JP2010099890A - Ink waste liquid absorber and printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink waste liquid absorber which has rigidity, prevents paper from being stained during printing, has a good assemblability to a printer, and also has a good stability after it is assembled to the printer, and also to provide the printer equipped with the absorber. <P>SOLUTION: The ink waste liquid absorber 1 is arranged in the undersurface of the printer chassis, and is made up such that an absorber base material 2 consisting of a flexible polyurethane foam or the like, and a highly rigid material 4 having a higher rigidity than the absorber base material, are integrated with an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink waste liquid absorber and a printer including the ink waste liquid absorber.

  In recent years, with the spread of personal computers, many types of printers have been provided. Recently, these printers are shifting from the wire dot method and the ink ribbon method to the laser method and the ink jet method. In particular, the inkjet method is less expensive than the laser method and is widely adopted. Conventionally, dye-based inks have been widely used in such ink jet printers, but pigment-based inks have come to be used with the recent development of color printers.

  In an inkjet printer, excess ink is collected in the printer due to cleaning of the printer head or the like, but this may flow out and contaminate the periphery of the printer head. For this reason, an ink absorbing material for absorbing excess ink is disposed in the printer corresponding to the printer head.

Patent Documents 1 and 2 describe an ink absorbent made of a nonwoven fabric made of pulp or synthetic fiber. Patent Documents 3 to 5 describe ink waste liquid absorbers made of a flexible polyurethane foam sheet.
JP 2006-263937 A JP2007-30235 JP 2006-334792 JP 2001-105630 A JP 2002-29066 A

I. The ink waste liquid absorber needs to have a function of not only absorbing ink but also waste liquid. However, waste liquid often depends on the characteristics of the material and the weight of the ink, and the time for holding the ink is inevitably long. Therefore, if the material is not rigid, the material itself may be deformed during ink holding. When printing on paper due to this influence, the deformed waste liquid absorber and the back side of the paper come into contact with each other. May get dirty.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A first object of the present invention is to provide an ink waste liquid absorber that has rigidity and can prevent paper stains during printing, and a printer including the ink waste liquid absorber.

II. With recent printers, downsizing is progressing due to cost reduction and space saving, and thinning of the waste liquid absorber is also required. When the thickness is reduced, urethane foam and nonwoven fabrics typified by fiber systems lose rigidity and workability in assembling to a printer is deteriorated. In order to cope with this, a heat press may be performed to improve the fabric weight. However, hot pressing is not an appropriate method because it increases costs (material cost and heat pressing cost).

  In order to reduce the cost of the urethane foam absorbent body, it is considered to reduce the density of the urethane foam itself. However, when the density of the urethane foam is lowered, the hardness tends to be lowered, and the mere reduction in density lowers the rigidity of the urethane foam and lowers the assembling workability to the printer.

  In order to improve the stability of the ink waste liquid absorber after being assembled in the printer, an ink waste liquid absorber made of a material having as high a hardness as possible has been required. If the ink waste liquid absorber is soft, it will fall off the printer and the absorbed ink will leak.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of such problems, the present invention provides an ink waste liquid absorber that is easy to assemble to a printer and has good stability after being assembled to the printer, and a printer including the ink waste liquid absorber. Second purpose.

  The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 1 is an ink waste liquid absorber disposed on a lower surface in the printer housing, wherein the absorber base material and a highly rigid material having rigidity higher than the absorber base material are integrated. It will be.

  The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in claim 1, the absorber base material and the high-rigidity material are both in the form of a sheet and are integrated in a laminated form.

  The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2, the absorber base material is polyurethane foam.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the high-rigidity material is a resin film.

  The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 5 is characterized in that, in claim 4, the highly rigid material is a PET film or a body OPP film.

  The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 6 is characterized in that, in any one of claims 1 to 5, the absorber base material and the high-rigidity material are integrated by adhesion or adhesion. .

  An ink waste liquid absorber according to a seventh aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to sixth aspects, the thickness of the absorber base is 0.5 to 10 mm.

  An ink waste liquid absorber according to an eighth aspect is characterized in that, in any one of the first to seventh aspects, the high-rigidity material has a thickness of 10 to 500 μm.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the printer having the ink waste liquid absorber, the high-rigidity material of the ink waste liquid absorber is attached to the side opposite to the ink entering direction.

  A printer according to a tenth aspect is the printer according to the ninth aspect, wherein the ink waste liquid absorber is the ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.

  The ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention has a higher rigidity than an ink waste liquid absorber made only of an absorber base material because a highly rigid material having higher rigidity than that is integrated with the absorber base material. . Therefore, the assembling workability to the printer is good. In addition, since the rigidity is increased by the high-rigidity material, the rigidity of the ink waste liquid absorber can be made sufficient even if the absorber base material is thinned or the absorber base material has a low density. The ink absorption characteristics of the ink waste liquid absorber can be improved.

  In addition, since the ink waste liquid absorber has high rigidity, it does not deform even if it absorbs ink after being attached to the printer, and the ink waste liquid absorber and the paper are prevented from coming into contact with each other during printing. Dirt is prevented.

  In addition, the ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention is disposed on the lower surface in the printer casing and used for absorbing waste liquid, whereas the ink waste liquid absorber described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is It is used in a waste ink tank that collects waste ink at the time of flushing / cleaning, and is completely different as a part from the ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail.

  The ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention is obtained by integrating an absorber base material and a highly rigid material. Preferably, the absorber base material and the high-rigidity material are both sheet-like, and are integrated in a laminated form by bonding with an adhesive or a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a cross-sectional configuration of an ink waste liquid absorber 1 manufactured in Example 1 described later, and a polyurethane foam 2 as an absorber base material and a PET film 4 as a highly rigid material are bonded to each other. It is attached by the agent or pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 3 and integrated in a laminated form.

[Absorbent substrate]
As the absorbent base material, a foamed synthetic resin such as polyurethane foam or foamed polyurethane foam having a thickness of about 0.5 to 10.0 mm, particularly about 1.0 to 5.0 mm is suitable, and particularly excellent in ink absorption performance. From the above, a flexible polyurethane foam is preferable. Among them, a flame retardant flexible polyurethane foam imparted with flame retardancy by blending a flame retardant is preferable, and a flame retardant flexible polyurethane foam using a non-halogen flame retardant as the flame retardant is particularly preferable.

  A plurality of flexible polyurethane foam sheets having different densities, the number of cells, the amount of impregnation with the impregnating liquid, and the like may be laminated.

  Although an example of the non-halogen flame-retardant flexible polyurethane foam suitable for the present invention is given below, the absorbent base material used in the present invention is not limited to the following.

  There are no particular restrictions on the non-halogen flame retardant used in this non-halogen flame retardant flexible polyurethane foam, but non-halogen type organophosphorus flame retardants are preferred, especially non-oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardants that do not contain hydroxyl groups. It is preferable to use a flame retardant in combination with an oligomeric organic phosphorus flame retardant having a phosphorus content of 10% by weight or more and having at least three phosphate ester units.

  As the non-oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant containing no hydroxyl group, a phosphate represented by the following general formula (1) is preferable.

（上記一般式（１）中、Ｒ”は炭素数１〜５個のアルキル基、又はアリール基を表し、一分子中に複数存在するＲ”は同一であっても異なるものであっても良いが、好ましくはＲ”は同一である。）

(In the general formula (1), R ″ represents an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms or an aryl group, and a plurality of R ″ present in one molecule may be the same or different. But preferably R ″ is the same.)

  Such non-oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardants include triphenyl phosphate (“TPP”); propylated or butylated TPP (“PTPP” and “BTPP”, respectively); triethyl phosphate (“TEP”); And tributyl phosphate ("TBP"). The non-oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant is not necessarily a monomer as long as it is non-oligomeric, and may be a dimer, trimer, tetramer, or a mixture thereof. Preferred are dimers, trimers or mixtures thereof, with dimers being most preferred. An example of such a dimer includes resorcinol diphosphate (“RDP”).

  The non-oligomeric organophosphorus flame retardant may be a non-oligomeric one in which one of the —OR ″ groups in the general formula (1) is replaced by a —R ″ group. Examples of the oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant include dimethylmethylphosphonate.

  On the other hand, the oligomeric organophosphorus flame retardant has a phosphorus content of 10% by weight or more and has at least three phosphate ester units. Here, “oligomeric” means “monomer” and “dimer”. Except for an oligomer that may contain a small amount of trimer or tetramer. This oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant, for example, reacts phosphorus pentoxide with a selected trialkyl phosphate (eg triethyl phosphate) to form a polyphosphate ester containing a P—O—P bond. It can be prepared by reacting with an epoxide (eg ethylene oxide) to form the desired product.

  A preferable oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant in the present invention is represented by the following general formula (2).

（上記一般式（２）中、ｎは数平均に基づいて２〜２０の範囲であり、Ｒはアルキル基又はヒドロキシアルキル基を表し、Ｒ’はアルキレン基を表す。なお、一分子中に複数存在するＲは同一であっても異なるものであっても良いが、好ましくはＲは同一である。）

(In the general formula (2), n is in the range of 2 to 20 on the basis of the number average, R represents an alkyl group or a hydroxyalkyl group, and R ′ represents an alkylene group. The Rs present may be the same or different, but preferably R are the same.)

  In the above general formula (2), n is more preferably in the range of 2-10. R represents an alkyl group having 1 to 24 carbon atoms, particularly an alkyl group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, especially an alkyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, or a hydroxyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms and 1 to 10 hydroxyl groups. An alkyl group, particularly a hydroxyalkyl group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms and 1 to 4 hydroxy groups, particularly a hydroxyalkyl group having 2 to 4 carbon atoms, is preferred, and R ′ is 1 to 24 carbon atoms, In particular, an alkylene group having 2 to 10 carbon atoms, particularly 2 to 4 carbon atoms is preferable.

  A particularly preferred oligomeric organophosphorus flame retardant is represented by the formula (2), wherein R is an ethyl group, R ′ is an ethylene group, has a hydroxy functional group of about 30 mg-KOH / g or less, It has an acid value of not more than 5 mg-KOH / g and a phosphorus content in the range of about 15-25% by weight. In the following, such an oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant may be referred to as “PEEOP” (or “poly (ethylethyleneoxy) phosphate”).

  The oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant is one in which in the general formula (2), one of the right-side terminal —OR groups or the —OR group of the repeating unit in parentheses is substituted with an —R group. May be included.

  The proportion of the non-oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant in the flame retardant used for the production of the flexible polyurethane foam is preferably 25 to 95% by weight, and the proportion of the oligomeric organophosphorous flame retardant is preferably 75 to 5% by weight.

  The non-halogen flame retardant flexible polyurethane foam suitable for the present invention is a polyol component, an isocyanate, except that such a non-oligomeric organophosphorus flame retardant and an oligomeric organophosphorus flame retardant are used in combination as a flame retardant. It can be produced in accordance with conventional methods by reacting polyurethane foam raw materials such as components, foaming agents, catalysts, etc. The production method is not particularly limited, and various methods such as a one-shot method and a prepolymer method should be adopted. Can do.

  Examples of the polyol component include poly (oxyethylene-oxyalkylene) polyether polyols obtained by adding an alkylene oxide other than ethylene oxide and ethylene oxide to an active hydrogen-containing compound having two or more functional groups. Here, examples of the alkylene oxide component include propylene oxide, butylene oxide, styrene oxide and the like. These can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  Examples of the active hydrogen-containing compound used for producing the polyol include polyalcohols and polyamines. Examples of polyalcohols include ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerin, trimethylolpropane, 1,2 , 6-hexanetriol, pentaerythritol, sorbitol, sucrose and the like.

  In addition, as the polyol, a hydrophilic organic acid metal salt and / or a polymer-containing polyol thereof can be used as a part of the polyol, and potassium, magnesium, tin, copper, lithium, or silver salt of organic acid Etc. are effective, and potassium salt and sodium salt are preferable. Such a polyol can be used by blending with a polyol used for production of a normal flexible polyurethane foam.

  In addition, as the polyisocyanate component, toluene diisocyanate (TDI) or pure, regardless of crude type, diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) or modified MDI, xylylene diisocyanate (XDI), isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), hexamethylene diisocyanate (HMDI), The prepolymer type of these isocyanates, the carbodiimide modified type, etc. are mainly used. Furthermore, a mixture of crude MDI and TDI can be used.

  The isocyanate index of the polyurethane foam raw material is usually about 80 to 120.

  As the catalyst, a metal catalyst such as stannous octoate is mainly used, but an amine catalyst may be used in combination. The blending amount of the catalyst is preferably 0.1 to 5.0 parts by weight with respect to 100 parts by weight of the polyol component, and particularly 0 to 1 part by weight of the tin catalyst and 0.1 to 4.0 parts by weight of the amine catalyst. Are preferably used.

  Moreover, as a foaming agent, water is normally used and it is preferable that the compounding quantity shall be 0.5-6.0 weight part with respect to 100 weight part of polyol components.

  In addition to the above-mentioned various components, the foam foam raw material can be blended with a foam stabilizer, various additives as required. Examples of other additives include colorants, ultraviolet absorbers and the like, which are usually used in the production of polyurethane foam. The blending amount of these additives and the like may be set to such an extent that the ink absorption performance and other characteristics of the obtained flexible polyurethane foam are not impaired.

  The flexible polyurethane foam produced in this way can be used without compression (uncompressed foam) or compressed (compressed foam). Moreover, as a flexible polyurethane foam, you may use the thing without a cell membrane (foam without a film | membrane). This flexible polyurethane foam without cell membrane is obtained by a method of removing the cell membrane after obtaining a flexible polyurethane foam having a cell membrane by a normal formulation, or a method of producing a flexible polyurethane foam by a formulation not producing a cell membrane. be able to.

  The substrate foam used in the present invention preferably satisfies the following physical properties in order to satisfy the impregnating property of the impregnating liquid and the required properties as an ink waste liquid absorber. The following methods for measuring foam physical properties are as described in the Examples section below.

<Breathability>
The breathability of the base foam is preferably 10 cc / cm ² / sec or more, and particularly preferably 150 to 500 cc / cm ² / sec. If the base foam has low air permeability, the impregnation liquid impregnation and productivity will be inferior, but higher ones are preferable, but those with excessively high air permeability are required characteristics such as hardness as an ink waste liquid absorber. Cannot be satisfied.

<Density>
The density of the substrate form is preferably 10 to 100 kg / ^{m 3,} it is particularly preferably 20 to 50 kg / ^{m 3.} If the density is excessively high, the cost is high. However, an excessively low density is not preferable because required characteristics such as hardness as an ink waste liquid absorber cannot be satisfied.

  In the ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention, there is an advantage that sufficient hardness can be obtained while the density is relatively low by selecting and using the optimum polymer-containing polyol.

<Hardness>
The hardness of the substrate foam is preferably 10 to 30 kgf, particularly preferably 15 to 20 kgf, in relation to the assembling property to the printer. If the hardness is too high or too low, the assemblability to the printer is poor.

<Number of cells>
The number of cells (number of cells per inch) is preferably 20 to 100 cells / inch. When the number of cells is less than this range, it is difficult to retain the ink in the foam. When the number of cells is large, when the base foam is impregnated with the impregnating liquid, the impregnation liquid is difficult to impregnate, and the amount of the impregnating liquid attached is not easily constant. In addition, the impregnation rate is slow, resulting in high costs.

[Characteristics of ink waste liquid absorber]
The ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention obtained by impregnating the above-mentioned substrate foam with the above-mentioned impregnating liquid has the following physical properties from the viewpoint of its ink absorption performance, assembling property to a printer, durability, cost, and the like. It is preferable. For the following physical properties, the measuring method is as shown in the section of Examples described later.

<Density>
It is preferable that it is 10-100 kg / m < ³ >, especially 20-50 kg / m < ³ >.

<Hardness>
It is preferable that it is 10-30 kgf, especially 15-20 kgf.

<Breathability>
Is preferably 10cc ^/ cm 2 ^/ sec or more, and particularly preferably 150~500cc ^/ cm 2 ^/ sec.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to improve the liquid absorption by impregnating the absorbent base material with an impregnating liquid containing a surfactant and an antifoaming agent described later.

  By using an impregnation liquid containing not only the surfactant but also an antifoaming agent, the workability during the impregnation treatment is improved. That is, in the impregnating liquid that contains a surfactant and no antifoaming agent, foaming during the impregnating solution treatment impedes the foam impregnation property, but this foaming is suppressed by using an antifoaming agent in combination. Therefore, the impregnation treatment can be smoothly performed under good workability, and the productivity is improved.

  The foaming mechanism by this surfactant and the defoaming mechanism by the combined use of the defoaming agent are as follows.

  “Bubble” is a gas wrapped in a thin liquid film, but the surfactant is arranged with a hydrophobic group on the gas side and a hydrophilic group on the liquid film side. That is, when the surfactant is used, the core liquid (water) fills the portion surrounded by the hydrophilic group of the surfactant (foam boundary).

  Usually, in the foam aggregate, the core liquid is attracted to the boundary (center of 3 points) between the bubbles by capillary action, and the liquid film gradually becomes thinner and the foam cannot be maintained and eventually repels. However, for example, when an ionic surfactant such as a cationic surfactant or an anionic surfactant is used, as the liquid film becomes thinner, the film becomes thinner due to electrostatic repulsion between molecules. It shows resistance to becoming. For this reason, bubbles are maintained and a bubble phenomenon occurs.

  On the other hand, when an antifoaming agent such as silicone or fatty acid ester is added, it penetrates into the liquid film, but since the antifoaming agent is nonionic and has no electrostatic repulsion with each other, the liquid film can be prevented from thinning. Without defoaming.

  In addition, due to the surface-active action of the antifoaming agent used in combination with the surfactant, the surfactant is fully adapted to the foam at the time of impregnation, and is uniformly impregnated in a good impregnation state. The effect of improving the absorption performance is sufficiently exhibited, and the amount of the surfactant used for obtaining the intended ink absorption performance can be reduced.

  It is preferable that the foam is further impregnated with the binder by blending the binder described later with the impregnation liquid. By using the binder in combination, the outflow of the surfactant from the foam during use can be prevented, and the life of the ink waste liquid absorber can be extended.

<Surfactant>
Examples of the surfactant include anionic surfactants (anionic surfactants) such as succinate, carboxylate, phosphate, sulfonate, and ethylene oxide; alkylamine salts, quaternary ammonium salts, and the like. Cationic surfactants (cationic surfactants); nonionic surfactants such as polyethylene glycol alkyl ethers, sorbitan fatty acid esters, alkyl allyl ethers, alkyl ethers, alkyl esters, alkylamines, phenyl ethers, alkylalkanolamides (nonionics) Surfactants); amphoteric surfactants such as amino acids, alkylbetaines, amine oxides and alkylimidazoliniums; silicone surfactants such as polysiloxanes; fluorosurfactants; and the like. In the present invention, polymeric surfactants and reactive surfactants can also be suitably used.

  These surfactants may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

  In order to prepare a stable impregnation solution, the surfactant is preferably water-soluble.

  Among these, a mixture of an anionic surfactant such as sodium succinate modified product, sulfonate, quaternary ammonium salt, and nonionic surfactant such as alkylallyl ether is particularly preferable. In this case, as the sodium succinate modified product, a dialkyl ester sulfonic acid soda of succinic acid represented by the following general formula (3) is preferably used.

（但し、Ｒ^ａ，Ｒ^ｂはそれぞれ独立に、アルキル基又はアラルキル基であり、炭素数１〜１８のものが挙げられる。）

^(However, R a, ^{R b} are each independently an alkyl group or an aralkyl group include those having 1 to 18 carbon atoms.)

  Specific examples of the dialkyl ester include di-n-amyl, di-n-hexyl, di-n-heptyl, di-n-octyl, di-n-nonyl, monoethyl monododecyl, monobutyl monododecyl, mono 2-ethylhexyl-mono-1-methylbenzyl, mono-2-ethylhexyl-mono-1-methyl-4-ethylhexyl, di-1-methylbutyl, di-2-methylbutyl, di-isoamyl, di-1,3- Dimethylbutyl, di-1-methylamyl, di-dimethylamyl, di-1-isopropylisobutyl, di-1-propylbutyl, di-1-methylhexyl, di-2-ethylhexyl, di-1-methylheptyl, di- 1-butylamyl, di-1-isobutyl-3-methylbutyl, di-1-methyl-4-ethylhexyl, di-1-methyl-4-ethyl Ruokuchiru, and the like.

  Commercially available products can be used as the surfactant, for example, anion / nonionic mixed surfactant “SE Leveler 450” manufactured by Enex, the cationic surfactant “Ripal 870P” manufactured by Lion, and the nonionic system manufactured by Lion. It can be used with the surfactant “Leocor TD-150” or the like.

<Antifoaming agent>
Examples of the antifoaming agent include alcohols, ethers, polyols, fatty acid esters, metal soaps, phosphate esters, silicones, and nonionic surfactants. Of these, the silicone antifoaming agent is particularly preferable because it is a self-emulsifying silicone antifoaming agent.

  Examples of the silicone-based antifoaming agent include oil-type, compound-type, self-emulsifying type, or emulsion-type silicone-based antifoaming agents. In particular, the oil type includes a general dimethylpolysiloxane structure silicone. In addition to oils, mention may be made of modified silicone oils in which a part of the methyl group has been modified, such as amino modification, epoxy modification, carboxyl modification, carbinol modification, methacryl modification, mercapto modification, phenol modification, heterogeneous functional group modification. And modified silicone oils such as polyether modified, methylstyryl modified, alkyl modified, higher fatty acid ester modified, hydrophilic special modified, higher alkoxy modified, higher fatty acid-containing, or fluorine modified. As commercially available products, SH200 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), KF-96, KS-604, KI-6702 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.) as an oil type, SN deformer 5016 (San Nopco Co., Ltd.) as a compound type Manufactured), SH5500, SC5540 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), as a self-emulsifying type BY28-503 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), KS-502, KS-508, KS-530, KS -538 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.), SM5511, SM5512, SM5515 (manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), KM72, KM73, KM98 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.) and the like as emulsion types. Modified silico As a non-oil type, SF5417 as amino modification, SF8411 and SF8413 as epoxy modification, BY16-880 as carboxyl modification, FS1265 as fluorine modification (both manufactured by Toray Dow Corning Silicone Co., Ltd.), KF-6017 as polyether modification ( Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.), FORM BAN MS-575 (produced by Ultra Additives Inc.) containing alkyl-modified silicone and polyether modification, KF-6001, KF-6003 (manufactured by Shin-Etsu Silicone Co., Ltd.), etc. as carbinol modification. Can be mentioned.

  These antifoaming agents may be used individually by 1 type, and may use 2 or more types together.

<Binder>
As the binder, for example, any of oil-based, oil-dispersible, water-soluble, water-dispersible, and amphiphilic binders can be used. Among these, those which can be dissolved or dispersed in a solvent such as water and form a film by removing the solvent are suitable. In this respect, organic polymer materials such as resins and elastomers are suitable. These may be either thermoplastic or thermosetting, but water-soluble ones are particularly preferable.

  Examples of such resins include urethane resins, acrylic resins, urea resins, guanamine resins, melamine resins, phenol resins, formaldehyde resins, epoxy resins, ester resins, vinyl chloride resins, and various alkyl resins (polyethylene, polypropylene, polybutene, etc.) Allyl resin, styrene resin, nylon resin, ABS resin, carbonate resin, acetal resin, vinyl resin, phthalate resin, amide resin, imide resin, furan resin, methylpentene resin, phenylene sulfide resin, cellulose resin, rayon, silicon Examples thereof include resins, fluorine resins, and copolymers of two or more of these. Examples of the elastomer include rubber (latex) such as butyl, EPDM, butadiene, chloroprene, and isoprene. Particularly preferred are acrylic resin, urethane resin and chloroprene rubber.

  These binders may be used individually by 1 type, and may use 2 or more types together. In the combined use, a solution or dispersion of each component may be prepared in advance and then mixed.

  Commercially available products can be used as the binder. For example, an acrylic resin emulsion “BS-050310-1” manufactured by Enex, an acrylic resin “SE binder-9300” manufactured by Enex, and a urethane resin “Takelac WS manufactured by Mitsui Takeda Chemical Co., Ltd.” -5000 "," TOCRYL W-461 "manufactured by Toyo Ink Co., Ltd. can be used.

<Other additives>
In addition to the surfactant, antifoaming agent, binder and water as a medium, the impregnating liquid may be a water-soluble solvent, a humectant, a pH adjuster, an antiseptic / antifungal agent, a charge control agent, etc. 1 type or 2 types or more of these additives can be contained.

<Preparation of impregnation liquid>
The impregnation liquid is prepared by mixing a surfactant and an antifoaming agent with water, and a binder and various additives that are added as necessary.

<Component composition of impregnation liquid>
The content of the surfactant in the impregnating liquid is preferably 1 to 50% by weight, particularly 3 to 20% by weight. If the content of the surfactant in the impregnating liquid is small, the impregnation efficiency is poor, and if it is large, the surfactant may ooze out when a strong pressure such as grasping by hand is applied (stickiness).

  The content of the antifoaming agent in the impregnating liquid is preferably 0.01 to 10% by weight, particularly 0.01 to 6% by weight. If the content of the antifoaming agent in the impregnating liquid is small, the effect of the present invention due to the use of the antifoaming agent cannot be sufficiently obtained, and if it is large, the cost increases.

  In addition, in order to obtain a sufficient antifoaming effect by using an antifoaming agent in combination with the surfactant, the content of the antifoaming agent in the impregnating liquid is preferable as described below with respect to the amount of the surfactant impregnated into the foam. It is preferable to adjust the antifoaming agent content with respect to the surfactant content in the impregnating liquid so as to obtain a proper antifoaming agent impregnation ratio.

  In addition, you may use a binder as aqueous solution different from surfactant and an antifoamer so that it may mention later. When the binder is used as an aqueous solution different from the surfactant and antifoaming agent, the binder content of the aqueous binder solution is preferably about 1 to 50% by weight. When the binder is contained in an aqueous solution containing a surfactant and an antifoaming agent, the content of the binder is preferably about 1 to 50% by weight, particularly 3 to 20% by weight.

  In addition, the binder is preferably used in an amount such that the surfactant / binder impregnation ratio falls within the preferred range described later in order to reliably obtain the surfactant elution preventing effect.

<Impregnation method>
The method for impregnating the base foam using the impregnating liquid containing the surfactant and the antifoaming agent is not particularly limited, but for example, the impregnation of the present invention containing a surfactant, an antifoaming agent and a binder. A method of immersing the base foam in the liquid and impregnating the base foam with the impregnating liquid is mentioned. After impregnation with the impregnating liquid, excess liquid is squeezed out if necessary and then dried. This drying may be performed by heating to a temperature of about 100 to 180 ° C.

  The “impregnation treatment” may be any method that allows the base foam to contain the impregnating liquid, and is not limited to the above-described dipping method, and the base foam is applied by spraying or the like. It may be a method. In addition, the binder is impregnated with an aqueous binder solution before or after the substrate foam is impregnated with the impregnating liquid containing the surfactant and the defoaming agent separately from the impregnating liquid containing the surfactant and the antifoaming agent. The base foam may be impregnated by the method of

  After impregnating the base material foam with the impregnating liquid in this way and attaching each component, compression molding may be performed as necessary, thereby improving the ink absorption performance by capillary action. .

<Adhesion amount of each component to substrate foam>
Surfactant impregnation amount to substrate form may differ depending on the performance required for the waste ink absorbing member, preferably 1000~10000g / ^{m 3,} more preferably a 3000~6000g / ^{m 3.} That is, in the present invention, as described above, by using an antifoaming agent, sufficient ink absorption performance can be obtained with a small amount of surfactant impregnation, but if the amount of surfactant impregnation is less than the above range, Sufficient ink absorption performance cannot be obtained. Even if the surfactant impregnation amount is larger than the above range, there is no great difference in the ink absorption performance, and the increase in the surfactant amount is unfavorably high in cost. Moreover, there is a disadvantage in workability due to the stickiness caused by the seepage of the surfactant.

The amount of impregnation of the defoaming agent into the base foam is 1 to 5000 g / m ³ , particularly 5 to 2000 g / m ³ , and the defoaming agent is 0.1 to 80% by weight of the surfactant, especially 2 to 2%. It is preferable to impregnate at a ratio of 10% by weight.

  If the impregnation amount of the antifoaming agent is less than the above range, the effect of the present invention due to the combined use of the antifoaming agent cannot be sufficiently obtained, and if it is large, the cost is not preferred.

  Also, the amount of binder impregnated into the base foam is (surface active agent impregnation amount) / (binder impregnation amount) (weight ratio) as the ratio of surfactant and binder impregnation into the base foam. It is preferable to be 1/10 to 10/1, particularly 1/7 to 7/1, particularly 1/3 to 3/1, and more preferably 1/2 to 2/1. If the amount of the binder impregnated is too small, the binder may not sufficiently obtain the function of fixing the surfactant. On the other hand, if the amount of the surfactant impregnated is too small, the ink absorption and transmission performance is sufficient. May not be obtained.

[High rigidity material]
As the highly rigid material, in addition to a synthetic resin film having a thickness of about 10 to 500 μm, particularly about 25 to 100 μm, a fiber-based sheet or paper can be used if it has a certain degree of rigidity, but a synthetic resin film is particularly preferable. Resin films such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate), OPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene), urethane film, and PE film are suitable.

  The resin film may not have air permeability, or may be provided with air permeability by perforation or the like.

  A highly rigid material such as a resin film is preferably affixed to the absorbent substrate. This affixing may be performed using an adhesive or an adhesive, and is performed by a flame lamination method or the like in which a foam is irradiated with a flame to partially melt and a high-rigidity material is pressed and joined. Also good. As the adhesive, urethane, acrylic, rubber or the like can be used, and as the adhesive, acrylic or rubber can be used, but it is not limited thereto. The thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive or adhesive layer is preferably about 10 to 300 μm.

[Usage]
Such an ink waste liquid absorber of the present invention is applied to a use or the like attached to the lower surface of a printer, particularly a printer casing of an ink jet recording apparatus, but is not limited thereto.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to production examples, examples, and comparative examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the following examples unless it exceeds the gist.

  In addition, the flexible polyurethane foam, surfactant, antifoaming agent, and binder used in the following examples and comparative examples are as follows.

[Soft polyurethane foam]
Polyether polyurethane foam manufactured by Bridgestone Corporation, density 30kg / m ³ , thickness 2mm

[Polyurethane foam treatment agent]
<Surfactant>
“SE Leveler 450” manufactured by Enex Co., Ltd .: Anionic / nonionic mixed surfactant (resin concentration 85% by weight, anion: nonion = 3: 7 (component ratio))

<Antifoaming agent>
“KS-502” manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd .: Self-emulsifying silicone defoamer represented by the following formula

<Binder>
“BS-050301-1” manufactured by Enex Co., Ltd .: Acrylic resin emulsion adhesive (resin concentration: 50 wt%, anionic emulsifier containing less than 1 wt%)

[High rigidity material]
PET film (Lintec) or OPP film (Tosero)

[Impregnation method]
An impregnating liquid comprising 10 parts by weight of the binder, 10 parts by weight of a surfactant, 0.03 part by weight of an antifoaming agent and 79.97 parts by weight of water was prepared, and the flexible polyurethane foam was immersed in the impregnating liquid and then pulled up. . The impregnation amount was 100 g / m ² . This was dried at 160 ° C. for 5 minutes to obtain an absorbent substrate of an ink waste liquid absorber.

  The evaluation method of the performance etc. of the ink waste liquid absorber is as follows.

<Ink absorption performance>
Set the tip of the syringe needle at a height of 5 cm from the top of the test piece to the center of the top of each test piece (100 mm x 100 mm x 2 mm thick) of each ink waste liquid absorber placed in a horizontal direction. The ink was dropped and the time (seconds) until the ink was absorbed from the surface of the test piece was measured and evaluated according to the following criteria.

◎: 0.5 seconds or less ○: 0.5 seconds or more, 1.0 seconds or less △: 1.0 seconds or more, 2.0 seconds or less ×: 2.0 seconds or more, 5.0 seconds or more

<Real machine dirt evaluation>
The ink waste liquid absorber was attached to the lower surface in the case of a commercially available inkjet printer, and a standard ink cartridge was mounted. In an environment of 15 ° C. and 10% relative humidity, the borderless printing of 500 L-size photo paper was performed, and then the borderless printing of 30 postcards made by the government was performed. Ink stains and ink mist stains on the printed back of this government postcard were visually observed, and each sample was scored with a stain master sample and evaluated according to the following criteria.

◎: 10 to 9 points ○: 8 to 7 points △: 6 to 4 points ×: 3 points or less

<Deformation due to ink waste liquid absorption>
By visual observation.

<Assembly workability>
On the basis of the conventional assembly workability of the ink waste liquid absorber, it was evaluated as “good” if it was better than the conventional one, and “x” if it was equal to or less than the conventional one.

[Example 1]
After the soft polyurethane foam was subjected to ink absorbability treatment, the PET film with a pressure-sensitive adhesive (thickness: 50 μm) was attached. The pressure-sensitive adhesive is acrylic, and the thickness of the pressure-sensitive adhesive layer is 70 μm. Subsequently, it was punched into a product shape to obtain an ink waste liquid absorber. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of this ink waste liquid absorber.

  This was assembled to the lower surface in the case of a commercially available inkjet printer. The assembly property, the liquid absorbency and adhesion performance of the ink waste liquid absorber, and the paper stain property during printing with this printer were measured according to the above methods. The results are shown in Table 1.

[Example 2]
An ink waste liquid absorber was produced under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that the OPP film (thickness 40 μm) was used instead of the PET film, and was assembled in a printer. The characteristic evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

[Example 3]
An ink waste liquid absorber was produced under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that a 25 μm thick perforated breathable PET film (pore diameter 20 μm, hole density 10 / cm ² ) was used as the PET film. Assembled. The characteristic evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

[Comparative Example 1]
An ink waste liquid absorber was produced under the same conditions as in Example 1 except that no PET film was used, and was assembled into a printer. The characteristic evaluation results are shown in Table 1.

  In Comparative Example 1, the absorbent body 2 was warped and deformed by liquid absorption as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and 2 (b).

  As shown in Table 1, according to the present invention, a highly rigid film is attached to the absorber base material, and even if the liquid is absorbed, the ink waste liquid absorber is not deformed. Further, in the examples of the present invention, the assembling property and the paper stain property are also good.

It is sectional drawing of the ink waste-liquid absorber which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the curvature deformation | transformation of the ink waste-liquid absorber of a comparative example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink waste liquid absorber 2 Absorbent base material 3 Adhesive or adhesive layer 4 High rigidity material 5 Ink waste liquid absorber

Claims (10)

  An ink waste liquid absorber, which is an ink waste liquid absorber disposed on a lower surface in a printer housing, wherein an absorber base material and a high-rigidity material having rigidity higher than that of the absorber base material are integrated.   2. The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 1, wherein each of the absorber base material and the high-rigidity material is in a sheet form and is integrated in a laminated form.   3. The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 1, wherein the absorber base material is polyurethane foam.   4. The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 1, wherein the high-rigidity material is a resin film.   5. The ink waste liquid absorber according to claim 4, wherein the high-rigidity material is a PET film or an OPP film.   The ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the absorber base material and the high-rigidity material are integrated by adhesion or adhesion.   The ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the absorber base material has a thickness of 0.5 to 10 mm.   The ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the high-rigidity material has a thickness of 10 to 500 µm.   A printer having an ink waste liquid absorber, wherein the highly rigid material of the ink waste liquid absorber is attached to the opposite side of the ink entering direction.   The printer according to claim 9, wherein the ink waste liquid absorber is the ink waste liquid absorber according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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