JP3850095B2 - Ink filling tool - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink injecting tool used for replenishing ink into an ink cartridge, and more particularly to an ink injecting tool that improves the visibility of the amount of ink stored and facilitates an ink replenishing operation.
[0002]
[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention]
Inkjet printers are generally equipped with removable ink cartridges, and the ink cartridges are filled with a predetermined amount of ink. If the ink in the ink cartridge is used up by printing, the ink cartridge will be replaced with a new one. However, if the ink cartridge is replaced, the print head assembly and the case that are still usable will be replaced. Therefore, the cost required for replacement increases. For this reason, ink is replenished to an ink cartridge that has been used up and emptied.
[0003]
For refilling ink into the ink cartridge, an ink injector filled with refilling ink is used. As a material for such an ink injection tool, a transparent resin such as polyethylene or polypropylene is generally used in order to make it easy to understand the remaining amount of ink inside.
[0004]
However, in the conventionally used ink injection tool, the wettability between the constituent resin and the ink is too high (that is, the surface tension is approximately the same), so that ink droplets are likely to adhere to the inner wall of the ink injection tool. As a result, it is difficult to see the internal state of the ink injection tool, and it is difficult to check the remaining amount of ink during ink replenishment. In particular, since the surface tension of ink used in an ink jet printer is severely controlled from the viewpoint of ejection stability and the like, the surface of the resin constituting the ink injection tool is used to reduce the adhesion of ink droplets. It was difficult to change the surface tension of the ink according to the tension.
[0005]
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink injection tool that makes it difficult for ink droplets to adhere to the inner wall, improves the visibility of the remaining amount of ink, and facilitates the ink replenishment operation.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
As a result of intensive studies, the present inventors have found that the above object can be achieved by an ink injection tool having a specific laminated structure formed from a specific resin and having a specific injection mechanism.
[0007]
The present invention has been made on the basis of the above knowledge, and in an ink injection tool provided with an ink storage portion,
The ink containing portion has a bellows-like ink injection mechanism, and the ink containing portion adheres an inner layer containing polymethylpentene, an outer layer containing low-density polyethylene , and the inner layer and the outer layer. to is obtained by achieving the above objects by providing an ink injecting tool, wherein Tei Rukoto is a laminate material which is composed of an adhesive layer containing a modified polyolefin resin.
[0008]
Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned ink injection tool, wherein the polymethylpentene is ASTM. D An ink injection device having a melt flow rate based on 1238 of 25 g / 10 min or less is provided.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the ink injection tool of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the ink injection tool of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of a cross section of an ink storage portion in the ink injection tool shown in FIG.
[0010]
An ink injection tool 1 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a nozzle portion 2, an intermediate portion 3, and an ink storage portion 4.
A nozzle 21 is formed at the lower end of the nozzle portion 2, and a pair of handle portions 22, 22 project from the base end portion of the nozzle 21 toward the side, and the intermediate portion 3 is connected to the upper end of the nozzle portion 2. A mounting outer ring portion 23 and a mounting inner ring portion 24 which are mounting portions are formed. An ink flow path (not shown) is formed in the nozzle portion 2 from the tip of the nozzle 21 to the inside of the mounting inner ring portion 24. A pair of convex portions 25, 25 are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting outer ring portion 23.
[0011]
The intermediate portion 3 has a fitting ring portion 31 that is fitted between the fitting outer ring portion 23 and the fitting inner ring portion 24 in the nozzle portion 2, and the center of the fitting ring portion 31. A sealing rod 32 is erected on the surface. The sealing rod 32 is connected through a connecting portion (not shown) extending radially from the base end of the sealing rod 32 in a direction perpendicular to the standing direction of the sealing rod 32 and in three directions. It is coupled to the above-mentioned insertion ring part 31. Then, the ink flows from the ink containing portion 4 toward the nozzle portion 2 through a space existing between the coupling portions. An attachment ring portion 35 having a slightly larger diameter than the insertion insertion portion 31 is formed above the insertion insertion portion 31, and the attachment ring portion 35 is fitted with the neck portion 41 of the ink containing portion 4. The intermediate portion 3 and the ink containing portion 4 are joined by being joined or screwed together. Further, a projecting wall 33 is formed on the outer side of the fitting insertion ring portion 31. The projecting wall 33 is provided on the nozzle portion 2 when the flow path in the nozzle portion 2 is sealed. A cutout portion 34 into which the convex portion 25 is inserted is provided.
[0012]
It is desirable that the ink containing portion 4 has a bottle shape having a neck portion 41 and has a circular cross section. The ink container 4 is made of a transparent material (which will be described later) so that the amount of ink stored in the ink container 4 can be seen at a glance. The ink storage unit 4 is provided with a scale for measuring the amount of ink on its side surface, and the pressure inside the ink storage unit 4 is increased at the bottom of the ink storage unit 4 so that ink can be easily injected into the ink cartridge. A bellows-like ink injection mechanism 42 is formed.
[0013]
Thus, in the ink injection device 1 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink container 4 includes an inner layer 43 containing polymethylpentene, an outer layer 44 containing a thermoplastic resin, and the inner side. It is formed of a laminated material 46 composed of a layer and an adhesive layer 45 that adheres to the outer layer.
[0014]
The respective layers constituting the laminated material 46 will be described. The inner layer 43 is made of a resin containing polymethylpentene (hereinafter referred to as PMP). PMP is a homopolymer or copolymer of 4-methylpentene-1, and has high transparency, so that the amount of ink stored in the ink storage unit 4 can be easily understood from the outside. In addition, since the surface tension of PMP is low, it is difficult for the droplets of the contained ink to adhere to the inner layer 43, particularly the inner layer 43 in the bellows-like ink injection mechanism 42 (that is, the ink “cuts”). Better) and antifouling property is improved. Therefore, even when black ink having a high light-shielding property is used, it is easy to visually recognize the ink liquid level when the ink is replenished, and the ink remaining amount is easily understood at a glance. In particular, in the ink injection device 1 of the present embodiment, ink is injected by the bellows-like ink injection mechanism 42, so that ink droplets may be scattered on the inner layer 43 during the injection operation to the ink cartridge. However, by forming the inner layer 43 from a resin containing PMP, it is possible to effectively prevent the adhesion of scattered ink droplets and the accompanying decrease in the visibility of the remaining amount of ink. As a resin having a low surface tension, a fluorine-based resin is well known. However, since the price of the fluorine-based resin is high, there is a cost problem. Further, there are problems that it is difficult to check the remaining amount of ink because of its low transparency, and further, corrosive gas is generated during molding and the mold is easily damaged. On the other hand, since PMP is lower in price than fluororesin and more transparent than fluororesin, it is suitable as a material for forming the inner layer 43. The PMP is not particularly limited as long as it has high transparency and low surface tension, and various types of PMP can be used depending on the molding method and the like. In particular, a melt based on ASTM D 1238 is used. PMP having a flow rate of 25 g / 10 min or less, particularly 20 g / 10 min or more and 23 g / 10 min or less is preferably used. The inner layer 43 may be blended with other resins such as fluororesin, if necessary, as long as the effects such as transparency, low surface tension and antifouling properties derived from PMP are not impaired. Good.
[0015]
The outer layer 44 is made of a thermoplastic resin. As the thermoplastic resin, transparency, moldability, impact strength, in terms of such possible excellent creep properties, Ru with low density polyethylene (LDPE).
[0016]
The adhesive layer 45 is a layer used for adhering the inner layer 43 and the outer layer 44, and the material thereof includes PMP that forms the inner layer 43 and the heat that forms the outer layer 44. Those excellent in adhesiveness with a plastic resin are used. In particular, since the ink injection tool 1 of this embodiment includes the bellows-like ink injection mechanism 42 as described above, repeated bending stress is applied to the laminated material 46 during the ink injection operation. As a result, the inner layer 43 and the outer layer 44 are easily separated from each other, but the layer peeling can be effectively prevented by selecting and using an appropriate material for the adhesive layer 45. . As the material of the upper SL adhesive layer 45 using a modified polyolefin resin having an adhesive property.
[0017]
The thickness of each of the inner layer 43, the outer layer 44, and the adhesive layer 45 is preferably in the following range from the viewpoint of transparency, strength, cost, and the like of the laminated material 46.
Inner layer 43: 20 to 1000 μm, especially 50 to 500 μm
Outer layer 44: 50-1500 μm, especially 100-1000 μm
Adhesive layer 45: 10 to 500 μm, especially 20 to 100 μm
The thickness of the laminated material 46 is preferably 100 to 2000 μm, and more preferably 500 to 1500 μm from the viewpoint of transparency, strength, cost, and the like.
[0018]
There is no restriction | limiting in particular in the manufacturing method of the said ink accommodating part 4, Various shaping | molding methods can be selected and used according to the physical property etc. of resin. For example, when a blow molding method is used, a parison made of a resin containing PMP, a parison made of a material forming the adhesive layer 45, and a parison made of a resin containing the thermoplastic resin are in this order. The ink container 4 can be easily manufactured by the multilayer blow molding method.
[0019]
A method for using the ink injection tool 1 of the present embodiment will be briefly described as follows.
In a state before the ink injection tool 1 is used, the nozzle portion 2 and the intermediate portion 3 are different from the fitting outer ring portion 23 in the nozzle portion 2 and the fitting ring portion 31 in the intermediate portion 3. The ink flow path in the nozzle portion 2 is sealed by the sealing rod 32 provided in the intermediate portion 3 so as to be inserted into the innermost portion between the inner ring portion 24 and the inner ring portion 24. Has been. When the ink injection tool 1 is used, the handle portion 22, 22 in the nozzle portion 2 is held with one hand, and the intermediate portion 3 and the ink storage portion 4 are held with the other hand. Slide a predetermined distance integrally upward. By this slide, the sealing of the ink flow path in the nozzle portion 2 by the sealing rod 32 is released. Then, the ink stored in the ink storage unit 4 is poured out from the nozzle 21 through the ink flow path by the injection operation using the bellows-shaped ink injection mechanism 42 in the ink storage unit 4.
[0020]
The ink replenished to the ink cartridge by the ink injection tool 1 of the present embodiment will be briefly described. As the ink, both pigment-based ink and dye-based ink are used, and particularly as water-based ink mainly composed of an aqueous medium. It is preferred to be used. The surface tension of these inks is preferably 20 to 60 dyne / cm at 20 ° C. and preferably 25 to 50 dyne / cm in consideration of printability and good “cutting” of the ink in the inner layer 43. Further preferred. For the same reason, the viscosity of the ink is preferably 1 to 20 cps at 20 ° C.
[0021]
As mentioned above, although the ink injection tool of this invention was demonstrated based on the preferable embodiment, this invention is not restrict | limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.
For example, in the ink injection tool shown in FIG. 1, the nozzle part 2 may be directly coupled to the ink storage part 4 without using the intermediate part 3. In this case, it is preferable to put a sealing cap on the tip of the nozzle 21 in order to prevent the ink from drying and outflowing when not in use.
The ink injection tool of the present invention is used when refilling ink into an ink cartridge of an ink jet printer or when refilling ink into other ink cartridges.
[0022]
【The invention's effect】
According to the ink injection tool of the present invention, the visibility of the remaining ink amount is improved, and the ink replenishing operation is facilitated. In particular, even when an ink replenishment operation is performed using an accordion-shaped ink injection mechanism provided in an ink injection tool that easily generates ink droplets, the visibility of the remaining amount of ink does not decrease.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of an ink injection tool of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of a cross section of an ink storage portion in the ink injection tool shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink injection tool 2 Nozzle part 3 Intermediate | middle part 4 Ink storage part 42 A bellows-like ink injection mechanism 43 Inner layer 44 Outer layer 45 Adhesive layer

Claims (2)

In an ink injection tool provided with an ink container,
The ink containing portion has a bellows-like ink injection mechanism, and the ink containing portion bonds the inner layer containing polymethylpentene, the outer layer containing low-density polyethylene , and the inner layer and the outer layer. to the ink injecting tool, wherein Tei Rukoto is a laminate material which is composed of an adhesive layer containing a modified polyolefin resin. ASTM of the above polymethylpentene D The ink injection device according to claim 1 , wherein the melt flow rate based on 1238 is 25 g / 10 min or less .

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