Liquid ejecting apparatus and pressure-regulating device

• US 10,144,223 B2
• Filed: 12/01/2017
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/25/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Sato, Masahiko, Kimura, Hitotoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Huffman, Julian D
• Application Number:
  US15/829,368
• Publication Number:
  US 20180099509A1
• Time in Patent Office: 368 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/1652 by driving a fluid through the nozzles to the outside thereof, e.g. by applying pressure to the inside or vacuum at the outside of the print head
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/16526 by applying pressure only
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/175 Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17556 Means for regulating the pressure in the cartridge
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17563 Ink filters
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17596 Ink pumps, ink valves
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/18 Ink recirculation systems
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/16594 Pumps or valves for cleaning
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/16597 Pumps for idle discharge of liquid through nozzles

Abstract

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid inflow unit provided in the liquid supply path which supplies a liquid to a liquid ejecting unit and into which the liquid flows, a liquid accommodation unit having a diaphragm section, a communication path through which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part communicate, and a pressure-regulating mechanism having an on-off valve which opens and closes the communication path in response to displacement of the diaphragm portion, and a pressing mechanism which puts the on-off valve in an open state regardless of the pressure in the liquid inflow unit by pressing the diaphragm portion.

Claims

1. A liquid ejecting apparatus, comprising:

a liquid supply path which is designed to supply a liquid from a liquid supply source to a liquid ejecting unit which ejects the liquid from a nozzle;

a pressure-regulating mechanism provided in the liquid supply path, the pressure-regulating mechanism including

a liquid inflow part into which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source flows;

a liquid accommodation part which is designed to accommodate the liquid;

a communication path through which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part communicate, and

an on-off valve which enters an open state in which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part communicate from a closed state in which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part in the communication path do not communicate; and

a pressurizing mechanism which is designed to pressurize the liquid supplied to the pressure-regulating mechanism,

wherein the liquid ejecting unit includes an actuator which is driven when ejecting the liquid from the nozzle, and

the actuator of the liquid ejecting unit is driven by a controller in a process which puts the on-off valve in the closed state from the open state.

2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the liquid pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism is supplied to the liquid ejecting unit in the open state of the on-off valve.

3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the pressurizing force which pressurizes the liquid is changed by the pressurizing mechanism in the open state of the on-off valve.

4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the pressing state of the diaphragm portion by the pressing mechanism is released and the on-off valve is put in the closed state in a state in which the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism.

5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the on-off valve enters the open state from the closed state, when a pressure applied to a first surface which is an inner surface of the liquid accommodation part of a diaphragm portion is lower than the pressure applied to a second surface which is an outer surface of the liquid accommodation part of the diaphragm portion, and a difference between the pressure applied to the first surface and the pressure applied to the second surface is a predetermined value or more.

6. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising:

a pressing mechanism which is designed to press the diaphragm portion in a direction in which the volume of the liquid accommodation part is reduced, and which puts the on-off valve in an open state regardless of the pressure in the interior of the liquid inflow part by pressing the diaphragm portion.

7. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the pressing mechanism includes a pressure regulator which is designed to regulate a pressure within a pressure-regulating chamber formed on the second surface side of the diaphragm portion, and

the pressing mechanism presses the diaphragm portion by the pressure regulator regulating the pressure within the pressure-regulating chamber to be a higher pressure than atmospheric pressure.

8. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 7,

wherein the pressing mechanism further includes an expansion and contraction section which is able to expand and contract and which forms the pressure-regulating chamber, and

the pressing mechanism presses the diaphragm portion by the pressure regulator causing the expansion and contraction section to expand.

9. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the pressing mechanism presses the diaphragm portion so that the pressure in the liquid accommodation part becomes higher than the pressure at which the meniscus formed at the gas-liquid interface collapses in the nozzle.

10. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6,

wherein the pressure-regulating mechanism further includes a moving member which is designed to move in a state of contact with the diaphragm portion which displaces in a direction in which the volume of the liquid accommodation part is reduced, and

the pressing mechanism presses a region in the diaphragm portion which comes in contact with the moving member.

11. A maintenance method of a liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the steps of:

providing the liquid ejecting apparatus having;

a liquid ejecting unit which ejects a liquid from a nozzle, the liquid ejecting unit including an actuator which is driven when ejecting the liquid from the nozzle;

a liquid supply path which is designed to supply the liquid from a liquid supply source to the liquid ejecting unit;

a pressure-regulating mechanism provided in the liquid supply path, the pressure-regulating mechanism including

a liquid inflow part into which the liquid supplied from the liquid supply source flows;

a liquid accommodation part which is designed to accommodate the liquid;

a communication path through which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part communicate, and

an on-off valve which enters an open state in which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part communicate from a closed state in which the liquid inflow part and the liquid accommodation part in the communication path do not communicate; and

a pressurizing mechanism which is designed to pressurize the liquid supplied to the pressure-regulating mechanism;

putting the on-off valve in the open state in a state in which the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism, and

driving the actuator of the liquid ejecting unit in a process which puts the on-off valve in the closed state from the open state.

12. The maintenance method of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 11,

wherein the on-off valve is put in the closed state in a state in which the liquid is pressurized by the pressurizing mechanism in the process.