JP2002036580A - Ink jet recording apparatus and ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow an ink cartridge to communicate with the atmosphere by automatically opening a film which seals the cartridge when used. SOLUTION: The recessed part 17 communicating with the atmosphere communication port 14 of the ink cartridge 10 and sealed by a breakable film 19 is provided and a projection 9 for breaking the film 19 is formed to the lever 8 of a holder 4 at the position opposed to the recessed part and the film 19 is broken by the projection 9 by only pushing down the lever 8 to open the ink cartridge 10 to the atmosphere.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus in which an ink cartridge is detachably mounted on a carriage provided with a recording head for ejecting ink droplets.
And an ink cartridge suitable for this.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An ink cartridge mounted on a carriage provided with a recording head for ejecting ink droplets is typically provided with a recording apparatus on one side as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-132635. An ink supply port into which the ink supply needle on the side is inserted is formed, and the container is configured as a container whose opposing opening surface is sealed with a lid having an air communication port.
The recording head that uses the piezoelectric vibrator as the pressure generating means can finely control the ink amount of the ink droplet by adjusting the level of the drive signal applied to the piezoelectric vibrator, so that high-quality printing is possible. On the other hand, the ejection characteristics of the ink droplet greatly depend on the viscosity of the ink.

As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-144755, a narrow groove communicates between an air communication port communicating with an ink chamber and an air opening hole. The film is covered with an air-shielding film so as to cover the groove and the through-hole for air release, and is put on the distribution process. The storage chamber is configured to communicate with the atmosphere via a capillary formed by a narrow groove and a film.

[0004]

For this reason, if the user forgets to peel the film in the area near the through-hole for communicating with the atmosphere during use, there is a problem that a printing failure occurs. The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to ensure that the ink storage chamber is exposed to the atmosphere after mounting on the recording head without requiring a film peeling operation. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording apparatus which can communicate. Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge suitable for the recording apparatus.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink supply needle, a cartridge holder, and a recording head which communicates with the ink supply needle and discharges ink droplets. In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising a reciprocating carriage and an ink cartridge mounted on the ink supply needle, the ink jet recording apparatus includes a concave portion which communicates with an atmosphere communication port of the ink cartridge and is sealed with a breakable film, A protrusion for breaking the film is formed on a lever of the holder at a position facing the recess.

[0006]

When the lever is pushed down, the protrusion penetrates the film and breaks the film, and the ink cartridge is opened to the atmosphere through the concave portion.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention with respect to a printing mechanism. A carriage 3 connected to a drive motor 2 via a timing belt 1 has a black A black ink cartridge containing ink and a holder 4 containing a color ink cartridge containing color ink are formed, and a recording head 5 receiving ink supply from each ink cartridge is formed on the lower surface.
Is provided.

[0008] In the holder 4, ink supply needles 6, 7 communicating with the recording head 5 are implanted, and rotatable levers 8, 8 'are attached. One of the levers 8 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, when the ink cartridge is set at a predetermined position, a protrusion 9 is provided at a position facing the air opening recess 17 so as to break the film. Is formed.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the ink cartridge of the present invention by taking a black ink cartridge as an example. When a container 11 formed as a substantially rectangular parallelepiped is mounted on a holder 4 on the bottom surface thereof, FIG. An ink supply port 12 that engages with the ink supply needle 6 is formed. The ink supply port 12 accommodates the porous body 13 impregnated with ink. The upper surface is sealed by a lid 15 having an air communication port 14. I have.

The air communication port 14 of the lid 15 is communicated with the air opening recess 17 through the narrow groove 16, and the air opening recess 17 is provided when the lever 8 is locked at a predetermined position. , And a depth d that can accommodate the projection 9. The air communication hole 14, the ink filling port 18, the narrow groove 16, and the air opening recess 17 are sealed with a film 19 having high air-shielding property and easy to break.

In this embodiment, when the cartridge 10 is loaded by opening the lever 8 and the lever 8 is closed, the ink cartridge 10 is pushed by the lever 8 and the ink supply needle 6
Penetrates the ink supply port 12. When the lever 8 is further pressed down, the projection 9 penetrates the film 19 and breaks the area of the concave portion 17. Thereby, the concave portion 17 is opened to the atmosphere, and the ink cartridge 10 is opened to the atmosphere via the narrow groove 16 and the atmosphere communication port 14.

When a negative pressure is applied to the nozzle openings of the recording head 5 in this state, the ink flows into the recording head 5 while discharging the air present in the flow path as air bubbles, and the ink is completely charged and printing is completed. . When printing is started in this state, the ink of the ink cartridge 10 that has been opened to the atmosphere through the atmosphere communication port 14 flows smoothly into the recording head 5, and the ink necessary for printing is transferred to the recording head 5 without being interrupted. Supplied.

FIG. 4 shows another embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the lever 8 has a double structure and is located at the ink cartridge side. The first lever 20 is provided with a spring 21 at a position facing the air opening concave portion 17 of the ink cartridge 10 so as to retreat from the ink cartridge.
Thus, the operating rod 22 constantly urged is accommodated so as to be movable.

The operating rod 22 has a projection 2 for breaking the film 19 on the tip side, that is, the ink cartridge side.
2a is formed at the other end, and a receiving portion 22b is formed at the other end for receiving pressure from the second lever 23.
It is retracted by the spring 21 to the extent that 2a is not exposed.

The second lever 23 is rotatably supported by a hinge 24 so that one end thereof moves in substantially the same manner as the first lever, and the other end is engaged with and fixed to the holder. The portion 23a is formed.

In this embodiment, when the cartridge 8 is loaded by opening the lever 8 and the lever 8 is closed, the ink cartridge 10 receives the pressing force of the second lever via the first lever and receives the ink supply needle 6. Penetrates the ink supply port 12 (FIG. 5 (I)). When the second lever 23 is further pushed down, the receiving portion 22b of the operating rod 22 is pushed against the spring 21 and protrudes, and the projection 22a breaks the film 19 (FIG. 5 (II)). Thereby, the concave portion 17 is opened to the atmosphere, and the ink cartridge is opened to the atmosphere via the narrow groove 16 and the atmosphere communication port 14.

According to this embodiment, when the lever 8 is opened (FIG. 4), the protrusion 22a is retracted into the lever, so that inadvertent injury can be prevented.

[0018]

As described above, according to the present invention, the ink cartridge is provided with a concave portion which communicates with the atmosphere communication port and is sealed with a breakable film, and the lever of the holder has a position facing the concave portion. Since the projection for breaking the film is formed on the ink cartridge, the film can be broken by the projection and the ink cartridge can be opened to the atmosphere only by loading and pushing down the lever without peeling the film.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention, focusing on a recording mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of an ink cartridge suitable for the recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where an ink cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention by a lever structure of a holder.

FIGS. 5 (I) and (II) are diagrams showing the operation of the above cartridge holder when the lever is closed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Holder 5 Recording head 6, 7 Ink supply needle 8, 8 'Lever 9 Projection 14 Atmospheric communication port 15 Lid 16 Narrow groove 17 Depression 19 Sealing film

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A reciprocating carriage provided with an ink supply needle, a cartridge holder, and a recording head which is in communication with the ink supply needle and ejects ink droplets, and an ink cartridge mounted on the ink supply needle. An ink jet recording apparatus comprising: a recess communicating with the atmosphere communication port of the ink cartridge and sealed by a breakable film; and breaking the film at a position of the lever of the holder facing the recess. An ink jet recording apparatus on which projections are formed. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the projection is urged by a spring to retreat from the ink cartridge side, and protrudes with the lever fixing the ink cartridge to the holder. 3. An ink cartridge having an ink supply port and an atmosphere communication port and containing ink in an ink storage chamber, wherein the ink cartridge communicates with the atmosphere communication port, is sealed with a breakable film, and has a protrusion of the cartridge holder. An ink cartridge provided with a recess having a depth that can be accommodated.