JP2003034023A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To certainly prevent an electric interference attributed to an ink leakage from an ink cartridge which can be inserted into and pulled out of an ink supply needle. SOLUTION: This ink jet recording device comprises a perpendicular wall 60 which is formed surrounding an ink introduction member on a carriage and has a notch 162 formed in a region distant from the electricity connecting member of a recording head and a rib 161 which has a region way off from the electricity connecting member as an open aperture and is formed surrounding the outlet side of the notch 162.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus which receives ink from a cartridge to a recording head which ejects ink droplets in response to a print signal.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink container which is detachably attached to a carriage having an ink jet recording head to supply ink to the recording head has an ink supply port which communicates with an ink storage chamber and through which an ink supply needle of a recording apparatus can be inserted. Has been formed.
For this reason, when the ink container is pulled out from the recording device to replace the ink container, the ink may accidentally leak from the ink supply port, or even when the ink container is attached to the recording device, the ink supply needle There is a risk that the engagement will loosen and gradually leak.

On the other hand, the ink jet recording head is constructed as a unit and is connected to a flexible cable for transmitting a drive signal via a connector.

[0004]

Therefore, if the ink leaks from the ink supply port of the ink container and flows into the connector,
The drive signal is not normally supplied to the recording head, which causes problems such as defective printing. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object thereof is to reliably prevent electrical failure due to ink leakage from an ink cartridge that can be inserted into and removed from an ink supply needle. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording device that can be used.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, an ink introducing member for engaging with an ink supply port of the ink cartridge is mounted on a carriage in which an ink cartridge is removably accommodated in an upper surface. And an ink jet recording head provided with an ink jet recording head which receives supply of ink through the ink introducing member, wherein the carriage is formed so as to surround the ink introducing member, and an electric connecting member of the recording head is provided. A vertical wall having an ink discharge port formed in a remote area, and an area away from the electrical connection member as an open port,
In addition, a rib is formed so as to surround the outlet side of the ink discharge port.

[0006]

[Function] The ink leaked from the ink cartridge is
It is housed in an area surrounded by vertical walls. The ink that cannot be contained flows out from the ink discharge port to the area surrounded by the ribs. The ink is guided by the ribs to a region away from the electrical connection member.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The details of the present invention will be described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. 1 (a), (b),
2A to 2D show an example of an ink cartridge mounted in the inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention, and the cartridge 1 has a flat rectangular shape with one surface open. It is mainly composed of a bottom box type container body 2 and a lid body 3 that seals the opening.
The ink supply port 4 is formed so as to be biased to one side in the longitudinal direction of the front end side in the insertion direction, that is, the bottom surface in this embodiment, and locking members 5 and 6 are integrally formed with the container body 2 on the upper side, respectively. ing.

The locking member 5 located nearer to the ink supply port side is formed so that the tip end side in the insertion direction, in this embodiment, the lower end side serves as a rotation fulcrum 5b, and the upper part can be expanded outward. There is.

A storage means 7 is provided below the locking member 5 on the ink supply port side, and a valve accommodating chamber 8 is formed below the other locking member 6. In the vicinity of the ink supply port 4 and on the side of the central region of the container, there is formed a slit portion 9 that extends in the insertion / removal direction of the cartridge and is open at least on the tip side.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 100, which constitutes the recording apparatus of the present invention in which the ink cartridge is mounted, is provided with the recording head 101 on the bottom surface and the ink supply needle 102 communicating with the recording head 101. It is provided and configured. A pressing member, a leaf spring 103 in this embodiment, is provided in a region apart from the region where the ink supply needle 102 is provided, and a positioning projection 104 is inserted into and removed from the ink supply needle 102. It is formed so as to extend in the direction. In addition, the ink supply needle 1
An electrode 106 is arranged on the side wall 105 on the 02 side, and a recess 107 that engages with the projection 5a of the locking member 5 is formed on the electrode 106.

By adopting such a structure, FIG.
As shown in (I), when the ink supply port 4 is inserted on the back side and is pressed against the leaf spring 103, the slit portion 9 is restricted by the convex piece 104, so that the slit portion 9 is biased to one side. Even if the leaf spring 103 receives a rotational force (arrow A in the figure) so that the ink supply port 4 side is downward, the posture is regulated so as to be parallel to the specified insertion / removal direction, which is the vertical direction in this embodiment. To be done.

When the cartridge 1 is further pushed in against the spring 103, the projection 5a of the locking member 5 resists the elasticity of the locking member 5 as a whole as shown in FIG.
It falls into 7 and engages. As a result, a clear click feeling is transmitted to the finger holding the locking member 5, and the user can determine that the cartridge is securely mounted on the carriage 100.

In the mounted state, the surface of the cartridge 1 on which the storage means 7 is provided is the protrusion 5a of the locking member 5.
The position in the insertion / removal direction is regulated by and is pressed against the electrode 106 of the carriage 100 by the urging force of the spring 103 (the force indicated by the arrow A in the figure), so that the contact is reliably maintained regardless of vibration during printing. .

On the other hand, the ink cartridge 1 is replaced by another one.
When removing the carriage 100 from the carriage 100, the locking member 5
When the pressure is applied to the container body 2 side, the protrusion 5a of the locking member 5 separates from the recess 107, so that the cartridge 1 is
It is guided by the guide piece 104 by the urging force of 3 and moves in parallel to the ink supply needle 102, and is removed without applying a bending force or the like to the ink supply needle 4.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of the flow path formed in the container body 2 constituting the same ink cartridge as described above. The container body 2 is substantially horizontal, more specifically, the ink. It is divided into upper and lower parts by a wall 10 extending so that the supply port 4 side is slightly downward. A first ink storage chamber 11 is provided in the lower region, and an upper portion is provided with a frame portion 14 so as to form an atmosphere communication path 13 with a certain gap from the wall 12 of the container body 2 so that the wall 10 serves as the bottom surface. It is divided by. The frame portion 14 is divided by a vertical wall 15 having a communication port 15a formed in the bottom portion, one region serving as the second ink storage chamber 16 and the other region serving as the negative pressure generating means storage portion. It is formed as a storage chamber 17.

A suction passage 18 for connecting the second ink storage chamber 16 and the bottom surface 2a of the container body 2 is formed in a region facing the second ink storage chamber 16. The suction flow path 18 is formed to have a cross-sectional area that corresponds to the amount of ink consumed in the recording head, and has a suction port 18a that opens at the lower end of the first ink storage chamber 11 and that can hold ink by capillary force. Further, the upper end is the second ink storage chamber 16
The outlet port 18b is formed so as to communicate with the bottom portion of the.

At the lower part of the suction channel 18, a communication port 19a,
A wall 19 with 19b is formed. Further, a plurality of openings 20 and 21 for injecting ink from the outside are formed in the container body 2 at a position facing the suction passage 18. The suction passage 18 is formed by forming a recess 18c (FIG. 7) on the surface of the container body 2 and sealing the recess 18c with an air-permeable film.

The third ink accommodating chamber 17 is separated from the upper surface 14a of the frame portion 14 by a wall 22 and a fourth ink accommodating chamber 23 by a wall 26. Wall 22
A region for accommodating the differential pressure valve 25 (FIG. 8) and the filter 55 is partitioned by the wall 24, and the differential pressure valve accommodating chamber 33 (FIG. 7) is provided on one side in the thickness direction and the filter is provided on the other side. It is bounded by a wall 25 so as to form a chamber 34. The wall 25 is provided with a through hole 25a for guiding the ink that has passed through the filter to the differential pressure valve accommodating chamber 33 formed in a back-to-back relationship with the filter chamber 34.

The lower part of the wall 24 has a communication port 2 between it and the wall 10.
An ink flow path 28 is formed by providing a partition wall 26 having 6a and a partition wall 27 having a communication port 27a at a lower portion between the partition wall 26 and the frame portion 14. The upper part of the ink flow path 28 communicates with the front surface side of the cartridge 1 through the through hole 29.

The through hole 29 is separated by a wall 30 formed so as to be continuous with the wall 27 as shown in FIG. 6, and as shown in FIG. 7, the upper portion of the filter chamber 34 is formed through the recess 30a. Is in communication with. More specifically, the through hole 29 communicates with the region 31 defined by the walls 30, 24, 22 via the recess 30 a, and the filter chamber 34 via the communication port 24 a above the wall 24 defining the filter chamber 34.
Is connected to the upper part of.

The lower portion of the differential pressure valve accommodating chamber 33 and the ink supply port 4
Is the recess 35 formed on the surface as shown in FIG.
And a gas-blocking film that covers the recess 35. Reference numeral 35a in the figure indicates a deep portion that has entered the ink supply port side.

Further, on the surface of the container body 2, a narrow groove 36 meandering so that the flow path resistance is as high as possible, a wide groove 37 around the narrow groove 36, and the second ink containing chamber 16 are opposed to each other. A rectangular recess 38 is formed in the area to be filled. In the rectangular recess 38, the frame 39 and the ribs 4 are provided at a position further lowered.
0 is formed, and an air permeable film having ink repellency and air permeability is stretched over these to form an air vent chamber. A through hole 41 is formed in the bottom surface of the recess 38,
An elongated area 43 partitioned by the wall 42 of the ink containing chamber 16
(FIG. 5). Further, the narrow groove 36 communicates with the region of the recess 38 on the surface side of the breathable film. The other end of the region 43 is communicated with the valve accommodating chamber 8 through the through hole 44, the communicating groove 45, and the through hole 46. As shown in FIG. 7B, the other end of the region 43 is communicated with the valve accommodating chamber 8 through the through hole 44, the communicating groove 45, and the through hole 46.

A window 8a is provided at the tip of the valve accommodating chamber 8 on the cartridge insertion side, and in this embodiment as shown in FIG.
And a plurality of identification pieces 110, 111, 1 provided on the carriage 100 of the recording apparatus main body.
12 (FIG. 3) and an identification block, which will be described later, into which the valve operating rod can enter are attached.

FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional structure of the above-mentioned third ink accommodating chamber 17, wherein the differential pressure valve accommodating chamber 33 is composed of a spring 50 and an elastically deformable material such as an elastomer. A membrane valve 52 having a through hole 51 is housed therein. The membrane valve 52 has an annular thick portion 52a around its periphery,
The thick wall portion 52a and a frame portion 54 formed integrally with the thick wall portion 52a are provided, and the spring 50 is fixed to the cartridge main body through the frame portion 54.
b, the other end is supported by the spring receiving portion 53a of the lid 53 of the storage chamber.

In the figure, reference numeral 55 denotes a filter provided in the filter chamber 34, and reference numerals 56 and 57 denote an air-permeable film attached to the surface of the container body 2 and the opening side. The film 56 is the frame portion 1 in FIG.
0, 14 and walls 15, 22, 24, 26, 27, 30, and 42 are adhered by welding or the like.

With this structure, the ink that has passed through the filter 55 passes through the ink circulation port 25a and passes through the membrane valve 5.
Blocked by 2. When the pressure of the ink supply port 4 is lowered in this state, the membrane valve 52 separates from the valve seat portion 25b against the biasing force of the spring 50, so that the membrane valve 52 passes through the through hole 51 and the recess 35 is formed.
And flows into the ink supply port 4 via the flow path formed by.

When the ink pressure in the ink supply port 4 rises to a predetermined value, the membrane valve 52 loses the urging force of the spring 50 and is elastically contacted with the valve seat portion 25b, cutting off the flow of ink. By repeating such an operation, the ink can be discharged to the ink supply port 4 while maintaining a constant negative pressure.

FIG. 9 shows a sectional structure of the valve accommodating chamber 8 for communication with the atmosphere. A through hole 60 is formed in a wall defining the valve accommodating chamber 8 and an elastic member such as rubber is provided therein. The pressing member 61 constituted by
It is supported by and is movably inserted. Pressing member 61
At the tip of the entry side of the, the lower end is fixed by a protrusion 63,
A valve body 6 whose central portion is supported by an elastic member 62 such as a leaf spring which is regulated by a protrusion 64 and which is constantly urged by the through hole 60.
5 are arranged.

On the other surface of the pressing member 61, an identification block 70 as shown in FIG. 10 is mounted so as to be located. The identification blocks 70 are parallel to the insertion direction of the cartridge on the base fixed to the recess 80 (FIG. 7) of the cartridge by the claws 70a and 70b, and have a constant width of the cartridge, three in this embodiment. Grooves 71, 7
2, 73 are formed, and one groove 72 has a pressing member 6 at the insertion direction side of the ink cartridge, in this embodiment, the lower end.
It is configured by forming an arm 74 for pressing 1. The depth of each of the grooves 71, 72, 73 is set so that a plurality of identification pieces can be inserted therethrough.

The arm 74 is rotatable by a rotation fulcrum 74a so as to be located slightly inward, and the withdrawal side, in this embodiment, the upper side, projects obliquely into the entry path of the operating rod 113 (FIG. 13). Is configured. Further, the identification piece 1 of the carriage 100 is provided in each of the grooves 71 to 73.
The protruding portion 7 faces the tips of 10, 111, 112.
1a, 72a, 73a are formed.

With this structure, the position of the arm 74 is kept constant while the protrusions 71a, 72a, 73 are provided.
The position of a is as shown in FIGS. 11 (a), (i ') to (f), (f'), and correspondingly, the identification pieces 110, 111, 1 are provided.
By setting the position of the tip end of 12 in correspondence with the type of ink in the cartridge, it is possible to prevent erroneous mounting of the cartridge. These protrusions 71a, 72
The positions of a and 73a can take a three-dimensional array structure by changing the position in the thickness direction of the cartridge as well as the insertion / removal direction of the cartridge, and thus the identification area formation area is not increased in many cases. The ink type can be identified.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an embodiment of a carriage constituting the recording apparatus of the present invention, in which a plurality of carriages, in this embodiment, black and color ink cartridges can be mounted. Has been done. That is, a slightly wider first mounting area 120 is provided on one side, and second to fourth mounting areas 121 having the same width are adjacent to the first mounting area 120.
To 123 are ribs 124 to 126 and rib 127 at both ends.
Partitioned by ~ 129.

As described with reference to FIG. 3, the ink supply needle 102 communicating with the recording head 101 is provided in the mounting area of each cartridge, and the ink supply needle 102 is provided in an area distant from the area where the ink supply needle 102 is provided. Is a pressing member, in this embodiment a leaf spring 103 is provided, and the ink supply needle 1
A protruding piece 104 for positioning is formed so as to extend in the cartridge insertion / removal direction.

The side wall 10 on the ink supply needle 102 side is also provided.
5, an electrode 106 is arranged, and a locking member 5 is provided above the electrode 106.
A recess 107 is formed which engages with the projection 5a. In particular, the wall on the side where the electrode 106 is disposed is provided with a recess 107 ′ that engages with the side surfaces on both sides of the locking member 5 and functions as a guide member when the cartridge is inserted.

In this embodiment, the convex piece 104 for positioning is used.
14A, a side portion 104a extending in parallel with the surface of the cartridge is formed as shown in FIG. 14A, and is configured to secure the positioning reliability and the strength of the thin and long convex piece 104. Corresponding to this, in the slit portion 9 of the ink cartridge, the tip in the insertion direction of the cartridge is at least the side portion 104 as shown in FIG.
A recess 9a is formed in a region facing a and extends to the front surface side.

Around the ink supply needle 102, ribs 102 engaging with the ink supply ports 4 of the ink cartridge are engaged with ribs 4a and 4a having a U-shaped cross section.
a is formed, and the ink supply port 4 is formed by these ribs.
The ink supply needle 102 can be held in the state of being inserted therethrough.

By the way, the ink cartridge loaded in the wide mounting area 120 has basically the same structure as the ink cartridge loaded in the second and fourth mounting areas shown in FIGS. 2 to 9. However, the container body 2'has the same shape of the opening surface and is configured to be increased by the depth W thereof. This allows
The amount of ink that can be contained can be increased simply by changing the depth W of the container body 2 ′.

The ink supply port 4'and the storage means 7 '
Are arranged such that the center of their arrangement is at a fixed position W1 from the surface of the container body 2, that is, the bottom, like other cartridges. Since the identification block 70 'is mounted on the front surface side of the container body 2', it is naturally arranged at the same position.

Further, the locking members 5'and 6'are biased to the side of the container body 2 ', like the ink supply port 4', so that the pressing force is surely applied to the ink supply port 4'when loaded. Are arranged. In addition, the ink injection ports 20, 21 'of the decorative film 130 (FIG. 16A) attached to the container body 2
Tongue 130a is formed in a region facing the
The tongue 130a as shown in FIG.
1'may be sealed.

17 and 18 show a base 139 constituting the bottom near the ink supply needle constituting the above-mentioned carriage.
FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which an ink supply needle 102 ′,
102 and recesses 141 ', 141 into which the filters 140', 140 are loaded are formed. Further, on the back surface of the carriage, a connecting member 148, a circuit board 151, a head case 155, and a flow path unit 156 forming a recording head.
Are sequentially stacked, and a frame 157 obtained by pressing a conductive material, for example, a metal, having a window 157a is filled and fixed to the carriage 100 with a screw 158.

The connecting member 148 is made of a sheet-like elastic member such as rubber having ink resistance, and the ink flow paths 142 'and 14'.
2 is formed by forming tapered protrusions 143 'and 143 having through holes that are airtightly engaged with the tip of the second. The circuit board 151 is provided with through holes 145 ′ and 145 exposing the convex portions 143 ′ and 143, a window 146 for drawing out the FPC 144, and connectors 147 and 150 are fixed. The head case 155 has a flexible cable 1
The ink flow path 15 that supplies the ink to the flow path unit 156 while accommodating the piezoelectric vibrator unit 152 that is connected to the circuit board 151 by 44 in the storage chamber 153.
4'and 154 are formed.

19 (a) and 19 (b) show the above-mentioned base 13
9 is an enlarged view of the ink supply needle 10.
A wall 160 is formed so as to surround the recesses 141 ′, 141 for mounting the 2 ′, 102, and one end of the wall 160 is extended outside of the recess 160 ′, away from the connector 147, 150 of the circuit board 151. The formed "L" -shaped rib 161 is formed.

The wall 160 surrounded by the ribs 161 has a window or notch 162 extending to the deepest position.
However, the notch 162 is formed on the other surface of the wall 160, which is shallower than the notch 162. Also rib 16
A step portion 165 is formed so as to be adjacent to the front end 161 a of the first through hole 167 surrounded by an annular rib 166.
Has been drilled. The through hole 167 is surrounded by a rib 168 on the back surface of the base 139 and communicates with an ink containing member (not shown).

With this structure, when a large amount of ink leaks due to pulling out the ink cartridge or the like, the wall 160 prevents the ink from flowing out. The ink that cannot be completely accommodated leaks out from the position of the deepest recess 162. The ink leaking from the recess 162 flows through the flow path formed by the rib 161, and the connector 147,
The leaked ink is guided to the position of the through hole 167 farthest from 150. The ink that has exited the through hole 167 is prevented from spreading to other regions by the rib 168 and reliably flows into the ink containing member. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the ink from flowing into the connectors 147 and 150 that form the electrical connection portion, and prevent an accident such as a short circuit or a print failure due to corrosion or the like.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the ink cartridge using the differential pressure valve as the negative pressure generating means is mounted is explained. However, the porous material such as sponge is impregnated with the ink, and the capillary force of the pores is applied. Therefore, it is clear that the same operation is achieved even when an ink cartridge that maintains a negative pressure is used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where a plurality of ink cartridges are accommodated in a single carriage has been described, but it is clear that the same effect can be obtained even when applied to a carriage that accommodates a single ink cartridge. .

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ink leaked from the ink cartridge is contained in the area surrounded by the vertical wall, while the ink that cannot be contained is surrounded by the rib from the ink discharge port. However, it can be prevented from leading to a region away from the electrical connection member and flowing into the electrical connection member.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are views showing the front and back appearances of an embodiment of an ink cartridge mounted in an inkjet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2D are a top view, a front view, a bottom view, and a side view of the same ink cartridge, respectively.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a carriage in which the same ink cartridge is mounted.

FIGS. 4 (I) and (II) are diagrams showing a process of mounting an ink cartridge on a carriage.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the bottom surface of the container body that constitutes the ink cartridge.

6A and 6B are front views showing a structure of an opening surface of a container body constituting the ink cartridge, respectively.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing a structure of a surface of a container body constituting the ink cartridge, and FIG. 7B is a view showing a through hole formed in a communication groove. .

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view showing a cross-sectional structure of a negative pressure generating means accommodating chamber.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged view showing a sectional structure of a valve accommodating chamber for communication with the atmosphere.

10A and 10B are a perspective view and a front view, respectively, showing an embodiment of an identification block.

11A to 11D are a perspective view and a front view, respectively, showing a form of a protrusion that can be identified by an identification block.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a carriage configured to accommodate a plurality of ink cartridges.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing the same carriage with the orientation thereof changed.

14A and 14B are enlarged views showing the vicinity of the ink supply needle of the carriage and the vicinity of the ink supply port of the ink cartridge, respectively.

15A to 15C are a perspective view and a bottom view, respectively, showing another embodiment of the same ink cartridge.

16 (a) and 16 (b) are views showing the structure of the ink injection port of the same ink cartridge as above.

FIG. 17 is an assembled perspective view showing an embodiment of a carriage that constitutes the recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a structure of a back surface of the same carriage in which a recording head is attached to a substrate.

19 (a) and 19 (b) are perspective views showing the front and back structures of the same substrate, respectively.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 cartridge 4, 4'ink supply port 5, 6, 5 ', 6'locking member 100 carriage 101 recording head 102, 102 'ink supply needle 121-123 mounting area 139 base 147,150 Connector 148 Connection member 151 circuit board 152 Piezoelectric vibrator unit 155 head case 156 flow path unit 157 frame 160 walls 161 ribs 162-164 Notches 165 step 166 ribs 167 through holes

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A carriage having an upper surface on which an ink cartridge is removably housed, an ink introducing member that engages with an ink supply port of the ink cartridge, and an ink jet recording head that receives ink supplied through the ink introducing member. In the ink jet recording apparatus provided with, a vertical wall having an ink discharge port formed in the carriage so as to surround the ink introducing member and formed in a region away from an electric connection member of the recording head; An ink jet recording apparatus, wherein a region separated from an electrical connection member is formed as an opening, and a rib formed so as to surround an outlet side of the ink discharge port is formed. 2. The bottom area is formed so as to communicate with the opening, the periphery is surrounded by ribs, and a through hole communicating with the ink containing member is formed in the bottom area. Inkjet recording device. 3. The ink jet recording according to claim 1, wherein the carriage has a base having an ink guide member on a bottom surface of a region for accommodating the ink cartridge, and the ink jet recording head is fixed to the base. apparatus.