Liquid storing container having improved internal structure,...

Details Liquid storing container having improved internal structure,... Liquid storing container having improved internal structure,...

2000-03-28

2002-05-07

Vo, Anh T. N. (Department: 2861)

Incremental printing of symbolic information

Ink jet

Fluid or fluid source handling means

Reexamination Certificate

active

06382786

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid storing container, a liquid ejection head cartridge (which will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as an ink jet head) equipped with the same container and a liquid ejection head (which will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as an ink jet cartridge), and an liquid ejection recording apparatus (which will sometimes be referred to hereinafter as a liquid jet recording apparatus) in which the same cartridge is mounted for recording, and more particularly to a liquid storing container having an internal structure improved for stabilizing a liquid supply property, a liquid ejection head cartridge carrying the same container and a liquid ejection head, and a liquid ejection recording apparatus incorporating the same cartridge for recording.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an ink tank (including a type of being integrated with a recording head and a type in which an ink tank is replaceable separately) serving as a liquid storing container for use in the field of liquid jet recording (which will equally be referred to hereinafter as an ink jet recording) has a construction to adjust the holding capability of an ink stored in the ink tank for achieving excellent ink supply to a recording head which ejects a liquid (a liquid to be used for recording; including a type containing a coloring component(s), and a type not containing a coloring component but which acts on a liquid containing a coloring component for upgrading the recording quality, which hereinafter will be referred to simply as an ink). This holding capability is called negative pressure, because it is for making the pressure in an ink ejecting section of a recording head negative with respect to the atmosphere (a member for production of such a negative pressure will equally be referred to hereinafter as a negative pressure producing member).
As one of the easiest ways of producing such a negative pressure, there has been known a means in which an ink absorber made from a porous material such as a urethane foam is provided in an ink tank to utilize a capillary capability the ink absorber.
In addition, there has been proposed an ink tank (which will be referred to hereinafter as a juxtaposed type ink tank) in which, for the purpose of enhancing the volume efficiency of the ink in the interior of the ink tank, a chamber for accommodating the ink absorber and a chamber for storing the liquid directly are juxtaposed so that they are made to partially communicate with each other.
FIG. 10A
is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a construction of an ink tank in which, as mentioned above, a chamber for accommodating the ink absorber and a chamber for storing the liquid directly are juxtaposed so that they are made to partially communicate with each other. The interior of the ink tank
10
is partitioned by a partition wall
38
, having a communicating hole
40
, into two spaces. One space is hermetically sealed except the communicating hole
40
of the partition wall
38
serves a liquid storage chamber
36
for storing an ink directly, while the other acts as a negative pressure producing member storage chamber
34
for accommodating a negative pressure producing member
32
. On a wall surface defining this negative pressure producing member storage chamber
34
, there are formed an atmosphere communication section (atmosphere communicating opening)
12
for introducing the atmosphere into a container resulting from ink consumption, and a supply opening
14
having an ink leading member
39
for leading the ink from the tank to a recording head section (not shown). In
FIG. 10A
, the area in which the negative pressure producing member holds the ink is indicated by an oblique-line section. Additionally, the ink stored in the space is indicated by a mesh section.
In the foregoing construction, on consumption of the ink in the negative pressure producing member
32
by the recording head, air is introduced through the atmosphere communication opening
12
into the negative pressure producing member storage chamber
34
passing into the liquid storage chamber
36
through the communicating hole
40
of the partition wall
38
. Instead, the ink is put from the liquid storage chamber
36
through the communicating hole
40
of the partition wall
38
into the negative pressure producing member
32
in the negative pressure producing member storage chamber
34
(this operation will be referred to hereinafter as an air-liquid replacement operation). Accordingly, if the recording head consumes the ink, the ink is drawn into the negative producing member
32
according to the consumption thereof so that the negative pressure producing member
32
retains a constant quantity of ink to maintain the negative pressure to the recording head approximately constant, thus stabilizing the ink supply to the recording head.
In addition, in the example shown in
FIG. 10A
, in the vicinity of the communicating section between the negative producing member storage chamber
34
and the ink storage chamber
36
, an atmosphere introducing groove
51
is provided as a structure to promote the introduction of the atmosphere, while, in the vicinity of the atmosphere communicating section, a space (buffer chamber)
44
, not accommodating a negative pressure producing member, is defined by ribs
42
.
In the conventional art, in many cases, the urethane foam has commonly been employed as the aforesaid negative pressure producing member (which is equally referred to as an ink absorber) as mentioned above. However, the urethane foam requires further improvement in the service efficiency of ink; besides, not always exhibiting a suitable characteristic depending on the ink property.
For this reason, this applicant has proposed the use of a fiber made from an olefin-based resin having a thermal plasticity, which shows, as an ink absorber, a superior ink property throughout a wide range.
Meanwhile, in a juxtaposed type tank shown in
FIG. 10A
, the important factors in the stable supply of an ink are the structure of a communicating hole constituting a connecting section between a negative pressure producing member storage chamber and a liquid storage chamber and the structure on the periphery thereof.
That is, in the case of the juxtaposed type ink tank, the bottom line is the stable introduction of air from the atmosphere communicating section (atmosphere communicating opening)
12
through the atmosphere introducing groove
51
of the partition wall
38
into the liquid storage chamber in connection with the ink consumption. If air is introduced through places other than this air introduction route, an unnecessary air-liquid replacement, not related to the ink consumption, takes place, which can cause an excessive supply of to leak toward the exterior of the tank.
In the case of the use of the urethane foam as the negative pressure producing member, since the urethane foam per se has a structure showing a high elasticity, it comes satisfactorily into contact with the communicating hole and an inner wall surface constituting the periphery thereof in a state accommodated in the negative pressure producing member storage chamber, which hardly causes the aforesaid unexpected air-liquid replacement, thus not creating problems on the practical use.
However, a fiber member involving fibers and displaying more preferable characteristics relating to a characteristic to the ink and a service efficiency as compared with the urethane foam does not exhibit a high elasticity because of its property on the material unlike the urethane foam (particularly, although a fiber member whose felt-like fibers do not run remarkably to one direction shows a relatively high elasticity, a fiber member made to have directionality can depend upon the direction the fibers extend in). Accordingly, sometimes, it does not reach an excellent contacting condition with an inner wall surface of an tank in a state accommodated in the negative pressure producing member storage cha

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