JP2011177916A - Ink tank and method for manufacturing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink tank which gives no damage to lid fusion preventing fibers from coming out of the tank in the ink tank in which an aggregate of fibers not fused each other is used as an absorber, and to provide a manufacturing method thereof. <P>SOLUTION: The absorber 13 as an aggregate of fibers not fused each other is filled inside a tank case 12 with a lid 14 joined thereto. A surface facing the lid 14 side of the absorber 13 is made a fiber uniting surface 131 where the fibers are fused each other. An end part of the fiber uniting surface 131 is located lower than a central part of the fiber uniting surface 131. In other words, the end part of the fiber uniting surface 131 bends to the opposite side to the lid 13 and is arranged farther from an opening of the tank case 12 to which the lid 13 is joined than the central part of the fiber uniting surface 131. The fiber uniting surface 131 while made flat is larger than an inside dimension in a direction orthogonal to an absorber insertion direction of the opening of the tank case. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink tank in which a tank case is filled with an absorber composed of fibers that are not bonded to each other, and a method for manufacturing the ink tank.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet cartridge used in an ink jet recording apparatus is generally designed so that the pressure in a tank case is negative with respect to atmospheric pressure in order to maintain ink supply to the ink jet recording head. .

  As a means for generating such pressure (hereinafter referred to as negative pressure), for example, an absorbent body such as a continuous porous body made of urethane sponge or resin fiber is known.

  Patent Document 1 describes the use of a core-sheath fiber of polypropylene and polyethylene as an absorbent body using a continuous porous body made of resin fibers. Specifically, polypropylene is used for the core and polyethylene is used for the sheath, and by utilizing the difference in melting point, only the polyethylene is melted and the intersections between fibers are fused, so that the shape retention and strength as an absorber can be improved. It is described to keep.

  By the way, in recent years, expectations for materials and products that take into consideration the global environment, such as greenhouse gas and waste problems, have rapidly increased, and effective use of global resources (ie, recyclability) is required.

  However, a continuous porous body such as a urethane sponge used for the negative pressure generating member of the ink tank or a fiber assembly in which inter-fiber intersections are fused can be washed again and reused as a product. Have difficulty.

  On the other hand, in recent years, it has been demanded that the size of the ink jet printer main body is reduced as customer needs, and it is important how efficiently the ink jet cartridge can be arranged in the ink jet printer main body. That is, it is required to efficiently arrange the ink jet printer main body by forming a complicated ink jet cartridge shape. When an absorber using a urethane sponge as described above or an absorber in which fibers are fused together is applied, it is necessary to cut out from a lump of material having a shape in advance into a complicated shape suitable for the inkjet cartridge. Therefore, if an absorber is prepared in accordance with an ink jet cartridge having a more complicated shape than before, the use efficiency of the material is lowered and the cost is increased. If the absorber is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as is conventionally known in order to improve the use efficiency of the material and reduce the cost, a dead space in which ink is not stored increases when it is stored in the ink jet cartridge. As a result, the ink filling efficiency is lowered, the number of ink jet cartridge replacements is increased, and the printing cost for printing per page is increased.

  Therefore, it is possible to achieve both recyclability and flexibility in the shape of the ink-jet cartridge by applying an absorber that does not fuse the intersections between the fibers instead of the absorber that fuses the intersections between the fibers as described above. That is, after use of the product, the cleaning properties of the absorber are improved, and it becomes easy to reuse. In addition, since it is not necessary to cut into a complicated product shape, the use efficiency of the material used for forming the absorber is improved, and it can be provided to customers at low cost.

  Patent Document 2 describes an absorbent body that does not fuse such fiber intersections. Specifically, it describes an absorbent body whose shape is maintained by entanglement of fibers.

  However, when the tank case is filled with a fiber having no shape retaining property as an absorbent body, a part of the fiber located near the insertion port of the absorbent body of the tank case has protruded outside the tank case. If this fiber sticks out at the welded portion of the tank case absorber insertion opening and the lid that closes it, welding failure will occur and the welding reliability will be impaired.

  Moreover, when using the absorber of a continuous porous body, there exists a method described in patent document 3 as a solution means with respect to this fiber protrusion. In this conventional example, a configuration is described in which the shape of the press-fitting jig for inserting the absorber into the tank case and the roughness of the inner wall of the tank case are regulated to prevent the absorber from protruding by frictional force.

JP 2000-301740 A JP-A-6-255121 JP-A-8-224887

Regarding the technology of inserting the absorber into the tank case and joining the lid in the conventional absorber, Patent Document 3 proposes the following two configurations for the protrusion of the absorber such as a sponge.
(1) As shown in FIGS. 16A, 16B, and 16C, the second insertion jig 26 corrects the portion of the absorber 24 that protrudes outside the tank case 12.
(2) As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the inserted absorber 24 is prevented from overflowing to the outside of the tank case 12 due to the frictional resistance of the inner wall of the tank case 12.

  On the other hand, just before the step of filling the tank case from the absorber insertion port of the tank case with an absorbent body made of a fiber aggregate that does not fuse the fiber intersections, and joining the lid member to the absorber insertion port, absorption is performed. A part of the body's fibers overflowed outside the tank case and covered the surface on which the lid member of the tank case was welded (see FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b))), and there was a problem that it was difficult to join the lid member .

  Compared to an absorbent body such as a sponge in Patent Document 3, an absorbent body made of an assembly of fibers that are not fused to each other in a state of being filled in a tank case has only fibers entangled at random and between the fibers. Since it always has an elastic repulsive force, it is indefinite and has a poor restoring property to return to its original shape.

  Therefore, it is difficult for the technique of Patent Document 3 to solve the fiber protrusion, and the above problem is a newly recognized technical problem in the present invention.

In view of the problems of the prior art as described above, the present invention prevents the fibers constituting the absorbent body from protruding out of the tank case and covers the lid welding surface of the tank case, thereby ensuring stable welding of the lid member. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink tank having a possible absorber and a method for manufacturing the same.

One aspect of the present invention is an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to an ink ejection device that ejects ink. The ink tank includes an absorber that holds the ink by capillary force, and the absorber. And a cover member that is coupled to the case member and closes the opening of the concave portion, and the absorbent body is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other. In an ink tank,
The surface of the absorbent body facing the opening is a fiber bonding surface in which fibers are fused together, and the fiber bonding surface is a dimension between at least a pair of opposite sides in a flattened state. Is larger than the internal dimension of the opening.

Another aspect of the present invention is an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to an ink ejection device that ejects ink. The ink tank includes an absorber that holds the ink by capillary force, and the absorber. And a cover member that is coupled to the case member and closes the opening of the concave portion, and the absorbent body is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other. In an ink tank manufacturing method,
A heating step of heating the surface of the absorber facing the opening to form a fiber bonding surface in which fibers are fused together;
A compression step of compressing the absorbent body on which the fiber bonding surface is formed to an inner dimension of the opening or less;
An insertion step of inserting the compressed absorber into the concave portion of the case member,
In the heating step, in the state where the fiber bonding surface is flattened, the dimension between at least a pair of two sides facing each other is made larger than the internal dimension of the opening.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the fibers from covering the lid welding surface of the tank case in the manufacturing process of the ink tank that stores the absorbent body composed of the aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other, and to stabilize the lid member. Welding can be possible.

As a result, it is possible to realize an absorber that is highly recyclable, such as reusability as an absorber and material recyclability, which is a characteristic of an absorber composed of an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other, and anisotropy and asymmetry. It is possible to improve the degree of freedom in designing the ink tank.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an inkjet head to which the present invention is applied. The typical figure which shows the outline of the process of heating the surface of the absorber which consists of fibers of this invention. The typical figure which shows the outline of the process of compressing and inserting the absorber which consists of fibers of this invention. (A) is a figure of the fiber absorber with which the tank case was filled overflowing outside, (b) is A in figure (a)? The schematic cross section which shows the state which the fiber absorber overflows seeing from A direction. The schematic diagram which shows the external dimension of the fiber binding surface of the absorber formed by the heating process of FIG. The schematic diagram which shows the internal dimension for making the internal opening area of the tank case by embodiment of this invention. (A) to (c) are B in FIG. The schematic cross section which showed the process of forming the fiber bonding surface 131 seen from the B direction. (A) and (b) are E? The schematic cross section which showed the process of compressing the absorber 13 seen from the E direction. (A) to (c) are C in FIG. The schematic cross section which showed the process in which the absorber is inserted in a tank case with an insertion tool seen from C direction. (A) to (c) are C in FIG. The schematic cross section which showed the process in which the absorber is inserted in a tank case with an insertion tool seen from C direction. (A) to (c) are D in FIG. The schematic cross section which showed the process in which the absorber is inserted in a tank case with an insertion tool seen from D direction. Schematic which shows the shape of the heating surface of the heat tool used for embodiment of this invention. Schematic which shows the shape of the insertion tool used for embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is a schematic diagram which shows the external appearance of the inkjet cartridge which is an example to which this invention is applied. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink jet cartridge that is an example to which the present invention is applied. It is explanatory drawing of the structure (1) proposed by patent document 3, Comprising: (a) is schematic which shows the state which has inserted the continuous porous absorber into the tank case with the 1st insertion jig. (B) is the schematic which shows the state which the absorber has protruded from the opening part of the tank case in the state which retracted the 1st insertion jig after insertion of an absorber, (c) is the 2nd insertion treatment. Schematic which shows the state which the tool improved the state which the absorber has protruded from the opening part of the tank case. It is explanatory drawing of the structure (2) proposed by patent document 3, Comprising: (a) inserts the continuous porous absorber with the insertion jig into the inner wall of the tank case which increased the friction coefficient of the inner wall. The schematic diagram which shows the state which has existed, (b) is the schematic which shows the state where the absorber has remained inside the tank case by the inner wall with a large friction coefficient after the insertion jig has retracted.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Hereinafter, as shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, an ink jet cartridge 19 in which an ink discharge device 31 that discharges ink and a tank case 12 that stores ink to be supplied to the ink discharge device 31 are integrated. Will be described as an example.

  FIG. 15 shows main elements constituting the ink jet cartridge 19. The ink jet cartridge 19 is an absorption body that is a collection of non-fused fibers that are stored inside the concave portion and hold the ink by capillary force. The tank case 12 is a case member that forms the concave portion. This is a configuration having a body 13. Further, the ink jet cartridge 19 includes a lid 14 that closes an insertion port (opening of the concave portion) for inserting the absorber 13 of the tank case 12. The lid 14 defines the internal space of the tank case 12 as the atmosphere. An air communication port 15 for communication is provided. A label 17 is attached to the front surface side of the lid 14 so as to cover a part of the atmosphere communication port 15.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the ink jet cartridge 19 described above.

  The inside of the tank case 12 to which the lid 14 is joined is filled with an absorbent body 13 that is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused together. The surface of the absorbent body 13 facing the lid 14 is a fiber bonding surface 131 in which fibers are fused together, and the end of the fiber bonding surface 131 is below the center of the fiber bonding surface 131. positioned. That is, the end of the fiber bonding surface 131 is bent to the opposite side of the lid 14 and is disposed farther from the opening of the tank case 12 to which the lid 14 is joined than the center of the fiber bonding surface 131. And in the state made flat, the fiber bonding surface 131 is larger than the internal dimension (henceforth an internal opening area) of the direction orthogonal to the absorber insertion direction of the opening of the tank case. The tank case 12 is provided with an ink flow path 33 that communicates with an ink discharge device 31 that is fixed to the outer surface of the tank case. A filter 32 is disposed in the opening of the ink flow path 33 on the inner side surface of the tank case 12. Has been.

  Hereinafter, the manufacturing method of the ink jet cartridge 19 of this embodiment will be described in detail.

This manufacturing method mainly includes the following three steps.
A heating process for forming the fiber bonding surface 131 by heating the absorbent body 13 A compression process for compressing the absorbent body 13 on which the fiber bonding surface 131 is formed below the internal volume of the tank case 12 An internal opening of the tank case 12 Insertion Step of Inserting Absorbent Body 13 Compressed to Section or Less into Tank Case 12 First, the step of forming the fiber bonding surface 131 will be described.

  The formation of the fiber bonding surface 131 was performed with the configuration shown in FIG. That is, a storage container 103 for holding the absorbent body 13 that is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other, and a heat tool 101 that uses a heat source as a heating means and maintains a constant temperature are prepared. .

  The processing flow when forming the fiber bonding surface 131 is shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.

  First, the absorbent body 13 that is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other is placed in the storage container 103 (FIG. 7A).

  Second, the absorber 13 is pressed by a predetermined amount with the heat tool 101 through the upper opening of the storage container 103 to heat the surface layer of the absorber for a predetermined time (FIG. 7B).

  Thirdly, after the heat tool 101 is cooled to a predetermined temperature, the pressure applied to the absorber 13 by the heat tool 101 is released (FIG. 7C).

  The selection of the fibers constituting the absorbent body 13 which is an aggregate of fibers not fused to each other can be appropriately selected as long as the thermoplastic resin satisfies the liquid storage stability with respect to ink.

  In this example, a single-core fiber having a polypropylene diameter of about 30 microns was used as a material that satisfies various performances of the ink tank and is excellent in ink wettability storage stability.

  Also, in this example, polypropylene single-core fiber was used as the fiber, but the same effect can be obtained by using a core-sheath fiber using two types of resin materials having different melting points in the central part and the outer peripheral part. Is possible.

  The shape of the heat tool 101 will be described with reference to FIGS. The heating tool 101 has a substantially rectangular heating surface, the short side dimension g ′ of the heating surface is larger than the short side dimension j ′ forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and the long side dimension g of the heating surface is the tank case 12. The long side dimension j that forms the internal opening area of Alternatively, in the heat tool 101, the short side dimension g ′ of the heating surface is equal to or smaller than the short side dimension j ′ for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and the long side dimension g of the heating surface is the internal opening of the tank case 12. The shape is larger than the long side dimension j for forming the area. In this example, the short side dimension g ′ of the heating surface is 4 mm larger than the short side dimension j ′ for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and the long side dimension g of the heating surface is the internal opening area of the tank case 12. The heat tool 101 having the same shape as the long side dimension j to be used was used.

  The storage container 103 has a shape in which the internal dimensions h and h ′ of the opening are larger than the dimensions g and g ′ of the heat tool heating surface, that is, a shape satisfying the relationship of h> g and h ′> g ′.

  The thickness of the fiber bonding surface 131 formed by heating varies depending on the surface temperature of the heating surface of the heat tool 101, the amount of pressure applied to the absorbent body 13 by the heat tool 101, and the heating time.

  In this example, the surface temperature of the heating surface of the heat tool 101 is a temperature obtained by adding about 5 to 10 ° C. to the melting point of polypropylene in consideration of shortening the cooling time of the heat tool after heating the fiber as much as possible. About 170 ° C. The heating time was 1 second, and the pressing amount was adjusted so that the thickness of the fiber bonding surface 131 was about 0.1 mm.

  Although the heat tool 101 is cooled after the heating is completed, the heat tool 101 needs to be cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point of the resin material used as the fiber. However, even when the heat tool 101 is cooled to a temperature lower than the melting point of the resin material used as the fiber, the fiber bonding surface 131 adheres to the heat tool 101 when the pressure applied to the absorbent body 13 by the heat tool 101 is released. , May not be able to peel well. In this example, the heat tool 101 and the fiber bonding surface 131 were peeled favorably by cooling the heat tool 101 to 110 ° C.

  The dimensions i and i ′ obtained by flatly spreading the formed fiber bonding surface 131 are the same as the dimensions g and g ′ of the heating surface of the heat tool 101, that is, g = i and g ′ = i ′ (FIG. 2). FIG. 5).

  In this embodiment, the compression process of the absorber 13 and the insertion process to the tank case 12 were performed by the structure shown in FIG. As compression means of this example, as shown in FIG. 3, a support plate 104 for supporting the absorbent body 13 on which the fiber bonding surface 131 is formed, and the absorbent body 13 are compressed to be equal to or smaller than the opening cross section of the tank case 12. A compression plate 121 for insertion and an insertion tool 122 for inserting the absorber 13 into the tank case 12 were prepared.

  The compression process will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 8A and 8B show cross sections along the short side direction of the fiber bonding surface 131. First, the absorbent body 13 whose upper surface has been previously melted by the process of forming the fiber bonding surface 131 is placed on the support plate 104 so that the fiber bonding surface 131 faces upward (see FIGS. 3 and 8A). )). Next, the compression plate 121 is used for compression so that the size of the absorber 13 is equal to or less than the internal size (j, j ′ in FIG. 6) for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12 (FIG. 8 ( b)). At this time, since the short side dimension i ′ of the fiber binding surface 131 is formed to be larger than the short side dimension (j ′) for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, the fiber binding surface 131 is short. Compressed in the side direction, the fiber bonding surface 131 is irregularly curved (see FIG. 8B).

  Subsequently, while maintaining the state where the absorber 13 is compressed by the compression plate 121, the absorber 13 together with the support plate 104 and the tank case 12 so that the short side of the absorber 13 corresponds to the short side of the tank case 12. The support plate 104 is pulled out in the horizontal direction, and the absorber 13 is prepared for insertion into the tank case 12.

  Next, the process of inserting the compression molded absorbent body 13 into the tank case 12 will be described with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS. 9A to 9C are cross-sectional views of the tank case 12 in the short side direction.

  As described above, the fiber bonding surface 131 is irregularly curved while being compressed by the compression plate 121 (FIG. 9A). The absorber 13 is pushed into the tank case 12 with the insertion tool 122, and the absorber 13 is inserted into the tank case 12 (FIG. 9B). As the insertion tool 122, a tool in which the short side of the surface pressed against the absorber 13 was processed into a concave arc shape was used. The shape of the insertion tool 122 is not limited to this, and any shape may be used as long as the long side portion of the fiber bonding surface 131 is pushed deeper than the center portion of the fiber bonding surface 131.

  In the state inserted in the tank case 12, the fiber bonding surface 131 follows the shape of the pressing surface of the insertion tool 122, and becomes the circular arc shape where the center of the fiber bonding surface 131 rises to the lid 14 side. At this time, the fiber bonding surface 131 tries to return to a flat shape due to the reaction force, but the entire long side of the fiber bonding surface 131 is pressed against the inner wall of the tank case 12 so that the fiber bonding surface 131 returns to a flat shape. Can not. For this reason, even after releasing the pressing by the insertion tool 122, the circular arc shape of the fiber bonding surface 131 is maintained (FIG. 9C).

  In the step of compressing the absorbent body 13 with the compression plate 121 described above, the absorbent body 13 may be compressed with the compression plate 121 while the insertion tool 122 is pressed against the fiber bonding surface 131 in advance. Thereby, even if the absorber 13 is compressed by the compression plate 121, the fiber bonding surface 131 is not irregularly curved, and the fiber bonding surface 131 follows the shape of the pressing surface of the insertion tool 122, and the fiber bonding surface 131 A circular arc that rises in the center.

  As described above, when the absorbent body, which is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused together, is filled in the tank case 12, a part of the fiber mass overflows from the absorbent body insertion port of the tank case, and the lid Covering up to the welding surface of the member has been a problem so far (see FIGS. 4A and 4B).

  On the other hand, according to the present embodiment, since the entire long side of the fiber bonding surface 131 is in contact with the inner wall of the tank case 12, the fibers do not protrude above the fiber bonding surface 131 (FIG. 9 ( c)). At this time, the entire long side of the fiber bonding surface 131 is arranged farther from the opening of the tank case 12 to which the lid 14 is bonded than the center of the fiber bonding surface 131. Thereby, the fiber of the absorber 13 does not cover the lid welding surface of the tank case 12, and the lid member can be stably welded.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described.

  In the present embodiment, the fiber bonding surface 131 is formed under the same conditions as in the first embodiment except for the shape of the heat tool for forming the fiber bonding surface 131.

  The shape of the heat tool used in this example will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 shows the heating surface of the heat tool used in this example. As shown in this figure, the heating surface of the heat tool 102 of this example has a shape in which four corners of a rectangle are cut out in a square shape. The distance between the corners 4a-4d of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 is larger than the long side dimension j for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and the distance between the corners 4b-4c of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 is the tank. The long side dimension j for forming the internal opening area of the case 12 is set to be equal to or smaller than j. Further, the distance between the corners 4c-4f of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 is larger than the short side dimension j ′ for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and between the corners 4d-4e of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 The distance is set to be shorter than the short side dimension j ′ for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12. In other words, the heating surface is a rectangle in which the dimension between two opposing pairs of sides is larger than the internal dimension for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12, and has four corners cut out.

  Similarly, the fiber bonding surface 132 formed by using the heat tool 102 having the above-described shape is a rectangle in which the dimension between two opposing two sides is larger than the inner dimension of the opening of the tank case 12 opening. The four corners are cut out.

  The shape of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 is notch if the relationship between the distance between the corners of the heating surface of the heat tool 102 and the internal dimensions for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12 is as described above. The shape is not limited to a square shape but may be an arc shape.

  Internal dimensions for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12 using the compression plate 121 in the absorbent body 13 whose upper surface has been previously melted by the process of forming the fiber bonding surface 132 described above (see FIG. It compressed so that it might become equivalent to or less than j, j ') of FIG.

  Next, the insertion process of the absorber in this embodiment is demonstrated using Fig.10 (a)-(c) and FIG.11 (a)-(c). 10A to 10C show a cross section along the short side direction of the tank case 12, and FIGS. 11A to 11C show a cross section along the long side direction of the tank case 12. FIG.

  The shape of the insertion tool 123 used in this example is shown in FIG. As shown in this figure, the insertion tool 123 of this example has a convex shape in which the outer periphery of the surface pressed against the absorber 13 protrudes from the center of the surface.

  Since the fiber bonding surface 132 is larger than the internal dimensions (j, j ′ in FIG. 6) for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12 on both the long side and the short side, The fiber bonding surface 132 is irregularly curved in both the short-side direction and the long-side direction by being compressed by the compression plate 121 to the same or less than the internal dimension (FIGS. 10A and 11A). .

  Subsequently, the absorber 13 is inserted into the tank case 12 with the insertion tool 123 (FIGS. 10B and 11B). Since the outer periphery of the surface of the insertion tool 123 pressed against the absorber 13 has a convex shape, the outer peripheral portion of the fiber bonding surface 132 is pressed deeper than the central portion. At this time, if the four corners of the fiber bonding surface 132 are not cut out, wrinkles are generated at the four corners of the fiber bonding surface 132 when the fiber bonding surface 132 is pushed in. By notching the four corners of the fiber bonding surface 132 as in this example, wrinkles are not generated at the four corners of the fiber bonding surface 132.

  The fiber bonding surface 132 tries to return to a flat shape by a reaction force, but the fiber bonding surface 132 returns to a flat shape when the short side and the entire long side of the fiber bonding surface 132 are pressed against the inner wall of the tank case 12. I can't. For this reason, even after releasing the pressing by the insertion tool 123, the fiber bonding surface 132 is held in a shape in which the center is raised (FIGS. 10C and 11C). Further, since the entire long side and the entire short side of the fiber bonding surface 132 are in contact with the inner wall of the tank case 12, the fibers do not protrude above the fiber bonding surface 132. At this time, the entire long side and the short side of the fiber bonding surface 131 are disposed farther from the opening of the tank case 12 to which the lid 14 is bonded than the center of the fiber bonding surface 131.

  Thereby, the fiber of the absorber 13 does not cover the lid welding surface of the tank case 12, and the lid member can be stably welded.

  In the step of compressing the absorbent body 13 with the compression plate 121 described above, the absorbent body 13 may be compressed with the compression plate 121 while the insertion tool 123 is pressed against the fiber bonding surface 132 in advance. Thereby, even if the absorber 13 is compressed by the compression plate 121, the fiber bonding surface 132 is not irregularly curved, and the center of the fiber bonding surface 132 is raised.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 Tank case 13 Absorber 14 which is an aggregate | assembly of the fiber which is not couple | bonding with each other Lid 19 Inkjet cartridge 31 Ink ejection device 122, 123 Insertion tool 131, 132 Fiber bonding surface
i, i 'Long side dimension and short side dimension of fiber bonding surface 131
j, j 'Long side dimension and short side dimension for forming the internal opening area of the tank case 12

Claims (8)

An ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to an ink discharge device that discharges ink. The ink tank forms an absorber that holds the ink by capillary force, and a concave portion that stores the absorber. In an ink tank that includes a case member and a lid member that is coupled to the case member and closes the opening of the concave portion, and the absorber is an assembly of fibers that are not fused together.
The surface of the absorbent body facing the opening is a fiber bonding surface in which fibers are fused, and the fiber bonding surface is flattened between at least a pair of two sides facing each other. The size of the ink tank is larger than the internal size of the opening.   2. The ink tank according to claim 1, wherein a dimension between two opposing pairs of sides is larger than an internal dimension of the opening in a state in which the fiber bonding surface is flattened.   The ink tank according to claim 2, wherein the opening is a quadrangle, and the fiber bonding surface has a shape in which four corners of the quadrangle are cut out.   The at least one pair of two sides which the said fiber bonding surface opposes is arrange | positioned farther from the said opening than the center part of the said fiber bonding surface, The any one of Claim 1 to 3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Ink tank. An ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to an ink discharge device that discharges ink. The ink tank forms an absorber that holds the ink by capillary force, and a concave portion that stores the absorber. In the method of manufacturing an ink tank, which includes a case member and a lid member that is coupled to the case member and closes the opening of the concave portion, and the absorber is an aggregate of fibers that are not fused to each other.
A heating step of heating a surface of the absorbent body facing the opening to form a fiber bonding surface in which fibers are fused together;
A compression step of compressing the absorbent body on which the fiber bonding surface is formed to an inner dimension of the opening or less;
Inserting the compressed absorbent body into the concave portion of the case member,
In the heating step, in the state in which the fiber bonding surface is flattened, the dimension between at least a pair of opposite sides is made larger than the internal dimension of the opening.   The said heating process WHEREIN: In the state by which the said fiber bonding surface was made flat, the dimension between two opposing two sides is made larger than the internal dimension of the said opening. Ink tank manufacturing method.   The ink tank according to claim 6, wherein the opening is a quadrilateral ink tank, wherein in the heating step, the fiber bonding surface is formed by cutting out four corners of the quadrilateral. Manufacturing method. In the insertion step, using an insertion tool for inserting the absorbent body formed with the fiber bonding surface into the concave portion by pressing the fiber bonding surface;
8. The insertion tool according to claim 5, wherein the insertion tool has a shape capable of pushing an end of the fiber bonding surface deeper than a center portion of the fiber bonding surface when performing the insertion step. 9. The method for producing an ink tank according to any one of the above.

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