Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Ejector mechanism
Reexamination Certificate
2000-01-31
2002-05-07
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Ejector mechanism
C347S063000, C347S086000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06382778
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for ejecting ink supplied from an ink tank in the form of ink drops, and a method of manufacturing the same.
A recording head of an ink jet recording head is composed of a head body for ejecting ink in the form of ink drops and an ink cartridge containing ink to be supplied to the head body. The recording head has an ink supply needle, and the ink cartridge has an ink supply hole. Ink is supplied to the head body through the ink supply needle that is inserted into the ink supply hole.
More precisely, in the recording head, as shown in
FIG. 15
, for example, a head body
1
for ejecting ink drops in accordance with a print signal is mounted on the lower side of a head holder
10
. A cartridge case
12
for receiving an ink cartridge
2
is provided on the upper side of the head holder
10
. A positioning protrusion
13
is formed on the lower side of the ink cartridge
2
, and an ink supply hole
4
is formed under the positioning protrusion
13
. The opening of the ink supply hole
4
is sealed with a film
14
till the ink cartridge
2
is set to the recording head.
A concavity
11
into which the positioning protrusion
13
is fit is formed in the upper side of the head holder
10
, and an ink supply needle
3
stands erect in the concavity
11
. In a recording head for color printing by use of a plurality of color inks, the ink cartridge
2
includes a plurality of ink chambers
15
. As shown in
FIG. 16
, for example, the ink cartridge includes four ink chambers containing color inks of cyan, magenta, yellow and black. A plurality of ink supply holes
4
are provided in the ink cartridge
2
. Specifically, the ink supply hole
4
is provided for each ink chamber
15
(viz., each color). Four ink supply needles
3
are also provided for those colors, respectively.
FIG. 16
shows the recording head before the ink cartridge
2
is set to the head.
The tip of each ink supply needle
3
is shaped to be conical so that it can break through a film of the ink supply hole
4
. Ink introducing holes
6
are vertically formed in a slanted surface
8
of the tip of the needle. A first ink passage
5
, which communicates with the ink introducing holes
6
, is formed in the ink supply needle
3
. Second ink passages
7
for supplying ink to the head body
1
are formed in the head holder
10
. A filter
9
for filtering ink supplied from the ink cartridge
2
is provided at the entrance of each second ink passage
7
. In order to guide ink to the head body
1
that is shorter in width than the ink cartridge
2
, the second ink passages
7
are obliquely extended toward the head body
1
centered (see FIG.
16
).
When the ink cartridge
2
is set to the recording head, the tip of the ink supply needle
3
breaks through the film
14
which sealingly closes the ink supply hole
4
of the ink cartridge
2
and, the ink supply needle
3
is inserted into the ink supply hole
4
. Then, in the recording head, ink is supplied from the ink cartridge
2
into the head body
1
, through the ink introducing holes
6
of the ink supply needle
3
and the first and second ink passages
5
and
7
.
The recording head, together with the ink cartridge
2
, is carried on a carriage (not shown), and reciprocatively moved across a recording sheet by the carriage. Ink to be consumed is supplied from the ink cartridge
2
to the head body
1
via the ink supply needle
3
in a replenishing manner. During the widthwise movement of the recording head, the recording head ejects ink drops through its nozzle orifices toward the recording sheet, thereby effecting a print.
In the recording head mentioned above, to guide ink from the ink cartridge
2
to the head body
1
of which the width is shorter than that of the ink cartridge
2
, the second ink passages
7
are obliquely extended to the head body
1
. To manufacture the recording head, it is necessary to form the slanted holes requiring intricate work. Accordingly, the cost to manufacture will inevitably increase. Since the second ink passages
7
are slanted, there is a limit in reducing the height of the recording head per se. For this reason, the related recording head cannot meet the demand of size reduction in the recent ink jet recording heads.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording head which is easy in working and assembling, low in cost, reduced in size, and is substantially free from entry of air bubbles into passages.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink jet recording head comprising:
a head body from which ink drops are ejected;
a channel forming plate provided with a groove;
a sealing plate for sealing each opened side of the grooves to form an ink supply channel for supplying ink from an ink tank to the head body.
In the thus constructed recording head, a portion forming the ink supply channel of the recording head is composed of two types of plate-like members. Therefore, the recording head may be remarkably reduced in size when comparing with the related one in which the ink supply channel is formed by use of slanted passage.
According to the second aspect of the invention, in the head according to the first aspect, the channel forming plate integrally includes a holder member for holding the ink tank, and the sealing plate is bonded to the holding member.
In the ink jet recording head, the working and assembling are easy, and cost to manufacture is reduced. In addition, the opened side of the respective grooves are sealed by bonding the sealing plate to the holding member.
According to the third aspect of the invention, in the head according to the first aspect, the channel forming plate is provided as an independent member.
In the ink jet recording head, the working and assembling are easy, and cost to manufacture is reduced.
According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in the head according to the third aspect, the channel forming plate defines at least a bottom portion and side walls of the respective grooves.
In the ink jet recording head, the grooves are formed by the channel forming plate and the sealing plate.
According to the fifth aspect of the invention, in the head according to the third aspect, the channel forming plate includes through holes which respectively define side walls of the grooves.
In the ink jet recording head, the grooves are formed by the channel forming plate, the sealing plate and a member for sealing one opening side of the through hole to define a bottom portion of the grooves.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in the head according to the first to fifth aspects, one longitudinal end portion of the respective grooves are communicated with the ink tank, and the other end portions are communicated with the head body.
In the ink jet recording head, the size of head body can be remarkably reduced irrespective of the size of ink tanks due to the arrangement of the grooves.
According to the seventh aspect of the invention, in the head according to the first to sixth aspects, the end portions of the respective grooves communicated with the head body are converged.
In the ink jet recording head, since the end portions of the grooves communicated with the head body are closely arranged, the size of head body can be remarkably reduced irrespective of the size of ink tanks.
According to the eighth aspect of the invention, in the head according to the seventh aspect, plural kinds of ink are ejected from the head body, and the grooves are provided so as to be associated with the ink kind.
In the ink jet recording head, plural kinds of ink can be supplied to the head body through the grooves and ejected therefrom.
According to the ninth aspect of the invention, in the head according to the first to eighth aspects, sealing compound is provided on the channel forming plate at least around the grooves.
In the ink jet recording head, the grooves of the channel forming plate is seal
Iijima Takayuki
Kitahara Tsuyoshi
Okazawa Noriaki
Barlow John
Do An H.
Seiko Epson Corporation
LandOfFree
Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Ink jet recording head and method of manufacturing the same will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2896892