JP2003089221A - ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To reinforce the mechanical strength of an ink cartridge. SOLUTION: An ink cartridge 10 for supplying ink to the ink jet recording apparatus through an ink supply needle of the ink jet recording apparatus has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape including an ink supply surface 18 in which an ink supply path 16 into which the ink supply needle is inserted. A container main body 12 having a height h of a side surface 26 substantially orthogonal to the ink supply surface is larger than at least one width w of the ink supply surface, and one of the side surfaces is an opening surface 28 opened in the width direction; A lid 14 having substantially the same shape as the opening surface and sealing the opening surface of the container main body, and a rib 40 provided inside a space formed by the container main body and the lid and reinforcing the width direction of the ink cartridge. And a porous material 20 which is housed in a space formed by the container body and the lid, avoids the ribs, and covers the periphery thereof.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge. In particular, the present invention relates to an ink cartridge that supplies ink to an inkjet recording device through an ink supply needle of the inkjet recording device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some ink jet recording apparatuses, ink is supplied by detachably mounting an ink cartridge on a carriage having an ink jet recording head. As this ink cartridge, there is one that has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape and stores a porous material containing ink therein. In this ink cartridge, since the ink is held in the ink cartridge, a negative pressure is generated inside the ink cartridge.

In recent years, in an on-carriage type ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink cartridge is mounted on a movable carriage having an ink recording head, in order to mount as many ink cartridges as possible on the carriage,
There is a tendency to reduce the width of the carriage of the ink cartridge in the scanning direction. In particular, in a color inkjet recording apparatus, an ink cartridge holding ink of four colors or more may be mounted in order to improve color reproducibility. In this case, the width of the ink cartridge in the carriage movement direction is made as small as possible in order to reduce the width of the recording apparatus, and at the same time, in order to secure a sufficient ink capacity, The height is desired to be several times or more.

[0004]

However, such an ink cartridge having a high height with respect to the width has a weak mechanical strength in the width direction. That is, since the peripheral portion of the side surface of the ink cartridge is merely connected to the other surface, the central portion of the side surface having a large area due to the high height is not supported by any of them. Therefore, in order to make the inside of the ink cartridge have a negative pressure, for example, when air is removed from the inside of the ink cartridge to reduce the pressure, the side surface having the large area is easily deformed. If this deformation exceeds the allowable size of the cartridge, the ink cartridge may be damaged. Further, when a strong force is applied to this part, such as a user holding the central part of the side surface of the ink cartridge that is pinched, the ink cartridge may be damaged.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge which can solve the above problems. This object is achieved by a combination of features described in independent claims of the invention. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

[0006]

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the ink supply needle is inserted into an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the ink jet recording apparatus through the ink supply needle of the ink jet recording apparatus. It has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape including an ink supply surface on which an ink supply path is arranged, and a height of a side surface substantially orthogonal to the ink supply surface is larger than a width of at least one of the ink supply surfaces, and one of the side surfaces is A container body that is an opening surface that opens in the width direction, a lid that has substantially the same shape as the opening surface and seals the opening surface of the container body, and a space formed by the container body and the lid body. A rib that is provided inside the ink cartridge and that reinforces the width direction of the ink cartridge, and is housed in a space formed by the container body and the lid body to avoid the rib and cover the periphery thereof. And a porous material shape.

In the ink cartridge, the rib may be formed integrally with the container body. Further, the rib may be joined to the container body and the lid. A gap may be provided between the rib and the lid.

In the ink cartridge,
The rib may be formed integrally with the lid. Further, the rib may be joined to the container body and the lid. A gap may be provided between the rib and the container body.

In the ink cartridge, the rib may be provided in parallel with the ink supply surface. Further, the rib may be provided perpendicular to the ink supply surface. Further, a plurality of ribs may be provided.

In the ink cartridge, the porous material may have a slit at a portion corresponding to the rib. Further, the porous material may include a plurality of porous materials divided at a portion corresponding to the rib.

The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the present invention will be described through embodiments of the invention, but the following embodiments do not limit the claimed invention, and the features described in the embodiments Not all combinations are essential to the solution of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an ink cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the ink cartridge of FIG. The ink cartridge 10 includes a container body 12 and a lid body 14, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped appearance as a whole. Container body 12
Has an ink supply surface 18 including an ink supply passage 16 into which an ink supply needle of an inkjet recording device is inserted.

A slit portion 30 extending from the ink supply surface 18 of the container body 12 in the insertion direction of the ink supply needle is provided near the ink supply passage 16 and on the center side of the container body. With this slit portion 30, the ink cartridge 1
Ink supply path 1 when the ink supply needle is inserted into 0
Before the tip of 6 reaches the ink supply needle, the opening surface of the ink supply passage 16 is regulated so as to be orthogonal to the ink supply needle, and the ink supply needle can be reliably inserted into the ink supply passage 16.

Further, locking members 32 and 34, which engage with the carriage of the ink jet recording apparatus, are formed integrally with the container body 12 on the upper side surface of the container body 12.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge 10 of the first embodiment. Ink cartridge 10
Is provided with the container body 12 and the lid body 14 described above, and the porous material 20 housed in the space formed by the container body 12 and the lid body 14 and a press contact portion provided in the vicinity of the ink supply path 16 in parallel therewith. 22 is provided.

The container body 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with one opening, and an ink supply path 16 communicating from the outside to the inside of the container body 12 is arranged on the ink supply surface 18. The slit portion 30 forms a convex portion that projects to the inside of the container body 12. The height h of the side surface 26 of the container body 12 substantially orthogonal to the ink supply surface 18 is larger than the width w of at least one of the ink supply surfaces 18. As described above, in the on-carriage type inkjet recording apparatus, in order to mount as many ink cartridges as possible on the carriage, the width of the ink cartridge in the scanning direction may be reduced. For example, the height is several times or more the width of the ink cartridge. In response to this, the height h of the width w of the container body 12 is set to be several times or more.

One of the substantially rectangular parallelepiped side surfaces of the container body 12 opens in this width direction to form an opening surface 28. In this embodiment, the opening surface 28 is one of the largest surfaces of the six surfaces forming the substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape of the container body 12. This makes it easy to insert the porous member 20 into the container body 12 from the opening surface 28.

The container body 12 further has a vent hole 36 communicating with the atmosphere. Air is introduced into the ink cartridge 10 through the air holes 36, and ink is supplied from the inside of the ink cartridge 10 to the inkjet recording apparatus through the ink supply passage 16.

A rib 40 for reinforcing the mechanical strength of the ink cartridge 10 in the width direction is provided inside the space formed by the container body 12 and the lid 14. This rib 40
Will be described later.

The lid 14 is a plate-like member having substantially the same shape as the opening surface 28 of the container body 12. The lid 14 is joined to the container body 12 and seals the opening surface 28 of the container body 12.

The porous material 20 has a large number of small holes therein and holds the ink in the small holes by the capillary force.
The porous material 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape including slits 50 corresponding to the ribs 40 of the container body 12 as described later, but in FIG. It is drawn in a deformed state.

The pressure contact portion 22 is a plate-like member disposed on the ink supply passage 16 in parallel with the ink supply surface 18. The press contact portion 22 has a filter 24 through which ink from the porous material 20 passes at a position corresponding to the ink supply passage 16. The filter 24 can filter foreign matters contained in the ink and prevent foreign matters contained in the ink from mixing into the inkjet recording apparatus.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the container body 12 in the cartridge 10 of FIG. 3, and FIG.
It is the front schematic diagram which looked at the container body 12 of (A) from the direction of the opening surface 28. The description of the configuration already described with reference to FIG. 3 is omitted here.

The container body 12 has ribs 40 provided in parallel with the ink supply surface 18. The rib 40 is integrally formed with the container body 12 in the present embodiment. The rib 40 is provided so as to extend from the side close to the ink supply path 16, that is, the left side in FIG. 1B, to the side far from the ink supply path 16, that is, the right side in FIG. The end portion on the side far from the supply passage 16 forms a communication passage 42 without being connected to the container body 12.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the porous material 20 housed in the space formed by the container body 12 and the lid 14.
The porous material 20 has substantially the same rectangular parallelepiped outer shape as the container body 12. The porous material 20 further includes ribs 4 of the container body 12.
The slit portion 50 is provided in the portion corresponding to 0. One end of the slit portion 50 is open and the other end is not opened to form a connecting portion 52 that connects the upper half and the lower half of the porous material 20. Since the upper half and the lower half are physically connected by the connecting portion 52, they can be handled as one part, and the handling becomes easy in the manufacturing process and the like.

In FIG. 5 and subsequent figures, the spots shown on the porous material 20 indicate the density of the porous material. In the figure, the portion where the spots are densely drawn indicates that the porous material 20 is compressed and becomes dense, and the capillary force is strong.

FIG. 6A is a side view of the ink cartridge 10 in which the porous material 20 is housed in the container body 12 as viewed from the opening surface 28 side of the container body 12. However, the lid 14 is not shown for the sake of explanation. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 6A viewed from a direction orthogonal to the opening surface 28.

The porous material 20 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped outer shape is inserted into the container main body 12 by compressing the portion in pressure contact with the pressure contact portion 22. By this compression, the ink supply path 1 of the porous material 20
Since the capillary force in the portion close to 6 is increased and the ink is concentrated, the ink can be supplied to the outside without causing ink shortage. Container body 1 of this porous material 20
The rib 40 of the container body 12 is inserted into the slit portion 50 of the porous material 20 as the container body 12 is inserted. Further porous material 2
The 0 connecting part 52 is inserted into the communicating part 42 of the container body 12. As a result, the porous material 20 is housed in the space formed by the container body 12 and the lid 14 while avoiding the rib 40 and covering the periphery thereof.

The lid 14 seals the opening surface 28,
It is joined to the container body 12. In this case, in the present embodiment, the ends of the ribs 40 are also joined to the lid 14. This further increases the strength of mechanical reinforcement by the ribs 40.

After the lid 14 is joined to the container body 12, the ink cartridge 10 is placed in a depressurized chamber,
The space surrounded by the container body 12 and the lid 14 is decompressed.
Ink is injected from, for example, the ink supply path 16 into a space that is surrounded by the container body 14 and the lid 14 and is depressurized, so that the porous material 20 contains the ink. The ink cartridge 10 is manufactured as described above.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the mechanical strength in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6B can be reinforced by the ribs 40 in the ink cartridge 10. Further, since the rib 40 is inserted into the slit portion 50, the porous material 20 is not compressed around the rib 40, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary concentration of ink on this portion. Further, the porous material 20 is added to the ink cartridge 10.
As a result, as much ink as possible can be held in the space formed by the container body 12 and the lid 14.

In the first embodiment, the rib 40 is provided in parallel with the ink supply surface 18, but it is not limited to this. Another example is to provide the rib 40 perpendicular to the ink supply surface 18.

Further, in the first embodiment, the rib 40 of the container body 12 is joined to the lid body 14, but it is not limited to this. In another example, when the lid body 14 is joined to the container body 12, a gap is provided between the rib 40 and the lid body 14.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of the container body 62 in the cartridge 60 according to the second embodiment.
7B is a schematic front view of the container body 62 of FIG. 7A viewed from the direction of the opening surface 28. The same components as those of the ink cartridge 10 of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals,
The description is omitted.

In the cartridge 60 of the second embodiment, the rib 64 is provided perpendicularly to the ink supply surface 18. The rib 64 is formed integrally with the container body 62 and extends vertically downward from the inside of the upper surface of the container body in the figure.
Has a communicating portion 66 between the lower surface and the lower surface. Width d of rib 64
Is smaller than the inner width w ′ of the container body 62. The inside of the container body 62 is divided into a first chamber 68 and a second chamber 69 by the rib 64.

FIG. 8 shows the cartridge 60 of the second embodiment.
It is a perspective view of the porous member 70 accommodated in. This porous material 70 has two separate bodies, a first porous material 71 and a second porous material 72. First porous material 71
Has a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is substantially the same as the first chamber 68 of the container body 62. The second porous material 72 has substantially the same rectangular parallelepiped shape as the second chamber 69 of the container body 62. By combining the first porous material 71 and the second porous material 72 that are divided at the portion corresponding to the rib 64 of the container body 62, the porous material 70 as a whole has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape substantially the same as the container body 62. Have.

The first porous material 71 and the second porous material 72
May be porous materials made of the same material or different materials. An example is the ink supply path 16
The first porous material 71, which is inserted at a position close to, is made of a material having a high density and a small diameter of small holes, while the second porous material 72 has a low density and a large diameter of small holes. The material is to be used. As a result, the ink can be concentrated in the first chamber near the ink supply path 16 to prevent the ink from running out, and a large amount of ink can be retained in the second chamber.

Further, the first porous material 71 and the second porous material 72 may be made of the same material and have the same size so that the required effect can be obtained. In this case, it can be easily manufactured without increasing the types of parts.

FIG. 9A is a side view of the ink cartridge 60 in which the porous material 70 is housed in the container body 62 as viewed from the opening surface 28 side of the container body 62. However, the lid 14 is not shown for the sake of explanation. FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 9A seen from above.

As shown in FIG. 9A, the first room 68
The first porous material 71 is inserted into the second chamber 69, the second porous material 72 is inserted into the second chamber 69, and the first porous material 71 and the second porous material 72 are inserted in the communicating portion 66. Come into contact with. In this state, the lid 14 is joined to the opening surface 28 to seal the porous material 70.

In this embodiment, the width d of the rib 64 is
9 is smaller than the inner width w ′ of the container body 62,
As shown in (B), a gap 7 is formed between the rib 64 and the lid 14.
Have 4. Therefore, when the lid 14 is joined to the container body 62, the rib 64 is not joined to the lid 14. Even with the ribs 64, the number of joints between the container body 62 and the lid 14 does not increase, so that the ink cartridge 60 can be easily manufactured.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the mechanical strength in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 9B can be reinforced by the ribs 64 in the ink cartridge 60. Although there is a gap 74 between the lid 14 and the rib 64, the elasticity of the container body 62 and the lid 14 allows the deformation first, and when the deformation is further than that, the rib 64 abuts the lid 14. The mechanical strength is substantially ensured.

Further, according to the second embodiment, in the ink cartridge 60, the porous material 70 is divided into the first porous material 71 and the second porous material which are separated at the portions corresponding to the ribs 64. Since the material is the material 72, neither of the porous materials 71 and 72 is compressed around the rib 64, and it is possible to avoid unnecessary concentration of the ink on this portion. Furthermore, the first and second porous materials 71 and 72 can hold as much ink as possible in the space formed by the container body 62 and the lid 14.

In the second embodiment, the rib 64
Although there is a gap 74 between the cover body 14 and the lid body 14, the rib 64 can be widened and joined to the lid body 14 as in the first embodiment.

Further, in the second embodiment, the porous material 70 is divided into a plurality of porous materials, but as in the first embodiment, slits may be provided in the integrated porous material 70. .

In the first and second embodiments, both ribs are formed integrally with the container body, but the present invention is not limited to this. Another example is a rib integrally formed with the lid.
Also in the case of this other example, the container body and the rib may be joined, or a gap may be provided between the container body and the rib.

Furthermore, in the first and second embodiments, only one rib is provided, but it is not limited to this. A plurality of ribs may be provided.

Although the present invention has been described using the embodiments, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above embodiments. Various changes or improvements can be added to the above-described embodiment. A mode in which such changes or improvements are added may be included in the technical scope of the present invention.
It is clear from the description of the claims.

[0050]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the rib is provided inside the ink cartridge, the mechanical strength in the width direction can be reinforced. Further, since the porous material has a shape that avoids the ribs and covers the ribs, it is possible to avoid unnecessary concentration of ink around the ribs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of an ink cartridge according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the ink cartridge of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of a container body in the cartridge of FIG. (B) is a schematic front view of the container body of (A) as seen from the direction of the opening surface.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a porous material housed in a space formed by a container body and a lid.

FIG. 6A is a side view of the state in which the porous material is stored in the container body, as viewed from the opening surface side of the container body. FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 7A is a perspective view of a container body in the cartridge according to the second embodiment. (B) is a schematic front view of the container body of (A) as seen from the direction of the opening surface.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a porous member housed in the cartridge of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 (A) is a side view of the state in which the porous material is housed in the container body, as seen from the opening surface side of the container body. (B) is (A)
Sectional drawing which looked at from above.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ink cartridges 12 container body 14 Lid 16 ink supply path 18 Ink supply surface 20 Porous material 22 Pressure contact part 24 filters 26 Side 28 Opening surface 30 slit part 32 Locking member 34 Locking member 36 Vents 40 ribs 42 passages 50 slit 52 Connection 60 ink cartridges 62 container body 64 ribs 66 communication passage 68 First Room 69 Second Room 70 Porous material 71 First porous material 72 Second porous material

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge for supplying ink to an ink jet recording apparatus through an ink supply needle of the ink jet recording apparatus, the ink cartridge having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape including an ink supply surface for arranging an ink supply path into which the ink supply needle is inserted. A container body having a height of a side surface that is substantially orthogonal to the ink supply surface is greater than a width of at least one of the ink supply surfaces, and one of the side surfaces is an opening surface that opens in the width direction; A lid that has substantially the same shape as the opening surface and seals the opening surface of the container body, and is provided inside a space formed by the container body and the lid body, and the width direction of the ink cartridge A rib that reinforces, and is stored in a space formed by the container body and the lid,
An ink cartridge comprising: a porous material having a shape that avoids the ribs and covers the ribs. 2. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rib is integrally formed with the container body. 3. The ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the rib is joined to the container body and the lid. 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein a gap is provided between the rib and the lid. 5. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rib is formed integrally with the lid. 6. The ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the rib is joined to the container body and the lid. 7. The ink cartridge according to claim 5, wherein a gap is provided between the rib and the container body. 8. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rib is provided in parallel with the ink supply surface. 9. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the rib is provided perpendicular to the ink supply surface. 10. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the ribs are provided. 11. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the porous material has a slit in a portion corresponding to the rib. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the porous material has a plurality of porous materials divided at portions corresponding to the ribs.