JP3992070B2 - Liquid storage bag and liquid ejection device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid storage bag and a liquid ejecting apparatus that store a liquid.

  As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink from nozzles is known. This printer includes a recording head in which a plurality of nozzles are formed, and a carriage having the recording head. The printer performs printing by ejecting ink from the nozzles while reciprocating the carriage. In such a printer, an ink cartridge storing ink to be supplied to the nozzle is provided in a replaceable manner.

  By the way, in the case of a printer that prints large paper, a large amount of ink is used, so that an ink cartridge containing a large amount of ink is required. When the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage and moved, a large load is applied to the driving portion. Therefore, a printer that prints large paper has a configuration in which the ink cartridge is not mounted on the carriage (so-called off-carriage type).

An ink cartridge containing a large amount of ink is composed of an ink pack containing ink and a case containing this ink pack. The ink pack includes a bag body that stores ink and a lead member attached to the bag body (see Patent Document 1). More specifically, an ink pack is formed by thermally welding the four sides of the film member with the lead-out member sandwiched between the two film members. The lead-out member is formed with an ink lead-out hole for leading out ink from the bag body, and the ink stored in the bag body is led out through the ink lead-out hole.
JP 2002-113881 A

  However, the lead-out member is usually made of a synthetic resin. Therefore, when the film member is thermally welded to the lead-out member, the lead-out member may be deformed by the heat, and the ink lead-out hole formed in the lead member may be deformed. Normally, a valve mechanism is arranged inside the ink outlet hole to prevent residual ink from leaking out when the ink cartridge is replaced. Therefore, if the ink outlet hole is deformed, the valve body of the valve mechanism may stop halfway, and the valve mechanism may not function normally. Therefore, conventionally, no valve mechanism is arranged in the ink outlet hole located in the welding portion where the film member of the outlet member is welded. That is, the valve mechanism is arranged so as to avoid the ink outlet hole located in the weld portion.

  However, if the valve mechanism is arranged so as to avoid the ink outlet hole located at the welded portion of the outlet member, there is a problem that the outlet member becomes longer. As a result, the entire ink pack becomes large, and it has been difficult to reduce the size of the ink cartridge and hence the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a liquid storage bag and a liquid ejecting apparatus that can prevent deformation of the liquid outlet hole or can be reduced in size. .

  The liquid storage bag is composed of a lead-out member having a liquid lead-out hole penetrating through and a film member forming a liquid storage space for containing the liquid, and the film member is welded to the lead-out member. In the liquid storage bag in which the liquid stored in the liquid storage space is held in a liquid-tight state and the liquid is led out to the outside via the lead-out member, the liquid lead-out hole is opened and closed. A valve mechanism is provided, and a portion of the liquid lead-out hole corresponding to a welded portion where the film member is welded in the lead-out member contains the valve member of the valve mechanism movable in the liquid lead-out hole. An urging means for urging in a direction away from the space is disposed, and the derivation member restricts the valve member from moving to a portion corresponding to the welded portion of the liquid derivation hole. A restricting means is formed in a portion of the liquid outlet hole corresponding to the welded portion, and the restricting means also functions as a deformation preventing means for preventing the liquid outlet hole from being deformed when the film member is welded. To do.

  In the liquid storage bag, the valve mechanism includes a valve seat forming member, the valve member that is seated on the valve seat forming member, is closed, and is moved away from the valve seat forming member to be opened, and the valve The urging means for urging the valve member toward a direction away from the liquid storage space so as to normally seat the member on the valve seat forming member.

In the liquid containing bag, the liquid outlet hole is provided with guide means for moving the valve member with the inner wall as a guide.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention includes the liquid containing bag and a liquid ejecting head that ejects the liquid supplied from the liquid containing bag.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of a liquid storage bag embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink pack 11 as a liquid containing bag is composed of a bag portion 12 and a lead-out member 13. The bag portion 12 is configured, for example, by thermally welding four sides of two laminate films 15 (corresponding to film members) obtained by depositing aluminum on a polyethylene film having gas barrier properties. More specifically, the bag portion 12 is formed by thermally welding three sides of the two laminated films 15 that are overlapped as weld portions 12a, 12b, and 12c, and the remaining one side as a weld portion 12d from which the lead-out member 13 protrudes. The bag portion 12 is formed by heat welding in such a state that it is arranged. That is, the bag portion 12 has a space S defined therein, and ink as a liquid is accommodated in the space S.

  The lead member 13 is made of a synthetic resin such as plastic. The lead-out member 13 includes a welded portion 21 that is welded to the welded portion 12d of the laminate film 15, an intermediate portion 22 that extends from the welded portion 21 in the x direction, and an insertion portion 23 that extends from the intermediate portion 22 in the x direction. It is configured. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the welded portion 21 has a spindle-shaped cross section, and the laminate film 15 is thermally welded to the upper surface 21a and the lower surface 21b. As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate portion 22 is a cylindrical body, and has a shape integrally formed so that a pair of substantially rectangular parallelepiped side portions 22 a face each other on the outer peripheral surface thereof. The insertion portion 23 has a larger cylindrical shape than the intermediate portion 22.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an ink outlet hole 25 is formed in the outlet member 13 as a liquid outlet hole that penetrates the welded portion 21, the intermediate portion 22, and the insertion portion 23. More specifically, the ink outlet hole 25 is a stepped hole having a diameter that increases in the x direction. The ink outlet hole 25 has a small-diameter portion 26 that faces the space S, a medium-diameter portion 27 that follows the small-diameter portion 26, It comprises a large-diameter portion 28 that opens to the outside following the diameter portion 27. The small diameter portion 26 is formed in a part of the weld portion 21 on the space S side, the medium diameter portion 27 is formed from the weld portion 21 to the insertion portion 23, and the large diameter portion 28 is the insertion portion. 23 is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the medium diameter portion 27 has a center hole 31 as a guide means having a circular cross section and a pair of communication grooves 32 opposed to each other on the inner peripheral surface of the center hole 31 in the longitudinal direction (x direction). ). The side portion 22a of the intermediate portion 22 of the lead-out member 13 described above is formed so that the communication groove 32 is formed.

  A plurality of ribs 33 serving as deformation preventing means and restricting means are provided in the middle diameter portion 27 so as to protrude along the communication groove 32 so as to sandwich the communication groove 32. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the rib 33 is formed so as to extend in the x direction from the wall surface of the medium diameter portion 27 on the small diameter portion 26 side to the position of the boundary B between the welded portion 21 and the intermediate portion 22. ing. That is, the rib 33 is formed at a portion corresponding to the welded portion 21.

  On the other hand, a valve mechanism V is provided in the ink outlet hole 25. The valve mechanism V includes a coil spring 34 as an urging means, a valve member 35 that moves in the inside diameter portion 27, and a seal member 36 as a valve seat forming member on which the valve member 35 is seated. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, one end portion of the coil spring 34 is disposed inside the rib 33 of the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the other end of the coil spring 34 is in pressure contact with the anti-x-direction surface of the valve member 35, whereby the coil spring 34 biases the valve member 35 in the x-direction. .

  As shown in FIG. 4, the valve member 35 is fitted in the center hole 31 of the medium diameter portion 27, and can slide in the x direction and the anti-x direction while being guided by the inner wall of the center hole 31. The surface 35a on the anti-x direction side of the valve member 35 is tapered, and comes into contact with the rib 33 when the surface 35a moves in the anti-x direction. Accordingly, the valve member 35 is regulated by the rib 33 so as not to enter the middle diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25 formed in the weld portion 21.

  The seal member 36 is accommodated so as to be in close contact with the large diameter portion 28. The seal member 36 is made of an elastic material such as rubber. Further, the inner hole 36a of the seal member 36 is larger on the x direction side, and the inner diameter R on the medium diameter portion 27 side is in close contact with the ink supply needle 45 to be inserted as shown in FIG. It has a diameter that can be used. Further, an annular protrusion 36b protrudes from the end of the seal member 36 in the anti-x direction, and the protrusion 36b can perform a sealing action when the valve member 35 biased by the coil spring 34 is in pressure contact therewith. ing. Accordingly, the ink outlet hole 25 is closed when the valve member 35 is seated on the seal member 36, and is opened when the valve member 35 is detached from the seal member 36 and moves in the anti-x direction.

Next, the printer main body 40 in which the ink pack 11 is mounted will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a print head 41 is disposed in the printer main body 40 so as to be movable along a platen (not shown). A plurality of mounting portions 42 are defined on the front side of one side of the printer main body 40, and the ink pack 11 is set in each mounting portion 42 while being accommodated in the cartridge case 43.

  The cartridge case 43 is formed in a hard case shape. An outlet 44 is formed on one end surface of the cartridge case 43, and the lead-out member 13 of the ink pack 11 accommodated in the cartridge case 43 is projected from the outlet 44 to the outside.

  Further, an ink supply needle 45 is disposed opposite to each mounting portion 42 of the printer main body 40 and is connected to the print head 41 via a supply tube 46. As shown in FIG. 4, the ink supply needle 45 has a plurality of supply holes 45a at its tip. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, when the ink pack 11 is set in the mounting portion 42 while being accommodated in the cartridge case 43, the ink supply needle 45 is inserted into the ink pack 11.

Next, a method for manufacturing the ink pack 11 of this embodiment will be described.
In the ink pack 11 of the present embodiment, the welding portion 12d is first thermally welded in a state where the welding portion 21 of the lead-out member 13 is sandwiched between two laminate films 15 as in the conventional case. At this time, since heat is applied to the lead-out member 13, the welded portion 21 may be deformed by this heat and the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink lead-out hole 25 may be deformed. However, since the rib 33 is provided in the medium diameter part 27 located in the weld part 21, that is, the thickness of the medium diameter part 27 in the weld part 21 is partially thickened by the rib 33, Sinking is unlikely to occur and the medium diameter portion 27 is difficult to deform.

  Thereafter, the welded portions 12a and 12c of the two laminate films 15 are thermally welded to form a space S, and then ink is accommodated in the space S. Finally, the remaining one side is thermally welded to form a welded portion 12b, and the ink pack 11 is completed.

Next, the operation of the ink pack 11 manufactured in this way will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the ink pack 11 is accommodated in the cartridge case 43. At this time, the lead-out member 13 protrudes from the outlet 44 of the cartridge case 43 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 4A, in the ink outlet hole 25 of the outlet member 13, the valve member 35 is biased in the x direction by the coil spring 34, and a sealing action is performed between the valve member 35 and the seal member 36. It has been broken. Thereby, the ink in the bag part 12 does not leak outside.

  As shown in FIG. 5, when the cartridge case 43 containing the ink pack 11 is set in the mounting portion 42, the ink supply needle 45 is inserted into the ink outlet hole 25 of the outlet member 13 as shown in FIG. Is inserted from the large-diameter portion 28 side. At this time, the ink supply needle 45 is fitted into the inner hole 36a of the seal member 36 to perform a sealing action, and further pushes the valve member 35 in the anti-x direction. For this reason, the valve member 35 moves in the anti-x direction against the urging force of the coil spring 34. Then, the movement of the valve member 35 is stopped when the surface 35 a abuts against the rib 33. As a result, the valve mechanism V in the ink outlet hole 25 is opened, and the ink accommodated in the space S is supplied from the small diameter portion 26 of the ink outlet hole 25, the communication groove 32 of the intermediate diameter portion 27, and the ink supply needle 45. The ink is supplied to the print head 41 through the hole 45 a and the supply tube 46. In this state, with the printing operation of the print head 41, the ink in the ink pack 11 is appropriately supplied to the print head 41, and printing is performed on the recording paper P.

According to the ink pack 11 of the present embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In this embodiment, the rib 33 as a deformation preventing means for preventing the deformation of the ink outlet hole 25 is provided in the middle diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25. Therefore, when the laminate film 15 is welded to the weld portion 21, the ink outlet hole 25 is not easily deformed. For this reason, the ink in the space S can be smoothly led out to the outside through the ink lead-out hole 25.

  (2) In this embodiment, deformation of the ink outlet hole 25 can be prevented as much as possible by the deformation preventing means. It can be operated more reliably.

  (3) In this embodiment, since the center hole 31 constituting the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25 guides the valve member 35, when the ink outlet hole 25 is deformed and the center hole 31 is deformed, The valve member 35 is moved along the deformed center hole 31. However, in this embodiment, since the deformation of the ink outlet hole 25 can be prevented as much as possible by the deformation preventing means, the valve member 35 is hardly guided by the deformed center hole 31, and the valve member 35 is moved more reliably. Thus, the valve mechanism V can be opened and closed.

  (4) In this embodiment, since the deformation preventing means is a rib, the thickness of the welded portion 21 that becomes the outer periphery of the ink outlet hole 25 is partially increased. For this reason, if the thickness of the welded portion 21 is increased, the ink outlet hole 25 is not easily deformed, and the thicker portion is only partially, so that the occurrence of sink marks is prevented as much as possible, and the outlet member 13 and the laminate film 15 can be easily brought into close contact with each other.

  (5) In the present embodiment, one end portion of the coil spring 34 that is a part of the valve mechanism V is provided in the ink outlet hole 25 located in the weld portion 21. For this reason, the length of the lead-out member 13 can be shortened to make the entire ink pack 11 small.

  (6) In the printer main body 40 of the present embodiment, the ink in the ink pack 11 can be smoothly derived by mounting the ink pack 11 in which the ink outlet hole 25 is not easily deformed, and the ink is ejected smoothly. can do. Further, by mounting the ink pack 11 in which the length of the ink outlet hole 25 is shortened, the entire printer main body 40 can be reduced in size.

  (7) In the present embodiment, the rib 33 of the medium diameter portion 27 is formed up to the boundary B between the welded portion 21 and the intermediate portion 22. That is, when the valve member 35 abuts against the rib 33, the valve member 35 is regulated so as not to be positioned at the middle diameter portion 27 positioned at the weld portion 21. Therefore, since the valve member 35 that performs the opening / closing operation does not enter the middle diameter portion 27 located in the weld portion 21 that may be deformed, the ink outlet hole 25 can be more reliably opened and closed.

  (8) In the present embodiment, the center hole 31 is provided with a rib 33 that functions as a deformation preventing means and a restricting means that prevents the valve member 35 from being located at the middle diameter portion 27 located at the weld portion 21. Therefore, these means can be provided inexpensively by reducing the number of parts.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the liquid containing bag embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The ink pack as the liquid storage bag of the present embodiment is different only in the configuration of the welded portion 21 of the lead-out member 13 of the first embodiment, and therefore the same parts as those of the first embodiment are the same. The detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the welded portion 21 of the lead-out member 13 of the ink pack 11 of the present embodiment, a groove portion 50 as a deformation preventing groove is formed in an annular shape on the outer periphery of the medium diameter portion 27. When heat at the time of heat welding is applied from the outer peripheral surface of the welded part 21, the groove part 50 is deformed before the medium diameter part 27 located on the welded part 21 is deformed. Moreover, the thickness from the groove part 50 to the medium diameter part 27 and the thickness from the groove part 50 to the outer peripheral part of the welding part 21 are thin.

Next, a method for manufacturing the ink pack 11 of this embodiment will be described.
As in the first embodiment, the ink pack 11 of this embodiment thermally welds the welded portion 12d with the welded portion 21 of the lead-out member 13 sandwiched between the two laminate films 15. At this time, since heat is applied to the lead-out member 13, the weld portion 21 is deformed by this heat, and the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink lead-out hole 25 tends to be deformed. However, since there is the groove portion 50 on the outer periphery of the medium diameter portion 27, the medium diameter portion 27 tends to be deformed after the groove portion 50 is deformed, so that the medium diameter portion 27 is difficult to deform. Moreover, since the thickness from the groove part 50 to the medium diameter part 27 and the thickness from the groove part 50 to the outer peripheral part of the welding part 21 are thin, generation | occurrence | production of sink can also be suppressed. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the welded portions 12a and 12c of the two laminate films 15 are thermally welded to form the space S, and then the ink is accommodated in the space S. Finally, the remaining one side is thermally welded to form a welded portion 12b, and the ink pack 11 is completed.

According to the ink pack 11 of the second embodiment, the following effects can be obtained in addition to the effects (1) to (7) in the first embodiment.
(8) According to the second embodiment, the annular groove 50 is provided on the outer periphery of the ink outlet hole 25 as a deformation preventing means. For this reason, since the heat of heat welding will deform the intermediate diameter part 27 after deforming the groove part 50, the intermediate diameter part 27 is more difficult to deform. Further, the distance from the outer peripheral surface of the welded portion 21 to which the heat of heat welding is applied to the intermediate diameter portion 27 is increased, and the thickness from the groove portion 50 to the intermediate diameter portion 27 and from the groove portion 50 to the outer peripheral portion of the welded portion 21 are increased. The wall thickness is thin. For this reason, the middle diameter portion 27 is not easily deformed, and sink marks are unlikely to occur.

  (9) According to the second embodiment, since both the rib 33 and the groove 50 are provided as the deformation preventing means, the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25 can be further prevented from being deformed during welding. .

(Example of change)
In addition, you may change this embodiment as follows.
○ Changing the shape of the rib 33 of the first embodiment. That is, the rib 33 may have any shape as long as the thickness around the medium diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25 is partially increased.

  In the second embodiment, the rib 33 is not formed. In this case, a regulating means for preventing the valve member 35 from reaching the middle diameter portion 27 located in the welded portion 21 may be formed separately from the rib 33.

  ○ A plurality of holes should be provided on the outer periphery of the liquid outlet hole instead of the groove part 50 of the second embodiment. Further, the groove portion 50 of the second embodiment may be provided on the outer periphery of the ink outlet hole 25 in any number of layers. Furthermore, instead of the annular groove portion 50, a spiral space groove may be provided on the outer periphery of the ink outlet hole 25. That is, a space that can be deformed before the medium diameter portion 27 is deformed by heat at the time of welding may be provided on the outer periphery of the medium diameter portion 27 as deformation preventing means.

The valve member 35 is configured to be guided and not moved by the center hole 31 of the middle diameter portion 27 of the ink outlet hole 25.
Next, technical ideas that can be grasped from the above embodiments and modified examples are described below together with their effects.

(A) The liquid storage bag according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the deformation prevention means is a plurality of deformation prevention spaces provided on an outer periphery of the liquid outlet hole.
Therefore, according to the invention described in (A), the overall thickness from the outer peripheral surface of the welded portion 21 to the liquid outlet hole can be increased, and the continuous thickness is reduced. Sinking can be prevented as much as possible. Therefore, sink can be prevented as much as possible, and the lead-out member and the film member can be easily brought into close contact with each other, and deformation of the liquid lead-out hole can be prevented as much as possible.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an ink pack according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of a main part of the ink pack of FIG. 1. Sectional drawing of the 3-3 direction in FIG. (A) (b) is sectional drawing of the 4-4 direction in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a printer main body on which the ink pack of FIG. 1 is mounted. Sectional drawing of the principal part of the ink pack in 2nd Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS S ... Space as liquid accommodation space, V ... Valve mechanism, 13 ... Derivation member, 15 ... Laminate film as film member, 21 ... Welding part, 25 ... Ink discharge hole as liquid lead-out hole, 31 ... As guide means Central hole 33... Rib as deformation preventing means and restricting means 34. Coil spring as urging means 35. Valve member 36. Seal member as valve seat forming member.

Claims (4)

A lead-out member having a liquid lead-out hole therethrough;
A film member that forms a liquid storage space for storing a liquid;
The film member is welded to the outlet member, so that the liquid stored in the liquid storage space is held in a liquid-tight state, and the liquid is stored outside through the outlet member. In
The liquid outlet hole is provided with a valve mechanism for opening and closing the liquid outlet hole,
A direction in which a valve member of a valve mechanism movable within the liquid lead-out hole is separated from the liquid storage space in a portion of the liquid lead-out hole corresponding to a welding portion where the film member is welded in the lead-out member. A biasing means for biasing toward the
The lead-out member is formed with restricting means for restricting movement of the valve member to a portion corresponding to the welded portion of the liquid lead-out hole in a portion corresponding to the welded portion of the liquid lead-out hole. And
The regulating means also functions as a deformation preventing means for preventing the liquid lead-out hole from being deformed when the film member is welded. The liquid containing bag according to claim 1,
The valve mechanism is
A valve seat forming member;
The valve member that is seated on the valve seat forming member and is closed, and is moved away from the valve seat forming member to open the valve member;
A liquid storage bag comprising the biasing means for biasing the valve member toward a direction away from the liquid storage space so that the valve member is normally seated on the valve seat forming member. . In the liquid storage bag according to claim 1 or 2,
A liquid storage bag, wherein the liquid outlet hole is provided with guide means for moving the valve member with the inner wall as a guide. The liquid container bag according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid supplied from the liquid containing bag.

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