JP4656231B2 - Damper device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a damper device that is provided in the middle of a flow path for supplying a liquid to an ejection head of a liquid ejection apparatus such as an ink jet printer apparatus, and relaxes the pressure fluctuation of the liquid.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an ink jet printer that is an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, ink is ejected from an ink cartridge provided in the apparatus main body through a flexible ink supply tube to an ejecting head that reciprocates while facing a recording sheet. The thing which employ | adopted the structure (what is called a tube supply system) which supplies is known. In this printer apparatus, an inertial force acts on the ink in the ink supply tube as the discharge head reciprocates. Therefore, the meniscus formed in the nozzle hole of the discharge head is appropriately generated by the pressure wave resulting from the inertial force. May not be maintained. Therefore, a damper device capable of changing the volume by the pressure of the ink is disposed in the carriage on which the discharge head is mounted in the middle of the ink supply flow path leading to the discharge head, and the pressure wave acting on the ink is applied here. I try to attenuate.

On the other hand, along with the recent demand for miniaturization of printer apparatuses, miniaturization of a carriage or the like on which an ejection head is mounted has become necessary. Therefore, a three-dimensional damper device has been proposed in order to further reduce the size of the damper device (see Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, a bag-like elastic deformation member that temporarily stores ink is provided in a state of being attached to a base material for each ink color, and the bag-like elastic deformation member is tertiary according to the pressure of the ink. Originally deformed.
JP 2007-245484 A

  However, in the case of this three-dimensional damper device, as described in the document, the bag-like elastic deformation member is a molded product that is molded in advance, and its outer shape and thickness are severely limited. It is not easy to ensure the performance (deformation performance with respect to pressure) for each damper provided for each unit at a low cost. In the three-dimensional damper device, the shape of the opening connected to the base material in the bag-like elastic deformation member is limited to a circle, but in such a shape, it is difficult to reduce the size of the entire three-dimensional damper device. There is a possibility that the layout of the ink supply channel for connecting to a plurality of bag-like elastic deformation members provided for each ink color becomes difficult.

  That is, when a plurality of bag-like elastic deformable members are arranged in a line according to each ink color, the connecting portion between each bag-like elastically deformable member and the substrate forms a circle. It gets bigger. On the other hand, it is possible to reduce the size by arranging a plurality of bag-like elastic deformation members in a matrix shape with respect to the substrate. In this case, the ink supply flow paths connected to the bag-like elastic deformation members intersect each other. The layout becomes complicated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a damper device that can exhibit high damper performance more stably despite its small size. Furthermore, it aims at providing the damper apparatus with which the layout of the flow path connected is simple.

  A damper device according to the present invention is a damper device that is provided in the middle of a flow path for supplying a liquid to an ejection head having a nozzle hole for ejecting liquid and relaxes the pressure fluctuation of the liquid, and temporarily stores the liquid. A storage chamber, and a substrate on which an introduction path for introducing liquid to the storage chamber is formed. The storage chamber is connected to an elastic wall projecting from the substrate and along a peripheral edge of the elastic wall. The elastic wall and the flexible member are formed so as to be able to change the volume of the storage chamber by being deformed in accordance with the pressure fluctuation in the storage chamber. Has been.

  By setting it as such a structure, although it is a small dimension, high damper performance can be exhibited by the three-dimensional deformation | transformation of the storage chamber by a deformation | transformation of an elastic wall and a flexible member. In addition, since a flexible member is used in part, the responsiveness of the volume change of the storage chamber to the pressure fluctuation of the liquid can be improved, and the deformed flexible member is accurately detected by the elastic force of the elastic wall. Therefore, stable damper performance can be exhibited. Furthermore, since there is no restriction | limiting in the shape of a storage chamber, the layout of the introduction path connected to this can be simplified.

  The elastic member further includes a support edge that is disposed opposite to the elastic wall and has substantially the same shape as the peripheral edge of the elastic wall, and the flexible member is formed of a sheet-like film, and the film is formed of the elastic wall. The storage chamber may be formed as a space in which a peripheral surface defined by the film forms a curved shape by being connected to a peripheral edge and the support edge. By adopting such a configuration, it is not necessary to prepare a three-dimensionally molded flexible member in advance, and a storage chamber whose volume can be changed three-dimensionally can be easily obtained by using an easily manufactured sheet-like film. Can be formed.

  Moreover, the unfolded state of the film may be rectangular. By setting it as such a structure, many rectangular films can be obtained efficiently from a large format film material.

  The storage chamber may have a columnar shape extending in the arrangement direction of the elastic wall and the support edge facing each other. With such a configuration, a plurality of storage chambers corresponding to each ink color can be efficiently arranged in a small area in plan view.

  The elastic wall and the support edge are each configured in a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape having a top, and the storage chamber is formed by the film between the top of the elastic wall and the top of the support edge. It may be a substantially triangular prism shape or a substantially trapezoidal column shape having ridges formed therebetween. By adopting such a configuration, since the ridges of the film forming the columnar shape are not directly fixed by the tops of the elastic wall and the support edge, this ridge can also be deformed according to the pressure of the liquid, The damper performance can be improved.

  The elastic wall may have a thin portion having a smaller thickness than the substrate. With such a configuration, the elastic wall is easily deformed according to the pressure of the liquid, so that the volume change rate of the storage chamber can be increased and the damper performance can be improved.

Further, the elastic wall may have a crank shape in which a distal end portion including the top portion is offset in a normal direction with respect to a wall surface of the elastic wall with respect to a base end portion connected to the substrate. By setting it as such a structure, since the path length from the base part to the front-end | tip part of an elastic wall becomes large, an elastic wall becomes easier to deform | transform and it can aim at the improvement of damper performance.

  The elastic wall and the support edge are arranged in parallel so that the opposing directions are in parallel, and one film is connected to the plurality of pairs of elastic wall and support edge. Accordingly, a plurality of columnar storage chambers may be formed side by side. By adopting such a configuration, for example, one side of a single film having a rectangular shape is connected to each peripheral part of the plurality of elastic walls, and the other side of the film is connected to a plurality of support edges. A plurality of storage chambers arranged side by side can be easily formed with a single film.

  In addition, a rib connecting the connection portion between the adjacent elastic walls and the connection portion between the adjacent support edge portions is provided, and between the portions connected to the elastic wall and the support edge portion in the film. By connecting to the end face of the rib, a valley part is formed that partitions the adjacent storage chambers from each other, and the ridge part of each storage chamber is formed between the adjacent storage chambers. Instead, the radius of curvature of the cross-sectional shape may be increased. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to secure a large volume for each of the storage chambers arranged side by side, improve the damper performance, and reduce the distance between adjacent storage chambers. The apparatus can be miniaturized.

  Further, the storage chamber may be arranged with the ridge portion as a bottom portion, and an upper space of the liquid stored inside may form an air storage portion. By setting it as such a structure, a storage chamber becomes a cross-sectional shape of upper opening, and can ensure a big capacity | capacitance as an air storage part. Therefore, it is possible to store more air that has been mixed and delivered to the liquid.

  The liquid tank further includes a plurality of liquid tanks provided in the middle of a flow path from the storage chamber to the discharge head corresponding to each of the plurality of storage chambers, On one side in the arrangement direction of the elastic wall and the support edge, the upper space of the liquid stored in the storage chamber is arranged in parallel along the direction in which the storage chambers are arranged. The air storage unit included in the storage chamber and the air storage unit included in the liquid tank corresponding to the storage chamber may communicate with each other. By adopting such a configuration, the path between the corresponding storage chamber and the liquid tank has a layout that does not intersect with the path between the other corresponding storage chamber and the liquid tank. It is easy to communicate the part and the air storage part of the liquid tank, and air can be stored by both air storage parts.

  In addition, the air storage portions respectively included in the storage chamber and the liquid tank may be partitioned from the outside by a flat ceiling surface. By adopting such a configuration, it becomes difficult for air to be trapped on the ceiling surface, the air exhaust efficiency by the exhaust means or the like can be improved, and a large air storage volume can be secured again after exhaust.

  The ceiling surface may be formed of a film. By setting it as such a structure, a ceiling surface can be formed with a thin member, and while the height dimension of a damper apparatus can be suppressed, the capacity | capacitance of an air storage part can be ensured largely.

  Moreover, the ceiling surfaces of the plurality of air storage portions respectively included in the plurality of storage chambers and the plurality of liquid tanks may be formed of a single film. By setting it as such a structure, compared with the case where the ceiling surface of each air storage part is formed with a separate film, a number of parts and a manufacturing process can be reduced.

  The storage chamber is arranged in parallel so that the arrangement direction of the elastic wall and the support edge is substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction of the ejection head, and the liquid inlet in the storage chamber is one end in the arrangement direction. The outlet may be provided at the other end. By adopting such a configuration, the direction of the inertial force acting on the air in the storage chamber while the ejection head is being scanned and the moving direction of the liquid from the inlet to the outlet of the storage chamber are substantially orthogonal, It is possible to suppress the air from flowing from the outlet of the storage chamber to the discharge head side by the inertial force.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, although it is small size, the damper apparatus which can exhibit high damper performance more stably can be provided. In addition, a damper device with a simple layout of connected flow paths can be provided.

  Hereinafter, a damper device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking as an example a configuration when employed in an ink jet printer device having an ejection head (hereinafter referred to as “printer device”). In the following description, the direction in which ink is ejected from the ejection head is defined as the lower side, the opposite side is defined as the upper side, and the scanning direction of the ejection head is used synonymously with the left-right direction. The direction is the front-rear direction.

[Overview of the entire printer]
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a main part of a printer apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the printer apparatus 1 is provided with a pair of guide rails 2 and 3 extending in the left-right direction substantially in parallel. The liquid supply unit 4 can slide in the scanning direction on the guide rails 2 and 3. It is supported by. A pair of pulleys 5 and 6 are provided near the left and right ends of the guide rail 3, and the liquid supply unit 4 is joined to a timing belt 7 wound around the pulleys 5 and 6. One pulley 6 is provided with a motor (not shown) that drives forward and reverse rotation, and the timing belt 7 can reciprocate leftward and rightward by driving the pulley 6 forward and reverse. Accordingly, the liquid supply unit 4 is reciprocated in the horizontal direction along the guide rails 2 and 3.

  Four ink cartridges 8 are attached to the printer device 1 so that they can be inserted and removed for replacement. The liquid supply unit 4 is connected with four flexible ink supply tubes 9 for supplying four colors of ink (black, cyan, magenta, yellow) from these ink cartridges 8 respectively. Yes. A discharge head 15 (see FIG. 2) is mounted below the liquid supply unit 4, and a recording medium (for example, recording paper) that is transported in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction (paper feeding direction) below the ejection head 15 is mounted. Ink (liquid) is ejected from the ejection head 15 so that an image can be formed on the recording medium.

  FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the liquid supply unit 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid supply unit 4 includes a carriage case 16 that supports the ejection head 15 and a damper unit 20 that is mounted on the carriage case 16 above the ejection head 15. The carriage case 16 is formed in a box shape having a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction in a plan view and having an opening 16a in the upper part, and the damper unit 20 is mounted through the opening 16a.

  The damper unit 20 is a molded product made of resin and has a structure in which a plurality of rectangular sheet-like films 22 to 24 are thermally welded to a substrate 21 that is long in the front-rear direction. The ink supply tube 9 is connected to the above-mentioned. In addition, a damper device 25 is provided in front of the damper unit 20 to relieve ink pressure fluctuations, and a sub tank 26 for temporarily storing ink is further provided in front of the damper device 25. The ink supplied to the damper unit 20 through the ink supply tube 9 is supplied to the ejection head 15 via the damper device 25 and the sub tank 26. Hereinafter, the configuration of the damper unit 20 will be described in detail.

[Damper unit configuration (flow path)]
FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the damper unit 20 as viewed from below. Moreover, FIG. 4 is drawing which shows the top view, side view, and bottom view of the damper unit 20 in order from the top, and films 22-24 are abbreviate | omitting illustration. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the substrate 21 included in the damper unit 20 includes a flow path forming portion 21 a located at the rear, a damper forming portion 21 b located in front thereof, and a tank forming portion located further in front thereof. 21c, and the flow path forming portion 21a has a smaller width dimension (lateral dimension) than the damper forming portion 21b and the tank forming portion 21c.

  As shown in FIG. 4, four tube connection holes 30 a to 30 d that are formed to penetrate in the vertical direction are arranged in a line in the front-rear direction in a portion closer to one side of the rear portion in the flow path forming portion 21 a. Four bypass holes 32a to 32d penetrating in the vertical direction are arranged in a line in the left-right direction at the front end of the flow path forming portion 21a. Ink supply tubes 9 extending from the ink cartridge 8 are connected to the tube connection holes 30a to 30d.

  As shown in the bottom view of FIG. 4, four concave grooves recessed upward are formed on the bottom surface side of the flow path forming portion 21a, and the bottom surface of the flow path forming portion 21a is the film 22 (see FIG. 3). The ink introduction paths 31a to 31d extending from the tube connection holes 30a to 30d to the bypass holes 32a to 32d are configured. Of these, the ink introduction path 31a extends straight forward from the tube connection hole 30a located at the foremost position, and communicates with the bypass hole 32a located at one end. An ink introduction path 31b extends from the tube connection hole 30b adjacent to the rear of the tube connection hole 30a, and the ink introduction path 31b bypasses the tube connection hole 30a and the ink introduction path 31a. After extending to the other side, it bends in the middle and goes forward, and communicates with the bypass hole 32b adjacent to the bypass hole 32a. Further, the ink introduction passages 31c and 31d extend from the tube connection holes 30c and 30d located at the rear, respectively, and after extending to the other side in the same manner as described above, the ink introduction paths 31c and 31d are bent to the front and bypassed 32c. , 32d. Thus, the ink introduction paths 31a to 31b extending from the tube connection holes 30a to 30d to the bypass holes 32a to 32d are laid out so that the paths do not intersect with each other.

  As shown in the plan view of FIG. 4, the upper surface of the damper forming portion 21b of the substrate 21 is formed with concave grooves communicating individually with the four bypass holes 32a to 32d, and the damper forming portion 21b. The upper surface of the tank forming portion 21c is covered with the film 23 (see FIG. 3), so that ink connection paths 33a to 33d extending forward are formed. These ink connection paths 33a to 33d have a flow path width that increases toward the front, and communicate with the upper portions of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d formed in the front part of the damper forming part 21b.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each of the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d is covered with films 23 and 24 from above and below to form a damper device 25. The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the front-rear direction forms a substantially inverted triangular shape and extends generally in the front-rear direction, and is arranged in order from one side of the damper forming portion 21b to the other side. It is installed.

  A sub tank 26 including four tank chambers 36a to 36d formed in the tank forming portion 21c is provided in front of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d. The tank chambers 36 a to 36 d are arranged in a line in order from one side of the tank forming portion 21 c to the other side, and the upper portions thereof are covered with the film 23 together with the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d. The ink storage chambers 35a to 35d and the tank chambers 36a to 36d corresponding to the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d communicate with each other. As shown in FIG. 3, a seal member 37 (see also FIG. 5) having four holes communicating with the tank chambers 36 a to 36 d is attached to the lower portion of the sub tank 26, and the damper unit 20 is When mounted on the carriage case 16 (see FIG. 2), the lower end of each seal member 37 is connected to the ejection head 15.

  As shown in the plan view of FIG. 4, in the above-described damper unit 20, the ink from the ink supply tube 9 is supplied from the upper surface side of the substrate 21, and the ink is supplied from the tube connection holes 30 a to 30 d to the lower surface side of the substrate 21. The ink is introduced to the bypass holes 32a to 32d through the ink introduction paths 31a to 31d. Further, the ink passes through the bypass holes 32 a to 32 d, passes through the ink connection paths 33 a to 33 d on the upper surface side of the substrate 21, and is poured into the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d of the damper device 25. Further, the ink in each of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d is guided to each of the tank chambers 36a to 36d communicating at the upper part, and directed to the lower part thereof and connected via a seal member 37 (see FIG. 2). ). During this time, when the pressure of the ink fluctuates due to scanning of the liquid supply unit 4, the pressure fluctuation is alleviated by the damper device 25.

[Damper unit configuration (damper device)]
FIG. 5 is a drawing for explaining the configuration of the damper device 25, and shows an exploded perspective view of the damper unit 20 as viewed from below. FIG. 6 is a perspective view when the substrate 21 constituting the damper unit 20 is viewed from above. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, four elastic walls (supporting portions) 40 having a substantially triangular shape protrude from the lower surface of the damper forming portion 21 b of the substrate 21 constituting the damper unit 20. Each elastic wall 40 is arranged in a line in the left-right direction so that the normal direction coincides with the front-rear direction, and in front of each elastic wall 40, four support edges (separated by the same distance) (Supporting portion) 50 is provided to face each other. In other words, a pair of elastic walls 40 and support edge portions 50 are arranged oppositely on the lower surface of the damper forming portion 21b in the front-rear direction, and four pairs of such elastic walls 40 and support edge portions 50 are provided in the left-right direction. It is installed side by side.

  7 is an enlarged view of the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50, (a) is a view taken along arrows VIIa-VIIa of FIG. 4 showing the elastic wall 40, and (b) is a view of FIG. It is a VIIb-VIIb arrow line view. FIG. 8 is a drawing showing a more detailed configuration of the elastic wall 40, where (a) is a rear view and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB.

  As shown in FIG. 7A, each elastic wall 40 has the same shape, the base 41 connected to the substrate 21 forms the bottom, and the tip farthest from the substrate 21 forms the top 42. And a symmetrical shape with respect to an imaginary line L1 in the vertical direction connecting the base portion 41 and the top portion 42. The top portion 42 is rounded so as to form an arc shape that protrudes upward when viewed from the rear, and a concave connection that forms an arc shape that is recessed downward is formed between the base portions 41 and 41 of the adjacent elastic walls 40. A portion 43 is formed. And as shown to Fig.8 (a), the curvature radius R1 of the outer periphery shape of such a top part 42 is set larger than the curvature radius R2 of the outer periphery shape of the concave connection part 43. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, each support edge portion 41 has substantially the same shape as the peripheral edge portion 40 a of the elastic wall 40 described above, and a top portion 51 similar to the top portion 42 and the concave connection portion 43. And a concave connection portion 52. Thus, since the concave connecting portion 43 has a smaller radius of curvature than the top portion 42 (R2 <R1), the area of the elastic wall 40 (that is, the cross-sectional area of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d) is ensured to be large. The installation area can be suppressed by arranging the elastic walls 40 close to each other.

  The configuration of the elastic wall 40 will be described in more detail. As shown in FIG. 8B, the elastic wall 40 includes a protruding wall portion 45 protruding from the substrate 21 and a peripheral edge of the protruding wall portion. It is comprised from the wide flange part 46 extended. The projecting wall portion 45 is formed with a wall thickness smaller than that of the substrate 21 and is relatively easily deformed in the elastic deformation region by the action of an external force. A band-shaped flange portion 46 having a substantially constant thickness dimension D1 and a predetermined width dimension D2 is connected to the peripheral edge of the protruding wall portion 45, and the flange portion 46 is forward of the protruding wall portion 45 (that is, It protrudes to the support edge 50 side) by a dimension D3.

  Moreover, as shown to Fig.8 (a), the protruding part 44 extended along this peripheral part 40a is provided in the peripheral part 40a equivalent to the outer surface of the flange part 46 in the elastic wall 40. As shown in FIG. The protruding portion 44 serves as a binder when the film 24 is welded by a manufacturing method described later, and plays various roles. As shown in FIG. , And projecting dimensions thereof are formed so as to change according to the position of the peripheral edge portion 40a. More specifically, the top portion 42 and the concave connection portion 43 have relatively large dimensions H1 and H2, and the central portion between the top portion 42 and the concave connection portion is set to the minimum dimension H3. The shape along the edge of the strip 44 is substantially matched with the shape of the peripheral edge 40 a of the elastic wall 40. That is, the edge of the protrusion 44 is positioned at a position where the peripheral edge 40 a of the elastic wall 40 is slightly shifted in the direction (downward) away from the substrate 21. In the present embodiment, the support edge 50 is not provided with the protrusions 44 as described above, but the support edge 50 may have the same configuration as the protrusions 44. Good.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a bridge extending in the front-rear direction is formed between the concave connection portion 43 between the adjacent elastic walls 40 and the corresponding concave connection portion 52 between the support edge portions 50. Ribs 55 are provided, and a similar bridging rib 55 is also provided between the outer end of the base 41 of the elastic wall 40 located at the left and right ends and the end of the support edge 50 corresponding thereto. (See also FIG. 7B). Therefore, in the present embodiment, the four elastic walls 40 and the support edge 50 are connected by a total of five bridging ribs 55. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, another ridge portion 56 extending over the entire area between the elastic wall 40 and the support edge portion 50 protrudes from the lower surface of the bridging rib 55. As will be described later, this ridge portion 56 also functions as a binder when the film 24 is welded in the same manner as the ridge portion 44.

  As shown in FIG. 6, on the upper surface of the substrate 21, the film 23 extends along the peripheral upper surface of the ink connection paths 33a to 33d, the upper surface of the bridging rib 55, and the wall surface defining the tank chambers 36a to 36d. The connection edge 60 is formed so as to be located in substantially the same plane over the entire length. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a connection edge 61 with the film 22 is also formed on the lower surface of the substrate 21 along the periphery of the ink introduction paths 31a to 31d (see FIG. 4). 61 is also formed so as to be located in substantially the same plane over the entire length.

  In the present embodiment, the film 24, which is a flexible member having a rectangular sheet shape, is thermally welded to the elastic wall 40, the support edge 50, and the bridging rib 55 as described above by a predetermined procedure described later. In addition, the film 23 is thermally welded to the connection edge 60 on the upper surface of the substrate 21. As a result, the damper device 25 having the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d surrounded by the films 23 and 24, the elastic wall 40, and the support edge portion 50 is formed (see FIG. 3), and at the same time, the tank chambers 36a to 36d are moved. A sub-tank 26 is also formed. Also, the film 22 is thermally welded to the connection edge 61 on the lower surface of the substrate 21, thereby forming ink introduction paths 31 a to 31 d.

  The damper device 25 thus formed has a substantially triangular prism shape in which each of the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d extends in the front-rear direction, which is the direction in which the elastic wall 40 and the support edge portion 50 form a pair. The cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the axial direction (that is, the direction in which the elastic wall 40 and the supporting edge 50 are arranged in a pair) has a triangular shape similar to that of the elastic wall 40 at any location of the axial core ( In the use posture shown in FIG. 2, an inverted triangle shape is formed. Each of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d is formed as a space in which the peripheral surface defined by the film 24 forms a curved surface. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the ridge portion 24 a having an arcuate cross section in which a circumferential surface is defined in a curved shape by the film 24 at a portion connecting the top portions 42 and 51 of the elastic wall 40 and the support edge portion 50. And a valley portion 24b having an arcuate cross section in which a circumferential surface is defined in a curved shape by the film 24 is formed at a portion connecting the concave connection portions 43 and 52. Among these, the valley portion 24b is welded and fixed to the bridging rib 55, color mixing between the adjacent ink storage chambers 35a to 35d is prevented, and the ridge portion 24a can exhibit flexibility without being welded to the substrate 21 or the like. It is like that.

  Therefore, in such a damper device 25, when the pressure in the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d fluctuates and a negative pressure is generated, the side wall surface 24c between the ridge 24a and the valley 24b in the film 24 (see FIG. 3). ) And the ridge 24a are deformed and bent inward, and the volumes of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d change three-dimensionally. Such deformation of the film 24 is excellent in response to pressure fluctuation because the film 24 is made of a flexible member, and can exhibit high damper performance. As the film 24 is deformed, the top portion 42 of the elastic wall 40 is also bent inward with respect to the base portion 41. However, the protruding wall portion 45 of the elastic wall 40 is thin, so that the elastic wall 40 is formed. Also deforms with good responsiveness. Furthermore, when the negative pressure is eliminated, the film 24 can be quickly restored to the original state by the elastic force of the elastic wall 40.

  On the other hand, as already described, the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d and the tank chambers 36a to 36d communicate with each other in the upper space, and the uppermost portion in the space forms the air storage chamber 38 (see FIG. 4 (see the plan view and side view). Therefore, a large space for capturing and storing the air contained in the ink can be secured. Moreover, since the upper part of the air storage chamber 38 is covered with the film 23 and the inner surface has a flat shape with no irregularities, it is difficult for air to be trapped. Therefore, when the air in the air storage chamber 38 is exhausted by the exhaust means provided separately outside, the exhaust efficiency can be increased.

  Furthermore, the damper device 25 according to the present embodiment has a flat rectangular shape because each of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d has a long rectangular shape in the front-rear direction in a plan view and is juxtaposed in the left-right direction. When viewed, the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d can be efficiently provided so that a gap is not generated as much as possible in a small area. In addition, since the disposing direction of the bypass holes 32a to 32d, the disposing direction of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d, and the disposing direction of the tank chambers 36a to 36d are all unified in the left-right direction, the respective parts communicate with each other. Routes do not cross each other, and the route layout can be simplified. Further, since the longitudinal direction (front-rear direction) of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d is orthogonal to the scanning direction (left-right direction) of the damper unit 20, the upper portions of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d are caused by the inertial force in the left-right direction acting on the ink during scanning. It is possible to suppress the air in the air storage section 38 from heading to the ejection head 15. Further, the air intrusion into the discharge head 15 is performed by scanning the ink flow path connecting the ink inlet (bypass hole side) and the outlet (tank chamber side) to the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d. By being orthogonal to the direction, it is more effectively suppressed.

[Modification of elastic wall]
By the way, the structure of the elastic wall 40 is not restricted to what was mentioned above. FIG. 9 is a view showing an elastic wall 65 having a configuration different from that of the elastic wall 40 described above, (a) is a perspective view, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB. As shown in FIG. 9, the elastic wall 65 has a substantially triangular shape in a rear view, and a top portion 67 farthest from the substrate 21 with respect to a base portion 66 connected to the substrate 21 is positioned forward in a side view. Thus, the configuration is offset in the middle. More specifically, the base portion 66 protrudes substantially perpendicularly to the substrate 21, and an intermediate wall portion 68 that extends forward by a small dimension is connected to the tip of the base portion 66. Furthermore, a top portion 67 extends from the front end portion of the intermediate wall portion 68 in a direction away from the substrate 21.

  In the case of such an elastic wall 65, it is possible to ensure a large path length from the base 66 to the top 67 (that is, a dimension obtained by adding the lengths of the base 66, the intermediate wall 68, and the top 67). it can. As a result, the external force acting on the top 67 can be further deformed. Therefore, when such an elastic wall 65 is applied to the damper device 25, when the film 24 is deformed due to pressure fluctuations in the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d, the elastic wall 65 is easily deformed accordingly. Therefore, it is possible to further improve the responsiveness of the volume change of the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d to the pressure fluctuation.

[Damper device manufacturing method]
Next, regarding the method for manufacturing the damper device 25 described above, a procedure for forming the ink storage chambers 35a to 35d by welding the film 24 to the substrate 21 will be described. 10 and 11 are drawings for explaining the manufacturing method of the damper device 25 in the first to sixth steps. Of these, FIG. 10 shows the first until the film 24 is set on the substrate 21. FIG. FIG. 11 shows the fourth to sixth steps until the set film 24 is welded to form the damper device 25.

  As shown in FIG. 10, in the first step of this manufacturing method, the substrate 21 is placed upside down from the posture in use (see FIG. 2), and the damper forming portion 21b of the substrate 21 is supported from below. A jig 70 is prepared. The jig 70 includes a block-shaped base 71 having a substantially square shape in plan view, and support walls 72 are provided on three sides of the upper surface of the base 71. Accordingly, the upper portion of the base 71 is surrounded by the support wall portion 72 from three sides, the remaining one side is opened, and a concave portion 71a on which the substrate 21 is placed is formed in the central portion. The recess 71a has a shape that substantially matches the plan view shape of the damper forming portion 21b and the tank forming portion 21c of the substrate 21, and the bottom surface is flat.

  Further, a first support protrusion 73 and a second support protrusion 74 protrude from the recess 71a. Among these, the first support protrusions 73 are members for supporting the elastic wall 40 from below (from the inside of the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d), and four first protrusions 73 are arranged in parallel at positions corresponding to the elastic walls 40. Each of the first support protrusions 73 has an outer shape that matches the inner surface shape of the elastic wall 40. Specifically, the first support protrusion 73 has a good match with the inner surface of the projecting wall portion 45 and the inner surface of the flange portion 46. In order to be in close contact with each other, a substantially triangular shape having a predetermined thickness dimension larger than the projecting dimension D3 (see FIG. 8) of the flange portion 46 is formed. On the other hand, the second support protrusions 74 are members for supporting the support edge 50 from below, and four support protrusions 74 are arranged in parallel at positions corresponding to the support edge 50 so as to face the first support protrusions 73. Has been. The second support protrusion 74 also has a substantially triangular shape having a predetermined thickness so as to be in close contact with the inner surface of the support edge 50 with good consistency.

  In the second step, the substrate 21 is placed on the jig 70 described above from above. At this time, the substrate 21 is supported by the damper forming portion 21b and the tank forming portion 21c fitted in the recess 71a of the jig 70 and surrounded by the support wall portion 72 from three directions, while the flow path forming portion 21a is cured. It will be in the state which protruded from the tool 70. FIG. Then, the flange portion 46 and the support edge portion 50 of the elastic wall 40 are supported by being in contact with the first support protrusion 73 and the second support protrusion 74 from below (inward).

  Since the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50 are supported by the first support protrusion 73 and the second support protrusion 74 in this way, there is a slight dimensional error in the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50 at the stage of forming the substrate 21. Even if it occurs, it can be corrected to an appropriate shape while being supported by the first support protrusion 73 and the second support protrusion 74.

  In the next third step, the film 24 is set on the substrate 21 supported by the jig 70. At this time, the film 24 is sucked by the suction device 77 and disposed on the substrate 21 in a state where the film 24 is maintained in a wave shape having a predetermined curved surface shape.

  FIG. 12 is a view for explaining a process of adsorbing the film 24 to the suction device 77. As shown in Step 3-1 of FIG. 12, the suction device 77 includes a hollow suction box 78 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the left-right direction. The suction box 78 is formed with four recesses 78a so as to match the external shape of the damper device 25. The bottom surface and the side surface of each recess 78a and the upper end surface of the wall 78b that partitions the adjacent recesses 78a are formed. A plurality of suction holes 80 communicating between the inside and the outside are formed in the wave-shaped suction surface 78c.

  Further, the suction device 77 is assembled with a restraining tool 83 for restraining the film 24 in a state of being in close contact with the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50. The restraint 83 includes a front plate 84 having the same shape as the front wall of the suction box 78 and a rear plate 85 having the same shape as the rear wall of the suction box 78. And the upper end portions on both sides of the rear plate 85 are connected by rectangular bridge plates 86 and 87. Further, the separation dimension of the front plate 84 and the rear plate 85 is set to be slightly larger than the front-rear direction dimension of the suction box 78, and the restraining tool 83 is viewed from the suction surface 78 c side (upward in FIG. 12) with respect to the suction box 78. It can be externally fitted.

  In addition, the front plate 84 of the restraining tool 83 described above has a shape in which the upper edge portion 84a of the central portion in the left-right direction has a wavy contour and is substantially aligned with the peripheral edge portion 40a of the elastic wall 40. . The rear plate 85 also has a wavy contour at the upper edge 85 a at the center portion in the left-right direction, and has a shape that substantially matches the outer shape of the support edge 50.

  As shown in Step 3-2 in FIG. 12, the restraint 83 is fitted on the suction box 78 of the suction device 77 as described above, and the film 24 is disposed on the suction surface 78c side. Further, the film 24 is pressed against and closely adhered to the recess 78 a of the suction box 78 using a pressing jig 89 having a configuration in which four rod-shaped members 87 are supported by a block 88 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. In this pressing jig 89, each rod-shaped member 87 is provided corresponding to each recess 78a of the suction box 78, and the recess-shaped connecting portion 43 so that each rod-shaped member 87 can enter the deepest portion of each recess 78a. The radius of curvature R2 is equal to or slightly smaller than the radius of curvature R2 (see FIG. 8), and is located at a predetermined interval substantially equal to the interval between the concave connection portions 43. In this way, the film 24 is substantially in close contact with the recess 78a by pressing the film 24 toward the suction surface 78c with the rod-shaped member 87. In this state, the air in the suction box 78 is exhausted, so that the film 24 is completely brought into close contact with the recess 78 a by the air sucked through the suction holes 80. Then, as shown in the step 3-3, the film 24 is maintained in a corrugated shape aligned with the suction surface 78c by removing the pressing jig 89 while evacuating the suction box 78 and maintaining the negative pressure. be able to.

  In the above-described third step shown in FIG. 10, the film 24 thus maintained in a wave shape is set on the substrate 21 together with the suction device 77 and the restraining tool 83. As a result, the film 24 comes into contact with the peripheral edge 40 a of the elastic wall 40, the support edge 50, and the bridging rib 55. Then, as shown in the fourth step of FIG. 11, the suction device 77 is removed while leaving the restraint 83, and the heater 90 is brought into contact with the film 24 from above as shown in the fifth step. Here, when the suction device 77 is removed, the air exhaust is stopped and the suction box 78 is set to atmospheric pressure or a slight positive pressure so that the film 24 is not displaced due to the movement of the suction device 77. However, since the film 24 is restrained by the restraining tool 83 and is pressed against the substrate 21, a slight external force acts to prevent the positional deviation.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the heater 90 has an electric heating portion 90 a that matches the outer surface shape of the constrained film 24. In the fifth step, by heating with the heater 90, the peripheral edge 40a of the elastic wall 40, the support edge 50, and the bridging rib 55 are melted through the film 24, and this serves as a binder to form a rectangular sheet-like film Of the two opposing sides, one side is welded to the peripheral edge 40 a of the elastic wall 40, the other side is welded to the support edge 50, and the part between these two sides is welded to the bridging rib 55. As already described, the protrusions 44 and 56 are provided on the peripheral edge 40a of the elastic wall 40 and the bridging rib 55, respectively. In fact, the protrusions 44 and 56 are melted to form a binder. Thus, the elastic wall 40 and the bridging rib 55 are welded to the film 24.

  When the predetermined time has elapsed and the welding of the film 24 to the substrate 21 is completed, the jig 70, the restraining tool 83 and the heater 90 are removed as shown in the sixth step, and the welding operation of the film 24 to the substrate 21 is performed. finish.

  By welding the film 24 to the substrate 21 by such a manufacturing method, a plurality of ink storage chambers 35a to 35d whose volume changes three-dimensionally can be formed simultaneously by a single flat film 24. Further, the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50 are supported from the inside by the first support protrusion 73 and the second support protrusion 74 of the jig 70, and the opposing two side portions of the film 24 are supported by the restraint tool 83. Therefore, it is possible to prevent relative displacement between the film 24 and the elastic wall and the support edge 50, thereby improving the welding accuracy. Further, as already described, the shape along the edge of the protrusion 44 is substantially the same as the shape of the peripheral edge 40a of the elastic wall 40 (see FIG. 8A). As described above, even if the protrusion 44 is melted, the shape of the film 24 is maintained before and after the melting, so that the positional deviation of the film 24 and the generation of wrinkles can be prevented.

  Further, in the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment, even if there are some errors in the height dimensions of the elastic wall 40 and the support edge 50, the restraint 83 can make the film 24 adhere to them. Yes. More specifically, as shown in the enlarged view of the elastic wall 40 and the restraint tool 83 shown in FIG. 13, the wave-like upper edge 84 a of the front plate 84 of the restraint tool 83 has a top portion 42 and an elastic wall 40. The height dimension H4 between the concave portion 91 and the convex portion 92 corresponding to each of the concave connection portions 43 is set between the top portion 42 and the concave connection portion 43 of the elastic wall 40 (more precisely, the concave connection in the state shown in FIG. 13). The height dimension H5 (from the lowest point of the portion 43 to the highest point of the flange portion 46) is slightly larger. Therefore, when the restraint 83 is set on the substrate 21 and the upper edge 84a is engaged with the elastic wall 40, a slight gap is formed between the top 42 of the elastic wall 40 and the corresponding recess 91 of the restraint 83. Has come to occur. For this reason, even if there is some error in the height dimension of the elastic wall 40, this error is absorbed and the film 24 is brought into close contact with the entire periphery of the peripheral edge portion 40 a of the elastic wall 40 via the protrusion 44. Can be made. The same relationship as described above is established between the upper edge 85 a of the rear plate 85 included in the restraint 83 and the support edge 50, and the film 24 can be brought into close contact with the entire area of the support edge 50.

  In the present embodiment, the films 22 to 24 are in the form of a rectangular sheet, and a large number of films 22 to 24 can be efficiently collected from a large film material. However, the developed shapes of the films 22 to 24 do not necessarily have to be rectangular. In particular, referring to the film 24 that forms the ink storage chambers 35 a to 35 d, as can be seen from the above description, the film 24 includes the peripheral edge 40 a, the support edge 50, and the bridging rib 55 of the elastic wall 40. A rectangular region surrounded by the welded portion exhibits a damper function that alleviates ink pressure fluctuations. Therefore, as long as this rectangular area is secured, the damper device 25 has a desired function, and from the viewpoint of this function, the outer edge may have any shape from the rectangular area. .

  The present invention can be applied to a damper device that can exhibit high damper performance more stably although it is small in size.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view illustrating a main part of the printer device according to the embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of a carriage unit included in the printer device illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a perspective view when a damper unit mounted on the carriage unit shown in FIG. 2 is viewed from below. It is drawing which shows the top view of a damper unit, a side view, and a bottom view in order from the top, and the film has omitted illustration. It is drawing for demonstrating the structure of a damper apparatus, and has shown the exploded perspective view when a damper unit is seen from the downward direction. It is a perspective view when the board | substrate which comprises a damper unit is seen from upper direction. It is an enlarged view of an elastic wall and a support edge part, (a) is a VIIa-VIIa arrow line view of FIG. 4 which shows an elastic wall, (b) is a VIIb-VIIb arrow line view of FIG. 4 which shows a support edge part. . It is drawing which shows the further detailed structure of an elastic wall, (a) is a rear view, (b) has shown sectional drawing in the BB line | wire. It is drawing which shows the elastic wall which has a different structure, (a) is a perspective view, (b) has shown sectional drawing in the BB line. It is drawing for demonstrating a manufacturing method of a damper device divided into the 1st process-the 6th process, and shows the 1st process-the 3rd process until setting a film on a substrate among these. It is drawing for demonstrating the manufacturing method of a damper apparatus divided into the 1st process-the 6th process, and shows the 4th process-the 6th process until welding the set film among these and forming a damper apparatus. Yes. It is drawing for demonstrating the process which makes a suction device used at a 3rd process adsorb | suck a film. It is an enlarged view of an elastic wall and a restraint tool.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer apparatus 4 Carriage unit 15 Discharge head 20 Damper unit 21 Board | substrate 21a Flow path formation part 21b Damper formation part 21c Tank formation part 22-24 Film 24a Ridge part 24b Valley part 25 Damper apparatus 26 Subtank 31a-31d Ink introduction path 35a- 35d Ink storage chamber 36a to 36d Tank chamber 38 Air storage chamber 40, 65 Elastic wall 40a Peripheral portion 41 Base portion 42 Top portion 43 Concave connection portion 44 Projection portion 45 Protrusion wall portion 46 Flange portion 50 Support edge portion 51 Top portion 52 Concave connection Section 55 Bridging rib 56 Projection section 70 Jig 77 Suction device 83 Restraint tool 89 Pressing jig 90 Heater

Claims (15)

A damper device that is provided in the middle of a flow path for supplying liquid to a discharge head having a nozzle hole for discharging liquid and relaxes pressure fluctuations of the liquid,
A storage chamber for temporarily storing liquid; and a substrate on which an introduction path for guiding the liquid to the storage chamber is formed. The storage chamber includes an elastic wall protruding from the substrate, and a peripheral portion of the elastic wall. The elastic wall and the flexible member are deformed in accordance with pressure fluctuations in the storage chamber and are deformed in accordance with the pressure variation in the storage chamber. A damper device characterized in that the volume can be changed. A support edge that is disposed opposite the elastic wall and has substantially the same shape as the peripheral edge of the elastic wall;
The flexible member is made of a sheet-like film, and the storage chamber has a peripheral surface defined by the film when the film is connected to a peripheral edge of the elastic wall and the support edge. The damper device according to claim 1, wherein the damper device is formed as a curved surface.   The damper device according to claim 2, wherein the unfolded state of the film is rectangular.   4. The damper device according to claim 2, wherein the storage chamber has a column shape extending in an arrangement direction of the opposing elastic wall and the support edge. 5. Each of the elastic wall and the support edge is configured in a triangular shape or a trapezoidal shape with a top,
5. The storage chamber according to claim 4, wherein the storage chamber has a substantially triangular column shape or a substantially trapezoidal column shape having a ridge portion formed between the top portion of the elastic wall and the top portion of the support edge portion by the film. Damper device.   The damper device according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the elastic wall has a thin portion having a smaller thickness than the substrate. The said elastic wall comprises the crank shape which the front-end | tip part containing the said top part offset with respect to the base- line part connected with the said board | substrate to the normal line direction with respect to the wall surface of the said elastic wall. The damper apparatus in any one of thru | or 6.   A plurality of pairs of the elastic wall and the support edge are arranged in parallel so that the opposing directions are in parallel, and one film is connected to the plurality of pairs of the elastic wall and the support edge. The damper device according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein a plurality of the storage chambers are formed side by side. A rib that connects a connection point between the adjacent elastic walls and a connection point between the adjacent support edges; and the rib is between the elastic wall and the support edge in the film. By connecting to the end face, a trough that partitions the adjacent storage chambers from each other is formed,
The said ridge part which each storage chamber has is comprised so that the curvature radius of a cross-sectional shape may become large rather than the said trough part formed between adjacent storage chambers. Damper device.   The damper device according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the storage chamber is disposed with the ridge portion as a bottom portion, and an upper space of the liquid stored inside forms an air storage portion. A plurality of liquid tanks provided in the middle of the flow path from the storage chamber to the discharge head corresponding to each of the plurality of storage chambers;
The liquid tank is juxtaposed along the juxtaposed direction of the storage chambers on one side of the storage chamber with respect to the storage wall and in the arrangement direction of the support edges, and is stored in the liquid tank. The space above is an air reservoir,
11. The damper device according to claim 10, wherein the air storage unit included in the storage chamber and the air storage unit included in the liquid tank corresponding to the storage chamber communicate with each other.   The damper device according to claim 11, wherein each of the air storage portions included in each of the storage chamber and the liquid tank is partitioned from the outside by a flat ceiling surface.   The damper device according to claim 12, wherein the ceiling surface is formed of a film.   14. The damper according to claim 12, wherein the ceiling surfaces of the plurality of air storage portions respectively included in the plurality of storage chambers and the plurality of liquid tanks are formed by a single film. apparatus. The storage chamber is arranged in parallel so that the arrangement direction of the elastic wall and the support edge is substantially orthogonal to the scanning direction of the ejection head, and the liquid inlet in the storage chamber is provided at one end in the arrangement direction. The damper device according to claim 2, wherein the outlet is provided at the other end.

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