Ink-jet recording apparatus

• US 20070263053A1
• Filed: 05/11/2007
• Published: 11/15/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 05/12/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Imai, Koji
• Granted Patent: US 7,753,488 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/92
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17503 Ink cartridges
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17509 Whilst mounted in the printer
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/17513 Inner structure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 29/02 Framework

Abstract

An ink-jet recording apparatus includes an ink supplying member which has an ink storage section, an exhaust section, and a space portion formed between the ink storage section and the exhaust section, an ink-jet head, and two flexible flat cables (FPC) which are drawn in mutually opposite directions from the ink-jet head. One FPC is wired by passing along a side of the ink supplying member, opposite to the exhaust section, and the other FPC is wired by passing through the space portion. Since the FPC is wired avoiding the ink supplying member and the exhaust section, it is possible to eliminate adhering of ink to the FPC, and to eliminate a waste of FPC wiring. Moreover, it is possible to reduce a cost, and to uniformize electrical characteristics of the two flexible flat cables.

Claims

1. An ink-jet recording apparatus which jets droplets of an ink onto a recording medium, comprising:

an ink-jet head which selectively jets the droplets of the ink, including a cavity unit in which a cavity and a plurality of nozzles which communicate with the cavity are formed, and an actuator which applies a jetting pressure to the ink in the cavity;

a circuit board on which an electric circuit which is electrically connected to the actuator is formed, the circuit board being arranged on the ink-jet head on a side opposite to the nozzles;

an ink supplying unit which is arranged between the ink-jet head and the circuit board, the ink supplying unit including an ink storage section which stores the ink to be supplied to the ink-jet head, an exhaust section which is connected to the ink storage section to remove air bubbles generated in the ink stored in the ink storage section, and a space formed in the ink supplying unit penetrating therethrough from a side of the ink-jet head of the ink supplying member up to the circuit board, the space being formed between the ink storage section and the exhaust section; and

two flexible flat cables which connect the actuator and the circuit board, the flexible flat cables including a first flexible flat cable which is wired to pass along a side, of the ink storage section, opposite to the exhaust section, and a second flexible flat cable which is drawn from the actuator to the other side, of the ink storage section, opposite to the first flexible flat cable to be wired to pass through the space.

2. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a head holder which is substantially box shaped and which holds the ink-jet head, the ink supplying unit, and the circuit board, the ink-jet head and the circuit board being held so as to overlap with each other in a plan view, wherein the exhaust section has an outer opening which is opened to outside of the ink supplying unit, at a side opposite to the ink storage section with respect to the second flexible flat cable.

3. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

an exhaust valve which is provided on the exhaust section, and which connects and disconnects an outside of the ink supplying unit and the ink storage section through the outer opening; and

an operating mechanism which is provided outside of the head holder, and which operates the exhaust valve.

4. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a suction mechanism which is provided outside of the head holder, which is detachable from the outer opening of the exhaust section, and which sucks air bubbles from the ink storage section when the suction unit is in closely contact with the outer opening.

5. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the flexible flat cables have a belt shape, and the space is formed as a slit of which cross section corresponds to a cross section of the belt shaped flexible flat cables.

6. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ink supplying unit includes a connecting portion connecting the ink storage chamber and the exhaust section, the connecting portion partially overlapping in a plan view with an extending area in which the second flexible flat cable is extended in a longitudinal direction thereof, and which has a width at a position, of the second flexible flat cable, at which the second flexible flat cable is drawn from the actuator;

and

the second flexible flat cable is formed to be belt shaped, which is shifted at an intermediate portion or at an end portion in a width direction of the second flexible flat cable to avoid the connecting portion.

7. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the flexible flat cables include a plurality of cables connected in a longitudinal direction of the cables.

8. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein each of the flexible flat cables has a flat portion which is joined to the actuator, and a flexible portion which is continuous to the flat portion and on which a chip circuit which drives the actuator is mounted;

the head holder has a bottom plate in which the ink-jet head is fixed to one surface thereof, and in which slit holes each for drawing the flexible portion of one of the flexible flat cables toward a rear-surface side of the bottom plate are formed for the flexible portions respectively; and

a plurality of heat sinks which is disposed on a side of the other surface of the base plate, and which makes a contact with the chip circuit disposed on the flexible portion, the heat sinks corresponding to the flexible flat cables and guiding the flexible portion of the flexible flat cables to the circuit board; and

a heat sink, among the heat sinks, corresponding to the second flexible flat cable is provided along the space.

9. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the actuator has a first actuator and a second actuator, and one end of the first flexible flat cable is connected to the first actuator, and one end of the second flexible flat cable is connected to the second actuator.

10. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first flexible flat cable and the second flexible flat cable have mutually different shapes.

11. The ink-jet recording apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first flexible flat cable and the second flexible flat cable have shifted portions shifted toward one side in a width direction of the flexible flat cables respectively, and the shifted portion of the second flexible flat cable is shifted to an extent greater than that of the shifted portion of the first flexible flat cable.