JP3202560B2 - ink cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a replaceable ink cartridge, and more particularly, to an ink cartridge which is exchangeably connected to a print head and supplies ink to the print head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed an exchangeable ink cartridge which is formed separately from, for example, an ink jet print head and can be connected to the print head via an ink supply pipe or the like.

Such an ink cartridge has a form in which ink is housed in an ink cartridge body made of plastic or the like, and an ink supply port and an atmosphere communication port are sealed with a seal member in preparation for distribution. Care is taken so that there is no ink leakage with respect to fluctuations in environmental temperature and atmospheric pressure. At the time of use, the user peels off the seal member. At this time, since tension or shearing force for peeling acts on the seal member, it is necessary to form the seal member using a material that can withstand it, for example, by laminating aluminum flakes and a resin-based material. A flexible material such as an aluminum laminate resin is used.

[0004]

In many cases, the above-described ink cartridge has a structure in which an ink absorber is loaded in the ink cartridge body and the ink is held by the ink absorber. When connected to an ink jet print head, the ink is held densely near the ink supply port and becomes sparse near the air communication port to facilitate supply of ink to the print head. It has been like that.

Conventionally, in such an ink cartridge, depending on the manner in which the user opens the seal member by peeling off the seal member, a peeling force simultaneously acts on the two sealing portions of the seal member with respect to the ink supply port and the air communication port. As a result, the ink supply port may be opened earlier.

However, when the ink supply port side is opened prior to the air communication port side, if the internal pressure is higher than the atmospheric pressure due to a change in temperature or pressure, the ink scatters from the ink supply port in all directions. In some cases, the user's clothes and hands may be stained. Further, such a problem is the same even when a gas such as air is sealed in the ink cartridge body together with the ink, and there is a possibility that the ink may be scattered from the ink supply port due to the expansion pressure of the gas. is there.

Further, when the seal member is quickly and linearly peeled off from the ink cartridge main body, there is a possibility that the ink in the ink cartridge main body may come out from the ink supply port or the like. For example, as shown in FIG. 2A, the right side of the ink cartridge body 1 in FIG.
When the user grips the ink supply port 2 and the operation section 4A of the seal member 4 that seals the atmosphere communication port 3, and pulls them apart linearly and quickly in the left-right direction in the drawing to separate them from each other, As shown in FIG. 2B, there is a possibility that the ink 7 in the ink cartridge body 1 may go out of the ink supply port 2 or the like due to its own inertial force. Reference numeral 6 denotes a part of a package for packaging the ink cartridge main body 1, and a portion (not shown) of the ink cartridge main body 1 covering a right side portion in FIG. 2A is prior to peeling of the seal member 4. Be separated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly reliable ink cartridge which can prevent ink from leaking at the time of physical distribution and can prevent ink from being scattered from an ink supply port at the time of opening.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink cartridge containing an ink therein and having an ink supply port and an air communication port formed therein, and an ink cartridge body which is detachably adhered to the surface of the ink cartridge. And an ink cartridge having a first sealing portion that seals the ink supply port and a seal member having a second sealing portion that seals the atmosphere communication port, wherein the seal member includes:
An operating portion to which a peeling force for peeling off the seal member is applied, and which comes into close contact with a plurality of surfaces of the ink cartridge body at different angles with respect to a direction of the peeling force applied to the operating portion. It has a close contact portion, and the first sealing portion is located closer to a close contact portion with the surface of the ink cartridge body that forms an angle at which the first sealing portion is less likely to be peeled than the second sealing portion.

In the ink cartridge of the present invention, when a peeling force is applied to the seal member, first, the opening of the air communication port is provided before the first sealing portion for sealing the opening of the ink supply port. A second sealing portion for sealing the opening receives the force in the direction in which the second sealing portion is easily peeled off, thereby opening the air communication port. By opening the air communication port, the internal pressure of the ink cartridge main body becomes the same as the external pressure. Thereafter, the first sealing portion opens the ink supply port to prevent the ink from jumping out due to the difference between the internal and external pressures in the ink cartridge main body. Further, when the seal member is peeled off, the ink cartridge body is caused to rotate, thereby preventing the ink from scattering due to the inertia of the ink itself.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1A is a perspective plan view of an exchangeable ink cartridge according to the present invention packaged in a package, and FIG. FIG. 3C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X in FIG.

In these figures, 1 is an ink cartridge main body (hereinafter simply referred to as "main body"), 2 is its ink supply port, 3 is an air communication port, and 4 is these ink supply port 2 and air communication port 3 A sealing member that seals the
Reference numeral 5 denotes a package for packaging the entire main body 1. Ink is stored inside the main body 1. In the case of this example, a negative pressure generating member that absorbs and holds the ink is stored in the main body 1 and a negative pressure generating member that communicates with the ink supply port 2 and the air communication port 3 is described later. A pressure generating member housing portion and an ink housing portion for housing ink are formed adjacent to the housing portion.

A cylindrical color rib 2A and a cylindrical color rib 3A having a rectangular cross section are formed around the openings of the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3, respectively. The ink supply port 2 has substantially the same diameter as the inner peripheral surface of the color rib 2A, and is formed to have a larger diameter than the atmosphere communication port 3. In addition, the thickness of the color rib 2A is set to be larger than the thickness of the color rib 3A, and the end face of the color rib 2A to which the sealing member 4 is detachably adhered is higher than the end face of the color rib 3A to which the sealing member 4 is detachably adhered. Has also become wider.

On the other hand, the sealing member 4 has a sufficient strength against tension and the like, and as a flexible barrier material, for example, a single-layered one or a composite one composed of a multi-layered plastic film is used. Desirably, it is preferable that the ribs 2A and 3A have welding properties to the end faces. The ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 are sealed by the seal member 4. Hereinafter, in the seal member 4, a portion for sealing the ink supply port 2 is referred to as a first sealing portion A,
A portion that seals the atmosphere communication port 3 is referred to as a second sealing portion B.
The sealing portions A and B of the seal member 4 seal the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 so as to prevent evaporation of the ink in the main body 1 and withstand expansion of air or ink in the main body 1. As long as it is possible, it may be brought into close contact with the color ribs 2A, 3A by any method other than welding, such as pressure bonding or adhesion. In order to ensure high reliability, it is preferable to weld a welding layer of the same material as the main body 1. The upper side 4A of the seal member 4 is welded to the inner surface of the package 5 as described later. In the seal member 4, a hatched portion C in FIG. 1 including the upper side 4A is referred to as an operation unit.

The package 5 is in the form of a bag that wraps the entire main body 1. In this embodiment, the peripheral portion 6 is welded to form a bag. Welded. The package 5 only needs to be connectable to the operating portion C of the seal member 4 by pressure bonding, adhesion, welding, or the like. In addition to the same material as the seal member 4, a material such as paper commonly used in the packaging field is used. It is possible.
In this example, the respective welding layers of the seal member 4 and the package 5 are integrated by welding with heat.

Next, instead of describing the structure of the seal member 4, its mounting process will be described.

FIGS. 3A to 3D show a procedure for welding the seal member 4 to the ink supply port 2 and the air communication port 3 of the main body 1. FIG.

First, a flat sealing member 4 as shown in FIG. 3A is prepared, and the sealing member 4 is attached to the collar rib 3A of the atmosphere communication port 3 at the bottom of the main body 1 (not shown in FIG. 3). ) To seal the air communication port 3 (FIG. 3).
(B)). Next, as shown in FIG. 3C, the seal member 4 is bent, and the seal member 4 is welded to the color rib 2A of the ink supply port 2. Then, the sealing member 4 is
FIG. 3D illustrates the bending along the bending line 4B in FIG. 3C and the ridges 1A and 1B on the outer side of the main body 1. FIG. 1 shows an ink cartridge in which the main body 1 and the seal member 4 in this form are packaged in a package 5.

In the ink cartridge constructed as described above, the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 are located on different surfaces of the main body 1, respectively. 2) When a peeling force in the direction of the middle arrow F1 is applied, the second sealing portion B for sealing the air communication portion 3 is easily peeled off, while the first sealing portion A for sealing the ink supply port 2.
Is hardly peeled off due to the force in the shear direction.

Next, the step of opening the ink cartridge will be described.

FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c) are explanatory views of the opening step of the ink cartridge of the present invention.

First, prior to the peeling of the seal member 4, the notch 8 in FIG.
The package 5 is broken as shown by a chain line 5A, and FIG.
(A) The right side portion of the package 5 is removed. The state at this time is the state of FIG. The left part of the package 5 in FIG. 4A forms an ink scattering prevention part for preventing ink scattering, and the handle end 9 has a stepped portion formed by cutting like 9A and 9B. Are easy to hold the package 5. Body 1
When the user applies a peeling force in the direction of arrow F1 with the handle 9B in a protruding form in order to take out the package from the package 5, the point of action P of the peeling force is set to the atmosphere communication port 3 rather than the ink supply port 2. Located closer. Therefore, the distance between the point of action P and the second sealing part B is shorter than the distance between the point of action P and the first sealing part A.

Now, when the user grips the package 5 and the main body 1 and applies a peeling force indicated by arrows F1 and F2 to them, the first sealing portion A is located far from the action point P, Direction of peeling from color rib 2A (FIG. 4)
Since the peeling force in the left direction in FIG. 4A is applied so as to be orthogonal to (upper part in FIG. 4A), the peeling is not performed immediately. On the other hand, with respect to the second sealing portion B, it is close to the action point P and the direction of peeling from the color rib 3A (FIG. 4A)
(Left direction in the middle) is applied in the same direction.
Peel immediately. Therefore, the second sealing portion B is peeled off before the first sealing portion A.

After the second sealing portion B is peeled off,
As shown in FIG. 4B, the main body 1 is connected to the S near the first sealing portion A.
Package 5 while rotating in the direction of arrow E around the point
Move away from Thereby, the peeling direction of the first sealing portion A from the color rib 2A and the peeling direction F1 are the same, that is, the first sealing portion A has a relationship of easy peeling, as shown in FIG. As described above, the main body 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow E, and the first sealing portion A is peeled off with this rotation.

As a result, the second sealing portion B is separated from the color rib 3A before the first sealing portion A is separated from the color rib 2A. That is, the atmosphere communication port 3 is opened before the ink supply port 2, and conversely, the scattering of ink that occurs when the ink supply port 2 is opened beforehand is prevented. The relationship between the opening order and the scattering of ink will be described later together with the internal structure of the main body 1.

Further, when the seal member 4 is peeled off, the main body 1 rotates as shown in FIG. 4 and does not move in the linear direction as shown in FIG. That is, it is possible to eliminate the problem that the ink cannot follow the fast linear movement of the tank body 1 and leaks from the ink supply port 2 and contaminates the user's hands and clothes.

(Second Embodiment) FIGS. 5 and 6 are explanatory views of a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a perspective plan view of an ink cartridge of the present embodiment, and FIG. 6) is a sectional view taken along the line Y-Y in FIG. 6A, and FIG.

In the case of this embodiment, both the ink supply port 2 and the air communication port 3 are formed on the same surface of the main body 1. The folded portion 4C of the seal 4 near the ink supply port 2 side is welded to another surface (the lower surface in FIG. 5A) of the main body 1 from the surface on which the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 are formed. Part D is formed. When a peeling force in the direction of arrow F1 is applied to the operation unit C, the welded part D makes the vicinity of the ink supply port 2 hard to peel. As a result, the second sealing portion B is always peeled off before the first sealing portion A, and the same effect as in the first embodiment described above is exerted.

In particular, since the welded portion D is peelably adhered to the lower surface of the main body 1 perpendicular to the peeling direction F1,
Inevitably, the peeling direction F1 is orthogonal to the peeling direction of the welded portion D from the lower surface of the main body 1 (downward in FIG. 5A), and the welded portion D is difficult to peel off. It is extremely advantageous in terms of delaying the release of the first seal portion A than separation of the second sealing portion B such exfoliated hesitation the welded portion D is positioned near the first seal portion A is there.

(Regarding the Internal Structure of the Tank Body 1) Next, an example of the internal structure of the tank body 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

The main body 1 of FIG. 7 is the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and has an ink supply port 2 connected to the ink jet recording head on a side surface orthogonal to the peeling direction F1. The air communication port 3 is formed on the bottom surface parallel to the peeling direction F1. Further, inside the main body 1, a negative pressure generating member housing section 11 that houses a negative pressure generating member 20 that communicates with the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 and absorbs and holds ink, And an ink container 13 that communicates with a lower portion of the rib 12 through a gap 12A on the lower side and stores ink.

In the case of this example, the atmosphere communication port 3 is connected to the communication path 14.
Through the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion 11. The communication path 14 has a portion 14A extending in the left-right direction in FIG.
And a portion 14B extending in the up-down direction in the figure. The former portion 14A is formed between the upper surface of the tank body 1 and the cover body 15 attached to the upper surface. Further, a space 21 is formed by a rib in an upper portion of the housing portion 11.

The distribution of ink in the negative pressure generating member accommodating section 11 is such that the ink supply port 2 side is dense and the air communication port 3 side is easy to supply ink to the ink jet recording head. The ink is as low as possible. Therefore, when peeling off the seal member 4, it is preferable to open the air communication port 3 side before the ink supply port 2 side, and conversely, if the ink supply port 3 side is opened first, The ink may be scattered from the supply port 2 to the outside. When the internal pressure of the main body 1 sealed by the seal member 4 is increasing due to a change in environment (change in temperature and pressure), the air communication port 3 having a smaller opening area than the ink supply port 2 is opened first. By,
By returning the internal pressure of the main body 1 to the atmospheric pressure state, the ejection of ink from the ink supply port 2 can be suppressed.

When the main body 1 is used, the negative pressure generating member 20 is inserted into the ink supply port 2 by inserting the ink introduction pipe 31 on the ink jet recording head side of the ink jet recording apparatus.
Press. A filter 3 is provided in the opening of the introduction pipe 31.
2 may be installed. When the inkjet recording apparatus is operated, ink is ejected from the ink ejection ports of the inkjet recording head, and
A suction force of the ink is generated inside. The ink is moved from the ink container 13 to the gap 1 below the rib 12 by the suction force.
2A, the ink enters the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion 11, and is drawn through the negative pressure generating member 20 into the introduction pipe 31 to be supplied to the ink jet recording head. This allows
The ink container 13 which is closed except for the gap 12A
Is reduced, and a pressure difference is generated between the ink storage unit 13 and the negative pressure generation member storage unit 11. When the recording operation of the ink jet recording apparatus is continued and the supply of ink is continued, the pressure difference continues to increase, but the negative pressure generating member accommodating portion 11 is open to the atmosphere through the atmosphere communication hole 3.
External air passes through the negative pressure generating member 20 and enters the ink container 13 from the gap 12A below the rib 12. At this point, the pressure difference between the ink storage unit 13 and the negative pressure generation member storage unit 11 is eliminated. During the printing operation, such an operation is repeated to supply the ink smoothly. In addition, the ink in the ink storage unit 13 can be used almost all except the ink that adheres to the wall surfaces in the first and second ink storage units 13A and 13B, so that the ink use efficiency is high. During a non-printing operation, the capillary force of the negative pressure generating member 20 itself is exerted, thereby preventing the ink from leaking from the inkjet recording head.

(Regarding the Printing Apparatus) In FIG.
101, a printer; 102, an operation panel unit provided at the front of the upper surface of the housing of the printer 101; 103, a paper feed cassette mounted through an opening on the front surface of the housing;
Reference numeral 104 denotes a paper (recording medium) supplied from the paper feed cassette 3, and reference numeral 105 denotes a paper discharge tray for holding the paper 104 discharged through a paper conveyance path in the printer 101.
Reference numeral 106 denotes a body cover having an L-shaped cross section. The main body cover 106 covers an opening 107 formed in the right front part of the housing, and is rotatably attached to an inner end of the opening 107 by a hinge 108. A carriage 110 supported by a guide or the like (not shown) is provided inside the housing. The carriage 110 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in the width direction of the paper passing through the paper transport path, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the guide and the like.

The carriage 110 in this embodiment includes a stage 110a which is held horizontally by a guide or the like;
An opening (not shown) formed on the stage 110a and near the guide for mounting an ink jet head, and the ink cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1B mounted on the stage 110a in front of the opening.
a cartridge garage 110b for accommodating k.
The cartridges 1Y housed in the garage 110b,
1M, 1C, and 1Bk and a cartridge holder 110c for preventing detachment.

The stage 110a is slidably supported at its rear end by the guide, and the lower side of its front end is mounted on a guide plate (not shown). The guide plate may function as a paper holding member for preventing the paper 104 conveyed in the above-described paper conveyance path from rising, and the stage 110a may be used as a guide according to the thickness of the paper 104. On the other hand, it may have a function of lifting in a cantilever manner.

An ink jet head (not shown) is mounted on the opening of the stage 110a with its ink discharge port directed downward.

In the cartridge garage 110b,
A through-hole for accommodating the four ink cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk at the same time is formed in the front-rear direction, and engaging recesses 110d for engaging with engaging claws of the cartridge holder 110c are formed on both outer sides. Have been.

The cartridge holder 10c is rotatably attached to the front end of the stage 110a by a hinge 116. The dimension from the front end face of the garage 110b to the hinge 116 takes into account the dimension of the cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1Bk projecting from the front end of the garage 110b when the cartridge 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1Bk is accommodated in the garage 110b. It is determined. The cartridge holder 110c has a substantially rectangular plate shape. The cartridge holder 110c is provided with a pair of engaging claws 110e protruding in a direction perpendicular to the plate surface on both upper sides separated from the lower part fixed by the hinge 116, and the holder 110c is closed. The garage 110b has a pair of engaging claws 110e
Are adapted to engage. The plate of the holder 110c includes the cartridges 1Y, 1M, 1C, 1B.
A fitting hole 120 for fitting with the handle of k is formed. The fitting hole 120 has a position, a shape, and a size corresponding to the handle.

[0042]

As described above, in the ink cartridge of the present invention, when a peeling force is applied to the seal member, before the first sealing portion that seals the ink supply port,
Since the second sealing portion for sealing the air communication port is configured to apply a force in a direction in which the air communication port is easily peeled, first, the air communication port is opened to make the internal pressure of the ink cartridge main body equal to the external pressure, and thereafter, The ink supply port can be opened, and as a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of ink leakage due to a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the ink cartridge body.

Also, when the seal member is peeled off, the ink cartridge body is caused to rotate,
It is also possible to prevent the ink from scattering due to the inertia of the ink itself.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a plan view for explaining a first embodiment of an ink cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG.
(C) is a sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.
It is sectional drawing which follows a line.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of a procedure for peeling off a seal member in a conventional ink cartridge.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a mounting process of a seal member in the first embodiment of the ink cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a procedure for peeling off a seal member in the ink cartridge of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5A is a plan view for explaining a second embodiment of the ink cartridge of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a process of attaching a seal member in the ink cartridge of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration example of an ink cartridge main body in the ink cartridge of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus to which the ink cartridge of the present invention can be mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cartridge main body 2 Ink supply port 3 Atmospheric communication port 4 Seal member 5 Package A 1st sealing part B 2nd sealing part C Operation part D Welding part

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yoichi Taniya 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Kazuaki Masuda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-6-328712 (JP, A) JP-A-7-76367 (JP, A) JP-A-7-137274 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175

Claims (15)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink cartridge body containing ink therein and having an ink supply port and an air communication port formed therein, the ink cartridge body being detachably adhered to a surface of the ink cartridge, and sealing the ink supply port. In an ink cartridge having one sealing portion and a sealing member having a second sealing portion for sealing the atmosphere communication port, an operation in which a peeling force for peeling the sealing member is applied to the sealing member And a contact portion that detachably adheres to a plurality of surfaces of the ink cartridge body that form different angles with respect to the direction of the peeling force applied to the operation portion, and wherein the first sealing portion is An ink cartridge, wherein the ink cartridge is positioned closer to a portion in contact with the surface of the ink cartridge main body at an angle that is more difficult to peel than the second sealing portion. 2. The sealing member according to claim 1, wherein the first sealing portion is located closer to a close contact portion with the surface of the ink cartridge body at an angle smaller than the second sealing portion with respect to the direction of the peeling force. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the first sealing portion is located at a portion in close contact with a surface of the ink cartridge main body substantially parallel to the direction of the peeling force, and the second sealing portion is provided at a position close to the peeling force. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is located at a portion that is substantially perpendicular to a direction and closely adheres to a surface of the ink cartridge body. 4. The ink supply port is formed on a surface of the ink cartridge main body substantially perpendicular to the direction of the peeling force, and the air communication port is substantially parallel to the direction of the peeling force. 4. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink cartridge is formed on a surface of the ink cartridge body. 5. The ink supply port and the air communication port,
The ink cartridge body is formed on a surface of the ink cartridge body substantially orthogonal to the direction of the peeling force, and near a first sealing portion of the seal member, substantially parallel to the direction of the peeling force. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a contact portion that is in close contact with the surface is located. 6. The close contact portion of the seal member is formed at each of the periphery of the opening of the ink supply port and the periphery of the opening of the atmosphere communication port.
The ink cartridge according to any one of the above. 7. The operating portion of the seal member is formed at a position closer to the second sealing portion than to the first sealing portion. Ink cartridge. 8. The operating part of the seal member is formed to protrude at a position closer to the second sealing part than the first sealing part. An ink cartridge according to claim 1. 9. The ink cartridge body has a grip portion that is gripped when a peeling force is applied to the operation portion of the seal member. The grip portion of the ink cartridge body and the operation portion of the sheet member are 9. The ink cartridge body according to claim 1, wherein after the atmosphere communication port is opened by the peeling force, rotation of the ink cartridge body around the contact portion near the first sealing portion is substantially allowed. 10. The ink cartridge according to any one of the above. 10. The ink cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a package for packaging the ink cartridge body in which an ink supply port and an air communication port are sealed by the seal member. 11. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein an operation unit of the seal member is connected to the package. 12. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the operation part of the seal member is coupled to a part of the package that protrudes outward. 13. The package according to claim 1, wherein the package is separable into an ink spill prevention portion surrounding the ink supply port and the air communication port, and another portion. 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the part is coupled to the part.
13. The ink cartridge according to any one of 0 to 12. 14. The package according to claim 10, wherein the package allows the ink supply port and the air communication port to be opened by peeling off the seal member inside the package. ink cartridge. 15. The ink cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the package has a portion surrounding the seal member peeled from the ink cartridge main body.