JP2005262820A - Ink pack - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink pack and an ink cartridge capable of supplying ink of uniform pigment concentration stably. <P>SOLUTION: The ink pack 1 is an airtight bag made of a synthetic resin film having an ink take-out opening 2 at one end wherein at least two partition walls 6 for dividing the internal ink containing chamber 3 into three or more subchambers 7 are arranged in parallel. The ink containing chamber is divided into one output subchamber including the ink take-out opening and two or more other internal subchambers in series state in the ink flow direction by means of the partition walls. Each partition wall is provided, at the circumferential edge part thereof, with a plurality of through holes 8 for ink channel wherein the position of at least one through hole for the ink channel out of the through holes for ink channel provided in the first partition wall 6a from the ink inlet side is arranged at a position twisted from the position of the through holes for all ink channels provided in the second partition wall 6b from the ink inlet side in the ink flow direction. The ink cartridge 10 includes the ink pack 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink pack. The present invention particularly relates to an ink pack for aqueous pigment ink.

  Ink packs are used as one of means for supplying ink to an ink jet recording apparatus or the like. This ink pack is an airtight bag made of a deformable synthetic resin film, and has an ink outlet at one end. In general, it is a shape that can be manufactured by stacking two rectangular sheets and sealing the four sides. When the inside is filled with ink, it expands to the maximum volume and is flat. The shape is a rectangular parallelepiped. The ink pack is deflated as the ink is taken out, and finally the ink pack is deflated to a state where almost two sheets are overlapped.

  Further, the ink pack is used by being mounted on a printer in a state of being housed in an ink cartridge made of a rigid material. Therefore, the ink cartridge has a flat, rectangular parallelepiped-like container shape and has an internal volume slightly larger than the maximum expansion volume of the ink pack.

  On the other hand, in the ink jet recording method, the use of pigment ink is expanding instead of dye ink. Even when pigment ink is used, ink packs are widely used. In particular, ink packs are used as ink supply means for large paper printers that require large amounts of ink.

  However, since the pigment ink is an aqueous dispersion, there is a problem of sedimentation of pigment particles. For example, if the ink cartridge containing an ink pack is left for a long period of time on a shelf in a warehouse or a store, pigment particles will gradually settle inside the ink pack, so the pigment will move from the bottom to the top. A concentration gradient of particles occurs, and a pigment particle concentration is high and an excessively dark layer is formed at the bottom, and a pigment particle concentration is low and an excessively light layer is formed at the top. In this state, when the ink pack storage ink cartridge is mounted on the printer and printing is started, ink that does not have an appropriate pigment particle concentration is supplied from the ink pack, and ink with a uniform pigment concentration is stably supplied. There is a risk that the objective cannot be achieved. Therefore, for an ink pack storage ink cartridge filled with pigment ink, it is necessary to request the user to re-disperse the ink inside the ink pack by shaking the ink cartridge well before mounting in the printer.

  Even if the ink cartridge is shaken well and the ink inside the ink pack is redispersed before the ink cartridge is installed in the printer, the pigment in the ink pack will remain in the ink pack if it remains installed for a long time. Particle settling proceeds. Therefore, also in this case, there is a possibility that ink that does not have an appropriate pigment particle concentration is supplied from the ink pack and the purpose of stably supplying ink with a uniform pigment concentration cannot be achieved. However, after the ink pack storage ink cartridge is installed in the printer, the seal portion provided at the ink outlet of the ink pack is removed, and the sealed portion of the ink outlet is also broken by the ink suction needle provided in the printer. Yes. Therefore, it is not only complicated for the user to remove the ink cartridge contained in the ink pack from the printer and shake the ink cartridge, but it is also necessary to consider an ink leakage prevention means. It is wise to avoid it.

Various methods have been proposed for dispersing or redispersing pigment particles that have settled in the ink storage chamber of an ink cartridge after various ink cartridges have been installed in the printer.
For example, as a method for uniformly dispersing pigment particles, in an ink cartridge including an ink liquid-impregnated porous holder that can rotate in a substantially cylindrical shape, the ink liquid is agitated by rotating the cylindrical portion and the pigment is stirred. It is known to uniformly disperse (Patent Document 1).

  Further, the pigment concentration is obtained by storing a magnetic stirrer including a ring-shaped frame and a rod-like body located inside thereof and capable of rotating in accordance with magnetism in an ink pack containing the pigment ink and stirring. It is also known to equalize (Patent Document 2).

Further, the ink pack is an ink cartridge that contains ink in an ink pack, and the pigment is obtained by reversing the upper and lower sides in the direction of gravity using an ink cartridge that can rotate with the ink outlet of the ink pack as a rotation axis. It is known that the sedimentation direction of the pigment is reversed to make the pigment distribution uniform (Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4).
JP 2001-293879 A Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2002-200765 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200764 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-200766

However, all of the above conventional techniques require complicated structures and mechanisms.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for stably supplying ink having a uniform pigment concentration from an ink pack of an ink pack housing ink cartridge with a simpler structure and mechanism.

The above problems are solved by the present invention.
An airtight bag made of a deformable synthetic resin film, an ink pack having an ink outlet at one end,
The ink pack includes at least two partition walls that divide an ink storage chamber therein into three or more small chambers, arranged substantially parallel to each other,
By the partition wall, the ink storage chamber inside the ink pack is divided into one outlet small chamber including an ink outlet and two or more other internal small chambers in series with respect to the flow direction of the ink liquid,
Each partition has a plurality of through holes for ink flow paths at the periphery of each partition,
The positions of at least one ink flow path through hole of the ink flow path through hole provided in the first partition as counted from the ink take-out side are all the positions provided in the second partition as counted from the ink take-out side. This can be solved by the ink pack described above, which is arranged at a position twisted with respect to the position of the ink channel through hole and the flow direction of the ink liquid.

In a preferred aspect of the ink pack of the present invention, the number of through holes for the ink flow path provided in the partition located on the ink outlet side in the two adjacent partition walls is the same for the ink flow path provided in the adjacent partition. Same or less than the number of through holes.
In another preferred embodiment of the ink pack according to the present invention, the first partition as counted from the ink outlet side has two through-holes for the ink flow path at a peripheral portion at a point symmetric with respect to the midpoint of the partition. And the second partition, counting from the ink outlet side, has two ink flow path through holes at the periphery of the position that is point-symmetric with respect to the midpoint of the partition, and the first partition The two ink flow path through holes and the two ink flow path through holes of the second partition are arranged at positions twisted at an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the flow direction of the ink liquid.
In still another preferred embodiment of the ink pack of the present invention, the internal chamber has at least one stirring internal chamber having the largest volume. In this case, the ink storage chamber is more preferably divided into four or more chambers. At least three partition walls are provided, and the third chamber counted from the outlet chamber is an internal chamber for stirring.
In still another preferred aspect of the ink pack of the present invention, as the ink liquid is discharged from the ink outlet and the volume of the ink storage chamber is reduced, each partition is curved along the flow direction of the ink liquid. .
In still another preferred embodiment of the ink pack of the present invention, the ink pack is for an aqueous pigment ink for ink jet recording.
The present invention also relates to an ink cartridge including the ink pack.

  In the ink pack of the present invention, the ink storage chamber inside thereof is divided into three or more small chambers by two or more partition walls, and the positions of the ink channel through holes provided in the partition walls adjacent to each other are the ink liquid. It is arrange | positioned in the position twisted regarding the flow direction. Therefore, the ink flow generated when the ink is discharged from the ink outlet causes a turbulent flow of the ink flow in each chamber and the ink liquid is agitated, so that ink with a uniform pigment concentration can be stably supplied. .

A preferred embodiment of the ink pack according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a state in which an ink pack 1 according to the present invention is housed inside an ink cartridge 10 indicated by a broken line, and FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway view of the ink pack 1 of FIG. It is a typical perspective view shown.
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink pack 1 according to the present invention includes one ink outlet 2 at its end, and a left cover sheet 3 made of a deformable synthetic resin film and a right cover made of a deformable synthetic resin film. It is an airtight bag body in which the sheet 4 is integrated by the seal portion 5 at the peripheral portion thereof.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink pack 1 according to the present invention has a plurality of partition walls 6 therein, and the ink storage chamber inside the ink pack is divided into a plurality of small chambers 7 by the partition walls 6. . In the mode shown in FIG. 2, it is divided into four small chambers 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d by three partition walls 6a, 6b, 6c. Further, in the ink pack 1, since the ink liquid flows in the direction of the arrow X toward the direction of the ink outlet 2, the small chambers 7 are divided and arranged in series in the flow direction of the ink liquid. The four small chambers are first counted from the ink outlet 2, the outlet small chamber 7a including the ink outlet 2, and the second inner small chamber 7b counted from the ink outlet 2. It consists of a third internal chamber 7c and a fourth internal chamber 7d.

  Each of the partition walls 6 has a plurality of through holes 8 for ink flow paths at the peripheral edge of each partition wall 6. The central region preferably has no through hole. The position of at least one ink channel through hole 8a among the plurality of ink channel through holes 8a provided in the first partition wall 6a as counted from the ink outlet 2 side is counted from the ink outlet 2 side. The plurality of ink flow path through holes 8b provided in the second partition wall 6b and the positions twisted in the ink liquid flow direction X are arranged.

  For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the first partition wall 6a is provided with two ink flow path through-holes 8a, 8a at the peripheral portion at a point symmetrical with respect to the midpoint 61 thereof. In the second partition wall 6b, for example, it is preferable to provide two ink flow path through-holes 8b and 8b at a position twisted at an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the flow direction of the ink liquid. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the first partition 6a shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the ink outlet 2 side, and the ink flow path provided in the second partition 6b located behind the first partition 6a. The through holes 8b, 8b for use are indicated by broken lines. The straight line 62a connecting the two ink flow path through holes 8a and 8a provided in the first partition 6a and the two ink flow path through holes 8b and 8b provided in the second partition 6b are connected. It is preferable to provide the ink flow path through holes 8a and 8a and the ink flow path through holes 8b and 8b so that the straight line 62b has an angle of about 90 °, but other angles, for example, FIG. As shown by the straight line 62b ′, the ink flow path through holes 81b and 81b can be provided so as to have an angle of about 45 °.

  In a preferred aspect of the ink pack of the present invention, the number of through holes for the ink flow path provided in the partition located on the ink outlet side in the two adjacent partition walls is the same for the ink flow path provided in the adjacent partition. Same or less than the number of through holes. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first partition wall 6a counted from the ink outlet 2 side is provided with two through holes 8a for the ink flow path, and the second partition 6a counted from the ink outlet 2 side. The second partition wall 6b is provided with two ink channel through holes 8b having the same number. Further, the third partition wall 6c counted from the ink outlet 2 side is provided with six ink flow path through holes 8c.

  The lower limit of the number of through holes for the ink flow path provided in the first partition 6a counting from the ink outlet 2 side is 1, but preferably 2 to 4, and most preferably 2. In addition, the number of ink channel through holes provided in the second partition wall 6b counted from the ink outlet 2 side is the same as the number of ink channel through holes provided in the first partition wall 6a. It is preferable. The upper limit of the number of through holes for ink flow paths provided in the third and subsequent partition walls 6 from the ink outlet 2 side is not particularly limited, but is preferably about six. It should be noted that the number of ink flow path through holes provided in the fourth and subsequent partition walls 6 from the ink outlet 2 side may increase or decrease along the ink liquid flow direction X.

  In a preferred embodiment of the ink pack of the present invention, the internal chamber 7 has at least one stirring internal chamber having the largest volume. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the internal small chamber 7c sandwiched between the second partition wall 6b and the third partition wall 6c, ie, the ink outlet port 2 side, is counted from the ink outlet port 2 side. The volume of the third inner chamber 7c is the largest, which is the stirring inner chamber 7c. In the stirring small chamber 7c, the number of the ink flow path through holes 8c provided in the partition wall 6c located on the upstream side of the ink flow is set to the number of the ink flow path through holes provided in the partition wall 6b located on the downstream side of the ink flow. It is preferable to generate a turbulent flow by increasing the number to more than Equation 8b. Instead of changing the number of ink flow passage through holes, the total flow passage area of the ink flow passage through holes 8c provided in the partition wall 6c located upstream of the ink flow is positioned downstream of the ink flow. The turbulent flow can also be generated by making it larger than the total flow passage area of the number 8b of the ink flow passage through holes provided in the partition wall 6b. Here, the total flow path area is the total of the areas of all the ink flow path through holes provided in a certain partition.

In the ink pack of the present invention, when the ink storage chamber is divided into four or more small chambers (that is, when at least three partition walls are provided), the third small chamber counted from the outlet small chamber is set as an internal chamber for stirring. Is preferred. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, it is preferable that the third inner chamber 7c counted from the outlet chamber 7a is an agitating inner chamber.
In the ink pack of the present invention, the number of divisions (or the number of partition walls) of the ink storage chamber is not particularly limited, but the ink storage chamber is preferably 3 to 6 chambers (therefore, the number of partition walls is 2 to 5). It is more preferable that the number of chambers is four (thus, the number of partition walls is three). When the number of ink storage chambers is 2 or less or 7 or more, a sufficient stirring effect may not be obtained.

In a preferred embodiment of the ink pack according to the present invention, as the ink liquid is discharged from the ink outlet and the volume of the ink storage chamber is reduced, each partition is curved along the flow direction of the ink liquid. In the ink pack 1 of the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 2, a change in shape as the ink liquid is discharged from the ink outlet 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 9. The symbols used in FIGS. 1 and 2 are used in FIGS. 4 to 9 as they are.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the ink pack 1 of the present invention contains a maximum amount of ink liquid therein, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA ′. In this state, each of the partition walls 6a, 6b, 6c, and 6d has a flat plate shape that is not curved. Next, FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which ink liquid is discharged from the inside of the ink pack 1 of the present invention via the ink outlet 2, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB ′. FIG. In this state, each of the partition walls 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, 6 d is curved toward the ink outlet 2. Further, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a considerable amount of ink liquid is discharged from the inside of the ink pack 1 of the present invention via the ink outlet 2, and FIG. FIG. In this state, each of the partition walls 6 a, 6 b, 6 c, 6 d is further curved toward the ink outlet 2.

  In the ink pack of the present invention, for example, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 9, since the cover sheets 3 and 4 are deformed as described above with the outflow of the ink liquid, the partition walls can be deformed along with the deformation. Preferably, it is made of a material. However, it is necessary to prevent the ink channel through hole provided in the partition wall from closing with the deformation of the partition wall. Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 4 to FIG. 9, a partition wall that is entirely made of a flexible material and deforms due to bending, or a central peripheral area provided with a central portion and an ink flow path through hole is provided. Can be made of a flexible material, and can be made of a flexible material capable of deforming the outermost peripheral edge region not provided with the ink channel through hole.

The ink pack of the present invention is not limited to an elliptical section as shown in FIGS. 1 to 9. For example, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the section may be circular. .
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the ink pack 1 according to the present invention having a circular cross section, and FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of the ink pack 1 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 10, the ink pack 1 having a circular cross section is an airtight bag body that includes a single synthetic resin film cover sheet 9 that includes one ink outlet 2 at its end.

  The description relating to the ink pack 1 of the present invention in the mode shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 applies to the ink pack 1 according to the present invention having a circular cross section shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 as it is. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the ink pack 1 according to the present invention having a circular cross section has a plurality of circular partition walls 6, and the circular partition walls 6 make the ink storage chambers inside the ink pack a plurality of small chambers 7. It is divided into In the mode shown in FIG. 11, the small chambers 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d are divided by three circular partition walls 6a, 6b, and 6c. Also, in the ink pack 1 having a circular cross section, the ink liquid flows in the direction of the arrow X toward the direction of the ink outlet 2, so that the small chambers 7 are arranged in series in the flow direction of the ink liquid, The first outlet chamber 7a counting from the ink outlet 2 and including the ink outlet 2, the second inner chamber 7b counting from the ink outlet 2, and the third inner chamber 7c. And a fourth internal chamber 7d.

  Each of the circular partition walls 6 has a plurality of through holes 8 for ink flow paths at the peripheral edge of each partition wall 6. The central region preferably has no through hole. The position of at least one ink channel through hole 8a among the plurality of ink channel through holes 8a provided in the first partition wall 6a as counted from the ink outlet 2 side is counted from the ink outlet 2 side. The plurality of ink flow path through holes 8b provided in the second partition wall 6b and the positions twisted in the ink liquid flow direction X are arranged.

  Since the ink pack of the present invention can stably supply ink having a uniform pigment concentration, it can be used particularly for an aqueous pigment ink for ink jet recording.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a state where the ink pack according to the present invention is housed in the ink cartridge. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a part of the ink pack 1 of FIG. It is a front view which shows the position of the through-hole for ink flow paths provided in a partition. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the ink pack of the present invention contains the maximum amount of ink liquid therein. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A ′ of FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which ink liquid is discharged from the inside of the ink pack of the present invention via an ink outlet. FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line B-B ′ of FIG. 6. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which a considerable amount of ink liquid is discharged from the inside of the ink pack according to the present invention via an ink outlet. FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along line C-C ′ of FIG. 8. 1 is a perspective view of an ink pack according to the present invention having a circular cross section. FIG. It is a typical perspective view which notches and shows a part of ink pack of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 ... ink pack; 2 ... ink outlet; 3 ... left cover sheet;
4 ... right cover sheet; 5 ... seal part; 6, 6a, 6b, 6c ... partition wall;
7, 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d ... small chamber;
8, 8a, 8b, 8c, 81b ... through hole for ink flow path; 9 ... cover sheet;
10: Ink cartridge; 61: Midpoint;
62a, 62b ... straight lines connecting through holes for ink flow paths.

Claims (8)

An airtight bag made of a deformable synthetic resin film, an ink pack having an ink outlet at one end,
The ink pack includes at least two partition walls that divide an ink storage chamber therein into three or more small chambers, arranged substantially parallel to each other,
By the partition wall, the ink storage chamber inside the ink pack is divided into one outlet small chamber including an ink outlet and two or more other internal small chambers in series with respect to the flow direction of the ink liquid,
Each partition has a plurality of through holes for ink flow paths at the periphery of each partition,
The positions of at least one ink flow path through hole of the ink flow path through hole provided in the first partition as counted from the ink take-out side are all the positions provided in the second partition as counted from the ink take-out side. The ink pack as described above, wherein the ink pack is arranged at a position twisted with respect to a position of the ink channel through hole and a flow direction of the ink liquid.   The number of ink channel through holes provided in the partition located on the ink outlet side in the two adjacent partition walls is the same as or less than the number of ink channel through holes provided in the adjacent partition. The ink pack according to claim 1.   The first partition, counted from the ink outlet side, has two ink flow path through holes at the peripheral edge at a position that is point-symmetric with respect to the middle point of the partition, and the second partition, counted from the ink outlet side. The second partition wall has two ink flow path through holes at a peripheral portion at a position that is point-symmetric with respect to the midpoint of the partition wall, The ink pack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the two through holes for the ink flow path of the second partition are arranged at positions twisted at an angle of about 90 ° with respect to the flow direction of the ink liquid.   The ink pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3, which has at least one stirring inner chamber having the largest volume as the inner chamber.   5. The ink pack according to claim 4, comprising at least three partition walls that divide the ink storage chamber into four or more chambers, and the third chamber counted from the outlet chamber is an agitation internal chamber.   6. Each of the partition walls is curved along the flow direction of the ink liquid as the ink liquid is discharged from the ink outlet and the volume of the ink storage chamber is reduced. 6. Ink pack.   The ink pack according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which is used for an aqueous pigment ink for inkjet recording.   An ink cartridge comprising the ink pack according to claim 1.

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