JP3012601B2 - Ink cartridge stirring device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge for supplying ink to a device.
Further, the present invention relates to an ink cartridge stirring device having a built-in mechanism for stirring the ink filled in the ink cartridge by the power from the printing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a sealed exchangeable container for storing a solvent used in a wet printing apparatus replenishes the solvent with an ink cartridge. Solid components such as toner particles therein may precipitate and the ink concentration in the ink cartridge may not be uniform. For this reason, when printing or printing on a printed material during printing by a wet electronic recording device, there is a possibility that uneven printing may occur and a printing failure may occur. The precipitation of the toner particles inside was prevented to make the ink concentration uniform.

As a method for preventing the above-mentioned precipitation of toner particles, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-241453 discloses a non-contact drive system using a magnet in a solvent storage tank or a container. There is disclosed a liquid developing device provided with a toner sedimentation prevention mechanism that rotates to prevent sedimentation of toner particles.

Further, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-19269, a shaft penetrates through the inside and outside of a central portion of a developer storage tank, and a rotating blade around the shaft is attached to the bottom of the storage tank. There is disclosed a developer storage tank provided with a toner sedimentation prevention mechanism for preventing sedimentation of toner particles in the developer sedimented at the bottom of the storage tank by rotating a stirring blade by the power of an external motor.

[0005]

However, the prior art has the following problems. When replacing an ink cartridge without a stirring mechanism, there was a method of shaking the ink cartridge by the user's hand at the time of replacement.However, in such a method, there is a difference in the shaking time and shaking time of each user. In some cases, stable uniformization of toner density was insufficient. Further, when the user shakes the ink cartridge, there is a risk that the ink cartridge may be dropped and damaged, and the ink may leak.

Further, in the stirring mechanism using a magnet disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-241453, the stirring blade is rotated by a method of non-contact drive by a magnetic force. As a result, it is not necessary to open a shaft opening for rotating the stirring blade in the container for storing the liquid, thereby eliminating the cause of liquid leakage. However, when the stirring blade is buried in the toner particles and solids, or when the sliding of the stirring blade becomes poor, there is a possibility that the stirring blade may not rotate.

Further, in the developing solution supply device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-19269, since a stirring shaft passes through the inside and outside of the storage container, a connection port for supplying ink is provided. In addition to this, it is necessary to take measures against ink leakage in the opening through which the stirring shaft penetrates, and there has been a disadvantage that attention other than that of supplying the developer, which is the original purpose, has to be taken.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the present invention prevents precipitation of solid components such as toner particles in ink, and minimizes the number of connection ports and openings with the printing apparatus. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge stirring device that can reduce the cause of ink leakage.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems, a replaceable ink cartridge has a built-in stirring shaft having stirring blades therein, and the replaceable ink cartridge has a built-in ink discharger. A connection part of a power transmission part of a stirring mechanism for stirring is installed at the outlet, and the connection part is connected when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printer main body, and an ink discharge mechanism is provided at the ink discharge port. The ink cartridge stirring device is provided with an air supply mechanism at an air supply port of the replaceable ink cartridge.

Therefore, according to the ink cartridge stirring device of the first invention of the present application, when solid components such as toner particles in the ink filled in the detachable ink cartridge settle, the solid component is built in the ink cartridge. The stirring blade can be rotated and stirred by the power from the printing apparatus side, and the ink in the ink cartridge can be supplied at a uniform concentration.

The ink discharge mechanism according to a second aspect of the present invention that solves the above-mentioned problem seals the ink discharge port by being pressed against the inner wall surface at the tip end of the ink discharge port by the open / close spring and the open / close spring. An opening / closing valve, wherein the opening / closing valve is connected to the stirring shaft, and the stirring mechanism moves a stirring motor for rotating the stirring shaft and a stirring motor shaft driven by the stirring motor to the printing press side. The connection unit includes a shaft joint fixed to the on-off valve, and the stirring shaft and the stirring motor shaft are connected via the shaft joint, and the power of the stirring motor is supplied to the stirring shaft. An ink cartridge stirring device, which is transmitted.

Therefore, according to the ink cartridge stirring device of the second invention of the present application, since the power transmitting portion for rotating the stirring blade is provided at the ink discharge port, the power for newly rotating the stirring shaft is provided. There is no need to provide a transmission section at the opening. As a result, it is not necessary to newly provide an opening for power transmission, so that the opening, which is a cause of ink leakage, can be reduced. Can be.

The ink cartridge stirring device according to a third invention of the present application is the ink cartridge stirring device according to the first invention of the present application or the second invention of the present application, wherein the air supply mechanism comprises an opening / closing spring and an opening / closing spring. An ink cartridge stirring device, comprising: an open / close valve that closes the air supply port by being pressed against a tip inner wall surface of the air supply port by a spring.

Therefore, according to the ink cartridge stirring device of the third invention of the present application, the air supply mechanism provided in the ink cartridge presses the open / close valve with the open / close spring to seal the air supply port. Accordingly, by mounting the ink cartridge having the air supply mechanism on the printing apparatus, it is possible to prevent a negative pressure state in the ink cartridge due to ink discharge, and to efficiently discharge ink. Further, when handling the ink cartridge alone, the open / close valve of the air supply mechanism can be maintained in a closed state, so that ink leakage can be prevented.

The ink cartridge stirring device according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the ink cartridge stirring device according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the connection between the stirring shaft and the stirring motor shaft via the shaft joint is as described above. The ink cartridge stirring device is characterized in that the stirring is performed by inserting the ink cartridge into the main body of the printing apparatus, and the stirring motor shaft pushes the open / close valve by the insertion operation. The ink cartridge stirring device of the fifth invention of the present application is the ink cartridge stirring device of the third invention of the present application, wherein the air supply mechanism includes an open / close valve stud on the printing device side,
An ink cartridge stirring device, characterized in that the opening / closing valve stud has a structure in which the opening / closing valve of the air supply mechanism is pushed open by an insertion operation of inserting the ink cartridge into a printing apparatus main body.

Therefore, according to the third invention of the present application and the fourth ink cartridge stirring device of the present application, when the ink cartridge is inserted into the printing apparatus, the ink discharging mechanism and the air supply mechanism of the ink cartridge are provided. Since the opening / closing valve is configured to be pushed open by the stirring motor shaft and the opening / closing valve stud on the printing apparatus side, the printing apparatus and the ink cartridge are connected, and ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge to the printing apparatus. Thereby, each opening of the ink cartridge communicates with the printing apparatus side, and the ink discharge mechanism can supply ink. Further, the air supply mechanism can prevent the inside of the ink cartridge from being in a negative pressure state due to the discharge of the ink. In addition, when the ink cartridge is used alone, the on-off valve cannot be opened unless the ink cartridge is attached to the printing apparatus. Therefore, the on-off valve can be kept closed against vibration and impact, and ink leakage can be prevented. Can be prevented to a necessary minimum.

The ink cartridge stirring device according to the sixth invention of the present application is the first invention of the present application, the second invention of the present application, the third invention of the present application, the fourth invention of the present application, or the fifth invention of the present application. In the ink cartridge stirring device according to the invention, an ink leakage prevention mechanism when the replaceable ink cartridge is fitted to a printing device is attached to an ink discharge port and an air supply port.

Therefore, according to the ink cartridge stirring device of the third invention of the present application, when the ink cartridge is inserted into the printing device, the O-ring is attached to the outer periphery of the ink discharge port and the air supply port of the ink cartridge. Therefore, the ink supply port and the air discharge port on the printing apparatus side are sealed by the O-ring. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the ink discharged from the ink cartridge from flowing back to the printing apparatus side at the ink supply port on the printing apparatus side, and to prevent ink leakage to a necessary minimum.

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is an embodiment of an ink cartridge according to the present invention, and is a sectional view showing an ink cartridge 1 for supplying ink to a printing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink cartridge 1 has two connection portions of an ink discharge port 2 and an air supply port 3. Further, the ink discharge port 2 forms a shaft joint 4 as a connecting part of a power transmission part of the stirring mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view of the ink discharge port and the air supply port of the ink cartridge. The ink discharge port 2 has a structure shown in FIG. 2A, and the on-off valve 7 is pressed to the front end of the opening by the open / close spring 9 to press the O-ring 12 assembled on the inner wall surface at the front end of the discharge port. Sealed. Similarly to the ink discharge port, the air supply port has the structure shown in FIG. 2B. The O-ring 14 is pressed and sealed.
With the configuration of the above connection portion, the ink filled in the ink cartridge does not cause ink leakage.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the printing apparatus on which the ink cartridge is mounted. The ink supply port 16 and the air discharge port 17 serve as a connection between the ink discharge port 2 and the air supply port 3 of the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. In order to rotate the stirring shaft 5 of the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG. 1 at the ink supply port 16, the shaft connecting portion 4 of the ink cartridge 1 shown in FIG.
8 is fitted. By fitting in this manner, the power from the stirring motor 22 is transmitted to the stirring shaft 5 to stir the ink.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the ink cartridge 1 and the apparatus main body 24 showing the operation when the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the printing apparatus.

In this embodiment, the ink cartridge 1
In order to open the ink discharge port 2 and the air supply port 3 , when the ink cartridge 1 is fitted, the on-off valves 7, 8 at each connection port are pushed open by the stirring motor shaft 19 and the on-off valve stud 20. I have. The stirring motor shaft 19 also has a function of transmitting the power of the stirring motor 22 and a rod that pushes the on-off valve 7. As described above, the ink can be supplied from the ink cartridge.

The stirring motor 22 rotates the stirring shaft 5 at an arbitrarily set number of rotations and rotation time for the ink in the ink cartridge, so that the ink is always supplied to the apparatus main body 24 in a state where the ink concentration is uniform. can do.

The transport pump 21 operates to supply ink to the ink tank 23 as soon as the ink stirring operation is completed. At this time, if the inside of the ink cartridge 1 is sealed, the amount of air corresponding to the volume in which the amount of ink is reduced is reduced, so that the internal pressure in the cartridge is reduced and negative pressure is caused to hinder circulation accompanying ink transport. Since the opening 3 is open, air enough to supplement the discharged ink amount is supplied. In this manner, a required amount of ink having a uniform ink density can be transported.

Further, in response to ink leakage after the ink cartridge 1 is inserted into the apparatus main body 24, the ink discharge port 2 shown in FIG. O-ring 13 and the ink supply port 16 of the O-ring 15 of the air supply port 3 is printing apparatus with
When the ink cartridge 1 is pressed against the wall surface of the air discharge port 17 , it is possible to minimize the ink leakage when the ink cartridge 1 is fitted to the printing apparatus.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an ink cartridge stirring device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ink cartridge stirring device of the present embodiment is a cross-sectional view when the ink cartridge 30 is inserted in the vertical direction, unlike the first embodiment. In this ink cartridge, the toner particles in the ink settle on the bottom surface near the connection portion. The agitating blade 34 is rotated at the bottom surface thereof, and stirs the toner particles settled near the bottom surface where the ink supply port is provided so that the ink concentration can be made uniform.

Although an air port for negative pressure control in the ink cartridge 30 accompanying the ink discharge is not shown here, it is assumed that an air supply port is provided.

An ink cartridge in which the ink discharge port is shared with the air port by applying the embodiment of FIG. 5 is also conceivable.
By sharing the function of the opening, there is an advantage that the structure of the ink cartridge is further simplified, and the number of parts and the number of parts, which are factors of ink leakage, are reduced.

[0031]

As described above, the ink cartridge stirring device of the present invention can reduce ink leakage from the opening, which is a cause of ink leakage, by minimizing the number of connection points with the outside. In addition, the configuration can be simplified. As described above, it is possible to provide an ink cartridge stirring device that simultaneously has a mechanism for discharging ink while preventing the structure of the ink discharge port from leaking ink and a mechanism for preventing precipitation of toner particles in the ink filled in the ink cartridge. .

In the ink cartridge stirring device of the present invention, a stirring shaft provided with a stirring blade using a discharge port is incorporated in the ink cartridge. However, since the power source is provided on the device side, This ink cartridge is an ink cartridge having a minimum necessary function for preventing sedimentation of toner particles in ink. That is, it is possible to provide an ink cartridge agitation device that can be used with a power source on the printing apparatus side and that does not require a user to handle easily, even though the handling of the ink cartridge alone is easy.

As an application example of the present invention, the use of an ink discharge port, an air supply port, and an ink agitation mechanism in the opening structure further reduces the manufacturing cost by further simplifying the structure of the ink cartridge and reducing the number of parts. Can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an ink cartridge stirring device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a perspective sectional view of an ink discharge port of an ink cartridge stirring device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a perspective sectional view of an air supply port of the ink cartridge stirring device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a printing apparatus-side connection unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a connection port and a printing device when an ink cartridge stirring device is inserted in the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an application example of the ink cartridge stirring device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ink cartridge 2 ink discharge port 3 air supply port 4 shaft joint (ink cartridge side) 5 stirring shaft 6 stirring blade 7 discharge port opening / closing valve 8 air port opening / closing valve 9, 10 opening / closing valve 11 ink 12, 13, 14, 15 O-ring 16 Ink supply port 17 Air discharge port 18 Shaft joint (device side) 19 Stirring motor shaft 20 Opening / closing valve stud 21 Conveying pump 22 Stirring motor 23 Ink tank 24 Device body 25 Stirring shaft fitting part 30 Ink cartridge 31 Conveying pump 32 stirring motor 33 stirring motor shaft 34 stirring blade 35 shaft fitting part 36 ink tank 37 device main body

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A replaceable ink cartridge having a built-in stirring shaft with stirring blades therein, and a connecting portion of a power transmission unit of a stirring mechanism for stirring the ink discharge port of the replaceable ink cartridge. Installed, the connection part is connected when the ink cartridge is attached to the printer body, the ink discharge port is provided with an ink discharge mechanism, and the air supply port of the replaceable ink cartridge is provided with an air supply mechanism. An ink cartridge stirring device, comprising: 2. The ink discharge mechanism includes an open / close spring and an open / close valve that closes the ink discharge port by being pressed against the inner wall surface at the tip end of the ink discharge port by the open / close spring. The stirring mechanism is connected to the stirring shaft, the stirring mechanism includes a stirring motor for rotating the stirring shaft and a stirring motor shaft driven by the stirring motor on the printing press side, and the connection unit includes the on-off valve. The stirring shaft and the stirring motor shaft are connected to each other through the shaft joint, and the power of the stirring motor is transmitted to the stirring shaft. Item 2. An ink cartridge stirring device according to Item 1. 3. The air supply mechanism includes an opening / closing spring and an opening / closing valve that closes the air supply port by being pressed against the inner wall surface at the tip of the air supply port by the opening / closing spring. The ink cartridge stirring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: _ 4. The stirrer shaft and the stirrer motor shaft are connected to each other through the shaft joint by inserting the ink cartridge into a printing apparatus main body. The ink cartridge stirring device according to claim 2, wherein a motor shaft has a structure for pushing and opening the on-off valve. 5. The air supply mechanism includes an opening / closing valve stud on a printing apparatus side, and the opening / closing valve stud causes the opening / closing valve of the air supply mechanism to be opened / closed by an insertion operation of inserting the ink cartridge into a printing apparatus main body. The ink cartridge stirring device according to claim 3, further comprising a push-open structure. 6. The ink supply device according to claim 1, wherein an ink leakage prevention mechanism when the replaceable ink cartridge is fitted to a printing apparatus is attached to an ink discharge port and an air supply port. The ink cartridge stirring device according to any one of the above.