JPH0462158A - Recording head, method for storing thereof, and cap and ink-jet cartridge container to be used for storage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent ink leakage from an air ventilating hole and also to prevent drying of ink by a method wherein a sealing member that seals up a discharge part for the ink and the air ventilating hole, and a pressing member that presses the sealing member to the discharge part are provided, and the ink is made to contain acid carbon black and specified water soluble resin in its water base liquid medium. CONSTITUTION:A recording head is made airtight by sealing up an ink discharge part 41 and an air ventilating hole 1401 of an ink tank IT with a sealing member 3 to which a pressing member 4 is combined, and thereby evaporation of the ink from the ink discharge part 41 and leakage of the ink from the recording head can be prevented without fail. As an elastic body (an ink absorbing body) 6 attached to a cap 4 as the pressing member is positioned firm by means of arms 5, 5 and a positioning member 7 within a position for clasping a base plate 10, an opening S is effectively sealed up. By using acid carbon black for water base pigment ink and by making water soluble resin to be contained in the ink as dispersing agent in 3,000-30,000 molecular weight by weight average, a recording liquid with high printing density and excellent, stabilized dispersibility and yet being less dryable can be produced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to printers, copying machines, inkjet recording devices, etc. used in office equipment in general, and includes an ink tank-integrated recording head, particularly carbon black. The present invention relates to a recording head that uses water-based ink, a storage method thereof, and a cap used therein, and most preferably relates to a recording head that is detachable from an apparatus main body.

Furthermore, the present invention relates to an inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) that can prevent impacts from vibrations, drops, etc. from being applied to the inkjet cartridge, and is easy to handle during transportation.

[Prior art and problems to be solved by the invention] Among the inkjet recording heads, the ink storage section (
A type of print head in which an ink tank (ink tank) is integrated with a print head having ejection ports for ejecting ink has the advantage that the user does not need to perform troublesome connection operations between the print head and the ink tank. It is being widely put into practical use.

Recording heads with an integrated ink tank are supplied to users with the ink tank filled with ink for convenience, so the recording head with the ink tank filled with ink is not distributed or sold as a product. , stored.

However, with an integrated ink tank recording head,
The present invention has been made to solve the problems peculiar to the ink tank integrated type recording head, which has its own problems in distribution, sales, and storage.

That is, in the prior art, research and development have been conducted to solve various problems in the recording performance of the recording head and during recording operations, but none of them has proposed the technical problem as the present invention. .

As a result of conducting many experiments, the following problems were discovered so that the present invention could be applied to emergency situations in the sales state before the recording head is used.

In an emergency situation, although the cause was unknown, ink was seen scattering, and ink was sometimes found inside the package of the ink tank integrated recording head.

As a result of considering the unexpected situation, the inventor sealed the discharge port itself, and found that it was not possible to carry out normal durability tests.
No ink leakage was observed in the excessive vibration experiment.

However, it was surprisingly discovered that when the inertia force generated by normal conveyance is applied to the recording head in a slow rotational motion, a small amount of ink leaks from the atmospheric outlet of the ink tank of the ink tank-integrated recording head. It has been found that this tendency is often seen in the initial state when the ink filling level has been improved before sales, but it has also been found that such problems do not occur once recording begins within the device. Ta.

Furthermore, when using alcohol-containing ink, which is commonly used as inkjet ink, for the above head,
It has been found that ink often dries during sales or long-term storage, and especially in so-called aqueous pigment inks containing pigments such as carbon black and water-soluble resins, ink drying is fatal to the recording head.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique that can solve the above-mentioned problems without impairing the recording performance of the recording head such as print density.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A recording head of the present invention includes an ink storage section, ink in the ink storage section, an energy generator for ejecting the ink, and an ink ejection device corresponding to the energy generator. further comprising a sealing member that closes the air passageway for the ejection portion and the ink storage portion (ink tank) during non-recording, and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the ejection portion, and The above ink is characterized in that it contains acidic carbon black and a water-soluble resin having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 3.000 to 30.000 in an aqueous liquid medium.

By sealing the air communication port for the ejection part and ink storage part with the combination of the sealing member and the pressing member, for example, ink leakage from the recording head during packaging during distribution, sales, and storage can be effectively prevented. It can be prevented.

Furthermore, when handling an inkjet cartridge that is removably attached to the main body of a printing apparatus using a printing head having the above-mentioned configuration as shown in FIG. 24, the ejection part and the atmosphere vent for the ink tank are sealed by a sealing member when not printing. When the recording head is put into a usable state, the pressing member is removed toward the side where the sealing member of the ejection part does not extend, and then the atmosphere communication port area for the ink tank of the sealing member is opened; This method of handling during use, which is characterized by removing the sealing member from the print head so that the ejection part is then opened, prevents ink from scattering, and also prevents air from entering the ejection port at the start of printing, resulting in ejection failure. It was also possible to prevent the occurrence of

In addition, the present invention solves the problems associated with packaging an ink tank-integrated recording head, and fully satisfies all requirements regarding protection of contents, space occupied by the package, cost of packaging, etc. In addition, it is possible to provide an inkjet cartridge storage container (packaging container) that can maintain the humidity environment of the contents.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording head that can prevent ink from drying as much as possible during sales and long-term storage, and an ink composition with high print density.

[Example] Figures 2 to 6 show preferred inkjet units IJU, inkjet heads IJ) (ink tanks T, inkjet cartridges IJC, and inkjet recording device main bodies IJR) to which the present invention is implemented or applied.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining each of A and carriage HC and their relationship. The configuration of each part will be explained below using these drawings.

As can be seen from the perspective view in Fig. 3, the inkjet cartridge IJC in this example has a large ink storage ratio, and the tip of the inkjet unit IJU protrudes slightly from the front surface of the ink tank IT. It has a shape. This inkjet cartridge IJC is fixedly supported by a positioning means and electrical contacts (described later) of a carriage HC (FIG. 5) mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is detachable from the carriage HC. It is a disposable type. Figures 2 to 6 show configurations to which a number of new techniques developed at the stage of the establishment of the present invention are applied, so we will not explain the entire structure while briefly explaining these configurations. do.

(i) Inkjet unit IJU configuration description The inkjet unit IJU is a bubble jet unit that performs recording using an electrothermal converter that generates thermal energy to cause film boiling in ink in response to electrical signals. be.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 is composed of electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows on a Si substrate, and electrical wiring such as A1 for supplying electric power to the converters, which are formed by film-forming technology. It's a heater board.

200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100;
A wiring (for example, connected by wire bonding) opposite to the wiring of the heater board 100, and a bat 201 located at the end of this wiring and receiving electrical signals from the main unit.
It has

1300 is a grooved top plate provided with partition walls for dividing a plurality of ink channels and a common liquid chamber for storing ink to supply ink to each ink channel, and is supplied from an ink tank IT. The ink receiver that receives ink and introduces it into the above-mentioned common liquid chamber includes an orifice plate 400 having a port 1500 and a plurality of ejection ports corresponding to each ink flow path.
It is integrally molded. Although polysulfone is preferred as the material for integral molding, other resin materials for molding may also be used.

Reference numeral 300 denotes a support made of metal, for example, which supports the back surface of the wiring board 200 on a flat surface, and serves as a bottom plate of the inkjet unit. Reference numeral 500 denotes a pressing spring, which has an M-shape and presses the common liquid chamber with light pressure at the center of the M-shape, and uses a front sag 501 to concentrate linear pressure on a part of the liquid path, preferably in the area near the discharge port. Press.

The foot of the spring that presses the heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 passes through the hole 3121 of the support body 300 and engages with the back side of the support body 300, thereby engaging the two in a state where they are sandwiched between them. The heater board 100 and the top plate 1300 are crimped and fixed by the concentrated biasing force of the spring 500 and its front sagging portion 501. In addition, the support body 300 has positioning holes 312, 1900, and 2000 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 and the positioning and heat-sealing holding protrusions 1800 and 1801 of the ink tank T, and also has positioning holes 312, 1900, and 2000 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 and the protrusions 1800 and 1801 for positioning and heat-sealing retention of the ink tank T. It has protrusions 2500 and 2600 on the back side for positioning with respect to the carriage HC. In addition, the support 300 also has a hole 320 that allows an ink supply pipe 2200 (described later) to pass therethrough, which allows ink to be supplied from an ink tank. The wiring board 200 is attached to the support body 300 by adhering it with an adhesive or the like. Note that the recesses 2400 of the support body 300 are provided near the positioning protrusions 2500 and 2600, respectively, so that the assembled inkjet cartridge IJC
(Fig. 3), the three sides around it are parallel grooves 3000.
．． At the extension point of the head tip region formed by a plurality of projections 2500 and 2, dust and ink are collected.
It is located so that it does not reach 600. As can be seen in FIG. 5, the lid member 800 in which the parallel groove 3000 is formed forms the outer wall of the inkjet cartridge IJC, and together with the ink tank IT forms a space in which the inkjet unit IJU is accommodated. .

In addition, the ink supply member 600 in which the parallel grooves 3001 are formed has an ink conduit 1600 continuous to the ink supply pipe 2200 described above formed as a cantilever fixed on the supply pipe 2200 side, and the fixed side of the ink conduit and the ink Sealed bottle 602 to ensure capillarity with supply pipe 2200
It has been inserted. Note that 601 is a gasket for sealing the connection between the ink tank IT and the supply pipe 2200, and 700 is a filter provided at the tank side end of the supply pipe.

Since this ink supply member 600 is molded, it is not only inexpensive and has high positional accuracy, eliminating deterioration in precision during manufacturing, but also allows the above-mentioned conduit 1600 to be used during mass production due to the cantilevered conduit 1600. In this example, a more complete communication state can be reliably obtained by simply pouring the sealing adhesive from the ink supply member side under this pressure contact state. ing. Note that the ink supply member 600 is fixed to the support body 300 through the hole 1901 of the support body 300.
．． This can be easily done by projecting the backside bottle (not shown) of the ink supply member 600 to 1902 through the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support 300, and heat-sealing the protruding portion to the backside of the support 300. be exposed. Note that this slightly protruding area of the heat-sealed back surface is located in the ink tank I.
Since the inkjet unit IJU of T is installed in a recess (not shown) in the side wall surface, the positioning surface of the unit IJU can be accurately obtained.

(fi) Ink tank IT configuration description The ink tank is assembled by inserting the cartridge main body 1000, the ink absorber 900, and the ink absorber 900 from the side opposite to the unit IJU mounting surface of the cartridge main body 1000. and a lid member 1100 for sealing.

Reference numeral 900 denotes an absorber for impregnating ink, and is disposed within the cartridge body 1000.

1200 is a unit I consisting of the above parts 100 to 600.
It is a supply port for supplying ink to the JU, and also connects the unit to part 1 of the cartridge body tooo.
It is also an injection port for impregnating the absorber 900 with ink by injecting ink from the supply port 1200 in a process before disposing it in the absorber 900 .

In this example, the parts that can supply ink are the atmosphere communication port and this supply port, but the internal ribs 2300 of the main body 1000 and the partial ribs of the lid member 1100 are used to improve the ink supply performance from the ink absorber. 2500 and 2400 is connected to the atmosphere communication port 1401.
Since the configuration is such that it is continuous from the side and is formed over each region farthest from the ink supply port 1200,
It is important that a relatively good and uniform supply of ink to the absorber is performed from this supply port 1200 side. This method is extremely effective in practice. This rib tooo is
The rear surface of the main body 1000 of the ink tank has four ribs parallel to the direction of carriage movement to prevent the absorber from coming into close contact with the rear surface. In addition, the partial rib 240
0.2500 is similarly provided on the inner surface of the lid member 1100 on the corresponding extension to the rib 1000, but unlike the rib 1000, it is in a divided state and the space in which air exists is more concentrated than the former. It is increasing. Note that the partial ribs 2500° 2400 are distributed over a surface that is less than half of the total area of the lid member 1000. These ribs made it possible to more stably guide the ink in the region of the corner of the ink absorber farthest from the tank supply port 1200 to the supply port 1200 side reliably by capillary force. 1401
is an atmosphere communication port provided in the lid member to communicate the inside of the cartridge with the atmosphere.

Reference numeral 1400 denotes a liquid-repellent material disposed inside the atmosphere communication port 1401, which prevents ink from leaking from the atmosphere communication port 1400.

The ink storage space of the ink tank IT described above is rectangular parallelepiped, and the arrangement of the ribs described above is particularly effective since the long sides are on the sides. In the case of a cube, the ink supply from the ink absorber 900 can be stabilized by providing ribs on the entire lid member 1100. A rectangular parallelepiped shape is suitable for storing as much ink as possible within a limited space, but in order to use the stored ink for recording without wasting it, as mentioned above, it is necessary to It is a preferable configuration to provide ribs capable of performing the above-mentioned action in two adjacent surface areas. Furthermore, the inner surface ribs of the ink tank IT in this embodiment are arranged in a substantially uniform distribution in the thickness direction of the rectangular parallelepiped-shaped ink absorber.

This configuration is important because it can make the atmospheric pressure distribution uniform with respect to the ink consumption of the entire absorber and create a state where there is almost no remaining ink. Furthermore, to explain the idea behind the arrangement of the ribs in detail, when an arc is drawn with the long side as the radius and centered on the position where the ink supply port 1200 of the ink tank is projected on the quadrangular top surface of the rectangular parallelepiped, It is important to arrange the ribs on the surface outside the arc so that the absorbent body located outside the arc can be exposed to atmospheric pressure quickly. In this case, the atmosphere communication port of the tank is not limited to this example, as long as it is located at a position where the atmosphere can be introduced into the region where the ribs are provided.

In addition, in this embodiment, the inkjet cartridge I
The rear surface of the JC head is flattened to minimize the space required when incorporated into the device, and the structure maximizes the ink storage capacity, making it possible to downsize the device. Instead, it has an excellent structure that reduces the frequency of cartridge replacement. Then, by utilizing the rear part of the space for integrating the inkjet unit IJU, an atmosphere communication port 1401 is installed there.
This is done by forming a protruding part for the absorber 900, and hollowing out the inside of the protruding part to form an atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 for the entire thickness of the absorber 900 described above. With this configuration, we were able to provide an excellent cartridge that has never been seen before. Note that this atmospheric pressure supply space 1402 is
The space is much larger than before, and the atmosphere communication port 1401 is located above, so if there is some abnormality,
Even if the ink leaves the absorber, this atmospheric pressure supply space 1
402 can temporarily hold the ink and reliably collect it in the absorber, so it can provide an excellent cartridge with no waste.

Further, the configuration of the mounting surface of the unit IJU of the ink tank IT is shown in FIG. The tank I passes through approximately the center of the protrusion of the orifice plate 400.
Assuming that a straight line parallel to the bottom surface of T or the mounting reference plane on the surface of the carriage is Ll, the two positioning protrusions 1012 that engage with the holes 312 of the support body 300 are on this straight line L+. The height of this protrusion 1012 is slightly lower than the thickness of the support 300, and positions the support 300.

In this drawing, the claw 2100 that engages with the 90' angle engagement surface 4002 of the carriage positioning hook 4001 is located on the extension of the straight line L+, and the positioning force on the carriage is due to this straight line. It is configured to act in a plane region parallel to the reference plane including the reference plane. As will be described later with reference to FIG. 5, these relationships are effective because the positioning accuracy of only the ink tank is equivalent to the positioning accuracy of the ejection ports of the head.

In addition, the fixing hole 1 on the side surface of the ink tank of the support body 300 is
Ink tank protrusion 1 corresponding to 900.2000 respectively
800.1801 is longer than the aforementioned protrusion 1012, and is for fixing the support 300 to the side surface thereof by heat-sealing the protruding portion that penetrates the support 300. When a straight line that is perpendicular to the above-mentioned line L1 and passes through this protrusion 1800 is Ls, and a straight line that passes through the protrusion 1801 is 2, it is a straight line.

Since almost the center of the supply port 1200 is located above,
This is a preferable configuration because it works to stabilize the connection state with the supply pipe 2200 and reduces the load on these connection conditions even if dropped or by impact. Convexity 1012 on the discharge port side of
The presence of protrusions 1800 and 1801 on the periphery further produces a reinforcing effect in positioning the head IJH with respect to the tank. Note that the curve indicated by L4 is the outer wall position when the ink supply member 600 is attached. protrusion 1800
．． Since 1801 is along the curve L4, the head I
It provides sufficient strength and positional accuracy even with the weight of the distal end side configuration of the JH. Note that 2700 is the tip collar of the ink tank T, which is inserted into a hole in the front plate 4000 of the carriage and is provided in case of an abnormal situation where the displacement of the ink tank becomes extremely poor. Reference numeral 2101 is a stopper for removing the carriage, which is provided on a bar (not shown) of the carriage HC, and prevents the cartridge IJC from penetrating below this bar when it is rotated and attached as described later, and unnecessarily leaving the positioning position. This is a protective member that maintains the attached state even if a force is applied upward or downward.

The ink tank IT has a shape that surrounds the unit IJU except for the lower opening by covering it with the lid 800 after the unit IJU is installed, but the inkjet cartridge IJC has a lower opening for placing it on the carriage HC. Since it is close to the carriage HC, it forms a substantial four-sided surrounding space. Therefore, although the heat generated from the head IJH in this enclosed space is effective as a heat-retaining space, the temperature rises only slightly during long-term continuous use. For this reason, in this example, a slit 1700 with a width smaller than this space is provided on the upper surface of the cartridge IJC in order to help the natural heat dissipation of the support, thereby making the temperature distribution uniform throughout the unit IJU while preventing temperature rise. was able to be made unaffected by the environment.

When assembled as an inkjet cartridge IJC, ink is supplied from inside the cartridge through the supply port 1200.
Hole 320 in support 300 and supply tank 600
The ink is supplied into the supply tank 600 through the inlet provided on the back side of 9, and after passing through the interior, it enters the common liquid chamber from the outlet through an appropriate supply pipe and the ink inlet 1500 of the top plate 400. and inflow. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is disposed at the above-mentioned connection portion for ink delivery, and this seals the ink supply path to ensure an ink supply path.

In this embodiment, the top plate 1300 is made of a resin with excellent ink resistance such as polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyphenylene oxide, or polypropylene, and is molded together with the orifice plate portion 400 in a mold. be.

As mentioned above, the integrally molded parts include the ink supply member 600,
Ink tank body 100 with integrated top plate and orifice plate
Since it is set to 0, not only is the assembly accuracy at a high level, but it is also extremely effective in improving the quality of mass production. Furthermore, since the number of parts can be reduced compared to the prior art, excellent desired characteristics can be reliably exhibited.

In addition, in this example, in the shape after assembly,
As shown in FIGS. 2-4, the ink supply member 600 has a top surface 603 between it and the end 4008 of the roof section provided with the slit 1700 of the ink tank IT, as shown in FIG. A slit S is formed as shown in FIG.
A slit (not shown) similar to the slit S is formed between the lower lid 800 of the ink tank T and the head side end 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lower lid 800 is bonded. The slits between these ink tanks T and the ink supply member 600 substantially act to further promote heat dissipation from the slits 1700, and even if unnecessary pressure is applied to the tank IT, it is directly supplied. This prevents any damage to the members, or even the inkjet unit IJU.

In any case, the above-mentioned configuration of this embodiment is a configuration that has not existed in the past, and each of them individually has an effective effect, and also in combination, each component has an organic configuration. ing.

(i i i) Description of attachment of inkjet cartridge IJC to carriage HC In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5000 is a platen roller that guides the recording medium P from the bottom to the top of the page.

The carriage HC moves along the platen roller 3000, and has a front plate 40 located on the front side of the inkjet cartridge IJC on the front platen side of the carriage.
00 (thickness: 2 mm), a flexible sheet 4005 equipped with pads 2011 that correspond to the pads 201 of the wiring board 200 of the cartridge IJC, and a rubber pad for generating elastic force to press this against each pad 2011 from the back side. A support plate 4003 for electrical connections that holds a sheet 4007 and an inkjet cartridge I
Positioning hook 40 for fixing JC to recording position
01 is provided.

The front plate 4000 has a positioning protrusion 4010 connected to the above-mentioned positioning protrusion 25oO12 of the cartridge support 300.
There are two of them, each corresponding to 6oO, and after the cartridge is installed, a force perpendicular to this protruding surface 4010 is applied. For this reason, the front plate has a plurality of reinforcing ribs (not shown) on the platen roller side facing in the direction of the perpendicular force.

This rib also forms a head protection protrusion that protrudes slightly (approximately 0.1 mm) toward the platen roller from the front position L5 when the car 1-1/j, TJ, C is installed. . The electrical connection part support plate 40o3 has reinforcing ribs 4
004 in the vertical direction rather than in the direction of the rib,
The protrusion ratio is reduced laterally from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side. This also functions to tilt the position of the cartridge when it is installed as shown in the figure.

In addition, in order to stabilize the electrical contact state, the support body 4003 has a positioning surface on the hook side that applies a force to the cartridge in the opposite direction to the direction in which the force is applied to the two positioning protruding surfaces 4010. 4006 as the protruding surface 40
10, a pad contact area is formed between them, and the amount of deformation of the notch of the rubber sheet 4007 with a notch corresponding to the pad 2011 is uniquely defined. These positioning surfaces come into contact with the surface of the wiring board 300 when the cartridge IJC is fixed at a recordable position. In this example, the wiring board 300
Since the pads 201 are distributed symmetrically with respect to the line L1 described above, the amount of deformation of each notch of the rubber sheet 4007 is made uniform, thereby making the contact pressure of the pads 2011 and 201 more stable. The distribution of pads 201 in this example is two rows above, two rows below, and two columns vertically.

The hook 4001 has a long hole that engages with the fixed shaft 4009, and uses the movement space of the long hole to rotate counterclockwise from the position shown in the figure, and then moves to the left along the platen roller 5000. The hook 4001, which positions the inkjet cartridge IJC with respect to the carriage HC, may be moved in any manner, but it is preferable to use a lever or the like to move the hook 4001. In any case, when the hook 4001 rotates, the cartridge IJC moves toward the platen roller and moves to a position where the positioning projections 2500 and 2600 can come into contact with the positioning surface 4010 of the front plate, and the hook 4001 moves to the left. By 90″ hook surface 4
002 is in close contact with the 90' surface of the claw 2100 of the cartridge IJC, and the cartridge IJC is moved to the positioning surface 2500.
The pads 4010 and 4010 rotate in a horizontal plane around the contact area, and finally the pads 301 and 2011 start coming into contact with each other.

When the hook 4001 is held in a predetermined position, that is, a fixed position, the butts 201 and 2011 are in complete contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are in complete contact, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the claw are in complete contact with each other. A two-surface contact and a surface contact between the wiring board 300 and the positioning surface 4006 are formed at the same time, and the cartridge I relative to the carriage is
JC retention is completed.

(iv) General description of the main body of the apparatus FIG. 6 is an overview diagram of the inkjet recording apparatus JRA to which the present invention is applied, and is rotated via driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward and reverse rotation of the drive motor 5013. The carriage HC that engages with the helical groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 has a bottle (not shown),
It is moved back and forth in the directions of arrows a and b. Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper holding plate that holds the paper on the platen 5 in the direction of carriage movement.
Press against 000. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 are home position detection means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area using photocouplers to switch the rotational direction of the motor 5013, etc. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head, and 5o15 is a suction means that sucks the inside of this cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap.

5017 is a cleaning plate, and 5019 is a member that allows this blade to move in the front and back direction, and these are supported by a main body support plate 5018. The blade is
It goes without saying that a well-known cleaning plate other than this configuration can be applied to this example. Further, 5012 is a lever for starting suction for suction recovery, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by known transmission means such as clutch switching. be done.

These capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that the desired processes can be performed at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the home position side area. Any of these can be applied to this example as long as they are activated. Each of the configurations described above is an excellent invention whether viewed singly or in combination, and represents a preferable configuration example for the present invention.

The configuration technically related to the above-mentioned FIGS. 2 to 6 will be further explained in detail using FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, the ribs 270 and 2600 inside the ink tank are for guiding the atmosphere from the atmosphere communication port 5 into the ink tank to form an atmosphere existence space 51, and improve ink supply performance. The rib 270 is a rib that extends in the vertical direction in the figure, and the rib 2600 is a rib that is divided in the direction of the back side in the figure. Each of these ribs has multiple pieces;
are separated from each other. For this reason, the state of the porous body (urethane sponge) 900 slightly intruding between these is shown by the broken line in the figure. The recording head IJH includes an electrode layer 1302, a heat generating layer 1303, a top protective layer 1301,
It has an orifice plate 400 and an ink supply pipe 2200.

In this example, as a result of studying the ink flow resistance in the area where the porous body is in close contact with the inner wall of the ink tank, we created a configuration that goes against the conventional technical trend, that is, considering the distribution of ink flow resistance, The proportion of space that communicates with the atmosphere between the inner wall and the porous body is determined by determining whether the porous body in the ink tank is not in contact with the inner wall of 15% or more of the total inner area of the ink tank, and is formed by this. By adding a new configuration that supplies ink while the non-contact space is in communication with the atmosphere, the ink flow resistance is reduced and the ink supply is stable without affecting the ejection response frequency. This is the record that we achieved.

FIG. 1 shows an ink storage container having an atmosphere communication port and an ink discharge part for supplying ink to the outside of the container, each in a different position, and in which a porous body is housed in the container for retaining ink. A container 1000, an ejection energy generating means, an ink chamber that holds ink for supplying ink to the ejection energy generating means, and a supply that is press-fitted into a porous body in the ink tank and guides the ink to the ink chamber. This is an inkjet head integrated with an ink storage container, which integrates a recording head including a tube and a filter F provided at the end of the supply tube.

The common configurations of the following embodiments are summarized first: a seal member that closes the discharge part and the ink tank air passageway;
A pressing member that presses the seal member against the ejection portion of the recording head is configured so that the ejection portion and the ink tank air vent are sealed when the recording head is not printing.

Due to this feature, the present invention can provide a recordable state without ink scattering even when the recording head is transported or sold in various worst conditions, regardless of whether the inertial resistance is large or small. .

A common configuration is that the ink storage section further includes an ink absorbing material, and the ink stored in the ink absorbing material is mixed with acidic carbon black and weight in an aqueous liquid medium. Average molecular weight is 3.000~
and a water-soluble resin in the range of 30,000.

This additional feature of the present invention makes it possible to provide a high print density that is good for the recording head.

In particular, this effect is remarkable when carbon black with p)l of 5 or less or carbon black with volatile content of 3.5% by weight or more is used.

FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b) are explanatory diagrams of the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a perspective view and a partially exploded view thereof in order, and FIG. 8(a)
, (b) are partial explanatory views of the embodiment in FIG. 18, showing a top view and a side view in that order, and FIGS. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a modified embodiment, showing a top view and a side view in that order, FIG. 11 is a partially exploded view of another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 12 is an explanation of a cross section of the recording head of the embodiment of FIG. 11. Figure 13 (a), (b), (
c), FIGS. 14(a), (b), and (c), and FIGS. 15(a), (b), and (c) are explanatory diagrams of still other embodiments of the present invention, respectively. 15 and 16 are perspective views of an embodiment of the present invention in which the recording head configuration is further modified, and FIG.
The figure is a partial cross-sectional explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of attaching and detaching the recording head of this embodiment to the recording apparatus main body.

In Figure 18, IJC is an inkjet cartridge,
A recording head (a thermal energy generating body 91 shown in FIG. 11, a substrate 100 on which an electrode 92 is formed, and an ejection port) to which ink is supplied through a supply pipe that has an ink absorber built into the ink storage section and communicates with the ink absorber. 41. In this embodiment, a top plate 1300 and a plate 400 for forming a liquid path 140 are provided.
are integrally molded. ) indicates a recording head that can be attached to and detached from the integrated recording device main body. In the recording mode with this configuration according to claim 21, when ink scattered during ink ejection during printing or the like is deposited on the ejection part, the user of the printing apparatus can easily remove the accumulated ink by attaching and detaching the print head from the main body of the printing apparatus. It has the feature of being removable. In addition, if a recording device user leaves the recording head attached to the recording device for longer than the storage period and a malfunction occurs in the recording head, the user can replace the recording head with a new one and continue using the recording device without the hassle of service personnel. It has the feature that it can be used in many ways.

S is an opening that can monitor an electrical connection section, which will be described later, and is provided on the upper surface of the recording head.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a base plate of the substrate of the recording head, and is an aluminum plate in which a positioning portion 8 for positioning the entire recording head by engaging with the positioning portion 401O of the carriage of the recording apparatus main body shown in FIG. 5 is integrally formed. It is. 1
indicates the discharge part surface including the orifice plate, and 4
1 is a recording ink ejection unit 0 In this embodiment, openings such as openings for absorbing back waves during recording and dummy nozzles are not disclosed, but hereinafter, even if these are included, It can be regarded as the discharge part surface 1.

Reference numeral 2 denotes grooves provided on the upper and lower surfaces recessed from the discharge part surface 1, and in this example, four grooves are formed as shown in the figure. 53 is a side groove portion located on the side surface facing the base plate 10 and provided with four grooves continuous to the grooves of the groove portion 2;
When a large amount of ink accumulates in this groove 2 due to ink scattering, the effect of guiding the ink downward can be achieved. This recording head groove portion 2 receives an elastic pressing force from the groove portion 51 of the cap 4 to maintain the engaged state.

Reference numeral 3 denotes a sheet as a sealing member, which has a size that completely covers the surface l of the ejection portion of the recording head, and has a portion that protrudes outward from the end of the recording head, as shown in FIG. 8(a). are doing. This protrusion becomes a brim when the seal is peeled off from the recording head. The sheet 3 is attached to the recording head as shown in FIG. 18(a), by interposing an adhesive between the sheet 3 and the ejection portion surface 1 to form a simple adhesive state.

The cap 4 as a pressing member shown in FIG. 18 has a width corresponding to the discharge part surface l, and has two opposing arm parts 5,
5, an elastic body 6 fixed to the inner surface of the main body away from the arm, a positioning or elastic deformation regulating portion 7 provided on the side of the main body located on the base plate 10 side, and the cap 4 itself. It is integrally provided with flanges 9, 9 that can be used when attaching to and detaching from the head. Arm 5.5
Each has three grooves 51 on its inner surface that engage with the grooves 2.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the seal 3 is extended onto the base plate lo, and at the same time, the elastic body 6 is provided on the base plate lo so as to face it. This is a configuration for further improving the sealing effect since the discharge 8041 is close to the base plate 10. The portion 7 is attached to the cap 4 with respect to the recording head.
It has a length that slightly contacts the back surface of the base plate 1o when it is attached. In this example, this contact length is 1
It is about mm. With such a simple configuration, the elastic body 6 of the cap is reliably positioned within the range where the base plate 10 is sandwiched between the arms 5, 5 and the positioning portion 7. In other words, with such a simple configuration, the effect of sealing the opening can be achieved without causing the above-mentioned problems related to ink leakage and the like.

9(a) and 9(b) show a configuration in which the pressing area of the elastic body is concentrated at the discharge port, and for this purpose, the portion of the elastic body 6 in FIG. 8 facing the base plate 10 is removed. There is. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the portion 7.7 functions as a portion for regulating the amount of elastic deformation, and with this configuration, the entire discharge port can be sealed with a uniform pressure distribution, so it is one of the preferred embodiments. be. The configuration in FIG. 9 other than the above is the same as in FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) show parts 7.7.
This is a configuration in which the cap member 4 is further extended to have a function as a guide when attaching the cap member 4 to the recording head. In this embodiment, since the length is the same as that of the arm parts 5, 5, when the cap is attached, the part 7.7 cannot be attached unless it is securely positioned on the back side of the base plate 10. It has been made smaller and the operability when installing it has been further improved.

To briefly explain the engagement state of the groove portions 2.51 in the above embodiment, when the collar portions 9.9 are moved inward when worn, the arm portions 5.5 are elastically deformed to widen the distance between them. In this state, engagement of the groove portions 2.51 can be achieved by positioning the recording head between the arms 5.5 of the cap and releasing the collar portions. At this time, even if the positional deviation occurs by one groove, by setting the depth of the groove to 1 mm or less, adjustment can be easily made by mutually balancing the elastic pressing force of the arm and the elastic force due to deformation of the elastic body 6. . In this state, if the same number of upper and lower grooves are engaged, the overall balance will be optimized.
The sealing state is strong and the pressure distribution is also optimized, so the sealing performance is ensured.1 The elastic material and thickness of the elastic body 6 are adjusted to the sheet 3 in the engaged state of the groove portions 2.51. Any material that can be crimped and maintain the above-mentioned sealing force can be used.

The specific structure of this embodiment is that the sheet 3 is made of polyethylene terephthalate, tetrafluoroethylene, etc., and has a thickness of 12 to 3.
The flexible sheet has a thickness of about 0 μm, and the elastic body is a sponge with a thickness of about 3 mm, such as a silicone sponge or a polyurethane sponge. It goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above configuration.

The present invention, which is technically related to the configuration of the recording head described above, will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 7 is a developed perspective view showing an example of an inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention, and FIG. 19 is a perspective view of the same after assembly. Moreover, FIG. 20 is a top view (a) and a front view (b) showing an example of the storage container of the present invention, respectively.
and a right side view (C), and a partially enlarged view (d) showing the storage state of the ejection port part of the inkjet cartridge.
It is a partially enlarged view (e) which shows the flange part of a storage container main body.

This packaging container is formed of a container body 61 and a lid member 63, which are joined together and used as a packaging container.

The container body 61 includes a wall portion 61c that is maintained in a non-contact state with the inkjet cartridge IJC that is the content, and a wall portion 61c that protrudes from the wall portion 61c toward the content storage area and supports the inkjet cartridge IJC that is accommodated therein. A recess 61a for fixing the position and a flange 61b for joining and integrating with the lid member 63 are provided. The ejection opening of the inkjet cartridge IJC is maintained in a non-contact state with the wall in the storage space. As shown in these drawings, among the four recesses 61a protruding into the storage space, the depth of the recess on the side where the discharge port is located is increased so that the discharge port is located deep within the storage space. For example, the spout is better protected. At the same time, this also prevents the user from inserting the inkjet cartridge in the wrong direction (so-called erroneous insertion prevention).

The wall portion 61c particularly needs to have sufficient strength, and is formed of such a material and thickness. The thickness of the wall portion 61c is
It may be selected as appropriate depending on the type of the constituent material, but for example, it is 0.1 mm or more, preferably 0.3 mm or more, more preferably 0.5 mm or more, and the upper limit is, for example, 1 mm or more.
．． It is assumed to be 2 mm or less.

On the other hand, it is preferable that the recessed portion 61a has cushioning properties that buffer or absorb impact in order to protect the contents. That is, if the recessed portion 61a is formed to have the same strength and rigidity as the wall portion 61c, the impact received by the wall portion 61c is likely to be directly transmitted to the contents, and this may not necessarily cause damage to the contents. From this point of view, it is desirable that the recess 61a be formed with a relatively thin wall thickness and have elasticity. The thickness of the recess 61a can also be appropriately selected depending on its constituent material, but is set to, for example, 0.8 mm or less, preferably 0.6 mm or less, more preferably 0.4 mm or less, and the lower limit is, for example, 0.05 mm. This is considered to be the above.

As the constituent material of the container body 61, various resins and the like can be mentioned. The container body 61 is manufactured by integral molding using resin, for example. The method of integral molding is suitable from the viewpoints of processability, production cost, etc.

Injection molding of various resins, vacuum molding, etc. can be used to manufacture the container body 61 by integral molding. Among them, for example, ac-1-nornitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer resin (
Injection molding using resins such as ABS resin), polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, and polyethylene terephthalate makes it easy to adjust the thickness of the wall portion 61c and the recessed portion 61a, and can be performed at a relatively low cost. This is suitable because it can easily impart the following characteristics.

Furthermore, by providing the flange portion 61b at the bottom of the container body 61, the container body 61 and the bottom plate 63 can be easily and reliably joined. The flange portion 61b can be molded simultaneously with other parts when the container body 61 is integrally molded. The thickness of the flange portion 61b may be approximately the same as that of the wall portion 61c. This flange portion 61b is preferably provided with a reinforcing rib 61e along the joint region 62 between the container body 61 and the lid member 63. Although the rib 61e is provided so as to protrude toward the lid member 63 in FIG. 15, the protrusion may be in the opposite direction. However, the former is preferable because the container body 61 and the lid member 63 can be more securely joined using the protrusion.

By making the corners of the concave portion 61a and the rising portions of the wall portions 61c curved as shown in the figure, the shock-absorbing properties thereof can be improved. The radius of curvature of the curved portion is preferably relatively large, and is appropriately selected depending on the size of the recessed portion 61a, and is, for example, 2 mrr1 or more, preferably 31 or more, and more preferably 5n+m or more.

The shape of the recess 61a is that of the inkjet cartridge IJ.
It is selected as appropriate to effectively protect C and fix the position within the packaging container. In the illustrated example, the inkjet cartridge IJC is supported by four recesses 61a, and this form can be said to be the most suitable from the standpoint of protecting the inkjet cartridge IJC and fixing its position. The number can be selected as appropriate.

If the clearance between the supporting portion of the inkjet cartridge in the recess 61a and the inkjet cartridge is too large, the inkjet cartridge may wobble or shift within the packaging container, which is undesirable; This is not preferable because the storage performance becomes poor and the impact from the wall portion 61c is easily transmitted. These clearances may be selected appropriately depending on the structure of the recess 61a and the matching between the recess 61a and the inkjet cartridge, but are, for example, 0.5 mm to 3 mm, preferably 0.5 mm.
It can be about mm to 2 mm.

The material and thickness of the lid member 63 are selected depending on the weight, strength, etc. of the inkjet cartridge. As the lid member 63, for example, a film, sheet, or plate made of resin or metal, or a laminate containing at least one of them is used. When using this laminate as the lid member 63, the surface layer of the lid member 63 on the non-adhesive side to the container body 61 (hereinafter,
If the outer layer (referred to as the "outer layer") is paper, the paper may release or absorb moisture and become curled under the influence of environmental changes, especially changes in humidity. Preferably, a moisture barrier layer is coated to prevent deformation.

In this case, the container body 61 and the lid member 63 due to curl deformation
It is also possible to prevent force from being applied to the adhesive portion 62 in the peeling direction. From the viewpoint of cost and strength, polypropylene having a thickness of 15 to 100 μm is most preferable for the moisture-proof layer.

Various joining methods can be used to join the container body 61 and the lid member 63 after the inkjet cartridge IJC is housed in the container body 61. For example, the container main body 61 and the lid member 63 can be formed of the same type of resin material and joined together by a method such as heat fusion or ultrasonic welding. Further, an easy beer layer can be provided on at least the area necessary for bonding of the bottom plate 63, and can be used to perform these bondings. The method using the easy beer layer has the advantage that the lid member 63 can be easily removed from the container body 61 when unpacking, so there is less risk of damaging the inkjet cartridge.

In this way, Easy Beer is suitable when considering the humidity retention property of the contents such as moisture resistance and ease of opening. As this easy beer layer, for example, layers made of various hot melt types, polyethylene types, bivar types, etc. can be used.

It is preferable for handling that the lid member 63 is provided with a grip portion 63a that is used when separating the lid member 63 from the container body 61. Although this knob portion 63a is provided at a location close to the ejection port of the inkjet cartridge in FIG. 1 and the like, it is more preferably provided at a location as far away from the ejection port as possible. The reason for this is to avoid accidentally touching the discharge port part of the inkjet cartridge, which should be particularly protected, when the lid member 63 is peeled off from the container body 61 using the knob 63a.

In addition, by selecting the constituent materials of the packaging container of the present invention,
It is possible to maintain the humidity environment of the contents, that is, to obtain a moisture-proof function and a function to prevent moisture contained in the contents from evaporating to the outside.

For example, the above-mentioned humidity environment maintenance function can be obtained by using a material made of various resins coated with vinylidene chloride or an aluminum layer, or a material that prevents moisture permeation, such as polypropylene, as the constituent material of the container body 61. can. Note that polypropylene is suitable from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, moldability, processability, etc.

Similarly, as a constituent material of the lid member 63, a resin film, sheet or board material, or a material obtained by coating a paper sheet or board material with a vinylidene chloride layer or an aluminum layer,
By using a material such as polypropylene that prevents moisture permeation, a good humidity environment maintenance function can be obtained.

In order to have good shock-absorbing properties and humidity environment maintenance functions, for example, a material made of paper with an aluminum layer and a layer for sealing adhesion to the container body (for example, an easy beer layer) can be used. A lid member having a polypropylene layer on the non-adhesive surface (outer surface) is suitable for preventing curling. In particular, a laminate in which an aluminum layer is provided and a polypropylene layer is provided as the outermost layer on the non-adhesive side is preferable from the viewpoints of cost, impact cushioning properties, and humidity environment maintenance function.

In addition, when using a vacuum forming method using polypropylene to form the container body 61, as described above, the recess 61a
It is preferable to form the upright portion of the wall portion 61c as a curved portion in order to improve the shock-absorbing properties of the container body 61 and to provide the container body 61 with the above-mentioned humidity environment maintenance function.

Furthermore, the portion of the raw material sheet other than the portion that will become the ceiling portion 61 cm 2 is stretched in a vacuum from the ceiling 61 cm 2 of the container body 61 toward the bottom surface (flange 61 b ) to form the recess 61 a and the wall portion 6 .
By using male molding to mold the 61 cm side surface of 1c, curved parts, etc., it is possible to improve the uniformity of the thickness of each part, eliminate the occurrence of pinholes, and improve moisture permeation prevention properties in each part. It is preferable for increasing.

In addition, if the container body obtained by vacuum forming does not have a curved part, the boundaries between the wall and the recess of the container body, and the boundaries between the wall and the flange, etc., will be formed as thin corners, resulting in pinholes. In addition, the product may be more likely to be damaged when dropped, and the moisture permeation prevention properties of the affected area may be reduced. For this reason, by forming these boundary parts as curved parts, the formation of thin walled parts is more effectively prevented, and good moisture permeation prevention properties are obtained more uniformly over the entire container body. It is possible to obtain an outer peripheral portion that is more resistant to drop impact.

Furthermore, if a transparent or translucent material is selected for the container body 61 and/or the bottom plate 63, the inkjet cartridge 62 can be seen through in the packaged state.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 7, by providing a seal member 3 that covers (seals) the ejection port on the ejection port surface of the inkjet cartridge, the evaporation of ink from the ejection port can be extremely reduced. The humidity of the storage space can be maintained appropriately, and therefore curling of the lid member can be prevented, and the ink supply path from the ink tank to the ejection port can be maintained in a good condition.

The sealing member 3 according to the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned tape-like material, but it is easy to handle (for example, it is easy to peel off) and is useful for maintaining an airtight state of the discharge port. What's great about it is that it's so thin that it hardly affects the size of the inkjet cartridge.
A tape-shaped material is most suitable because it can be formed at relatively low cost. Seal member 3
Examples of the material include voluteylene terephthalate.

Furthermore, in FIG. 7, the pressing member 4 for pressing the sealing member 3 against the inkjet cartridge IJC is
installed in the inkjet cartridge. A preferred embodiment of the pressing member 4 is a cap member in which an ink absorber 6 is disposed at a position corresponding to the ejection port.

Providing such a pressing member 4 prevents the user from inserting his or her hand into the ejection port when taking out the inkjet cartridge IJC from the storage container. This is more suitable from the point of view of protecting the parts. This pressing member 4 is preferably provided so that even if the inkjet cartridge moves within the storage container within the clearance range, it does not come into contact with the wall portion 61c of the storage container main body 61 and move.

FIG. 21 is an exploded perspective view showing another example of the inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention, and FIG. 22 is a perspective view of the same after assembly.

Further, FIG. 23 shows a left side view (a), a top view (b), a front view (C), a right side view (d), and a bottom view (e) showing other examples of the storage container of the present invention, respectively. and a partially enlarged view (f) showing the flange part of the storage container main body (however, the parts treated as a "front view" are different from FIG. 15).
.

This example is the same as the example shown in FIGS. 7, 19, and 20 described above except for the shape of the recess 61a of the container body 61. Recess 61a of container body 61 in this example
is formed halfway without reaching the flange portion 61b, and is sloped at a predetermined angle to support the inkjet cartridge. Although the former example is better in terms of fixing the position of the inkjet cartridge in the storage space, the present example can also achieve an effect sufficient to substantially achieve the object of the present invention.

Note that providing the seal member 3 is particularly effective in preventing evaporation of water in the ink filled in the inkjet cartridge.

Hereinafter, the ink of the present invention will be explained in detail.

In water-based pigment ink using carbon black,
After intensive study on methods to increase the density of printed matter by inkjet recording and to improve the dispersion stability of ink, we found that, among other things, 1) using acidic carbon black as carbon black; 2) containing carbon black as a dispersant By setting the weight average molecular weight of the water-soluble resin in the range of 3.000 to 30.000, the printed matter density is high, the dispersion stability is good, the ink dries quickly, and it does not stick (agglomerate). The present inventors have discovered that it is possible to create a recording liquid that can be easily re-dissolved (re-dispersed) with alkaline water or the like when the liquid has been dissolved.

First, in the present invention, acidic carbon black means carbon black having an acidic group on its surface, and among these, carbon black with a pH of 5 or less or carbon black with a volatile content of 3.5% by weight or more is particularly used. It is preferable.

That is, when the recording liquid of the present invention is prepared using carbon black having a pH of 5 or less and a printed matter is created,
A print density equivalent to or higher than that obtained using dye ink can be obtained.

The reason why the print density of inkjet recordings with carbon black having a p+-+ of 5 or less is high is that such carbon black has many acidic groups on its surface that affect the pH, so the pigment particles themselves are less sensitive to the ink solvent. It is believed that the increased affinity allows fine dispersion and, as a result, increased print density.

Here, the pH of carbon black as used in the present invention means a value obtained by the following measuring method.

That is, weigh 1 to 10 g of carbon black sample into a beaker, add water at a ratio of 10 ml per 1 g of sample, cover with a watch, and boil for 15 minutes (a few drops of ethanol may be added to make the sample wet). ). After boiling, cool to room temperature and remove the supernatant liquid by decanting or centrifugation, leaving a slurry. In this slurry, the glass electrode pH
Insert the meter electrode and measure the pH according to JISZ 88[112 (pH measurement method). In this case, the measured value may change depending on the insertion position of the electrode, so move the beaker to change the position of the electrode and measure it carefully so that the electrode surface and the mud surface are in sufficient contact. Read the value when becomes constant.

In addition, especially when the recording liquid of the present invention is prepared using carbon black with a volatile content of 3.5% by weight or more, the printed matter is equivalent to or equal to that when dye ink is used.
Even higher print density can be obtained.

It is not clear why the print density of inkjet recordings increases when the volatile content of carbon black is 3.5% by weight or more, but it is speculated that this type of carbon black has many acidic groups on its surface. It is believed that the affinity of the pigment particles themselves to the ink solvent increases, thereby allowing for fine dispersion, resulting in increased print density.

Furthermore, in the case of inkjet methods in which droplets are ejected by applying thermal energy, if the ink is made from carbon black with a volatile content of more than 8% by weight and ejected by an inkjet recording device, the incidence of printing defects increases. Therefore, it is particularly desirable to use carbon black having a volatile content in the range of 3.5 to 8% by weight.

This is thought to be because too much volatile components cause deposits on the heater.

Here, the volatile content of carbon black as used in the present invention means a value obtained by the following measuring method.

That is, a dried sample of carbon black is packed in a platinum crucible or a porcelain crucible of the same shape and capacity with a dropping lid by shaking to an extent not exceeding 2 mm below the lid, and the mass is measured. Cover this and put it in an electric furnace at 950±25℃.
After heating for exactly 7 minutes, take out, leave to cool to room temperature in a desiccator, weigh the mass after heating, and calculate the volatile content using the following formula.

Here, V: Volatile content (%) WD: Mass of dry sample (g) WR: Quality of sample after heating ji (g) Such acidic carbon black is, for example, MA7. M.A.
8. #220OB (manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical), RAVEN
1255 (1 mouth: / made by Via), 1tEGAL40
0R, MOILL (made by Cabot), Co1or
Black FWI, Co1orBlack FW
I8 Co1or Black 5170 Co1
or BlackS150. Commercially available products such as Pr1ntex IJ can be used, and even products newly manufactured for this purpose can also be used.

Acidic carbon black is generally produced using a channel black method or a furnace black method. The Channel Black Act applies to natural gas,
It uses town gas or hydrocarbons as a raw material, partially burns it, and impinges it on a cold surface.

The furnace black process uses natural gas or petroleum distillates as raw materials, and the raw materials are sprayed into a closed reactor kept in a high-temperature atmosphere and thermally decomposed.

Furthermore, these carbon blacks are oxidized with nitric acid or the like to obtain a desired acidity.

The amount of carbon black used in the present invention is 3-
It is preferable to use it in a range of 20% by weight.

Furthermore, in the present invention, the weight average molecular weight of the water-soluble resin (dispersion resin) used to disperse carbon black is 3.
000 to 3000[), more preferably 50
We also found that it must be in the range 00 to 15000.

In other words, an inkjet recording device ejects ink from an ejection port of 50L1m or less, and when using a dispersion system such as a pigment ink, the viscosity and particle size of the dispersion have a large effect on the ejection characteristics, and stable In order to perform discharge, it is desirable that the viscosity and particle size of the dispersion be as small as possible.

Generally, as the average molecular weight of a polymer dispersed resin increases, the viscosity increases when the same amount is dissolved in an aqueous solution. In addition, when the dispersion resin is dispersed, it adsorbs around the carbon black and has the role of stably dispersing the carbon black due to steric hindrance. This means that the layer becomes thicker and the particle size of the dispersion becomes larger.

In particular, acidic carbon black has many acidic groups on its surface, so it has a repulsive relationship with the carboxyl groups added to the dispersion resin used in the present invention.
The particle size tends to become wider.

In other words, when acidic carbon black is used as in the inkjet recording liquid of the present invention, the average molecular weight of the dispersion resin is made small to reduce the viscosity of the ink and the particle size of the dispersion (otherwise, the ejection stability Moreover, as mentioned above, the dispersion resin must adsorb around the carbon black and act as a steric hindrance, so if the average molecular weight is too small, the dispersion stability during long-term storage will deteriorate. .

The water-soluble resin contained as a dispersant for carbon black in the recording liquid of the present invention may be any resin that is soluble in an aqueous solution containing an amine and has a weight average molecular weight of 3,000 to 30,000. Acid copolymer, styrene-acrylic acid-acrylic acid alkyl ester copolymer, styrene-maleic acid copolymer, styrene-maleic acid-acrylic acid alkyl ester copolymer, styrene-methacrylic acid copolymer, styrene-methacrylate Examples include acid-acrylic acid alkyl ester copolymer, styrene-maleic acid half ester copolymer, vinylnaphthalene-acrylic acid copolymer, vinylnaphthalene-maleic acid copolymer, or salts thereof. Various methods can be used to measure the weight average molecular weight of the dispersed resin, but it is generally measured by GPC (gel permeation chromatography) or the like. Among them, the water-soluble resin has a content of 0.1 to 0.1% based on the total weight of recording liquid.
It is preferable that the content is in the range of 5% by weight.

Further, in the recording liquid of the present invention, preferably the entire recording liquid is adjusted to be neutral or alkaline, so that the solubility of the water-soluble resin is improved, and - the recording liquid has excellent long-term storage stability of the layer. It is desirable because it can be done. However, in this case,
Since it may cause corrosion of various members used in inkjet recording devices, preferably 7 to 10 p.
)l range.

p) I regulators include, for example, jetanolamine,
Examples include various organic amines such as triethanolamine, and inorganic alkali agents such as alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide.

The above carbon black and water-soluble resin are dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous liquid medium.

A suitable aqueous liquid medium in the recording liquid of the present invention is a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble organic solvent, and the water is not ordinary water containing various ions, but ion exchange water (deionized water). It is preferable to use

Examples of water-soluble organic solvents used in combination with water include organic amines such as monoethanolamine, jetanolamine, triethanolamine, and aminomethylpropanol, methyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, and isopropyl alcohol. , n-butyl alcohol, 5
Alkyl alcohols having 1 to 4 carbon atoms such as ec-butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, and isobutyl alcohol; amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide; ketone or keto alcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol; tetrahydrofuran and dioxane Ethers such as; polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol and polypropylene glycol; ethylene glycol, propylene glycol,
Butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1.2
．． Alkylene glycols in which the alkylene group contains 2-6 carbon atoms, such as 6-hexandriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol, diethylene glycol; glycerin: ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, diethylene glycol methyl (or Lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ethyl) ether and triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether; N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1
．． Examples include 3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone.

Among these many water-soluble organic solvents, organic amines are contained as essential components in the recording liquid of the present invention, preferably in an amount of 0.001 to 10% by weight based on the total weight of the recording liquid.

In addition, the above-mentioned water-soluble organic solvents other than organic amines are selected as desired and are contained in appropriate amounts, but among them, polyhydric alcohols such as diethylene glycol, polyhydric alcohols such as triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether, etc. Lower alkyl ethers of alcohols are preferred.

It has been found that it is effective to add 3% or more of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol in order to stabilize the discharge. This is thought to be because the addition of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol solvent allows the recording liquid to foam more stably on the thin film resistor. However, adding too much ethanol or isopropyl alcohol solvent has the disadvantage of impairing the quality of printed matter, so it has been found that the appropriate concentration of ethanol or isopropyl alcohol solvent is 3 to 10%. Furthermore, as an effect of ethanol and isopropyl alcohol solvents, by adding these solvents to the dispersion liquid, generation of bubbles during dispersion can be suppressed and efficient dispersion can be performed.

The content of the water-soluble organic solvent in the recording liquid of the present invention is generally in the range of 3 to 50% by weight of the total weight of the recording liquid, and the content of water used is in the range of 10 to 90% by weight of the total weight of the recording liquid. It is.

In addition to the above-mentioned components, the recording liquid of the present invention may optionally contain a surfactant,
Antifoaming agents, preservatives, etc. can be added, and it is also possible to add commercially available water-soluble dyes.

Examples of surfactants include fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfate ester salts, liquid fatty oil sulfate ester salts, anionic surfactants such as alkylaryl sulfonates, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethers, polyoxyethylene alkyl esters, polyoxy There are nonionic surfactants such as ethylene sorbitan alkyl esters, and one or more of these can be selected and used as appropriate9.
The amount used varies depending on the dispersant, but it is preferably 0.01 to 5% by weight based on the total amount of the ink.

At this time, it is preferable to determine the amount of the activator added so that the surface tension of the recording liquid is 30 dyne/cm or more. This is because if the surface tension of the recording liquid is smaller than this, in a recording method such as the present invention, undesirable situations such as print distortion due to wetting of the nozzle tip will occur.

In general, the performance required for inkjet recording liquids includes physical properties such as the above-mentioned ink viscosity, surface tension, and pH, but in dispersion systems such as aqueous pigment inks, even if these physical properties are satisfied, In particular, in an inkjet system in which recording is performed by ejecting droplets by applying thermal energy, ink foaming may become unstable.

Therefore, the present inventors conducted extensive research on the performance of an aqueous pigment ink that is thermally stable and capable of optimal foaming, and found that it is preferable that the ratio of carbon black to water-soluble resin in the recording liquid be 3-1. It has been found that when the ratio is between 10:1 and 10:1 (weight ratio), the ink foams accurately on the resistor under any driving conditions, and furthermore, no deposits are generated on the thin film resistor even over a long period of time. .

In other words, if there is a large amount of excess water-soluble resin in the ink relative to the carbon black, the ink may not foam even if a certain amount of thermal energy is applied to the thin film resistor, or the heat generated during pulse application may cause these ink to foam. Excess water-soluble resin becomes an insoluble substance and accumulates on the thin film resistor, causing non-discharge and irregular printing.

Further, the total amount of carbon black and water-soluble resin in the dispersion is preferably 10% or more.

The reason for this is that unless a certain concentration or higher of carbon black and water-soluble resin are present in the dispersion liquid, dispersion cannot be carried out efficiently and an optimum dispersion state cannot be obtained.

The above-mentioned method for preparing the recording liquid of the present invention involves mixing the above-mentioned carbon black and a dispersant into an aqueous solution made alkaline by adding a predetermined amount of amines, and then performing a dispersion treatment using the means described below. The above-mentioned water-soluble solvent, water, etc. are added to this dispersion liquid, and the I)H of the recording liquid is adjusted to a range of 7 or more using the above-mentioned pH adjuster. shall be. Further, a water-soluble solvent, an antifoaming agent, etc. may be added to this dispersion liquid as necessary, or the dispersion liquid itself may be used as a recording liquid. Furthermore, a centrifugal separation process may be performed as necessary.

The dispersing machine used in the present invention may be any commonly used dispersing machine, such as a ball mill,
Examples include roll mills and sand mills. Among these, high-speed sand mills are preferred, and examples thereof include super mills, sand grinders, bead mills, agitator mills, gray mills, dyno mills, burr mills, and cobol mills (all trade names).

In the present invention, methods for obtaining a pigment having a desired particle size distribution include reducing the size of the grinding media of the dispersion machine, increasing the filling rate of the grinding media, lengthening the processing time, and slowing down the discharge speed. Methods such as pulverization and classification using a filter or centrifuge are used. or a combination of these methods.

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments relating to a recording head storage container and ink.

(Example 1) (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-3 parts butyl acrylate copolymer (acid value 60, weight average molecular weight 13000) Monoethanolamine 2 parts ion-exchanged water
71 parts diethylene glycol
Mix 5 parts of the above ingredients and heat to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. Add carbon black (Color Black S) to this solution.
Add 14 parts of l 70 pumpkin and 5 parts of isopropyl alcohol, and premix for 30 minutes.
Dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media Filling rate of zirconium beads 1 mm diameter grinding media 50% (volume) Grinding time 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles and form a dispersion liquid. And so.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 30 parts diethylene glycol 20 parts isopropyl alcohol 5 parts ion exchange water
45 parts The above components were mixed, the pH was adjusted to 7 or higher with monoethanolamine, and the recording liquid (A
).

(Example 2) (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid half ester-maleic anhydride copolymer 6 parts (acid value 1
88, weight average molecular weight 15000'') triethanolamine 4 parts ion exchange water
58 parts diethylene glycol
Mix 5 parts of the above ingredients and soak in a water bath for 70 min.
Warm to °C to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution were added 20 parts of newly prepared carbon black A and 7 parts of ethanol, and after premixing for 30 minutes, dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine Burl mill (manufactured by Ashizawa) Grinding media Glass beads Filling rate of 1 mm diameter grinding media 50% (volume) Discharge speed 100 ml/mi
n Further, centrifugation treatment (1200 ORPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles and obtain a dispersion liquid.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 30 parts diethylene glycol 15 parts ethylene glycol 5 parts ethanol
5 parts ion exchange water
45 parts of the above components were mixed, and the pH was adjusted to 7 or higher with triethanolamine to prepare a recording liquid (B).

(Example 3) (Creation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-butyl acrylate copolymer
5 parts (acid value 80, weight average molecular weight 6700)
Aminomethyl propatool 2 parts Ion-exchanged water 61 parts Diethylene glycol 5 parts The above ingredients are mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. Carbon black (COLORBLACK) is added to this solution.
After adding 20 parts of FWI (manufactured by Degussa) and 7 parts of ethanol and performing premixing for 30 minutes, dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine Burl mill (Reeds) Grinding media Glass peas Filling rate of 1 mrn diameter grinding media 50% (volume) Discharge speed 100 ml/m
in Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes)
to remove coarse particles and prepare a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 50 parts glycerin 15 parts ethylene glycol 5 parts ethanol
5 parts ion exchange water
Mix 25 parts of the above ingredients, adjust with aminomethyl propatool so that p)l is 7 or more, and add recording liquid (
C) was obtained.

(Example 4) (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid half 6 parts Ester-maleic anhydride copolymer (acid value 188, weight average molecular weight +5000) Triethanolamine 3 parts Ion-exchanged water
66 parts ethylene glycol
Mix 5 parts of the above bones and heat in a water bath to 70°C to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution were added 15 parts of carbon blank (MOGIIL L, manufactured by Cabo-Nto) and 5 parts of ethanol, and after premixing for 30 minutes, a dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media Zirconium beads Filling rate of 1 mm diameter grinding media 50% (volume) Grinding time 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes)
to remove coarse particles and prepare a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 35 parts thiodiglycol 15 parts ethylene glycol 5 parts ethanol
4 parts ion exchange water
41 parts The above components were mixed, monoethanolamine was added to adjust p)l to 7 or more, and the mixture was stirred for 1 hour to obtain ink (D).

(Comparative Example 1) The carbon black contained in the dispersion liquid of Example 1 was
Ink (E) was obtained using the same formulation except for using GAL660R (manufactured by Cabot).

(Comparative Example 2) The water-soluble resin contained in the dispersion of Example 2 was replaced with styrene.
Ink (F) was obtained using the same recipe except that maleic acid half ester-maleic anhydride (weight average molecular weight: 32,000, acid value: 189) was used.

(Comparative Example 3) The aqueous resin contained in the dispersion of Example 3 was replaced with styrene.
Ink (G) was obtained using the same recipe except that acrylic acid-butyl acrylate copolymer (weight average molecular weight 2800, acid value 115) was used.

The following tests were conducted by filling the ink tank of the inkjet cartridge shown in FIG. 3 with each of the recording liquids (A) to (G) described above.

T1: Driving conditions and ejection stability The driving voltage was set to 25V and 30V, and printing was performed at room temperature under two conditions of frequency 2kHz and 4kt (z), and there were no irregularities in printing, chipping, non-ejection, etc. The presence or absence was observed and the ejection stability was evaluated.

A: Clean ejection from the first character, and no ejection failure, chipping, or irregular printing at all during continuous printing.

B: Letters were ejected clearly, but ejection failure occurred at several locations in solid print areas.

Even in the C2 character portion, when several characters are printed, non-ejection occurs, and the printing becomes disordered to the extent that the characters are impossible to read.

T2: Optical density of printed matter. Measurement of printed matter (printed on NP-DK paper using a modified Canoword α50 (manufactured by Canon)') using a Macbeth densitometer (RD918).

T3. Long-term ink storage test After storing each ink at 40° C. for 4 weeks, visually observe the amount of precipitate attached to the bottom of the storage bottle.

A: No precipitate was observed.

B: A slight amount of sediment can be seen at the bottom of the bottle, but this is not a problem for practical use.

C: A large amount of precipitate was formed.

Note that Table 1 describes the performance of the carbon black used in this experiment. Furthermore, the evaluation results are shown in Table 2.

Table 1 Performance of carbon black Table 2 Inkjet cartridges filled with each of the inks (A) to (D) are shown in Figure 18 (the discharge part and the atmosphere communication port for the ink tank are sealed with a sealing member). After storing it for several months, the seal member was removed and printing was performed in the same manner as above, and the same results as shown in Table 2 were obtained.

(Example 5) A container body having the structure shown in Fig. 1 is formed using a polypropylene sheet with a thickness of 1 mm, and the material part other than the ceiling part of 61 cm is stretched toward the bottom part to form a male vacuum mold. Manufactured by molding. The sizes of each part are as follows.

Minimum wall thickness: 0.2 mm Corner radius of curvature: 3 mm On the other hand, polypropylene N (thickness 30 μm), polyethylene terephthalate layer (thickness 12 μm), aluminum N
(thickness: 9 μm), polyethylene easy beer layer (
The lid member 3 was produced by laminating the sheets (thickness: 30 μm) in this order from the adhesive side to the container body.

Next, an ink tank for storing ink (D) is provided,
A protective tape made of polyethylene terephthalate is provided as a covering member 3 on the ejection port surface to seal the ejection port, and an ink absorber 6 is further provided as a pressing member 4 to press the protective tape.
The inkjet cartridge IJC provided with the cap member with the attached cap member was housed in the container main body 61, the lid member 63 was aligned with the bottom surface of the container main body, and the flange 61b and the lid member 63 were bonded together using an ultrasonic welding machine.

A drop test from a predetermined height was performed on the obtained packaged items and their aggregates, and the protective state of the packed inkjet cartridges was inspected. As a result, there was no damage to the inkjet cartridges at all.

In addition, after leaving the obtained package under a specified atmospheric condition for a specified period of time, the amount of water evaporated from the ink filled in the inkjet cartridge was examined by measuring the weight of the inkjet cartridge, and it was found that there was a slight weight loss. was only measured.

Furthermore, no deformation such as curling of the lid member was observed after being left for a predetermined period of time.

(Example 6) A container body was produced in the same manner as in Example 5, except that a vinyl chloride sheet coated with vinylidene chloride having a thickness of 30 μm was used, and an inkjet cartridge was packed.

When the resulting package was subjected to a drop test in the same manner as in Example 1, no abnormality such as damage occurred to the packaged inkjet cartridge.

In addition, when the amount of evaporation of water in the ink filled in the packed inkjet cartridge was measured in the same manner as in Example 1, it was found to be small as in Example 5, and no deformation such as curling of the lid member was observed. Ta.

(Example 7) A container body was produced in the same manner as in Example 5 except that the radius R of each curved portion was 1 mm, an inkjet cartridge was packed, and a drop test and the amount of water evaporation were performed.

In addition, the minimum thickness of the obtained container body is 0.05
As a result, in the drop test, a slight dent was observed in the container body of the packaged product, but there was no abnormality in the packaged inkjet cartridge.

Further, the amount of water evaporated from the ink filled in the inkjet cartridge was small, and no deformation of the lid member was observed.

(Example 8) From the portion of the polypropylene sheet that becomes the flange portion 61b to the other portions (the recessed portion 61a and the wall portion 61
c) The container body is formed by female molding that is pulled and formed by a vacuum, and the radius of curvature of the corner of the flange portion 61b is 0.5 mm, and the radius of curvature of the other corners is 2 mm. An inkjet cartridge was packed in the same manner as in Example 5.

The resulting package was subjected to the same drop test as in Example 5 and the amount of water evaporated from the ink was measured.

In the drop test, there was no abnormality in the packaged inkjet cartridge.

The amount of moisture evaporated from the ink was small, and no deformation of the lid member was observed.

(Examples 9 to 12) Packaging was carried out in the same manner as in Examples 5 to 8, except that a protective tape serving as a covering member for the ejection port was not provided on the ejection port surface of the inkjet cartridge.

As a result, in any of the examples, compared to Examples 5 to 8,
Although the amount of water evaporation from the ink filled in the inkjet cartridge increased slightly, the effect was sufficient to substantially achieve the object of the present invention.

still,! *The present invention, especially in the bubble jet recording head and recording device among the inkjet recording methods,
It brings about excellent effects.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and the continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. The electrothermal converter that is
generating energy in the electrothermal transducer to cause film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head by applying at least one drive signal corresponding to recorded information and providing a rapid temperature rise above nucleate boiling; As a result, bubbles in the liquid (ink) can be formed in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal, which is effective. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one drop. If this drive signal has a pulse shape,
Since the growth and contraction of bubbles is carried out immediately and appropriately, ejection of liquid (ink) with particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in US Pat.
Those described in Japanese Patent No. 463359 and Japanese Patent No. 4345262 are suitable. Incidentally, US Pat.
If the conditions described in No. 24 are adopted, even better recording can be achieved.

The configuration of the recording head includes a combination configuration of an ejection port, a liquid path, and an electric heat exchanger (straight liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in each of the above-mentioned specifications, as well as a heat acting part. US Pat. No. 4,558,333 and US Pat. No. 4,459,600 disclose a configuration in which the
The present invention also includes a configuration using the specification of the above specification.

In addition, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 123670 of 1982 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The present invention is also effective as a configuration based on Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 138461 of 1981, which discloses a configuration in which a discharge portion corresponds to a discharge portion.

Furthermore, as a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the width of the maximum recording medium that can be recorded by the recording apparatus, the length can be increased by combining multiple recording heads as disclosed in the above-mentioned specification. Either a configuration that satisfies the above requirements or a configuration as a single recording head formed integrally may be used, but the present invention can more effectively exhibit the above-mentioned effects.

In addition, a replaceable chip-type recording head that is attached to the device body enables electrical connection to the device body and ink supply from the device body, or a chip-type recording head that is installed integrally with the recording head itself. The present invention is also effective when a cartridge type recording head is used.

Further, it is preferable to add recovery means, preliminary auxiliary means, etc. for the recording head, which are provided as a configuration of a recording apparatus equipped with the recording head of the present invention, because the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. be. Specifically, these include preheating means for the recording head by means of a caving means, a cleaning means, a pressurizing or absorbing means, an electrothermal converter or another heating element, or a combination thereof. It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

Furthermore, the recording mode of the recording device is not limited to a recording mode in which only the mainstream color such as black is used; the recording head may be configured integrally or in combination with a plurality of recording heads; The present invention is also extremely effective for devices equipped with at least one full color image.

By using the packaging container of the present invention, inkjet cartridges can be reliably and inexpensively protected from shocks caused by vibrations and drops during transportation and the like.

That is, the packaging container of the present invention is arranged to match the shape of the inkjet cartridge, and is provided with a recess that supports the contents at appropriate intervals and prevents direct contact between the wall of the main body of the packaging container and the inkjet cartridge. As a result, the position of the inkjet cartridge within the packaging container is effectively fixed, and impact applied from the outside to the wall of the container main body is prevented from reaching the contents.

In addition, the packaging using the packaging container of the present invention has a small increase in the space occupied by packaging, is highly space-saving, and can save warehouse space and distribution space.
Costs in storage and logistics can be reduced.

Furthermore, the packaging container of the present invention can provide a function to maintain the humidity environment of the inkjet cartridge in its packaged state, and has the ability to protect the inkjet cartridge.
This enables packaging that maintains its humidity environment well.

In addition, by providing a sealing member on the ejection port surface of the inkjet cartridge to cover (seal) the ejection port, evaporation of ink from the ejection port can be extremely reduced, making it possible to maintain appropriate humidity in the storage space. Therefore, curling deformation of the lid member can be prevented, and
The condition of the ink supply path from the ink tank to the ejection port can be maintained in a good condition.

Furthermore, in the present invention, providing a pressing member for pressing the cover member against the inkjet cartridge prevents inserting a hand into the ejection port when taking out the inkjet cartridge from the storage container. This is more suitable from the point of view of protecting the parts.

As described above, providing the seal member is particularly effective in preventing evaporation of water in the ink filled in the inkjet cartridge.

In addition, particularly in pigment inks, it is effective in preventing dispersion instability caused by an increase in the solid content ratio due to evaporation of volatile components in the ink.

[Effects of the Invention] The recording head of the present invention has a sealing member combined with a pressing member that presses the ink ejection portion and the atmosphere communication port of the ink tank, and the sealing member connects the ink ejection portion with the atmosphere communication port of the ink tank. By sealing the air communication port of the ink tank, it is possible to reliably prevent ink from leaking from the recording head during distribution, sales, storage, and the like.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the seal member and the discharge port be connected through an adhesive, but the connection between the seal member and the discharge port may not be through an adhesive.

In addition, the inkjet ink of the present invention not only has excellent durability of printed matter, but also has high density of printed matter, and can always perform stable ejection even when driving conditions fluctuate or when used for a long time. , and has excellent long-term storage stability. Furthermore, since the ink is difficult to dry, even after the recording head is attached to the recording device body, there is little drying from the atmosphere communication port, and the ink is less likely to stick, and even if it does, it can be easily cleaned with alkaline water, etc. Since it can be re-dissolved (re-dispersed), it has the effect that the user of the recording apparatus can easily attach and detach the recording head and remove the ink deposited on the printing area.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the main parts of an ink tank-integrated recording head, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the inkjet cartridge of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view of FIG.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the installation of the inkjet unit, FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of the installation of the inkjet cartridge IJC to the apparatus, and FIG. 6 is an external view of the recording apparatus. FIG. 7 is a developed perspective view showing an example of an inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention. FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b) are partial explanatory views of the embodiment in FIG. 18, showing a top view and a side view in order, and FIGS.
) and FIGS. 1O (a) and (b) are explanatory views of a modified embodiment of FIG. 8, respectively, showing a top view and a side view in that order, and FIG. 11 is a partially exploded view of another embodiment of the present invention. , FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a cross section of the recording head of the embodiment in FIG. 11, FIG. 13(a),
(b), fc), and Fig. 14(a), (b)
, fc) and Figure 15 (a), (b), (c)
16 and 1 are explanatory views of still another embodiment of the present invention, showing a side view, a front view, and a top view in this order, respectively.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention in which the recording head configuration is further modified, and FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating the configuration for attaching and detaching the recording head of this embodiment to and from the main body of the recording apparatus. FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b) are explanatory diagrams of a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a perspective view and a partially exploded view thereof in order. FIG. 19 is a perspective view of an example of the inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention after assembly. FIG. 20 is a top view (a), a front view (b), and a right side view (C) showing an example of the storage container of the present invention, and a partially enlarged view showing the storage state of the ejection port portion of the inkjet cartridge. (d) and a partially enlarged view (e) showing the flange portion of the storage container main body. FIG. 21 is a developed perspective view showing another example of the inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention. FIG. 22 is a perspective view of another example of the inkjet cartridge storage container (packing container) of the present invention after assembly. FIG. 23 is a left side view (a), a top view (b), a front view (C), a right side view (
d), a bottom view (e), and a partially enlarged view (f3) showing the flange portion of the storage container main body. It is an explanatory view for explaining the present invention in detail when the head is put into use. 3: Covering member 4: Pressing member 6; Ink absorber 61: Container body 61a; Recessed portion
61b: flange portion 61C: wall portion 61e;
Rib 63: Bottom plate 63a; Knob work JC
: Inkjet cartridge 91, H: Thermal energy generating element 251: Groove portion 10; Base plate 7: Positioning or elastic deformation regulating portion 8: Positioning portion of the cartridge relative to the carriage 9: Cap attaching/detaching collar

Claims (48)

[Claims] (1) An ink storage unit and ink within the ink storage unit,
A sealing member comprising an energy generating body for discharging the ink and an ink discharging section corresponding to the energy generating body, and closing the atmospheric communication port for the discharging section and the ink storage section during non-recording, and the sealing member. the ink further comprises a pressing member that presses the ink against the ejection part, and the ink contains acidic carbon black and a water-soluble resin having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 3,000 to 30,000 in an aqueous liquid medium. A recording head characterized by: (2) The pressing member includes an engaging portion that engages with the recording head, and an elastic member that maintains an elastically deformed state under the engaged state of the engaging portion and presses the sealing member against the ejection portion. The recording head according to claim 1, comprising: (3) The engaged state according to claim 2, wherein the engaged state is achieved by engagement between a plurality of grooves provided in the recording head and a groove portion that engages with the plurality of grooves as an engagement portion of the pressing member. recording head. (4) The recording head according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the engaged state is formed at each of a pair of opposing side surfaces of the recording head. (5) The ink discharge section has a plurality of ink discharge ports provided on an orifice plate, the seal member is larger than the orifice plate and has a size that can be peeled off, and the pressing area of the elastic member 5. The recording head according to claim 2, wherein the area for pressing the seal member located at least at the plurality of ink ejection ports and the surrounding area thereof is smaller than the seal member. (6) The recording head according to claim 5, wherein there is a stepped portion near the ink ejection portion, and the stepped portion is included in the peripheral portion. (7) The recording head according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the pressing member has an abutting portion that abuts against the recording head to define the amount of deformation of the elastic member. (8) The recording head according to any one of claims 2 to 7, wherein the pressing member has a portion located on the side of the recording head for defining the position of the elastic member with respect to the ejection section. (9) Claims 1 to 3, wherein the sealing member is bonded to the ink discharge section and the ink storage section atmospheric communication port.
8. The recording head according to any one of 8. (10) A bubble jet recording head that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy to cause film boiling in ink in response to an electrical signal, and is detachable from the main body of the recording apparatus. 10. A recording head according to claim 1, wherein the recording head is a capable recording head. (11) The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the acidic carbon black has a pH of 5 or less. (12) The acidic carbon black has a volatile content of 3.5
The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the content is at least % by weight. (13) The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the content ratio of the acidic carbon black to the water-soluble resin is in the range of 3:1 to 10:1 (weight ratio). (14) Open to the outside and communicate with a storage section containing ink containing acidic carbon black and a water-soluble resin having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 3,000 to 30,000 in an aqueous liquid medium. A method for storing a recording head having an opening, the method comprising: a sealing member that simultaneously closes an ejection portion serving as the opening and an atmosphere communication port for an ink storage portion; and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the ejection portion. A method for storing a recording head, characterized in that the recording head is stored in an airtight state by a pressing member that presses the ejection portion against its peripheral portion. (15) The pressing member includes an engaging portion that engages with the recording head, and an elastic member that maintains an elastically deformed state in the engaged state of the engaging portion and presses the sealing member against the discharge portion. and the engaged state is such that engagement between a plurality of grooves provided in the recording head and a groove portion that engages with the plurality of grooves as an engagement portion of the pressing member is a state in which a pair of opposing side surfaces of the recording head are engaged with each other. Claim 14 achieved by forming each
How to store the recording head as described in . (16) The recording head storage method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein there is a stepped portion in the vicinity of the ink ejection portion, and the area in which the sealing member is pressed by the pressing member includes this stepped portion. (17) The method for storing a recording head according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the pressing member has a contact portion that comes into contact with the recording head to define the amount of deformation of the elastic member. . (18) The recording head according to any one of claims 14 to 17, wherein the pressing member has a portion located on a side of the recording head to define the positioning of the elastic member with respect to the ejection section. Storage method. (19) The recording head storage method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein the sealing member is adhered to the ink ejection section. (20) A bubble jet recording head that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy to cause film boiling in ink in response to an electrical signal, and is detachable from the recording apparatus main body. 20. The method for storing a recording head according to claim 14, wherein the recording head is a recording head that can be stored. (21) The method for storing a recording head according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the acidic carbon black has a pH of 5 or less. (22) The acidic carbon black has a volatile content of 3.5
20. The method for storing a recording head according to claim 14, wherein the storage amount is at least % by weight. (23) The recording head storage method according to any one of claims 14 to 19, wherein the content ratio of the acidic carbon black and the water-soluble resin is in the range of 3:1 to 10:1 (weight ratio). (24) an engaging portion for engaging and integrating with the recording head;
It is adhered to the atmosphere communication port of the ink storage part that stores ink containing acidic carbon black and a water-soluble resin having a weight average molecular weight in the range of 3,000 to 30,000 in the ejection part of the recording head and the aqueous liquid medium. 1. A cap for a recording head, comprising: a flexible sheet that comes into contact with the flexible sheet; and an elastic member provided only in a portion of the flexible sheet that corresponds to an ejection port. (25) The cap according to claim 24, wherein the cap has an abutting portion that abuts against the recording head to define the amount of deformation of the elastic member. (26) The cap according to claim 24 or 25, wherein the cap has a portion located on a side of the recording head for defining the position of the elastic member with respect to the ejection portion. (27) The cap achieves the engagement and integration by grooves of the engagement portion that engage with a plurality of grooves formed on each of a pair of opposing side surfaces of the recording head.
26. The cap according to any one of 25 to 25. (28) The cap according to any one of claims 24 to 26, wherein the cap includes a collar portion that assists attachment and detachment to the recording head. (29) The recording head is of a bubble jet type that performs recording using an electrothermal transducer that generates thermal energy to cause film boiling in the ink in response to an electric signal, and 29. The cap according to claim 24, wherein the cap is a recording head that can be attached to and detached from the recording head. (30) The cap according to any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein the acidic carbon black has a pH of 5 or less. (31) The acidic carbon black has a volatile content of 3.5
The cap according to any one of claims 24 to 29, which is at least % by weight. (32) The cap according to any one of claims 24 to 29, wherein the content ratio of the acidic carbon black to the water-soluble resin is in the range of 3:1 to 10:1 (weight ratio). (33) A container body including a lid member and a container body having a recess that forms a storage space for an inkjet cartridge when joined to the lid member, and the container body is maintained in a non-contact state with the inkjet cartridge. The ink cartridge includes an ink storage section, an ink in the ink storage section, and a recess for projecting from the wall section into the storage space to support the inkjet cartridge. an ink ejection section corresponding to the energy generation object; a seal member that closes the air communication port for the ejection section and the ink accommodating section during non-recording; further comprising a pressing member for pressing the ink, and the ink contains acidic carbon black and a weight average molecular weight of 3,000 to 30,0 in an aqueous liquid medium.
1. A storage container for an inkjet cartridge, comprising a water-soluble resin in the range of 0.00 and a recording head that is removable from a recording apparatus main body. (34) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 33, wherein the sealing member is a protective tape that seals the ejection section. (35) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 33, wherein the seal member is a cap member. (36) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 35, wherein the cap member is a cap member in which an ink absorber is disposed at a position corresponding to the ejection portion. (37) Claim 33, wherein the lid member is provided with a knob portion that is used when peeling off the connection with the container body.
37. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 36 to 36. (38) Claims 33 to 3, wherein the container body is provided with a flange portion as a portion for joining with the lid member.
7. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 7. (39) Claim 3, wherein the flange portion is provided with a rib along a joint area between the container body and the lid member.
39. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 3 to 38. (40) The inkjet cartridge according to any one of claims 33 to 39, wherein the inkjet cartridge includes an electrothermal converter as a thermal energy generating means that generates thermal energy used to eject ink from the ejection section. Cartridge storage container. (41) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of claims 33 to 40, wherein the acidic carbon black has a pH of 5 or less. (42) The acidic carbon black has a volatile content of 3.5
41. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 33, wherein the inkjet cartridge storage container is at least % by weight. (43) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of claims 33 to 40, wherein the content ratio of the acidic carbon black to the water-soluble resin is in the range of 3:1 to 10:1 (weight ratio). (44) A method for handling an inkjet cartridge during use, comprising: an ink storage section, ink in the ink storage section, an energy generator for ejecting the ink, and an ink ejection section corresponding to the energy generator. The air communication port for the discharge part and the ink storage part is sealed by a sealing member and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the discharge part, and the ink is acidic in the aqueous liquid medium. Carbon black and weight average molecular weight of 3,000 to 30,
When the inkjet cartridge, which is a recording head containing a water-soluble resin in the range of 000 and is removable from the main body of the recording apparatus, is ready for use, the sealing member of the discharge section extends from the pressing member. After the ink storage section is separated from the recording head, the sealing member is removed from the recording head so that the atmosphere communication port area for the ink storage section of the sealing member is opened, and the ejection section is then opened. How to handle during use. (45) The method for handling during use according to claim 41, wherein the acidic carbon black has a pH of 5 or less. (46) The acidic carbon black has a volatile content of 3.5
43. The method for handling during use according to claim 41 or 42, wherein the amount is at least % by weight. (47) The method for handling during use according to any one of claims 41 to 43, wherein the content ratio of the acidic carbon black to the water-soluble resin is in the range of 3:1 to 10:1 (weight ratio). (48) The ink according to any one of claims 1 to 46.