CN1832860A - Liquid injector - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a liquid injecting apparatus equipped with a liquid injecting head, which is mounted on a carriage and moved reciprocally in a widthwise direction of a target, and a valve unit, which is mounted on the carriage to be supplied with liquid via a supply passage from a liquid retainer and to supply liquid to the liquid injecting head. The valve unit has a pressure chamber connected to the liquid retainer via the supply passage; a valve, which opens or closes the supply passage to supply liquid to the pressure chamber; and a flexible film member, which is displaced based on a negative pressure generated as liquid in the pressure chamber decreases to thereby operate the valve.

Description

Liquid Jetting Equipment

technical field

The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device, a valve unit used therein, and a method of manufacturing such a valve unit.

Background technique

As a device that ejects a small amount of liquid onto a target, an inkjet type printer generally performs printing by ejecting a large number of ink droplets. This type of printer includes a recording head in which a large number of nozzles having extremely small opening portions are formed, and the printer discharges ink droplets from the opening portions of the respective nozzles. This type of recording apparatus is mainly for home use, and most of them are constructed in such a way that respective ink cartridges for supplying ink to recording heads can be detachably attached to a carriage on which the recording heads are mounted.

In such so-called "on-carriage" type printers, frequent replacement of the ink cartridges cannot be avoided when a relatively high volume of printing is performed. This therefore requires labor when replacing the ink cartridge, thereby increasing running costs. Therefore, commercial printers use a structure ("off-carriage" type) in which a large-capacity ink cartridge is placed separately from the carriage, and ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to a recording head mounted on the carriage through a hose.

In such an off-carriage type structure, the extension distance of the ink supply tube becomes larger as the printer size (paper size) increases, thus increasing the dynamic pressure (pressure loss) in the ink supply tube extending from the ink tank to the carriage . It is therefore necessary to use an independent ink supply tube with a large inner diameter. Larger ink supply tube diameters increase the flex resistance of each tube. In order to overcome the increase in the resistance to deflection, for example, it is necessary to further increase the driving force of the carriage. This increases the size of the recording device.

In this regard, the present applicant has proposed a structure of an ink pressurization supply system that pressurizes an ink package in an ink cartridge with air and supplies ink to each sub-tank mounted on a carriage to Eliminates the effects of dynamic pressure in the pipeline. (For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent No. 2001-199080).

According to the recording apparatus using such a pressurized supply system, ink is always supplied from each ink tank to each sub-tank under pressurized air, so that a constant range of ink is always stored in the sub-tank. This can ensure a more stable droplet discharge action of the recording head.

Since ink fed by pressurized air from each ink cartridge is stored in each sub-tank so as to reach a predetermined liquid level, a liquid level detection mechanism should be provided for each sub-tank. When using such a liquid level detection mechanism, it is necessary to improve the structural reliability of the liquid level detection mechanism. This inevitably increases costs. Furthermore, in order to cope with the use environment and abnormal use conditions of the recording device, such as vibration, the control system becomes complicated, and the mechanism inevitably becomes large.

Japanese Laid Open Patent No. Hei 9-11488 describes an ink supply device equipped with a container for holding ink and a back pressure regulator that receives ink from the container and feeds it to the printhead. In this device, a nozzle is provided between the container and the printhead, and the nozzle is released from the valve seat in response to the pressure of the container, causing ink to be supplied to the printhead. When the nozzle is released from the valve seat, the valve seat is separated from the nozzle by the back pressure regulator's diaphragm, diaphragm piston and lever.

Since a large number of parts are interposed between the diaphragm and the valve seat, the structure becomes complicated, causing problems such as difficulty in making the structure compact and possible loss of power transmission.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and relates to a liquid ejection device constructed in such a way that liquid from a liquid holder is received by a valve unit having a self-sealing function on the side of a carriage, and the holder is fixed separately from the carriage. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a compact and low-cost liquid ejection device, a valve unit used therein, and a method of manufacturing the valve unit, which enhance the reliability of liquid supply.

Contents of the invention

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection device for solving the above-mentioned problems. The liquid ejection device is equipped with a liquid ejection head and a valve unit, the liquid ejection head is installed on a carriage, and can reciprocate in the lateral direction of the target, and the valve unit is installed on the carriage, and is supplied from the liquid retainer through a supply channel. The valve unit supplies the liquid, and the valve unit supplies the liquid to the liquid spray head, the valve unit has a pressure chamber, the pressure chamber is connected to the liquid holder through the supply channel; the valve, which opens or closes the supply channel, supplies the liquid to the pressure chamber; member, which pushes the valve in the direction of closing the supply channel; and a flexible membrane member, which is displaced according to the negative pressure generated when the liquid in the pressure chamber is reduced, and which transmits the displacement directly to the valve, causing the valve to push against the member propulsion work.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method for manufacturing a valve unit having a unit housing, a pressure chamber and a valve is provided. When the liquid in the pressure chamber decreases, the valve uses the membrane member to detect the reduced negative pressure from the liquid, and directs the liquid from the liquid holder into the pressure chamber. The manufacturing method includes: heating the unit case; placing the film member on the unit case such that the film member covers the heated concave portion of the unit case; and thermally welding the film member to the unit case to form the pressure chamber.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided another method of manufacturing a valve unit. The method includes: attaching a pressure bearing plate to a first upper surface of the membrane member; placing the membrane member on the unit housing in a manner covering a recessed portion of the unit housing; thermally attaching the membrane member to the unit housing, thereby forming a pressure cavity.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet type recording apparatus equipped with a recording head and an ink supply valve unit. The recording head is mounted on a carriage and reciprocates in the transverse direction of the recording paper. The ink supply valve unit is mounted on the carriage, and supplies ink from the ink cartridge to the carriage through the ink supply passage to supply the ink to the recording head. The ink supply valve unit has: a pressure chamber, which is connected to the ink cartridge through the ink supply channel; a valve unit, which opens or closes the ink supply channel, and supplies ink to the pressure chamber; The negative pressure generated in the cavity and operates the valve; and the negative pressure maintains the spring, which abuts against the driving body and pushes it in the direction of expanding the volume of the pressure cavity.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection apparatus equipped with: a liquid storage member storing liquid; a liquid ejection head which ejects liquid; a liquid supply passage for supplying liquid from the liquid storage member to the liquid a spray head; and a valve unit, which is provided in the liquid supply passage and temporarily stores the liquid. The valve unit has: a supply chamber into which the liquid to be supplied from the liquid storage flows; a pressure chamber in which the liquid to be led out to the liquid ejection head is stored; and a valve which utilizes when the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejection head The negative pressure generated in the pressure chamber when it is released connects the supply chamber to the pressure chamber. A liquid outlet leading to the liquid spray head is provided in the pressure chamber at a position equal to or lower than 25% of the volume of the pressure chamber in the direction of gravity.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection apparatus equipped with: a liquid storage member storing liquid; a liquid ejection head which ejects liquid; a liquid supply passage for supplying liquid from the liquid storage member to the liquid A spray head; a valve unit provided in the liquid supply passage and temporarily storing the liquid, and a passage valve arranged in the liquid supply passage upstream of the valve unit for opening and closing the liquid supply passage. The valve unit has: a supply chamber into which the liquid to be supplied from the liquid storage flows; a pressure chamber in which the liquid to be led out to the liquid ejection head is stored; Negative pressure generated in the pressure chamber during ejection connects the supply chamber to the pressure chamber. A liquid outlet leading to the liquid ejection head is provided in the pressure chamber at a position equal to or lower than 40% of the volume of the pressure chamber in the direction of gravity.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a carriage for attaching liquid to a target by ejecting liquid from a plurality of nozzles of a liquid ejecting head while moving relative to a target; a liquid holder, It is set at a position separate from the carriage, and stores the liquid to be supplied to the carriage; a flexible supply tube, which is placed between the liquid holder and the carriage, and forms a section extending from the liquid holder to the carriage a liquid passage; and a valve mechanism mounted on the carriage and disposed in the liquid passage extending from the supply pipe to the liquid spray head. The liquid holder is arranged above the valve mechanism at a predetermined height within a range in which the carriage moves.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejection apparatus equipped with a carriage equipped with a liquid ejection head and a liquid holding portion mounted on the carriage and retaining liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejection head. liquid. A liquid ejection device ejects liquid onto a target from a liquid ejection head. The valve unit is provided between the liquid ejection head and the liquid holding portion. The valve unit has: a valve that connects the supply chamber defined on the side of the liquid holding portion to a pressure chamber defined on the side of the liquid ejection head, or disconnects the supply chamber from the pressure chamber; The direction of the channel advances the valve, and the driving body, which detects the reduced negative pressure from the liquid in the pressure chamber, and connects the supply chamber to the pressure chamber through the valve against the thrust of the advancing member.

Description of drawings

Figure 1 is an exemplary diagram showing a first ink supply system, which is suitable for practicing the present invention;

Figure 2 is an exemplary diagram similarly showing a second ink supply system;

Fig. 3 is a plan view showing the overall structure of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, wherein the first ink supply system shown in Fig. 1 is employed;

4 is a perspective view of the valve unit and recording head shown from the left side of the valve unit;

Figure 5 is a perspective view viewed from the right side of the valve unit;

Fig. 6 is a left side view of the valve unit;

Fig. 7 is a right side view of the valve unit;

Figures 8(a) and 8(b) are cross-sectional views taken along line 8-8 in Figure 6, with Figure 8(a) showing the valve closed and Figure 8(b) showing the valve open state;

9 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the structure of a support hole formed in a partition plate portion of the valve unit;

Fig. 10 (a)-10 (d) is the first preferred fabrication step figure, wherein, flexible thin film member is thermally attached to the unit shell, Fig. 10 (a) shows the state of thermal expansion of the unit shell, Fig. 10 (b) shows The state where the film member is placed, Fig. 10(c) shows a state where the film member is thermally attached, and Fig. 10(d) shows a state where the film member and the unit casing are cooled;

Figure 11(a)-11(c) is the second preferred manufacturing step diagram, Figure 11(a) shows the state that the pressure bearing plate is connected to the membrane member, Figure 11(b) shows the membrane member is placed in the unit The state on the housing, wherein the pressure bearing plate is connected to the film member, Fig. 11(c) shows the state where the film member is thermally attached;

Figure 12 is a cross-sectional view showing another preferred ink supply valve unit;

13(a) and 13(b) are diagrams showing still another preferred ink supply valve unit, FIG. 13(a) is its front view, and FIG. 13(b) is along line 13b in FIG. 13(a). - Cross-sectional view taken at 13b;

14 is a perspective view showing a valve unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention from the right side;

Figure 15 is a perspective view similarly shown from the left;

Figure 16 is a right side view of the valve unit in Figure 14;

Figure 17 is a left side view of the valve unit;

Figure 18 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 18-18 in Figure 17;

Fig. 19 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of main parts showing a film member to be used in a valve unit according to a second embodiment;

20 is a cross-sectional view of a valve body of a valve unit according to a second embodiment;

21(a) and 21(b) are diagrams of a third manufacturing step, wherein the film member is thermally attached to the unit case, and FIG. 21(a) shows a state where the film member is placed on the unit case, and the pressure-receiving plate Be bonded on the film member, Fig. 21 (b) shows the state that the film member is heat-adhered;

Fig. 22 (a) and 22 (b) are the 4th preferred manufacturing step figure, Fig. 22 (a) shows the state that film member is placed on the unit shell, pressure bearing plate is connected on the film member, Fig. 22 (b ) shows a state where the film member is thermally attached;

Figure 23 is a cross-sectional view of a heating element to be used in a manufacturing method according to a modification;

Fig. 24 is a perspective view showing a valve unit according to a modification from the left side;

Fig. 25 is a perspective view similarly showing the valve unit from the right side;

26(a) and 26(b) are cross-sectional views showing a modification of the valve unit, FIG. 26(a) showing a closed state of the valve, and FIG. 26(b) showing an open state of the valve;

Fig. 27 is a diagram showing a layout state of restricting pieces restricting the movement of the film member;

Fig. 28 (a) and 28 (b) are the cross-sectional views showing another modification of the valve, Fig. 28 (a) shows the closed state of the valve, and Fig. 28 (b) shows the open state of the valve;

Figures 29(a) and 29(b) show a valve unit according to a third embodiment, Figure 29(a) shows a valve closed state, and Figure 29(b) shows a valve opened state;

30 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the negative pressure holding spring and the stroke of the movable valve;

Figure 31(a) is a cross-sectional view of a valve unit according to a modification;

Figure 31(b) is a cross-sectional view of a valve unit according to another modification;

Figure 32(a) is a cross-sectional view of a valve unit according to yet another refinement;

Fig. 32(b) is a perspective view of a leaf spring used in the valve unit in Fig. 32(a);

33 is a plan view of a printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to a fourth embodiment;

Fig. 34 is a perspective view of a valve unit installed in a printer according to a fourth embodiment;

Fig. 35 is a perspective view showing a view from the reverse side of the valve unit in Fig. 34;

Figure 36 is a right side view of the valve unit in Figure 34;

Figure 37 is a left side view of the valve unit in Figure 34;

Figure 38(a) and 38(b) are cross-sectional views taken along line 38-38 in Figure 37, Figure 38(a) shows the valve closed state, Figure 38(b) shows the valve open state ;

Fig. 39 is a perspective view of a valve unit installed in a printer according to a fifth embodiment;

40(a) and 40(b) show the valve unit installed in the printer according to the fifth embodiment, FIG. 40(a) is a plan view, and FIG. 40(b) is along the line in FIG. 40(a). A cross-sectional view of line 40b-40b;

Fig. 41 is a graph showing the relationship between the position of the liquid outlet and the concentration of residual ink;

42(a) and 42(b) show the valve unit installed in the printer according to the sixth embodiment, FIG. 42(a) is a plan view, and FIG. 42(b) is along the line in FIG. 42(a). a cross-sectional view of 42b-42b;

Fig. 43 is a perspective view of a valve unit installed in a printer according to a sixth embodiment;

Fig. 44 is a perspective view in a printer according to a seventh embodiment;

Fig. 45 shows a partial enlarged cross-sectional view of the main part of the printer in Fig. 44;

Fig. 46 is a plan view showing the main part of the printer in Fig. 44;

Figure 47 is a left side view of the valve unit used in the printer in Figure 44;

Figure 48 is a right side view of the similar valve unit;

FIG. 49 is a conceptual diagram illustrating forces acting on a valve unit;

Fig. 50 is a graph showing the relationship between the height of the valve unit and the pressure loss;

Fig. 51 is a perspective view showing a main part of a printer according to an eighth embodiment;

Fig. 52 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a main part of the printer in Fig. 51;

Fig. 53 is a front view of a printer according to the prior art;

FIG. 54 is a schematic diagram showing the structure of the printer in FIG. 53;

FIG. 55 is a perspective view showing part of a printer according to a ninth embodiment in a cutaway manner;

Fig. 56 is a perspective view showing the carriage of the printer in Fig. 55 from the left side;

Fig. 57 is a perspective view showing the carriage of the printer in Fig. 55 from the right side;

Figure 58 (a) and 58 (b) have shown the assembly state of ink cartridge, Figure 58 (a) is a right side view, Figure 58 (b) is along the line 58b-58b in Figure 58 (a) taken transverse direction section view;

Figure 59(a) and 59(b) show the disassembled state of the ink cartridge, Figure 59(a) is a left side view, and Figure 59(b) is taken along the line 59b-59b in Figure 59(a) cross-sectional view;

Figure 60(a) and 60(b) are cross-sectional views taken along line 60-60 in Figure 59(a), Figure 60(a) shows the valve closed state, Figure 60(b) shows valve open state;

61 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing a support hole of a valve unit;

62 is a perspective view showing a carriage according to a tenth embodiment from the right side;

Figure 63 is a perspective view showing the carriage in Figure 62 from the left;

Figure 64 is a right side view of the ink cartridge;

Figure 65 is a left side view of the ink cartridge;

66 (a) and 66 (b) are cross-sectional views taken along line 66-66 in FIG. 65, FIG. 66 (a) shows the assembled state of the ink cartridge, and FIG. open state.

best practice

Referring to the drawings, an inkjet type recording apparatus embodying the liquid ejection apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, FIGS. 1 and 2 show the basic structure of an ink supply system of a recording apparatus as a liquid ejecting apparatus, which is suitable for carrying out the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink cartridge 1 as an ink holder is fixed to the main body side of the recording apparatus, and is connected to a valve unit 3 mounted on a carriage through a hose constituting an ink supply passage. Will discuss later. Ink in the ink cartridge 1 is supplied to a recording head 4 mounted on a carriage through a valve unit 3 .

The ink supply system shown in Figure 1 is of the air pressurized supply type. That is, the ink cartridge 1 has an airtight casing 7 , and an ink package 1 a made of a soft material in which ink is sealed is held in the casing 7 . Then, pressurized air generated by the air booster pump 5 is supplied to the gap portion 1b formed between the case 7 and the ink package 1a. Therefore, the ink package 1a receives compressed air, and the ink sealed in the ink package 1a is supplied to the valve unit 3 on the carriage through the pipe 2 . Then, the ink supplied to the valve unit 3 is fed to the recording head 4 from which the ink is discharged.

On the other hand, the ink supply system shown in FIG. 2 supplies ink from the ink cartridge 1 by utilizing the pressure head difference. That is, an ink package 1 a made of a soft material in which ink is sealed is held in the ink cartridge 1 . The lead-out portion 1c of the ink cartridge 1 is arranged in the direction of gravity and located above the valve unit 3 . The positive pressure based on the head difference thus causes the ink inside the ink pack 1a to be supplied through the hose 2 to the valve unit 3 mounted on the carriage.

The inkjet type recording apparatus according to the present invention can be used in any of the above-mentioned ink supply systems. FIG. 3 shows the basic structure of an ink jet type recording apparatus employing the ink supply system shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. In FIG. 3, the carriage is indicated by reference numeral 11. As shown in FIG. The carriage is guided to the scanning guide member 14 by the timing belt 13 driven by the carriage motor 12, and the carriage 11 reciprocates in the length direction of the paper feeding member 15, ie, the main scanning direction or the wide width direction of the recording paper. An inkjet type recording head 4 (see FIG. 4 ) is mounted on the side of the carriage 11 facing the paper feeding member 15 , but is not shown in FIG. 3 .

Valve units 3B, 3C, 3M, and 3Y for supplying ink to the recording head 4 are mounted on the carriage 11 . In the following description, each valve unit may be denoted by reference numeral 3 only. In this embodiment, four valve units 3B, 3C, 3M and 3Y are provided to temporarily Corresponding inks are stored.

Black ink and various color inks are supplied to valve units 3B, 3C, 3M, and 3Y from ink cartridges 1B, 1C, 1M, and 1Y through corresponding hoses 2, which are located in ink cartridge holders 17, arranged in On the main body side of the recording apparatus, the hose 2 constitutes an ink supply path. In the following description, each ink cartridge may be represented by reference numeral 1 only.

A capping device 18 that can seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 4 is located in a non-printing area (home position) on the moving path of the ink cartridge 11 . A capping member 18a formed of an elastic material such as rubber is provided on the capping device 18, and the capping member 18a is in close contact with the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 4 so that the nozzle forming surface can be sealed. When the ink cartridge 11 moves to the home position, the capping device 18 moves (raises) toward the recording head 4, so the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 4 is sealed by the capping member 18a.

The capping member 18a seals the nozzle forming face of the recording head 4 to prevent the nozzle openings from drying out when the recording apparatus is idle. One end of a tube of a suction pump (tube pump) for performing cleaning operations is connected to the bottom portion of the capping member 18a. At the time of the cleaning operation, negative pressure generated by the suction pump is caused to act on the recording head 4 to suck and discharge ink from the recording head 4 .

The wiping member 19 formed into a rectangular sheet is made of an elastic material such as rubber, is disposed adjacent to the capping device 18 on the printing area side of the capping device 18, and moves toward the moving path of the recording head 4 as required to Wipe the nozzle forming surface clean. Reference numeral 5 denotes a booster air pump, and air boosted by the air booster pump 5 is introduced into the casing 7 in each of the ink cartridges 1B, 1C, 1M, and 1Y through a portion connected to the ink cartridge holder 17 . Then, the positive pressure of the pump 5 causes the ink from the respective ink cartridges 1B, 1C, 1M and 1Y to be supplied to each of the valve units 3B, 3C, 3M and 3Y on the carriage 11 through the respective pipes 2 .

4 and 5 show the structure of the aforementioned valve unit 3 and the recording head 4 that receives ink from the valve unit 3 . 4 and 5 show a state in which two valve units 3 are mounted on the top portion of the recording head 4 for convenience of description, but there may be associations with the ink colors ejected from a single recording head 4, further A case where multiple valve units 3 are installed. Furthermore, a plurality of sets each having two valve units 3 for a single recording head 4 may be prepared, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 .

As shown in Figures 4 and 5. The outer shape of the valve unit 3 is constituted by a unit case 20 made of synthetic resin formed into a flat plate shape, and a connecting portion 21 is formed at one end. The pipe 2 is connected to the connecting portion 21 . Ink supplied from each ink cartridge 11 is introduced into the valve unit 3 through the connection portion 21 . As shown in FIG. 4, the flexible film member 22 is adhered to one side of the valve unit 3 by a thermal adhesion method, and constitutes a part of a pressure chamber 34, which will be discussed later.

It is important that the membrane member 22 is soft so that it can effectively detect negative pressure conditions, and that it does not chemically affect the properties of the ink, and it is also important that it be made of a material with low water and oxygen permeability. Accordingly, it is expected that the film member 22 should be capable of adhering and laminating a nylon film coated with vinylidene chloride (Saran) to a high density polyethylene film or polypropylene film.

In addition, a pressure receiving plate 23 made of a harder material than the film member 22 is attached to the central portion of the film member. The pressure plate 23 should be relatively light so that the own weight of the pressure plate 23 and the acceleration of the carriage do not move the film member 22 to the extent that the pressure in the pressure chamber 34 is changed when the carriage moves due to printing or the like. Accordingly, the pressure bearing plate 23 is preferably formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene.

Before the film member is attached to the unit case 20, the pressure bearing plate 23 can be attached to the film member 22 by a thermal adhesion method, or after the film member 22 is attached to the unit case 20, an adhesive or double-sided tape, etc. The pressure receiving plate 23 is attached to the film member 22 . Although the pressure receiving plate 23 is formed like a plate in the embodiment shown in the figures, it is not particularly limited to a plate shape. However, in the case where the pressure chamber 34 formed inside the valve unit 3 forms a thin columnar space as will be discussed later, it is preferable to use a disk-shaped pressure receiving plate 23 and arrange the pressure receiving plate concentrically with respect to the pressure chamber 34 twenty three.

As shown in FIG. 5 , an ink lead-out portion 24 is formed inside the valve unit 3 , and an annular connection member 25 is interposed between the ink lead-out portion 24 and the head holder 26 of the recording head 4 . In this way, ink is supplied from the valve unit 3 to the recording head 4 through the connection members 25, respectively.

A groove-like ink introduction path 31 is formed in the unit case 20 which constitutes the outer shape of the valve unit 3 as shown in FIG. 7 . Ink supplied from the connection portion 21 through the pipe 2 is supplied to the ink supply chamber 32 formed near the center of the unit case 20 through the ink introduction passage 31 .

This ink supply chamber 32 is constituted by a small-capacity cylindrical space as shown in FIG. In this way, after the spring seat 33 is installed, the film member 37 is thermally attached to the unit case 20 so as to cover the ink supply chamber 32 and the ink introduction passage 31 , thereby sealing the ink supply chamber 32 and the ink introduction passage 31 .

A partition plate 35 is formed between the ink supply chamber 32 and the pressure chamber 34 to define both, and a support hole 36 for slidably supporting a movable valve 38 is formed in this partition plate 35, and the movable valve 38 constitutes a on/off valve. The movable valve 38 includes a plate-shaped member 38 a and a rod member 38 b integrally formed at a central portion of the plate-shaped member 38 a and slides in the supporting hole 36 .

In addition, a helical sealing spring 39 as an urging member is interposed between the plate-like member 38a and the spring seat 33, and the action of the sealing spring 39 is toward the partition plate 35 with a slight pressure, that is, along the closing ink supply hole 42. The direction of pressing the plate-shaped member 38a.

A rubber seal member 41 formed like a ring is attached to the partition plate 35 in such a manner as to surround the support hole 36 by a thermal adhesion method or the like. Therefore, the plate member 38 a of the movable valve 38 abuts against the sealing member 41 by the urging force of the sealing spring 39 . The sealing member 41 may be an O-ring or the like, and an elastomer resin or the like may be integrally formed with the unit case 20 by dichroic formation as a sealing member.

The support hole 36 surrounding the partition plate 35 is spaced to form a plurality of cutout holes 42a, as shown in the enlarged part of FIG. 42. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9, four slit holes 42a are formed around the support hole 36. As shown in FIG. The sealing member 41 is provided on the partition plate 35 so as to surround the outside of the ink supply hole 42 .

The pressure chamber 34 of the unit case 20 is constituted by a recessed portion 44 having a cylindrical shape cut away from the unit case 20 . The film member 22 is closely attached to the side of the case 20 on which the recessed portion 44 is formed by means of thermal adhesion. That is, the pressure chamber 34 is constituted by a recessed portion 44 formed in the unit case 20 and the film member 22 covering it.

As shown in FIG. 6, the outlet 45 of the pressure chamber 34 is formed in the direction of gravity at the highest portion. An ink lead-out channel 46 connected to the outlet 45 of the pressure chamber is formed arcuately along the concave portion 44 . The outlet 45 of the pressure chamber and the ink lead-out passage 46 are constituted by groove portions associated therewith in the unit case 20 and the film member 22 covering these groove portions. The ink lead-out passage 46 penetrates the unit case 20 near the ink lead-out portion 24 and is connected to the ink lead-out portion 24 . Ink is vertically led out at the ink lead-out portion 24, and supplied to the recording head 4 as previously described.

In the above structure, by using the ink supply system as shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2, ink is supplied to the valve unit 3 under positive pressure. In this case, the supply flow rate of ink is only set to a level coping with the amount of ink consumed by the recording head 4 in the printing operation. When the aforementioned cleaning operation is performed, since the nozzle forming face of the recording head 4 is sucked by using the capping device 18, the flow rate of ink supplied to the valve unit 3 increases.

In the non-printing state of the recording head 4, that is, in the state where ink is not consumed, the spring load W1 (not shown) of the seal spring 39 in the valve unit 3 is applied to the plate-shaped member 38a of the movable valve 38, The pressure P1 (not shown) of the ink to be supplied to the ink supply chamber 32 is also applied to the plate member 38a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8( a ), the plate-shaped member 38 a abuts against the sealing member 41 , so that the movable valve 38 is in a valve-closed state. That is, the valve unit 3 is in a self-sealing state.

On the other hand, in the printing state where the recording head 4 consumes ink, the thin film member 22 is displaced toward the recessed portion 44 of the unit housing 20 according to the reduction of the ink in the pressure chamber 34, so the central portion of the thin film member 22 abuts against the movable valve. 38 on the end of the rod member 38b. Wd (not shown) represents a displacement reaction force corresponding to the displacement of the film member 22 at this time. As the recording head 4 continues to consume ink, a negative pressure P2 (not shown) is generated in the pressure chamber 34 . In the case where the negative pressure P2 exceeds the sum of the spring load W1, the pressure P of the ink, and the displacement reaction force Wd of the film member 22, that is, when the relationship of P2>W1+P1+Wd is satisfied, the film member 22 pushes the lever member 38b , the abutment of the plate member 38a against the sealing member 41 is released, so the movable valve 38 becomes the valve-open state as shown in FIG. 8(b).

Therefore, the ink in the ink supply chamber 32 is supplied into the pressure chamber 34 through the ink supply hole 42, and the negative pressure in the pressure chamber 34 is eliminated. Correspondingly, the movable valve 38 moves and is switched again to the valve closed state shown in FIG. 8( a ), stopping the supply of ink from the ink supply chamber 32 to the pressure chamber 34 .

The movable valve 38 is infrequently switched between the states shown in Figures 8(a) and 8(b), and the membrane member 22 remains balanced against the end of the rod member 38b of the movable valve 38 during the printing operation As the ink is consumed, it acts on the pressure chamber 34 by continuously replenishing the ink by opening the valve slightly.

The pressure receiving plate 23 can bear the displacement action of the film member 22 over its entire surface. Therefore, the displacement action of the film member 22 can be reliably transmitted to the movable valve 38, so that the reliability of the movable valve 38 can be improved. In the above-mentioned embodiment, since the outlet 45 of the pressure chamber 34 is formed in the direction of gravity at the highest portion thereof, the pressure chamber 34 can be filled with ink at the time of initial injection, for example, to deliver the ink to the recording device, without Air (bubbles) is left behind.

In other words, in the case of air bubbles in the pressure chamber 34, the volume of the air bubbles changes due to changes in ambient temperature, causing a problem in that the internal pressure of the pressure chamber 34 changes accordingly, so that the correct operation of the valve cannot be expected. Therefore, it is an important factor in this type of ink supply valve unit that the outlet 45 of the pressure chamber 34 is formed in the highest portion thereof in the direction of gravity.

According to the first embodiment, the ink supply system from the ink cartridge 1 to the recording head 4 is constituted by a closed passage into which ink can be injected. Therefore, with this structure, by using degassed ink, small air bubbles and the like remaining in the ink supply system can be absorbed by the ink. Therefore, it is possible to overcome the decrease in reliability in the valve opening/closing operation which occurs due to the presence of air bubbles when the ambient temperature changes, and it is possible to significantly reduce the Poor printing of air bubbles, or the degree to which so-called dot defects occur.

Next, FIGS. 10(a) to 10(d) show a preferred manufacturing process for use in the manufacturing method of the valve unit 3, especially when the flexible film member 22 constituting a part of the pressure chamber 34 of the valve unit 3 is heated. The fabrication process when attached to the unit case 20 . In order to reduce variations in negative pressure detection and to make the pressure chamber 34 compact, it is important to thermally attach the membrane member 22 to the unit housing 20 with sufficient flexibility.

According to the fabrication process shown in FIGS. 10(a) to 10(d), since the unit case 20 is expanded by heating, and the film member 22 is thermally attached to the unit case 20 in this state, the film member 22 is Leave in a state of sufficient flexibility for use at normal temperatures.

That is, as shown in FIG. 10(a), first, the unit case 20 is placed on the heating member 51 to be heated with the concave portion 44 constituting the pressure chamber 34 as the upper surface. Accordingly, the unit case 20 is heated by the heating member 51, and thermally expands in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 10(a), that is, expands toward both outer sides. Then, the film member 22 is placed to cover the concave portion 44 of the heated unit case 20, as shown in FIG. 10(b).

Next, as shown in FIG. 10(c), the heating member 52 for thermal attachment moves downward from above the film member 22 to apply an appropriate pressure, thereby thermally attaching the film member 22 to the unit case 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 10( d ), the unit case 20 is removed from the respective heating members 51 and 52 and naturally cooled to normal temperature so as to absorb the thermal expansion of the unit case 20 and the unit case 20 shrinks slightly. This can provide sufficient flexibility to the unit housing to which the membrane member 22 is thermally attached.

Next, FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c) show another preferable fabrication process in the case of thermally attaching the film member 22 to the unit case 20. FIG. In the manufacturing process shown in FIGS. 11(a) to 11(c), the film member 22 can be thermally attached to the film member 22 while fully bending the film member 22 by utilizing the thickness of the pressure plate attached to the film member 22. unit housing 20.

That is, as shown in FIG. 11( a ), first, the pressure receiving plate 23 is attached to one side of the film member 22 . In this case, although the pressure receiving plate 23 may be attached to the film member 22 with an adhesive or double-sided tape or the like, it is preferable to attach the film member 22 to the pressure receiving plate 23 by thermal adhesion.

Place the film member 22 attached with the pressure receiving plate 23 so that the pressure receiving plate 23 is at the top relative to the unit case 20, and when the unit case 20 is placed, the concave portion 44 is used as the upper surface. In this case, the heating member 52 for thermal attachment is moved downward from above the film member 22 to apply an appropriate pressure, as shown in FIG. 11( c), thereby thermally attaching the film member 22 to the unit case. 20 on.

In this case, since the lower surface of the heating member 52 shown in FIG. 11(c) is formed of a single plane, the central portion of the film member 22 to which the pressure receiving plate 23 is pasted is pressed into the depression during thermal attachment. The portion 44 side corresponds to the thickness of the pressure receiving plate 23 . In this state, the peripheral portion of the film member 22 is thermally adhered to the unit case 20 by the heating member 52 . This can provide sufficient flexibility to the unit case 20 to which the film member 22 is thermally attached.

Next, the movable valve 38 and the seal spring 39 shown in FIG. 8 are inserted into the ink supply chamber 32 of the unit case 20 on which the film member 22 is heat-attached. The spring seat 33 is fitted into the end face of the ink supply chamber 32 , and the ink supply chamber 32 and the ink introduction path 31 are sealed by the film member 37 , thereby creating the valve unit 3 .

FIG. 12 shows another preferred embodiment of the valve unit 3 . Note that the basic structure of the valve unit 3 shown in FIG. 12 is also shown in FIG. 8 already discussed, and its main parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the valve unit 3 shown in FIG. 12 , the outer surface of the film member 22 thermally attached to the unit case 20 is further covered with a water-impermeable film member 54 .

That is, a soft material is used for the film member 22 constituting a part of the pressure chamber 34 so that a negative pressure state can be effectively detected, and the soft material does not chemically affect ink properties. Thus, as noted earlier, high density polyethylene or polypropylene may be suitable for the film member 22 . But because the material has a slight water permeability, there is a technical problem such that the water evaporated from the ink in the pressure chamber 34 escapes from the pressure chamber 34 .

Thus, by further covering the outer surface of the film member 22 with a water-impermeable film member 54 as shown in FIG. Aluminum foil or a high polymer film vapor-deposited with aluminum thereon may be used as the water-impermeable film member 54 .

For the same purpose, the valve unit 3 shown in Figs. 13(a) to 13(b) is also suitable for use. Note that the basic structure of the valve unit 3 shown in Figs. 13(a) to 13(b) is shown in Figs. 6 to 8 already discussed. And the main parts thereof are denoted by the same reference numerals.

That is, in the mode shown in FIG. 13, the mode shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is provided with a cover 56 which seals the outer surface of the film member 22. A through hole 57 is formed in a part of the cover 56 , and a single zigzag-shaped groove portion 58 communicating with the through hole 57 is formed on the surface of the cover 56 . The end of the groove portion 58 is connected to a non-through hole 59 formed in the cover 56 . The through hole 57 , the groove portion 58 and the hole 59 are covered with a single film member 60 . In this case, it is preferable to bond the film member 60 to the cover 56 by thermal adhesion. Then, the air release port is formed by breaking the film member 60 covering the hole 59 with a sharp tool or the like.

Therefore, the film member 22 constituting a part of the pressure chamber 34 in the valve unit 3 is covered in an airtight state by the cover 56, and is connected to the air discharge port (with and without the same reference numeral 58 as the groove portion) through the airflow passage The through holes are denoted by the same reference numeral 59 ), and the airflow passage is formed by covering the through holes 57 and the groove portion 58 formed in the cover 56 with the film member 60 .

With this structure, when the inside of the cover 56 makes the pressure chamber 34 open to the atmosphere through the through hole 57, the air flow passage 58 of the cover 56, and the air release port 59, the pressure in the cover 56 is kept constant, and there will be no problem. . Moisture passing through the membrane member 22 constituting a part of the pressure chamber 34 escapes through the long gas flow passage 58 and thus is effectively suppressed.

Referring now to FIGS. 14 to 22, a liquid ejection apparatus embodying a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. Since this embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in the structure of the valve unit 3, the same reference numerals will be given to the parts of this embodiment similar to those in the above-mentioned embodiment, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted.

In the valve unit 3 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIGS. The filter cavity recessed portion 61, the central recessed portion 62, the first groove portion 63 and the second groove portion 64 are formed on the first side surface of the unit housing 20, the first groove portion 63 communicates with the central recessed portion 62, and the second groove portion 64 Stay away from the above sections. The film member 37 is heat-attached on the first side surface of the unit case 20 in such a manner as to cover the filter cavity recessed portion 61 , the central recessed portion 62 and the first and second groove portions 63 , 64 . Therefore, the filter chamber recessed portion 61 becomes the filter holding chamber 66 , the first groove portion 63 becomes the ink introduction channel 31 , and the second groove portion 64 becomes the ink outlet portion 46 .

As shown in FIG. 18, a through hole h1 and an inclined portion 61a having an inclined surface whose depth from the first side surface increases toward the through hole h1 are formed at the lower portion of the filter cavity recessed portion 61. The filter member 67 is fixed to the lower portion of the filter cavity recessed portion 61 in the direction of gravity by a thermal attachment method in such a manner as to cover the inclined portion 61a. Accordingly, an air bubble remaining portion 66 a where air bubbles remain is formed above the filter member 67 in the filter holding chamber 66 . The filter member 67 is formed of twill-woven stainless steel, non-woven fabric, or the like.

As shown in FIGS. 14 and 16, a recessed portion 69 and a third groove portion 70 are formed on the second side surface of the unit housing 20 opposite to the first side surface, the recessed portion 69 forms the pressure chamber 34, and the third groove portion 70 and the third groove portion 70 are connected to each other. The recessed portion 61 of the filter cavity communicates with the first groove portion 63 . The film member 72 is heat-attached to the second side surface, which makes the recessed portion 69 the pressure chamber 34 and makes the third groove portion 70 a part of the ink introduction channel 31 . In this embodiment, the film member 72 is made of aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) vapor deposited PET (polyethylene terephthalate) adhered to high density polyethylene or polypropylene. Alumina vapor deposited on PET is equivalent to a gas barrier. PET is a material that remains relatively constant in size and stiffness with respect to environmental changes such as changes in humidity, and it exhibits about the same flexibility for the same pressure. In the entire embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, a film member 72 having a 20-micron-thick high-density polyethylene or polypropylene film S1, a 500-angstrom aluminum oxide vapor-deposited layer S2, and a 12-micron-thick PET film S3 was used.

The sealing member 41 on the unit case 20 in the first embodiment is integrally formed with the movable valve 38 in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20 . Furthermore, like the first embodiment, the pressure receiving plate is formed of a plastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene, and its thickness is, for example, about 0.8 mm.

Next, a method of manufacturing the valve unit 3 of the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 21(a) and 21(b) and FIGS. 22(a) and 22(b). First, referring to FIGS. 21( a ) and 21 ( b ), a description will be given of a manufacturing method of thermally attaching the flexible film member 72 constituting a part of the valve unit 3 to the unit case 20 .

As shown in FIG. 21( a ), the pressure receiving plate 23 is bonded to the film member 72 , the film member 72 is placed on the unit case 20 , and the heating member 52 is moved downward relative to the film member 72 . In this embodiment, the heating member 52 has a heat-insulating material protrusion 52a at its center, that is, when the heating member 52 is lowered, sufficient pressure is applied to the film member 72, the protrusion 52 presses the pressure receiving plate, as Figure 21(b) shows. In this state, the heating member 52 presses the film member 72 against the unit case 20 , thermally attaching the film member 72 to the unit case 20 . Removing the heating member 52 from the unit case 20 results in the unit case 20 thermally attached with the film member 72 having sufficient flexibility.

Furthermore, in manufacturing the valve unit 3, a heating member 52 having a chuck hole 52b formed in a central portion thereof as shown in FIG. 22(b) may be used. Also in this case, first, as shown in FIG. 22( a ), the film member 72 to which the pressure receiving plate 23 is bonded is placed on the unit case 20 .

Then, as shown in FIG. 22(b), the heating member 52 is moved downward, and the air between the heating member 52 and the unit case 20 is discharged through the pinch hole 52b. Accordingly, the pressure receiving plate 23 is clamped onto the clamping hole 52b. In this state, the heating member 52 presses the film member 72 against the unit case 20 to thermally adhere it to the unit case 20 . When the heating member 52 is removed, the unit case 20 to which the film member 72 having sufficient flexibility is heat-attached is obtained.

As described above, the second embodiment provides the same effects as the first embodiment, and can provide the following effects.

In the second embodiment, a filter holding chamber 66 is provided intermediate the ink lead-out portion 24 and the ink supply chamber 32 , and a filter member 67 is provided in the filter holding chamber 66 . Since the filter member 67 can capture foreign matter such as dust, poor sealing of the sealing member 41 due to mixing of foreign matter can be reduced.

Since the filter member 67 is placed in the lower portion of the filter holding chamber 66, and a space is formed above the filter member 67, the air bubbles bu remain in the air bubble residual portion 66a above the filter member 67 due to buoyancy, as shown in double dots in FIG. 17 indicated by a dash. Therefore, it is difficult for air bubbles in the filter holding chamber 66 to enter the through hole h1, so that ink can be more reliably supplied to the ink supply chamber 32 and the pressure chamber 34, and the movement of the movable valve 38 can be made more reliable.

In the second embodiment, the through hole h1 leading to the ink supply chamber 32 is connected to the lower portion of the filter holding chamber 66 in which the filter member 67 is provided. The air bubbles bu receive great resistance when passing through the filter member 67, so if the air bubbles bu remain in the filter holding chamber 66, it is difficult for them to move downward even if some kind of impact is applied to them. Therefore, it is more difficult for the air bubbles bu remaining in the filter holding chamber 66 to enter the ink supply chamber 32 through the through hole h1 located at the lower portion of the filter holding chamber 66 . This makes it possible to more reliably supply ink to the ink supply chamber 32 and the pressure chamber 34, and prevent the air bubbles bu from flowing out of the recording head 4 during printing.

As shown in FIG. 19, the film member 72 in the second embodiment has a vapor-deposited aluminum oxide layer sandwiched between synthetic resin films (high-density polyethylene or polypropylene film and PET film). Since the film member 72 is formed of soft synthetic resin and is easily deformed under a small negative pressure generated by the discharged liquid, the on/off valve can be opened more reliably. Since the vapor-deposited aluminum oxide layer S2 is provided between the synthetic resin films, the film member 72 can be formed as a material with a low gas permeability, and the properties of the liquid in the pressure chamber 34, such as viscosity, have less stress caused by evaporation of water. Variety. In addition, since the vapor-deposited aluminum oxide layer S2 is formed with aluminum oxide, there is a possibility that the material may affect the ink in the pressure chamber 34, but it is sandwiched between synthetic resin films, and therefore, it does not cause liquid properties. Chemical changes. Therefore, the operational reliability of the valve unit 3 can be improved.

The film member 72 of the second embodiment is a vapor deposited alumina PET film bonded to a high density polyethylene or polypropylene film. Using this material for the membrane member 72 allows smaller changes in size and stiffness with respect to environmental changes such as humidity, and always provides about the same flexibility with respect to the same pressure. Since the film member 72 has low gas permeability and moisture permeability, it is possible to suppress evaporation of moisture, gas mixture, etc. passing through the film member 72 . It is thus possible to suppress the change in ink viscosity and the generation of air bubbles in the pressure chamber 34 defined by the thin film member 72 .

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 20 , a sealing member 41 is integrally formed with the movable valve 38 . The sealing member 41 is integrally formed with the movable valve 38 without being deposited on the unit housing 20 . In general, in order to deposit the sealing member 41 and the membrane members 22, 31 on the unit housing 20, their materials should preferably be the same. However, since the sealing member 41 is integrally formed with the movable valve 38 in this embodiment, good sealing can be ensured if the unit housing 20 is formed of a material very different from the sealing member 41 . This can expand the range of selection of materials for the unit housing 20 and the thin film members 72, 37 to be deposited thereon, thereby enabling selection of low-cost materials.

The pressure receiving plate 23 in the second embodiment is formed of a plastic material, such as polyethylene or polypropylene, having a thickness of about 0.8mm or more. Sufficient rigidity is obtained even if the pressure receiving plate 23 is formed of a flexible material substantially the same as the film member 72,37 to easily thermally attach the pressure receiving plate 23 to the film member 72,37. Therefore, the pressure bearing plate 23 itself does not deform, and bears pressure changes in the pressure chamber 34, so that the movable valve 38 can work more reliably.

In the manufacturing method according to the second embodiment shown in FIGS. 21(a) and 21(b), the heating member 52 for thermally attaching the film member 72 to the unit case 20 has a protrusion 52a at its center. The film member 72 is thus deposited onto the unit case 20 with the protrusion 52 a pressing against the pressure receiving plate 23 . That is, it is possible to obtain the valve unit 3 in which the thin film member 72 is deposited on the unit case 20 with some flexibility. Such flexibility can suppress the reaction force when back pressure is generated in the pressure chamber 34 and the diaphragm member 72 presses the movable valve 38 . Even if the environment changes, the film member 72 will not be strained, and by suppressing the reaction force of the film member 72 to the maximum, the working pressure of the film member 72 can be kept uniform.

In the second embodiment, the protrusion 52a of the heating member 52 of the pressing pressure receiving plate 23 is formed of a heat insulating material. Therefore, heat is hardly transferred to the film member 72 through the pressure receiving plate 23, so only necessary portions can be easily thermally attached.

As shown in FIGS. 22( a ) and 22 ( b ), in the second embodiment, the pinch hole 52 b is provided at the center of the heating member 52 . Accordingly, air is exhausted from the pinch hole 52b, causing the pressure receiving plate 23 to be sucked toward the pinch hole 52b. Since the film member 72 is attached to the unit case 20 in this condition, the film member 72 having sufficient flexibility can be attached to the unit case 20 with a simple structure. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the generation of negative pressure in the pressure chamber 34 and the reaction force when the membrane member 72 squeezes the movable valve 38 to the maximum extent, and it is possible to keep the working pressure of the membrane member 72 uniform.

The first and second embodiments can be modified as follows.

In the second embodiment, the size and shape of the filter member 67 in the filter holding chamber 66 can be changed.

In the second embodiment, the pressure receiving plate 23 may be provided inside the film member 72 (on the unit case 20 side) instead of outside.

In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 23, a plurality of protrusions 52a may be provided on the heating member 52, and by pressing the heating member 52 at a plurality of positions with these protrusions 52a, the film member 72 may be heat-attached to unit housing 20. In addition, the heating member 52 may be provided with an annular protrusion so that the film member 72 can be thermally attached to the unit case 20 by pressing the pressure receiving plate 23 with the protrusion.

In the second embodiment, as shown in Figures 24 and 25, in order to reduce weight, the recessed portion 75 can be arranged: between the filter cavity recessed portion 61, the recessed portion 62 and the groove portions 63, 64; the outside of the groove portion 64; the recess Section 69 outside. In this case, the carriage 11 becomes lighter accordingly, making it possible to reduce the load on the mechanism driving the carriage 11 and make the recording apparatus smaller.

Although in the second embodiment, the protrusion 52a is formed of a heat insulating material, the protrusion 52a may be integrally formed of the same material as other portions other than the protrusion 52a.

The film member 72 in the second embodiment may be high density polyethylene or polypropylene to which PET vapor-deposited with silicon oxide ( _SiOx ) is bonded. In addition, high-density polyethylene or polypropylene combined with PS (polystyrene) vapor-deposited with silica or alumina may also be used.

Although the description has been given of the respective embodiments with a printer (including printing devices of facsimile machines, copiers, etc.) that ejects ink as the liquid ejection device, the embodiments may also be liquid ejection devices that eject other liquids. For example, it may be a liquid ejection device that ejects liquids such as electrode materials and dyeing materials, which is used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL displays, and surface emission displays; it may be a liquid ejection device that ejects bioorganic substances, which is used in manufacturing used in biochips; it can also be a sample injection device such as a precision pipette.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 26 (a), (b) and Fig. 27, a plurality of restriction protrusions 76 facing the pressure bearing plate 23 may be formed at the bottom of the concave portion 44, so that when the pressure in the pressure chamber 34 is significantly reduced , for example, during a cleaning operation, the displacement of the film member 22 is restricted. The protrusion 76 in this modification includes four arcuate protrusions protruding from the bottom of the recessed portion 44 in such a manner as to surround the rod member 38b. Ink passages are formed between adjacent restricting protrusions 76 . These protrusions 76 are provided on a circumference concentric with the axis of the rod member 38b. When the plate member 38a of the movable valve 38 in the valve closed state abuts on the sealing member 41, a gap G is formed between the plate member 38a and the spring seat 33, between each restricting protrusion 76 and the film member 22. The interval H between is set to be smaller than the gap G.

Therefore, when the diaphragm member 22 is displaced, the internal decompression of the pressure chamber 34 causes the pressure bearing plate 23 to abut against the rod member 38b through the diaphragm member 22, moving the movable valve 38 against the urging force of the sealing spring 39, thereby turning the movable valve 38 switches to the valve open state. In this state, the ink that has passed through the support hole 36 passes from the ink supply chamber 32 through the support hole 36, moves to the vicinity of the rod member 38b, passes through the passage between the restriction protrusions 76, and is dispersed in almost the entire pressure chamber 34 portion. open.

Thereafter, when the pressure receiving plate 23 abuts against the restricting projection 76 through the rear face of the film member 22 , further displacement of the film member 22 is restricted. Therefore, according to the modification, even if the internal decompression of the pressure chamber 34 is considerable, for example, at the time of cleaning, no large load is applied to the rod member 38b of the movable valve 38, so the rod member 38b can be prevented from being deformed or broken.

Because in this modification, the height H of each restriction protrusion 76 is smaller than the gap G, even if the displacement of the film member 22 is restricted, it is ensured that there is a gap between the plate member 38a of the movable valve 38 and the spring seat 33. , so the sealing spring 39 will not be squeezed more than necessary.

In a further modification shown in Figs. 28(a) and 28(b), the structures of the pressure receiving plate and each restricting protrusion are different from those in the modification in Figs. 26(a) and 26(b). That is, in this further modification, the pressure receiving plate 23 is attached to the inner surface of the film member 22 , and the respective restricting protrusions 76 protrude from the pressure receiving plate 23 toward the bottom of the recessed portion 44 . The gap I between each restricting protrusion 76 and the bottom of the recessed portion 44 is set to be smaller than the gap G when the plate-like member 38a of the movable valve 38 in the valve closed state abuts on the sealing member 41 , the gap formed between the plate member 38a and the spring seat 33.

Therefore, in this modification, when the movable valve is switched to the valve-open state with the displacement of the film member 22, when the restriction protrusion 76 on the pressure receiving plate 23 abuts against the bottom of the concave portion 44, as As shown in Fig. 28(b), further displacement of the film member 22 is restricted. Therefore, this modification provides the same effect as the modification in Figs. 26(a) and 26(b).

A third embodiment embodying the present invention will be discussed with reference to Figures 29(a), 29(b) and 30, focusing on the differences from the various embodiments described above.

As shown in FIGS. 29( a ) and 29 ( b ), a negative pressure holding spring 40 is provided in the pressure chamber 34 so as to surround the rod member 38 b of the movable valve 38 . One end of the negative pressure holding spring 40 is fixed by an annular protrusion formed on the partition plate 35 , and the other end abuts against the film member 22 . Therefore, the pushing direction of the negative pressure holding spring 40 coincides with the moving direction of the pressure receiving plate 23 affixed to the film member 22 , and the pushing force acts in the direction of expanding the volume of the pressure chamber 34 .

The turn diameter of the negative pressure maintaining spring 40 is approximately the same as that of the aforementioned seal spring 39 and is relatively small. Therefore, the negative pressure holding spring 40 abuts against the vicinity of the center of the pressure receiving plate 23 through the film member 22 .

When the ink supply system shown in FIG. 1 or FIG. 2 is used in the valve unit 3 of the third embodiment, according to the above-described embodiments, the ink is supplied under positive pressure. When performing the cleaning operation, the flow rate of ink to be supplied to the valve 3 is increased so that the nozzle forming face of the recording head 4 is sucked using the capping device 18 .

Here, when the recording head 4 is in a non-printing state, that is, a state in which ink is not consumed, the spring load W1 (not shown) of the sealing spring 39 in the valve unit 3 is applied to the plate-shaped member 38a of the movable valve 38, The pressure P1 (not shown) of the ink to be supplied to the ink supply chamber 32 is also applied to the plate member 38a. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 29(a), the plate member 38a abuts against the sealing member 41, bringing the movable valve 38 into a valve-closed state. That is, the valve unit 3 is in a self-sealing state.

On the other hand, in the case where the recording head 4 changes to the printing state and consumes ink, as the ink in the pressure chamber 34 decreases, the film member 22 is displaced toward the concave portion 44, so that the pressure receiving plate 23 attached thereto moves along the Movement in the direction of reducing the volume of the pressure chamber 34 . At this time, the negative pressure holding spring 40 is compressed, and the central portion of the pressure receiving plate 23 abuts against the end of the rod member 38b of the movable valve 38 through the film member 22 .

W2 (not shown) represents the spring load of the negative pressure holding spring 40 at this time, and Wd (not shown) represents the displacement reaction force corresponding to the displacement of the film member 22 . When the recording head 4 continues to consume ink, a negative pressure P2 is generated in the pressure chamber 34 . When the relationship P2>W1+P1+Wd+W2 holds true, the film member 22 pushes the rod member 38b to release the contact of the plate member 38a against the sealing member 41, so that the movable valve 38 becomes as shown in FIG. 29(b). The indicated valve open status.

Therefore, the ink in the ink supply chamber 32 is replenished into the pressure chamber 34 through the ink supply hole 42, the ink supply hole 42 extends from the ink supply chamber 32 to the pressure chamber 34, and the ink flow into the pressure chamber 34 eliminates the pressure chamber Negative pressure within 34. Therefore, the movable valve 38 moves, and is again in the valve-closed state shown in FIG. 29( a), stopping the supply of ink from the ink supply chamber 32 to the pressure chamber 34.

As described above, the negative pressure holding spring 40 abuts against the film member 22 , presses the pressure receiving plate, and applies pressure in a direction to increase the volume of the pressure chamber 34 . Even if the pressure receiving plate 23 is subjected to slight acceleration/deceleration due to, for example, the reciprocating motion of the carriage, the pressure receiving plate 23 does not substantially move. This can effectively reduce possible misoperation of the movable valve 38 .

In addition, the negative pressure holding spring 40 also effectively suppresses the phenomenon that ink accumulates in the lower part of the pressure chamber 34 due to its gravity and further expands the film member 22 outward. That is, the negative pressure holding spring 40 always keeps the pressure chamber 34 in a weak negative pressure state, and it plays the role of always keeping the pressure receiving plate 23 attached to the film member 22 in a vertical state. This can effectively reduce the misoperation of the movable valve 38 .

In addition, when the ink is replenished into the pressure chamber 34 , the negative pressure maintaining spring 40 is stretched to keep the pressure chamber 34 under a weak negative pressure, thereby reducing the change in pressure in the pressure chamber 34 . This ensures correct operation of ejecting ink droplets from the recording head.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the spring load from the negative pressure maintaining spring 40 and the seal spring 39 is applied to the movable valve, the negative pressure state of the pressure chamber 34 is secured. In other words, the spring load can be shared by the vacuum holding spring 40 and the sealing spring 39 . It is thus possible to choose a low spring load for the sealing spring 39 which bears the movable valve 38 in the valve closed state against the sealing member 41 .

Therefore, the abutting pressure on the sealing member 41 made of elastic resin or the like can be reduced, making it possible to prevent abnormal deformation of the sealing member 41 . Since application of an excessive spring load to the sealing member 41 can be suppressed, it is possible to prevent impurities such as grease contained in the elastic resin constituting the sealing member 41 from entering the ink.

In the above-mentioned third embodiment, it is preferable to set the dimensional relationship in the following manner: Based on the contraction of the volume of the pressure chamber, under the situation that the movable valve 38 moves the most, the space (stroke) that can be further compressed is left to the negative pressure holding spring. ). Fig. 30 shows this example and is shown enlarged near the central portion of the ink supply valve unit. FIG. 30 shows a situation where the negative pressure holding spring 40 is deformed or compressed the most based on the contraction of the volume of the pressure chamber 34 .

In FIG. 30 , L1 represents the maximum compression height of the sealing spring 39 when the movable valve 38 moves the maximum, and L2 represents the compression height of the negative pressure holding spring 40 in this state. That is, the dimensional relationship among the respective parts is set in such a way that even if the respective turns of the sealing spring 39 are in close contact, the respective turns of the negative pressure holding spring 40 remain in a non-tight state. In other words, when spring members having the same standard (dimensions) are used as the seal spring 39 and the negative pressure holding spring 40, the dimensions of the respective parts are set so as to satisfy L1<L2. Because the mode described in this figure is designed so that the ink flows into the pressure chamber 34 through the gap of the negative pressure holding spring 40, so if the turns of the negative pressure holding spring become close to each other, the flow passage of the ink is blocked, This may block the ink supply. Therefore, this problem can be avoided by setting L1<L2 as described above.

In the case of using the ink pressurized supply system as shown in FIG. 1 in the third embodiment, for example, the slightly opened state of the movable valve 38 can introduce ink into the pressure chamber 34, so that the size setting shown in FIG. necessary. However, in the case of using a head differential ink supply system as shown in FIG. 2, the ink supply pressure is lower, so a large opening of the movable valve 38 will still be required. Therefore, it is important to set the maximum compression height of the negative pressure holding spring 40 to have some margin with respect to the above-mentioned moving stroke of the movable valve.

Next, the ink supply valve unit according to the modification shown in Figs. 31(a) and 31(b) will be discussed mainly regarding the differences from the above-mentioned embodiment.

In the modification shown in FIG. 31(a), although a coil spring is also used as the negative pressure holding spring 40, the diameter of the coil is set larger than that shown in FIG. 29(a). This allows the negative pressure holding spring 40 to abut against the vicinity of the periphery of the disc-shaped pressure receiving plate 23 through the film member 22 .

Since in this structure the pressure receiving plate 23 abuts against the negative pressure holding spring 40 in the vicinity of its periphery, the spring 40 functions to always keep the pressure receiving plate 23 in a vertical state. Even if ink collects in the lower portion of the pressure chamber 34 due to gravity and causes the film member 22 to expand further outward, the pressure receiving plate 23 is in a vertical state. Therefore, the misoperation of the movable valve 38 can be effectively reduced.

In the modification shown in FIG. 31(b), while similarly using a coil spring as the negative pressure holding spring 40, a plurality of coil springs 40a and 40b having smaller coil diameters are used in this manner. The respective coil springs 40 a and 40 b are arranged in such a manner as to abut against the vicinity of the outer periphery of the pressure receiving plate 23 formed into a disc shape. Also in this structure, even if the ink is collected in the lower portion of the pressure chamber 34 due to gravity and causes the film member 22 to further expand outward, each spring 40a and 40b plays a role in always maintaining the pressure receiving plate 23 in a vertical state. . Therefore, the misoperation of the movable valve 38 can be effectively reduced.

Although two coil springs 40a and 40b are used in the modification shown in FIG. 31(b), more coil springs may be used. Therefore, in the case of using an integer number (n) of springs, in order to set the load from the negative pressure holding spring as W2, it is necessary to set the spring load from a single coil spring as W2/n.

In the modification shown in FIGS. 32( a ) and 32 ( b ), a leaf spring 40A is used as the negative pressure holding spring. As shown in FIG. 32(b), the leaf spring 40A has both end portions bent in the same direction, constituting a pair of leg portions 40d and 40e. At the central portion of the leaf spring 40A, a cut and folded portion 40f is formed, which protrudes in a direction opposite to the bending direction of the leg portions 40d and 40e.

As shown in FIG. 32( a ), one leg portion 40 d of the leaf spring 40A is fixed to the unit case 20 in the pressure chamber 34 , while the other leg portion 40 e abuts against the inner wall of the pressure chamber 34 . The rod member 38b of the movable valve is inserted through the opening formed through the cut and folded portion 40f. The end portion of the cut-and-folded portion 40 f is arranged to substantially abut against the central portion of the pressure receiving plate 23 through the film member 22 .

In this structure, the plate spring 40A presses the film member 22 in the direction of increasing the volume of the pressure chamber 34, and functions to effectively suppress the malfunction of the movable valve 38 even if the valve 38 is subjected to reciprocating motion from, for example, the carriage. The resulting acceleration/deceleration.

A fourth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be discussed below with reference to FIGS. 33 to 38(a) and 38(b).

As shown in FIG. 33 , an inkjet type printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) 121 as a liquid ejecting apparatus has a substantially parallelepiped-shaped frame 122 and a paper feeding member 123 mounted on the frame 122 on which paper is fed. It is fed by a paper feeding mechanism not shown. In addition, a guide member 124 is mounted on the frame 122 parallel to the paper feed member 123 , and a carriage 125 is supported on the guide member 124 in a manner movable in the axial direction of the guide member 124 . The carriage 125 is connected to a carriage motor 128 through a timing belt 127 and can reciprocally move along the guide member 124 driven by the carriage motor 128 .

A liquid jetting or recording head 129 is mounted on the side of the carriage 125 facing the paper feeding member 123 . A valve unit 131 is mounted on the carriage 125 , and the valve unit 131 supplies liquid or ink to the recording head 129 . In this embodiment, four valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y are provided corresponding to the colors of the inks (black ink B and various color inks of cyan C, red M, and yellow Y).

Unillustrated nozzle discharge ports are provided at the bottom of the recording head 129, ink is supplied to the recording head 129 from the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y driven by unillustrated piezoelectric elements, and ink droplets are ejected. to print on paper.

On the right hand end of the frame 122 are formed four ink cartridge holders 132 . An ink cartridge 133 as a liquid storage device is detachably mounted in each ink cartridge holder 132 . In this embodiment, four ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y are provided corresponding to the colors of ink. Each of the four ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y includes a casing 134 inside which is in an airtight state and an unillustrated ink package provided inside the casing, the aforementioned black ink B and various color inks C, M, and Y are stored separately in the ink package.

The ink package of the ink cartridge 133 and the valve unit 131 are connected together through a pipe 138 as a flexible liquid supply channel. In this embodiment, four pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y are provided corresponding to the colors of ink.

An air booster pump 139 is provided on the ink cartridge 133Y storing yellow ink Y. As shown in FIG. An air booster pump 139 is connected to the casing 134 of the ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y through air supply pipes 136B, 136C, 136M, and 136Y. Therefore, the air pressurized by the air booster pump 139 is introduced into the casing 134 of the ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y, and into the space formed between the casing 134 and the ink package. That is, when the air booster pump 139 is driven, air is allowed to enter the housing 134, the ink packs are pressed by the pressurized air, and various inks stored in the ink packs are supplied through the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y. to the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M and 131Y.

A capping device 141 that seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 129 is located in a non-printing area (home position) on the moving path of the ink cartridge 125 . In addition, a capping member 141a formed of an elastic material such as rubber is provided on the upper surface of the capping device 141, and the capping member 141a can be in close contact with the nozzle forming surface sealing the recording head to seal the nozzle forming surface. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 125 is moved to the home position, the capping device 141 moves upward toward the recording head 129, and seals the nozzle forming face of the recording head 129 with the capping member 141a, thereby preventing the nozzle openings from drying out.

A suction pump (tube pump), not shown, is provided at the lower portion of the capping member 141a. This suction pump is connected to the lower portion of the capping member 141a through a suction pipe. When this suction pump is driven, air is sucked from the capping member 141a covered with the recording head 129, which sucks the air from the recording head 129 and is discharged, in addition, the wiping member 142 is drawn adjacent to the printing area of the capping device 141. side setting. The wiping member 142 is a rectangular sheet made of elastic material such as rubber. The wiping member 142 moves on the moving path of the recording head 129 as necessary to wipe the nozzle formation surface clean.

The valve unit 131 will be discussed with reference to Figures 34 to 38(a) and 38(b).

As shown in FIGS. 34 and 35 , the valve unit 131 has a synthetic resin unit case 145 . The unit case 145 has a shape in which a parallelepiped and a semi-cylindrical part are combined. A connection portion 146 is formed at a top portion of the unit case 145 , and the pipe 138 is connected to the connection portion 146 . The ink lead-out portion 147 is integrally formed at the lower portion of the unit housing 145 and is connected to the recording head 129 through the connection member 125 a of the carriage 125 .

As shown in Figures 34, 36 and 38, a filter cavity recessed portion 149 is formed on the first side surface 145a of the unit housing 145, and a filter 148 is maintained therein, and a substantially cylindrical small recessed portion 150 and a small recessed portion 150 are formed. The concave portion 150 communicates with a straight groove 151 and a straight groove 152 extending horizontally. In addition, the film member 153 covering the filter cavity recessed portion 149, the small recessed portion 150, and the groove 151, and the film member 154 covering the groove 152 are adhered to the first side surface 145a by a thermal adhesion method. Accordingly, the filter chamber recess 149 and the film member 153 constitute the filter chamber 155 , the small recess 150 and the film member 153 constitute the supply chamber 156 , and the groove 151 and the film member 153 constitute the first ink introduction channel 157 . The groove 152 and the film member 154 constitute an outflow channel 158 which communicates with the ink introduction portion 147 .

The film members 153 and 154 are made of a material that does not chemically affect the properties of the ink, and in addition has low water permeability and low oxygen and nitrogen permeability. That is, the film members 153 and 154 are made of a film having, for example, a structure in which a nylon film coated with vinylidene chloride (Saran) is adhered and laminated on a high-density polyethylene film or a polyethylene film. on acrylic film.

As shown in Figures 38(a) and 38(b), a spring receiving member 159 is attached to the film member 153, placed concentrically with and inside the supply chamber 156, and the spring receiving member 159 has a diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the supply chamber 156. outside diameter.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 35 , 37 and 38 , a substantially cylindrical large concave portion 161 and a straight groove 162 are formed on the second side surface 145 b of the unit case 145 , and the large concave portion 161 is concentrically arranged with the small concave portion 150 . The peripheral wall portion 161a of the large concave portion 161 is inclined in such a manner as to widen toward the opening. The bottom wall of the large concave portion 161 has an inclined surface 161b that is inclined in such a manner that the depth of the large concave portion 161 becomes gradually smaller upward, and in addition, a gap with the first side surface 145a is formed at the lowest portion of the large concave portion 161. The groove 152 communicates with the through hole 152a.

A film member 163 covering the large concave portion 161 and a film member 164 covering the groove 162 are bonded to the second side surface 145b of the unit case 145 by a thermal adhesion method. Therefore, the large concave portion 161 and the thin film member 163 constitute the pressure chamber 165 , and the groove 162 and the thin film member 164 constitute the second ink introduction channel 166 . In addition, through holes 162 a and 162 b are formed in the groove 162 , the through hole 162 a communicates with the recessed portion 149 of the filter cavity, and the through hole 162 b communicates with the groove 151 . Therefore, the second ink introduction channel 166 communicates with the filter chamber 155 through the through hole 162a, and communicates with the first ink introduction channel 157 through the through hole 162b. That is, the ink supplied from the pipe 138 is supplied to the supply chamber 156 through the filter chamber concave portion 149 , the through hole 162 a , the second ink introduction channel 166 , the through hole 162 b and the first ink introduction channel 157 . The connecting portion of the large concave portion 161 forming the pressure chamber 165 and the through hole 152a become the liquid outlet E. The film members 163 and 164 are made of the same material as the film members 153 and 154 .

A generally disk-shaped pressure receiving plate 167 is attached to the side of the film member 163 opposite to the pressure chamber 165 . The pressure receiving plate 167 has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the pressure chamber 165 and is arranged concentrically with the pressure chamber 165 . The pressure bearing plate 167 is formed of a material harder than the film member 163, such as a light plastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The pressure receiving plate 167 is attached to the film member 163 by a thermal attachment method or using an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like. As shown in FIG. 38 , a spring 170 pressing the film member 163 is provided in the pressure chamber 165 in such a manner as to press the film member 163 and the pressure receiving plate 167 outward.

Meanwhile, a support hole 169 is formed in a partition plate 168 defining the aforementioned supply chamber 156 and pressure chamber 165 of the unit case 145 . The support hole 169 communicates with the supply chamber 156 and the pressure chamber 165 . The movable valve 171 is slidably supported in the support hole 169 . The movable valve 171 has a columnar rod portion 171 a inserted into the support hole 169 and a substantially disc-shaped plate member 171 b having an outer shape larger than the support hole 169 . The rod portion 171a and the plate member 171b are integrally formed. Describing this part in detail, the rod portion 171 a is inserted into the support hole 169 and the spring 170 so that its tip can abut against the film member 163 . The plate member 171b is placed in the supply chamber 156 . A circular sealing member 172 such as an O-ring is fixed to the support hole 169 side of the plate member 171b in such a manner as to surround the support hole 169 . When the sealing member 172 of the plate member 171b is moved away from the partition plate 168, the movable valve 171 connects the supply chamber 156 to the pressure chamber 165, and when the sealing member 172 abuts against the partition plate 168, it covers the support hole. 169, and disconnect the supply chamber 156 and the pressure chamber 165 from each other. Furthermore, a stepped portion is formed on the film member 153 side of the movable member 171 . One end of the coil spring 174 is mounted on the stepped portion, and the other end of the spring 174 is engaged with the aforementioned spring receiving member 159 . Therefore, the spring 174 presses the movable valve 171 toward the pressure chamber 165 .

As shown in FIG. 37 , the support hole 169 has four cut holes arranged at equal intervals, and is substantially cross-shaped as a whole. The rod portion 171 a of the movable valve 171 is inserted into the supporting hole 169 , so that the rod portion 171 a and the supporting hole 169 form four ink passages 173 .

Next, the action of the printer 121 using the valve unit 131 constructed as described above will be discussed.

After the printer 121 is manufactured, its performance is tested. In the performance test, first, the ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y of the respective colors were held in the ink cartridge holder 132 . Then, pressurized air is supplied from the booster pump 139 to the casing 134 of the respective ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y through the air supply pipes 136B, 136C, 136M, and 136Y, pressurizing the ink packages. Therefore, various inks in the ink pack are subjected to pressure. Then, after covering the recording head 129 with the capping member 141a, an unillustrated suction pump is driven. Accordingly, ink is supplied to the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y through the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y. Air in the filter chamber 155 , the second ink introduction channel 166 , the first ink introduction channel 157 , the supply chamber 156 and the pressure chamber 165 , and the outflow channel 158 is exhausted from the recording head 129 when ink is supplied. At this time, since the large concave portion 161 of the pressure chamber 165 has an inclined surface 161b at its top portion, the upper space of the pressure chamber 165 becomes smaller, and the film deforms in a shape following the shape of the pressure chamber, which can be easily The negative pressure in the pressure chamber 165 is increased so that the air can escape more easily.

When the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y, the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y, and the unillustrated nozzles of the recording head 129 are filled with ink, the suction pump is stopped. Then, since the movable valve 171 is pressed by the spring 174, it moves toward the pressure chamber 165, and presses the sealing member 172 against the partition plate 168, blocking the ink passage 173. Therefore, the movable valve 171 becomes a valve-closed state as shown in FIG. 38(a). That is, the supply chamber 156 and the pressure chamber 165 enter a non-communication state, and the valve unit 131 enters a self-sealing state.

Thereafter, the printer 121 performs test printing for performance testing. That is, the printer 121 performs printing by sufficiently ejecting ink from the recording head 129 of the carriage 125 while moving the carriage 125 in FIG. 33 leftward and rightward, based on unshown test data.

When ink is ejected from the recording head 129 during the test printing, the ink in the pressure chamber 165 decreases so that the pressure chamber 165 has a negative pressure. Accordingly, the film member 163 is bent toward the spring 170 , and the center of the film member 163 and the pressure receiving plate 167 are displaced toward the supply chamber 156 . The curved film member 163 presses the rod portion 171 a of the movable valve 171 against the spring 174 , pressing the movable valve 171 toward the supply chamber 156 . When the squeezed movable valve moves toward the supply chamber 156 and the sealing member 172 is separated from the partition plate 168, the movable valve 171 is placed in a valve-open state as shown in FIG. 38(b). That is, the supply chamber 156 communicates with the pressure chamber 165 through the ink channel 173 , and the ink in the supply chamber 156 flows into the pressure chamber 165 to eliminate the negative pressure in the pressure chamber 165 . Therefore, the movable valve 171 moves toward the pressure chamber 165 under the urging force of the spring 174, and enters the valve closed state as shown in FIG.

During the actual printing operation, the movable valve 171 is not constantly switched between the valve open state and the valve closed state, and the thin film member 163 is kept in a balanced state where it abuts against the rod portion of the movable valve 171 171a end. It works by opening the movable valve 171 slightly according to the consumption of ink to continuously supply ink to the pressure chamber 165.

That is, by opening/closing the movable valve 171 , the variation of the ink pressure in the pressure chamber 165 is maintained within a predetermined range independently of the variation of the ink pressure in the supply chamber 156 . Therefore, even if the pressure in the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y has changed due to the reciprocating motion of the carriage 125, its influence cannot be exerted. As a result, ink supply from the pressure chamber 165 to the recording head 129 is well realized.

In the case where air remains in the pressure chamber 165 after the initial injection, when the environment (temperature) where the printer is placed changes (rises), the air may expand, possibly increasing the pressure in the pressure chamber 165 . Because in this embodiment, the spring 170 pushes the membrane member 163 outward to absorb the change in air volume, the pressure in the air chamber 165 does not rise.

When the ink is ejected from the recording head 129 of the printer 121 in this way, and the performance test is completed, the ink package is separated from each of the ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y. Then, the carriage 125 moves on the upper surface of the capping device 141, and, with the recording head covered by the capping member 141a, an unillustrated suction pump is driven. This discharges ink from the filter chamber 155 , the second ink introduction channel 166 , the first ink introduction channel 157 , the supply chamber 156 , the pressure chamber 165 , and the outflow channel 158 through the recording head 129 . Since the liquid outlet E is formed at the lowest portion of the pressure chamber 165, ink is smoothly discharged at this time.

When the ink is mostly discharged, the cleaning liquid supply pipe is connected to the ink cartridge holder 132 instead of the respective ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M and 133Y. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply pipe to the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y, the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y, and the recording head 129 to perform cleaning.

The printer 121 of this embodiment can provide the following effects:

(1) In this embodiment, the liquid outlet E communicating with the outflow passage 158 is formed at the lowest portion of the pressure chamber 165 in the valve unit 131 of the printer 121 . Therefore, the ink used in the performance test of the printer 121 is smoothly discharged from the recording head 129 . It is therefore possible to reduce the amount of ink remaining in the valve unit 131 and improve the liquid discharge characteristics, so that the number of cleaning operations and cleaning time can be reduced.

(2) In this embodiment, the large concave portion 161 forming the pressure chamber 165 of the valve unit 131 has an inclined surface 161b at its top, and the space above the liquid outlet E becomes smaller than the space below the liquid outlet E. Therefore, at the time of initial injection, the film member 163 is deformed in a shape following the shape of the pressure chamber 165, so the negative pressure in the pressure chamber can be easily increased, which helps to discharge air so that it is difficult for the air to remain in the pressure chamber. cavity 165.

(3) In the present embodiment, the diameter of the peripheral wall portion 161 a of the large concave portion 161 increases toward the thin film member 163 . Therefore, it is easy to process the large concave portion 161 . In addition, the pressure-bearing area of the membrane member 163 can be made larger, so that the movable valve 171 can be driven more reliably.

(4) In the present embodiment, the peripheral wall portion 161 a of the large concave portion 161 is inclined in such a manner as to increase its diameter toward the thin film member 163 . Therefore, the film member 163 deforms in a shape following the shape of the pressure chamber 165, so the negative pressure inside the pressure chamber can be easily increased, making it easier to discharge air.

(5) In the present embodiment, since the spring 170 is placed in the pressure chamber 165, the film member 163 and the pressure receiving plate 167 can be uniformly pressed, so it is possible to more reliably prevent the film member 163 from being irregularly pressed. bending. Even if air remains in the pressure chamber 165 after ink is injected and the temperature of the part where the printer is placed rises, it is possible to prevent the pressure inside the pressure chamber 165 from rising because the spring 170 pushes the film member 163 outward and absorbs the expanded volume.

A fifth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be discussed below with reference to FIG. 33 and FIGS. 39 to 41. FIG. The same reference numerals will be assigned to the parts similar to those in the above-mentioned embodiments in the following embodiments, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted. Note that, for convenience of description, in FIGS. 39 and 40( a ), the pressure receiving plate 167 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

The printer 121 of this embodiment has a channel valve 175 placed in the flow channel of the pipe 138, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 33 . A channel valve 175 is secured to the frame 122 adjacent to the ink cartridge 133 so that the amount of ink flowing in the conduit 138 can be varied.

The printer 121 of this embodiment has a valve unit 181 as shown in FIGS. 39 and 40 , instead of the valve unit 131 of the fourth embodiment, the valve unit is fixed on the carriage 125 . The passage valve 175 is placed on the upstream side of the valve unit 181 .

39 and 40, the valve unit 181 has a tapered surface portion 181b instead of the inclined surface 161b of the fourth embodiment, which makes the large concave portion 161 shallow from the vicinity of the support hole 169 toward the peripheral portion of the large concave portion 161. In the valve unit 181, the liquid outlet E is formed at 40% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 instead of the lowest portion of the pressure chamber 165, and the through hole 152a is connected thereto. In more detail, the liquid outlet E is formed in such a way that the valve unit 181 is installed on the slide frame 125, and the volume of the pressure chamber 165 below the centerline of the horizontal plane passing through the center of the liquid outlet E becomes 40% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 .

The method of setting the position of this liquid outlet E will be discussed below.

The position of the liquid outlet E is set by providing the liquid outlet E at different positions in the pressure chamber 165 and performing a simulation of the relationship between the number of purges and the ink concentration remaining in the pressure chamber 165 (remaining ink concentration). This position is determined by the ratio of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 below the center line C of the liquid outlet E (the volume of the hatched portion) to the volume of the pressure chamber 165 . It should be noted that when the valve unit 181 is installed on the printer, the centerline of the liquid outlet E is a straight line extending horizontally.

In the case of cleaning, first, the suction pump of the capping device 141 is driven to suck the ink filled with the valve unit 181 and the nozzles of the recording head 129 . Then, like the fourth embodiment, a cleaning liquid supply pipe is connected to the pipe 138 and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the valve unit 181 and the nozzles of the recording head 129 . Then, an unillustrated suction pump is driven to discharge the ink from the recording head 129, and the entire cleaning process is completed.

Fig. 41 shows the relationship between the number of times of cleaning and the remaining ink concentration (the ratio of ink to cleaning liquid contained in the ink mixture discharged when cleaning is performed). FIG. 41 shows the relationship between the case where the passage valve 175 is not provided (without valve) as in the fourth embodiment and the case where the passage valve 175 is provided (with valve) as in the present embodiment.

In the case of "no valve" where the channel valve 175 is not provided, the negative pressure generated by the suction of the suction pump causes the cleaning fluid to be supplied to the pressure chamber 165 until reaching the level Hn (see FIG. 41 ), at which level Hn, The liquid in the pressure chamber 165 becomes 50% of its volume, after which the suction pump stops and the movable valve 171 is closed. Therefore, in this case, when the cleaning liquid is injected into the pressure chamber 165, the level Hn is reached, and when the mixture of ink and cleaning liquid is discharged, the level H at the lowest portion of the liquid outlet E is reached.

In the case of "with valve" where the passage valve 175 is provided, after the ink is discharged, the suction pump is driven with the passage valve 175 closed. At this time, the air bubbles remaining in the pressure chamber 165 increase in volume and expand due to pressure drop. Thereafter, when the channel valve 175 is opened, the cleaning liquid suddenly enters and is supplied to the level Ha (see FIG. 41 ), which is about 80% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165, and when the suction pump is shut down after that, the active valve 171 were closed. Therefore, in the presence of the passage valve 175, since the washing liquid is injected into the pressure chamber 165, the level Ha is reached, and when the mixture of ink and washing liquid is discharged, the level H is reached.

Generally, the cleaning process is repeatedly performed 10 times or less. The remaining ink concentration is equal to or less than 0.1%, which hardly causes clogging even if ink remains in the nozzles of the recording head 129 for a long time.

As shown in the table in FIG. 41, in the case where the passage valve 175 is provided in the printer 121, as in this embodiment, if the liquid outlet E is located at 40% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 (at the center of the liquid outlet E Below the position where the volume below the line C is 40% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165), cleaning is performed ten times so that the remaining ink concentration is about 0.1% or less. In the case where the passage valve 175 is not provided in the printer 121, as in the fourth embodiment, if the liquid outlet E is located at 25% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 (the volume below the center line C of the liquid outlet E is the pressure 25% or less of the volume of the chamber 165), cleaning is performed ten times so that the remaining ink concentration is about 0.1% or less.

In the case of "no valve" in which the passage valve 175 is not provided, when the liquid outlet E is located at a position of 12% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165, cleaning is performed five times so that the remaining ink concentration in the pressure chamber 165 is about 0.1% or less . In the case of "with valve" where the passage valve 175 is provided, four cleanings are performed so that the remaining ink concentration in the pressure chamber 165 is about 0.1% or less. That is, the lower the liquid outlet E is set, the faster the ink is discharged, ensuring an ink concentration of 0.1% or less, at this concentration, even if the ink remains in the nozzles of the recording head 129 for a long time, it will not occur. clogged.

In consideration of the above, in order to obtain a remaining ink concentration of 0.1% or less through normal cleaning of 10 times or less, the highest position of the liquid outlet E is 40% of the pressure chamber 165 at which ink clogging does not occur . Therefore, in this embodiment, the liquid outlet E is set at a position of 40% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 .

Same as the first embodiment, the printer 121 of this embodiment performs a performance test after assembly. That is, as in the first embodiment, pressurized various inks are supplied from the respective ink cartridges 181B, 181C, 181M, and 181Y to the valve units 131B, 131C, 131M, and 131Y through the pipes 138B, 138C, 138M, and 138Y. As a result, the air in the filter chamber 155 , the second ink introduction channel 166 , the first ink introduction channel 157 , the supply chamber 156 , the pressure chamber 165 and the outflow channel 158 is exhausted from the recording head 129 .

When ink is supplied to the pipe 138, the valve unit 181, and the nozzles of the recording head 129, the channel valve 175 is closed, the carriage 125 is covered by the capping member 141a, and the suction pump is driven. Although the movable valve 171 separates its sealing member 172 from the partition plate 168 at this time, it is opened at this time, the passage valve 175 is closed, so that the passage valve 175 downstream area (on the recording head 129 side), such as the supply chamber 156 and pressure chamber 165 are significantly reduced. The air bubbles remaining in the pressure chamber 165 increase in volume and expand due to the reduced pressure. Thereafter, when the passage valve 175 is opened, ink is poured into the pressure chamber 165 at once. Therefore, the air bubbles that have expanded in the pressure chamber 165 are discharged together with the ink flow through the liquid outlet E, the outflow channel 158 and the recording head 129 .

The printer 121 performs printing for the performance test, and when this action is completed, the respective ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y are separated from the ink cartridge holder 132, as in the fourth embodiment. Then, after the recording head 129 is sealed by the capping device 141a, an unshown suction pump is driven. That is, ink is discharged from the filter chamber 155 , the second ink introduction channel 166 , the first ink introduction channel 157 , the supply chamber 156 , the pressure chamber 165 and the outflow channel 158 through the recording head 129 .

When the ink is mostly discharged, the respective ink cartridges 133B, 133C, 133M, and 133Y are separated from the ink cartridge holder 132, and then the cleaning liquid supply pipe is connected to the pipe 138 and cleaning is performed. Described more specifically, with the passage valve 175 closed, the carriage 125 is covered by the cover member 141a, and the suction pump is driven to significantly decompress the pressure chamber 165 . Thereafter, the passage valve 175 is opened, and the cleaning liquid is introduced into the pressure chamber 165 at once to clean the inside of the pressure chamber 165 . This is repeated about 10 times when cleaning is complete.

Therefore, in addition to the effects similar to those described in paragraphs (2) to (5) in the above fourth embodiment, this embodiment can provide the following effects:

(6) In this embodiment, the valve unit 131 is provided in the pipe 138 downstream of the passage valve 175, and the liquid outlet E is located at 40% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 in the direction of gravity. Therefore, by fully opening and closing the passage valve 175, the ink is replenished smoothly, so the number of times of cleaning less than ten times can clean the remaining ink concentration to 0.1% or less. Even in the nozzle, clogging hardly occurs. That is, the liquid injection characteristics are improved, and the number of times of cleaning can be reduced.

(7) In this embodiment, the liquid outlet E is provided at a position upstream of the pressure chamber 165 , that is, at a position of 40% of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 . That is, the liquid outlet E is set at the highest position at which a remaining ink concentration of 0.1% or less can be provided with less than ten cleanings, and at this remaining ink concentration, even if ink remains in the nozzles of the recording head 129, there is hardly A blockage occurs. The higher the position of the liquid outlet E, the better the ink injection characteristics, so this embodiment makes not only better ink discharge characteristics but also better ink injection characteristics. That is, it is possible to make it more difficult for air bubbles to remain in the pressure chamber 165 when ink is injected into the valve unit 181, so that printing reliability is hardly lowered.

(8) In this embodiment, the tapered surface portion 181b is provided in the large concave portion 161 . The tapered surface portion 181b makes the large concave portion 161 shallower from the center of the large concave portion 161 of the valve unit 181 or the vicinity of the support hole 169 toward the peripheral wall portion 161a. Therefore, even if the movable valve 171 is provided at the center of the pressure chamber 165 , the pressure chamber 165 upstream of the liquid outlet E can be made smaller, and the film member 163 is deformed in a shape following the shape of the large concave portion 161 . In this way, the negative pressure in the pressure chamber 165 can be easily increased, making it possible to improve the ink injection characteristics.

Next, a sixth embodiment of a printer 121 as a liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 42(a) and 42(b). Fig. 42(a) and Fig. 43 show that the pressure receiving plate 167 is removed for convenience of description.

The printer 121 of the sixth embodiment is provided with a valve unit 191 shown in FIGS. 42 and 43 instead of the valve unit 131 of the fourth embodiment. The valve unit 191 has a recessed portion 192 provided below the large recessed portion 161 as a volume-enlarged portion, which communicates with the large recessed portion 161 . The recessed portion 192 is formed in such a manner that the space below the liquid outlet E has a larger volume when the valve unit 191 is mounted on the carriage 125 . The top portion of the concave portion 192 becomes an inclined surface 192a that is inclined in such a way that one side of the second side surface 145b becomes higher.

Therefore, the printer 121 of the sixth embodiment obtains a similar function to that of the fourth embodiment. Furthermore, this embodiment can provide the following effects in addition to the effects similar to those described in paragraphs (2) to (5) and (7) in the above fourth embodiment:

(9) In the sixth embodiment, the recessed portion 192 is provided to increase the volume of the lower portion of the pressure chamber 165 . That is, the volume of the upper portion of the pressure chamber 165 becomes relatively smaller. This can make the volume of ink in the pressure chamber 165 larger with respect to the surface area of the film member 163 that forms the pressure chamber 165, so, even if the printer 121 is not used for a long time and occurs from the film member 163 through water or oxygen/ In the case of nitrogen, the increase in the viscosity of the ink within the pressure chamber 165 can also be minimized. That is, even in the case of using the printer 121 that has not been used for a long time, ink ejection can be well performed, and high reliability can be provided to the printer 121 .

(10) In the sixth embodiment, since the top portion of the concave portion 192 becomes the inclined surface 192a, which is inclined in such a way that the open side of the large concave portion 161 becomes higher, the remaining air bubbles in the concave portion 192 can be suppressed as much as possible.

The fourth to sixth embodiments can be modified as follows.

In the above respective embodiments, the liquid outlet E is provided in the peripheral wall portion 161 a of the pressure chamber 165 . The liquid outlet E is not necessarily provided in the peripheral wall portion 161a, but may be provided at a position closer to the center of the pressure chamber 165, for example, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 40(a). This can be used as liquid outlet E1.

Although the shape of the large concave portion 161 of the pressure chamber 165 is substantially cylindrical in the fourth to sixth embodiments, it may have other shapes. That is, the upper space of the pressure chamber 165 does not have to be inclined, and may have an elongated shape. In addition, the shape of the volume-increased portion formed in the lower space of the pressure chamber 165 may be a prism or a cone.

Although the through hole 152a connected to the liquid outlet E of the large depressed portion 161 is formed extending horizontally as shown in FIGS. 38(a) and 38(b) of the fourth to sixth embodiments, it may also be relatively The horizontal is inclined and is connected to exit E.

In the fourth to sixth embodiments, the shape of the unit case 145 of the valve units 131, 181, and 191 is not limited to an approximate rectangular parallelepiped. Where the valve units 131, 181, and 191 of the same shape are connected to the slider 125 at different angles, the positions of the liquid outlets E are different. When the valve units 131 , 181 , and 191 are used connected to the carriage 125 , the liquid outlet E is provided at a position of 25% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 . In the case where the passage valve 175 is provided, the liquid outlet E is provided at a position of 40% or less of the volume of the pressure chamber 165 .

The seventh embodiment that specifically implements the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In general, printers that print images on large pages of A0 or similar size use a lot of ink, so use cartridges that store a lot of ink. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, the carriage becomes heavy and a large load is applied to it. Therefore, a conventional large printer as shown in FIG. 53 has a so-called off-carriage type structure in which the ink cartridges 271 of the respective colors are not mounted on the carriage on which the recording head 272 is mounted.

Ink is supplied to the recording head 272 of the carriage 273 from the respective ink cartridges 271 fixed in a replaceable manner through respective hoses 274 (only one is shown in FIG. 53 ). Therefore, when the pressure in the pipe 274 varies with the movement of the carriage 273, it affects the discharge of ink and makes it difficult to discharge a predetermined amount of ink. In this scheme, a decompression chamber (pressure dumper chamber) 275 is located between the carriage 273 and the pipe 274, as shown in FIG. The height position N of the discharge port is low.

In this printer, the area E below the carriage 273 shown in FIG. 53 becomes the ejection area of the printed sheet S. As shown in FIG. In order to facilitate the replacement of the ink in the ink cartridge 271 during printing, the ink cartridge 271 is disposed on one side of the paper S delivery area E. Therefore, the length of the duct 274 needs to be equal to or greater than the maximum width of the printable sheet S, or the maximum moving width W of the carriage 273 .

Now, the pressure loss of the ink is proportional to the length of the tube 274 and inversely proportional to the fourth power of the inner diameter. That is, in order to reliably guide the ink from the ink cartridge 271 to the carriage 273 under the condition that the ink consumption increases with the multi-nozzle design and the printing speed, the pipe diameter should be made relatively large. This would increase the curvature of the pipe, so making the printer compact would be difficult.

The liquid ejecting apparatus of this embodiment can be made compact by reducing the loss of the pressure applied to the liquid in the liquid holder. As shown in FIG. 44 , an ink jet type printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) 210 as a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment has a pair of inverted T-shaped brackets 211 and 212 . A pair of casters 213 are provided under each of the brackets 211 and 212 to facilitate the movement of the printer. The brackets 211, 212 are equipped with connecting rods 214 to connect them, and the approximately parallelepiped-shaped frame 215 is supported on the brackets.

An operation panel 216 is protrudingly provided on the upper right portion of the chassis 215 . The operation panel 216 has a plurality of operation buttons 217 and a display 218 . Accordingly, the operation panel 216 can execute predetermined printing according to the user's selection of the operation button 217 while displaying the processed content on the display screen 218 . The back side of the housing 215 is provided with an unshown connection portion through which an unshown computer is connected. Accordingly, print data received from the computer is stored in an unillustrated memory contained within the chassis 215 .

A paper feeding section 219 is provided on the back of the frame 215 , and the paper S as a target is held in the paper feeding section 219 wound around the shaft 219 a. The paper feeding section 219 is also provided with an unillustrated paper feeding mechanism for feeding the paper S to a paper support spool 235 which will be discussed later.

The ink cartridge holding portion 220 is fixed at the upper center portion outside the frame 215 . Ink cartridges 221 , 222 , 223 , and 224 of respective colors (for example, four colors of cyan, red, yellow, and black) as liquid holders are arranged in the ink cartridge holding portion 220 in a replaceable manner from the front side. Specifically, the ink cartridges 221-224 are shaped like a flat parallelepiped box, their largest area portions are arranged upward and downward, and the respective ink cartridges 221-224 are arranged on the same plane. As shown in FIG. 45, an ink pack 225 storing ink or liquid is contained in each of the ink cartridges 221-224. Outwardly protruding ink outlets 221a, 222a, 223a and 224a are provided at the centers of the ink packages 225 of the respective ink cartridges 221-224. Needles 1 provided at the ends of hoses 226, 227, 228, and 229 as supply pipes are connected to ink outlets 221a, 222a, 223a, and 224a, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 46, the timing belt 233 and the guide rod 234 are placed in the frame 215, and the timing belt 233 is wound on a pair of driving wheels 231 and driven wheels 232 on the left and right sides. A paper support roll 235 on which paper is placed is arranged at a lower central portion of the frame 215 . Furthermore, a carriage 236 is arranged above the paper support roll 235 . The carriage 236 is engaged with the guide rod 234 to be guided, and engaged with the timing belt 233 to be driven. Therefore, the carriage 236 is arranged above the paper supporting shaft 235 with a predetermined gap therefrom, and can move along the X direction.

As shown in Fig. 45, the carriage 236 is provided with a recording head 237 in which a plurality of nozzles are provided for ejecting ink. Valve units 241 to 244 corresponding to the respective ink cartridges 221 to 224 are provided on the carriage 236 in such a manner as to be located above the recording head 237 . The respective valve units 241 to 244 have the same structure, as shown in FIGS. 45 to 47 . In Figure 45, a cross-sectional view of valve unit 241 along line 241-241 in Figure 47 is shown, a cross-sectional view of valve units 242 and 243 along line 242-242 in Figure 48 is shown, and A cross-sectional view of valve unit 244 along line 244-244 in FIG. 47 is shown.

As shown in FIGS. 45, 47 and 48, each valve unit 241-244 has an approximately cylindrical housing 245 formed of, for example, hard synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 47 , an approximately cylindrical concave portion 245 a and two curved groove portions 245 b and 245 c are formed on the first side surface of the housing 245 . The inlet-side film 248 is attached to the first side surface of the housing 245 in such a manner as to cover the recessed portion 245a and the groove portions 245b and 245c by a thermal attachment method. Accordingly, the recessed portion 245a becomes the supply chamber 250 , the groove portion 245b becomes the supply passage 251 communicating with the supply chamber 250 , and the groove portion 245c becomes the discharge passage 253 .

As shown in FIG. 48 , an approximately cylindrical depressed portion 245 d is formed on the second side surface of the housing 245 . The discharge side film 249 as a driving body is attached to the second side surface by a thermal adhesion method, and thus, the recessed portion 245d constitutes the pressure chamber 252 .

It is important that the inlet-side film 248 and the discharge-side film 249 are soft, made of a material that does not chemically affect ink properties, and have low water permeability and oxygen and nitrogen permeability. In this aspect, films 248 and 249 have a construction in which vinylidene chloride (Saran) coated nylon film is adhered and laminated to a high density polyethylene film or polypropylene film. This is to effectively detect the pressure states of the supply chamber 250 and the pressure chamber 252 using two membranes. Note that the inlet side film 248 and the discharge side film 249 of this embodiment are transparent.

A through hole 245e for communicating the supply chamber 250 and the pressure chamber 252 with each other and a communication passage 253a for communicating the pressure chamber 252 and the discharge passage 253 are provided at the center of the housing 245 .

Also formed in the casing 245 is a connection portion 246 to which the pipes 226-229 are connected and an ink lead-out portion 247 connected to the recording head 237 . A channel forming hole 246a connecting the supply channel 251 to the pipes 226-229 is formed in the connection portion 246, and a channel forming hole 247a extending from the discharge channel 253 to the recording head 237 is formed in the ink lead-out portion 247.

Therefore, the ink reaching the passage forming hole 246a of the connection portion 246 from the pipes 226-229 is supplied to the Recording head 237.

45, the valve body 255 includes a rod portion 255a and a disc portion 255b integrally formed with the rod portion 255a; One end of the valve closing spring 257 presses the back of the disc portion 255b, and the other end of the valve closing spring 257 presses the spring seat 258. Therefore, the valve closing spring 257 presses the valve body 255 toward the discharge side film 249 (rightward in the figure). A sealing member 259 is fixed on the side of the supply chamber 250 (the left-hand side in the figure) around the through hole 245e. Therefore, in FIG. 45, when the valve closing spring 257 pushes the valve body 255 to the right, the disc portion 255b of the valve body 255 is pressed on the sealing member 259, and the valve body 255 blocks and closes the through hole 245e (see FIG. 45). valve unit 242).

A pressure receiving plate 254 having rigidity is fixed to the outside of the discharge-side film 249 concentrically with the through-hole 245e of the housing 245 . The pressure bearing plate 254 is provided to minimize deformation of the flexible discharge side membrane 249 each time it is subjected to pressure from the pressure chamber 252 and bends (to the left) toward the supply chamber 250. Similarly, when the membrane 249 is subjected to the same pressure, It presses against the stem portion 255a of the valve body 255 . The negative pressure holding spring 260 is located in the pressure chamber 252 . The negative pressure holding spring 260 abuts against and squeezes the discharge side film 249 around the through hole 245, therefore, the negative pressure holding spring 260 prevents the pressure in the pressure chamber 252 from becoming uneven due to the self-weight of the ink in the pressure chamber 252. , the uneven pressure will press the rod portion 255a of the valve body 255 in an eccentric state.

Next, a method of setting the height H (mm) of the cartridge holding portion 220 relative to the valve body 255 of the valve units 241-244 will be described with reference to FIGS. 45, 49 and 50. FIG.

The pressure Pv in the pressure chamber 252 is equal to the release pressure Po of the valve body 255 when the recording head consumes ink. When the release pressure Po is negative, it has a negative sign and is given by:

Pv＝-Po ...(1)

The release pressure Po should be greater than the sum of the following pressures as shown in Figure 49: the thrust Ke of the valve closing spring 257 located in the supply chamber 250, the thrust Ko of the negative pressure holding spring 260 located in the pressure chamber 252, and on the discharge side The resistance fm when the film 249 is deformed, and the force Pc applied by the elevation head H to the back surface of the disc portion 255b of the valve body 255 . Thus, the release pressure Po is expressed by:

Po≥Ko+Ke+fm+Pc

Here, since the force Pc applied to the disc portion 255b of the valve body 255 varies with the elevation head H, the pressure Pv within the pressure chamber 252 varies as shown by the dotted line dL in FIG. 50 . However, since the area of the disk portion 255b is small, the force Pc applied to the disk portion 255b is negligibly small. Therefore, even if the elevation head H is changed, the large release pressure Po is unlikely to be affected, and the release pressure Po can be considered to be represented by a straight line L1 of Po=a (constant).

The pressure Pk in the supply chamber 250 becomes the sum of the elevation head H derived from the height from the ink cartridge clamping portion 220 to the supply chamber 250 and the pressure loss Pt of the pipes 226-229. When the pressure loss Pt is a negative pressure, it has a negative sign and is given by the following equation.

Pk＝-Pt+H ...(2)

In the case where the elevation head H is zero, Pk=-Pt, and when the elevation head H increases, the pressure Pk in the supply chamber 250 changes as shown by the straight line L2 in FIG. 50 .

Then, during ink consumption, under the condition that the pressure Pk in the supply chamber 250 represented by the formula (2) is equal to or higher than the pressure Pv in the pressure chamber 252 represented by the formula (1), the ink is drawn from the supply chamber 250 is adequately supplied to pressure chamber 252 . Right now,

Pk≥Pv＝-Pt+H≥-Po

And from the above formula, the elevation head He of the ink to be sufficiently supplied from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 252 is expressed by the following formula.

He≥-Po+Pt

The pressure Pv in the pressure chamber 252 when the elevation head H changes is represented by the line connecting the straight line L1 and the straight line L2 in FIG. 50 .

In the case where H≧He is set, ink is sufficiently supplied from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 252 even if the recording head has consumed ink for printing. Therefore, when the pressure in the pressure chamber 252 is adjusted, the valve body 255 is opened/closed (self-sealing), so the pressure Pv in the pressure chamber 252 becomes equal to -Po, satisfying Pv=-Po.

In the setting of H<He, when the recording head has consumed ink for printing, the supply of ink from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 25 becomes insufficient. To overcome this, the valve body 255 is always opened, and the ink is drawn. Supply to pressure chamber 252. In this case, the pressure Pv inside the pressure chamber 252 is represented by the following formula: Pv=-Po-H.

Since the pressure Pv inside the pressure chamber 252 becomes the supply pressure to the recording head, the smaller the better. In this embodiment, the height H of the cartridge holding portion 220 should be equal to or greater than He.

Next, the height H (mm) of the cartridge holding portion 220 will be discussed with specific values. For example, let the pressure loss Pt of the pipes 226-229 from the ink cartridges 221-224 to the supply chamber 250 be 150 (mmH ₂ O). At this time, the elevation head He of the ink to be sufficiently supplied from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 252 is expressed by the following equation.

He=-100(mm H ₂ O)+150(mm H ₂ O)=50(mm H ₂ O)

In the case where the release pressure Pv and the pressure loss Pf are equal, and, for example, the pipes 226-229 are made longer so that the pressure loss Pt is increased to 200 (mm H ₂ O), the elevation head He becomes 100 (mm H ₂ O), as shown by the two-dot dash line in Fig. 50 .

The operation of the printer of this embodiment will be described below.

When the printer 210 is used, the paper S wound on the shaft 219a is held in the paper feeding portion 219, and the ink cartridges 221-224 of the respective colors are held in the ink cartridge holding portion 220. The ink outlets 221a to 224a of the ink cartridges 221-224 are engaged with the needle 1.

When receiving print data from a not-shown connected computer, the printer 210 stores the print data in memory. Next, when printing of the print data is performed, the paper S is guided to the housing 215 by an unillustrated paper feeding device. When the paper S reaches between the carrier 235 and the carriage 236 , the printer 210 performs printing by moving the carriage 236 in the X direction while sufficiently ejecting ink from the discharge port of the recording head 237 of the carriage 236 .

More specifically, when ink is ejected from the recording head 237, the volumes of the pressure chambers 252 of the valve units 241-244 are reduced by the volume of the ejected ink, creating a given negative pressure. This negative pressure becomes the aforementioned release pressure Po. This negative pressure causes the discharge side membrane 249 to deform in the direction of the inlet side membrane 248 against the valve closing spring 257 and the negative pressure holding spring 260 (see valve unit 243 in FIG. 45 ). When the discharge side film 249 is deformed, the pressure receiving plate 254 fixed to the discharge side film 249 moves and abuts against the valve body 255, pushing the valve body 255 leftward. As a result, the valve body 255 moves leftward, and the disc portion 255b and the sealing member 259 are separated, so that the supply chamber 250 and the pressure chamber 252 communicate through the through hole 245e, causing ink to flow from the supply chamber 250 into the pressure chamber 252 . When ink flows into the pressure chamber 252, the negative pressure in the pressure chamber 252 is eliminated, and the valve body 255 moves to the right and is closed under the pushing force of the valve closing spring 257 (see valve unit 242 in FIG. 45 ).

Every time the printer 210 reciprocates the carriage 236 in the X direction as described above while ejecting ink, it drives an unillustrated paper feed mechanism to move the paper S toward the lower part of the printer 210 . Then, it performs printing while repeating the above-described series of operations.

The printer 210 of this embodiment can provide the following effects.

(a) In this embodiment, the ink cartridges 221 to 224 are movable regions of the carriage 236 and are provided on the upper portion of the recording head 237 . When ink is supplied to the recording head 237 by the pressure head difference from the ink cartridges 221 to 224 and the recording head 237, there is no need to provide an ink supply means such as a booster pump. Because the lengths of the pipes 226-229 only need to extend from the respective ink outlets 221a-224a to the farthest movable range of the carriage 236, the pipes 226-229 that supply the ink to the recording head 237 can be made shorter than conventionally. . That is, since the pressure loss can be made smaller, ink can be reliably supplied to the recording head 237 even if the height H from the recording head 237 to the ink cartridges 221-224 is made lower. Therefore, the height H from the recording head 237 to the ink cartridges 221-224 can be set lower than conventional ones, so the printer 210 can be made compact.

(b) In the present embodiment, the valve units 241-244 are provided on the upstream side of the recording head 237 of the carriage 236, and the valve units 241-244 are closed when the pressure in the supply chamber 250 is higher than the pressure in the pressure chamber 252 . Even if the ink cartridges 221-224 are placed above the recording head 237, ink does not leak from the recording head under pressure. Because the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 is supplied to the recording head 237 under the effect of the pressure head difference from the recording head 237 to the ink cartridges 221 to 224, it is not necessary to provide a large-scale device such as a device for supplying the ink to the recording head 237. booster pump. This can make the printer 210 smaller. Furthermore, when the ink cartridge holding portion 220 is provided on the upper portion of the carriage 236, ink replacement can be easily performed even in the case where the printed sheet S is sent out from under the carriage 236 during printing.

(c) In the present embodiment, the height H from the valve body 255 of the valve units 241-244 to the cartridge holding portion 220 is the pressure head from the pressure loss Pt of the pipes 226-229 and the pressure head from the valve units 241-244. The sum of the pressure heads of the release pressure Po (negative pressure) of the valve body 255 is equal to the elevation water head. Therefore, the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 can be reliably supplied to the recording head 237 by the energy generated at the height H. Referring to FIG. Therefore, ink can be ejected smoothly from the recording head 237 .

(d) In the present embodiment, the height H from the valve body 255 of the valve units 241-244 to the cartridge holding portion 220 is the pressure head from the pressure loss Pt of the pipes 226-229 and the pressure head from the valve units 241-244. The sum of the pressure heads of the release pressure Po (negative pressure) of the valve body 255 is equal to the elevation water head. That is, it becomes the lowest height H that allows the ink inside the ink cartridges 221-224 to be reliably supplied to the recording head 237. It is therefore possible to make the printer 210 smaller.

(e) In this embodiment, since the ink cartridges 221-224 are made into flat boxes and laid flat, the height dimension of the ink jet type printer 210 can be made smaller.

Based on FIGS. 51 and 52, an eighth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be described. Note, however, that those parts in the following respective embodiments that are similar to those of the seventh embodiment will be given the same reference numerals, and their detailed description will be omitted.

The ink cartridge holding portion 220 of the printer 210 as the liquid ejecting apparatus of the eighth embodiment is arranged almost at the center of the printer 210, and holds the vertically elongated ink cartridges 221-224.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the height H from the valve body 255 of the valve unit 241-244 to the ink cartridges 221-224 is set as follows, where d is the static water in the ink packaging body 225 in the ink cartridges 221-224. Changes in head pressure.

H＝He+d ...(3)

That is, the height H of the ink cartridge holding portion 220 in this embodiment takes into account the change in the hydrostatic head inside the ink cartridges 221-224 due to ink consumption.

Therefore, in the printer 210 of the present embodiment, the ink cartridges 221-224 are also held in the ink cartridge holding portion 220 and engaged with the needle 1. And the valve body 255 is in a closed state. When performing printing, the printer 210 performs printing by ejecting ink from the recording head 237 while feeding the paper S between the carrier 235 and the carriage 236, and moves the carriage 236 in the X direction, and the seventh embodiment Example is the same.

When the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 is consumed thereafter, the hydrostatic head in the ink cartridges 221-224 becomes negative pressure. Therefore, it is possible that the ink supply from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 252 is insufficient. Due to the negative pressure generated by the volume reduction in the pressure chamber 252, the pressure in the pressure chamber 252 is greatly reduced. The decrease is a result of ink ejection from the discharge ports of the nozzles of the recording head 237 . However, the height H in this embodiment is set to a value equal to the elevation head He of the seventh embodiment plus the change d in the hydrostatic head from the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224. depth. Therefore, even if most of the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 is consumed, the pressure in the supply chamber 250 is still higher than the pressure in the pressure chamber 252, so the ink is sufficiently supplied from the supply chamber 250 to the pressure chamber 252, thereby fully maintain the pressure in the pressure chamber.

Therefore, this embodiment can obtain the following effects in addition to the effects similar to (a), (b) and (d) of the foregoing embodiments.

(f) In the present embodiment, the ink cartridges 221-224 are held in the ink cartridge holding portion 220 in such a manner that they are located almost at the center of the printer 210 and aligned horizontally. Therefore, the length of the pipes 226-229 supplying ink from the respective ink tanks 221-224 to the respective valve units 241-244 may be set to be approximately half the movable range of the carriage 236. Referring to FIG. Ink is supplied to the carriage through the pipes 226-229, and since the pipes 226-229 can be made shorter, the pressure loss can be made smaller and the printer 210 can be made more compact.

(g) In the present embodiment, the height H is set to a value that takes into account variations in the hydrostatic head from the depth of the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224. Therefore, even if most of the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 is consumed, the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 can be smoothly supplied to the recording head 237.

The seventh and eighth embodiments can be modified as follows.

In each of the above-described embodiments, the negative pressure maintaining spring 260 is placed in the pressure chamber 252 . In order to reduce costs and the like, the negative pressure maintaining spring 260 may be omitted.

In the seventh embodiment, the height H from the valve body 255 of the valve units 241-244 to the ink cartridges 221-224 is set equal to the elevation head He, which is the pressure head from the pressure loss Pt of the pipes 226-229 and from the valve The sum of the heads of the relief pressure Po (negative pressure) of the valve body 255 of the units 241-244. In the eighth embodiment, the height H is set equal to He+d. However, the height H from the valve bodies 255 of the valve units 241-244 to the ink cartridges 221-224 does not need to be exactly equal to the elevation head He, but only needs to be equal to or greater than the elevation head He. Even in this case, the ink in the ink cartridges 221-224 can be more reliably supplied to the valve units 241-244.

In the eighth embodiment, the ink cartridge holding portion 220 holding the ink cartridges 221 - 224 is located at the center of the frame 215 . However, the cartridge holding portion 220 does not have to be at the center of the inkjet type printer 210 but only needs to be within the movable range of the carriage 236 . Also in this case, the pipes 226-229 can be made shorter than conventional, so it is possible to reduce pressure loss and help make the printer 210 compact.

The descriptions of the respective embodiments given above have given the ink cartridges 221-224 holding the ink packages 225. FIG. Alternatively, ink cartridges 221-224 that store ink in a porous substance may also be used.

A ninth embodiment of a liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 55 to 61. FIG. As shown in FIG. 55 , a printer 320 as a liquid ejection device has a paper feed tray 321 and a paper output tray 322 on the outside, and has a printer body 323 inside. The printer body 323 is equipped with a paper support roller 324 and a paper feeding mechanism not shown. The paper support roller 324 supports the paper P as a target, and the paper P is placed on its upper surface when the liquid is ejected. The paper feeding mechanism is driven by an unshown driving mechanism, and is used to feed the paper P from the paper feeding tray 321 to the paper supporting reel 324 , and send the paper P on the paper supporting reel 324 to the paper output tray 322 .

A driving wheel 326 and a driven wheel 327 are fixed to the printer body 323 through a frame 325 , and a carriage motor 328 is connected to the driving wheel 326 . A timing belt 329 is wound around the pair of pulleys 326 and 327 , and a carriage 330 located above the paper support reel 324 is fixed to the timing belt 329 . The carriage 330 is slidable along a guide rod 331 suspended on the frame 325 . Therefore, the carriage 330 is driven by the carriage motor 328 to move along the main scanning direction X via the timing belt 329 .

The carriage 330 has a recording head 332 as a liquid ejection head on its lower surface. A plurality of unillustrated nozzles are formed in the recording head 332, and unillustrated piezoelectric elements corresponding to the respective nozzles are provided. The piezoelectric element is driven by an unillustrated driving device, and ejects ink or liquid from each nozzle toward the paper P that reaches below the recording head 332 .

In addition, four valve units 335 are mounted on the top portion of the carriage 330, and four ink cartridges 336 as liquid holders are supported by being engaged with the respective valve units 335. The respective ink cartridges 336 hold respective inks of black, red, cyan, and yellow.

In FIG. 55 , a cleaning mechanism 337 is provided at the right-hand end of the printer 320 . The cleaning mechanism 337 has a cover 338 covering the recording head 332 and an unillustrated suction pump communicating with the cover 338 . When the suction pump is driven and the cap 338 covers the recording head 332, ink, air bubbles, and the like are discharged.

Next, the valve unit 335 of the carriage 330 will be described in detail based on the drawings. 56 and 57 show the carriage 330 and the ink cartridges 336 mounted on the carriage 330 with one ink cartridge 336 removed.

As shown in FIGS. 56 to 59( a ) and 59 ( b ), the valve unit 335 has a plurality of synthetic resin unit cases 340 . Each unit case 340 is formed as a flat box having a semi-cylindrical portion and a stepped portion 341 formed at the top thereof. A supply needle 342 is formed protruding upward on the stepped portion 341 of each unit case 340 . Each supply needle 342 is formed in a cylindrical shape and has a lumen 342a. Two supply holes 342 b opposite to each other are provided on an upper outer surface of each supply needle 342 . When the supply needle 342 is loaded into the ink cartridge 336, the liquid is supplied from the ink cartridge 336 to the valve unit 335 through the lumen 342a and the supply hole 342b. In addition, an ink lead-out portion protruding downward is integrally formed at the lower portion of each unit case 340 . The ink lead-out portion 343 is connected to the recording head 332 through the connection portion 330 a of the carriage 330 .

56, 58 (a) and 58 (b) and 60 (a) and 60 (b), the approximately columnar small recessed portion 345 and the approximately straight groove 346 communicating with the small recessed portion 345 are formed in the unit housing 340 formed in the first side surface 340a. A thin film member 347 covering the small concave portion 345 and the groove 346 is thermally attached to the first side surface 340a. Therefore, the small concave portion 345 and the film member 347 form the supply chamber 348 , and the groove 346 and the film member 347 form the ink introduction portion 349 . A communication hole h connected to the lumen 342 a of the supply needle 342 is provided in one end of the groove 346 . Accordingly, the ink that has been introduced from the supply needle 342 is introduced into the supply chamber 348 through the communication hole h and the ink introduction portion 349 . The film member 347 is made of a material that does not chemically affect the properties of the ink, and has low water permeability and low oxygen and nitrogen permeability. Therefore, in this embodiment, the film member 347 is made of a film having, for example, a high-density polyethylene film or a polypropylene film to which a vinylidene chloride (Saran)-coated nylon film is adhered and laminated.

As shown in FIG. 60 , a spring receiving member 350 having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the supply chamber 348 is connected to the membrane member 347 within the supply chamber 348 in a concentric manner with the supply chamber 348 . The spring receiving member 350 may be thermally attached to the film member 347 in advance, or may also be attached thereto with an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like. In addition, the spring member S engaged with the spring receiving member 350 is in a compressed state within the supply chamber 348 .

As shown in Figures 57, 59(a) and 59(b) and 60(a) and 60(b), the approximately cylindrical large recessed portion 351 arranged concentrically with the small recessed portion 345 is on the second side of the unit housing 340 Formed in surface 340b. The large concave portion 351 has a peripheral wall portion 351a inclined in such a manner that its diameter increases toward the opening. The outlet hole 352 is located at the lower part of the large concave part 351 and directly above the ink outlet part 343 . The outlet hole 352 communicates with the outlet channel 343 a of the ink outlet part 343 . As a driving body covering the large concave portion 351 , a film member 353 is thermally attached to the second side surface 340 b of the unit case 340 . Therefore, the large concave portion 351 and the thin film member 353 form a pressure chamber 354 . The film member 353 is made of the same material as the film member 347 .

An approximately disk-shaped pressure receiving plate 355 is attached to the side of the film member 353 opposite to the pressure chamber 354 . The pressure receiving plate 355 has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the pressure chamber 354 and is arranged concentrically with the pressure chamber 354 . The pressure bearing plate 355 is formed of a material harder than the film member 353, such as a light plastic material such as polyethylene or polypropylene. The pressure receiving plate 355 is attached to the film member 353 by a thermal attachment method or using an adhesive, a double-sided tape, or the like.

As shown in Figures 60(a) and 60(b), a support hole 358 communicating the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 is formed in the partition plate 357, which defines the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber of the unit housing 340. 354. A movable valve 359 constituting an on/off valve is slidably supported in the support hole 358 . The movable valve 359 is integrally formed of a cylindrical rod portion 359 a inserted into the supporting hole 358 and a plate-like member 359 b having an approximately disc shape larger than the outline of the supporting hole 358 . Described more specifically, the rod portion 359 a is inserted into the support hole 358 , and the tip thereof may abut against the film member 353 . The plate-shaped member 359b of the movable valve 359 is located in the supply chamber 348, and is pressed by the spring member S in the R direction in FIGS. 60(a) and 60(b). In addition, an annular sealing member 360 is fixed on the side of the supply chamber 348 of the partition plate 357 in such a manner as to surround the support hole 358 . The sealing member 360 is formed of, for example, an O-ring or the like with an elastomer resin or the like. As shown in FIG. 61 , the supporting hole 358 has four split grooves arranged at equal intervals, and the split grooves are roughly cross-shaped as a whole. Therefore, when the rod portion 359a of the movable valve 359 is inserted into the support hole 358, the rod portion 359a and the support hole 358 form four ink passages 361.

Therefore, the movable valve 359 is generally in the position shown in Fig. 60(a) under the pushing force of the spring member S, and its plate member 359b is pressed on the sealing member 360, covering around the support hole 358, and the supply Chamber 348 is spaced from pressure chamber 354 . That is, the active valve is in the valve closed state. When the movable valve 359 moves in the L direction in FIGS. 60(a) and 60(b), and the plate-shaped member 359b is separated from the sealing member 360 of the partition plate 357, the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 communicate with each other through the ink channel 361. communicate with each other. At this time, the active valve 359 becomes the valve open state. Then, the ink supplied to the pressure chamber 354 is introduced into the lead-out passage 343a of the ink lead-out portion 343 through the outlet hole 352, and is supplied to the recording head 332 through the lead-out passage 343a.

Next, the ink cartridge 336 will be described with reference to FIGS. 56 to 59(a) and 59(b). As shown in FIGS. 56 to 59( a ) and 59 ( b ), the ink cartridge 336 is approximately parallelepiped-shaped, and includes a main body 371 and a cover member 372 .

A supply portion 374 is protrudingly formed at a lower portion of the main body 371 . As shown in FIGS. 58( a ) and 58 ( b ) to 59 ( a ) and 59 ( b ), a stepped hole 375 is formed in the supply portion 374 . The stepped hole 375 includes a small diameter portion 375a on the inner side of the main body 371 and a large diameter portion 375b on the opening side into which the supply needle 342 can be inserted.

A valve body 376 constituting a valve mechanism and a spring member 377 also constituting a valve mechanism are placed in the small-diameter portion 375 a of the stepped hole 375 . The valve body 376 is approximately disc-shaped, the upper center portion thereof protrudes upward, and the spring member 377 constituting the valve mechanism is fitted into the upper center portion. The spring member 377 is fixedly pressed between the valve body 376 and the upper end of the stepped hole 375 and presses the valve body 376 downward. When the supply needle 342 is inserted into the supply portion 374 , the valve body 376 is moved by the supply needle 342 to be pressed upward against the urging force of the spring member 377 while blocking the upper end of the lumen 342 a of the supply needle 342 .

A sealing member 378 is placed in the large-diameter portion 375 b of the stepped hole 375 . The sealing member 378 has a ring portion 378 a whose inner diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the lower portion of the valve body 376 and the outer diameter of the supply needle 342 . When the valve body 376 is pressed and moved downward by the spring member 377, the valve body 376 and the sealing member 378 are in close contact, closing the opening of the ring portion 378a and preventing the ink inside the ink cartridge 336 from flowing out, as shown in FIG. 59(a) . When the supply needle 342 of the valve unit 335 is inserted into the supply portion 374, as shown in FIG. The ink inside is guided to the lumen 342a of the supply needle 342.

As shown in FIGS. 58( a ) and 58 ( b ), and 59 ( a ) and 59 ( b ), in the upper portion of the main body 371 , an upwardly opened concave portion 380 is formed. When the recessed portion 380 is covered with the cover member 372, a holding cavity 381 as a liquid holding portion is defined. Inks of cyan, red, yellow, and black are held in the holding chambers 381 of the respective ink cartridges 336, respectively. The bottom surface of the concave portion 380 is inclined toward the supply port 380 a connecting the concave portion 380 to the stepped hole 375 . Therefore, the ink held in the holding chamber 381 is collected in the supply port 380a along the lower surface due to gravity.

As shown in FIG. 56 , a through hole 383 and a communication groove 384 communicating with the through hole 383 are formed in the cover member 372 . A channel forming film 385 is pasted to the upper surface of the cover member 372 . The channel forming film 385 covers the through hole 383 and the communication groove 384 , but does not cover the one end portion 384 a of the communication groove 384 . Therefore, the holding chamber 381 can communicate with the atmosphere through the through hole 383 and the communication groove 384, so even if ink is discharged from the holding chamber 381, the inside of the holding chamber 381 does not become negative pressure.

The operation of the printer 320 of this embodiment will be described below.

Before using the printer 320 , the user inserts the supply needle 342 of each valve unit 335 of the carriage 330 into the supply portion 374 of each ink cartridge 336 and mounts each ink cartridge 336 on the carriage 330 . Before the ink cartridge 336 is mounted on the carriage 330, the valve body 376 is pressed against the sealing member 378 to seal the supply port 380a of the holding chamber 381 so that the ink in the holding chamber 381 does not leak out.

When the supply needle 342 is inserted into the supply portion 374 of the ink cartridge 336, as shown in FIG. 58( b), the supply needle 342 is pressed against the sealing member 378, and the valve body 376 is pushed upward while maintaining the sealing of the supply port 380a. push. Accordingly, the ink in the holding chamber 381 and the stepped hole 375 is supplied to the supply chamber 348 through the supply hole 342 b and the lumen 342 a of the supply needle 342 , the communication hole h, and the ink introduction portion 349 . Since the holding chamber 381 communicates with the atmosphere through the through hole 383 and the communication groove 384 of the cover member 372 at this time, the inside of the holding chamber 381 does not become negative pressure, and the ink is smoothly supplied to the supply chamber 348 .

In addition, at this time, an unillustrated suction pump of the cleaning mechanism 337 is activated, and the air in the pressure chamber 354 is exhausted. Negative pressure is correspondingly generated in the pressure chamber 354, so the film member 353 and the pressure receiving plate 355 are laterally displaced to reduce the volume of the pressure chamber 354, in the position shown in FIG. 60(b). Accordingly, the film member 353 and the pressure receiving plate 355 push and move the movable valve 359 in the L direction, thereby separating the plate member 359 b and the sealing member 360 . This opens the movable valve 359 so that the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 communicate with each other through the ink channel 361 . Accordingly, the ink supplied from the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 to the supply needle 342 is supplied to the pressure chamber 354 .

When the pressure chamber 354 is full of ink, the pressure of the ink in the supply chamber 348 and the pushing force of the spring member S act on the movable valve 359, so that the movable valve 359 is moved along the R in Figures 60(a) and 60(b). direction and move in that direction. The pressure of the ink in the supply chamber 348 is the pressure caused by the elevation head of the ink in the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 . Accordingly, the plate member 359b is pressed against the sealing member 360, closing the movable valve 359, as shown in FIG. 60(a). In this way, the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 are disconnected from each other, stopping the supply of ink from the supply chamber 348 to the pressure chamber 354 .

Thereafter, when the printer 320 is in a printing state, a paper feeding mechanism not shown is driven to feed the paper P on the paper feeding tray 321 between the carriage 330 and the paper support roller 324 . When the paper P reaches between the carriage 330 and the paper support roller 324, the carriage motor 328 and the unillustrated piezoelectric element of the recording head 332 are driven. As a result, ink is ejected from the recording head 332 toward the paper P while the carriage 330 reciprocates in the X direction.

When the ink is ejected from the recording head 332, the ink in the pressure chamber 354 decreases with the ejection amount. Assuming that the pressure in the supply chamber 348 is P1, the propelling force of the spring member S is W1, the displacement reaction force required to displace the film member 353 is Wd, and the negative pressure of the ink in the pressure chamber 354 is P2, when the following relationship is satisfied

In the case of P2>P1+Wd+W1, the film member 353 is bent in the L direction, thereby moving the movable valve 359 in the L direction. Therefore, the movable valve 359 is separated from the sealing member 360 as shown in FIG.

When the ink is supplied from the supply chamber 348 to the pressure chamber 354 and the ink consumed in the pressure chamber 354 is replenished, the negative pressure in the pressure chamber 354 is reduced. As a result, the movable valve 359 moves in the R direction and is closed by the pressure in the supply chamber 348 and the urging force of the spring member S, which is applied to the plate member 359b. , thereby disconnecting the supply chamber 348 from the pressure chamber 354.

In the case of replacing the ink cartridge 336 thereafter, the ink cartridge 336 is removed upward from the valve unit 335 . Then, the valve body 376 of the ink cartridge 336 is urged and moved downward by the spring member 377, and abuts against the sealing member 378, thereby sealing the supply port 380a. Therefore, the used ink cartridge 336 is removed from the carriage 330 without ink leaking from the inside of the stepped hole 375 and the holding chamber 381 .

The printer 320 of this embodiment can provide the following effects.

(1) In the ninth embodiment, the valve unit 335 is provided between the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 and the recording head 332 . When a negative pressure is generated in the pressure chamber 354 communicating with the recording head, the valve unit 335 causes the movable valve 359 to perform valve opening operation, thereby communicating the supply chamber 348 on the side of the holding chamber 381 and the pressure chamber 354 on the side of the recording head 332.

When the movable valve 359 is in the valve-closed state, the pressure of the ink in the holding chamber 381 is not transmitted to the pressure chamber. Therefore, ink hardly leaks out from the recording head 332 . As ink is ejected from the recording head 332 , the active valve 359 is opened, and ink is supplied from the supply chamber 348 to the pressure chamber 354 . This eliminates the need to hold a porous mass within the holding chamber 381 . It is thus possible to hold more ink in the holding chamber 381 by an increased amount of the porous mass that would not be held, and no stagnation of the ink supply due to the porous mass occurs.

Furthermore, since the porous substance is not held in the holding chamber 381 , a part of the porous substance is not mixed as impurities into the ink to be supplied from the ink cartridge 336 to the recording head 332 . Therefore, there is no need to place a filter for removing impurities between the ink cartridge 336 and the recording head 332, so the number of parts can be reduced.

(2) In the ninth embodiment, the ink cartridge 336 is provided above the supply chamber 348 of the valve unit 335 . Accordingly, the ink held in the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 is supplied to the supply chamber 348 under pressure from the elevation head. Therefore, the ink in the holding chamber 381 is supplied to the supply chamber 348 without providing any means for pressurizing the ink. As a result, the ink in the holding chamber 381 is supplied to the supply chamber 348 with a simple structure.

(3) In the ninth embodiment, the valve unit 335 and the carriage 330 are integrated. The valve unit 335 having the holding chamber 381 is detachable from the recording head 332 . When the ink in the holding chamber 381 is consumed and it is to be replaced with a new ink cartridge 336, only the ink cartridge 336 needs to be replaced without replacing the valve unit 335. That is, because only a small number of parts need to be replaced, the ink cartridge 336 to be replaced can be manufactured with less material and at a lower cost.

(4) In the ninth embodiment, the ink cartridge 336 is provided with the supply portion 374 having the stepped hole 375 . The valve body 376 is placed in the stepped hole 375, and when the supply needle 342 is inserted, the valve body 376 moves and opens, and when the supply needle 342 is pulled out, the valve body 376 is pressed against the sealing member 378. Once installed on the carriage 330, even if the ink cartridge 336 is removed before all the ink is used up, little ink leakage will occur. If the supply needle 342 of the valve unit 335 is inserted into the supply part 374 of the half-used ink cartridge 336 , the ink in the holding chamber 381 may be supplied to the valve unit 335 . Therefore, even if the ink cartridge 336 is removed when it is half used, the ink can be effectively used.

(5) In the ninth embodiment, when the ink is sprayed onto the paper P and the ink in the pressure chamber 354 is reduced, the film member 353 moves along the L direction in FIG. 60 in such a way that the volume of the pressure chamber 354 is reduced being bent and displaced. When the film member 353 is displaced in the L direction, the movable valve 359 is opened, and the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 communicate with each other through the ink passage 361 . Therefore, ink is replenished to the pressure chamber 354 according to the amount of ink consumed. At this time, ink is replenished to the pressure chamber 354 according to the amount of ink consumed by the recording head 332 regardless of the pressure of ink to be supplied from the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 to the supply chamber 348 of the valve unit 335 .

(6) In the ninth embodiment, the bottom of the holding chamber 381 is inclined in such a manner as to converge toward the stepped hole 375 or the supply port 380a. Therefore, the ink in the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 is collected in the supply port 380a by the force of gravity. Therefore, even if the ink in the holding chamber 381 decreases, the ink is supplied to the supply chamber 348 through the supply port 380a more reliably, so that all the ink in the holding chamber 381 can be effectively used.

(7) In the ninth embodiment, the holding chamber 381 is opened to the atmosphere through the through hole 383 and the communication groove 384 formed in the cover member 372 . Even if the ink in the holding chamber 381 is supplied to the recording head 332 through the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 and consumed by ejection from the recording head 332, the inside of the pressure chamber 381 does not become negative pressure. It is therefore possible to smoothly supply ink from the holding chamber 381 to the pressure chamber 354 and eject ink from the recording head 332 appropriately.

(8) In the ninth embodiment, the supply needle 342 of the valve unit 335 is provided on the stepped portion 341 of the valve unit 335 . Therefore, even if the supply portion 374 of the ink cartridge 336 is mounted on the supply needle 342, the height of the carriage 330 can be made as small as possible. That is, the printer 320 can be made smaller.

62 to 66(a) and 66(b), a tenth embodiment of the liquid ejecting apparatus embodying the present invention will be discussed. The tenth embodiment modifies only the ink cartridge 336 and the carriage 330 of the printer 320 of the ninth embodiment. Therefore, the same reference numerals will be given to the similar parts in this embodiment to those in the above-mentioned embodiments, and their detailed descriptions will be omitted.

62 and 63 show the carriage 388 and ink cartridges 390 to be mounted on the carriage 388 with one ink cartridge 390 removed according to the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 62 and 63, four cylindrical supply needles 342 (only two are shown) are provided on the upper portion of the connection portion 330a of the carriage 388 of the tenth embodiment. Each supply needle 342 has two supply holes 342b opposite to each other, and the inner cavity 342a communicates with the supply holes 342a for leading ink to the connecting portion 330a, as in the ninth embodiment.

In the tenth embodiment, four ink cartridges 390 as liquid holders are mounted on the carriage 388 in such a manner that the supply needle 342 is fitted into each carriage 388 . Each ink cartridge 390 is a combination of a holding chamber 381 as a liquid holding portion and a valve unit 335 , and includes an ink cartridge case 391 and a cover member 372 .

Each cartridge housing 391 is formed in a flat parallelepiped shape. In the lower portion of each ink cartridge case 391, an ink lead-out portion 393 is protrudingly formed. The ink lead-out portion 393 has a structure similar to that of the supply portion 374 of the first embodiment, where a stepped hole 375 is formed into which the supply needle 342 is inserted as shown in FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b). That is, the valve body 376 and the spring member 377 are held in the small diameter portion 375a of the stepped hole 375, and the sealing member 378 is held in the large diameter portion 375b. Therefore, when the supply needle is inserted into the seal member 378 of the stepped hole 375 of the ink lead-out portion 393 as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 62 and 64, a small recessed portion 345 is formed in the first side surface 391a of the cartridge case 391, and a film member 347 covering the small recessed portion 345 is thermally adhered to the first side surface. Therefore, the small concave portion 345 and the film member 347 form a supply chamber 348 . As shown in FIGS. 66( a ) and 66 ( b ), the spring receiving member 350 and the spring member S are placed in the supply chamber 348 .

As shown in FIGS. 63 and 65, a large concave portion 351 concentric with the small concave portion 345 is formed in the second side surface 391b of the ink cartridge case 391, and the film member 353 covering the large concave portion 351 is thermally adhered to the second side surface. superior. Therefore, the large concave portion 351 and the thin film member 353 form a pressure chamber 354 . An outlet hole 352 communicating with the stepped hole 375 of the ink lead-out portion 393 is formed in the large concave portion 351 . The film member 353 is provided with a pressure receiving plate 355, as in the ninth embodiment.

In addition, a support hole 358 is formed in the partition plate 357 which defines the supply chamber 348 and the pressure chamber 354 , and a movable valve 359 is inserted into the support hole 358 . The rod portion 359 a of the movable valve 359 may abut against the film member 353 . The plate-like member 359b of the movable valve 359 is pressed by the spring member S to the right in FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b). In addition, a sealing member 360 is provided on the side of the supply chamber 348 of the partition plate 357 .

As shown in FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b), a recessed portion 395 is formed in the upper portion of the ink cartridge case 391. As shown in FIG. The width of the lower portion 395b of the concave portion 395 is narrower than that of the upper portion 395a. A communication hole 397 communicating with the supply chamber 348 is formed at the center of the lower portion 395b. The bottom of the depressed portion 395 is inclined toward the communication hole 397 in such a manner as to converge toward the communication hole 397 . Therefore, the ink held in the holding chamber 381 is collected in the communication hole 397 by gravity.

When the recessed portion 395 is covered by the cover member 372, a holding cavity 381 as a liquid holding portion is defined. Inks of cyan, red, yellow, and black are held in the holding chambers 381 of the respective ink cartridges 390, respectively. A through hole (not shown) and a communication groove 384 communicating therewith (see FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b)) are formed in the cover member 372, as in the ninth embodiment. The channel forming film 385 is bonded to the cover member, so that the communication groove 384 and the through hole are covered by the channel forming film 385 , but one end portion 384 a of the communication groove 384 is not covered.

Thus, the carriage 388 of the tenth embodiment operates in a similar manner to the ninth embodiment. Specifically, the pressure from the head difference of the ink in the holding chamber 381 always acts on the supply chamber 348 . Therefore, the movable valve 359 is always moved to the right in FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b), abuts against the sealing member 360, and is pushed by the spring member S and the pressure of the ink in the supply chamber 348. closed, thereby disconnecting the supply chamber 348 from the pressure chamber 354. When ink is ejected from the recording head 332 onto the paper P, the amount of ink in the pressure chamber 354 decreases, which creates a negative pressure in the pressure chamber 354 . This moves the membrane member 353 and the pressure receiving plate 355 in a direction to reduce the volume of the pressure chamber 354, or to the left in FIGS. 66(a) and 66(b). Accordingly, the movable valve 359 is pushed leftward by the membrane member 353, disengages from the membrane member 360, and opens. Accordingly, ink is supplied from the supply chamber 348 to the pressure chamber 354 through the ink passage 361 . The ink held in the holding chamber 381 of the present embodiment is supplied to the supply chamber 348 through the communication hole 397 , and the ink is supplied from the supply chamber 348 to the pressure chamber 354 through the ink channel 361 .

In addition to the effects (1), (2) and (5) to (7) of the ninth embodiment, the printer of the tenth embodiment can provide the following effects.

(9) In the ink cartridge 390 of the tenth embodiment, the valve unit 335 and the holding chamber 381 are integrally formed, and the ink cartridge 390 is attachable and detachable with respect to the carriage 388 . Therefore, the valve unit 335 can be easily mounted on the conventional carriage 388 to which the valve unit 335 is not mounted, so that the ink cartridge 390 which uses ink more efficiently can be attached.

If all the ink held in the holding chamber 381 is used up, the ink cartridge is replaced together with the valve unit. That is, since the valve unit is used only when the ink held in the liquid holding portion is consumed, it does not require rigidity to withstand long-term use. Therefore, the material can be selected more freely, and the liquid retainer can be manufactured at a lower cost. In addition, since no porous substance is held in the ink cartridge 390, a part of the porous substance does not get mixed into the ink as impurities. Therefore, there is no need to place a filter for removing impurities between the ink cartridge 390 and the recording head 332, so the number of parts can be reduced.

(10) In the tenth embodiment, the ink lead-out portion 393 having the stepped hole 375 is provided on the valve unit 335 . The supply needle 342 is inserted into the stepped hole 375, opened as shown in FIG. 66(a), and, when the supply needle 342 is pulled out, the valve body 376 is pressed against the sealing member 378 as shown in FIG. 66(b). Once mounted on the carriage 388, even if the ink cartridge 390 is detached before the ink is completely used up, the retained ink hardly leaks.

When the supply needle 342 of the carriage 388 is inserted into the supply portion 374 of the half-used ink cartridge 390 , the ink in the valve unit 335 is supplied to the ink lead-out portion 393 . Even if the ink cartridge 390 is removed when it is half used, the ink held in the ink cartridge 390 can be effectively used.

The ninth and tenth embodiments may be modified as follows.

In the ninth and tenth embodiments, the holding chamber 381 of the ink cartridge 336 , 390 is provided above the supply chamber 348 of the valve unit 335 . Alternatively, a retaining cavity 381 extending laterally and downwardly from the supply cavity 348 may be provided.

In the ninth and tenth embodiments, when the supply needle 342 is inserted into the stepped hole 375, the ink cartridge 336, 390 is mounted on the carriage 330, 388. Alternatively, the ink cartridges 336, 390 may be supported on the carriage 330 by additional support means. In this case, the carriages 330, 388 can be stably moved even if the volume of the holding chamber 381 disposed at the upper portion is made larger.

In the ninth and tenth embodiments, the ink lead-out portion 343 , 393 protrudes downward from the case 340 , 391 . Those ink lead-out parts 343 and 393 may be formed not to protrude from the housings 340 and 391 . The shapes of the housings 340 and 391 can be arbitrarily selected.

industrial availability

As described above, the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is suitable for use in printers (printing apparatuses including facsimile machines, copiers, etc.) that eject ink, as a liquid ejecting apparatus. In addition, the apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to a liquid ejection apparatus for ejecting a liquid such as an electrode material or a dyeing material, which is used in the manufacture of a liquid crystal display, an EL display, and a surface emission display, and also to a liquid ejection apparatus for ejecting a bioorganic substance , the device is used in the production of biochips, or is suitable for sample injection devices such as precision pipettes.

Claims (76)

1. liquid injection device, be equipped with fluid jetting head and valve unit, fluid jetting head is installed on the balladeur train, and can move back and forth along the horizontal direction of target, valve unit is installed on the described balladeur train, and by service duct, gives described valve unit supply liquid from the liquid retainer, and described valve unit is fed to described fluid jetting head to liquid, and described valve unit has:

Pressure chamber, it is connected to described liquid retainer by described service duct;

Valve, it opens or closes described service duct, and liquid is fed to described pressure chamber;

Propulsion members, it advances described valve along the direction of closing described service duct; With

The fexible film member, the negative pressure that produces when it reduces according to the liquid in the described pressure chamber is shifted, and it is directly delivered to described valve to displacement, thereby causes the propulsive force operation of described valve against described propulsion members.

2. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, described liquid injection device has main body, described liquid retainer is connected on the main body, and described service duct is made of flexible pipe, and liquid is supplied to described valve unit by described flexible pipe from described liquid retainer.

3. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 1 or 2 wherein, applies normal pressure by the liquid in described liquid retainer liquid is supplied to described valve unit from described liquid retainer.

4. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, described liquid retainer comprises the shell that is in airtight conditions and remains on liquid packaging body in the described shell, that flexible material is made, liquid is sealed in the described liquid packaging body, and, when compressed air was applied to space segment between described shell and the described liquid packaging body, normal pressure was applied on the liquid in the described liquid retainer.

5. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 3, wherein, for liquid is imported described service duct from described liquid retainer, in described liquid retainer, form liquid and derived part, and described liquid is derived part along gravity direction, be positioned at the top of described valve unit, and wherein, described normal pressure derives the head difference between part and the valve unit based on liquid and produces.

6. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, described film member is density polyethylene film with high or polypropylene film, on it lamination the nylon film that applies with the vinylidene chloride copolymer.

7. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, described film member is the gas shielding layer that forms between the two-layer film of synthetic resin.

8. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 1, wherein, described film member is the film that forms with polyethylene or polypropylene, on it lamination polyethylene terephthalate thin film, deposited aluminium oxide or silica on the polyethylene terephthalate thin film.

9. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 6 to 8, wherein, bearing plate is set on the described film member, and described valve is according to the mobile working of described bearing plate, and the displacement of described film member has caused moving of bearing plate.

10. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 9, wherein, described bearing plate forms with polyethylene or polypropylene.

11. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 1 to 10, wherein, described valve unit also has:

Supply orifice is between described service duct and described pressure chamber; With

Spring be used for advancing described valve along the direction of closing supply orifice, and described valve is opened described supply orifice after receiving the displacement of described film member against the propulsive force of spring.

12. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 11, wherein, described valve has tabular component, with with mode and the integrally formed bar member of tabular component from the tabular component projection, described bar member is inserted in the described supply orifice, described tabular component bears the propulsive force of described spring, and counter pushing away (depression) effect that causes of the described bar member displacement of bearing described film member.

13. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 12, wherein, described supply orifice is included in the supported hole that forms in the cell enclosure and along the peripheral a plurality of holes of cutting open that form at interval of supported hole, supported hole is used for slidably supporting the bar member of described valve unit.

14. as claim 12 or 13 described liquid injection devices, wherein, the containment member that forms annular is located on the described cell enclosure in the mode around the outside of described supply orifice, and when the tabular component of described valve was resisted against on the containment member, described supply orifice was closed.

15. as claim 12 or 13 described liquid injection devices, wherein, the containment member that forms annular is fixed on the tabular component of described valve unit, and when described tabular component was resisted against on the cell enclosure in the mode around the outside of described supply orifice, described supply orifice was closed.

16. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 1 to 15, wherein, described valve unit is furnished with filter chamber, filter chamber and is provided with filter element in this filter chamber between described service duct and described pressure chamber.

17. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 16, wherein, described filter chamber has the passage that is used for the bottom of filter chamber is connected to described pressure chamber, and described filter element is arranged in the mode that covers described passage.

18. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 1 to 17, wherein, described pressure chamber has the outlet of leading to described fluid jetting head, and should export along gravity direction, in the highest part formation of described pressure chamber.

19. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 1 to 18, wherein, the waterproof thin film coated of described film member.

20. as any described liquid injection device in the claim 1 to 19, wherein, be provided with the lid of the outer surface that is used to seal described film member, wherein, in described lid, formed gas channel and will lead to the release opening of atmosphere by gas channel.

21. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 20, wherein, described gas channel is included in slot part and the film member that forms in the wall of described lid, when the wall of film member and described lid closely contacts, it covers described slot part, and wherein said release opening forms in the end of described gas channel.

22. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 9 wherein, in order to limit the displacement of described film member, has formed a plurality of restriction projectioies towards described bearing plate in pressure chamber.

23. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 9 wherein, in order to limit the displacement of described film member, has formed the restriction projection of a plurality of inwalls towards described pressure chamber on described bearing plate.

24. valve unit, it is installed on the liquid injection device, described liquid injection device is used for from the fluid jetting head atomizing of liquids that is installed in balladeur train, moves with respect to target, and pass through service duct, from with described balladeur train liquid retainer placed apart to described valve unit supply liquid, described valve unit has:

Pressure chamber, it is connected to described liquid retainer by described service duct;

Valve, it opens or closes described service duct, and liquid is fed to described pressure chamber;

The fexible film member, it has constituted the part of described pressure chamber, and the negative pressure that produces when reducing according to the liquid in the described pressure chamber is shifted, thereby causes described valve operation.

25. method of making valve unit, wherein, pressure chamber is included in sunk part that forms in the cell enclosure and the fexible film member that covers this sunk part, and wherein valve unit has valve, be used to utilize described film member, come from the negative pressure of the minimizing of liquid in the described pressure chamber by detection, liquid is imported pressure chamber from the liquid retainer, described method comprises:

Heat the step of described cell enclosure;

Described film member is placed on step on the cell enclosure in the mode of the sunk part that covers heated cell enclosure;

Described film member heat is attached on the cell enclosure, thereby forms the step of described pressure chamber.

26. method of making valve unit, wherein, pressure chamber is included in sunk part that forms in the cell enclosure and the fexible film member that covers this sunk part, wherein said valve unit has valve, be used to utilize described film member, come from the negative pressure of the minimizing of liquid in the described pressure chamber by detection, liquid is imported pressure chamber from the liquid retainer, described method comprises:

Bearing plate is attached to the step on first upper surface of described film member;

Described film member is placed on step on the cell enclosure in the mode of the sunk part that covers described cell enclosure;

Described film member heat is attached on the cell enclosure, thereby forms the step of described pressure chamber.

27. the method for manufacturing valve unit as claimed in claim 26 wherein, in placing the step of described film member, makes second upper surface relative with first upper surface of described film member towards the described sunk part of described cell enclosure, and

Wherein, in the step that described film member heat is attached on the described cell enclosure, described film member is attached to the outer of described sunk part and places, and the flat surfaces that described bearing plate is heated parts is pressed to sunk part.

28. the method for manufacturing valve unit as claimed in claim 26, wherein, in the step that described film member heat is attached on the described cell enclosure, the projection that described bearing plate is heated parts is pressed to sunk part, and described film member is attached to the periphery of described sunk part by heat.

29. the method for manufacturing valve unit as claimed in claim 28, wherein, the described projection of described heater block forms with heat-insulating material.

30. the method for manufacturing valve unit as claimed in claim 26, wherein, in the step that described film member heat is attached on the described cell enclosure, the film member is heated parts and presses on the cell enclosure, and described film member is attached on the described cell enclosure by heat, and the air between heater block and the cell enclosure is extracted and discharge in the hole from heater block.

31. an inkjet type recording apparatus, described equipment is equipped with: record head, record head are installed on the balladeur train and move back and forth along the horizontal direction of record-paper; The ink supply valve unit, it is installed on the described balladeur train, and ink is supplied with described valve unit by ink-feed channel from print cartridge, and to described record head, described ink donor unit has described valve unit ink feed:

Pressure chamber is connected to described print cartridge by described ink-feed channel;

Valve, it opens or closes described ink-feed channel, and ink feed is arrived described pressure chamber;

Driving body, it detects the negative pressure that produces in pressure chamber when ink is consumed by described record head, and operate described valve; With

Negative pressure keeps spring, and it is resisted against on the described driving body, and advances described driving body along the direction of the volume of expanding described pressure chamber.

32. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 31, wherein, described ink supply valve unit also is furnished with Packing spring, and this spring advances described valve along the direction of closing described ink-feed channel.

33. as claim 31 or 32 described inkjet type recording apparatus, wherein, described driving body is made of the fexible film member, the film member has constituted the part of described pressure chamber.

34. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 33, wherein, bearing plate is arranged on the described film member, and described valve moves work according to the described bearing plate that is caused by the displacement of described film member.

35. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 34, wherein, described negative pressure keeps spring to arrange in the mode that the direction that moves of its direction of propulsion and described bearing plate is complementary.

36. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein, it is helical spring that described negative pressure keeps spring, and described helical spring is arranged near the mode the center that can be resisted against described bearing plate.

37. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein, it is to be made of helical spring that described negative pressure keeps spring, and described helical spring is arranged near the peripheral mode that can be resisted against described bearing plate.

38. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein, it is to be made of a plurality of helical springs that described negative pressure keeps spring, and each described helical spring is arranged near the peripheral mode that can be resisted against described bearing plate.

39. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 35, wherein, it is to be made of leaf spring that described negative pressure keeps spring, and its two ends in a longitudinal direction are supported, and its core is arranged near the mode the center that can be resisted against described bearing plate.

40. as any the described inkjet type recording apparatus in the claim 32 to 39, wherein, described ink supply valve unit also has:

Supply orifice is between described ink-feed channel and described pressure chamber; With

Packing spring be used for advancing described valve along the direction of closing supply orifice, and described valve is opened described supply orifice after receiving the displacement of described film member against the propulsive force of spring.

41. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 40, wherein, described valve has tabular component and with mode and the integrally formed bar member of tabular component from the tabular component projection, described bar member is inserted into described ink supply aperture, described tabular component bears the propulsive force of described Packing spring, and the repulsion that causes of the described bar member displacement of bearing described film member.

42. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 41, wherein, described ink supply aperture is included in the supported hole that forms in the cell enclosure and along the peripheral a plurality of holes of cutting open that form at interval of this supported hole, described supported hole is used for slidably supporting the bar member of described valve.

43. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 42, wherein, the containment member that forms annular is located on the described cell enclosure in the mode around the outside of described supply orifice, and when the tabular component of described valve was resisted against on the containment member, described supply orifice was closed.

44. as any the described inkjet type recording apparatus in the claim 40 to 43, wherein,, described negative pressure done based on the variation of the volume of described pressure chamber after maximum the moving even keeping spring to be built into described Movable valve, and still compressible.

45. as any the described inkjet type recording apparatus in the claim 41 to 44, wherein, described print cartridge is connected on the main body of recording equipment, and described ink-feed channel comprises soft ink supply pipe, ink is fed to described ink supply valve unit by soft ink supply pipe from print cartridge.

46. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 45, wherein, when normal pressure was applied on the ink in the described print cartridge, ink was fed to the ink supply valve unit from described print cartridge.

47. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 46, wherein, described print cartridge comprises shell that is in airtight conditions and the ink packaging body that keeps flexible material in the enclosure, ink is sealed in the described ink packaging body, and, when compressed air was applied to space segment between described shell and the described ink packaging body, normal pressure was applied on the ink in the described print cartridge.

48. inkjet type recording apparatus as claimed in claim 46, wherein, for ink is imported described ink supply valve unit from described print cartridge, in described print cartridge, formed the ink lead-out branch, described ink lead-out is divided along gravity direction, be positioned at the top of described ink supply valve unit, and described normal pressure produces based on the head difference between ink lead-out branch and the valve unit.

49. a liquid injection device, it is equipped with: the liquid storage member of storage of liquids; Fluid jetting head, its atomizing of liquids; The liquid service duct is used for described liquid is fed to described fluid jetting head from described liquid storage member; And valve unit, it is arranged in the liquid service duct, and stores described liquid temporarily, and described valve unit has:

The supply chamber will flow into this supply chamber from the liquid of described liquid storage member supply;

Pressure chamber, the liquid that be exported to described fluid jetting head is stored in this pressure chamber; With

Valve, its utilize when described liquid by the negative pressure that when described fluid jetting head sprays, in described pressure chamber, produces, described supply chamber is connected to described pressure chamber,

Wherein, the liquid outlet that leads to described fluid jetting head is located in the described pressure chamber, is positioned at 25% position of the volume that is equal to or less than described pressure chamber at gravity direction.

50. a liquid injection device is equipped with: the liquid storage member of storage of liquids; Fluid jetting head, its atomizing of liquids; The liquid service duct is used for described liquid is fed to described fluid jetting head from described liquid storage member; Valve unit, it is arranged in the liquid service duct, and stores described liquid temporarily, and channel valve, and it is arranged in the described liquid service duct, is positioned at the upstream of valve unit, is used to open and close the liquid service duct, and described valve unit has:

The supply chamber will flow into this supply chamber from the liquid of described liquid storage member supply;

Pressure chamber, the liquid that be exported to described fluid jetting head is stored in this pressure chamber; With

Valve, its utilize when described liquid by the negative pressure that when described fluid jetting head sprays, in described pressure chamber, produces, described supply chamber is connected to described pressure chamber,

Wherein, the liquid outlet that leads to described fluid jetting head is located in the described pressure chamber, is positioned at 40% position of the volume that is equal to or less than described pressure chamber on gravity direction.

51. as claim 49 or 50 described liquid injection devices, wherein, described liquid outlet is located at the lowermost portion of described pressure chamber on gravity direction.

52., wherein, be formed less than the lower space that is positioned at the described pressure chamber under the center at the upper space that is positioned at the described pressure chamber above the pressure chamber center on the gravity direction as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 49 to 51.

53. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 52, wherein, the described upper space of described pressure chamber narrows down in the upward direction.

54. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 53, wherein, the described upper space of described pressure chamber narrows down towards periphery near the center of described pressure chamber.

55., wherein, in the described lower space of described pressure chamber, formed the volume augmenting portion as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 52 to 54.

56. as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 49 to 55, wherein, described pressure chamber is included in sunk part and the flexible member that forms in the cell enclosure of described valve unit, described flexible member covers the opening of this sunk part, and be out of shape according to the negative pressure in the pressure chamber, to open described valve

At the inclined surface that the periphery of described sunk part forms, the mode of formation is that described flexible member one side trails.

57. a valve unit is located in the liquid service duct, is used for liquid is fed to the fluid jetting head of atomizing of liquids from the liquid storage member of storage of liquids, wherein, described valve unit comprises:

The supply chamber will flow into this supply chamber from the liquid of described liquid storage member supply;

Pressure chamber, the liquid that be exported to described fluid jetting head is stored in this pressure chamber; With

Valve, its utilize when described liquid by the negative pressure that when described fluid jetting head sprays, in described pressure chamber, produces, described supply chamber is connected to described pressure chamber,

Wherein, the liquid outlet that leads to described fluid jetting head is located in the described pressure chamber, is positioned at 25% position of the volume that is equal to or less than described pressure chamber on gravity direction.

58. valve unit, be located at the position in the downstream of channel valve, be used to control the connection of the liquid in the liquid service duct, described liquid service duct is used for liquid is fed to the fluid jetting head of atomizing of liquids from the liquid storage member of storage of liquids, and described valve unit has:

The supply chamber will be flowed into this supply chamber by the liquid from the supply of described liquid storage member;

Pressure chamber, the liquid that be exported to described fluid jetting head is stored in this pressure chamber; With

Valve, its utilize when described liquid by the negative pressure that when described fluid jetting head sprays, in described pressure chamber, produces, described supply chamber is connected to described pressure chamber,

Wherein, the liquid outlet that leads to described fluid jetting head is located in the described pressure chamber, is positioned at 40% position of the volume that is equal to or less than described pressure chamber on gravity direction.

59. a liquid injection device comprises:

Balladeur train, it by when target moves from a plurality of nozzle ejection liquid of fluid jetting head, liquid is attached on the described target;

The liquid retainer, it is located on the position that separates with described balladeur train, and storage will be supplied to the liquid of described balladeur train;

Soft supply pipe, it is placed between described liquid retainer and the described balladeur train, and it has formed the fluid passage that extends to balladeur train from the liquid retainer; With

Valve mechanism is installed on the described balladeur train, and is located at from described supply pipe and extends to the fluid passage of described fluid jetting head,

Wherein, described liquid retainer is arranged in predetermined altitude above the described valve mechanism with interior in scope that described balladeur train moves.

60. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 59, wherein, described liquid retainer is arranged near the center of described balladeur train moving range.

61. as claim 59 or 60 described liquid injection devices, wherein, described valve mechanism has the pressure chamber that is positioned at described valve mechanism, be in position, and described valve mechanism along with reducing the negative pressure that is produced from the injection of described nozzle, liquid is opened described fluid passage according to the liquid in the described pressure chamber towards described fluid jetting head.

62. as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 59 to 61, wherein, described predetermined altitude is an elevation head, and described elevation head is equal to or greater than the pressure head that the pressure loss that occurs between comfortable described liquid retainer and the described valve mechanism and pressure head sum from pressure required when described liquid makes that described valve mechanism is in open mode.

63. liquid injection device as claimed in claim 62, wherein, described predetermined altitude is an elevation head, described elevation head be equal to or greater than come since described liquid retainer to the pressure head of the pressure loss of described valve mechanism and from the pressure head sum of pressure required when described liquid makes that described valve mechanism is in open mode.

64. as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 59 to 63, wherein, described predetermined altitude is an elevation head, it is equal to or greater than following pressure head sum: come since the pressure head of described liquid retainer to the pressure loss of described valve mechanism, the variation of the liquid head that causes from the pressure head of pressure required when described liquid makes that described valve mechanism is in open mode with by the consumption of the liquid in the described liquid retainer.

65. as the described liquid injection device of claim 64, wherein, described predetermined altitude is an elevation head, it equals following pressure head sum: come since the pressure head of described liquid retainer to the pressure loss of described valve mechanism, variation from the pressure head and the liquid head in the described liquid retainer of pressure required when described liquid makes that described valve mechanism is in open mode.

66. as claim 59 or 60 described liquid injection devices, wherein, the length of described supply pipe and diameter are determined as follows: pressure when described valve is opened and the pressure that is produced during less than the predetermined altitude that is positioned at when described liquid retainer above the described valve mechanism when pressure loss sum that liquid causes when described liquid retainer flows into described fluid jetting head.

67. liquid injection device, it is equipped with balladeur train and the liquid retaining part of being furnished with fluid jetting head, the liquid retaining part is installed on the described balladeur train, and maintenance will be supplied to the liquid of described fluid jetting head, described liquid injection device is ejected into liquid on the target from described fluid jetting head, and it comprises valve unit, and valve unit is located between described fluid jetting head and the described liquid retaining part, and described valve unit has:

Valve is connected to the pressure chamber of making at described fluid jetting head one lateral confinement to the supply chamber of making at described liquid retaining part one lateral confinement, perhaps the supply chamber disconnected from pressure chamber,

Propulsion members, it along the direction of closing described service duct advance described valve and

Driving body, it surveys the negative pressure from the minimizing of described pressure intracavity liquid, and by the propulsive force of described valve against described propulsion members, described supply chamber is connected to pressure chamber.

68. as the described liquid injection device of claim 67, wherein, described liquid retaining part is arranged in the top, described supply chamber of described valve unit.

69. as claim 67 or 68 described liquid injection devices, wherein, described valve unit and described balladeur train form an integral body, and wherein, described liquid retaining part can be connected to described balladeur train, and can remove from described balladeur train.

70. as the described liquid injection device of claim 69, wherein, the supply pin that be inserted in the described liquid retaining part forms in described valve unit; And described liquid retaining part is furnished with supply section and valve mechanism, and described supply pin will be inserted into described supply section, and along with described supply pin is inserted into, described valve mechanism is opened, and along with described supply pin is pulled out, described valve mechanism is closed.

71. as claim 67 or 68 described liquid injection devices, wherein, described valve unit and described liquid retaining part form an integral body, and described liquid retaining part and described valve unit can be connected to described balladeur train together, and can remove from described balladeur train.

72. as the described liquid injection device of claim 71, wherein, the supply pin that be inserted in the described valve unit forms in described balladeur train; And described valve unit is furnished with valve mechanism, and along with described supply pin is inserted into, described valve mechanism is opened, and along with described supply pin is pulled out, described valve mechanism is closed.

73. as any the described liquid injection device in the claim 69 to 72, wherein, described driving body is made of the fexible film member, and wherein, when the film member was receiving negative pressure backward shift from the minimizing of the liquid in the pressure chamber, described valve unit was operated.

74. a liquid retainer, it is installed on the balladeur train, and described balladeur train has fluid jetting head and keeps being supplied to the liquid retaining part of the liquid of fluid jetting head, and described liquid retainer is characterised in that

The liquid retaining part by be fixed to valve unit on the balladeur train and be installed on the balladeur train and

After the negative pressure that detects from the minimizing of the liquid in the pressure chamber of the valve unit that is connected to fluid jetting head, the supply chamber that handle is connected to the valve unit of liquid retaining part is opened from the valve that pressure chamber disconnects, thereby the liquid in the liquid retaining part is supplied to pressure chamber.

75. as the described liquid retainer of claim 74, wherein, the liquid retaining part is installed on the balladeur train in the mode that the position is higher than the supply chamber of valve unit, and is installed in the supply port inclination of the bottom of the liquid retaining part on the balladeur train towards the liquid retaining part that is connected to the supply chamber.

76. a liquid retainer removably is installed on the balladeur train with fluid jetting head, described liquid retainer comprises:

Keep the liquid retaining part and the valve unit of liquid, described valve unit is positioned at the position towards described fluid jetting head in described liquid retainer,

Described valve unit is furnished with valve and driving body, and described valve perhaps disconnects the supply chamber being connected to the pressure chamber of making at described fluid jetting head one lateral confinement in the supply chamber that described liquid retaining part one lateral confinement is made from pressure chamber; Described driving body is surveyed the negative pressure from the minimizing of described pressure intracavity liquid, and operates described valve.

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