JP4990068B2 - Ink holder - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink holder in which a measure that can determine by color change that the remaining amount of ink has decreased is taken.

  In general printing instruments such as portable stamps using the automatic ink supply method, there are an ink holder that can be replenished with ink when the remaining ink level is low, and a printing body that transfers the imprint. And an ink transfer body for transferring the ink held by the ink holding body to the printing body. For the materials of the ink holding member, the ink transfer member, and the printing member, continuous pore type porous materials that do not have large pores or different liquid absorbency are used. A portable stamp or the like having such a configuration is easy to carry and can be printed without the need for vermilion or the like, and is therefore widely used as a printing device that is extremely convenient.

  The ink holding body is usually manufactured by forming a continuous pore type porous material itself, which is a material excellent in affinity with ink, into a predetermined shape (for example, a cylindrical shape or a cylindrical shape). Therefore, even if the ink held in the ink holding body is consumed and the ink holding amount decreases, the remaining ink bleeds out to the outer surface (surface) of the ink holding body to form a dry film or deposit There is a tendency for the phenomenon to occur. In some cases, the ink component may be oxidized and hardened on the outer surface of the ink holder. Therefore, in the ink holding body in which those phenomena occur, the appearance change of the ink holding body only slightly occurs even when the ink holding amount is sufficiently large or small. For example, in an ink holding body that holds vermilion ink, the vermilion density on the outer surface of the ink holding body changes only slightly even when the ink holding amount is sufficiently large or small. As a result, even when the ink remaining amount of the ink holder is low and the ink replenishment time has arrived, it is difficult to accurately determine the ink remaining amount and the ink replenishment time by looking at the ink holder. It was.

  Therefore, in a printing apparatus equipped with a conventional ink holder, the remaining amount of ink in the ink holder and the ink replenishment timing to the ink holder are based on the degree and timing when the imprint becomes thin or faint when printed. There was a situation that had to be judged.

On the other hand, with regard to the cylindrical stamp unit belonging to the field of the above-described printing apparatus, research has been conducted to increase the amount of ink impregnation (ink retention amount) by the ink impregnation body (corresponding to the ink holding body). (For example, see Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-268384 A

  However, as described above, judging the ink remaining amount and the ink replenishment timing based on the darkness of the imprint and the degree of fading when printing is performed by directly observing the ink holding member visually. Compared to determining the ink replenishment time, it is considered that the method is indirect and lacks accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above situation. That is, the present invention prevents the phenomenon that the ink that bleeds out on the outer surface of the ink holder main body made of a continuous pore type porous material remains on the outer surface to form or deposit a dry film, By taking measures to prevent the phenomenon that ink components are oxidized and solidified on the outer surface of the holder body, the outer surface of the ink holder body can be visually recognized according to the amount of remaining ink. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink holder that can easily change the remaining amount of ink and the ink replenishment time so that the color of the ink can be changed clearly.

  The present invention has been made for the purpose of solving the above-mentioned problems, and this object can be achieved by configuring the ink holding material as follows.

  That is, the ink holder according to the present invention holds at least the outer surface along the ink supply direction of the ink holder body made of a continuous pore type porous material having a function of holding ink and supplying the held ink to the print body. A part is covered with a surface layer made of an ink-phobic substance that has transparency and does not easily retain ink.

  In the ink holder according to the present invention, the main body of the ink holder only needs to have a color different from that of at least a part of the surface of the ink, and is preferably colorless. The surface layer is preferably formed by applying the ink-phobic substance to the outer surface of the ink holding body.

  In the ink holder according to the present invention, the continuous pore-type porous material forming the ink holder body includes a sponge sponge made of cellulose, urethane resin or natural product in addition to a sponge sponge made of polyvinyl acetal resin. Can be used. Among the above-mentioned polyvinyl acetal, cellulose, urethane, and natural products that can be used for continuous pore type porous materials, the polyvinyl acetal resin is excellent in affinity with ink, so the function of holding ink and holding Since it is excellent in the function of supplying the printed ink to the printing body, it can be suitably used for a printing instrument such as a portable stamp. A specific example of the above-mentioned polyvinyl acetal that can be used for the continuous pore type porous material is a trade name “Bay Router” manufactured by Aion Co., Ltd.

  In the ink holder according to the present invention, a hydrophobic or water-repellent substance selected from paraffins, fats and oils, polyolefin resins, silicone resins, or fluororesins can be employed for the surface layer.

  In addition, the volume of the surface layer is desirably 20% or less of the total volume of the ink holder.

  In addition, the ink holding body in the present invention refers to one including a surface layer, and the ink holding body main body refers to the continuous pore type porous material itself.

  Next, the operation will be described.

  In a state where the ink is absorbed and held by the ink holding body, the ink holding body main body is dyed almost in ink color and the whole becomes substantially ink color. In the portion of the outer surface of the ink holder main body covered with the surface layer made of an ink-phobic substance, the surface layer is transparent, so that the ink color that dyes the ink holder main body. Is visible through the surface layer, whereas on the outer surface of the ink carrier body that is not covered with such a surface layer, there is a substantial ink color that is revealed by the ink bleed out on the outer surface. Looks as it is.

  In addition, in the portion covered with the surface layer of the outer surface of the ink holder body, even if the ink bleeds out to the outer surface of the ink holder body, the ink is kept covered with the surface layer. Situations where the ink forms a dry film or accumulates on the outer surface of the ink holding body, or is further oxidized and solidified are suppressed. In addition, since the surface layer is formed of an ink-phobic substance, it exhibits the property of repelling ink. For these reasons, on the outer surface of the ink holding body covered with the surface layer made of an ink-phobic substance, the remaining amount of ink is reduced as the remaining amount of ink held on the ink holding body decreases. Will be reduced. Therefore, the color of the outer surface of the ink holding body is different between the portion covered with the surface layer and the portion not covered.

  As described above, according to the ink holder according to the present invention, when the color of the portion covered with the surface layer on the outer surface of the ink holder body is viewed with the eye, the ink residue is determined based on the degree of the darkness of the ink color. It becomes possible to easily detect the amount and the replenishment time. It is also possible to easily detect the remaining amount of ink and the replenishment time based on the degree of difference in hue between the portion covered with the outer surface layer of the ink holding body and the portion not covered. .

In this regard, in the conventional ink holder described at the beginning, the bleed-out ink remains on the outer surface as it is to form a dry film or deposit on the outer surface, and further, the ink components are oxidized and solidified. Thus, a dark ink layer is formed on the outer surface of the ink holder. For this reason, even when the ink in the ink holding member is almost exhausted, there is almost no change in appearance when visually observed, and the remaining amount of ink and the replenishment time cannot be detected.
If the volume of the surface layer made of the above-mentioned ink-phobic substance occupies a proportion that is too large with respect to the total volume of the ink holder, the amount of ink retained in the ink holder body is reduced accordingly, The ink that is being used will decrease at an early stage. Therefore, in the ink holder according to the present invention, it can be said that the volume of the surface layer is desirably 20% or less of the total volume of the ink holder. When the volume of the surface layer exceeds 20% of the total volume of the ink holding member, the ink holding amount becomes too small. In addition, if the volume of the surface layer is suppressed to 20% or less of the entire volume of the ink holder, the amount of ink held is not extremely reduced, and the held ink is quickly reduced. It is suppressed.

  The ink holder according to the present invention can be suitably used for a printing instrument such as a portable stamp, and when used in such applications, it is covered with a surface layer on the outer surface of the ink holder body. It is desirable that the portion that is present is visible from the outside of the printing device. As a countermeasure, for example, there is a countermeasure to make the corresponding part of the printing device transparent.

  As described above, according to the ink holder of the present invention, the bleed-out ink remains on the outer surface of the ink holder body to form or deposit a dry film, or the outer surface of the ink holder body. Then, the phenomenon that the ink component is oxidized and solidified is suppressed at the formation portion of the surface layer made of an ink-phobic substance that exhibits the property of repelling ink. In the portion covered with the surface layer on the outer surface of the ink holding body, the color of the outer surface of the ink holding body changes clearly according to the amount of remaining ink. Further, the difference in hue between the portion covered with the surface layer on the outer surface of the ink holding body and the portion not covered with the ink holding body changes. Therefore, it is possible to easily detect or judge the remaining ink amount or the replenishment timing based on these.

  Examples and comparative examples will be described below.

[Example 1]
As a material for forming the ink holder main body, a white polyvinyl acetal resin porous body having continuous pores, specifically, a product name “Bay router F (A)” manufactured by Aion Co., Ltd., is cut into a cylindrical shape, A target ink holding body was obtained. This ink holding body is denoted by reference numeral 1 in FIG.

  Next, after masking the liquid supply surface 11 and the liquid passing surface 12 above and below the cylinder of the ink holding body 1, a reactive silicone resin (X-31-608-T manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd.) is held in the ink. The outer surface (outer peripheral surface) 13 of the body main body 1 is applied with a brush and heat-treated at 60 ° C. × 24 hrs, so that the outer surface of the outer surface of the ink holder main body 1 is aligned along the ink transfer direction (arrow F). A surface layer made of silicone was formed in about half of the region to obtain the intended ink holder.

[Example 2]
An ink holder body 1 having the same structure, shape, and size as the ink holder body 1 used in Example 1 is coated with a melt of solid paraffin instead of silicone resin as a surface layer, and the desired ink holder is retained. Got the body.

[Example 3]
A fluorine-based water repellent oil treatment agent (VF-304VC manufactured by INT SCREEN Co., Ltd.) is used instead of silicone resin on the ink holder body 1 having the same structure, shape, and size as the ink holder body 1 used in Example 1. It was applied as a surface layer and heat-treated at 60 ° C. × 24 hrs to obtain the intended ink holder.

[Comparative Example 1]
As a comparative example, a conventional ink holding body used conventionally, that is, a polyvinyl acetal resin porous body forming the ink holding body main body 1 of Example 1 is cut into a cylindrical shape, and any treatment is performed. Used without doing.

[Comparative Example 2]
Applying and drying a gelled substance obtained by adding borax to a polyvinyl alcohol aqueous solution to the outer surface of the ink holding body 1 having the same structure, shape and size as the ink holding body 1 used in Example 1. Thus, an ink holding body was obtained in which a polyvinyl alcohol film having affinity for ink was formed on the outer surface of the ink holding body main body 1.

[Effect comparison]
The ink holders of Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were immersed in vermilion ink, and the ink holder was sufficiently impregnated with ink. At this time, all of Example 1, Comparative Example 1, and Comparative Example 2 exhibited the ink color, but in Example 1, it was observed that the ink was repelled on the surface of the surface layer made of silicone. .

  Next, the ink holding member was allowed to stand in an upright position on a polyvinyl acetal resin porous material sheet (trade name “Berculin E2” manufactured by Aion Co., Ltd.) having a pore size smaller than that of the ink holding member used, and impregnated. The ink was discharged. When the appearance was observed after the ink was discharged for 24 hours, in Examples 1, 2, and 3, it was confirmed that the vermilion color was light and light on the outer surface of the ink holder body 1 covered with the surface layer. It was possible to judge visually through the surface layer. However, in Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, there was no change in the surface color, and the entire surface remained colored in vermilion. More specifically, dark pigmentation was observed due to the volume of pigment residue on the surface.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an enlarged cross-sectional photograph of the ink holder of Example 1, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an enlarged cross-sectional photograph of the ink holder of Comparative Example 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the ink holder of Example 1, the outer surface 13 of the ink holder body 1 has a portion A covered with the surface layer 2 made of an ink-phobic substance and an uncovered portion B. Existed. In the portion A covered with the surface layer 2, the bleed-out ink maintained the initial fluidity and color as it was without forming a dry film or solidifying, but it was covered with the surface layer 2. In the non-existing portion B, the bleed-out ink formed a dry film or solidified and exhibited a darker color than the initial color. In FIG. 2, such a denatured portion of the ink is indicated by the symbol C.

  In contrast, as shown in FIG. 3, in the ink holder of Comparative Example 1, the bleed-out ink forms a dry film or hardens over the entire outer surface 13 of the ink holder body 1. The modified portion C was present, and the modified portion C was darker than the initial color.

  FIG. 4 is a table instead of a drawing summarizing the results of Examples 1 to 3, Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2.

  As is apparent from the table of FIG. 4, in the ink holders of Examples 1 to 3, although the ink color seen through the surface layer is lightened as the ink remaining amount decreases. On the other hand, in the ink holders of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, the change in ink color is slight. In the ink holders of Examples 1 to 3, the remaining ink amount and the ink replenishment timing can be easily determined visually, whereas in the ink holders of Comparative Example 1 and Comparative Example 2, It was confirmed that the judgment was impossible.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of an ink holding body main body of Example 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an enlarged cross-sectional photograph of the ink holder of Example 1 in an illustrative manner. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an enlarged cross-sectional photograph of an ink holding body of Comparative Example 1 in an explanatory manner. FIG. It is the table | surface for drawing substitution which put together the result of Examples 1-3 and the comparative example 1 and the comparative example 2. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Ink holder body 2 Surface layer 13 Outer surface of ink holder body F Ink supply direction of ink holder body

Claims (7)

  At least a part of the outer surface along the ink supply direction of the ink holding body main body made of a continuous pore type porous material having a function of holding ink and supplying the held ink to the printing body has transparency and is transparent. An ink holder for a printing apparatus, wherein the ink holder is covered with a surface layer made of an ink-phobic substance that is difficult to hold.   The ink holder according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the surface of the ink holder body is colorless.   The ink holder according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the surface layer is formed by applying the ink-phobic substance to the outer surface of the ink holder body.   The ink holder according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the continuous pore type porous material forming the ink holder body is a sponge of a polyvinyl acetal resin.   4. The ink holder according to claim 1, wherein the continuous pore type porous material forming the ink holder body is a sponge sponge made of cellulose, urethane resin or natural product. .   The ink according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the surface layer is a hydrophobic or water-repellent substance selected from paraffins, fats and oils, polyolefin resins, silicone resins, or fluororesins. Holding body.   The ink holder according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the volume of the surface layer is 20% or less of the total volume of the ink holder.

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