JP2003118130A - Ink storing bag for ink-jet recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To eliminate ink leakage by facilitating bonding with respect to an ink outlet member 23 in an ink storing bag 40. SOLUTION: A perforated hole 42 is provided in a halfway part of the wide width surface of a rectangular sheet material 41. With a cylindrical part 23a of an ink outlet member 23 being inserted from one surface of the sheet material 41, a disc-like surface of a flange part 23b and one side of the sheet material 41 are superimposed and bonded by heat sealing in the flat surface. Then, the sheet material 41 is folded in two such that the flange part 23b is disposed on the inner side of a bag member 40' so that the end rim part superimposed in the same direction are heat sealed so as to provide bonding parts 43a, 43b, 43c. The through hole of the ink outlet member 23 is sealed with a rubber sealing material 24 so as to prevent leakage of an ink in the inside. Since the twofold part of the sheet material on the side with the ink outlet member 23 bonded is swollen outward into a protruding curved shape at the time it is filled with an ink, the ink storage amount can be increased.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an ink containing bag for supplying ink to a print head of a piezoelectric type ink jet recording apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-3 has been used as an ink containing bag used in an ink jet recording apparatus for ejecting and recording ink on a recording medium such as paper based on an input signal.
4461, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-5549, Japanese Patent Publication No. 4
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 21590/1994 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-211963, two layers of flexible sheet materials made of synthetic resin having gas barrier properties are folded in two and overlapped, and the periphery thereof is overlapped. Thermal welding of sides (heat sealing)
, And one side of the joint is equipped with an ink outlet tube with a cylindrical cross section or a mouthpiece with a substantially boat-shaped section for leading out the ink in the ink containing bag to the outside. It is known that a rubber plug for sealing is fitted.

[0003]

However, as in the prior art, when the edge portion of the sheet material and the outer peripheral surface of the ink outlet tube or the mouth body are simultaneously aligned in a planar shape to form a joint by heat sealing. Since the cross section of the ink outlet tube or the mouth is three-dimensional such as circular, it is difficult to join the outer peripheral surface and the side portion of the sheet material (particularly, joining at the confluence of the three members). There is a problem that ink easily leaks from the joint portion.

The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and it is a technical object to provide an ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus in which ink does not easily leak from the bag body. To do.

[0005]

In order to achieve this technical object, an ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention has an ink supply bag for supplying ink to a print head in the ink jet recording apparatus. The ink containing bag for supplying is composed of a synthetic resin sheet material and an ink take-out port body detachably connected to the supply pipe, and the ink take-out port body is bonded to one side of the sheet material. It is characterized in that both sheet material portions extending on both sides of the ink outlet are folded in the same direction and their peripheral portions are joined together to form a joint portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink containing bag for the ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, both joint surfaces of the ink outlet body and the sheet material can be heat-welded to each other. It is made of various synthetic resin materials.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect,
The ink outlet has a tubular portion that is inserted into a hole formed in the sheet material, and a flange portion that extends outward from one end of the tubular portion and is joined to one surface of the sheet material. It is a feature.

Further, according to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the third aspect, the ink outlet port is formed in a through hole that penetrates the tubular portion. A sealant for closing the hole is provided.

[0009]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of an essential part of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which a lid of an ink cartridge is removed, and FIG. 3 shows a manufacturing process of an ink containing bag according to the present invention. It is a perspective view.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a main part of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 will be described. The main body case 2 of the ink jet recording apparatus 1 has a frame 4 extending in the left-right direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 1). Both ends of the guide rail 3 are fixed. A carriage 5 is attached to the guide rail 3.
Is reciprocally moved in the left-right direction, and is reciprocated in the left-right direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 1) within a predetermined range by a timing belt (not shown) and driving means such as a drive motor. A print head 7 having a plurality of ejection channels (not shown) on the lower side of the carriage 5 (in the embodiment, four print heads for four colors are arranged in parallel).
The head unit 6 provided with is detachably mounted. Reference numeral B in FIG. 1 indicates a direction in which a sheet (recording medium) is conveyed.

In FIG. 1, four inks that can separately store four color inks (magenta (red), yellow (yellow), cyan (blue), black (black)) below the paper transport surface. Cartridge 9 (individual code is 9
a, 9b, 9c, 9d) are arranged in a horizontal row.
A flexible ink supply pipe 10 (individual reference numerals 10a to 10d) made of a synthetic resin or the like, the base end of which is connected to each of the ink cartridges 9a to 9d, supplies ink to the inside of the carriage 5. Is connected to a head unit via the ink supply joint body (not shown), and ink is supplied to each print head.

A suction cap 11 for suction purging is provided at the left end portion (end portion within the moving range of the carriage 5) of the main body case 2 in FIG.
The wiper blade 12 for wiping and cleaning the surface of each print head when moving toward 1 is disposed so as to face the print head, and at the time of suction purging,
The suction cap 11 is configured so as to come close to and close to the nozzle portion on the front surface (lower surface) of the print head. A suction pipe 13 connected to the suction cap 11 is connected to a waste tank, for example, a waste ink introduction chamber 20b described later in the ink cartridge 9 (one of 9a to 9d) via a suction pump (not shown). Cage,
The waste ink sucked by the suction purge is discharged to the above-mentioned location.

2, FIG. 8, FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show the structure of the ink cartridge 9, which is a flat box type case body 20 made of synthetic resin and having a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and a lid body 2 for covering the upper surface thereof.
1 and the ink containing bag 40 and the like arranged in the case body 20. One of the ink cartridges 9, for example the most commonly used black ink cartridge, is
The case body 20 is partitioned by a partition wall 20c into a storage chamber 20a in which the ink storage bag 40 is arranged and a waste ink introduction chamber 20b having a smaller volume than the storage chamber 20a. The ink discharged into the waste ink introduction chamber 20b is made to flow into the storage chamber 20a by the communication portion 20e such as a notch communication groove provided in the partition wall 20c. It is not necessary to provide the waste ink introduction chamber 20b for the other color ink cartridges.

The side wall 20d of the case body 20 closes the opening (through hole) of the ink outlet port 23 provided in the ink containing bag 40 housed in the housing chamber 20a, and is formed in the side wall 20d. An elastic seal member 24 for sealing the mounting hole 25 and an elastic seal member 27 for closing the hole 26 communicating with the waste ink introducing chamber 20b are provided (FIGS. 5 and 6). And FIG. 7).

The seal members 24 and 27 are elastic bodies,
Silicone rubber, urethane rubber, nitrilo rubber (NB
R), isoprene rubber, butylene rubber, fluorinated rubber, etc., and are pointed hollow needles 29, 2 attached to the tips of the ink supply pipe 10 and the suction pipe 13.
8 (see FIGS. 5 and 6) can be pierced and penetrated, and the traces of the hollow needles 29, 28 pulled out from the seal members 24, 27 are sealed (sealed) by the elastic force of the rubber material itself.
Since it is desirable to be able to do so, silicone rubber having a high elastic recovery property is preferable.

After the ink containing bag 40 containing a predetermined ink is set in the containing chamber 20a, the lid 21 is adhered to the main body case 20 with an adhesive or the like to seal it. When the ink in the ink containing bag 40 is consumed, the ink cartridge 9 is replaced.

Incidentally, on a part of the case body 20 (the side surface on which the seal cap 24 and the seal member 27 are arranged), the kind of ink, the applicable ink jet recording apparatus, and the use history of the ink cartridge 9 (recording) If the ink cartridge 9 is attached once to the main body of the apparatus, the ink cartridge 9
The memory chip 30 stores information such as (for determining that the chip is not new) and an arrangement portion 31 of an electrical contact for connecting the chip to the recording apparatus main body. Further, since only the air discharged together with the waste ink discharged from the hollow needle 28 is discharged to the outside of the ink cartridge 9, it is bonded so as to cover the outer surface of the stepped hole 32 formed in the lid body 21. A gas permeable film 33 is attached, and a thin groove-shaped labyrinth groove 34 is formed by bending the outer surface of the lid 21 so as to communicate with the space outside the stepped hole 32. A non-breathable film 35 is adhered to the outer surface of the lid body 21 so as to cover the entire labyrinth groove 34, and a vent hole 36 communicating with the outside air from the end of the labyrinth groove 34 is formed in the film 35. The air permeable film 33 is permeable to air and impermeable to liquid such as ink. In the middle of the labyrinth groove 34,
An ink trap 37 having a large area is formed so as to prevent ink leaking from the sticking surface of the air permeable film 33 from passing through the labyrinth groove 34 to the outside (FIG. 2, FIG. 2).
(See FIGS. 5, 6 and 8).

Next, the structure of the ink containing bag 40 according to the present invention will be described. FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (d) show the first embodiment. A perforation hole 42 is formed substantially at the center of one rectangular sheet material 41 made of synthetic resin. In that case,
As shown in FIG. 4, the sheet material 41 has a nylon resin film 45 adhered to the surface of a vacuum deposition film 44 obtained by vacuum deposition of alumina or silica 44b on one surface of a polyethylene terephthalate film 44a, and the other surface on the other surface. It has a multi-layer structure in which a film 46 made of polypropylene resin or polyethylene is adhered.

On the other hand, the ink take-out port 23 is an integrally molded product made of synthetic resin, which is composed of a tubular portion 23a and a substantially disc-shaped flange 23b which extends radially outward from one end of the tubular portion 23a. In the form, it is made of polypropylene resin or polyethylene.

When the tubular portion 23a of the ink outlet port 23 is inserted into the perforation hole 42, the tubular portion 23a is inserted from the polypropylene resin or polyethylene film 46 side of the sheet material 41. So that the disk surface of the flange portion 23b on the side where the protrusions face the film 46 faces the flange portion 23b and the sheet material 41.
And are welded (heat-sealed) from heat to form a joint (Fig. 3).
(See (b)).

Next, the sheet material 41 is folded in half so that the flange portion 23b of the ink outlet port 23 is on the inner side of the folding of the sheet material 41, and the edge portions of the sheet material 41 on three sides are folded. Overlapping in the same direction, the left and right sides of the overlapping except the bottom are welded (heat-sealed) over the entire length by heat to form joints (welded portions) 43a and 43b (see FIG. 3C). ).

In these cases, it is desirable that the material of the ink take-out port 23 made of synthetic resin is the same as the heat-sealing surface of the sheet material 41 in order to improve the heat-sealing property and the adhesive performance by the adhesive. In the embodiment, the material of the ink outlet port 23 is polypropylene resin or polyethylene. In addition, the joint portion 43 of the sheet material
It is desirable that the mating surfaces of a and 43b are also polypropylene or polyethylene resin that is easily heat-sealed to each other.
Instead of heat sealing, bonding with an adhesive may be used.

In the thus constructed bag 40 ', the opening (through hole) of the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion 23a of the ink outlet 23 is closed by the sealing material 24, and then the bag 40' is closed. After filling the inside with ink, the bottom side is heat-sealed to form the joint portion 43c (see FIG. 3D). Incidentally, after simultaneously joining the three peripheral portions of the left and right sides and the bottom side, ink is filled from the through hole portion of the cylindrical portion 23a of the ink outlet port 23,
You may make it block with the sealing material 2.

Ink containing bag 40 filled with ink
The sealing material 24 is fitted into the mounting hole 25 of the case body 20 from the inside of the accommodation chamber 20a, and then the opening of the case body 20 is sealed by the lid 21.

As in the first embodiment, the ink take-out port body 23 is fitted into the hole 42 formed in the middle of the wide surface of the sheet material 41, and the cylindrical portion 23a thereof is formed.
Alternatively, if the disc-shaped flange portion 23b and the sheet material 41 are heat-sealed to each other, the portion where there is a risk of ink leakage to the outside is limited to the perforation hole 42, so that heat sealing at that portion can be ensured. Since the heat sealing portion between the disk-shaped flange portion 23b and the sheet 41 is a flat portion, there is less risk of ink leakage due to joining such as heat sealing.

In the bag 40 ', the ink outlet 23 is arranged on the side where the sheet material 41 is folded in the middle, and the folded side is not the joined side.
When 0'is filled with ink, the folded side can bulge in a convex curve, so that the ink storage amount can be increased.

In the ink containing bag of the second embodiment, the perforated hole 42 is provided in the wide surface of the sheet material formed in advance in a cylindrical shape in the same manner as described above, and the flange portion 23b is provided inside the cylinder. After inserting the tubular portion 23a into the perforation hole 42 and joining the disc-shaped flange portion 23b and the inner surface of the sheet material by heat sealing or the like, the tubular sheet material is orthogonal to the tubular axis. The edges of the cut surfaces may be overlapped with each other in the same direction, and the sides of the overlapped portions may be heat-sealed over the entire length to form a joint. Also in this case, the sheet material is made of the same multilayer film as in the first embodiment, and the heat sealing surface and the ink outlet port 23 are made of the same material.

[0028]

As described in detail above, the ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention is
An ink containing bag for supplying ink to a print head in an inkjet recording device through a supply pipe is constituted by a synthetic resin sheet material and an ink outlet port detachably connected to the supply pipe. The ink ejection port body is joined to one surface of the sheet material, and the sheet material portions extending on both sides of the ink ejection port body are folded toward each other in the same direction, and their peripheral portions are joined together. It is characterized by what was done.

With this structure, it is only necessary to join the ink outlet body to the flat sheet material and to join the peripheral edges of the sheet materials together. Can be omitted, and the risk of ink leakage is reduced. Further, since the side of the sheet material to which the ink outlet body is joined does not have a joining side other than the joining portion, it becomes a convex curved shape when the ink is filled in the bag body,
The ink storage amount can be increased.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect, both joint surfaces of the ink outlet and the sheet material can be heat-welded to each other. Since such a synthetic resin material is used, the joining performance is improved and the inconvenience of ink leakage can be further avoided.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided an ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the first aspect,
The ink outlet has a tubular portion that is inserted into a hole formed in the sheet material, and a flange portion that extends outward from one end of the tubular portion and is joined to one surface of the sheet material. Since this is a feature, the flange portion and the sheet material can be joined in a flat shape, and the joining area with respect to the ink outlet body can be increased, and the joining work is facilitated.

Further, the invention according to a fourth aspect is the ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the ink outlet port is formed in a through hole penetrating the tubular portion. Since the seal material for closing the hole is provided, the ink filled in the bag does not leak from the ink outlet port.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a main part of an inkjet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge with the cover opened.

3A and 3B show a first embodiment of an ink containing bag, FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing a first stage of a manufacturing process, and FIG. 3B is a second stage (the ink outlet body is joined and then folded in two). FIG. 3C is a perspective view of a state in which the ink is taken out), FIG. 7C is a perspective view of a state in which ink is filled with the ink outlet body facing downward, and FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a multilayer sheet material.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway sectional view of a waste ink introduction chamber in the ink cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway sectional view of a storage chamber of an ink storage bag in an ink cartridge.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of a mounting portion of the opening of the ink containing bag to the ink cartridge.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view from the air permeable film to the labyrinth groove in the ink cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

9 ink cartridges 23 Ink outlet 23a tubular part 23b Flange part 24 Seal material 40 ink bag 40 'bag 41 sheet material 43a, 43b, 43c Joint part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ink containing bag for supplying ink to a print head in an ink jet recording apparatus through a supply pipe, a synthetic resin sheet material, and an ink outlet body detachably connected to the supply pipe. The ink outlet port is joined to one surface of the sheet material, and both peripheral edge portions of the sheet material portions extending on both sides of the ink outlet port are folded in the same direction. An ink containing bag for an ink jet recording apparatus, characterized in that it is formed as a joint portion joined to the. 2. The ink accommodating bag for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein both joint surfaces of the ink outlet and the sheet material are made of a synthetic resin material that can be heat-welded to each other. . 3. The ink outlet port has a tubular portion that is inserted into a hole formed in the sheet material, and a flange portion that extends outward from one end of the tubular portion and is joined to one surface of the sheet material. The ink containing bag for an inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. The ink container for an ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ink outlet has a through hole penetrating the tubular portion, and a sealing material closing the through hole. bag.