JP2021084379A - Ink pack, ink container comprising the same, and ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an ink pack capable of reducing a residual amount of ink in the ink pack, an ink container comprising the same, and an ink jet recording device.SOLUTION: An ink pack comprises an ink storage part, an ink supply hole, a folding part, and a weld part. The ink storage part is formed of a flexible film, and stores ink therein. The ink supply hole is fitted to one end part in a longitudinal direction of the ink storage part and communicated with inside of the ink storage part. At least one folding part is formed along the longitudinal direction of the ink storage part, and is formed by folding the flexible film inward. The weld part is formed on the other end side of the longitudinal direction of the ink storage part and is formed by welding a corner part of the folding part into a right triangle-shape. The weld part is configured so that a dimension in a direction orthogonal to a folding direction of the folding part is longer than a dimension in the folding direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an ink pack housed in an ink container mounted on an inkjet recording device that records by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper, an ink container provided with the ink pack, and an inkjet recording device. is there.

Recording devices such as facsimiles, copiers, and printers are configured to record images on recording media such as paper and OHP sheets. Depending on the recording method, inkjet type, wire dot type, thermal type, etc. It can be classified into. Further, the inkjet recording method can be classified into a serial type in which a recording head scans on a recording medium for recording and a line head type in which recording is performed by a recording head fixed to a recording device main body.

For example, in a line head type inkjet recording device, a line head type inkjet head (recording head) in which ejection nozzles are arranged at predetermined intervals over the entire width of a printing area orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium is provided for each color. I have. Then, the entire recording medium can be printed by ejecting ink from the ejection nozzle corresponding to the printing position in accordance with the transportation of the recording medium.

In such an inkjet recording apparatus, an ink container having a flexible ink pack filled with ink and a storage case for storing the ink pack is used in order to supply ink to the recording head.

For example, in Patent Document 1, a holding member is fixed to one side of a substantially square bag body having flexibility, and the holding member includes an ink filling port for filling ink in the bag body and the bag body. There is disclosed an ink bag having an ink ejection port for ejecting the ink inside and an engaging portion for holding the ink bag in a cartridge housing for accommodating the ink bag.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-276538

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a conventional ink pack 200, and is a diagram showing a state in which ink is filled up to the upper limit of the fillable amount in the ink pack 200. The ink pack 200 is composed of an upper surface film 202 and a lower surface film 203, and two side film 204s (only the side film 204 on the front side of the paper surface is shown) connecting the side ends of the upper surface film 202 and the lower surface film 203. It has an ink storage unit 201 and an ink supply port 206 provided at one end of the ink storage unit 201.

The ink pack 200 has a so-called gusset bag shape in which a folding portion (gusset) 204a is formed in the side film 204 in order to increase the capacity of the ink storage portion 201. When the ink is filled from the ink supply port 206 to the upper limit of the fillable amount, vertical walls 207 are formed on the side without the folding portion 204a (both ends in the longitudinal direction in FIG. 11), and the rectangular parallelepiped shape as shown in FIG. 11 is formed. Is common.

In the configuration of FIG. 11, the ink in the ink pack 200 is consumed, and in the process of crushing the ink pack 200, a part of the folded portion 204a does not return to the original folded shape as shown in FIG. 12, and the vertical wall 207 is formed. Deformation of the ink pack 200 is restricted in a stretched state, and there is a risk that spaces S1 and S2 in which ink remains may be formed.

If a part of the ink pack 200 remains without being crushed, a large amount of wasted ink remains in the ink pack 200 without being supplied to the recording head. In particular, in the case of an ink container having a double structure of an ink pack 200 filled with ink and a case containing the ink pack 200, the ink pack 200 may be difficult to see from the outside, and the ink pack 200 may be inside the ink pack 200. There is a problem that the ink container is discarded with a large amount of ink remaining.

In view of the above problems, the present invention provides an ink pack capable of reducing the remaining amount of ink in the ink pack, an ink container provided with the same, and an inkjet recording device by improving the crushability of the ink pack. The purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the first configuration of the present invention is an ink pack having an ink storage portion, an ink supply port, a folding portion, and a welding portion. The ink storage portion is formed of a flexible film and stores ink inside. The ink supply port is attached to one end of the ink storage portion in the longitudinal direction and communicates with the inside of the ink storage portion. At least one folding portion is formed along the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion, and the flexible film is folded inward. The welded portion is formed by welding the corner portion of the folded portion in a right-angled triangular shape to at least the corner portion on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion. The dimension of the welded portion in the direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the folding portion is longer than the dimension in the folding direction.

According to the first configuration of the present invention, by making the dimension in the direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the welded portion formed in the ink storage portion longer than the dimension in the folding direction, the amount that can be filled in the ink storage portion. Even when the ink is filled up to the upper limit of, the rise of the longitudinal end portion of the ink storage portion is restricted, and the ink is held in a state of being tilted by a predetermined angle. As a result, when the ink in the ink storage portion is consumed, the longitudinal end portion of the ink storage portion does not stretch in the vertical direction, so that the folded portion is smoothly folded into the original state and the ink pack is naturally flattened. Crush. Therefore, the configuration does not restrict the free deformation of the ink pack, and the remaining amount of ink in the ink pack can be reduced as much as possible when the ink pack needs to be replaced.

The figure which shows the structure of the printer 100 which is an example of the inkjet recording apparatus which mounts the ink container 21C to 21K provided with the ink pack 50 of this invention. FIG. 1 is a view of the vicinity of the first belt transport unit 5, the recording unit 9, and the second belt transport unit 12 in FIG. A view of the first belt transport unit 5 and the recording unit 9 of the printer 100 shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above. Perspective view of an ink container 21K provided with the ink pack 50 of the present invention. Side sectional view of ink container 21K It is a perspective view which shows the ink pack 50 which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which shows the state which the ink pack 50 is empty. A perspective view showing a state in which the ink pack 50 of the first embodiment is filled with ink up to the upper limit of the fillable amount. Partially enlarged view of the corner of the ink supply port 56 side (front side of FIG. 7) of the inpack 50 of the present embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the ink pack 50 which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which shows the state which the ink pack 50 is empty. It is a perspective view which shows the ink pack 50 which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which shows the state which the ink pack 50 is empty. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional ink pack 200, and is the figure which shows the state which the ink is filled up to the upper limit of the chargeable amount in ink pack 101. The figure which shows the state which the consumption of the ink in the ink pack 200 progresses from the state of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an inkjet printer 100, which is an example of an inkjet recording device equipped with ink containers 21C to 21K provided with the ink pack 50 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an inkjet printer 100, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first belt in FIG. A view of the vicinity of the transport unit 5, the recording unit 9, and the second belt transport unit 12, and FIG. 3 is a view of the first belt transport unit 5 and the recording unit 9 of the printer shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from above.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the printer 100, a paper feed cassette 2a, which is a paper accommodating portion, is arranged below the inside of the printer main body 1. Inside the paper feed cassette 2a, a predetermined number of sheets (for example, about 500 sheets) of paper P such as cut paper before printing, which is an example of a recording medium, is loaded and accommodated. The paper feed device 3a is arranged on the downstream side of the paper feed cassette 2a in the paper transport direction, that is, above the right side of the paper feed cassette 2a in FIG. By the paper feeding device 3a, the paper P is separated and sent out one by one toward the upper right side of the paper feed cassette 2a in FIG. The paper cassette 2a can be pulled out horizontally from the front side of the printer body 1 to replenish the paper P.

A manual paper feed tray 2b is provided outside the right side surface of the printer main body 1. The manual paper feed tray 2b is a paper having a size different from that of the paper P in the paper feed cassette 2a, or a recording medium such as a thick paper, an OHP sheet, an envelope, a postcard, or a feed feed, which is difficult to pass through a bent transport path. Recording media and the like that you want to send one by one by hand are placed. The paper feed device 3b is arranged on the downstream side of the manual paper feed tray 2b in the paper transport direction, that is, on the left side of the manual paper feed tray 2b in FIG. By this paper feed device 3b, the paper on the manual paper feed tray 2b is directed to the left in FIG. 1 and is separated and sent out one by one.

Further, the printer 100 is provided with a first paper transport path 4a inside. The first paper transport path 4a is located on the upper right side of the paper feed cassette 2a, which is the paper feed direction, and is located on the left side of the manual paper feed tray 2b. The paper P fed from the paper cassette 2a passes vertically upward along the side surface of the printer main body 1 through the first paper transport path 4a, and the paper fed from the manual paper feed tray 2b is directed substantially horizontally to the left. Be transported.

A resist roller pair 13 is provided at the downstream end of the first paper transport path 4a with respect to the paper transport direction. Further, the first belt transport unit 5 and the recording unit 9 are arranged in the immediate vicinity on the downstream side of the resist roller pair 13. The paper P sent out from the paper cassette 2a (or the manual paper feed tray 2b) reaches the resist roller pair 13 through the first paper transport path 4a. The resist roller pair 13 measures the timing of the ink ejection operation executed by the recording unit 9 while correcting the diagonal feed of the paper P, and feeds the paper P toward the first belt transport unit 5. A pair of transport rollers for transporting the paper P is provided at an appropriate position in the first paper transport path 4a.

The first belt transport unit 5 includes an endless first transport belt 8 wound around a first drive roller 6 and a first driven roller 7. The first transport belt 8 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by the first drive roller 6. The paper P fed by the resist roller pair 13 is held on the transport surface 8a (upper surface in FIG. 2) of the first transport belt 8 and is conveyed in the arrow X direction (right to left) in FIG. In addition to the first drive roller 6 and the first driven roller 7, one or more tension rollers inscribed in the first transport belt 8 may be provided as needed.

A first paper suction unit 30 is provided on the inside of the first transport belt 8 and at a position facing the back side of the transport surface 8a of the first transport belt 8. The first paper suction unit 30 is provided with a large number of air suction holes 30a on the upper surface and has a fan 30b inside, so that air can be sucked downward from the upper surface. Further, the first transport belt 8 is also provided with a large number of ventilation holes (not shown) for sucking air. With the above configuration, the first belt transport unit 5 transports the paper P while adsorbing and holding the paper P on the transport surface 8a of the first transport belt 8.

The recording unit 9 includes a head housing 10 and line heads 11C, 11M, 11Y, and 11K held in the head housing 10. These line heads 11C to 11K are supported at a height such that a predetermined interval (for example, 1 mm) is formed with respect to the transport surface 8a of the first transport belt 8, and as shown in FIG. 3, the paper transport direction. A plurality of (three in this case) recording heads 17a to 17c are arranged in a staggered pattern along the paper width direction (vertical direction in FIG. 3) orthogonal to the above. The line heads 11C to 11K have a recording area equal to or larger than the width of the paper P, and are attracted and held by the transport surface 8a of the first transport belt 8 in accordance with the information of the image data received from an external computer or the like. Ink of each color is ejected from the ink ejection nozzle 18 corresponding to the printing position with respect to the conveyed paper P. As a result, a full-color image in which four colors of inks of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are superimposed is recorded on the paper P. The printer 100 can also record a monochrome image.

A container mounting unit 20 is arranged above the recording unit 9. A plurality of ink containers 21C, 21M, 21Y, and 21K containing cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y), and black (K) inks are detachably mounted on the container mounting portion 20. There is. The ink containers 21C to 21K are connected to the line heads 11C to 11K via ink supply tubes 23 of each color, respectively, and the ink container is generated by the ink pressure generated by the height difference between the container mounting portion 20 and the line heads 11C to 11K. Inks of the corresponding colors are replenished and supplied to the line heads 11C to 11K from 21C to 21K.

Here, the ink in the ink containers 21C to 21K is sent by the height difference between the container mounting portion 20 and the line heads 11C to 11K, but the ink in the ink containers 21C to 21K is sent to the container mounting portion 20. A supply pump unit for liquid may be provided.

Further, in order to prevent ink ejection failure due to drying or clogging of the recording head, the recording unit 9 is used from the ink ejection nozzles 18 of all recording heads at the start of printing after a long-term stop, and between printing operations. Is prepared for the next printing operation by executing purging from the ink ejection nozzle 18 whose ink ejection amount is equal to or less than the specified value to eject ink which can be estimated to have increased the viscosity in the nozzle.

Examples of the ink ejection method from the recording heads 17a to 17c include a piezo method in which ink is extruded using a piezo element (not shown), and a thermal inkjet in which bubbles are generated by a heating element and pressure is applied to eject the ink. Various methods such as a method can be applied.

The second belt transport unit 12 is arranged on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 1) of the first belt transport unit 5 with respect to the paper transport direction. The paper P on which the ink image is recorded by the recording unit 9 is sent to the second belt transport unit 12, and the ink discharged on the surface of the paper P is dried while passing through the second belt transport unit 12.

The second belt transport unit 12 includes an endless second transport belt 40 wound around the second drive roller 41 and the second driven roller 42. The second transport belt 40 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 by the second drive roller 41. The image is recorded by the recording unit 9, and the paper P conveyed in the arrow X direction by the first belt conveying unit 5 is delivered to the second conveying belt 40 and conveyed in the arrow Z direction in FIG. In addition to the second drive roller 41 and the second driven roller 42, one or more tension rollers inscribed in the second transport belt 40 may be provided as necessary.

A second paper suction unit 43 is provided inside the second transport belt 40 and at a position facing the back side of the transport surface 40a of the second transport belt 40. The second paper suction unit 43 is provided with a large number of air suction holes 43a on the upper surface and has a fan 43b inside, so that air can be sucked downward from the upper surface. Further, the second transport belt 40 is also provided with a large number of ventilation holes (not shown) for sucking air. With the above configuration, the second belt transport unit 12 transports the paper P while adsorbing and holding the paper P on the transport surface 40a of the second transport belt 40.

A decaler portion 14 is provided on the downstream side of the second belt transport portion 12 with respect to the paper transport direction and in the vicinity of the left side surface of the printer main body 1. The paper P whose ink has been dried by the second belt transport unit 12 is sent to the decaler unit 14, and the curl of the paper P is corrected by using a plurality of rollers arranged in the width direction of the paper.

A second paper transport path 4b is provided on the downstream side (upper side of FIG. 1) of the decaler portion 14 with respect to the paper transport direction. When double-sided recording is not performed, the paper P that has passed through the decaler portion 14 is discharged from the second paper transport path 4b to the paper discharge tray 15 provided on the outside of the left side surface of the printer 100 via the discharge roller pair.

A maintenance unit 19 is arranged below the second belt transport unit 12. The maintenance unit 19 moves below the recording unit 9 when executing the purge described above, wipes the ink ejected from the ink ejection nozzle 18 (see FIG. 3) of the recording head 17, and collects the wiped ink. To do.

An inversion transport path 16 for double-sided recording is provided above the recording unit 9 and the second belt transport unit 12 in the upper part of the printer main body 1. When double-sided recording is performed, the paper P that has passed through the second belt transport unit 12 and the decaler unit 14 after the recording on the first surface is completed is sent to the reverse transport path 16 through the second paper transport path 4b. .. The paper P sent to the reverse transport path 16 is subsequently switched in the transport direction for recording on the second side, passes through the upper part of the printer main body 1, and is fed toward the right side, and is fed to the right side, and is fed to the first paper transport path 4a. , And the resist roller pair 13 is sent to the first belt transport unit 5 again with the second surface facing upward. Similar to the first paper transport path 4a, the second paper transport path 4b and the reverse transport path 16 are provided with a pair of transport rollers for transporting the paper P at appropriate positions.

4 and 5 are a perspective view and a side sectional view of the ink container 21K provided with the ink pack 50 of the present invention. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ink container 21K is composed of an ink pack 50 capable of storing ink and a storage case 60 for storing the ink pack 50. Since the ink containers 21C to 21Y have the same configuration as the ink container 21K, the description thereof will be omitted here.

The storage case 60 is formed of, for example, thick paper and is composed of a pack storage unit 61 for storing the ink storage unit 51 of the ink pack 50 and a resin ink supply unit 65 provided at one end of the pack storage unit 61. ing. The pack storage unit 61 and the ink supply unit 65 are combined to form a box body having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the ink pack 50 is stored inside.

The pack storage portion 61 includes a pair of case side surface portions 61c that connect the case upper surface portion 61a, the case lower surface portion 61b, and the end portions of the case upper surface portion 61a and the case lower surface portion 61b in the width direction (short direction), and the case. It has a case bottom surface portion 61d for connecting one end portion (right end portion in FIG. 5) of the upper surface portion 61a and the case lower surface portion 61b in the longitudinal direction. The other end of the pack storage portion 61 in the longitudinal direction (the left end portion in FIG. 5) is open, and the ink supply portion 65 is mounted so as to close the opening of the pack storage portion 61. The ink supply unit 65 is fixed to the pack storage unit 61 by using an adhesive tape (not shown) or the like.

Inside the ink supply unit 65, a circular fitting portion (not shown) into which the ink supply port 56 of the ink pack 50 is fitted is formed. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a positioning hole 65a into which a positioning pin (not shown) of the container mounting portion 20 (see FIG. 2) is inserted is formed on the end surface of the ink supply portion 65 on the mounting direction side. ..

When assembling the ink container 21K, the ink supply port 56 of the ink pack 50 filled with ink is attached to the ink supply unit 65. Then, the ink storage portion 51 of the ink pack 50 is inserted into the pack storage portion 61 of the storage case 60. After that, the ink supply unit 65 is fixed to the pack storage unit 61 using an adhesive tape (not shown) or the like. As a result, the ink container 21K shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is assembled.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the ink pack 50 according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a state in which the ink pack 50 is empty. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ink container 50 of the first embodiment is filled with ink up to the upper limit of the fillable amount. The ink pack 50 has an ink storage unit 51 for storing ink inside, and an ink supply port 56 provided at one end of the ink storage unit 51.

The ink storage portion 51 is composed of an upper surface film 52, a lower surface film 53, and a pair of side film 54, which are four flexible laminated films in which a thermoplastic resin layer is laminated on the innermost layer. The side ends of the upper surface film 52, the lower surface film 53, and the side surface film 54 are heat-sealed (heat-sealed) to form a tubular shape, and then one end and the other end of the tubular shape are heat-sealed to form a first sealed portion. The 55a and the second seal portion 55b are formed, respectively, and the inside is filled with ink. The ink pack 50 is a so-called gusset bag in which fold-in portions 54a are formed along both side surfaces (side film 54) in the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion 51 in order to give the ink storage portion 51 a thickness.

A cylindrical ink supply port 56 that communicates with the inside of the ink storage portion 51 is attached to the first seal portion 55a of the ink storage portion 51. The ink supply port 56 is made of polyethylene, and is heat-sealed between the upper surface film 52 and the lower surface film 53 when the first seal portion 55a is formed. An ink cap 57 for preventing ink from leaking from the ink supply port 56 is attached to the tip of the ink supply port 56.

Welding portions 60 (hatched portions in FIG. 6) in which the corners of the folding portion 54a are welded are formed at the four corners of the ink storage portion 51. The welded portion 60 is formed by heat-sealing the upper surface film 52 and the side surface film 54, and is formed in a right-angled triangular shape sandwiching a corner portion of the upper surface film 52. Although not shown in FIG. 6, the lower surface film 53 and the side surface film 54 are heat-sealed on the back surface side (lower surface film 53 side) of the ink pack 50 to form a welded portion 70 having the same shape as the upper surface film 52 side. ing.

In each welded portion 60, the dimension of the folding portion 54a in the folding direction (the short side direction of the ink pack 50) is equal to the depth (folding amount) d1 of the folding portion 54a. On the other hand, the dimension d2 in the direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the folding portion 54a (longitudinal direction of the ink pack 50) is longer than the dimension d1 in the folding direction.

When the ink storage portion 51 is filled with ink from the ink supply port 56 (see FIG. 7), the folded portion 54a formed in the side film 54 gradually extends from the flat state shown in FIG. 6, and the ink The dimensions of the storage portion 51 in the thickness direction (vertical direction) increase. Then, in the ink pack 50 filled with ink up to the upper limit of the fillable amount of the ink storage portion 51, as shown in FIG. 7, the folded portion 54a is completely extended and the side film 54 is in a substantially flat state.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view of a corner portion of the ink supply port 56 side (front side of FIG. 7) of the inpack 50 of the present embodiment. The upper surface film 52 and the lower surface film 53 are separated from each other by filling the ink storage portion 51 with ink, but the upper surface film 52 is separated by the first seal portion 55a and the second seal portion 55b at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion 51, respectively. And the bottom film 53 is welded.

Therefore, as the filling of ink progresses, the upper surface film 52 is formed with an inclined portion 52a adjacent to the first sealing portion 55a and the second sealing portion 55b. Similarly, the lower surface film 53 is formed with an inclined portion 53a adjacent to the first seal portion 55a and the second seal portion 55b.

In the present embodiment, the welding portions 70 formed at the four corners of the ink storage portion 51 regulate the rise of the inclined portions 52a and 53a due to the ink pressure from the inside of the ink storage portion 51. Specifically, by making the dimension d2 in the direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the welding portion 70 longer than the dimension d1 in the folding direction, when the ink is filled in the ink storage portion 51 up to the upper limit of the fillable amount. , The inclined portions 52a and 53a are held in a state of being inclined by a predetermined angle θ from the vertical line L. As a result, the ink pack 50 has a hexagonal shape when viewed from the side as shown in FIG.

When the ink containers 21C to 21K in which the ink pack 50 is stored are mounted on the container mounting portion 20 and the ink in the ink pack 50 is consumed, the ink containers 21C to 21K are stretched when the ink is filled (see FIG. 7). The folded portion 54a of the side film 54 that has been there is folded inside the ink storage portion 51 again, and the dimension of the ink pack 50 in the thickness direction becomes smaller.

At this time, since the inclined portions 52a and 53a do not stretch in the vertical direction, the folded portion 54a is smoothly folded into the original state, and the ink pack 50 is naturally crushed into a flat shape. Then, when the ink is emptied, it returns to the completely flat state shown in FIG.

Therefore, the structure does not regulate the deformation of the ink pack 50, and the ink pack 50 is naturally crushed flat along the folding portion 54a. Therefore, when the ink pack 50 needs to be replaced, the inside of the ink pack 50 is crushed. The remaining amount of ink can be reduced as much as possible.

When the dimensional ratios of the dimensions d1 and d2 of the welded portion 70 are small, the angle θ becomes small and the inclined portions 52a and 53a become close to vertical, so that the effect of naturally deforming the ink pack 50 into a flat shape becomes small. On the other hand, when the dimensional ratios of d1 and d2 are large, the angle θ becomes large and the inclinations 52a and 53a become gentle, so that the effect of naturally deforming the ink pack 50 into a flat shape becomes large, but the ink is stored. The amount that can be filled in the portion 51 is reduced.

Therefore, the dimensional ratio of d1 and d2 needs to be determined in consideration of the crushability of the ink pack 50 and the fillable amount. In order to naturally deform the ink pack 50 into a flat shape, the dimension d2 is preferably 1.5 times or more the dimension d1.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the ink pack 50 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a state in which the ink pack 50 is empty. In the present embodiment, the welding portion 70 is formed only on one end side (second seal portion 55b side) of the ink storage portion 51 in the longitudinal direction. The configuration of the other parts of the ink pack 50 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, since the welding portion 70 is formed only on the second seal portion 55b side, the rise of the inclined portions 52a and 53a is not restricted on the first seal portion 55a side where the ink supply port 56 is provided. However, since it is difficult for ink to remain in the ink storage portion 51 on the side of the first seal portion 55a where the ink supply port 56 is provided, the space S1 shown in FIG. 12 is less likely to be formed than the space S2.

Therefore, on the second seal 55b side, the welding portion 60 smoothly deforms the ink storage portion 51 into a flat shape, and on the first seal portion 55a side, the rising of the inclined portions 52a and 53a is not restricted and the ink is charged. The fillable amount can be increased.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the ink pack 50 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and is a diagram showing a state in which the ink pack 50 is empty. In the present embodiment, the ink storage portion 51 is composed of a total of three flexible laminated films, that is, an upper surface film 52, a lower surface film 53, and one side film 54. The fold-in portion 54a is formed along the side film 54 (right front side in FIG. 10), and the welded portion 70 is formed at both ends of the fold-in portion 54a. The configuration of the other parts of the ink pack 50 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

Also in the present embodiment, the welding portions 70 are formed at the two corners of the side film 54 side (folding portion 54a side) of the ink storage portion 51, and the dimension d2 of the welding portion 70 is made longer than d1 so that the ink can be folded. It is possible to regulate the rise of the inclined portions 52a and 53a on the side on which the portion 54a is formed. As a result, since the inclined portions 52a and 53a are not stretched in the vertical direction, the folded portion 54a is smoothly folded into the original state, and the ink pack 50 is naturally easily crushed into a flat shape.

Although the welded portion 60 is formed on the first seal portion 55a side and the second seal portion 55b side here, the welded portion 70 may be formed only on the second seal portion 55b side as in the second embodiment. ..

In addition, the present invention is not limited to each of the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in each of the above embodiments, three to four flexible films composed of the top film 52, the bottom film 53, and the side film 54 are heat-sealed to form the ink storage portion 51, but the present invention is limited to this. It's not a thing. For example, a gusset bag may be formed in which both ends of one flexible film are bonded together to form a tubular shape, and one end of the tubular shape is heat-sealed to form a folded portion along the side surface of the heisei ink storage portion 51. ..

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the ink pack 50 housed in the ink containers 21C to 21K mounted on the line head type inkjet printer 100 that records by the recording head fixed to the recording device main body has been described. The same applies to a serial type inkjet printer in which the head scans on a recording medium for recording.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, an inkjet recording apparatus using four color inks of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in order to obtain a full-color image has been described, but inkjet recording including colored inks of different hues has been described. It can also be used for devices and inkjet recording devices with different numbers of colors.

The present invention can be used in recording devices such as facsimiles, copiers, and printers for inkjet recording devices that record by ejecting ink onto a recording medium such as paper. By utilizing the present invention, an ink container capable of reducing the amount of residual ink in the ink pack when the ink pack needs to be replaced by improving the crushability of the ink pack and an inkjet recording device provided with the ink container can be provided. Can be provided.

20 Container mounting part 21C-21K Ink container 50 Ink pack 51 Ink storage part 52 Top film 53 Bottom film 54 Side film 54a Folding part 55a First seal part 55b Second seal part 56 Ink supply port 57 Ink cap 60 Storage case 65 Ink Supply part 70 Welding part 100 Printer (inkjet recording device)
P paper (recording medium)

Claims (7)

An ink storage unit that is made of a flexible film and stores ink inside,
An ink supply port that is attached to one end of the ink storage portion in the longitudinal direction and communicates with the inside of the ink storage portion.
At least one folding portion formed along the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion and formed by folding the flexible film inward.
A welded portion formed at least on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the ink storage portion, and a corner portion of the folded portion welded in a right-angled triangular shape.
In the ink pack with
The welded portion is an ink pack characterized in that the dimension in the direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the folding portion is longer than the dimension in the folding direction. The ink pack according to claim 1, wherein the welded portion has a dimension in a direction orthogonal to the folding direction of the folding portion of 1.5 times or more the dimension in the folding direction. The ink pack according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the ink storage portion is a gusset bag in which a pair of the folding portions are formed along both side surfaces in the longitudinal direction. The ink pack according to claim 3, wherein the welded portion is formed at four corners of the ink storage portion. The ink storage unit is
Top film and
The lower surface film facing the upper surface film and
At least one side film that connects the upper surface film and the side edge of the lower surface film and forms the folding portion, and
Consists of
The ink pack according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the welded portion is formed by welding the upper surface film, the lower surface film, and the side surface film. The ink pack according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
A pack storage unit for storing the ink storage unit of the ink pack, and a pack storage unit.
An ink supply unit provided at one end of the pack storage unit and holding the ink supply port, and a storage case having the ink supply unit.
Ink container with. An inkjet recording apparatus including the ink container according to claim 6.

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