Ink jet head cartridge and ink jet apparatus having same

Abstract: An ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording head (1) without an ink container (2) includes a casing (12) an ink ejection device (11) in the casing; and a structural member (3) on the casing (12) for improving the handleability of the recording head (1).

Description: FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART The present invention relates to an exchangeable ink jet head cartridge according to the preamble of claim 1 or 2 and an ink jet apparatus using such an ink jet head cartridge. Recently, printers incorporating a so-called ink jet recording system, in which ink is ejected from a recording head in response to recording signals to Produce a desired print, nave been put into practical use, along with office automation apparatuses comprising such a printer. The recording head employed in the printer incorporating such an ink jet recording system can be roughly classified into a so-called permanent type recording head which is permanently mounted in the apparatus, and a so-called exchangeable type recording head which can be easily installed into, or removed from, the apparatus by an operator. The recording head of the former type is permanently installed in the apparatus, as was proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 151,033/1979 or Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 176,546/1982. The ink is supplied to the recording head by connecting the recording head to an ink container, with a tube. The ink container used in the apparatus having such a structure is of a cartridge type, which can be easily mounted in, or removed from, the apparatus. The recording apparatus usable with the recording head of such a type can have an extremely long service life since its service life can be extended by exchanging the ink container cartridge. However, in this type of recording apparatus, the recording head and the ink cartridge are connected with a tube, which requires a space through which the tube is routed, or a space into which the ink cartridge is fitted; therefore, the apparatus size tends to become relatively large. On the other hand, the recording head of the latter type is a combination cartridge, in which the ink container and the recording head are integrally formed, and can be easily mounted in, or removed from, the apparatus. The cartridge is exchanged with a new one when the amount of the ink in the cartridge in use comes down to a level where further consumption of the ink is impossible. This type of recording head cartridge is easily reduced in size and cost; therefore, it is preferable for personal use. Recently, subjects such as efficient use of natural resources or waste disposal have been attracting international attention. In the aforementioned ink container-ink jet head combination cartridge, the elements for ejecting the ink were sufficiently durable relative to the amount of the ink containable in the ink container. In other words, the recording head portion was still in good shape even when the ink in the cartridge gas exhausted. Therefore, improvement of the cartridge was considered. For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 39945/1990, a recording head-ink container combination cartridge is disclosed which allows the separation of the recording head portion from the ink container portion as needed. In the case of this cartridge, when the ink in the ink container portion is exhausted while a sufficient amount of service life is left in the recording head portion, only the ink container portion need be exchanged; when the service life of the recording head portion ends, only the recording head portion need be exchanged if the ink is still in the ink container portion, and both can he exchanged if the ink happens to be out at the same time. The recording head portion and the Ink container portion in the recording head-ink container combination cartridge having such a structure are extremely small, in consideration of the cartridge size; therefore, when they are separated from each other, their extremely small sizes reduce handling efficiency when they are installed into, or removed from, the apparatus, or when a new recording head portion or new ink container portion is taken out of a shipment package. The recording head portion comprises electrodes, which constitute portions of the transmission passages for recording signals. When these electrodes are mistakenly touched, unexpected problems may arise. Further, when the separable recording head portion and the separable ink container portion arc stored in the same shipment container during the merchandise distribution, the evaporative components of the ink in the ink container changes the ambience within the shipment container into a highly humid one, which adversely affects the electrodes of the recording head portion, or the flexible cable, deteriorating the recording head performance. In addition, when the recording head portion and the ink container portion are designed to be separable, the size of each portion becomes rather small, and having the small size reduces the handleability of each portion during the manufacturing, or tends to trigger unintentional operator mistakes such as touching the electrodes of the recording head portion. The document EP-A-0 469 536 discloses an ink jet head cartridge comprising a handling member for facilitating the insertion of the ink jet head cartridge into the carriage. This handling is, for example, shown in figs. 9 and 12. The ink jet head cartridge shown in fig. 12 is supplied with ink via a connector holder. The handling member shown in the figures of this document is not mentioned in the description, but it can be gathered from the figures that the handling member is a fixed element which is a part of the casing of the ink jet head cartridge. The subject matter of the application is based on the object to provide an ink jet head cartridge which can easily be handled and has good transportation characteristics. This problem is solved by the features indicated in independent claims 1 and 2. According to claim 1 the casing of the recording head is provided with a structural member functioning as handling member to improve the handleability of said recording head. This member is formed as a tag-like member by which said recording head can be picked up wherein said tag-like member is foldable at a folding line. This foldability makes sure that the member will not stick out unintended when the recording head is mounted and might become engaged to other elements of the printer. Further, the ink jet head cartridge having such a fold-able handling member can be easily handled and transported since the member can be folded and will not project from the recording head ensuring good transportation characteristics. According to claim 2 a first element is provided as structural member on said casing for improving said handleability of said recording head, and a second element is provided as handling member detachable from the connection portion connecting the ink container and the recording head. By this second element the transportation and the handleability of the ink jet head cartridge can be improved when the ink container is not connected to the recording head. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Figure 1 is an oblique view of a recording head portion provided with an embodiment of the structural member in accordance with the present invention. Figure 2(a) is a development of the embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention, and Figure 2(b) is a plan view of the finished member. Figure 3 is a sectional view of the structural member according to the present invention, depicting its lamination. Figure 4 is an oblique view of a recording head portion provided with alternative embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention. Figure 5 is an oblique view of the recording head portion provided with the embodiment of the structure member according to the present invention. being coupled with an ink container portion. Figure 6 is a schematic drawing depicting the balance of an embodiment of the ink jet head cartridge in which the recording head portion and the ink container portion have been integrated (coupled). Figure 7 is a schematic drawing, depicting the balance of the ink jet bead cartridge in which the recording head portion has been integrated with an alternative embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention. Figure 8 is a schematic view of another alternative embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention. Figure 9 is a schematic view of a further alternative embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention. Figure 10 is a schematic oblique view of a recording head portion and a carriage, depicting the initial stage of installing the former into the latter. Figure 11 is a schematic view of another alternative embodiment of the structural member according to the present invention. Figure 12 is a schematic oblique view of the recording head portion and the carrier, depicting how the structural member of the recording head portion is removed. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the ink jet head cartridge in accordance with the present invention and the ink jet apparatus using such an ink jet head cartridge will be described, referring to drawings. Figure 1 is an oblique view of the recording head portion of the recording head-ink container combination cartridge in which the recording head portion and the ink container portion are separable from each other. A recording head 1 comprises an ink ejecting portion 11 provided with ejection orifices for ejecting ink, a head main assembly 12, and an aluminum plate 13 on which the preceding two components are supported. The head main assembly 12 is provided with a connector pipe 14 which is coupled with an ink container 2 to receive the ink. The connector pipe 14 has a filter 16 covering the opening, that is, the interface between the connector pipe 14 and the ink container 2. This recording head portion has a tag-like member 3, which is a structural member dedicated for improving the handleability of the recording head portion, and is attached to the recording head portion 1 with use of connector pipe 14. The tag-like member 3 extends in the direction opposite to the ink ejecting portion 11 side, long enough to be firmly grasped by an operator, but not long enough to stick out of the carriage when mounted in the carriage. Provision of this type of tag 3 on the side opposite to the ink ejecting portion 11 can prevent the operator from unintentionally touching the ink ejecting portion 11, preventing thereby unfortunate accidents such as damaging the ejection surface. Further, this recording head portion has an electrode pad 15, which is located on the top surface of the aluminum plate 13 for receiving recording signals from the recording apparatus, and is connected to the recording head portion with use of a flexible base plate. Here, since the operator can handle the recording head portion by grasping the tag 3, he is prevented from unintentionally touching the electrode pad 15. Further, in this embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention, the ink is ejected downward during recording. When the recording head 1 is mounted in the carriage of the recording apparatus, it is lowered from above, the steps for which will be described later; therefore, it is preferable for the tag-like member 3 to be located on the side opposite to the ink ejecting portion 11. Needless to say, in recording apparatuses having different structures, the tag 3 may be moved, as needed, to a more convenient location in each of the respective apparatuses, as long as the electrode pad 15 and the ink ejecting portion 11 are prevented from being unintentionally touched by the operator. Figure 2(a) is a development of the tag-like member 3, and Figure 2(b) is a plan, view of the tag-like member 3. As shown in the drawings, the tag-like member 3, which is foldable at a folding line indicated by a broken line a in Figure 2(a), comprises a portion 3a (which is a tab portion) which is folded as shown in Figure 2(b), and a portion 3b (which is a portion coated with adhesive and is glued on the side surface of the recording head portion's main assembly), though which the connector pipe 14 of the recording head portion 1 is inserted, without being covered by the folded portion 3a. The above described structure of the tag-like member 3 affords sufficient rigidity to the tab portion 3a, and allows the tag to be adhered to the side surface of the recording head 1 by the adhering portion 3b. The tag-like member 3 comprises two layers of stretched polypropylene of different types (hereinafter, OPP) as shown in Figure 3, wherein a 20 µm thick first OPP layer 31 and a 60 µm thick second OPP layer 32 are pasted with an extremely thin layer of adhesive (unshown). The outward facing surface of the second OPP layer 32 is coated with a 20 µm thick layer of adhesive 33. This adhesive layer 33 plays two adhesive roles; it adheres the folded portion of the tag-like member 3 to form the tab portion 3a when the tag-like member 3 is folded with the adhesive side facing inward, and also, adheres the tag-like member 3 to the recording head 1. This structural arrangement simplifies the manufacturing steps, reducing thereby the cost. The reason why OPP is used as the material for this embodiment of the tag-like member 3 is that OPP has relatively high rigidity and excellent resiliency; can be easily wiped clean when soiled by the ink; possesses excellent resistance to ammonia gas; and also, is excellent in processability. According to the tests conducted by the inventors, OPP was selected as the most suitable material for the tag-like member 3 because of the aforementioned reason. However, the material for the tag-like member 3 is not limited to OPP; synthetic paper, nylon, polyester, or the like, or combinations of the preceding materials, may be chosen as needed. The recording head portion is packaged separately from the ink container portion during transportation because of a concern that the recording head portion is affected by the evaporative components of the ink in the ink container portion. In this case, the aforementioned tag-like member 3 alone is not enough to improve the handleability of the extremely small recording head portion. Further, the recording head portion comprises exothermic elements for ejecting the ink, and in order to prevent these exothermic elements from being deteriorated by oxidation or the like, it is preferable to keep the recording head portion filled with the same ink as will be used for recording, or with ink solvent, that is, the ink minus the coloring agent. Now that the recording head portion is filled with the ink or ink solvent, an additional structure is required to prevent the ink filled in the recording head from leaking during the transportation. If this structure is made to double as the structural member for improving the handleability, the handleability of the recording head 1 is further improved. Figure 4 is an oblique view of the recording head 1 provided with the structural member for improving the handleability during transportation. This structural member is a handling member 4, looking like the ink container portion, and is attached to the recording head 1 in substantially the same manner as the ink container 2. The recording head portion shown in Figure 4 is provided with a sealing member 5 for preventing the ink from leaking out of the ejection orifices 11, and also preventing the electrode pad from being directly touched by a finger or the like, and a capping member 6 for holding down, during transportation, the sealing member 5 which covers the ejection orifices 11. In addition, when the recording head 1 having the handling member 4 of this embodiment is picked up by the tag-like member 3, the handling member 4 serves as a balancing member for affording substantially the same balance as when the cartridge shown in Figure 5, in which the recording head 1 has been integrated with the ink container 2, is picked up by the tag-like member 3. In other words, where 2 is an angle at which the cartridge comprising the recording head 1 integrated with the ink container portion balances when picked up by the tag-like member 3 as shown in Figure 6, and 1 is an angle at which the cartridge comprising the recording head portion 1 provided with the handling member 4 balances when picked up by the tag-like member 3 as shown in Figure 7, the substantial relation between 1 and 2 is: 1 = 2 . When the handling member 4 is designed to afford the balance as represented by the above equation, all that is needed to be done when the recording head portion must be mounted into the carriage is to take the recording head portion out of the package and simply lower it into the carriage from the handling member side, as will be described later. Further, the handling member 4 is configured to allow the recording head 1 to be mounted in the carriage of the recording apparatus, with the handling member 4 being on the recording head, and is removed through the same process as that for removing the ink container portion from the recording head. More specifically, the configuration of the handling member 4 portion to be joined with the recording head 1 is substantially the same as that of the ink container 2. Since the configuration of the handling member 4 portion to be joined with the recording head 1 is substantially the same as that of the ink container 2, the handling member 4 can be removed through the same process as that for mounting or removing the ink container 2. Further, since the handling member 4 can be removed while the recording head 1 is in the carriage, the ink in the recording head 1 is prevented from being carelessly let leak while handled, assuring thereby errorless removal of the handling member 4. Further, the handling member 4 does not need to be configured like the substantial U shape as shown in Figure 4. The configuration of the handling member 4 may be different as long as the configuration of the contact portion to be joined with the recording head 1 is the same as that of the contact portion of the ink container portion, and allows the recording head 1 to be perfectly fitted in the carriage or to be removed through the same process as that for removing the ink container portion. In this embodiment, a configuration in which the handling member 4 is extended longer on the side opposite to the tag-like member 3 is adopted to accomplish the aforementioned balance. Further, the handling member 4 has a recessed portion 41 into which the connector pipe 14 of the recording head 1 fits, as shown in Figure 8, when the handling member 4 is attached to the recording head 1. As the connector pipe 14 fits into the recessed portion 41, a gap 43 is created between the connector pipe 14 and the recessed portion of the handling member. When the ambient conditions change, the ink may be forced to leak out of the ejection orifice 11 of the recording head portion, by the expansion of the air in this gap 43, or the ink may be forced to retreat from the exothermal element portion of the recording head 1, by the contraction of the same air, inviting thereby the oxidation of the exothermic elements. In other words, the air in this gap 43 is liable to affect adversely the recording head 1. Therefore, the recessed portion 43 is provided with a vent 42 which leads to the outside, so that the air in the gap 43 between the connector pipe 14 and the handling member 4 can be prevented from affecting adversely the recording head 1 by the volumetric changes of the air caused by the changes in the ambient conditions. Further, the above described structure, shown in Figure 8, is liable to allow foreign matter to enter through the vent 42, and when the foreign matter is allowed to enter, it is liable to adhere to the filter 16 provided on the connector pipe 14 of the recording head portion, which may affect the amount of the ink supplied from the ink container. In order to eliminate these liabilities, and also, to prevent the ink within the recording head from evaporating through the vent 42, a filter 44 or an absorbing member 45 soaked with recording ink, or both of them, may be provided in the gap 43 in the recessed portion 41, as shown in Figure 9. The recording head 1 is packaged after the handling member 4 is attached, in addition to the tag-like member 3. The ink container 2 is separately packaged from the recording head portion. Next, it will be briefly described how the recording head portion is handled when the packaged recording head portion is unpacked and mounted in the carriage. First, the recording head 1 is taken out of the package. Next, the carriage 101 of the recording apparatus shown in Figure 10 is prepared to accommodate the recording head 1 by pulling up a head exchange lever 102 of the carriage 101. Then, the recording head 1 is picked up by the tag-like member 3 and is lowered into the carriage ready for accommodating the recording head 1. At this time, the recording head 1 is slanted at the angle 1, with the rear end of the handling member 4 hanging lower, as shown in Figure 7; therefore, the recording head 1 comes to be lowered into the carriage from the handling member 4 side. Then, the recording head portion exchange lever 102 is pushed down, completing the process of mounting the recording head portion 1 into the carriage. The head exchange lever 102 has a fiat area 104, which serves to fold down the tag-like member 3 of the recording head 1 toward the recording head portion. In order to facilitate the folding of the tag-like member 3, the handling member 4 may be provided with a projection 46 having a surface angled toward the recording head portion, as shown in Figure 11. With presence of this projection 46, the tag-like member 3 is slightly tilted toward the recording head when the recording head 1 is inserted in the carriage 101; therefore, the tag-like member 3 is surely folded down onto the recording head 1 by the flat area 104 as the head exchange lever 102 is pushed down. Next, an ink container portion exchange lever 103 is pulled up as shown in Figure 12, whereby the handling member 4 attached to the recording head 1 is pulled away front the recording head 1 in the direction indicated by an arrow a. Thus, the recording head 1 inserted in the carriage 101 is separated from the handling member 4. The handling member 4 which has been pulled off the recording head 1 can be easily taken out of the carriage by the operator. As the handling member 4 is removed, the carriage 101 provides a space. The ink container 2 is lowered into this space, and the ink container portion exchange lever 103 is pushed down, which in turn integrates the ink container 2 with the recording head 1, readying the ink container portion to supply the ink. The provision of a structural member dedicated to improve the handleability of the recording head portion makes it extremely easy to handle the recording head portion. Since the recording head portion is handled by the structural member dedicated to improve the handleability of the recording head portion, the electrode portion of the recording head portion is prevented from being touched, and also, the orientation of the recording head portion becomes consistent, promoting errorless handling of the recording head portion. Further, the handling member is coupled with the connector pipe of the recording head by the recessed portion; therefore, the evaporative ink components, which deteriorate the recording head portion reliability, are rarely allowed to evaporate during transportation. Therefore, a recording apparatus comprising the recording head affording handleability as excellent as was described above is capable of producing a superior print.

Claims: An ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording head (1) without an ink container, comprising: a casing, an ink ejection means in said casing, and a structural member on said casing for improving the handleability of said recording head (1), characterized in that said structural member constitutes a tag-like member (3) by which said recording head is picked up, wherein said tag-like member (3) is foldable at a folding line. An ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording head (1) without an ink container comprising: a casing, an ink ejection means in said casing having ejection outlets, a connection portion for connecting said recording head (1) with an ink container (2) for supplying ink to the ink ejection outlets, and a structural member on said casing for improving the handle-ability of said recording head (1), characterized by a handling member (4) detachable from said connecting portion. An ink jet head cartridge according to claim 1 and 2, wherein said structural member constitutes a combination member serving as said tag-like member (3) and said handling member (4). An ink jet head cartridge according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said recording head (1) is filled with ink when it is shipped, or ink solvent, that is ink material without coloring agent. An ink jet head cartridge according to claim 2, wherein said handling member (4) has substantially the same configuration as that of an ink container (2) connectable with said recording head (1). An ink jet apparatus comprising a carriage member for mounting an ink jet head cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said carriage comprises an operational member for mounting or removing said ink jet head cartridge, and said operational member is provided with an area for pressing down, from above, said structural member provided on said recording head (1) for improving the handleability.

Inventors: KOTAKI YASUO, TSUKUDA KEIICHIRO, YAMAKAWA KOUJI, KOTAKI, YASUO, TSUKUDA, KEIICHIRO, YAMAKAWA, KOUJI, KOTAKI, YASUO, C/O CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, TSUKUDA, KEIICHIRO, C/O CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Yamakawa, Kouji, c/o CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Applicants: CANON KK, CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1993
Main classification: B41J2
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J25