JP2008012792A - Liquid supplying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the structure of an ink supplying device becomes complicated because height control is carried out on the basis of a detection value after a liquid height is detected in the liquid supplying device which supplies the liquid to a liquid delivering head with a plurality of nozzles arranged thereat for delivering the liquid. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid supplying device is equipped with a detection window means 41 which detects a residual quantity of the liquid in the liquid supplying device, a scale means 42 formed with scales enabling visual measurement of the liquid residual quantity in the periphery of the detection window means 41, and a liquid height adjusting mechanism. Liquid height adjustment can be quickly carried out by moving a liquid tank up and down in the vertical direction according to the residual quantity of the liquid in the liquid tank. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply apparatus and a printing apparatus that supply liquid to a liquid discharge head.

  In recent years, an ink jet recording apparatus that records a predetermined image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper or a plastic thin plate has been proposed and put into practical use. The ink jet recording apparatus includes a liquid discharge head having an ink discharge port (nozzle), and a predetermined image is recorded by discharging ink from a nozzle of the discharge head toward a recording medium.

  In the ink jet recording apparatus having such a configuration, it is necessary to appropriately supply ink as the ink is consumed. For this reason, means for supplying ink have been proposed. For example, in Patent Document 1, a decrease in the ink level in the ink reservoir due to ink consumption is detected, and a liquid height adjustment mechanism corresponding to this is provided, or the liquid height is adjusted according to the resolution of the recorded image. For example, a mechanism is provided or a liquid height adjusting mechanism is provided corresponding to the type of recording paper.

Also, in Patent Document 2, an ink tank that can move up and down and can be contained in an ink tank that can be supplied to a nozzle portion of an ink jet head through a pipe, and when the ink mass contained in the ink tank is reduced, the ink is reduced by the reduced amount. When the tank is raised and the ink mass is increased, the ink tank is lowered by the amount of increase, and the ink tank height is adjusted so that the ink level becomes a predetermined level below the nozzle part of the inkjet head by a predetermined distance. And an ink supply device characterized by further comprising an ink outage detecting means for detecting ink outage based on the vertical position of the ink tank.
JP-A-4-239648 JP-A-10-109425

  The ink jet recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1 employs a rack and pinion mechanism that uses a pinion to move the liquid height adjustment mechanism on a fixed shaft and a rack, and controls the rotation of the drive motor based on a signal from the detection means. The height is adjusted using the means. The height adjustment mechanism of the ink supply apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is made up of four coil springs that suspend the ink supply apparatus from the casing via a coil support.

  However, in any of the height adjustment mechanisms, the liquid height is detected and the height is controlled based on the detected value, so that the structure of the ink supply device becomes complicated and there is a problem in terms of manufacturing cost. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid supply device capable of quickly adjusting the liquid height by providing a scale so that the best liquid surface height position with respect to the height of the discharge head can be understood depending on the type and use environment of the liquid in the liquid supply device. A printing apparatus is provided.

1. A liquid discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid are arranged;
A liquid tank for storing the liquid;
Liquid supply means for supplying the liquid from the liquid tank;
A liquid height adjusting means for adjusting the liquid level height of the liquid to a predetermined value by moving in the vertical direction according to the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid tank;
In a liquid supply apparatus having
The liquid height adjusting means includes a liquid height adjusting mechanism capable of switching between a height holding state and a height adjusting state;
A guide member that regulates movement of the liquid tank in the vertical direction;
A holding member for holding the liquid tank that is fitted to slide on the guide member;
An elastic member that holds and holds the fitting portion of the holding member on the guide member;
Detection window means for detecting the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid tank;
Scale means provided with a scale capable of visually measuring the remaining amount of liquid around the detection window means;
A liquid supply apparatus comprising:
2. 2. The liquid supply apparatus according to 1, wherein the liquid supply apparatus has a plurality of liquid height adjusting means, and the height can be adjusted individually.
3. 2. The liquid supply apparatus according to 1, wherein the predetermined value is a liquid level for making a liquid discharge amount from the nozzle constant.
4). 4. The liquid supply according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the holding member held and held by the guide member holds a downward pressing force even when a load is applied from above. apparatus.

  In a liquid supply device that supplies liquid to a liquid discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid are arranged, by providing a scale so that the height position of the liquid level in the liquid tank that stores the liquid can be understood The liquid supply device having a liquid height adjusting mechanism that adjusts the liquid droplets to a predetermined value by moving the liquid height up and down in the vertical direction according to the amount of liquid remaining in the liquid tank can be simplified. It can be provided with a low-cost structure.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the liquid supply apparatus, FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the inside of the liquid supply apparatus, FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the configuration of the liquid height adjusting means.

  FIG. 7 shows a printing apparatus P in which a liquid supply apparatus A, an ejection head 4, control means for ejecting liquid, a table for printing, and the like are arranged.

  In the liquid supply apparatus A, as shown in FIG. 1, the detection window means 41 is opened in the housing B, and the scale means 42 on which the scale 40 is printed is attached to the periphery thereof. Here, the scale means 42 is provided separately, but it may be printed directly on the housing B. Further, a grip plate 25 described later projects from the detection window means 41.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid supply apparatus A includes a liquid tank 1 and a liquid height adjusting means 2, and the liquid level 3 of the liquid stored in the liquid tank 1 is in contact with the liquid discharge nozzle surface 5 of the liquid discharge head 4. The liquid tank 1 is positioned so that it can be adjusted in the vertical direction so that it can be adjusted to the height of the liquid tank 1. The liquid tank 1 is provided so that liquid can be supplied to the nozzle portion of the liquid discharge head 4 via the supply tube 6. A cap 12 with an air communication hole 13 is detachably attached to the liquid supply port 11 of the liquid tank 1.

  The liquid height adjusting means 2 rotates about the holding plate 21 slidably fitted to the guide shafts 23, 24, and the fulcrum shaft 22 of the holding plate 21, and the grip plate 25 fitted to the guide shaft 24. And a compression spring 26 that presses the grip plate 25. The fitting holes 27 and 28 of the holding plate 21 fitted to the guide shaft 24 are attached with slide bearings so that the holding plate 21 slides smoothly. The fitting hole 29 is provided with a large hole with respect to the outer diameter of the guide shaft 24. In this embodiment, the fitting hole 29 is 26 mm with respect to the guide shaft outer diameter of 24 mm (see FIG. 5). In the liquid height adjusting means 2 having such a structure, as shown in FIG. 4, the edge portion 30 of the fitting hole portion 29 is engaged with the guide shaft 24 by the compression spring 26, and the holding plate 21 is held.

  Next, in order to adjust the liquid height by moving the holding plate 21 in the vertical direction, as shown by an arrow f in FIG. 6A, a force is applied against the grip plate 25 against the compression spring 26, The edge 30 of the fitting hole 29 can be moved to a predetermined position while releasing the meshing with the guide shaft 24 (FIG. 6B), and the height can be maintained by releasing the grip plate 25.

  In this way, the fitting portion edge portion of the liquid tank holding member that is fitted to the guide member that restricts the movement in the vertical direction is configured to be engaged with the guide member and held by the elastic member by the elastic member. The height can be switched between the height-holding state and the height-adjusted state by tightening / relaxing the elastic member. It can be easily adjusted to a predetermined value, which is the liquid level for making the amount constant.

  However, the liquid level with respect to the nozzle height of the ejection head varies depending on the type of liquid (the viscosity of the liquid), the usage environment, and the like. For example, in the case of a liquid having a low viscosity, it is desirable that the liquid surface height with respect to the nozzle height of the ejection head is lower than that of a liquid having a high viscosity. In this way, when printing with the printing apparatus P, it is inconvenient to adjust the best liquid level height position with respect to the nozzle height of the ejection head depending on the type of liquid, using adjustment time. Therefore, the nozzle height of the ejection head and the liquid level height reference are the heights from the reference table at the same position (see FIG. 2), and as described above, around the opening of the detection window means 41 of the housing B, By providing the graduation means 42, if the graduation position of the liquid level height of the specific liquid with respect to the nozzle height H of the ejection head is obtained in advance, the grip plate 25 can be easily moved to the graduation position by pressure bonding and release operations. can do.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a printing apparatus using this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the printing apparatus P includes a liquid supply apparatus A provided with a plurality of liquid height adjusting means 2, a plurality of discharge heads 4, a liquid suction pump 50 that sucks liquid from the discharge nozzles, and a discharge When sucking the liquid from the nozzle, it comes into contact with the discharge nozzle surface 5 and a suction cap 51 for improving sealing performance around the nozzle, a transport table 52 movable in the X direction (referred to as sub-scanning direction), in the Y direction The head transport table 53 that can be moved (referred to as the main scanning direction), the head drive substrate 54 that drives the ejection head 4, the transport table 52, and the head transport table 53 are controlled to move to predetermined positions. It comprises a control unit 80 for controlling the above.

  FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a control system of the printing apparatus P.

  The control unit 80 sends a signal to the head drive substrate 54 based on a sensor (not shown) signal for detecting the coordinate position so as to discharge the liquid to the discharge head 4 in accordance with an instruction from a personal computer (PC). In addition, a signal is sent to the transport table 52 and the head transport table 53 so that printing can be performed at a predetermined position. The head drive substrate 54 is a substrate that is driven by applying a drive voltage, a drive time, and the like to the ejection head 4.

  As described above, the printing apparatus P can eject a plurality of liquids by the ejection heads 4 corresponding to the liquids. Therefore, the characteristics of the ejection heads or the correlation between the liquids and the ejection heads are examined. This is an effective device for simple printing such as quality evaluation.

It is a perspective view of a liquid supply apparatus. It is the schematic which shows the inside of a liquid supply apparatus. It is a perspective view inside a liquid supply apparatus. It is the detailed view which looked at the composition of the liquid height adjustment means from the bottom. It is a figure which shows the place where the fitting hole part of a grip board is fitting the guide shaft. 6A shows a state where a force is applied against the compression plate against the compression spring, and FIG. 6B shows a state where the edge part of the fitting hole part releases the engagement with the guide shaft. It is. It is a perspective view which shows a printing apparatus. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a control system of the printing apparatus P. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid tank 2 Liquid height adjustment means 3 Liquid surface 4 Liquid discharge head 5 Liquid discharge nozzle surface 21 Holding plate 22 Supporting shaft 23, 24 Guide shaft 25 Grip plate 26 Compression spring 27, 28, 29 Fitting hole 30 Edge portion 42 Scale unit 50 Suction pump 80 Control unit A Liquid supply device B Housing P Printing device

Claims (4)

A liquid discharge head in which a plurality of nozzles for discharging liquid are arranged;
A liquid tank for storing the liquid;
Liquid supply means for supplying the liquid from the liquid tank;
A liquid height adjusting means for adjusting the liquid level height of the liquid to a predetermined value by moving in the vertical direction according to the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid tank;
In a liquid supply apparatus having
The liquid height adjusting means includes a liquid height adjusting mechanism capable of switching between a height holding state and a height adjusting state;
A guide member that regulates movement of the liquid tank in the vertical direction;
A holding member for holding the liquid tank that is fitted to slide on the guide member;
An elastic member that holds and holds the fitting portion of the holding member on the guide member;
Detection window means for detecting the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid tank;
Scale means provided with a scale capable of visually measuring the remaining amount of liquid around the detection window means;
A liquid supply apparatus comprising: The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of liquid height adjusting means, wherein the height can be adjusted individually. The liquid supply apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined value is a liquid level for making a liquid discharge amount from the nozzle constant. 4. The holding member held and held by the guide member holds a holding force in the downward direction even when a load is applied from above. The liquid supply apparatus as described.

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