JP4530021B2 - Liquid container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid accommodating member.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid container and a liquid ejecting head, ejects liquid derived from the liquid container from the liquid ejecting head, and discharges the liquid onto a target facing the liquid ejecting head. An example of such a liquid ejecting apparatus is an ink jet recording apparatus.

  The ink jet recording apparatus includes a carriage, a recording head as a liquid ejecting head mounted on the carriage, and an ink cartridge as a liquid container. Then, while moving the carriage relative to the recording medium as a target, ink is supplied from the ink cartridge to the recording head, and ink is ejected from the nozzles formed on the recording head, thereby printing on the recording medium. To be done.

  In such an ink jet recording apparatus, a configuration in which an ink cartridge is not mounted on a carriage (so-called off-carriage type) is employed in order to reduce the load on the carriage or to reduce the size and thickness of the apparatus. There is something. Some of these ink cartridges include an ink pack for storing ink and a case for storing the ink pack.

An example of the ink pack is an ink pack 50 shown in FIG. The ink pack 50 is formed in a bag shape by thermally welding the four sides of the two films 51 and 52. There is also an ink pack 53 shown in FIG. The ink pack 53 is formed in a bag shape by, for example, heat-welding the ends of four films 54 to 57 to each other (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Each of the ink packs 50 and 53 has a welded portion E in which each end is thermally welded, and the welded portion E is formed in a bag shape.
JP 2000-238291 A

  However, in the ink packs 50 and 53, the welded portion E protrudes outward from the bag-like portion in which the ink is stored. For example, in the ink pack 53 formed of four films 54 to 57, the welded portion E indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 11 protrudes in the width direction from the bag-shaped portion, and each welded portion from the supply port side and the bottom side. E protrudes outward. For this reason, it may be necessary to increase the length, width, or height of the ink pack, and as a result, to secure a space for accommodating the welded portion E in the case. Or, there may be a case where the volume of ink to be stored is reduced due to the limitation of the size of the case itself.

An object of the present invention is, without reducing the accommodation volume of the liquid to provide a liquid accommodating member that can be miniaturized.

The liquid container of the present invention includes a liquid lead-out part for leading the liquid to the outside, a liquid container bag having a liquid container part made of the first film and containing the liquid, and air for pressurizing the liquid container bag. an air inlet for introducing from the outside, and a case having a frame body in which the second film is attached, has, facing the second film surrounded by the frame member before and SL frame The liquid container is formed by the bottom surface of the case and the second film, and the liquid container is housed in a space communicating with the air introduction port. An attachment portion to be attached to the accommodation portion, wherein the liquid accommodation portion is provided between gusset portions provided on both side portions, and inner surfaces of both side end portions of the first film formed into a tubular shape The first sealing portion fixed and the proximal end of the first sealing portion And the inner surface of the first film and the inner surface of the first film in a state where the liquid leading portion is sandwiched between the first film and the attachment portion of the liquid leading portion. and a second sealing portion and the attachment portion of the liquid outlet portion are fixed with, the liquid containing bag in said space, the bottom surface of the first sealing portion before Symbol case It is arranged to be on the side.
According to this, since the 1st sealing part is arrange | positioned at the bottom face side of a case and is accommodated in a case, a liquid storage bag does not protrude outside from a liquid storage bag in a case. For this reason, it is not necessary to provide a space for accommodating the sealing portion in the case.

In this liquid container, the liquid deriving unit, the mounting portion is flattened in the surface direction of the liquid containing bag.

In this liquid container, it becomes an inner mutually possible thermal welding material and the liquid lead-out portion of the film, and the mounting portion of the inner and the liquid lead-out portion of the proximal end of said first sealing portion Is heat welded.
According to this, when forming the second sealing portion and the third sealing portion by thermal welding, the liquid outlet portion is thermally welded to the proximal end of the first sealing portion where a gap is likely to occur. Thus, the gap can be closed. For this reason, the sealing performance of the base end side of the first sealing portion can be improved.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a printer 11) as a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge 20 provided in the printer 11.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped frame 12. As shown in FIG. 2, the frame 12 includes a guide shaft 14, a carriage 15, and a recording head 16 as a liquid ejecting head.

  The guide shaft 14 is formed in a rod shape and is installed in the frame 12. The carriage 15 is inserted so as to be relatively movable with respect to the guide shaft 14 and can be reciprocated. The carriage 15 is connected to a carriage motor (both not shown) via a timing belt, and reciprocates along the guide shaft 14 by driving the carriage motor.

  The recording head 16 is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 15 and includes a plurality of nozzles (not shown) for ejecting ink as liquid. The recording head 16 ejects ink droplets from the nozzle openings toward a recording medium P as a target conveyed by a paper feeding unit (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 1, a cartridge holder 12 a is provided on the front surface of the frame 12. An ink cartridge 20 as a liquid container is detachably provided in the cartridge holder 12a. In the present embodiment, six ink cartridges 20 are arranged in the cartridge holder 12a corresponding to the number of inks to be used. As shown in FIG. 3, the ink cartridge 20 includes an ink pack 24, which is a liquid storage bag that stores ink as a liquid, in a case 23. The ink pack 24 is formed by a supply member 27 that is a liquid lead-out portion and a bag portion 31 (ink storage portion) that is a liquid storage portion made of a flexible film. The ink cartridge 20 disposed in the cartridge holder 12a is connected to a plate-like connection portion 21 (see FIG. 1) provided in the printer 11.

  Along each longitudinal direction of the connection portion 21, an air flow path, an ink supply needle that is a liquid introduction member inserted into the supply member 27, and an ink flow path connected to the ink supply needle are provided in each ink cartridge 20. Correspondingly, in this embodiment, six are formed (none are shown). The air flow path of the connecting portion 21 includes a flow path that communicates between the air pressurization pump 17 as the pressurizing means provided in the printer 11 and each ink cartridge 20, and is sent from the air pressurization pump 17. Air is distributed to each ink cartridge 20. Air that is a pressurized fluid introduced into each ink cartridge 20 from the connection portion 21 flows into the gap between the case 23 and the ink pack 24. Due to the inflow of air, the pressure in the gap between the case 23 and the ink pack 24 increases, and as a result, the ink pack 24 is pressed. For this reason, the ink is pushed out from the ink pack 24, and the pushed-out ink is led out to each ink supply needle formed in the connection portion 21.

  Each ink flow path formed in the connection portion 21 is communicated with a supply tube 22 (see FIG. 2) connected to the connection portion 21. In the supply tube 22 formed in a band shape, six ink flow paths (not shown) are formed corresponding to the respective ink flow paths formed in the connection portion 21, and the ink flow paths are connected to the connection portion 21. The ink flow path and the recording head 16 communicate with each other. Accordingly, the ink led out from each ink cartridge 20 to the connection portion 21 is sent to the recording head 16 side via the supply tube 22.

  Next, the ink cartridge 20 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 3, the case 23 that accommodates the ink pack 24 includes a lid portion 25 and a main body case 26. The main body case 26 has a box shape with an upper surface opened. A support port 28 is formed in the front surface 26a of the main body case 26. The support port 28 communicates the inside of the main body case 26 with the outside. An air introduction port 29 that is a pressurized fluid introduction port connected to the air pressure pump 17 is formed on the front surface 26 a of the main body case 26 and on the right side of the support port 28. The air inlet 29 communicates the inside of the main body case 26 with the outside. The air introduction port 29 communicates with the air flow path formed in the connection portion 21 when the ink cartridge 20 is disposed in the cartridge holder 12a, and is formed in the gap between the case 23 and the ink pack 24. It functions as a flow path for introducing air. The air introduction port 29 is open so as to communicate with the atmosphere when the ink cartridge 20 is not mounted in the cartridge holder 12a, and is formed so as not to pressurize the ink pack 24 due to a change in internal pressure in the case 23. Has been.

  A frame body 26 c is provided inside the main body case 26. The frame body 26c constituting the sealed space for pressurizing the ink pack 24 is provided at a position slightly spaced from the inner surface of the main body case 26, and the upper surface is open, and the front surface 26a side of the case 23 is opened. It is formed in a shape having a protruding portion. The frame body 26c supports the ink pack 24 accommodated therein. The air inlet 29 is open on the inner surface of the frame 26c. Further, a film (not shown) is attached to the upper end surface of the frame body 26c containing the ink pack 24. For this reason, the space comprised by the frame 26c, the bottom face of the main body case 26 and the film is sealed in a substantially sealed state. Air sent from the air pressurization pump 17 is introduced into this space through the air introduction port 29.

  A groove 26d is formed between the inner surface of the main body case 26 and the outer surface of the frame 26c. A plurality of first engaging portions 26e are formed in the groove portion 26d. The first engaging portion 26e has a rod-like shape or a substantially U-shaped cross section that is installed between the frame body 26c and the main body case 26, and fits the second engaging portion 25a of the lid portion 25. It is possible.

  The lid portion 25 is plate-shaped and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a second engagement portion 25 a is formed at the edge of the lid portion 25 so as to protrude downward from the lid portion 25. The second engaging portion 25a includes a claw portion 25b at the tip. The claw portion 25 b protrudes outward with respect to the lid portion 25 and is formed so as to be engageable with a first engagement portion 26 e provided in the groove portion 26 d of the main body case 26. The lid portion 25 seals the opening of the main body case 26 in a state where the ink pack 24 is accommodated in the frame body 26c and the film is adhered to the frame body 26c.

  Next, the ink pack 24 will be described in detail. 4 is a perspective view of the ink pack 24, FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the ink pack 24, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the ink pack 24. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the manufacturing method of the ink pack 24, and FIGS. 8 and 9 are cross-sectional views of the main part for explaining the manufacturing method of the ink pack 24.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the ink pack 24 includes a bag portion 31 as a body portion constituting the liquid storage portion, and a supply member 27 as a liquid outlet portion projects from one side of the bag portion 31. Yes. As shown in FIG. 3, the supply member 27 includes a main body 27a made of a resin such as polypropylene, and a supply hole 27b for leading out ink is formed through the main body 27a. The main body 27a protrudes from the bag portion 31 on one side, and an ink outlet (not shown) formed on the other side is located in the bag portion 31 and is flattened in the surface direction of the bag portion 31. A welded portion 27 c is attached to the bag portion 31. A seal member 32 is fitted to the tip of the main body 27 a protruding from the bag portion 31. In the center of the seal member 32, a supply hole 32a for allowing ink to flow out is formed therethrough. A spring seat 33 and a coil spring 34 are provided in the supply hole 27 b of the main body 27 a and inside the seal member 32. The coil spring 34 biases the spring seat 33 toward the seal member 32, whereby the spring seat 33 closes the supply hole 32 a of the seal member 32. When the ink cartridge 20 is disposed in the cartridge holder 12a, the ink supply needle (not shown) provided in the connection portion 21 penetrates the seal member 32 in the supply member 27 and resists the elastic force of the coil spring 34. The spring seat 33 is pressed toward the bag portion 31 side. When the spring seat 33 is pressed and separated from the seal member 32, the ink in the bag portion 31 flows out from the gap between the seal member 32 and the spring seat 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the bag portion 31 to which the supply member 27 is attached is composed of one film F in which a plurality of layers are laminated. The film F includes a gas barrier layer S1 in which a plurality of layers such as nylon and aluminum are laminated, and a resin layer S2 in which a plurality of thermoplastic resin layers such as polypropylene and polyethylene are laminated. The resin layer S2 is made of a material that can be thermally welded to the main body 27a of the supply member 27. As shown in FIG. 9, the bag portion 31 is formed by bending the film F into a tubular shape with the gas barrier layer S1 on the outside, and thermally welding the inner surfaces (resin layer S2) of the end portions F1, F2 on both sides. In addition, a first welded portion 37 is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, the first welded portion 37 is provided at the central portion of the bag portion 31 so as to extend along the longitudinal direction, and is bent from the base end. When the ink pack 24 is accommodated in the case 23, the folded first welded portion 37 is accommodated on the bottom surface side of the main body case 26. The first welded portion 37 corresponds to the first sealing portion in the claims.

  Furthermore, the bag part 31 has the 2nd welding part 38 sealed in the state which pinched | interposed the supply member 27 in one opening of the film F bent into the tubular shape, and the 3rd which sealed the bottom part of the bag part 31. The welding part 39 is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, gussets formed by folding the film F on both side surfaces of the bag portion 31 before the second welded portion 38 and the third welded portion 39 are formed. A portion 36 is provided. The first welded portion 37 is disposed between the gusseted portions 36 so as not to overlap each other. In addition, the 2nd welding part 38 and the 3rd welding part 39 are respectively corresponded to the 2nd sealing part and the 3rd sealing part of a claim.

  Next, the procedure for forming the film F into a bag shape will be described. When the film F is formed in a tubular shape, as shown in FIG. 7, the gas barrier layer is sandwiched between end portions F1 and F2 by a crimping tool (not shown) in a state where the gas barrier layer S1 is bent in a tubular shape so as to be on the outside. Heat from the S1 side. Then, the resin layer S2 of the end portions F1 and F2 is melted, and the molten resin is solidified, so that the end portions F1 and F2 are fixed to each other and the first welded portion 37 is formed.

  Further, the tubular film F is pressed against a mold (not shown), and a plurality of folds are formed in the longitudinal direction. As a result, two gussets 36 are formed in the tubular film F. As shown in FIG. 9, the gusset portion 36 is formed in a substantially M-shaped cross section. In addition, the gusset portion 36 is formed such that the first welded portion 37 is disposed between the gusset portions 36. That is, the first welded portion 37 is disposed at a position separated from each gusset portion 36.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7, the seal member 32 side of the supply member 27 protrudes from the bag portion 31 into one opening of the tubular film F, and the opposite end is sandwiched between the bag portions 31. In this state, the opening side end portion (end portion indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) is heat-welded. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the side portion where the gusset portion 36 is formed has four layers of the film F. When the film F is pressed and heated in the arrow direction in the drawing by a crimping tool, The resin layers S2 of the part C are thermally welded to each other. At this time, since the side portion where the gusset portion 36 is formed is separated from the first welded portion 37, the first welded portion 37 overlaps the gusset portion 36 so that the film F is in a sixfold state. It is heat welded without.

  Further, when the opening on the supply member 27 side is thermally welded, as shown in FIG. 8, the gap S formed at the proximal end of the first welded portion 37 and the supply member welded portion 27c of the supply member 27 are formed. In a state of being arranged to face each other, the crimping tool is pressed and heated in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The gap S is such that the inner surfaces of the end portions F1 and F2 are welded together, the first welded portion 37 is bent along the side surface of the bag portion 31, and one end portion F2 overlaps the end portion F1. It is caused by. And since this clearance gap S is arrange | positioned so that the supply member welding part 27c may be opposed, the resin which a part of supply member welding part 27c fuse | melted flows in the clearance gap S at the time of heat welding. As a result, the resin flowing into the gap is cooled and solidified to close the gap S. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the cross section in the width direction of the ink pack 24 is viewed from the bottom surface side of the ink pack.

  The other opening of the tubular film F is filled with ink and then sealed by being heated by a crimping tool to form the third welded portion 39. The ink pack 24 thus sealed by thermal welding is accommodated in the main body case 26 with the supply member 27 penetrating through the support port 28 of the main body case 26 with the first welding portion 37 facing down. Is done. And the main body case 26 is sealed by engaging the cover part 25 with the main body case 26 in the state which the said film was affixed on the frame 26c.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the above embodiment, the ink pack 24 is provided with the first welded portion 37 in which the inner surfaces of the end portions F1 and F2 on both sides of the film F are thermally welded. Moreover, the 2nd welding part 38 which heat-welded the opening of one side of the tubular film F in the state which pinched | interposed the supply member 27 between the films F was provided. Furthermore, the 3rd welding part 39 which sealed the other opening of the film F by heat welding was provided. For this reason, the welding part formed in the bag part 31 will be three, and a welding part can be comparatively few rather than the ink pack formed by adhering several sheets mutually. For this reason, the welding part which protrudes outward from the bag part 31 decreases, and the ink pack 24 can be reduced in size in the state which increased the volume of the ink to accommodate. Therefore, the space for accommodating the welded portion in the case 23 can be reduced, and the ink pack 24 can be efficiently accommodated. Moreover, since the number of welded portions is reduced, it is possible to reduce the step of thermally welding the end portions of the film F.

  (2) In the embodiment described above, the first welded portion 37 is disposed between the gusset portions 36 and provided at a position separated from the gusset portions 36. Therefore, when the opening of the tubular film F is sealed by thermal welding to form the second welded portion 38 and the third welded portion 39, the bent first welded portion 37 and the gusset portion 36 does not overlap. Therefore, since heat is easily transmitted to the side (gusset portion 36) on the opening side of the film F, welding can be performed more reliably.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the base end of the first welded portion 37 is disposed so as to face the supply member 27. That is, the resin in which a part of the supply member 27 is melted is caused to flow into the gap S generated inside the base end of the first welded portion 37 at the time of heat welding, thereby closing the gap S. Therefore, the sealing performance of the second welded portion 38 can be ensured.

  (4) In the above embodiment, since the gusset portion 36 is provided in the ink pack 24, the ink capacity can be made relatively large. In addition, the gusset portion is not formed by bonding another film to the bag portion 31, but the gusset portion 36 is formed by bending the film F, so that a welding portion protruding outward is newly formed. There is no. Therefore, the gusset portion 36 can be formed without increasing the width or height of the ink pack 24.

In addition, you may change the said embodiment as follows.
In the above embodiment, as an ink supply method for supplying ink from the ink cartridge 20 to the recording head 16, an air pressurization method in which the ink pack 24 is pressed by air is used, but other methods may be used. For example, a plate spring or the like may be provided in the case 23, the plate spring may be driven by the control means, and the ink pack 24 may be appropriately pressed by the plate spring so that the ink is led out from the ink pack 24.

  In the above embodiment, the first welded portion 37 is welded with the resin layers S2 facing each other. In addition to this, for example, the first welded portion 37 may be formed by overlapping the resin layer S2 of the other end F2 on the gas barrier layer S1 side of the one end F1. At this time, a new resin layer S2 may be further partially laminated on the gas barrier layer S1 side of one end F1, and may be thermally welded so as to face the resin layer S2 of the other end F2. . Alternatively, the gas barrier layer S1 at one end F1 may be partially cut away, and the resin layer S2 at the end F1 and the resin layer S2 at the other end F2 may be heat-welded.

  In the above embodiment, the end portions F1 and F2 of the bag portion 31 and the respective openings are fixed by thermal welding. However, the end portions may be fixed by other fixing methods such as fixing by an adhesive or welding by high frequency. The portions F1 and F2 and each opening may be sealed.

  In the above embodiment, the printer 11 that ejects ink has been described as the liquid ejecting apparatus, but other liquid ejecting apparatuses may be used. For example, printing apparatuses including fax machines, copiers, etc., liquid ejecting apparatuses that eject liquids such as electrode materials and coloring materials used in the production of liquid crystal displays, EL displays, and surface-emitting displays, and bio-organic materials used in biochip manufacturing It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid or a sample ejecting apparatus as a precision pipette. The fluid (liquid) is not limited to ink, and may be applied to other fluids (liquids).

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge provided in the printer. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an ink pack of the ink cartridge. The bottom view of the ink pack. The side view of the ink pack. The perspective view for demonstrating the manufacturing method of the ink pack. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the ink pack. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the ink pack. The perspective view of the conventional ink pack. The perspective view of the conventional ink pack.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 20 ... Ink cartridge as a liquid container, 23 ... Case, 24 ... Ink pack as a liquid storage bag, 26c ... Frame body which comprises sealed space, 27 ... Supply member as a liquid derivation | leading-out part, 29 ... Pressurized fluid introduction Air inlet 31 constituting the mouth, 31 ... Bag part as the body part constituting the liquid storage part, 36 ... gusset part, 37 ... first welding part as the first sealing part, 38 ... second sealing 2nd welding part as a stop part, 39 ... 3rd welding part as a 3rd sealing part, F ... film.

Claims (3)

A liquid containing bag having a liquid leading portion for leading the liquid to the outside, and a liquid containing portion made of the first film for containing the liquid;
A case having an air inlet for introducing air for pressurizing the liquid containing bag from the outside, and a frame to which the second film is attached;
Have
Said liquid containing bag in a space communicating with the air inlet port while being formed by the bottom surface and the second film of the case facing the second film surrounded by the frame member before and SL frame A contained liquid container,
The liquid outlet portion has an attachment portion attached to the liquid storage portion,
The liquid storage portion is provided between gusset portions provided on both side portions, and a first sealing portion in which inner surfaces of both side end portions of the first film formed into a tubular shape are fixed to each other, and the first An inner surface of the first film in a state where the liquid outlet portion is sandwiched between the inner sides of the first film so that the inner side of the base end of the sealing portion faces the attachment portion of the liquid outlet portion. Each having an inner surface of the first film and the second sealing portion to which the attachment portion of the liquid outlet portion is fixed,
The liquid storage bag, in the space, the liquid container, characterized in that said first sealing portion is disposed such that the bottom side of the front SL case. The liquid container according to claim 1,
The liquid lead-out portion, the liquid container, wherein the mounting portion is flattened in the surface direction of the liquid containing bag. The liquid container according to claim 1 or claim 2,
Together consist of an inner and said mutually thermally weldable material to the liquid lead-out portion of the film, and the mounting portion of the inner and the liquid lead-out portion of the proximal end of the first sealing portion is heat-welded liquid container, characterized in that.

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