JPH0425868B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention <Technical Field> The present invention relates to an ink supply device that is advantageous for use in an ink supply system that supplies ink to nozzles in an inkjet printer that prints by jetting ink from a nozzle. .

<Prior art> Conventionally, an ink supply device for an inkjet printer has an ink tank attached to a carriage equipped with a print head that ejects ink, and ink from this in-tank is supplied to the nozzles of the print head using capillary action. is proposed. In this conventional device, an ink supply port for replenishing ink from an ink cartridge is provided on the top surface of the ink tank, and a transport cap is inserted into the ink supply port to prevent ink from flowing out during transportation. Was. Therefore, when the device is unpacked and used during transportation, the transportation cap may sometimes be forgotten. When the device is used with this transport cap attached, when a print command is sent, the ink volume in the ink tank decreases due to ink ejection from the print head nozzle and the rise of the gate valve, resulting in negative pressure inside the ink tank. As a result, there is a possibility that air may be mixed into the nozzle.

In particular, color printers usually use four types of ink colors and have four ink supply ports, so it is easy to forget to remove the transport cap.

<Object of the invention> The present invention has been made in view of the above drawbacks, and
Even if a printing command is issued by mistake while the printer is being transported, the ink ejection operation of the nozzles can be prohibited to prevent air from entering the nozzles, and the ink can be removed when packing and unpacking during transport. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink supply device in which it is possible to easily check whether there is an error in procedures such as opening and sealing operations of a supply port.

<Examples> The present invention will be described below along with examples.
FIG. 1 is a top view of an ink supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention when in use, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, and FIG.
The figure is a top view in a transportation state, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 3.

1 and 2, there is an ink supply port 12 on the top surface of the ink tank 11, a tank cap 13 that covers the ink supply port 12 in normal use, and a shaft that supports the tank cap 13 rotatably up to a predetermined angle. 16, a shaft angle 17, and a key slider 15 that rotates on the same axis as the shaft 16. The key slider 15 is always urged in the direction of arrow A by a spring 18, and corresponds to the position of the "print" 27 displayed on the surface of the tank cap 13.

In addition, in this state, the rear end of the key slider 15 is engaged with the gate arm 23,
“Transportation” displayed on the surface of tank cap 13
Movement to position 28 is restricted.

The key slider 15 can be moved to the "transport" position 28 when the gate valve 19 (described later) is lowered and the gate arm 23 is also at the lowered position.

The tank cap 13 covers the ink supply port 12 and prevents the ink in the ink tank 11 from evaporating and dust from entering the ink tank 11. Further, an air hole 13b provided on the upper surface of the tank cap 13 is for making the inside of the ink tank atmospheric pressure.

On the other hand, a plate-shaped protrusion 13a is provided at one end of the tank cap 13 in the approximate center, and a groove 15a is provided at the lower right side of the key slider 15, so that the key slider 15 at the "Print" 27 position The protrusion 13a of the tank cap and the groove 15a of the key slider engage with each other, causing the tank cap 13 and the key slider 15 to rotate simultaneously. Therefore, the tank cap 13 can be rotated to the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, and in this open state, the ink tank 1 is removed from the ink cartridge.
1 can be refilled with ink.

When the key slider 15 is in the "print" position 27, the ink in the ink tank 11 is supplied to the nozzle portion 26c of the print head 26 through the opening 24, which is opened and closed by the gate valve 19, and the ink supply pipe 25. The nozzle is ready to eject ink. In other words, in the printing state, the gate valve 19 is maintained at an upper position with the opening 24 open.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 above, the print head 26
The base portion 26a and the ink introduction path 26b communicate with the ink tank 11 via the ink supply pipe 25.
and the nozzle 2 communicating with this ink introduction path 26b.
6c and a pressure chamber 26d communicating with the nozzle 26c.
and a piezoelectric element 26e, which is a vibrator, formed on the back surface of the pressure chamber 26d.

Further, a gate spring 29 is interposed in the upwardly projecting end portion of the gate valve 19, and the gate valve 19 is always positioned upward (a position where the opening 24 is opened) by the spring 29.
The upper end portion of the gate valve 19 is provided with a gate arm 22 and gate arms 21 and 23 connected to both sides of the arm 22 by pins 22a.

In addition, 14 is a rubber packing arranged around the ink supply port 12, 20 is an electrode that detects the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank 11, and 30 is a tank cap 13 that is properly closed when the ink supply port 12 is closed. Tank cap 1 for closing
This is a spring that energizes 3.

On the other hand, the case where the printer is packed for transportation is shown in Figures 3 and 4.
4, it is first necessary to close the ink communication between the ink tank 11 and the ink supply pipe 25, and in order to close the gate valve 19 downward, a lower By engaging an actuator (not shown) that moves to the gate arm 21 and transmitting the signal to the gate arm 22 via the pin 22a,
Gate valve 19 can be closed. At this time, the gate arm 23 also moves downward. In this state, move the key slider 15 against the bias of the spring 18 to the "transport" position 28 displayed on the surface of the tank cap 13, open the tank cap 13, and move the transport cap 31 to the ink tank. It is inserted into the supply port 12 and the ink tank 11 is sealed to prevent ink from flowing out during transportation. Of course,
During this transportation, the nozzle 2 is
The front surface of 6c is covered to prevent air from entering the nozzle and ink from flowing out of the nozzle.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, because the tank cap 13 is lifted up without being completely closed due to the size of the transportation cap 31, the center portion 15c of the key slider 15 is attached to the protruding portion 13a of the tank cap 13 with the spring 18 attached. Therefore, the key slider 15 is placed in the "transport" position 28. In particular, the tank cap 13 is
It also serves as a stopper to hold the transport cap 31 in that position when it is lifted up at a predetermined angle. Therefore, the locked state of the gate bubble 19 will not be released by mistake. In addition, there is no need to provide a separate means for holding the key slider 15 in the transportation position, which reduces costs, makes it possible to save space, and allows the transportation or printing status to be set reliably and recognized. This will help you do this easily. In this state, the protrusion 17a provided on the lower right portion of the shaft angle 17 and the protrusion 15b of the key slider 15 engage with each other, thereby restricting the rotation of the key slider 15 in the counterclockwise direction and also in the clockwise direction. The rotation of the key slider 15 on the shaft 16 is restricted by the central portion 17b of the shaft angle, thereby restricting the rotation of the key slider 15 on the shaft 16.

Therefore, the gate arm 23 is connected to the key slider 15.
upward movement is regulated by one end 15d,
The gate arm 22 is also regulated, so that the gate valve 19 is held in a closed state in close contact with the opening 24. As a result, the ink communication between the ink tank 11 and the ink supply pipe 25 is cut off, and the continuity between the electrode 20 for detecting the amount of ink in the ink tank 11 and the base portion 26a of the print head is cut off. result (electrode 20 is in tank 11)
(The ink amount is detected by checking whether or not there is a conduction state between the ink in the ink supply tube 25 and the base part 26a via the ink in the ink supply tube 25), and the state is the same as the ink empty mode, and the state is non-conducting. The state will be detected. This electrode 20 and print head 26
By detecting the non-conducting state by the means for detecting the conductive state between the printer and the printer, ink ejection from the nozzle is prohibited even if a printing command is input to the printer, thereby preventing air from entering the nozzle.

Note that if the tank cap 13 is simply opened and the transport cap 31 is attached to the ink supply port 12, the key slider 15 cannot be moved to the "transport" position 28. This is because the key slider 15 is normally pulled to the "PRINT" 27 position by the spring 18, in which position the key slider 15 and tank cap 13 are engaged and rotate together, and the transport cap causes the key slider 15 to is raised at a predetermined angle, and the protrusion 15b of the key slider 15 abuts against the protrusion 17a of the shaft angle and is restricted and cannot move. Therefore, if the ink tank is transported, unpacked, and printed as it is, the ink jet from the nozzle will create a negative pressure inside the ink tank, resulting in problems such as the possibility of air getting into the nozzle. In order to prevent this, the key slider is always moved to the "Transportation" position 28 during transportation so that it can be confirmed that the ink tank is sealed.

<Effects of the Invention> As explained above, if there is an error in the operating procedures when packaging an inkjet printer for transportation and when unpacking it for reuse, it can be easily confirmed. Also, even if you forget to remove the transport cap and print when reusing, air can be prevented from getting into the nozzle.

Especially with the transport cap inserted.
The tank cap that closes the ink supply port is not completely closed, thereby maintaining the transport state, and by removing the transport cap, it becomes possible to enter the printing state, ensuring the recognition of the transport or printing state. At the same time, mistakes in the operating procedure can be eliminated.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a top view showing an ink supply device when an inkjet printer according to the present invention is used;
2 is a sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a top view showing the ink supply device during transportation, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 3. 11: Ink tank, 12: Ink supply port, 1
3: Tank cap, 15: Key slider, 1
6: Shaft, 17: Shaft angle, 19:
Gate valve, 21 to 23: Gate arm, 2
5: Ink supply pipe, 26: Print head.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An inkjet printer that performs desired printing by ejecting supplied ink as necessary, wherein an ink tank is attached to a carriage equipped with a print head nozzle that ejects the ink. death,
An ink supply device that supplies ink from the ink tank to the nozzles of the print head by capillary action, comprising: an ink supply port for replenishing ink from the ink cartridge to the ink tank; and an ink supply port for supplying ink from the ink cartridge to the ink tank; a transport cap that is inserted into the supply port and seals the supply port; the supply port is closed when the transport cap is not inserted into the ink supply port, and the transport cap is inserted into the ink supply port; a tank cap that is rotatable relative to a support shaft so that it is raised at a predetermined angle without being completely closed when the ink tank is in the ink tank state; a gate bubble slidably provided along the support shaft between a printing position and a transport position, the gate bubble corresponding to one protruding external end of the gate bubble when the gate bubble closes an ink passage; Can be moved to transport position,
The tank cap is held at the transport position in a state where it is lifted up at a predetermined angle without being completely closed by the transport cap, and the tank cap can be moved to the printing position with the ink supply port closed, and the gate a slider means at one end of the external protrusion of the gate bubble to restrict its movement to the transport position and hold it at the printing position when the bubble is opening an ink passage; and an electrode provided in the ink tank and in contact with the ink. An ink for an inkjet printer, comprising: a detection means for detecting a conductive state between the electrode and the print head; and a means for prohibiting ink ejection from a nozzle of the print head upon detection by the detection means. Feeding device.