KR-20260067591-A - GAS BUFFER TYPE MICRO INK STORAGE DEVICE AND INK-JET PRINTER COMPRISING THE SAME

KR20260067591AKR 20260067591 AKR20260067591 AKR 20260067591AKR-20260067591-A

Abstract

The present invention relates to an ink storage device for storing ink supplied to an inkjet head in an inkjet printer, comprising: an ink storage unit in which ink is stored; a gas buffer unit connected to the ink storage unit by a gas connection pipe through which gas can move, and connected to a gas pressure control device through a pressure control pipe, thereby providing a gas volume for the gas pressure control device to regulate gas pressure; a gas valve capable of controlling the connection relationship between the ink storage unit and the gas buffer unit; a supply pipe for supplying ink stored in the ink storage unit to an inkjet head; a head valve for controlling the connection relationship between the ink storage unit and the inkjet head; an injection pipe for injecting ink into the ink storage device; and an injection valve for opening and closing the injection pipe, wherein the injection pipe is connected to the supply pipe or at least to a portion where the supply pipe and the ink storage unit are connected, and wherein, depending on the operation of the head valve, ink injected through the injection pipe can be injected into the inkjet head without moving to the ink storage unit. The present invention has the effect of maintaining a meniscus state by applying sufficient negative pressure to the gas pressure control device even when the ink storage space is very small, by separating the ink storage unit and the gas buffer unit.

Inventors

윤대건
신동균
박현빈
정영호
이승렬
임수연

Assignees

주식회사 고산테크

Dates

Publication Date: 20260513
Application Date: 20241106

Claims (12)

As an ink storage device for storing ink supplied to an inkjet head in an inkjet printer, Ink storage unit where ink is stored; A gas buffer section connected to the above-mentioned ink storage section via a gas connection pipe through which gas can move, and connected to a gas pressure control device via a pressure control pipe, thereby providing a gas volume for the gas pressure control device to regulate gas pressure; A gas valve capable of controlling the connection relationship between the ink storage unit and the gas buffer unit; A supply pipe for supplying ink stored in the above ink storage unit to an inkjet head; A head valve for controlling the connection between the ink storage unit and the inkjet head; An injection tube for injecting ink into an ink storage device; and It includes an injection valve that opens and closes the injection pipe, The injection tube is connected to the supply tube or at least to the portion where the supply tube and the ink storage unit are connected, and A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized by the fact that, depending on the operation of the head valve, ink injected into the injection tube can be injected into the inkjet head without moving to the ink storage unit.
In claim 1, In the above supply pipe, the head valve is installed at a position closer to the inkjet head than the position where the injection pipe is connected, and A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that the head valve is a two-way valve.
In claim 2, When the head valve is closed and ink is injected through the injection tube, the ink injected through the injection tube is injected into the ink storage unit, and A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized by the fact that when ink is injected through the injection tube while the head valve is opened and the gas valve is closed, the ink injected through the injection tube cannot move to the ink storage unit and is injected into the inkjet head.
In claim 1, In the above supply pipe, the head valve is installed at the location where the injection pipe is connected, and A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that the head valve is a 3-way valve.
In claim 4, When the head valve connects the injection pipe and the ink storage unit, the ink injected into the injection pipe is injected into the ink storage unit, and A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that when the head valve connects the injection tube and the inkjet head, the ink injected through the injection tube cannot move to the ink storage unit and is injected into the inkjet head.
In claim 1, A gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized by further including an ink discharge pipe for discharging ink that has passed into the interior of the gas buffer section to the outside, and a discharge valve for opening and closing the ink discharge pipe.
An inkjet printer comprising an inkjet head, a small ink storage device that supplies ink to the inkjet head, and a gas pressure control device that controls the gas pressure inside the small ink storage device, The above-mentioned small ink storage device is, Ink storage unit where ink is stored; A gas buffer section connected to the above-mentioned ink storage section via a gas connection pipe through which gas can move, and connected to a gas pressure control device via a pressure control pipe, thereby providing a gas volume for the gas pressure control device to regulate gas pressure; A gas valve capable of controlling the connection relationship between the ink storage unit and the gas buffer unit; A supply pipe for supplying ink stored in the ink storage unit to the inkjet head; A head valve for controlling the connection between the ink storage unit and the inkjet head; An injection tube for injecting ink into an ink storage device; and It is a gas buffer type small ink storage device including an injection valve that opens and closes an injection tube, and The injection tube is connected to the supply tube or at least to the portion where the supply tube and the ink storage unit are connected, and An inkjet printer including a gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that, depending on the operation of the head valve, ink injected into the injection tube can be injected into the inkjet head without moving to the ink storage unit.
In claim 7, In the above supply pipe, the head valve is installed at a position closer to the inkjet head than the position where the injection pipe is connected, and An inkjet printer comprising a gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that the head valve is a two-way valve.
In claim 8, When the head valve is closed and ink is injected through the injection tube, the ink injected through the injection tube is injected into the ink storage unit, and An inkjet printer including a gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that when ink is injected through the injection tube while the head valve is opened and the gas valve is closed, the ink injected through the injection tube cannot move to the ink storage unit and is injected into the inkjet head.
In claim 7, In the above supply pipe, the head valve is installed at the location where the injection pipe is connected, and An inkjet printer comprising a gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized in that the head valve is a 3-way valve.
In claim 10, When the head valve connects the injection pipe and the ink storage unit, the ink injected into the injection pipe is injected into the ink storage unit, and An inkjet printer including a gas buffer type small ink storage device, characterized in that when the head valve connects the injection tube and the inkjet head, the ink injected through the injection tube cannot move to the ink storage unit and is injected into the inkjet head.
In claim 7, An inkjet printer comprising a gas buffer type small ink storage device characterized by further including an ink discharge pipe for discharging ink that has passed into the interior of the gas buffer section to the outside, and a discharge valve for opening and closing the ink discharge pipe.

Description

Gas buffer type micro ink storage device and ink-jet printer comprising the same The present invention relates to an ink storage device and an inkjet printer including the same, and more specifically, to a small ink storage device for an inkjet printer that stores and uses a small amount of ink and an inkjet printer including the same. Generally, inkjet printing technology refers to a technology that sprays liquid ink in the form of droplets onto the surface of a medium according to a shape signal, and creates a pattern directly on a printing object by spraying small droplets at a frequency of hundreds of times per second or more by force from electricity or magnetism or pneumatic pressure. Although this inkjet printing technology originated in the publishing printing field as a printing method for creating documents or advertisements, its application in industrial fields is gradually increasing due to its ability to form droplet patterns with high precision. In particular, the scope of inkjet printing applications is expanding, such as being used in semiconductor or display fields to form complex patterns on substrates or in solution processes to accurately eject ink only at specific locations. Efforts are also continuing to apply inkjet printing technology as a method to form small, precise patterns in various electronic devices. In order to eject an accurate amount of ink during the inkjet printing process, the ink ready for ejection from the inkjet head must maintain a meniscus state, which is a curved surface indented inward by capillary action relative to the nozzle opening. To achieve this, it is common practice to position the ink reservoir higher than the inkjet head and, instead, generate negative pressure inside the ink reservoir tank to prevent ink from flowing down from the inkjet head and thereby maintain the meniscus state. If the meniscus state of the inkjet head is not maintained through the ink reservoir in such a gas pressure control device, the precision of inkjet printing decreases or ink leaks from the nozzle of the inkjet head, causing contamination, which leads to the cessation of inkjet printing and results in the shutdown of the entire production facility. Therefore, controlling the gas pressure performed in the ink reservoir to apply negative pressure to the ink filled through the ink reservoir to the inkjet nozzle is a very important part of the inkjet printing process. Meanwhile, as the application fields of inkjet printing have recently expanded, configurations are being developed to apply inkjet printing to fields that use extremely small amounts of ink. Current industrial inkjet printing devices have evolved into forms suitable for mass production while maintaining the precision inherent to inkjet printing; this has been achieved by equipping a large-capacity ink head storage unit or by continuously supplying ink to the storage unit. However, with the recent shift in the industrial landscape from mass production of a few product types to small-batch production of many product types, new requirements are being demanded for industrial inkjet printers. While the primary objective in the past was to perform the same process repeatedly for a long time using a single type of ink, there is now an increasing demand for industrial devices capable of printing extremely small amounts of ink. Furthermore, due to the characteristics of the ink, there is also a growing demand for configurations that allow inkjet printing to be performed while storing only a small amount of ink. In particular, there has been a recent increase in demand for biosensors and biokits, such as diagnostic kits for confirming infectious diseases or diagnosing illnesses, and test kits for checking allergic reactions. Consequently, there are ongoing attempts to apply inkjet printing to their manufacturing processes. However, while the amount of ink consumed per process in the manufacturing of biosensors and biokits is very small, the ink used is prone to degradation, resulting in a very limited storage capacity at once. Consequently, it is difficult to apply inkjet printers developed to date. Specifically, the storage capacity is insufficient compared to the storage capacity of existing inkjet printers, making it impossible to perform normal inkjet printing. Furthermore, simply reducing the size of the storage device does not address the issue of difficulty in controlling the meniscus. Moreover, because the amount of ink stored in the device is very small, there are difficulties in the process of initially injecting ink into the inkjet head or continuously injecting ink into the head during the purging process to remove internal air. FIG. 1 is a drawing for explaining the structure of a gas buffer type small ink storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a syringe connected for ink injection in a gas buffer type small ink storage device according to an embodiment o