JPH01141751A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase remarkably a capacity of ink without increasing an exclusive area of an ink cartridge excessively, by a method wherein the title ink cartridge is so constructed that the ratio of a width to a height of a sectional shape normal to a charging direction becomes almost 1 to 1. CONSTITUTION:The ratio of a width B to a height H of a sectional shape normal to an insertion direction of an ink cartridge is set to almost a square of about 1 to 1 in said ratio. Therefore, it becomes possible that a sectional shape, which is normal to a cartridge insertion direction of an ink bag storage space, of the ink cartridge is set to a shape of which a height is slightly less than the width B. An ink bag 6 or the like of which a height becomes large to a size near a width when a filling amount of ink is increased such as a double gusset or an almost cylindrical shape can be stored. Then, the capacity of ink can be easily made large without increasing the exclusive area of the ink cartridge in an ink jet recorder excessively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink cartridge that is removably installed in an inkjet recording apparatus.

[Conventional technology]

For inkjet recording devices (printers, etc.),
A replaceable (disposable) ink cartridge is sometimes used as an ink tank (or container) for supplying ink to the recording head, and this ink cartridge is held in a predetermined position by a guide member or the like provided in the recording apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of an ink supply system of an ink jet recording apparatus using an ink cartridge.

In FIG. 7, the ink cartridge 1 has a structure in which an ink bag 12 is housed in the upper part of the case 1, and an ink absorber 20 having excellent water absorbency is housed in the lower part.

The ink bag 12 constitutes an ink reservoir filled with ink inside a sealed bag made of a flexible material, and the waste ink absorber 20 absorbs and retains ink discharged during an ink recovery operation or the like. be.

The ink cartridge 1 is guided and positioned by a guide member 13.13 installed in the inkjet recording apparatus, and an ink supply port 14 made of a rubber material provided in the ink bag 12 is connected to a hollow ink supply tube 16. It is set with the ink supply needle 15 pierced through it.

In this way, the ink in the ink bag 12 is transferred to the ink supply needle 15.
→Ink supply tube 16→Remaining ink amount detection means 17-
The ink is fed from the ink supply tube 18 to the recording head 19.

The ink bag 12 is made by, for example, stacking two square or rectangular flexible sheets made of three layers of nylon, aluminum, and polyethylene, heat-sealing the four sides, and connecting the ink supply port 14 to the negative side. It has a fixed structure.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, since the ink bag 12 in the conventional ink cartridge 1 was heat-sealed on all four sides,
As shown in FIG. 8 when viewed from above, the ink supply port 14 is installed because the height h is small compared to the width of the ink bag even when filled with ink, and the ink bag 12 is required to fill a large amount of ink.
It was necessary to increase the width and length (depth in Figure 8).

However, this inevitably increases the width and length of the ink cartridge 1, which increases the exclusive floor space of the ink cartridge 1 within the inkjet recording device.In order to increase the ink capacity, the recording device must also be significantly larger. There was a problem that it had to be done.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge that can significantly increase ink capacity without significantly increasing the area occupied by the ink cartridge in an inkjet recording device. shall be.

The present invention has a cross-sectional width and height ratio of approximately 1:1 in the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the ink cartridge is inserted into the installation location of the recording device, and the ink bag used as an ink bag to store the ink cartridge is sealed and can be freely contracted in the height direction. By adopting a configuration that uses a type bag, it is possible to increase the ink capacity without increasing the size of the recording apparatus.

〔Example〕

The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

FIG. 1 shows an ink cartridge 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the plane ■--■ in FIG. 1.

1 and 2, the case 11 of the ink cartridge 1 consists of an upper case 2, a lower case 3, and an inner lid 4, and a waste ink absorber 5 is placed in the space between the lower case 3 and the inner lid 4. The ink bag 6 or 10 is stored in a space formed by the upper case 2 and the upper half of the side wall of the lower case 3 above the inner lid 4.

The upper case 2, lower case 3, and inner lid 4 are made of plastic molding or the like.

The cross-sectional shape of the ink bag storage space of the ink cartridge 1 perpendicular to the cartridge insertion direction is set so that the height is somewhat smaller than the width B, as shown in FIG.

In addition, the amount of waste ink after being used for recording head cleaning and ink recovery is usually very small compared to the amount of ink used for printing, so the amount of waste ink that is formed on the lower side of the middle M4 is The height of the space for storing the ink absorber 5 is set to be considerably smaller than the width.

Therefore, the cross-sectional shape of the entire case 11 of the ink cartridge 1 in the direction perpendicular to the cartridge insertion direction is set to be approximately square, with width B and height H being approximately equal, as shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 shows a double gauze 7. suitable for being housed in the ink cartridge 1 (FIG. 1) according to the present invention. ) shows a sealed ink bag 6.

In FIG. 3, the side 101 to which the ink supply port 8 is fixed
Flexible sheets stacked one on top of the other are heat-sealed (thermally fused) on the opposite side 102, and the flexible sheets are folded on both sides 103 and 104.

FIG. 4 shows a cross section taken along plane IV--IV in FIG. 3 when the ink bag 6 in FIG. 3 is filled with ink 9.

In FIG. 4, when the ink bag 6 of FIG. 3 is filled with ink 9, the side surfaces 7.7 on both sides, which were folded inward in an accordion style, are extended and the height of the ink bag 6 increases.

Note that as the ink 9 is consumed from the ink bag 6 in FIG. 4, the ink bag 6 is heat-sealed at the side 101 where the ink supply port 8 is provided and the opposite side 102 as described above. It returns to the form shown in FIG. 3 without difficulty, and almost all of the filled ink 9 can be consumed.

31st! As shown in I, since the ink supply port 8 is fixed to one side 101 of the ink bag 6 facing the front side in the insertion direction of the ink cartridge 1, the sides 103, 10 on both sides
4, the amount of folding inward of both gazette parts, that is, the height of the side surface 7 in FIG. 4, is made slightly smaller than half the length of the side 101.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the ink bag 6 is filled with the ink 9, the ratio of the width to the height of the ink bag 6 is not exactly 1=1, but becomes a substantially square shape with the height being somewhat smaller than the width.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a substantially cylindrical sealed ink bag lO suitable for being housed in the ink cartridge l (FIG. 1) according to the present invention as another embodiment, and FIG. 5th v when filling ink bag 10 with ink 9! It is a sectional view along VI-VI in J.

In Figure 5, one flexible sheet is folded in two!
A sealed ink bag 10 is formed by heat-sealing the three sides 105, 106, and 107.
When the ink 9 is filled in the ink 9, the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the insertion direction expands into an ellipse as shown in FIG. In this case, the cross-sectional shape is an ellipse whose height is somewhat smaller than its width.

In the ink cartridge 1 according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, it is possible to store the sealed ink bags 6 of both gazettes and the substantially cylindrical sealed ink bag 10 as described above.

According to the embodiment described above, the width and height ratio of the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the insertion direction of the ink cartridge 1 is set to be approximately square, which is approximately 1:1, so that the ink bag storage space of the ink cartridge 1 is It is possible to set the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the insertion direction so that the height is somewhat smaller than the width B, and when the amount of ink 9 filled is increased, such as a double gazeft or a substantially cylindrical shape, the height becomes close to the width. It is now possible to store ink bags of the type 6.10 that are as thick as Obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the ink cartridge of the present invention, the ratio of the width and height of the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the insertion direction is approximately 1:1, so that the ink cartridge can be freely expanded and contracted in the height direction. Since the sealed ink bag and the waste ink absorber can be stored efficiently, the ink capacity can be greatly increased without increasing the exclusive area of the ink cartridge.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along plane nn in FIG.
3 is a perspective view of an ink bag of both gazettes suitable for being stored in the ink cartridge of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along plane IV-IV in FIG. 3 when filled with ink. Fifth
The figure is a perspective view of a substantially cylindrical ink bag suitable for being stored in the ink cartridge of FIG. 1, FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along the plane VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an ink supply system of an ink jet recording apparatus using an ink cartridge, and FIG. 8 is a front view of a conventional ink bag. l・-・・・・・・ink cartridge, 6.10
・・・・・・・・・・Ink bag, 8・・・・・Ink supply port, 9・・・・・・・ink, 11−・−
・・・・・Case, B・---−−−1−−・Width, H
・−・・−−−−−One height. Agent/Patent Attorney Yasushi OotoFigure 2Figure 8

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) An ink cartridge that is detachable from an inkjet recording device and has an ink supply port on the front side in the insertion direction, is characterized in that the width to height ratio of the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the insertion direction is approximately 1:1. Ink cartridge. (2) The ink cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that a sealed ink bag that is expandable and retractable in the height direction can be stored therein.