structure and a small load is realized. Hereinafter, this will be described as a third embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a print head of an ink jet printer according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 3B is a diagram showing an ink supply / signal supply FPC.
FIG. 3 (c) is a sectional view taken along the line DD ′ of FIG. 3 (b).
FIG. 1D is a sectional view taken along the line EE 'of FIG. 1B.

As shown in FIG.
0 denotes a chip substrate 2 having an ink reservoir 21 formed on the upper surface.
2, a partition 23 laminated thereon, a heating element 24 surrounded by this, an orifice plate 25 on the partition 23, an orifice 26 at a position facing the heating element 24, and an ink reservoir 2.
The configuration of a drive circuit and the like (not shown) for driving the ink receiving hole 27 and the heating element 24 at a position opposing to the print head 1 is the same as the configuration of the drive circuit and the like below the ink reservoir 21 of the print head 20 in the second embodiment of FIG. Are identical.

The ink supply film and signal supply FPC 41 shown in FIG. 2A is also different from FIGS. 2B and 2C as shown in FIGS. 2B, 2C and 2D. Almost the same shape (Fig. 3 (c) and Fig. 2
(In (c), only the position of the cross section is different.) However, in the ink supply film 29 shown in FIGS. 2 (a), 2 (b), and 2 (c), the ink circulation holes 34 in contact with the external tank
3 (a), 3 (b), 3 (c) and 3 (d), the ink flow hole 34 which contacts the external tank contacts the orifice plate 25. It is formed on the surface opposite to the ink circulation hole 31.

In the ink supply film 29 shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C, three film members 35 and 36 are provided.
3 and 37, only predetermined holes are formed. In FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D, three film-like members 35,
Outer surface side 37 of film-like member 37 among 36 and 37
A signal line connecting the control unit of the printer apparatus main body and the drive circuit of the print head 40 is printed at -1. As a result, the print head 40 is reciprocated while supplying ink to the print head 40 by the ink supply film / signal supply FPC 41 composed of a single (single-sheet shaped) flexible tape that integrally supplies ink and signal. Printing can be performed.

In the above-described embodiments, the print head of a thermal type ink jet printer has been described as an example. However, the printer is not limited to this and can be applied to a print head of a piezo type ink jet printer. It is.

The external ink container for supplying ink to the print head via the ink supply film is not limited to a replaceable ink cartridge, but may be a fixed ink container as a permanent component and a refillable ink container only. You may.

[0033]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, an ink supply path comprising a film-like member similar to an FPC for electrically connecting a drive control signal and the like to a print head that performs printing while moving. Is used to supply ink to the print head, so that ink can be supplied from an ink container separated from the print head, and printing can be performed without a special guide device or a large moving space. In addition, it is possible to provide an ink jet printer that reciprocates and drives the print head with a small space and a low weight while securing a sufficient amount of supplied ink.

Further, since the ink supply path is formed of a film-like member, it can be easily adhered to the ink ejection surface of the print head so as to supply the ink to the print head. There is no need to provide a supply hole, and it is possible to avoid problems in the semiconductor processing apparatus when there is an ink supply hole, and therefore, the manufacturing cost of the print head is reduced.

Further, since it is easy to integrally form an ink supply film for supplying ink to the print head and an FPC for electrically connecting drive control signals and the like to the print head, a special guide device or a large Without moving space,
It is easier to reciprocate the print head with less space and low load while securing a sufficient amount of supplied ink, thereby providing a small-sized inkjet printer.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a print head of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an ink supply film thereof, and FIG. ′
(D) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′ of (b).

2A is a side sectional view showing a configuration of a print head of an ink jet printer according to a second embodiment, FIG. 2B is a perspective view of an ink supply film thereof, and FIG. 2C is a CC of FIG. ′
FIG. 7D is a cross-sectional view, and FIG.

3A is a sectional side view showing a configuration of a print head of an ink jet printer according to a third embodiment, FIG. 3B is a perspective view of the ink and signal supply FPC, and FIG. 3C is D in FIG.
FIG. 3D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE ′, and FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view taken along the line EE ′ of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 print head 2 ink receiving hole 3 chip substrate 4 partition wall 5 heating element 6 orifice plate 7 orifice 8 flexible signal line 9 ink supply film 11, 12 ink circulation hole 13 ink flow path 14, 15, 16 film member 20 print head 21 Ink reservoir 22 Chip substrate 23 Partition wall 24 Heat generating element 25 Orifice plate 26 Orifice 27 Ink receiving hole 28 Flexible signal line 29 Ink supply film 31, 34 Ink circulation hole 32 Slot 33 Ink flow path 35, 36, 37, 38, 39 Film -Shaped member 37-1 Outer surface side 40 Print head 41 Ink supply film and signal supply FPC

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A printer device main body, an ink holding device mounted on the printer device main body, a carriage mounted with a print head and capable of reciprocating movement, and a flexible member for supplying ink from the ink holding device to the print head. An ink-jet printer having an ink supply means, wherein the ink supply means is a laminated film member,
An ink flow path formed in the film-shaped member. 2. The ink supply means comprises: three laminated film members, a slit-shaped ink flow path formed in the intermediate laminated film member, and a film member laminated outside. 2. An ink jet printer according to claim 1, further comprising an ink circulation hole formed at a position corresponding to an end of said slit-shaped ink flow path. 3. The ink supply means comprises: two laminated film members; a groove-shaped ink flow path formed on a laminated surface of one of the film members; and the one film member or the other. 2. An ink jet printer according to claim 1, further comprising an ink circulation hole formed at a position corresponding to an end of said grooved ink flow path of said film-shaped member. 4. The ink jet printer according to claim 1, wherein the film-shaped member is provided with a signal line for supplying a signal from the printer main body to the print head. .