JPH0462160A - Recording head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To stabilize the emission of ink even in fluctuation of driving conditions and in use for a long time by a method wherein a sealing component for blocking a discharge part and an open air interconnecting opening for ink- containing part and a pressing component for pressing it to a discharge part are provided, and ink contains pigment, water soluble resin, water soluble organic solvent, and water. CONSTITUTION:Ink contains pigment, water soluble resin, water soluble organic solvent, and water, and a quantity of dissolved water soluble resin is 2wt.% or under. Further, it contains polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether and aliphatic monohydric alcohol. When a recording head IJH is used, after drifting a pressing component 4 away to a side wherein a sealing component 3 of a discharge part 41 is not extended, an open air interconnecting opening 1401 part area for an ink tank IT of the sealing component is opened and thereafter, the sealing component is removed from the recording heat. Then, scattering of ink is prevented and besides, the air can be prevented from entering a discharge opening 41 to cause discharging faults in start of recording. Further, since generation of dry matter due to drying of ink in use can be scattered to be removed by using a wetting agent, discharging faults can be prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a recording head with an integrated ink tank, which is applicable to printers, copying machines, inkjet recording devices, etc. used in general office equipment, and a recording head used in the recording head. The present invention relates to ink, a storage method thereof, and a cap used therein, and most preferably relates to a recording head that can be attached to and detached 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] The inkjet recording method generates less noise during recording, is easily compatible with color printing, and furthermore, by using a highly integrated head, It has the advantage that high-resolution recorded images can be obtained at high speed.

In the inkjet recording method, an ink in which various water-soluble dyes are dissolved in water or a mixture of water and an organic solvent is used. However, when water-soluble dyes are used, these water-soluble dyes may inherently have poor light resistance, and the light resistance of recorded images often becomes a problem.

Furthermore, since the dye is water-soluble, the water resistance of the recorded image often becomes a problem. That is, if a recorded image is exposed to rain, sweat, or water for drinking or drinking, the recorded image may blur or disappear.

On the other hand, similar problems exist in stationery using dyes such as ballpoint pens, and various water-based pigment inks for stationery have been proposed to solve the problems of light resistance and water resistance. For practical use of water-based pigment ink, dispersion stability,
Preventing ink from solidifying at the pen tip and preventing wear on the ball of a ballpoint pen are being studied.

For example, JP-A No. 61-246271 discloses water-soluble amine salts, ammonium salts or metal copolymers of hydrophilic addition-polymerizable monomers and styrene and/or styrene derivative monomers as water-soluble resins. An ink composition for writing instruments that has improved dispersion stability and drying resistance by using a salt is disclosed, and JP-A-62-72774 discloses that by using a polysiloxane, the ejection down phenomenon does not occur. First, a water-based pigment ink for ballpoint pens that does not cause the ink-draining phenomenon is disclosed.

However, when conventional water-based pigment ink for stationery is used in an inkjet recording method in which recording is performed by ejecting recording liquid from the orifice of the recording head by the action of thermal energy, there is a problem in that it causes a significant problem in ejection stability. However, it is not an ink for writing instruments with excellent performance, nor can it be used directly for inkjet use.

In addition, although some conventional water-based pigment inks have excellent ejection properties in a relatively short period of time, ejection becomes unstable when the driving conditions of the print head are changed or continuous ejection is performed for a long period of time. Some of them eventually caused the problem of no longer being discharged.

Furthermore, if water-based ink is used in a recording head that is not removable from the device body, ejection failure may occur due to drying of the ink due to moisture evaporation. If not, the customer will call the service person. This placed a heavy burden on customers as they had to purchase a new device.

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

That is, in the prior art, research and development have been carried out 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 many experiments, the following problems were discovered so that the present invention could be applied to emergency situations in the sales state before the use of the S diary head.

In an emergency situation, although the cause was unknown, ink was seen scattering and ink was sometimes found inside the package. As a result of studying the unexpected situation, the inventor sealed the ejection port itself, and found that no ink leakage was observed in normal durability tests and excessive vibration tests.

However, it was surprisingly discovered that when a slow rotational motion with a moderate amount of inertia caused by normal conveyance is applied, ink leaks slightly from the atmosphere communication section. It has been found that this tendency is often seen in the initial state where 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 drying of the ink often occurs during sales or long-term storage, and this tendency is particularly severe when an ink containing a large amount of m alcohols is used.

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording liquid that can always be stably ejected even when driving conditions vary or when used for a long time.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a recording liquid from which images with excellent water resistance and light resistance can be obtained.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The ink (recording liquid) according to the present invention contains a pigment, a water-soluble resin,
In the recording liquid containing a water-soluble organic solvent and water, the amount of dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and the water-soluble organic solvent contains a polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether and an aliphatic alcohol. It is characterized by containing alcohol.

The dissolved water-soluble resin in the present invention refers to a resin that is not adsorbed to the pigment in the recording liquid but is dissolved in the liquid medium.

The ink according to the present invention will be explained in detail below.

As the pigment used in the present invention, conventionally known organic and inorganic pigments can be used. For example, azo pigments such as azo lake, insoluble azo pigment, condensed azo pigment, and chelate azo pigment, phthalocyanine pigment, perylene and perylene pigment, anthraquinone pigment, Polycyclic pigments such as quinacridone pigments, dioxandine pigments, thioindigo pigments, isoindolinone pigments, and quinophthaloni pigments, dye lakes such as basic dye lakes and acid dye lakes, nitro pigments, nitrone pigments, aniline black, Examples include organic pigments such as daylight fluorescent pigments, and inorganic pigments such as titanium oxide, iron oxide, and carbon black. Furthermore, any pigment not listed in the color index can be used as long as it can be dispersed in water.

The content of these pigments varies depending on the structure, but -IIQ
Specifically, it is used in a range of 3 to 20% by weight, preferably 3 to 12% by weight based on the recording liquid.

As the dispersant, water-soluble resins used for dispersing pigments can be used, and such water-soluble resins preferably have an acid value of 50.
~300, more preferably 70-250 resin is used.

The bond between the pigment and the water-soluble resin is a hydrophobic bond, so if the acid value of the resin is high (that is, it is too hydrophilic), the resin cannot be adsorbed to the pigment surface as expected, and the unadsorbed resin in the pigment solution It takes a lot of minutes. On the other hand, if the acid value of the resin is low (that is, the hydrophilicity is low), the resin will not dissolve in water.

The acid value of the resin as used in the present invention is expressed by the amount (mg) of KOH that neutralizes the resin.

Specifically, any resin can be used as long as it is soluble in an aqueous solution containing an amine, including lignin sulfonate, natural polymers such as shellac, polyacrylic acid, styrene-acrylic acid, etc. Polymer, 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-methacrylic acid- Alkyl ester copolymer, styrene-maleic acid half ester copolymer, vinylnaphthalene-acrylic acid copolymer, vinylnaphthalene-maleic acid copolymer, or salt thereof, sodium β-naphthalenesulfonic acid formalin condensate Examples include anionic polymers such as salts and phosphates.

The content of these water-soluble resins varies depending on the type of pigment and water-soluble resin used, but the amount of water-soluble resin that is not adsorbed to the pigment in the recording liquid should be 2% by weight or less, preferably 1% by weight or less. The ratio of pigment to water-soluble resin is 32 to 10:1, preferably 31 to 10 by weight.
．． 1, more preferably 10:3 to lo:1.

As the polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether used in the present invention, polyalkylene glycols such as polyethylene glycol, polypropylene glycol, etc.;
Alkylene groups such as ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, triethylene glycol, 1,2,6-hexandriol, thiodiglycol, hexylene glycol, diethylene glycol, etc.
Alkylene glycols containing 6 carbon atoms; glycerin: ethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl)
Examples include lower alkyl ethers of polyhydric alcohols such as ether, diethylene glycol methyl (or ethyl) ether, and triethylene glycol monomethyl (or ethyl) ether.

The content of these polyhydric alcohols and/or their alkyl ethers is 10 to 50% by weight, more preferably 20 to 50% by weight.
The content is in the range of 40% by weight, and if the content is less than 10% by weight, it is not sufficient to prevent clogging at the nozzle tip.
If it exceeds 50% by weight, the quality of the printed matter will deteriorate.

Examples of aliphatic alcohols include methyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol, n-propyl alcohol, isopropyl alcohol, n-butyl alcohol, 5ec
-C1-C4 alkyl alcohols such as -butyl alcohol, tert-butyl alcohol, and isobutylic alcohol.

Among these, ethyl alcohol is particularly preferred because it greatly improves the ejection stability of the recording liquid.

The content of aliphatic-hydric alcohol is in the range of 3 to 15% by weight, more preferably 3 to 10% by weight, and if the content is less than 3% by weight, stable ejection is not possible even when the printer driving conditions change. If the amount exceeds 15% by weight, the quality of printed matter tends to be impaired.

The water content is 10 to 60% by weight, more preferably 10 to 60% by weight.
It is in the range of 50% by weight.

The main components constituting the recording liquid of the present invention are as described above, but other water-soluble organic solvents, surfactants, PL (adjusting agents, preservatives, etc.) may be used as necessary.

Usable water-soluble organic agents include amides such as dimethylformamide and dimethylacetamide; ketones or keto alcohols such as acetone and diacetone alcohol; ethers such as tetrahydrofuran and dioxane;
-Methyl-2-pyrrolidone, 1,3-dimethyl-2-imidazolidinone, and the like.

Examples of surfactants include fatty acid salts, higher alcohol sulfate ester salts, liquid fatty oil sulfate ester salts, anionic surfactants such as alkylarisulfonates, polyoxyethylene alkyl ethyls, and polyoxyethylene alkyl esters. There are nonionic surfactants such as polyoxyethylene sorbitan alkyl esters, and one or more of these can be appropriately selected and used.

The amount used varies depending on the dispersant, but it is preferably from 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 35 dyne/cm or more. This is because if the surface tension of the recording liquid shows a value smaller than this, in the recording method used in the present invention, undesirable problems such as print distortion due to leakage at the nozzle tip (shift of the landing point of the recording droplet on the recording paper) occur. This is because it will cause a stir.

In addition, pi (adjusting agents include various organic amines such as jetanolamine and triethanolamine, inorganic alkaline agents such as alkali metal hydroxides such as sodium hydroxide, lithium hydroxide, and potassium hydroxide, and organic acids. and mineral acids.

The method for preparing the recording liquid of the present invention is to first add a pigment to an aqueous solution containing at least a dispersion resin, an amine, and water, stir it, disperse it using the dispersion means described below, and centrifuge it if necessary. Separation treatment is performed to obtain the desired dispersion. Next, the components listed above are added to this dispersion liquid and stirred to obtain a recording liquid.

In particular, in order to reduce the amount of unadsorbed resin to 2% or less, in the preparation method, an aqueous solution containing resin, amine, and water must be
It is necessary to completely dissolve the resin in advance by stirring at a temperature of at least 30 minutes.

Further, it is necessary to add the amount of amine that dissolves the resin at least 1.2 times the amount of amine calculated from the acid value of the resin. The amount of this amine is determined by the following formula.

Amount of Amine (g) It is also necessary to perform premixing for at least 30 minutes before dispersing the aqueous solution containing the pigment.

Furthermore, it is also necessary to perform premixing for 30 minutes or more before dispersing the aqueous solution containing the pigment.

This premixing operation improves the wettability of the pigment surface and promotes adsorption of the resin onto the pigment surface.

The amines added to the dispersion include monoethanolamine, jetanolamine, triethanolamine,
Organic amines such as aminomethylpropertool and ammonia are preferred.

On the other hand, the dispersing machine used in the present invention may be any commonly used dispersing machine, and examples thereof include a ball mill, a roll mill, and a sand mill.

Among them, high-speed sand mills are preferred, such as super mills, sand grinder bead mills, agitator mills, grain mills, guino mills, burr mills,
Examples include Kobol Mill (both 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 filters or centrifugal separation are used. or a combination of these methods.

In addition, as a method for measuring the amount of unadsorbed resin according to the present invention, the pigment component and the resin component adsorbed to the pigment are precipitated using an ultracentrifuge, and the amount of residual resin contained in this supernatant liquid is determined. TOC (total organic carbon), gravimetric method (method of evaporating the supernatant to dryness and measuring the amount of resin), etc. are preferably used.

The recording liquid of the present invention is particularly suitable for use in an inkjet recording system in which recording is performed by ejecting droplets under the action of thermal energy, but it goes without saying that it can also be used as a general writing instrument.

The recording head of the present invention includes an ink storage section (ink tank), ink in the ink storage section, an energy generator for ejecting the ink, and an ink ejection section corresponding to the energy generator. The ink further includes a sealing member that closes the air communication port for the ejection section and the ink storage section during non-recording, and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the ejection section, and the ink contains a pigment,
Contains a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water, the amount of the dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and the water-soluble organic solvent contains a polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether and an aliphatic It is characterized by containing alcohol.

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 suppressing member is removed toward the side where the seal member of the ejection section does not extend, and then the ink tank atmospheric air passage opening area 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.

Further, according to the present invention, there is provided a recording head and a wetting liquid that can eliminate ejection failure caused by the formation of dry matter due to drying of ink during use by easily moistening and dispersing the dry matter with a wetting agent. can do.

[Example] Figures 2 to 6 show preferred inkjet unit JU, inkjet head JH, ink tank T1, inkjet cartridge JC, and inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA to which the present invention is implemented or applied.
, carriage HC and their relationships. 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 JC is fixedly supported by the positioning means and electrical contacts (described later) of a carriage HC (Fig. 5) mounted on the inkjet recording apparatus main body IJRA, and is removable 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) Configuration description of inkjet unit IJ1 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 an electrical signal. It is.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 100 denotes electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows on a Si substrate, and A! which supplies electric power to the electrothermal converters (discharge heaters). This is a heater board in which second-grade electrical wiring is formed by film-forming technology.

200 is a wiring board for the heater board 100;
Wiring opposite to the wiring of the heater boat 100 (for example, connected by wire bonding) and a bat 201 located at the end of the 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 sagging portion 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 hoard 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 urging force of the heater board 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 of the ink tank IT and the protrusions 1800 and 1801 for positioning and heat-sealing retention, and also has positioning holes 312, 1900, and 2000 that engage with the two positioning protrusions 1012 of the ink tank IT and the protrusions 1800 and 1801 for positioning and heat-sealing retention. Protrusions 2500 and 2600 for positioning with respect to the carriage HC are provided on the back side. 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 JC
(Fig. 3), the three sides around it are parallel grooves 3000.
．． At the extension point of the head tip area formed by a plurality of projections 2500.2, dust and ink are removed.
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.

This ink supply member 600 is molded with σ, which is inexpensive, has high positional accuracy, and does not reduce the accuracy of manufacturing. The above-mentioned ink receiver of the conduit 1600 can be in stable pressure contact with the port 1500. In this example, by simply pouring the anti-soil adhesive from the ink supply member side under this pressure contact state, a more complete communication state can be ensured. 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 back side bottle (not shown) of the ink supply member 600 to 1902 through the holes 1901 and 1902 of the support body 300, and heat-sealing the protruding portion to the back side of the support body 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 rJU 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.

(ii) 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.

120o is 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 1000.
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 1000 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 and 2400 are distributed over half or less 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 all over the 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 IJTJ, an atmosphere communication port 140 is installed there.
1, and the interior of this protruding portion is hollowed out 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 much larger than the conventional one, and the above-mentioned atmospheric detour port 1401 is located above, so even if the ink leaves the absorber due to some abnormality, this large The air pressure supply space 1402 can temporarily hold the ink and reliably collect it in the absorber, so that an excellent cartridge with no waste can be provided.

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° engagement surface 4002 of the carriage positioning hook 4001 is located on the extension of the straight line L1, and the positioning force on the carriage moves along this straight line L1. 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 above-mentioned protrusion 1o12, and is for fixing the support 300 to the side surface thereof by heat-sealing the protruding portion that penetrates the support 300. Let Ls be a straight line that is perpendicular to the line L1 and passes through this protrusion 1800, and L2 be a straight line that passes through the protrusion 1801.Since the approximate center of the supply port 1200 is located on the straight line Ls, the connection with the supply pipe 2200 is This is a preferable configuration because it acts to stabilize the state and reduces the load on these bonded states even if dropped or impacted. In addition, the straight lines L2 and L3 coincide with each other, and the protrusion 10 on the discharge port side of the chair and spatula 1' I J H
The presence of protrusions 1800 and 1801 around 12 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 18
Since 00.1801 is along the curve L4, it provides sufficient strength and positional accuracy even for the weight of the tip side configuration of the head IJH. In addition, 2700 is ink tank I
The tip of the T 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 for maintaining the attached state even if a force is applied in an upward direction.

The ink tank IT has a shape that surrounds the unit rJU except for the lower opening by covering it with the lid 800 after the unit IJU is installed. 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 JC to help the natural heat dissipation of the support, thereby preventing temperature rise and ensuring uniform temperature distribution throughout the unit IJU. We were able to make the process unaffected by the environment.

When the inkjet cartridge I is assembled as an IC, ink is supplied from inside the cartridge through the supply port 1200.
, a hole 320 provided in the support 300 and a supply tank 60
Supply tank 600 through the inlet provided on the inside back side of 0
After passing through the interior thereof, the ink flows into the common liquid chamber from an outlet through an appropriate supply pipe and an ink inlet 1500 of the top plate 400. A packing made of, for example, silicone rubber or butyl rubber is disposed at the above-mentioned connection portion for ink communication, and sealing is performed thereby to secure an ink supply path.

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

As mentioned above, the integrally molded component is the ink supply member 6001.
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 to 4, the ink supply member 6
00, the upper surface part 603 is the third one between the end part 4008 of the roof part provided with the slit 1700 of the ink tank IT.
As shown in the figure, a slit S (not shown) similar to the slit S is formed between the upper surface portion 604 and the head side end portion 4011 of the thin plate member to which the lower lid 800 of the ink tank IT is bonded. ) is formed. These slits between the ink tank IT and the ink supply member 600 substantially act to further promote heat dissipation through the slit 1700, and even if there is unnecessary pressure applied to the tank IT, it is directly removed from the supply member. At best, this prevents the inkjet unit IJtJ from being affected.

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.

(iii) 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 JC on the front platen side of the carriage.
00 (thickness: 2 mm) and a flexible sheet 4005 equipped with pads 2o11 corresponding 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 401O connected to the above-mentioned positioning protrusion 2500.2 of the cartridge support 300.
600, and after the cartridge is installed, the protruding surface 40] receives a perpendicular force toward the protruding surface 40. 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 is located at the front when the cartridge IJC is installed.
A head protection protrusion that protrudes slightly (approximately 0.1 mm) toward the platen roller is also formed.

The electrical connection portion support plate 40o3 has a plurality of reinforcing ribs 4004 not in the direction of the ribs but in the vertical direction, and the proportion of the reinforcement ribs 4004 protruding laterally from the platen side toward the hook 4001 side is reduced. 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 corresponding to the protruding surface 4010, forming a pad contact area between them and uniquely defining the amount of deformation of the notch of the rubber sheet 4007 with a notch corresponding to the pad 2011. 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, since the pads 201 of the wiring board 300 are further 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, and the contact pressure of the pads 2011 and 201 is reduced. It's more stable. The distribution of the pads 201 in this example is upward,
There are two rows below and two rows 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. By doing so, the inkjet cartridge IJC is positioned with respect to the carriage HC. The hook 4001 may be moved by any method, but a configuration in which it can be moved using a lever or the like is preferable. 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. 90° hook plane by 4
002 is in close contact with the claw 2100 of the cartridge IJC at 90° while positioning the cartridge IJC on the positioning surface 2500.
The pads 4010 and 2010 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 pads 201 and 2011 are in complete contact with each other, the positioning surfaces 2500 and 4010 are in complete surface contact, and the 90-degree surface 4002 and the 90-degree surface of the claw are in perfect 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 IJRA to which the present invention is applied. The carriage HC, which engages with the helical groove 5004 of the rotating lead screw 5005, has a pin (not shown) and is reciprocated in the directions of arrows a and b. A paper pressing plate 5002 presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the direction of carriage movement. 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 a photocoupler and switching the rotational direction of the motor 5013. 5016 is a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head.
5015 is a suction means for suctioning the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through an opening 5023 in the cap.

5017 is a cleaning blade, 5019 is a member that allows this blade to move in the front and rear directions, 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 used to guide the atmosphere from the atmosphere communication port 5 into the ink tank to form an atmosphere existence space 51, thereby improving 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) 9oO slightly intruding between these is shown by the broken line in the figure. Recording head IJH has electrode layer 1
302, a heat generating layer 1303, a top protective layer 1301, 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 air ventilation port and an ink discharge part for supplying ink to the outside of the container at different positions, and in which a porous body is housed in the container for holding ink. A storage container 1000, an ejection energy generating means, an ink chamber that holds ink for supplying ink to the ejection energy generating means, and an ink chamber that is press-fitted into a porous body in the ink tank and that guides the ink to the ink chamber. This is an inkjet head with an integrated ink storage container, which integrates a recording head equipped with a supply pipe and a filter F provided at the end of the supply pipe.

First, to summarize the configurations common to the following embodiments, the recording head has a sealing member that closes the ejection portion of the recording head and the atmospheric air passage port for the ink tank, and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the ejection portion. In this configuration, the ejection section and the ink tank air passage port are sealed during non-recording.

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 has the above-mentioned composition. be.

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) and Figure 14 (a), (b), (c
) and FIGS. 15(a), 15(b), and 15(c) are explanatory diagrams of still another embodiment of the present invention, showing a side view, a front view, and a top view in order, respectively. 16 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 explanatory diagram illustrating the configuration of attaching and detaching the recording head of this embodiment to the main body of the recording apparatus. It is.

As described above, the recording head is configured so that the user can easily remove it and easily mount another recording head of the same structure.

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. The orifice plate 400 includes a plurality of orifice plates 41.The orifice plate 400 has a flat surface including an ejection port surface for dissolving and removing dried ink near the ejection ports. A top plate 1300 and a plate 400 for forming a channel 140 are integrally molded.) shows a recording head that can be attached to and detached from a recording apparatus main body integrally fixed thereto. 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 a positioning portion 8 that engages with the positioning portion 401O of the carriage of the recording apparatus body shown in FIG. 5 to position the entire recording head.
is an integrally formed aluminum plate.

■ indicates the surface of the discharge part including the orifice plate,
41 is a recording ink ejection section. In this example,
Although openings for absorbing back waves during recording and openings such as dummy nozzles are not disclosed, hereinafter, even if these are included, they can be regarded as the ejection part surface 1. Reference numeral 2 denotes grooves provided on the upper and lower surfaces recessed from the discharge part surface l, and in this example, four grooves are formed as shown in the figure. 5
Reference numeral 3 denotes a side groove section which is located on the side surface facing the base plate 10 and has four grooves that are continuous to the grooves of the groove section 2. When a large amount of ink is accumulated in the groove section 2 due to ink scattering, this side groove section is provided. It is possible to achieve the effect of guiding the material downward. 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 which also serves as a sealing member, and has a size that completely covers the ejection part surface 1 of the recording head, and has a portion that protrudes outward from the end of the recording head as shown in FIG. 8(a). have. 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 shown in FIG. 18 acts as a pressing member, has a width corresponding to the discharge surface 1, and has two opposing arms 5.5, and a cap 4 that is separated from the arms and located on the inner surface of the main body. an elastic body 6 fixed to the base plate 10, a positioning or elastic deformation regulating portion 7 provided on the side of the main body located on the base plate 10 side, and a collar that can be used when attaching and detaching the cap 4 itself to and from the recording head. 9, 9 are integrally provided. Each of the arm parts 5.5 has three grooves 51 on its inner surface that engage with the grooves 2.

In this embodiment, as can be seen in FIGS. 8(a) and 8(b), the seal 3 is extended onto the base plate 10, and at the same time, the elastic body 6 is provided on the base plate 10 so as to face it. This is a configuration for further improving the sealing effect since the discharge port 41 is close to the base plate 10. The portion 7 has a length such that it slightly contacts the back surface of the base plate 10 when the cap 4 is attached to the recording head. This contact length is 1mm in this example.
That's about it. With such a simple configuration, the elastic body 6 of the cap can be connected to the arm parts 5, 5 and the positioning part 7.
With this, the base plate 10 is reliably positioned within the range between which the base plate 10 is sandwiched. In other words, with such a simple configuration,
The sealing effect of the opening can be achieved without causing the above-mentioned problems related to ink leakage and the like.

FIGS. 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 IO 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 a configuration in which the portion 7.7 in FIG. 8 is further extended to have a function as a guide when attaching the cap member 4 to the recording head. be. In this embodiment, since the length is the same as that of the arm portion 5.5, when the cap is attached, the portion 77 must be securely positioned on the back side of the base plate 10 in order to be able to attach the cap.
The cap 4 and the elastic body are miniaturized to further improve the operability when installing the cap 4 and the elastic body.

To briefly explain the engagement state of the groove portion 2.51 in the above embodiment, when the collar portion 9.9 is moved inward when worn, the arm portions 5, 5 are elastically deformed to widen the distance between them. In this state, the grooves 2 and 51 can be engaged by positioning the recording head between the arms 5.5 of the cap and separating the collars. 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.
Since the sealed state becomes stronger and the pressure distribution is also optimized, the sealing performance is ensured. The elastic material and thickness of the elastic body 6 may be any material as long as it can press the sheet 3 and maintain the sealing force when the groove 2.51 is engaged.

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.
It is a flexible sheet with a thickness of about 0 -, and the elastic body has a thickness of 3
The sponge is about mm in size, and is 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 integrally joining with the lid member 63 are provided. The inkjet cartridge IJC discharge port is maintained in a non-contact state with the wall portion in the storage space. As shown in these drawings, there are four recesses 61 that protrude into the storage space. If the depth of the recess on the side where the discharge port is located in step a is increased so that the discharge port is located deep within the storage space, the discharge port can be 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 collisions 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 6]a 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, for example, 0.8 mm or less, preferably 0.6 mm.
Hereinafter, it is more preferably 0.4 mm or less, and the lower limit is, for example, 0.05 mm or more.

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, acrylonitrile-butashune-styrene copolymer resin (A
The injection molding method using resin such as BS11 resin, polystyrene, polypropylene, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, etc. allows the thickness of the wall portion 61c and the recessed portion 61a to be easily adjusted, and can be performed at a relatively low cost, and each part can be formed as desired. 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 includes a container body 61 and a lid member 63.
It is preferable that a reinforcing rib 61e is provided along the joining region 62 with the main body. This rib 61e is the 15th
In the figure, it is provided so as to protrude toward the lid member 63, but 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 recess 61a, for example, 2 mm or more, preferably 3 m.
m or more, preferably 5 mm or more.

The shape of the four parts 61a is that of an 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 support part of the inkjet cartridge in the recess 61a and the inkjet cartridge is too large, the inkjet cartridge may shake or shift in the packaging container, so it is not preferable. This is not preferable because it makes it difficult to store the container in the container body 61, and the impact from the wall 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 to about 21 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, EVAL types, etc. can be used.

In terms of handling, it is preferable 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 is,
This is to avoid accidentally touching the ejection 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 a vinylidene chloride layer 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 humidity environment maintaining function as described above.

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 .
1c side surface 61cm1, curved parts, etc., the thickness uniformity of each part can be made better, there is no occurrence of pinholes, and moisture permeation prevention properties in each part can be improved. 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. A tape-shaped material is most suitable because of its superior properties, its thinness, which hardly affects the size of the inkjet cartridge, and its ability to be formed at relatively low cost. As a material for the sealing member 3, for example, boroethylene terephthalate can be used.

Furthermore, in FIG. 7, a suppressing member 4 for pressing the sealing member 3 against the inkjet cartridge IJC is provided at the notch of the inkjet cart 1. 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 suppressing 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. Moreover, 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 portion of the storage container main body (however, FIG. 15 and ° differ in the portions treated as ``top views'').

This example is the same as the examples shown in FIGS. 7, 19, and 20 described above except for the shape of the recess 61a of the container body 61.
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.

Next, examples related to the storage container and ink will be shown below.

Example 1 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer
5 parts (acid value 174, average molecular weight 18000) monoethanolamine 1.5
68.5 parts ion-exchanged water 5 parts ethylene glycol The above ingredients were mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. At this time, if the concentration of the resin to be dissolved is low, it may not be completely dissolved, so when dissolving the resin, a high concentration solution may be prepared in advance and diluted to prepare the desired resin solution. Add carbon black (MCF-88) to this solution.
, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 5 parts of ethanol were added, premixing was performed between three parts, and then dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine: Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media, Zirconium beads Filling rate of 1 mm diameter grinding media: 5 parts % (volume) Grinding time: 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (1200 ORPM, 2 o minutes). The particles were removed to prepare a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 5 parts glycerin
8 parts ethylene glycol
1 part ethanol 4
1 part ion-exchanged water 28 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 2 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid half ester-maleic anhydride copolymer 6 parts (acid value 155, average molecular weight 13000) Aminomethylpropanol 2.
5 parts ion exchange water 59.5 parts diethylene glycol 5 parts Mix the above ingredients,
Heat to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution were added 20 parts of carbon black (#1000, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 7 parts of ethanol, and after premixing for 30 minutes, a dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser: Pearl mill (manufactured by Ashizawa) Grinding media: Glass beads 1mm diameter grinding media filling rate/50% (volume) discharge speed + 1
00 mJ2/min Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles and prepare a dispersion liquid.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts glycerin
10 parts ethylene glycol
5 parts ethanol 5 parts ion-exchanged water 40 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 18 parts to obtain an ink.

Example 3 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid half ester-maleic anhydride copolymer 8 parts (acid value 205, average molecular weight 7000) Aminomethyl propatool 4 parts Ion-exchanged water 56 parts Diethylene glycol
Mix 5 parts of the above ingredients and 7 parts in a water bath.
Heat to 0°C to completely dissolve the resin. After adding 20 parts of carbon black (SB6. manufactured by Degussa) and 7 parts of ethanol to this solution and performing premixing for 30 minutes,
Dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser: Burl mill (manufactured by Ashizawa) Grinding media: Filling rate of glass beads 1 mm diameter grinding media: 5 parts % (volume) Discharge speed + 10
0mβ/min Sarani centrifugation treatment (120DORPM, 20 minutes)
Coarse particles were removed to obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts glycerin
6 parts ethylene glycol
10 parts ethanol 5
1 part ion-exchanged water 39 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 4 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-butyl acrylate copolymer
6 parts (acid value 137, average molecular weight 11400) monoethanolamine 3
66 parts ion-exchanged water 5 parts ethylene glycol The above ingredients are mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. Copper phthalocyanine blue () Ielio in this solution
gen Blue 06700T (manufactured by BASF) and 5 parts of ethanol were added and premixed for 30 minutes, followed by dispersion treatment under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine: Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media: 1 zirconium bead Filling rate of grinding media: 50% (volume) Grinding time: 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes)
Coarse particles were removed to obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts ethylene glycol 20 parts ethanol
4 parts ion exchange water 3
6 parts of the above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Comparative Example 1 15 parts of the water-soluble resin contained in the dispersion of Example 1,
Add 57 parts of ion-exchanged water to 4.5 parts of monoethanolamine.
Inks were obtained using the same formulation with different amounts.

Comparative Example 2 An ink was obtained using the same formulation except that the amount of water-soluble resin contained in the dispersion of Example 2 was changed to 15 parts, the amount of aminomethyl propatool was changed to 6 parts, and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 49 parts.

Comparative Example 3 The amount of water-soluble resin contained in the dispersion of Example 3 was 15 parts, monoethanolamine was 3 parts, and ion exchange water was 52 parts.
Inks were obtained using the same formulation with different amounts.

Comparative Example 4 An ink was prepared by using the ink of Example 1 without using ethanol, but by increasing the amount of water.

Using the above recording liquid, thermal energy is applied as a printer to eject ink (Al sink jet printer (manufactured by HP, driving frequency 1.2 kHz),
The following evaluations were conducted using (B) a desk jet printer (manufactured by HP, drive frequency 3.6 kHz) and (C) a printer equipped with an ink jet cartridge having the configuration shown in FIG.

T1; Driving conditions and ejection stability (C) Printer drive voltage 25V, 27V, 3
0+/G:m setting, frequency 2 kHz for each voltage
Printing was performed at room temperature under two conditions: , 4k)lz, and the presence or absence of irregularities in printing, chipping, and ejection failure was observed to evaluate ejection stability.

0: Clear discharge from the first character, and no discharge failure, chipping, or print disturbance during continuous printing.

O: Letters are ejected neatly, but ejection failures are observed at several locations in solid print areas.

Δ: Even in the character part, non-ejection occurs when several characters are printed continuously.

X: Significant disturbance in ejection occurs from the first character, making it impossible to read the printed matter.

TO: The obtained ink was centrifuged at 55,000 rpm for 5 hours using an ultra-high-speed refrigerated centrifuge (manufactured by Beckman) to sediment the pigment and the resin adsorbed on the pigment, and then a certain amount of the supernatant was collected. Dry and solidify in a vacuum dryer (60°C, 24 hours). The percentage of this resin amount to the charged ink is calculated and determined as the residual resin concentration.

$1 Table Example 5 When the recording liquids obtained in Examples 1 to 4 were filled into commercially available feltbens and written on high-quality paper (Kusankan (trade name), Yamaba Kokusaku Bulb), the handwriting was blurred. I was able to write smoothly without any problems.

Also, after removing the cap and leaving it for 24 hours, I was able to write smoothly.

Example 6 (Creation of H material dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-ethyl acrylate copolymer
2 parts (acid value 174, average molecular weight 18000) monoethanolamine 0
5 parts ion exchange water 775 parts ethylene glycol 5 parts Mix the above ingredients,
Heat to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. At this time, if the concentration of the resin to be dissolved is low, it may not be completely dissolved, so when dissolving the resin, a high concentration solution may be prepared in advance and diluted to prepare the desired resin solution. Carbon black (MCF-
88, manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical), add 10 parts of ethanol, and add 3
After premixing for 0 minutes, dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine: Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media, zirconium beads 1 mm diameter Filling rate of grinding media: 50% (volume) Grinding time = 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes)
Coarse particles were removed to obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 50 parts glycerin
8 parts ethylene glycol
10 parts ethanol 4
1 part ion-exchanged water 28 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 7 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Acrylic acid-butyl acrylate-methyl methacrylate copolymer 4.5 parts (acid value 80, average molecular weight 6700) Monoethanolamine 1 part Ion exchange water 69 parts Ethylene glycol
5 parts The above components were mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. Add 15 carbon black (MCF-88, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) to this solution.
After premixing for 30 minutes, dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser: Sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media: Filling rate of grinding media after 1 mm of glass beads = 60% (volume) Grinding time: 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (20000 RPM, 20 minutes)
Coarse particles were removed to obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts thiodiglycol 10 parts ethylene glycol
1 part ethanol
4 parts ion-exchanged water 36 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 8 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid half ester-maleic anhydride copolymer 2 parts (acid value 155, average molecular weight 13000) Aminomethyl propatool 1
67 parts ion-exchanged water 5 parts diethylene glycol The above ingredients are mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution were added 15 parts of carbon black (MCF-88, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 7 parts of ethanol, premixed for 30 minutes, and then subjected to dispersion treatment under the following conditions.

Disperser: Burl mill (manufactured by Ashizawa) Grinding media: Filling rate of grinding media after glass beads 1 mm: 50% (volume) Discharge speed: 1
00 mj2/min Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles and obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts glycerin
10 parts ethylene glycol
5 parts ethanol 5
1 part ion-exchanged water 40 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 9 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-half nystyl maleate-maleic anhydride copolymer 3 parts (acid value 205, average molecular weight 7000) Aminomethyl propatool 1.5 parts Ion-exchanged water 71.5 parts Diethylene glycol 5 The above ingredients were mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution were added 12 parts of carbon black (MCF-88, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 7 parts of ethanol, premixing was performed for 30 minutes, and then dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser Nivar Mill (manufactured by Ashizawa) Grinding media: Glass beads 1 mm diameter Filling rate of grinding media: 50% (volume) Discharge speed: 1
00 mf2/min Further centrifugation treatment (+2 (100 RPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles and prepare a dispersion liquid.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts glycerin
6 parts ethylene glycol
10 parts ethanol 5
1 part ion-exchanged water 39 parts The above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 10 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-acrylic acid-butyl acrylate copolymer
2 parts (acid value 137, average molecular weight 11400) monoethanolamine 0
．． 5 parts ion-exchanged water 72.5 parts ethylene glycol 5 parts The above ingredients were mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. Add carbon black (#1000) to this solution.
．． After adding 15 parts (manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 5 parts of ethanol and performing premixing for 30 minutes, dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Disperser: 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 (+20 CIORPM, 20 minutes) was performed to remove coarse particles. A dispersion was obtained.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 40 parts ethylene glycol 20 parts ethanol
4 parts ion exchange water 3
6 parts of the above components were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 11 (Preparation of pigment dispersion) Styrene-maleic acid-phester-maleic anhydride copolymer 6 parts (acid value 193, average molecular weight 28,000) Monoethanolamine 2
59 parts ion-exchanged water 5 parts ethylene glycol The above ingredients are mixed and heated to 70°C in a water bath to completely dissolve the resin. To this solution, 20 parts of carbon black (MAloo, manufactured by Mitsubishi Kasei) and 8 parts of ethanol were added, premixing was performed for 30 minutes, and then dispersion treatment was performed under the following conditions.

Dispersion machine, sand grinder (manufactured by Igarashi Kikai) Grinding media: Zirconium beads 1 mm diameter Filling rate of grinding media: 50% (volume) Grinding time: 3 hours Further centrifugation treatment (12000 RPM, 20 minutes)
Coarse particles were removed to obtain a dispersion.

(Preparation of ink) Above dispersion 20 parts ethylene glycol 10 parts thiodiglycol
6 parts ethanol 4
1 part ion-exchanged water 60 parts The above ingredients were mixed and stirred for 1 hour to obtain an ink.

Example 12 An ink was obtained using the same formulation except that the pigment contained in the dispersion of Example 6 was changed to 10 parts of phthalocyanine blue pigment (Lionol Green GYK, manufactured by Toyo Inri) and 76.5 parts of ion-exchanged water. .

Comparative Example 5 The amount of dispersed resin contained in the dispersion liquid of Example 6 was 7 parts, monoethanolamine was 1.5 parts, and ion exchange water was 81 parts.
．． An ink was obtained using the same formulation except for 5 parts.

Comparative Example 6 The amount of dispersed resin contained in the dispersion liquid of Example 7 was changed to 10 parts,
An ink was obtained using the same recipe except that the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 64 parts.

~ Comparative Example 7 An ink was obtained using the same formulation as Example 8 except that the amount of the dispersion resin contained in the dispersion liquid was changed to 8 parts and the amount of ion-exchanged water was changed to 61 parts.

Comparative Example 8 The amount of dispersed resin contained in the dispersion liquid of Example 6 was 10 parts, monoethanolamine was 2.5 parts, and ion-exchanged water was 67 parts.
．． An ink was obtained using the same formulation except for 5 parts.

Comparative Example 9 An ink was prepared by using the ink of Example 6 without using ethanol and increasing the amount of water.

Using the above ink, evaluations were conducted in the same manner as for the recording liquids of Examples 1 to 4.

The following evaluation has been added.

T2 Print - Clogged when reprinting after a time stop Print - For clogs when reprinting after a time stop, fill the printer with the specified ink, print alphanumeric characters continuously for 10 minutes, and then print. After being left for 10 minutes without being stopped or capped, alphanumeric characters were printed again and judged based on the presence or absence of defects such as faded or missing characters.

(Leave at 206±5°C, 50±10% RH, (C) Printer driving conditions 2k) Iz, 30V) O;-
There are no defects from the beginning of the letters.

△; - Part of the letters are blurred or missing.

The X knee character cannot be printed at all.

Recovery from clogging when reprinting after a long-term stop of T3 Niprint After filling the printer with the specified ink and printing alphanumeric characters continuously for one section, stop printing and leave the cap uncovered for 7 days. After leaving it as it was, we performed an operation to recover from the nozzle clogging, and determined how many times it took to print normally without blurring or missing characters.

(60℃, 10+5%RH1(C) Printer driving conditions 2kHz, 30V) O: Normal printing is possible after 1 to 5 recovery operations △; Normal printing is possible after 6 to 9 recovery operations X; Normal printing is possible after 11 or more recovery operations T4: The surface tension (CBVP A1 surface tension meter manufactured by Kyowa Kagaku) and viscosity (VISCONICELD manufactured by Tokyo Keiki) of the recording liquid were measured.

The results of the tests conducted according to the above evaluation items are listed in Table 2.

Example 13 Each of the inks obtained in Examples 6 to 12 was filled into commercially available feltbens and printed on high-quality paper (Kusankan (trade name), Yamaba Kokusaku Valve).
When I wrote on it, I was able to write well with no blurred handwriting.

Further, even after removing the cap and leaving it for 24 hours, good writing was possible.

Example 14 The inkjet cartridges having the configuration shown in FIG. 3 filled with the inks obtained in Examples 1 to 4 and 6 to 12 were installed in a recording device, and after confirming that good ink ejection could be performed, was left in a low-humidity atmosphere until dry matter generated by drying the ink clogged the ejection port and caused ejection failure.

Remove the recording head that caused the ejection failure from the main body of the device, and use a cotton swab to clean the area around the ejection port with a solution of pH 7 or higher.
When the inkjet cartridge was cleaned by rubbing and printing was performed again using the inkjet cartridge, good printing was again possible.

[Effects of the Invention] The recording head of the present invention has a sealing member that is combined with a pressing member that presses the ejection portion to seal the ink ejection portion and the atmospheric passage port of the ink tank. By sealing the air vent 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 are connected through an adhesive, but the connection between the seal member and the discharge port may not be through an adhesive.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording liquid that has excellent durability of printed matter and is suitable for recording devices that use thermal energy and have various recording heads. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a recording method that is highly reliable and capable of high-quality printing.

The head configuration having the sealing member described above also makes it possible to prevent changes in the proportion of dissolved resin in the ink due to evaporation of recording liquid components during long-term storage.

Furthermore, even after the above-mentioned sealing member has been removed and the product has been used, the customer can easily use a wetting agent to improve ejection failure due to ink drying, thereby providing a more reliable device. It became possible.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

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. 8(a) and (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. 10(a) and 10(b) are explanatory diagrams of modified embodiments of FIG. 8, respectively, showing a top view and a side view in order.
The figure 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.
), (b), (c), and Figure 14 (a), (
b), (c) and Figure 15 (a), (b),
(c) is an explanatory view of yet another embodiment of the present invention, showing a side view, a front view, and a top view in order;
6 and 17 are perspective views 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 of attaching and detaching the recording head of this embodiment to and from the main body of the recording apparatus. It is a diagram. 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 outlet a 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 (f) showing the flange portion of the storage container main body. FIGS. 24(a), 24(b), and 24(c) are explanatory diagrams for explaining in detail the present invention when the recording head implementing the configuration of the present invention is brought into use. 3. Covering member 4: Pressing member 6: Ink absorber 61: Container body 61a: Recessed part
61b: Flange portion 61C: Wall portion 61e:
Rib 63: Bottom plate 63a: Knob part IJC
: Inkjet cartridge 91, H: Thermal energy generating element 2.51: Groove portion 10: Base plate 7: Positioning or elastic deformation control portion 8・Cartridge positioning portion relative to carriage 9 Cap removal collar

Claims (58)

[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. and a pressing member that presses the ink against the discharge portion, and the ink contains a pigment, a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water, and the amount of the dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less. A recording head comprising a polyhydric alcohol and/or an alkyl ether thereof and an aliphatic monohydric alcohol as a water-soluble organic solvent. (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 portion. (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 aliphatic monohydric alcohol is ethyl alcohol. (12) The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the content of the aliphatic monohydric alcohol is in the range of 3 to 15% by weight. (13) Claims 1 to 3, wherein the content of the polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
13. The recording head according to item 12. (14) The recording head according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the ink is such that dry matter produced by drying the ink can be wet-dispersed with a wetting agent. (15) The recording head according to claim 14, wherein the wetting agent is a solution having a pH of 7 or higher. (16) Contains a pigment, a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water, the amount of the dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and the water-soluble organic solvent is a polyhydric alcohol and/or an alkyl ether thereof. A storage method for a recording head comprising an opening opened to the outside and communicating with a storage section storing ink containing an aliphatic monohydric alcohol, the ejection section and the ink storage as the openings. A sealing member that simultaneously closes the atmospheric communication port for the part, and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the discharge part, and the press member that presses the discharge part against the peripheral part thereof is stored in an airtight state. A recording head storage method characterized by: (17) 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 16 achieved by forming each
How to store the recording head as described in . (18) The method for storing a recording head according to claim 16 or 17, wherein there is a stepped portion in the vicinity of the ink ejection portion, and the pressing area of the sealing member by the pressing member includes this stepped portion. (19) The method for storing a recording head according to any one of claims 16 to 18, 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. . (20) The recording head according to any one of claims 16 to 19, 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. (21) The recording head storage method according to any one of claims 16 to 20, wherein the sealing member is adhered to the ink ejection section. (22) 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. 22. The method for storing a recording head according to claim 16, wherein the recording head is a recording head that can be stored. (23) The storage method according to any one of claims 16 to 22, wherein the aliphatic monohydric alcohol is ethyl alcohol. (24) The storage method according to any one of claims 16 to 23, wherein the content of aliphatic monohydric alcohol is in the range of 3 to 15% by weight. (25) Claim 16 wherein the content of the polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
-24.The storage method described in 24. (26) The storage method according to any one of claims 16 to 25, wherein the dry matter of the ink produced by drying the ink can be wet-dispersed with a wetting agent. (27) The storage method according to claim 26, wherein the wetting agent is a solution having a pH of 7 or higher. (28) an engaging portion for engaging and integrating with the recording head;
It contains the ejection part of the recording head, a pigment, a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water, and the amount of the dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and the water-soluble organic solvent is polyhydric alcohol and/or A flexible sheet that is bonded to and comes into contact with the atmosphere communication port of the ink storage section that stores the ink containing the alkyl ether and aliphatic monohydric alcohol, and a portion of the flexible sheet that corresponds to the discharge port are provided only. A cap for a recording head, characterized by comprising: (29) The cap according to claim 28, wherein the cap has an abutting portion that abuts against the recording head to define the amount of deformation of the elastic member. (30) The cap according to claim 28 or 29, wherein the cap has a portion located on the side of the recording head for defining the position of the elastic member with respect to the ejection portion. (31) The cap achieves the engagement and integration by grooves of the engagement portion that engage with a plurality of grooves formed on each of the pair of opposing side surfaces of the recording head.
30. The cap according to any one of 30 to 30. (32) The cap according to any one of claims 28 to 31, wherein the cap includes a collar portion that assists attachment and detachment to and from the recording head. (33) The recording head is a bubble jet method 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 33. The cap according to claim 28, wherein the cap is a recording head that is detachable from the recording head. (34) The cap according to claims 28 to 33, wherein the aliphatic monohydric alcohol is ethyl alcohol. (35) The cap according to any one of claims 28 to 34, wherein the content of aliphatic monohydric alcohol is in the range of 3 to 15% by weight. (36) Claim 28 wherein the content of polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
36. The cap according to item 35. (37) The cap according to any one of claims 28 to 36, wherein the ink is a dry matter produced by drying the ink, which can be wet-dispersed with a wetting agent. (38) The cap according to claim 37, wherein the wetting agent is a solution having a pH of 7 or higher. (39) 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; a pressing member for pressing the ink, and the ink contains a pigment, a water-soluble resin, a water-soluble organic solvent, and water, and the amount of the dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and 1. A storage container for an inkjet cartridge, which contains a polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether and an aliphatic monohydric alcohol as a water droplet organic solvent, and is characterized by having a recording head that is removable from a recording apparatus main body. (40) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 39, wherein the sealing member is a protective tape that seals the ejection portion. (41) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 39, wherein the seal member is a cap member. (42) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 41, wherein the cap member is a cap member in which an ink absorber is disposed at a position corresponding to the ejection portion. (43) Claim 39, wherein the lid member is provided with a knob portion that is used when peeling off the connection with the container body.
43. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 42 to 42. (44) Claims 39 to 4, wherein the container body is provided with a flange portion as a portion for joining with the lid member.
3. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 3. (45) Claim 3, wherein the flange portion is provided with a rib along a joint area between the container body and the lid member.
45. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 9 to 44. (46) The inkjet cartridge according to any one of claims 39 to 45, wherein the inkjet cartridge includes an electrothermal converter as a thermal energy generating means that generates thermal energy used to discharge ink from the discharge section. Cartridge storage container. (47) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of claims 39 to 46, wherein the aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the ink is ethyl alcohol. (48) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of claims 39 to 47, wherein the content of the aliphatic monohydric alcohol is in the range of 3 to 15% by weight. (49) Claim 39 wherein the content of polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
49. The inkjet cartridge storage container according to any one of 48 to 48. (50) The storage container for an inkjet cartridge according to any one of claims 39 to 49, wherein the ink is a dry matter produced by drying the ink and can be wet-dispersed with a wetting agent. (51) The inkjet cartridge storage container according to claim 50, wherein the wetting agent is a solution having a pH of 7 or higher. (52) 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 above-mentioned discharge part and the atmosphere communication port for the ink storage part are sealed by a sealing member and a pressing member that presses the sealing member against the above-mentioned discharge part, and the above-mentioned ink contains pigments, water-soluble resins, etc. ,
Contains a water-soluble organic solvent and water, the amount of dissolved water-soluble resin is 2% by weight or less, and contains a polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether and an aliphatic monohydric alcohol as the water-soluble organic solvent, When the inkjet cartridge, which is a recording head that is removably attached to the main body of the recording apparatus, is ready for use, the pressing member is removed from the discharge section toward the side where the sealing member does not extend, and then the sealing member is removed. A handling method during use, characterized by opening the atmosphere communication port area for the ink storage section, and then removing the sealing member from the recording head so that the ejection section is opened. (53) The method for handling during use according to claim 52, wherein the aliphatic monohydric alcohol in the ink is ethyl alcohol. (54) The ink has an aliphatic monohydric alcohol content of 3 to 3
54. A method for handling during use according to claim 52 or 53, wherein the amount is in the range of 15% by weight. (55) Claim 52, wherein the content of the polyhydric alcohol and/or its alkyl ether is in the range of 10 to 50% by weight.
55. The handling method during use according to any one of 54. (56) The method for handling the ink during use according to any one of claims 52 to 55, wherein the dry matter produced by drying the ink can be wet-dispersed with a wetting agent. (57) The method for handling during use according to claim 56, wherein the wetting agent is a solution having a pH of 7 or higher. (58) The ink according to any one of claims 1 to 57.