| 摘要 |
PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink supply unit of an inkjet printer equipped with a small and lightweight sub-ink tank requiring no replacement even after long term use. SOLUTION: The ink supply unit 10 of an inkjet printer 1 is arranged such that, when a head carriage 5 arrives at a home position, an ink needle 17 of an ink supply section 15 on the main ink tank 11 side is inserted into an ink supply opening 14 on the side of a sub-ink tank mounted there and ink is supplied to the sub-ink tank 12. Each ink tank part 34 of the sub-ink tank 12 is partitioned into a chamber 35 opened to the atmosphere and an ink storage chamber 37 by means of a movable member 36 and these chambers are blocked by an ink meniscus formed in the gap between the outer circumferential surface of the movable member and the inner circumferential surface of the tank. The ink storage chamber 37 is held in a negative pressure state by the spring force of a coil spring 38 pushing up the movable member 36. Since the sub-ink tank 12 is small and lightweight, print speed can be increased and replacement of the sub-ink tank 12 is eliminated. COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO |
