JPH10193632A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To sufficiently supply ink to perform stable recording and to prevent the ink reserved in an ink reserving member from leaking through an ink supplying hole even when printing or purging is continuously executed in the case where the ink reserved in the ink reserving member which is installed in a cartridge is supplied to an external section through the ink supplying hole. SOLUTION: An ink reserving member 2 that reserves ink 1 is installed in an ink cartridge 10 and it comprises an ink supplying hole 18 for supplying the ink reserved in the ink reserving member 2 to an external section. A cover member 19 that opens or closes the ink supplying hole 18 is provided to the ink cartridge such that it can close the ink supplying hole by being pressed by the ink reserving member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used for supplying ink to a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus, and more particularly to an ink cartridge in which an ink holding member for holding ink is accommodated. In an ink cartridge that supplies the ink held by the member to the outside through the ink supply port, the ink can be stably supplied through the ink supply port,
The present invention relates to an ink cartridge in which ink held by an ink holding member does not leak through an ink supply port.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet recording apparatus, when recording is performed by discharging ink from a recording head, ink is supplied from an ink cartridge to the recording head.

Here, in supplying ink from the ink cartridge to the recording head as described above, conventionally, an ink holding member such as a sponge holding ink is generally housed in the cartridge, and the ink holding member holds the ink. The supplied ink is led to a recording head through an ink supply port.

However, when the ink held by the ink holding member is guided to the recording head through the ink supply port, if the ink supply port is enlarged, the ink is sufficiently guided to the recording head. When the ink cartridge is removed, there is a problem that the ink held in the ink holding member leaks through the ink supply port.On the other hand, if the ink supply port is made small to suppress such ink leakage, continuous When performing printing or purging, there is a problem that the ink is not sufficiently guided to the recording head, and stable recording cannot be performed.

In recent years, when introducing ink from an ink storage chamber containing ink to a recording head, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-17049, a rubber spring is formed at the ink supply port by a compression spring. The seal member is pressed against the ink supply port to close the ink supply port, so that the ink stored in the ink storage chamber is prevented from leaking from the ink supply port.

However, it is very difficult to provide a compression spring or the like in the vicinity of the ink supply port to close the ink supply port with a sealing material, which increases the manufacturing cost of the cartridge and increases the cost of the ink storage chamber. There is a problem that it is not possible to sufficiently suppress leakage of the stored liquid ink from the ink supply port.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems in an ink cartridge used for supplying ink to a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus.

That is, according to the present invention, an ink holding member for holding ink is housed in a cartridge.
In supplying the ink held by the ink holding member to the outside through the ink supply port, even when performing continuous printing or purging, the ink is sufficiently supplied and stable recording can be performed. It is another object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge in which ink held by an ink holding member does not leak through an ink supply port.

[0009]

In the ink cartridge according to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an ink holding member for holding ink is accommodated in the cartridge, and the ink holding member is held by the ink holding member. In an ink cartridge provided with an ink supply port for supplying the supplied ink to the outside, the ink supply port is closed while the lid member for opening and closing the ink supply port is urged by the ink holding member. It was provided as follows.

In the ink cartridge according to the present invention, when the ink held by the ink holding member is supplied to the outside through the ink supply port, a guide tube for guiding the ink to the recording head is inserted into the ink supply port. The ink cartridge is attached in such a manner that the ink supply port is closed by pushing the lid material closing the ink supply port into the cartridge while being urged by the ink holding member by the guide tube as described above, thereby opening the ink supply port. The ink held by the ink holding member is guided to the recording head through the guide tube.

With this configuration, even when printing is performed continuously or when purging is performed, the ink held by the ink holding member is stably guided to the recording head through the guide tube inserted into the ink supply port. As a result, printing defects do not occur.

On the other hand, after removing the ink cartridge,
When the guide tube is pulled out of the ink supply port, the lid member pushed into the cartridge by the guide tube is urged by the ink holding member housed in the cartridge to close the ink supply port. This prevents the ink held by the ink holding member from leaking through the ink supply port.

Here, when the guide tube is inserted into the ink supply port and the lid member is pushed into the cartridge from the ink supply port as described above, if the pushing amount is small, a sufficient amount of ink is recorded through the guide tube. While it is not possible to guide to the head, if this pushing amount is too large,
Since the cover material is deformed or the ink holding member is sandwiched between the cover material and the ink supply port, the amount of pushing the cover material by the guide tube is generally 0.5 to 2.5 mm, preferably 1 to 2.5 mm. 0.02 to 2.0 mm.

When the lid is made of a material having rubber elasticity, if the lid is too thin, the lid may be damaged when the lid is pushed in by the guide tube as described above. On the other hand, if the thickness of the lid is too large, the lid may be displaced when the lid is pushed in by the guide tube.
2.0 mm, preferably in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 mm.

Further, when the ink supply port is closed by urging the lid member with the ink holding member as described above, if the urging force of the ink holding member is too strong, the guide tube is inserted as described above. When the lid is pushed in, the lid may be damaged or it may be difficult to push in the lid.On the other hand, if the biasing force of the ink holding member is weak, the lid may be displaced from the ink supply port without any permission. In general, the ink holding member is compressed 1.5 to 4.0 times and accommodated in the ink cartridge to urge the lid member because the ink holding member is compressed. In order to close the ink supply port sufficiently so as not to shift, and to sufficiently hold the ink in the ink holding member, the ink holding member should be 2.5 to 3.
It is preferable that the ink cartridge is housed in the ink cartridge in a state of being compressed five times.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the ink cartridge according to the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Embodiment 1) In this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in the figure, height 40 mm, width 40 mm, depth 15
mm of a box-shaped cartridge 10, and a partition 11 is provided in the cartridge 10 in the up-down direction,
The partition 11 separates the inside of the cartridge 10 into an ink storage chamber 12 for storing the ink 1 and an ink storage chamber 13 for storing the ink holding member 2 formed of a sponge for holding the ink 1. An ink communication port 11a for connecting the ink storage chamber 12 and the ink holding chamber 13 is provided at the lower part of the printer.

Further, a rib 14 is provided on the upper portion of the ink holding chamber 13, and the ink holding member 2 is pressed down by the rib 14, and the ink holding member 2 having a volume twice as large as that of the ink holding chamber 13 is formed. The ink chamber 13 is housed in the ink chamber 13 and an air chamber 15
An air inlet 16 for introducing air into the cartridge 10 is provided on the upper surface of the air chamber 15.

An ink supply port 18 having a diameter of 4 mm for supplying the ink 1 to the outside is provided so as to protrude from the bottom of the ink holding chamber 13 to the inside of the ink holding chamber 13. The distance to the upper surface portion of the ink supply port 18 is set to 4 mm, and a lid member 19 made of a rubber packing having a thickness of 0.5 mm is provided on the upper surface portion of the ink supply port 18 by partially bonding it. The lid 19 is urged by the ink holding member 2 accommodated in the ink holding chamber 13 to close the ink supply port 18.

The ink 1 is stored in the ink storage chamber 12, and the ink 1 is supplied to the ink communication port 1.
The ink 1 was led to the ink holding chamber 13 through 1a, and the ink 1 was held by the ink holding member 2 housed in the ink holding chamber 13.

Here, when supplying the ink 1 from the ink cartridge of the first embodiment to the recording head (not shown), as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a guide tube for guiding the ink 1 to the recording head. As the small diameter portion 21, a small diameter portion 21 having an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the ink supply port 18 is provided at the front end portion, and a cut 21 a is formed at the front end portion of the small diameter portion 21. The O-ring 22 is attached around the.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the small diameter portion 21 of the guide tube 20 is inserted into the ink supply port 18 provided in the cartridge 10, and the ink is supplied by the small diameter portion 21 as described above. Lid material 1 that closed mouth 18
9 against the ink holding member 2 against the urging force of the ink holding member 2.
The ink supply port 18 is opened by pushing the ink supply member 1 into the guide tube 20 by pressing the ink 1 held by the ink holding member 2 through the cut 21a formed at the tip of the small diameter portion 21. The ink 1 was supplied to the recording head through the guide tube 20.

In this way, the ink 1 held by the ink holding member 2 can be stably guided to the recording head through the guide tube 20 even when printing is performed continuously or when purging is performed. There was no printing failure or the like.

In this embodiment, when the lid 19 is provided on the upper surface of the ink supply port 18, a part of the lid 19 is adhered to the upper surface of the ink supply port 18. However, it is also possible to provide the lid member 19 so as not to adhere to the upper surface of the ink supply port 18. In this case, as described above, the small-diameter portion 21 of the guide tube 20 is inserted into the ink supply port 18, and the lid 19, which has closed the ink supply port 18 with the small-diameter portion 21, is attached to the ink holding member 2. When the lid 19 is pushed into the ink holding chamber 13 against the urging force, the entire lid 19 is pushed up from the ink supply port 18 by the small diameter portion 21 as shown in FIG.

(Embodiment 2) In this embodiment, the ink cartridge of Embodiment 1 and the ink supply port 18 provided at the bottom of the ink holding chamber 13 are changed. As shown in FIG. 5, an ink supply port 18 having a diameter of 4 mm is provided so as to protrude downward from the bottom surface of the cartridge 10, and the distance between the lower surface portion and the upper surface portion of the ink supply port 18 is 4 mm.
And the upper surface of the ink supply port 18
Similarly to the ink cartridge of the first embodiment, a lid member 19 made of rubber packing having a thickness of 0.5 mm is provided, and the lid member 19 is attached by the ink holding member 2 accommodated in the ink holding chamber 13. And the ink supply port 18 was closed.

When supplying the ink 1 held by the ink holding member 2 from the ink cartridge of the second embodiment to the recording head, as shown in FIG. 5, a guide tube 20 for guiding the ink 1 to the recording head is provided. A small-diameter portion 21 having an outer diameter smaller than the diameter of the ink supply port 18 is provided at the front end thereof, and a notch 21 a is formed at the front end of the small-diameter portion 21. An O-ring 22 was mounted around the small diameter portion 21 in the fitting portion 22 using a fitting portion 23 into which the ink supply port 18 projecting downward was fitted.

The small diameter portion 21 of the guide tube 20 is inserted into the ink supply port 18 provided in the cartridge 10.
And the portion of the ink supply port 18 protruding downward from the cartridge 10 is fitted into the fitting portion 22, and the small-diameter portion 21 inserted into the ink supply port 18 allows the ink holding member 2 to be inserted. The lid material 19 closing the ink supply port 18 against the urging force is pushed into the ink holding chamber 13 by 2 mm to open the ink supply port 18, and in this state, the ink 1 held by the ink holding member 2 is opened. Is cut into a notch 21 formed at the tip of the small diameter portion 21.
a, the ink 1 was supplied to the recording head through the guide tube 20.

In this way, as in the case of the ink cartridge of the first embodiment, the ink 1 held by the ink holding member 2 can be supplied to the guide tube even when printing is performed continuously or when purging is performed. Thus, the recording head was stably guided to the recording head through No. 20, and no printing failure or the like occurred.

Next, a test was conducted to check for ink leakage in each of the ink cartridges of Examples 1 and 2 described above.

Here, for comparison with the ink cartridges of Embodiments 1 and 2, the ink cartridge of Comparative Example 1 is provided with a lid member 19 in the ink cartridge of Embodiment 1 as shown in FIG. I did not.

Then, the above Examples 1 and 2 and Comparative Example 1
When the temperature is changed from 0 ° C. to 35 ° C. with the ink supply port 18 of each ink cartridge down, and when these ink cartridges are dropped, ink leakage in the ink cartridges is examined. The results are shown in Table 1 below. In addition, regarding the evaluation of ink leakage, the case where no ink leakage occurred was indicated by ○, and the case where ink leakage occurred was indicated by ×.

[0032]

[Table 1]

As a result, in the ink cartridge of Comparative Example 1 in which the lid member 19 for closing the ink supply port 18 was not provided, ink leakage occurred in any of the above cases, whereas In the first and second ink cartridges, ink leakage did not occur even when the temperature changed or the ink cartridge dropped.

[0034]

As described in detail above, the ink cartridge according to the present invention is provided with a lid member for opening and closing an ink supply port for supplying the ink held by the ink holding member to the outside. Since the ink supply port is closed by being urged by the holding member, the ink held by the ink holding member does not leak through the ink supply port, and the ink is guided to the recording head by the ink supply port. When the ink supply port is opened by pushing the lid material closing the ink supply port into the cartridge while being urged by the ink retention member by the guide pipe, the ink supply member The held ink can be stably guided to the recording head through the guide tube inserted into the ink supply port.

As a result, when the ink cartridge of the present invention is used, even when printing is performed continuously or when purging is performed, ink is sufficiently supplied and stable recording can be performed. This prevents the retained ink from leaking through the ink supply port without permission.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory sectional view showing an internal structure of an ink cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial explanatory view showing a state before a guide tube is attached to an ink supply port in the ink cartridge according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a partial explanatory view showing a state in which a guide tube is attached to an ink supply port in the ink cartridge according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a partial explanatory view showing a state in which a guide tube is attached to the ink supply port in a modified example of the ink cartridge of the first embodiment in which a part of the lid member is not adhered to the upper surface of the ink supply port. is there.

FIG. 5 is a partial explanatory view showing a state before a guide tube is attached to an ink supply port in the ink cartridge according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a partial explanatory view showing the structure of an ink supply port in the ink cartridge of Comparative Example 1.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink 2 Ink holding member 10 Cartridge 18 Ink supply port 19 Lid

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink cartridge comprising: an ink holding member for holding ink in a cartridge; and an ink supply port for supplying the ink held by the ink holding member to the outside. An ink cartridge, wherein a lid member for opening and closing the supply port is provided so as to close the ink supply port in a state where the cover member is urged by the ink holding member.