JPH0776198A - Recorder, writing implement and refill implement - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To effectively disassemble irrespective of a place where biodegradable plastic is embedded by incorporating a part formed of the biodegradable plastic and nutrient for expediting growth of bacteria in a recorder, a writing implement having ink, an ink storage part and an ink recording part. CONSTITUTION:A recorder 101 or a writing implement comprises ink, an ink storing part 102 and an ink recording part 103, wherein a part formed of biodegradable plastic is provided, and nutrient for expediting growth of bacteria is incorporated. That is, the plastic and the nutrient are gathered thereby to effectively and rapidly biodegrade it irrespective of number of the bacteria and its activation level of a place to be buried after using.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device, a writing instrument, and a refilling instrument that use biodegradable plastic as a part of the device configuration.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the development of computer civilization, many printers which are one of the output devices have been used. Further, many conventional recording tools such as ballpoint pens and felt-tip pens are still used.

A portion of a printer which directly controls recording is called a head, and a wire dot head, a thermal transfer head, an ink jet head and the like are widely used as the method. Among these heads, the inkjet head is particularly popular because of its high definition, high speed recording and low running cost.

Among the ink jet heads, there are a separate type head in which the recording section and the ink tank are separate bodies, and an integrated type head in which the ink tank is integrated with the recording section. It is necessary to replenish the ink when the ink is used up, but in the separated type, the ink tank (also called cartridge) is replaced, in the integrated type, the entire head is replaced, and the ink is refilled using an ink refill device. There is. After the ink is replenished, the used ink tank head and the refill device are almost always thrown away, and the amount of waste also increases with the increase in the used amount. Most of these used ink tanks / heads and refill devices are made of synthetic plastic, and the treatment of wastes is a major social issue.

Also, writing instruments such as ballpoint pens and felt-tip pens include a portion made of synthetic plastic and are discarded after use, causing the same problem.

While some of these waste plastics are collected and incinerated, some are landfilled, some are left in the natural sea, rivers, mountains and the like. The plastics that are collected and incinerated may generate extremely intense heat during incineration, and may generate heat that exceeds the design calorific value of the incinerator, in which case the incinerator may be damaged. Further, many of them generate toxic gas when incinerated. In landfill disposal, it is becoming more difficult to secure a landfill site every year, and there are problems that harmful substances are also landfilled and concentrated, and that land subsidence may occur at the landfill site. . Furthermore, if left in the natural world, it may flow into rivers or the sea and damage marine substances.

In order to solve such a problem, even if a plastic material having biodegradability is used and landfill disposal is performed after use, or even if it is left in the sea, river, or mountain, these are There is a method that does not cause a problem due to decomposition of biodegradable plastic, and it is gradually used. However, simply using biodegradable plastics is not a true solution to environmental problems. Because the number of bacteria and its activity level differ depending on the place to be filled or the place to be left unattended, even if the plastic material is biodegradable, it may not completely decompose. is there.

[0008]

Since the degradability of biodegradable plastics is determined by the number of bacteria and their activity level, even if they are made of biodegradable plastics, they do not necessarily decompose. In addition, there are cases in which the original effects of biodegradable plastics cannot be fully exerted due to the slow decomposition rate.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording device, a writing instrument and a refilling instrument which surely decomposes regardless of the place where the biodegradable plastic is buried and which decomposes at a higher speed.

[0010]

According to the present invention, an ink and a recording device, a writing instrument or a refilling instrument having a portion for storing the ink or a portion for recording the ink on the ink are made of biodegradable plastic. Characterized by the fact that it has parts and contains nutrients that promote the growth of bacteria, to ensure that biodegradable plastics are broken down wherever they are buried or left undisturbed, and also to break down faster. It is the one.

The following biodegradable plastics can be used in the present invention. (1) Natural polymer system As the natural polymer system, benzylated wood (wood cellulose, lignin treated with alkali such as caustic soda and reacted with a chemical substance having a benzyl group and an acetyl group to form a plastic), higher fatty acid Esterified wood, wheat gluten with glycerin, glycol, emulsified silicone oil, and urea added. Matterby (trade name) consisting of starch and modified PVA (Novamont / Nippon Synthetic Chemical Industry), in which chitosan is added to cellulose (Shikoku Industrial Laboratory). NOVON (trade name) with additives added to starch
[Warner Lambert]. Examples thereof include pullulan, alginic acid, chitin, chitosan, carrageenan, starch and the like. (2) Fermentation production system As a fermentation production system polymer, 3-hydroxybutyric acid (HB)
There is a linear polyester of 3-hydroxyvaleric acid (HV), Biopol (trade name) [Zeneca], which is produced by sugar fermentation by hydrogen bacteria and the molecule itself is biodegraded. is there. Furthermore, a linear polyester of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (HB) and 4-hydroxybutyric acid (HB) [Tokyo Institute of Technology, Institute of Resource Chemistry]. Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA, a generic term for polyester compounds produced by microorganisms). Curdlan (trade name) [Takeda Yakuhin] which is a polysaccharide composed of β-1,3-glucan. Bacterial cellulose [Ajinomoto], which is composed of microbial-derived cellulose, may be mentioned. (3) Chemical synthesis system As a chemical synthesis system, praxel or tone (trade name) [DAICEL, VCC] made of polycaprolactone. Resomer consisting of polylactic acid / polyglycolide (trade name) [Dupont Mitsui / Kyowa Fermentation]. Polyglutamic acid [Ajinomoto] consisting of poly-γ-methylglutamate. Bionore (trade name) [Showa High Polymer] made of aliphatic polyester. Examples thereof include polyester polyethers, ethylene vinyl alcohol polymers, polyesters, polyethers, copolymers of polyurethane and aliphatic polyamides, copolymers of aromatic polyesters and aliphatic polyesters, and polyamides. Further, any plastic can be used as long as it is finally decomposed into water, carbon dioxide and other minerals by the microorganisms.

As the nutrient for promoting the growth of bacteria, which is a requirement of the present invention, sugar amino acids, proteins such as proteins that can be easily decomposed by bacteria can be used.

[0013]

【Example】

Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is an inkjet head 1 showing an embodiment of the present invention.
It is an external view of 01. The ink ejection port is the recording head unit 10.
Recording is performed by ejecting the ink below 3 and downward. Ink exists in the ink tank unit 102. When the ink runs out, the ink tank section 1
02 is removed from the print head unit 103, a new ink tank unit is attached, and printing is performed again. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the ink tank portion 10 that has been used at the time of ink replacement is used.
2 will be discarded.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the head. Here, the recording head unit 103 and the ink tank unit 102 are molded from Bionore (trade name) [manufactured by Showa Polymer Co., Ltd.], and the ink absorber 201 in the ink tank unit 102 is made of polyurethane resin.

A chamber is provided in the ink tank portion as shown in FIG. 2 and 2 g of casein is put therein. Also, in order to expose casein when discarding the ink tank part, it is easy to make a hole with a needle, etc., and a part of the wall is thinned so that casein can easily touch the outside air without making a hole. Better to leave.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of the present invention. The materials of the recording head portion and the ink tank portion are the same as those in the first embodiment.
Albumin as a nutrient is dissolved in the ink in the cartridge in a part by weight based on the weight of the ink.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 4 shows a felt-tip pen which is one of the embodiments of the present invention.
A pen body 401 and a cap portion 402 are both formed of bio-poles. Reference numeral 403 denotes a small chamber for enclosing the nutrients of bacteria, which contains 1.5 g of glutamic acid and 0.5 g of glucose.

[0018]

By combining the biodegradable plastic and the nutrients of bacteria, the biodegradation can be carried out reliably and faster regardless of the number of bacteria in the place to be buried after use and the activity level thereof.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external view of an inkjet head showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the inkjet head of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an inkjet head showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view of a felt-tip pen showing an embodiment of a writing instrument of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 inkjet head 102 ink tank section 103 recording head section 201 absorber 202 nutrient chamber 401 pen body 402 cap section 403 nutrient chamber

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued Front Page (72) Inventor Shoji Shiba 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yoichi Tanetani 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Incorporated (72) Inventor Hajime Kishida 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording device having an ink, a part for storing the ink and a part for recording the ink, or a writing instrument, comprising a part made of biodegradable plastic, and a nutrient for promoting the growth of bacteria. A recording device or a writing instrument characterized by including. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is an inkjet recording apparatus. 3. A refill device having an ink and a part for storing the ink, wherein the refill device has a part composed of biodegradable plastic and contains nutrients for promoting the growth of bacteria.