JP2005193427A - Ink supply tube and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To ensure that a plurality of ink passages can be made uniform without the deformation of each ink passage by forming the ink passages of juxtaposed monolithic recessed grooves by rolling with a roller, even when an ink supply tube to be manufactured is of such a type that it has a plurality of the ink passages and a method for manufacturing the ink supply tube. <P>SOLUTION: The ink supply tube 1 has a plurality of the ink passages and is formed of a flexible resin in a multi-layer structure with a gas barrier resin disposed as an intermediate layer 7 between a waterproof inner layer 5 and a waterproof outer layer 6. In addition, a plurality of the ink passages 19 formed in a tube substrate 2 are shaped like the juxtaposed monolithic recessed grooves formed by rolling with the roller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages for supplying ink from an ink tank to a printer head in a printer, a printer section of various measuring devices and observation devices, and a method for manufacturing the same.

This type of ink supply tube, in which a plurality of ink supply tubes are bundled and integrated, is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-226084, and a plurality of ink supply tubes are integrally formed. -41989 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-746). In addition, a single ink supply tube having a multilayer structure in which a gas barrier resin is disposed in an intermediate layer between a waterproof resin inner layer and an outer layer is described in JP-A-10-129006.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-226084 CD-ROM of the actual application No. 4-41989 (No. 6-746) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-129006

  Since the ink supply tube described in the above-mentioned CD-ROM of the actual application No. 4-41989 (No. 6-746) has a plurality of ink passages formed integrally, a plurality of ink supply tubes are provided. Compared to a bundle of ink supply tubes, the external shape is smooth and easy to install and replace. However, since each ink passage is cylindrical, the ink passage is easily deformed during molding, and a plurality of ink passages are formed. It was pointed out that the problem was not uniform.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages, wherein each of the ink passages is formed by forming the plurality of ink passages as parallel integrated concave grooves formed by pressure-expanding with a roller. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink supply tube and a method for manufacturing the same, in which a plurality of ink passages can be made uniform without deformation.

  In order to achieve the above object, an ink supply tube according to claim 1 of the present invention is an ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages, and has a gas barrier property between an inner layer and a middle layer of a flexible waterproof resin. It is made of a flexible resin having a multilayer structure in which a resin is arranged, and the plurality of ink passages are constituted by members having parallel integrated concave grooves formed by pressure spreading by a roller or compression molding. Is.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply tube manufacturing method having a plurality of ink passages, wherein a gas barrier resin is disposed in an intermediate layer between a waterproof resin inner layer and an outer layer. The molten resin sheet having a multilayer structure is extruded, and the extruded molten resin sheet is formed by a roller and formed by a member having parallel grooves, and a plurality of ink passages are formed by the members having these grooves. It is a feature.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply tube comprising a plurality of ink passages formed of parallel integrated concave grooves by the method of manufacturing an ink supply tube according to the second aspect. is there.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink supply tube according to the first aspect, comprising a tube base made of a member having parallel grooves formed in parallel and a covering member that closes an opening surface of the concave grooves. The member is characterized by being made of the same member as the tube base used in a film or a laminated form.

  According to the present invention, even in the case of an ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages, each ink passage is formed by forming the plurality of ink passages by parallel integrated concave grooves formed by pressure-expanding with a roller. Therefore, the plurality of ink passages can be made uniform.

  FIG. 1 is a partially broken perspective view of an ink supply tube according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the molding apparatus, FIG. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the main configuration of FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the pressure-molded tube base and the opening surface of the groove are closed with a film.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an ink supply tube 1 according to the present invention includes a tube base 2 and a cover member 4 that closes the opening surfaces of the plurality of concave grooves 3, and the cover member 4 is a film. As shown in FIG. 5, the tube member 2 and the covering member 4 made of a film may have a multilayer structure in which an inner layer 5 and an outer layer 6 are waterproof resin layers, and an intermediate layer 7 is made of a gas barrier resin layer. It is flexible. The inner layer 5 and the outer layer 6 that form a waterproof resin layer are, for example, polyethylene resin (PE), and the intermediate layer 7 that forms a gas barrier resin layer is made of an ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH). The covering member 4 made of a film has a multilayer structure similar to that of the tube base 2, and the inner layer 8 and the outer layer 9 are a waterproof resin layer (PE) and the intermediate layer 10 is a gas barrier resin layer (EVOH).

  The ink supply tube 1 according to the present invention is formed by a forming apparatus shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, 11 is a first extruder, 12 is a second extruder, 13 is a third extruder, 14 is a pressure-forming machine, and 15 is a cooling device. The first extruder 11 collects the molten PE constituting the inner layer 5, the second extruder 12 collects the molten PE constituting the outer layer 6, and the third extruder 13 collects the molten EVOH constituting the intermediate layer 7, respectively. The molten resin sheet 16 having a multilayer structure in which the gas barrier resin is disposed on the inner layer 5 and the outer layer 6 of the waterproof resin and the intermediate layer 7 is extruded to the pressure-forming machine 14 at the gathering portion 15, and the pressure-forming molding is performed. In the machine 14, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the molten resin sheet 16 having a multi-layer structure is spread by a roller 17 and a lower roller 18 to form a parallel integrated concave groove 3. Then, those formed with the plurality of concave grooves 3 are cooled by the cooling device 15 and drawn out to obtain the tube base 2.

  Next, the tube base 2 obtained as described above is closed with the opening surface covering member 4 of the parallel and integrated concave grooves 3 to form a plurality of ink passages 19. The covering member 4 is in the form of a film and is bonded to the opening end surface 20 of the groove 3.

  In the illustrated embodiment, the concave groove 3 having a rectangular cross section is formed in the tube base 2 in a parallel and integrated manner. However, the covering member that closes the opening surface of the concave groove of the tube base is aligned with the tube base. The ink passage may be formed in the shape of a tube, and the concave groove of the tube base is not necessarily rectangular.

It is a partially broken perspective view of an ink supply tube according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram of a shaping | molding apparatus. FIG. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of a main part configuration of FIG. 2. It is sectional drawing which shows an expanded pressure state same as the above. It is sectional drawing which shows the state before plugging the tube base | substrate formed by pressure forming and the opening surface of the ditch | groove with a film.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink supply tube 2 Tube base | substrate 3 Concave groove 4 Cover member 5 Inner layer 6 Outer layer 7 Intermediate layer 8 Inner layer 9 Outer layer 10 Intermediate layer 11 1st extruder 12 2nd extruder 13 3rd extruder 14 Expanding molding machine 15 Cooling device 16 Molten resin sheet 17 Roller 18 Lower roller 19 Ink passage 20 Open end face

Claims (4)

  An ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages, comprising a flexible resin having a multilayer structure in which a gas barrier resin is disposed in an intermediate layer of a waterproof resin having flexibility and an outer layer, and the plurality of ink passages are An ink supply tube comprising: a member having concave grooves formed in parallel and formed by pressure or compression molding with a roller.   A method of manufacturing an ink supply tube having a plurality of ink passages, wherein a molten resin sheet having a multilayer structure in which a gas barrier resin is disposed between an inner layer and an outer layer of a waterproof resin is extruded, and the extruded molten resin sheet is transferred by a roller. A method for producing an ink supply tube, comprising: forming a plurality of ink passages with a member having a concave groove formed in parallel and formed with a plurality of ink grooves.   3. An ink supply tube comprising a plurality of ink passages formed by parallel grooves formed by the method for manufacturing an ink supply tube according to claim 2.   2. A tube base comprising a member having concave grooves integrally formed in parallel and a covering member for closing the opening surface of the concave groove, wherein the covering member is made of the same member as the tube base used for film or mating. The ink supply tube according to 1.

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