JP2000233509A - Lid fixation method for ink container - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fusion bonding method for the lid of an ink container capable of certainly fixing the ink container and the lid without lift-up of the lid by the ink absorber after inserting a compressed ink absorber into the ink container even in the case of a small ink container. SOLUTION: The invention relates to a production method for an ink container 1 by inserting an ink absorber 2 into the ink container 1 with the upper surface opened, and covering the opened surface by a lid so as to be fixedly and closely closed. At the time of fixing and closely closing the lid 3, the air inside the ink container 1 is suctioned from a hole 4 provided on the ink container 1 so that after holding the lid by a negative pressure generated by suctioning, the lid 3 is fixed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a method for fixing a lid of an ink container using an ink absorber.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an ink jet cartridge which discharges ink from an ink jet recording head and performs recording on a recording medium, it is necessary to make the ink supply pressure of the ink jet recording head negative in order to obtain good printing. The most commonly used control means is
In other words, a porous body such as urethane foam is inserted into the ink container of the ink jet cartridge.

The ink in the ink container has a negative pressure due to the meniscus force of the porous body in the ink container, and is supplied to the ink jet recording head. The urethane foam gives an appropriate negative pressure to the ink jet recording head. Therefore, when the urethane foam is inserted into the ink container, the ink absorber is used by compressing a rectangular parallelepiped body to about 1/3 to 1/4. Is common.

[0004] As this compression method, as disclosed in "Urethane foam compression filling method" (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-463), a compression device having a frame and a wall (cylinder) slidable in the frame is used. , Compress the original to the appropriate magnification,
A method of inserting using the slidable wall for compression as a guide is adopted.

At this time, the ink absorber is inserted up to a portion deeper than the upper opening for inserting the ink absorber in the ink container. This is to prevent the lid of the ink absorber from being caught in the lid when the lid for sealing the ink container is welded by ultrasonic waves or the like after the insertion of the ink absorber.

However, in recent years, the ink jet cartridge has been considerably reduced in size with the downsizing of the printer. Of the ink containers used in such miniaturized ink jet cartridges, especially in the ink container having a short length in the direction of inserting the ink absorber, even if the ink absorber is inserted slightly deeper, it is left as it is. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink absorber 112 tends to protrude above the opening of the ink container 111 in a short time due to the reaction force of the compressed ink absorber 112. . This means that even if the portion where the ink absorber 112 and the ink container 111 are in contact with each other is pushed further, only the time required for the ink absorber 112 to protrude above the opening of the ink container 111 is increased.

When the ink absorber 112 protrudes from the ink container 111 in this manner, when the ink container 111 is welded for hermetic sealing and when the ink container 111 is welded to the lid (not shown), the ink container 111 and the lid are not connected to each other. Problems such as the occurrence of biting of the ink absorber 112 into the welded portion, and the problem that the lid may not be welded to the ink container 111 when the amount of the ink absorber 112 protruding is too large. was there.

As means for solving these problems, a conventional method for manufacturing an ink container (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-58) has been proposed.
106) are known. In this "method of manufacturing an ink container" (JP-A-8-58106), a projection is provided at a pressing portion of a device for inserting an ink absorber into an ink container, and a portion where the ink absorber comes into contact with the ink container is pressed further. This prevents the ink absorber from rising up due to the repulsive force, lifting the lid and protruding from the ink container, thereby preventing the ink absorber from biting into the lid.

[0009]

However, if the ink absorber 112 is pushed into the ink container 111 and left for a long time as shown in FIG. Disappears. In addition, the ink absorber 112 does not rise near the wall surface of the ink container 111, and even when the biting into the lid 113 does not occur, the ink absorber 112 rises near the center of the ink container 111 due to the repulsive force. In addition, there is a problem that the attachment of the lid 113 is hindered.

Further, when the lid 113 is welded to the ink container 111, the ink container 111 and the lid 113 are set on a jig portion of the welding device in order to prevent a problem that the lid 113 cannot be attached due to the swelling of the ink absorber 112. After that, there is also a method of pressing down the lid 113 together with the ink containers 111 from the upper side, but in this case, it is necessary to prepare a place for pressing down the lid 113, and as a result, there is a problem that the ink cartridge itself becomes large. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized ink container having a structure in which a compressed ink absorber is inserted into the ink container and then the ink is absorbed. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for fixing a lid of an ink container so that the lid is securely fixed to the ink container without the body lifting the lid.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink container having an ink container having an upper surface opened, an ink absorber inserted into the ink container, and a cover covering the open surface with a lid. In the container manufacturing method, when the lid is fixedly sealed, air inside the ink container is sucked through a hole provided in the ink container, and the lid is held by a negative pressure generated by the suction. An ink container lid fixing method characterized by fixing. With this configuration, even in a downsized ink container, the ink absorber does not lift the lid after the compressed ink absorber is inserted into the ink container.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fixing a lid of an ink container according to the first aspect, wherein a lid for covering an open surface of the ink container is welded. is there. In this configuration, since a solvent such as an adhesive is not required, there is an advantage that an adverse effect due to the solvent, for example, a worker may be sucked, and an environment for the worker is excellent. Further, there is no problem such as protrusion of the adhesive after application of the adhesive.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink cartridge has an ink container 1 having an ink supply port 4 formed at the bottom, an ink absorber 2 inserted into the ink container 1, and a top opening of the ink container 1. And a lid 3 which is closed.

The ink container 1 is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape having an internal space whose upper surface is open. The ink absorber 2 holds ink and generates an appropriate negative pressure, and is made of, for example, a porous body of foamed resin or foamed polyurethane. The lid 3 is for closing the open surface of the ink container 1 after inserting the ink absorber 2 into the ink container 1. Reference numeral 3a denotes an air intake port that can communicate with the atmosphere as needed, and is sealed until welding is completed. The ink supply port 4 is for supplying the ink stored in the ink container 1 to an inkjet head (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the configuration of a welding device used for welding a lid to an ink container. As shown in FIG.
An ultrasonic welding machine 12 mounted thereon, and a horn 1 attached to the tip of the ultrasonic welding machine 12 for amplifying the ultrasonic vibration oscillated by the ultrasonic welding machine 12 and transmitting the amplified vibration to the lid 3.
3, a jig 14 for setting the ink container 1 in which the ink absorber 2 is inserted, which is attached to a position directly below the horn 13 on the apparatus mount 11, and the ink container 1 is set on the jig 14. Suction hole 15 which is arranged at a position where it comes into close contact with the ink supply port 4 of the ink container 1 when the
A hollow tube 16 such as a hose or a tube having one end connected to the suction hole 15, and connected to the other end of the tube 16;
A negative pressure generator 17 for generating a negative pressure such as a vacuum pump.

An ultrasonic welding machine 12 is mounted on an apparatus base 11, and a horn 13 for amplifying the ultrasonic vibration oscillated by the ultrasonic welding machine 12 and transmitting it to the lid 3 is attached to the tip of the ultrasonic welding machine. I have. Further, a jig 14 for setting the ink container 1 in which the ink absorber 2 is inserted is placed at a position directly below the horn 13 on the gantry, and the ink supply is performed when the ink container 1 is set. A suction hole 15 is provided at a position in close contact with the mouth 4. One end of an empty tube 16 such as a hose or a tube is connected to the suction hole 15, and the other end of the tube 16 is connected to a negative pressure generator 17 such as a vacuum pump for generating a negative pressure. I have.

Using such a welding device, the ink container 1
In order to weld the lid, first, as shown in FIG.
On the open surface of the ink container 1 in which the ink absorber 2 is inserted,
The jig 14 is set with the cover 3 covered. When left as it is, as shown in FIG. 3 (B), the ink absorber 2 itself rises due to the repulsive force of the ink absorber 2 and lifts the lid 3 to shift the position, so that welding is impossible. turn into.

Then, next, as shown in FIG.
When the negative pressure generating device 17 is operated when the ink container 1 is set on the jig 14 with the lid 3 covered thereon, when the negative pressure generating device 17 is operated, the inside of the ink container 1 is passed through the empty tube 16 connected to the negative pressure generating device 17. Since the air is sucked, the inside of the ink container 1 is in a negative pressure state, and the lid 3 is pressed down by a pressure difference from the atmospheric pressure. At this time, the force of pressing the lid 3 generated by the difference between the pressure in the ink container 1 and the atmospheric pressure is larger than the force of the ink absorber 2 trying to lift the lid 3 by its own repulsive force. The pressure in the ink container 1 is adjusted. Thus, the lid 3 is not lifted by the ink absorber 2 when the lid 3 is welded. Thereafter, the horn 13 of the ultrasonic welding machine 12 is set on the lid 3 and the ultrasonic welding machine 12 is operated, so that good welding can be performed. in this way

According to the method for fixing the lid of the ink container of the above-described embodiment, the above-described method can be used even when the ink absorber 2 is inserted into the ink container 1 and the lid 3 is covered, that is, the ink container 1 is left unattended for a long time. Due to the pressure difference, the state where the lid 3 is in close contact with the open surface of the ink container 1 can be maintained, and the lid can be securely and easily fixed.

Further, the lid 3 placed on the ink container 1
Since there is no need to provide a place for pressing down or to increase the strength of the lid 3, the size can be reduced.

Therefore, even in the ink container 1 which has been reduced in size, after the compressed ink absorber 2 is inserted into the ink container 1, the ink absorber 1 does not lift the lid, and the ink container 1 and the lid 3 are not lifted. And a method for fixing the lid of the ink container 1 such that the fixing of the ink container 1 is reliably performed.

In the above embodiment, the case where the lid is ultrasonically welded to the ink container has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to heat welding other than ultrasonic waves. Further, the present invention can be applied to fixing such as adhesion in addition to welding. Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. That is, various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[0024]

As described above, according to the ink container lid fixing method of the present invention, the ink absorber is inserted into the ink container whose upper surface is opened, and then the open surface is covered with the lid, and the ink absorbing member is fixed and sealed. In the method for manufacturing an ink container, the air inside the ink container is suctioned from a hole provided in the ink container when the lid is fixedly sealed, and the lid is held by a negative pressure generated by the suction. Since the lid is fixed,
Even in a miniaturized ink container, after the compressed ink absorber is inserted into the ink container, the ink container does not lift the lid, and the ink container and the lid are securely fixed. Has an effect that a lid welding method can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration example of a welding device used for welding a lid to an ink container.

3A and 3B are diagrams showing a method of welding a lid of an ink container using the welding device of FIG. 2, and FIG. 3A shows a state immediately after the ink absorber is inserted into the ink container and covered with the lid, (B) shows the state after the negative pressure generator was left without operating, and (C) shows the state after the negative pressure generator was operated and left.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an ink absorber is inserted into an ink container in a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a behavior of a lid in a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 ink container 2 ink absorber 3 lid 4 hole

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A method for manufacturing an ink container in which an ink absorber is inserted into an ink container having an open upper surface, and then the open surface is covered with a lid, and the ink container is fixed and sealed. Suctioning the air inside the ink container from a hole provided in the ink container, holding the lid by a negative pressure generated by the suction, and then fixing the lid, wherein the lid is fixed. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a lid that covers an open surface of the ink container is welded.