Abstract: There is disclosed an ink tank capable of inhibiting penetration of a gas even in an ink storage section made of a resin, having such a flexibility as to easily apply a negative pressure to ink, having an excellent resource protective property and applicable even to a small and inexpensive ink jet recording device having a large degree of freedom in design. In the ink tank for the ink jet recording device having the ink storage section made of a plastic, the ink storage section has a coating layer including a liquid retaining member capable of retaining ink on an inner surface or an outer surface thereof. The liquid retaining member can include a foam material, a fiber material or a gel-like substance. In the ink storage section, the liquid retaining member included in the coating layer including the liquid retaining member capable of retaining the ink on the outer surface thereof includes a moisture adsorbent which adsorbs a moisture.

Abstract: An ink tank in which an air communication passage and a pressure regulator valve passage are formed by covering grooves, etc., with a film is fabricated in a simple manufacturing process. Specifically, an atmosphere communication hole and a major part of an air communication passage are formed in the same surface on which a film for forming a valve passage is attached. By virtue of this, the process of attaching a major part of the air communication passage film and the process of attaching the valve film can be performed in a single process step. This simplifies the process of attaching the films.

Abstract: A prism of an ink tank has a function for reflecting light, which is incident from the outside, to the outside when no liquid is present in a liquid chamber and not reflecting the light, which is incident from the outside, to the outside when a liquid is present in the liquid chamber, and when the optical characteristics of a material constituting the liquid accommodation container are measured based on a standard according to JIS K7105, the material has optical characteristics equivalent to such optical characteristics that a transmittance of all light beams is 80% or more and a Haze value is equal to or more than 75% and equal to or less than 85%. With the above arrangement, there can be provided an ink tank, which can be operated stably and detect a remaining amount of ink, at a low price.

Abstract: An ink tank capable of a stable ink supply to a print head uses a simple valve construction. In one preferred example, an ink path is closed by a lip portion of a valve rubber engaging a flange, and an angle formed by an inner surface of an opening in the lip portion and an engagement surface of the flange is an acute angle.

Abstract: A reliable ink cartridge that reduce printing nonconformity even during high speed inkjet-recording with multiple nozzles by alleviating rapid external impact applied from the outside of the ink cartridge. Within a casing of an ink cartridge, a flexible bag forming an ink reservoir is accommodated. Between the surface of the flexible bag where a sheet member is bonded and a wall surface of the casing, a stress damping chamber is provided. The stress damping chamber communicates with the atmosphere outside the ink cartridge via an orifice formed on a wall surface of the casing.

Abstract: An ink tank is provided which can apply an optimum negative pressure stably by a valve of a simple structure. To this end, the ink tank of this invention has a valve and a damper section installed in an ink flow path. The valve deforms when the negative pressure in the ink supply port is greater than a predetermined level, to temporarily open the ink flow path to introduce ink from the ink accommodation portion to the ink supply port. The damper section is installed between and communicates to the ink supply port and the valve in the ink flow path. The damper section is formed of a resilient member more easily deformed than the valve and applies a negative pressure to the interior of the ink supply port by an elastic recovery force of the resilient member.

Abstract: An ink tank capable of a stable ink supply to a print head uses a simple valve construction. In one preferred example, an ink path is closed by a lip portion of a valve rubber engaging a flange, and an angle formed by an inner surface of an opening in the lip portion and an engagement surface of the flange is an acute angle.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a sub tank unit mounted to a carriage, and an ink supply recovery unit. In the sub tank unit, a recording head and a sub tank are mounted to the carriage. The ink recovery unit has a main tank, and is connected with the sub tank unit via a supply joint, so as to be capable of supplying ink from the main tank to the sub tank. The sub tank houses an ink absorber having a lot of cavities for holding the ink, and an average distance between cavities is 0.12 mm to 0.25 mm.

Abstract: An ink reservoir (166) has a plurality of thin bodies (164) provided in a housing (161) at gaps from each other. Ink in the housing (161) is held by a capillary force generated by the thin bodies (164). An ink guide portion (167) which is set at a gap between one end of the liquid ink (166) and an inner wall of the housing (161) is provided so that a capillary force in the vicinity of an ink supply port (165) is larger than that of the liquid reservoir (166).

Abstract: An ink container for containing ink to be supplied to an ink jet head to which the ink container is detachably mountable, includes an ink supply port for supplying the ink to the ink jet head; a air vent for fluid communication with ambience; a claw-like projection provided on a first side of the ink container; a latching lever provided on a second side opposite from the ink container, the latching lever being resiliently supported on the ink container and having a latching claw.

Abstract: In a sub-tank of an ink jet recording head, an ink absorbing member capable of being impregnated with and holding an ink is arranged and a space V2, which is an area formed by a first wall surface of an ink reservoir and the ink absorbing member and in which the ink absorbing member is not present, is formed. A gas-liquid separation member made of a porous member, transmitting a gas but shutting off a liquid such as the ink is provided in a cap member in which an air hole is formed. A volume of the space V2 and a total volume V2 of an amount of the ink by which the ink is discharged from a discharge port of an ink jet recording element in one recovery operation and an initial pre-discharge amount hold a relationship of 0.7V1?V2?V1.

Abstract: A prism of an ink tank has a function for reflecting light, which is incident from the outside, to the outside when no liquid is present in a liquid chamber and not reflecting the light, which is incident from the outside, to the outside when a liquid is present in the liquid chamber, and when the optical characteristics of a material constituting the liquid accommodation container are measured based on a standard according to JIS K7105, the material has optical characteristics equivalent to such optical characteristics that a transmittance of all light beams is 80% or more and a Haze value is equal to or more than 75% and equal to or less than 85%. With the above arrangement, there can be provided an ink tank, which can be operated stably and detect a remaining amount of ink, at a low price.

Abstract: A covering member is installed on the upper face of a liquid storing chamber, which further covers a communicating for covering a gas-liquid separation member. For the ink jet cartridge, given the length of each of paths from the gas-liquid separation member to the atmosphere communication port as Ln, and the sectional area of each path as Sn, and then, the diffusion resistance R=?(Ln/Sn), and the coefficient K=10,000 (mg.mm/mm2), it is arranged to set the Ln and Sn to satisfy the K/V<R<2,000, provided that the total weight of liquid filled in the liquid storing chamber is V.

Abstract: A sub-tank unit of an ink jet cartridge can contain ink for image printing therein. The sub-tank unit includes a container main body having a ink storage for storing the ink, a ventilation path enabling the liquid storage and the outside of the container main body to communicate with each other, a gas liquid separation member disposed to communicate with the ventilation path, and a capillary member disposed between the ink storage and the gas liquid separation member.

Abstract: This invention provides an ink tank capable of a stable ink supply to a print head by using a simple valve construction. In one preferred example, an ink path is closed by a lip portion of a valve rubber engaging a flange, and an angle formed by an inner surface of an opening in the lip portion and an engagement surface of the flange is an acute angle.

Abstract: An ink tank is provided which can apply an optimum negative pressure stably by a valve of a simple structure. To this end, the ink tank of this invention has a valve and a damper section installed in an ink flow path. The valve deforms when the negative pressure in the ink supply port is greater than a predetermined level, to temporarily open the ink flow path to introduce ink from the ink accommodation portion to the ink supply port. The damper section is installed between and communicates to the ink supply port and the valve in the ink flow path. The damper section is formed of a resilient member more easily deformed than the valve and applies a negative pressure to the interior of the ink supply port by an elastic recovery force of the resilient member.

Abstract: A simple configuration is used to prevent a gas-liquid separating membrane which allows a gas to pass through while hindering the passage of a liquid, from undergoing a pressure equal to or higher than the withstanding pressure of the membrane, thus enabling a liquid to be stably fed into a container. To achieve this, in one preferred mode, a buffer is provided in a suction path connected to a suction pump. The buffer serves to prevent a gas-liquid separating membrane which allows a gas to pass through while hindering the passage of a liquid, from undergoing a pressure equal to or higher than the withstanding pressure of the membrane.

Abstract: An ink tank in which an air communication passage and a pressure regulator valve passage are formed by covering grooves, etc., with a film is fabricated in a simple manufacturing process. Specifically, an atmosphere communication hole and a major part of an air communication passage are formed in the same surface on which a film for forming a valve passage is attached. By virtue of this, the process of attaching a major part of the air communication passage film and the process of attaching the valve film can be performed in a single process step. This simplifies the process of attaching the films.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid storing device which can be manufactured inexpensively, which allows various liquids such as ink to be used in a chemically stable manner, and which can stably supply a liquid by reducing channel resistance irrespective of changes in position during operation to generate a predetermined negative pressure. To achieve this object, in one preferred mode, a plurality of thin plates are disposed at predetermined intervals to form a storing portion in which predetermined capillary force is generated. Furthermore, a predetermined gap is formed between the storing portion and a liquid outlet to form a guiding portion in which capillary force is generated which is stronger than the capillary force of the storing portion.

Abstract: An ink cartridge (3) including an ink reservoir portion having a porous member (37) for storing ink and an ink supply portion (39) has an ink inducing element (47) disposed between the ink reservoir portion and the ink supply portion (39). The ink inducing element (47) is made of bundle of fibers in which each fiber is disposed in parallel to the direction of ink supplying from the ink reservoir to the ink supply portion (39), and one end of the ink inducing element (47) is press-touched to the porous member (37).