Patent Application
20070132816
This invention relates to an ink cartridge for supplying ink to a head of a record apparatus and a method of ink injection thereinto.
An ink jet record apparatus generally comprises a record head mounted on a carriage and moving in the width direction of record paper, and paper feed means for moving the record paper relatively in a direction orthogonal to the move direction of the record head.
Such an ink jet record apparatus prints on record paper by ejecting ink droplets from a record head based on print data.
A record head capable of ejecting black ink, yellow ink, cyan ink, and magenta ink, for example, is mounted on a carriage and in addition to text print in black ink, full-color print is made possible by changing the ink ejection percentage.
Thus, ink cartridges for supplying black ink, yellow ink, cyan ink, and magenta ink to the record head are placed in the main unit of the apparatus.
In the ordinary ink jet record apparatus, the ink cartridges for supplying black ink, yellow ink, cyan ink, and magenta ink are mounted on a carriage and are moved together with the carriage.
In the recent record apparatus, the carriage has been moved at high speed for the purpose of increasing the record speed.
In such a record apparatus, pressure fluctuation occurs in internal ink as an ink supply tube is extended and bent with acceleration and deceleration of the carriage, making unstable ejecting of ink droplets from the record head.
Thus, such an ink cartridge is proposed, that comprises a lower ink storage chamber (ink tank chamber) opened to the atmosphere side, an upper ink storage chamber (ink end chamber) for head connection, connected via an ink flow passage to the lower ink storage chamber, and a differential pressure regulating valve placed at midpoint in a passage connecting the upper ink storage chamber and a head supply port.
According to the ink cartridge, a negative pressure is generated on the head side by negative pressure generation means and the differential pressure regulating valve is opened accordingly for supplying ink to the record head, so that the adverse effect on ink produced by pressure fluctuation mentioned above is lessened and ink can be supplied to the record head at the optimum water head difference.
By the way, to inject ink into such an ink cartridge, the tip of an ink injector is positioned at an opening that is made in the outer surface of the ink cartridge (case) and that communicates with an ink tank chamber. Thus, in the beginning of injecting ink, the distance between the ink injection position (opening) and the bottom of the ink tank chamber is large, and also, after ink is injected (after the ink liquid level rises), there is a height difference between the ink injection position and the ink liquid level.
Thus, when ink is injected, air is easily mixed into the ink and there is a problem of bubbles occurring in the ink tank chamber.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an ink cartridge and a method of ink injection thereinto for making it possible to avoid air mixing into ink at the ink injection time and therefore prevent bubbles from occurring in an ink tank chamber.
To the end, according to the invention, there is provided an ink cartridge being detachably connected to a head of a record apparatus and comprising a case having an ink tank chamber opened to the atmosphere in a state in which the head and the cartridge are connected, and an opening through which ink can be injected into the ink tank chamber. The ink cartridge further comprises an intermediate wall partitioning the ink tank chamber into two space parts placed side by side in an ink injection direction. The intermediate wall is disposed in the ink tank chamber, and is formed with a through part through which ink can be injected.
Since the ink cartridge is thus configured, ink injection can be conducted at a deeper position than the opening of the case (in the vicinity of the through part). In this case, in the beginning of injecting ink, the distance between the ink injection position and the bottom of the ink tank chamber is small and thus air entraining is small and ink bubbles are less produced. If the ink liquid level rises and is higher than the intermediate wall, air entraining does not occur and ink bubbles are suppressed.
Therefore, it is possible to prevent air from mixing into ink at the ink injection time, and bubbles from occurring in the ink tank chamber.
Here, it is desirable that an atmospheric communication port for discharging air in the ink tank chamber as ink is injected is provided on the same side as the formation position of the opening.
Since the ink cartridge is thus configured, ink is injected into the ink tank chamber while air is discharged from the atmospheric communication port.
It is desirable that the through part is disposed on the axis of the opening.
Since the ink cartridge is thus configured, to inject ink into the ink tank chamber with an ink injection machine (ink injector), the injection part (tip) of the ink injector can be inserted into the opening of the case and positioned at the through part.
Further, it is desirable that the through part is formed so as to permit the tip of the ink injector to be inserted and passed through the through part into the deeper space part.
Since the ink cartridge is thus configured, in the ink tank chamber, the tip of the ink injector can be inserted into the opening of the case and further positioned at the deeper space part for reliably injecting ink.
It is desirable that the through part is a through hole circular in cross section or a through hole U-shaped shaped in cross section.
On the other hand, according to the invention, there is provided a method of injecting ink into an ink cartridge being detachably connected to a head of a record apparatus and comprising: a case having an ink tank chamber opened to atmosphere in a state in which the head and the cartridge are connected, and an opening through which ink can be injected into the ink tank chamber; and an intermediate wall having a through part, being disposed in the case, and partitioning the ink tank chamber into two space parts placed side by side in an ink injection direction. In the ink injection method, ink is injected through the through part into deeper one of the space parts relative to the opening.
According to this method, ink injection can be conducted at a deeper position than the opening of the case (in the vicinity of the through part) in the ink tank chamber.
Therefore, it is possible to obtain an ink cartridge that prevents air from mixing into ink at the ink injection time and bubbles from occurring in the ink tank chamber.
It is desirable that the through part is a through hole circular in cross section or a through hole U-shaped in cross section.
Here, it is desirable that to inject ink, the tip of the ink injector is inserted into the through part and is positioned at the deeper space part of both the space parts.
According to this method, when ink is injected, in the ink tank chamber, the tip of the ink injector can be inserted into the opening of the case and further positioned at the deep space part for reliably injecting ink.
It is desirable that ink is injected while air in the ink tank chamber is discharged.
According to this method, ink can be smoothly injected into the ink tank chamber.
The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese patent application No. 2001-148296 (filed on May 17, 2001) and 2001-262037 (filed on Aug. 30, 2001, which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
In the accompanying drawings:
FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) are perspective views to show the appearance of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention;
FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b) are views to describe an ink injection flow passage of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the invention, in which
Referring now to the accompanying drawings, there are shown preferred embodiments of an ink cartridge and an ink injection method thereinto incorporating the invention.
To begin with, the ink cartridge will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.
An ink cartridge 1 shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b) has a container main body (lower case) 2 almost rectangular in a plane view, and opened to one side, and a lid body (upper case) 3 for sealing the opening of the container main body 2. The interior of the ink cartridge 1 is generally constructed to have an ink flow passage system and an air flow passage system (both described later).
Formed in the lower portion of the container main body 2 are an ink supply port 4 that can be connected to an ink supply needle 72 of a record head 112 (both are shown in FIG. 9), and a first opening (open hole) 85 and a second opening 86 (both are shown in
A substantially cylindrical seal member 200 made of rubber, etc., is placed in the ink supply port 4, as shown in
The second opening 86 is made to communicate with the first ink storage chamber 11 through an atmospheric communication port 86a, and communicate with the ink end chamber (second ink storage chamber 16, third ink storage chamber 17, etc.,) through an ink injection port 86b, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b).
Retention members 5 and 6 that can be attached to and detached from a cartridge holder are provided integrally on the upper sides of the container main body 2. A circuit board (IC board) 7 is disposed below one retention member 5 as shown in
The circuit board 7 has a storage device retaining information data concerning ink, for example, color type, pigment/dye based ink type, ink remaining amount, serial number, expiration date, applied model, and the like so that the data can be written.
The valve storage chamber 8 has an internal space opened to the cartridge insertion side (lower side) as shown in
A through hole 60 as an atmospheric communication hole opened and closed by the opening and closing operation of an atmospheric open valve 601 is made in a chamber wall 8a of the valve storage chamber 8 (atmospheric open chamber 501), as shown in
The pressurization film 61 is attached to the chamber wall 8a so as to block the through hole 60, and the whole of the pressurization film 61 is formed of an elastic seal member of rubber, etc. The internal space formed between the pressurization film 61 and the opening peripheral margin of the through hole 60 is opened to a through hole 67 communicating with the first ink storage chamber (ink tank chamber) 11 (both are shown in
The atmospheric open valve 601 has a valve body 65 for opening and closing the through hole 60, and an elastic member (plate spring) 62 for constantly urging the valve body 65 against the opening peripheral margin of the through hole 60. The elastic member 62 is formed at an upper end part with a through hole 62b into which a projection 64 is inserted for regulating the elastic member 62 in move (guiding). On the other hand, the elastic member 62 is fixed at a lower end part onto the container main body 2 through a projection 63.
In
Next, the ink flow passage system and the air flow passage system in the container main body 2 will be discussed with reference to FIGS. 1 to 10.
[Ink Flow Passage System]
The ink cartridge 1 is formed with an internal space by joining the lid body 3 to the front of the container main body 2 through inner films (air shield films) 56 and 502 and joining a protective label 83 to the rear of the container main body 2 through an outer film (air shield film) 57, as shown in
Two intermediate walls 300 and 301 different in height position are disposed in the first ink storage chamber 11. One intermediate wall 300 is placed with a predetermined spacing from one side surface part of the first ink storage chamber 11. The other intermediate wall 301 is opposed to the bottom part of the first ink storage chamber 11 and is placed on the ink supply port side of the intermediate wall 300. The intermediate wall 301 partitions the first ink storage chamber 11 into two space parts 11a and 11b placed side by side in the ink injection direction (up and down). The intermediate wall 301 is formed with a through part 301a having the same axis as the axis of the first opening 85. The through part 301a is formed as an opening (notch) for allowing the nozzle tip of an ink injection machine (ink injector) described later to be inserted thereinto and positioned at the deep space part 11a of both the space parts 11a and 11b.
The through part is not limited to the through hole shaped like a letter U in cross section shown in the figure, and may be a through hole circular in cross section.
On the other hand, the upper area of the internal space is defined by a frame 14 with the partition wall 10 as a bottom part. The internal space of the frame 14 forms (a part of) the ink end chamber connected to the record head 112, and the front side of the ink end chamber is divided into left and right parts by a vertical wall 15 having a communication port 15a. One of the areas into which the internal space is divided provides a second ink storage chamber 16, and the other area provides a third ink storage chamber 17.
A communication flow passage 18 communicating with the first ink storage chamber 11 is connected to the second ink storage chamber 16. The communication flow passage 18 has communication ports 18a and 18b at lower and upper positions. The communication flow passage 18 is formed by a recess part 18c (shown in
On the other hand, the third ink storage chamber 17 is formed with a differential pressure regulating valve storage chamber 33 (shown in
The partition wall 24 is formed at a lower part with a partition wall 26 having a communication port 26a between the partition wall 24 and the partition wall 10, and is formed on a side with a partition wall 27 having a communication port 27a between the partition wall 24 and the frame 14. A communication passage 28 communicating with the communication port 27a and extended in the up and down direction is provided between the partition wall 27 and the frame 14. A through hole 29 communicating with the filter chamber 34 through the communication port 24a and an area 31 is placed in an upper part of the communication passage 28.
The through hole 29 is formed by a partition wall (annular wall) 30 continuous to the partition wall 27.
The area 31 is formed by the partition walls 22, 24, and 30 and a partition wall 30a (shown in
The differential pressure regulating valve storage chamber 33 stores the membrane valve 52 as a differential pressure regulating valve that can become elastically deformed, such as an elastomer, as shown in
Numeral 54 denotes a frame formed integrally with the thick part 52a of the membrane valve 52.
The filter 55 for allowing ink to pass through and capturing dust, etc., is placed in the filter chamber 34, as shown in
[Air Flow Passage System]
As shown in
According to the configuration, when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted to the cartridge holder 71 as shown in
As the valve body 201 in the ink supply port 4 is opened and ink is consumed by the record head 112, the pressure of the ink supply port 4 falls below a stipulated value. Thus, the membrane valve 52 in the differential pressure regulating valve storage chamber 33 shown in
Further, as consumption of ink in the record head 112 proceeds, ink in the first ink storage chamber 11 flows into the second ink storage chamber 16 through the communication flow passage 18 shown in
On the other hand, as ink is consumed, air flows in through the through hole 67 (shown in
After this, the ink in the filter chamber 34 passes through the filter 55 shown in
The ink is thus supplied from the ink cartridge 1 to the record head 112.
If a different kind of ink cartridge 1 is placed in the cartridge holder 71, before the ink supply port 4 arrives at the ink supply needle 72, the identification convex part 68 (shown in
On the other hand, if the ink cartridge 1 is drawn out from the placement position in the cartridge holder 71, the operation arm 66 is elastically restored because it is no longer supported by the operation rod 70, and the valve body 65 is elastically restored accordingly, blocking the through hole 60, so that communication between the recess part 38 and the first ink storage chamber 11 is shut off.
Next, a method of ink injection into the ink cartridge 1 according to the embodiment will be discussed with reference to
The ink injection method into the ink cartridge in the embodiment is characterized by the fact that the position of ink injection into the ink tank chamber 11 is set to be deeper than the position of the first opening 85 in the ink tank chamber 11.
To this end, an ink injection machine 100 as shown in
The nozzle 100b is inserted into and placed at a deeper position in the cartridge than the through part 301a of the intermediate wall 301 shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 and 11.
Thus, the nozzle 100b is inserted into and passed through the first opening 85 and the through part 301a so that the ink injection position is located deeper than the through part 301a (at a deep interior part of the cartridge), whereby when ink is injected, ink bubbles can be prevented from occurring. That is, in the beginning of injecting ink, the height difference between the ink injection port of the nozzle 100b and the ink liquid level is small and thus bubbles are less produced. When the ink liquid level rises as ink injection proceeds, the ink injection port of the nozzle 100b goes under the injected ink and air entraining does not occur, so that bubbles do not occur. Even if ink bubbles occur when ink is injected, the intermediate wall 301 prevents the bubbles from rising and ink bubbles do not occur between the intermediate wall 301 and the first opening 85.
Thus, if the ink cartridge 1 is turned upside down (is placed in the state shown in
Consequently, ink with no bubbles can be supplied through the communication ports 19a and 19b to the communication flow passage 18 and finally can be supplied to the ink supply port 4.
When ink is supplied through the first opening 85 to the ink tank chamber 11 as indicated by the arrow (solid line) in
The atmospheric communication port 86a is opened facing the second opening 86 together with the ink injection port 86b. Thus, the second opening 86 is sealed with the film 90 after ink is injected, whereby the atmospheric communication port 86a and the ink injection port 86b can be hermetically sealed.
Next, ink injection into the ink end chamber through the nozzle 100c will be discussed with reference to
The differential pressure regulating valve 52 is placed between the ink injection port 86b of the second opening 86, to which the nozzle 100c is connected, and the ink supply port 4. Thus, unless the pressure on the ink supply port 4 side is low, ink cannot be filled up to the ink supply port 4.
Air needs to be prevented from being mixed into the ink end chamber. Thus, vacuum suction is conducted through the nozzle 100a from the ink supply port 4 side at the same time as ink is supplied through the nozzle 100c.
Further, the communication port 18a is provided in the proximity of the ink injection port 86b of the second opening 86, so that ink supplied through the nozzle 100c is filled through the communication port 18a, the communication flow passage 18, the second ink storage chamber 16, and the third ink storage chamber 17 up to the ink supply port 4 as ink mixed with no air (atmosphere).
Next, the ink injection operation in the embodiment will be discussed with reference to
As shown in
When the first ink storage chamber 11 is filled with ink to about 50% of the volume of the first ink storage chamber 11, ink injection through the ink nozzle 100b is terminated. Ink is injected into the ink end chamber while vacuum suction (vacuum degree 100%) is conducted through the ink supply port 4. In this case, to prevent remaining bubbles and air mixture, it is desirable that ink should be injected into the ink end chamber to about 100% of the volume thereof. Excessively injected ink may be discharged through the ink supply port 4.
After ink injection using the nozzles 100a, 100b, and 100c is ended, the first opening 85, the second opening 86, and the ink supply port 4 are hermetically sealed. The ink injection operation is now complete.
Thus, in the embodiment, ink injection is executed in the ink tank chamber at a deeper position than the opening of the case (in the vicinity of the through part 301a). In this case, in the beginning of injecting ink, the distance between the ink injection position and the bottom of the ink tank chamber is small, and the height difference between the ink injection position and the ink liquid level is small still after ink is injected (after the ink liquid level rises).
Therefore, air mixing into ink at the ink injection time can be prevented and bubbles can be prevented from occurring in the ink tank chamber. In this case, if ink degassed by a degassing module, etc., is injected, bubbles can be more effectively prevented from occurring when ink is injected. Particularly, this point is preferred for ink easily bubbled.
In the embodiment, the case where the atmosphere filling percentage in the first ink storage chamber 11 is set to 50% has been described, but the invention is not limited to it and the percentage can be changed appropriately in response to injected ink amount.
As seen in the description made above, according to the ink cartridge and the ink injection method thereinto according to the invention, it is possible to prevent air from mixing into ink at the ink injection time, and bubbles can be prevented from occurring in the ink tank chamber.
In addition, two or more intermediate walls 301 parallel to each other and each having a through part 301a may be provided so that the intermediate walls 301 partition the first ink storage chamber 11 into three or more space parts 11a and 11b placed side by side in the ink injection direction. In this case, it is preferable that a tip of the ink injector is moved step by step from the deepest space part during ink injection in accordance with ink level in the first ink storage chamber.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| P2001-148296 | May 2001 | JP | national |
| P2001-262037 | Aug 2001 | JP | national |
This is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/147,301 filed May 17, 2002; the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 10147301 | May 2002 | US |
| Child | 11610350 | Dec 2006 | US |
