JP4635594B2 - Ink cartridge packaging - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge package that contains an ink cartridge to which a label is attached.

  A plurality of ink cartridges that internally store color inks of each color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black are detachably mounted on a recording apparatus main body (for example, an ink jet printer) capable of color printing. As ink cartridges that are detachably mounted on the recording apparatus main body as described above, for example, ink cartridges disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 2002-292890 and 9-20018 are known.

Generally, a label is affixed to an ink cartridge in order to display a manufacturer name, a model name, and an internal ink color. When this label is affixed to the ink cartridge, the label affixing position may be limited depending on the shape and structure of the ink cartridge. For example, as in the case of the ink cartridge disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-292890 described above, when a grip part (convex part) that can be gripped by the user is formed on the lid constituting the upper surface, the label Is often affixed only to the sides. In addition, in order to display the manufacturing company name, model name, etc. in a size that is easy to read, the side with a large area is preferable. Then, when the plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the recording apparatus main body, the side surfaces thereof are arranged to face each other, and the upper surfaces thereof are exposed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-292890 (FIGS. 1 and 2, etc.) JP-A-9-20018 (FIG. 3 etc.)

  For this reason, the label of the ink cartridge attached to the recording apparatus main body is in a position that is difficult for the user to visually recognize.

  In order to solve this problem, as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-20018, the lid on the top surface of the ink cartridge is colored with a color corresponding to the ink color, or the color corresponding to the ink color is formed on the top surface of the ink cartridge. A label is affixed. However, since the label to be attached to the upper surface is small, it must be prepared for each ink color separately from the label that displays the manufacturer name and model name on the side, and the number of parts increases, and the label is attached. A lot of man-hours are also required. In addition, even if the lid is colored, there is a problem that the number of parts is similarly increased.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is an ink cartridge packaged so that a label is easily visible to a user and is attached to the side surface and the top surface, and further, the label can be prevented from peeling off. An object is to provide a package.

In order to achieve this object, the ink cartridge package according to claim 1 accommodates ink of one color inside, and is detachably mounted on the recording apparatus main body for each color of the ink. An ink cartridge comprising a cartridge main body portion that faces the other cartridge main body portion in the mounted state and exposes the upper surface, a sheet-like label attached to the cartridge main body portion, and the ink cartridge to the recording apparatus main body A packaging member made of a non-breathable flexible sheet, which is packaged in a reduced pressure state before being attached, wherein the label is a side label portion which is attached along the side surface of the cartridge body portion. An upper surface label portion that protrudes from the side surface label portion, is bent from the side surface label portion, and is attached along the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion. The upper surface label portion includes the color information of the ink, and the packaging member is deformed substantially along the outer shape of the ink cartridge in a state where the ink cartridge is accommodated and the inside is depressurized. The side label portion and the upper surface label portion are pressed against the side surface and the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion, respectively , and at least a peripheral portion having a predetermined width to which the upper surface label portion is attached is left on the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion. A convex portion formed so as to be grippable is provided, and the width of the peripheral portion is a width where the packaging member is in close contact along at least a part of the portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached, The width of the peripheral portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached is larger than the height at which the convex portion protrudes from the upper surface, and the convex portion is located on the upper surface. It is located biased to the side opposite to the side where the top label portion is adhered.

Package of the ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein, in the packaging body of the ink cartridge according to claim 1 Symbol placement, the label is narrower than the width of the two label portions between the side label portion and the upper surface label portion, A foldable connecting portion is provided.

  According to the ink cartridge package of claim 1, the label attached to the ink cartridge includes a side label portion attached along the side surface of the cartridge main body, and the side label portion protruding from the side label portion. And an upper surface label portion that is bent along the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion, and the upper surface label portion includes color information of ink accommodated in the ink cartridge. Therefore, even when a plurality of ink cartridges are arranged and mounted on the recording apparatus main body, there is an effect that the color information of the ink of each ink cartridge can be easily confirmed from above.

  Moreover, since the side label part and the upper surface label part are integrally configured as described above, the label manufacturing process is not complicated, and there is an effect that the label can be manufactured at low cost.

  Further, the ink cartridge with the label attached is packaged in a reduced pressure state by a packaging member made of a non-breathable flexible sheet before being attached to the recording apparatus main body. The label portion and the upper surface label portion are pressed toward the cartridge main body portion. Therefore, the folded label is easily lifted by either the side label or the top label due to the restoring force of the sheet material, but as a result of continuing to be pressed by the packaging member until it is opened, the ink cartridge is moved to the recording apparatus main body. There is an effect that the label can be prevented from peeling from the ink cartridge even after being mounted.

Further, a convex portion that can be gripped is formed on the upper surface of the cartridge main body. In this case, on the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion, the width of the peripheral portion having a predetermined width to which at least the upper surface label portion left by the installation of the convex portion is attached is along at least a part of the portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached. The width is such that the packaging member is in close contact. Therefore, since at least a part of the upper surface label portion affixed to the ink cartridge is in close contact with and pressed by the packaging member in a decompressed state, the label is prevented from peeling off from the ink cartridge after the packaging member is opened. There is an effect that can be done.

In addition, the width of the peripheral portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached on the upper surface of the cartridge main body is configured to be larger than the height at which the convex portion protrudes from the upper surface. Therefore, when the ink cartridge is enclosed in the packaging member and is in a reduced pressure state, the packaging member deformed along the outer shape of the ink cartridge is in close contact with at least a part of the upper surface label portion attached to the ink cartridge. Therefore, at least a part of the upper surface label portion is pressed by the packaging member. As a result, there is an effect that the label can be prevented from peeling from the ink cartridge after the packaging member is opened.

Further, the convex portion is biased to the side opposite to the side to which the upper surface label portion is attached on the upper surface of the cartridge main body. Therefore, since the width of the peripheral portion to which the upper surface label portion is affixed on the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion is increased, the area of the label that is in close contact with the packaging member in the reduced pressure state is increased, and as a result, the label is removed from the ink cartridge. There is an effect that peeling can be effectively suppressed.

  In addition, since it is possible to increase the length from the bending position in the upper surface label portion attached to the ink cartridge, it is possible to effectively suppress the peeling of the label based on the rigidity of the sheet material constituting the label. There is.

According to the packaging of the ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein, in addition to the effects of the package of the ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein, between the side label portion and the upper surface label portion, than the width of these labels portion Since the narrow bendable connecting portion is provided, there is an effect that the peeling of the label based on the rigidity of the sheet material constituting the label can be effectively suppressed.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink cartridge package 1 includes an ink cartridge 2 and a packaging member, ie, a wrapping bag 4, in which a non-breathable flexible sheet containing the ink cartridge 2 is bonded in a bag shape. It is configured. The package 1 of the ink cartridge is one in which the ink cartridge 2 is placed inside the wrapping bag 4 and the wrapping bag 4 is sealed in a state where the inside of the wrapping bag 4 is decompressed. As shown in FIG. The ink cartridge 2 is deformed substantially along the outer shape of the ink cartridge 2.

  The ink cartridge 2 is detachably mounted in a storage recess 50 (see FIG. 5) of the color printing apparatus main body, and supplies ink to the recording apparatus main body. As shown in FIG. , Cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and the like, and a cartridge main body portion 20 that contains ink of colors such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, and a label 3 attached thereto. The cartridge main body 20 includes a main body case 2a having a space for storing the ink of the one color inside, and a lid member 2b that covers the upper surface of the main body case 2a. The main body case 2a and the lid member 2b are both made of resin and are welded and fixed to each other.

  The main body case 2a has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view having four substantially flat side surfaces 2a1, 2a2, 2a3, 2a4. The lid member 2b is formed to protrude outward from the upper surface, and includes a convex portion 2b1 that can be gripped by the user, and a peripheral edge portion 2b2 that is the upper surface excluding the position where the convex portion 2b1 is formed. The convex portion 2b1 is to be gripped by the user when the recording apparatus main body is attached to or detached from the storage concave portion 50 (see FIG. 5).

  Moreover, it is preferable that the convex part 2b1 protrudes in the position biased to one side on the upper surface of the lid member 2b. Thereby, an upper surface label portion 3b of a label 3 to be described later is attached to the region of the peripheral edge portion 2b2 from the side A opposite to the one side to the convex portion 2b1, and the label portion is pressed by the wrapping bag 4. The width W is secured. The width W is set to be equal to or preferably larger than the height H from the peripheral edge 2b2 of the convex portion 2b1.

  The label 3 is a sheet-like member made of paper, synthetic resin film, or the like. As shown in FIG. 4, the side label portion 3a attached to the side surface of the main body case 2a and the peripheral portion 2b2 of the lid member 2b. And an upper surface label portion 3b attached to the surface. The side label portion 3a is further provided between the first and third small side label portions 3a1 and 3a3 attached to the two opposite side surfaces 2a1 and 2a3 of the four side surfaces of the main body case 2a, and the both side surface label portions. It consists of the 2nd side surface small label part 3a2 which is located in succession and is affixed on the other one side surface 2a2 of the main body case 2a. A slit 3a4 is formed in the side surface small label portion 3 while leaving a part thereof, and the side surface small label portions are connected to each other at a portion 3a5 narrower than the height of each side surface small label portion.

  The upper surface label portion 3b is provided so as to protrude from the upper side of the second side surface small label portion 3a2, and the connecting portion 3d for connecting both is formed by the slit portion 3c so as to have a narrower width than the upper surface label portion 3b and the side surface label portion 3a. The rigidity of the sheet material is reduced against bending described later.

  Although not shown, the manufacturer's name, the model name of the ink cartridge, a cautionary note, and the like are described on the surface side of the side label portion 3a. It is colored with a color indicating the stored ink color. This coloring may be performed only on the surface side of the upper surface label portion 3b, or an ink color may be displayed with characters, symbols or the like instead of the coloring. Although not shown, an adhesive layer having adhesiveness is formed on the back surface of the label 3, and the label 3 is attached to the cartridge body 20 by the adhesive layer.

  The label 3 is bent along a corner between the side surfaces of the main body case 2a at the narrow portion 3a5, and the first, second and third side small label portions 3a1, 3a2, 3a2 are formed on the three side surfaces 2a1, 2a2, 2a3. 3a3 is affixed, respectively. Further, the connecting portion 3d is bent along the side A of the lid member 2b, and the upper surface label portion 3b is adhered to the peripheral edge portion 2b2 having the width W of the lid member 2b. At this time, since the connecting portion 3d is reduced in width as described above to weaken the rigidity of the sheet material, the bonding portion 3d and the upper surface label portion 3b are prevented from being lifted by the rigidity of the sheet material after being attached. can do.

  The ink cartridge 2 to which the label 3 is attached is housed in a wrapping bag 4, the inside of the wrapping bag 4 is decompressed as is well known, and the opening of the wrapping bag 4 is sealed by welding or the like. The wrapping bag 4 is deformed substantially along the outer shape of the ink cartridge 2 by the above-described decompression, and is in close contact with the ink cartridge. Thereby, the wrapping bag 4 presses the side label portion 3a attached along the substantially flat side surface of the cartridge main body portion 20 toward the side surface of the cartridge main body portion 20 as shown in FIG.

  On the other hand, at the corner portion that is concave on the inner side formed by the peripheral edge portion 2b2 and the convex portion 2b1 of the lid member 2b, the sheet constituting the wrapping bag 4 has an arc shape connecting both ends of the concave portion as indicated by 4a. It floats from the innermost corner and cannot press the upper surface label portion 3b. However, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the width W of the peripheral edge portion 2b2 to which the upper surface label portion 3b is attached as described above is set equal to or larger than the height H of the convex portion 2b1. A region where the bag 4 is in close contact with at least a part of the upper surface label portion 3b can be secured. Preferably, the difference (W−Wb) between the width W and the width Wb of the upper surface label portion 3b (bending position, ie, the length from the side A toward the convex portion 2b1) is equal to or equal to the height H of the convex portion 2b1. By setting it larger than this, the entire upper surface label portion 3 b can be effectively pressed toward the cartridge main body portion 20 by the wrapping bag 4.

  During the transportation of the ink cartridge 2, the state in which the respective parts of the label 3 are pressed toward the cartridge main body 20 is maintained in this way, so that the folding folds of the label are firmly formed and the adhesive strength is strengthened. It is possible to prevent the bent portion from being lifted, that is, peeled off due to the rigidity of the sheet material of the label. In particular, as in the embodiment, when the upper surface label portion 3b is smaller than the side surface label portion 3a, the upper surface label portion 3b tends to be lifted due to the rigidity of the sheet material at the connecting portion 3d. It can be effectively suppressed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the opened ink cartridge 2 is detachably stored in a storage recess 50 formed in the recording apparatus main body 51, and is arranged with the other ink cartridges facing the side surfaces 2a1, 2a3. . Therefore, the ink cartridge 2 is exposed only from the opening of the storage recess 50 only on the upper surface, and the ink color can be distinguished by the information displayed on the upper surface label portion 3b.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, the slit portion 3c of the label 3 was formed in a hole shape. Instead of the slit portion 3c, both sides of the upper surface label portion 3b in the width direction (left and right direction in FIG. 6) are cut out to form the slit portion 30c, and the width of the connecting portion 3d is reduced to weaken the rigidity of the portion. Yes. The slit portion 30c may be asymmetrical or may be only on one side. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part same as 1st Example, and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The present invention has been described above based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It can be easily guessed.

  For example, in the embodiment, the side label portion 3a is continuously attached to three side surfaces of the cartridge main body portion 20, but may be attached to only two side surfaces or only one side surface. Moreover, the upper surface label part 3b may be connected with the 1st or 3rd side surface small label part 3a1, 3a3 via the connection part 3d. Furthermore, the cartridge body 20 can be implemented not only in a rectangular shape in a plan view but also in other forms such as a circular shape.

It is a perspective view of the package body of the ink cartridge in 1st Example of this invention. It is a perspective view of the ink cartridge included in the package of the ink cartridge. (A) is a side view showing a part of a package of an ink cartridge package, and (b) is a plan view showing a package of an ink cartridge. FIG. 4 is a development view of a label in an ink cartridge. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted on the recording apparatus main body. It is an expanded view of the label in 2nd Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge package 2 Ink cartridge 2a Main body case 2b Cover member 2b1 Convex part 2b2 Peripheral part 3 Label 3a Side label part 3b Upper surface label part 3d Connection part 4 Packaging

Claims (2)

A cartridge main body that contains ink of one color, is detachably mounted on the recording apparatus main body for each color of the ink, and faces the other cartridge main body portion in the mounted state and exposes the upper surface And an ink cartridge comprising a sheet-like label affixed to the cartridge main body,
A packaging body for an ink cartridge comprising a packaging member made of a non-breathable flexible sheet, wherein the ink cartridge is packaged in a decompressed state before being attached to the recording apparatus main body,
The label includes a side label portion that is attached along the side surface of the cartridge main body portion, and an upper surface label portion that protrudes from the side label portion and is bent from the side label portion and attached along the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion. The upper surface label portion includes color information of the ink,
The packaging member is deformed substantially along the outer shape of the ink cartridge in a state where the ink cartridge is accommodated and the inside is decompressed, whereby the side label portion and the top label portion are formed on the side surface and the top surface of the cartridge main body portion. pressing state near each is,
On the upper surface of the cartridge main body portion, there is provided a convex portion that is formed so as to be gripped, leaving at least a peripheral portion of a predetermined width to which the upper surface label portion is attached,
The width of the peripheral portion is a width at which the packaging member is in close contact along at least part of the portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached,
The width of the peripheral portion to which the upper surface label portion is attached is larger than the height at which the convex portion protrudes from the upper surface,
The ink cartridge packaging body , wherein the convex portion is located on the upper surface so as to be biased to a side opposite to a side to which the upper surface label portion is attached . The label, two label portions narrower than the width of the packaging body of the ink cartridge according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises a connecting portion bendable between the side face label portion and the upper surface label portion.

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