JPS6034869A - Ink producing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To compose an equipment which produces an ink suitable for ink jet recording and/or writing appliances by a process wherein the property of the ink is indicated and recorded by understanding the cencentration of the dye stuff contained in the prepared ink. CONSTITUTION:The dye concentration of ink prepared in a mixing tank 1 is detected by a detector 11 of dye concentration. According to this output, the last lot control of ink property is carried out. Thereafter, the data detected by the dye concentration detector 11 is indicated by an indicator 15-1 on an indicating part of operating unit 15. On the basis of this indicated data, an operator is albe to perform the lot control. A printer 16 prints out the data detected by a detector 11 at a regular interval of time. Thereby, based on this result of output, the operator way be able to monitor the secular variation of the properties of the produced ink.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to an ink manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to an ink manufacturing apparatus suitable for preparing recording liquid (generally referred to as ink) suitable for inkjet recording, writing instruments, and the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, the ink used in the inkjet recording method, in which recording is performed by ejecting ink in a recording head from an ejection orifice using vibrations caused by a piezo vibrator, has been made by mixing various dyes and pigments with water or other organic solvents. It is known to be dissolved or dispersed in a liquid medium consisting of: It is also known that similar inks are used in writing instruments such as felt pens and fountain pens.

An example of a general basic composition of such an ink is one in which the main components are a water-soluble dye, water as its solvent, and the king of glycols as an anti-drying agent.

Here, the water-soluble dye usually contains inorganic salts such as sodium chloride and sodium sulfate, and heavy metal ions.

When recording ink is prepared using dyes containing such inorganic ions, the following disadvantages arise. That is, inorganic ions reduce the stability of dye dissolution in the ink, causing aggregation and precipitation of the dye. Furthermore, in inkjet recording heads and writing instruments, when ink evaporates near the ejection orifice and the liquid composition changes, inorganic salts are precipitated. All of these causes clogging of the discharge orifice, which is most avoided.

Therefore, in order to eliminate such adverse effects, it is necessary to control the inorganic ion concentration to be within a predetermined range during ink production. This is essential when a commercially available dye containing an inorganic ion as an impurity is used to prepare an inkjet recording ink or a writing instrument ink.

(Objective) In view of these points, the object of the present invention is to control the concentration of heavy metal ions contained in a dye solution when preparing ink, and to control the concentration of heavy metal ions and dye concentration in the prepared ink. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink manufacturing apparatus suitable for manufacturing ink suitable for inkjet recording, writing implements, etc., by which it is possible to understand and manage its properties.

(Example) Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention. Here, 1 is an ink preparation tank, and the dye purification device 2 supplies a purified dye aqueous solution via a valve 3 as described later. Further, from the storage section 4 and the storage section 5, a valve 6 is provided, respectively.
A water-soluble organic solvent and additives are supplied to the mixing tank 1 through and 7. Furthermore, pure water is also supplied via valve 8. Each of these supplied materials is stirred by a stirrer 8 to prepare ink.

A liquid amount detector 10 measures the amount of ink produced in the mixing tank l.
Detected by. Further, the dye concentration and heavy metal ion concentration in the ink prepared in the mixing tank 1 are detected by a dye concentration detector 11 and a heavy metal ion concentration detector 12, respectively. Based on the outputs of both these detectors,
Final property management (loft management) of ink manufactured by iA
I do. The ink whose components have been adjusted to desired values is discharged via the discharge valve 13 as necessary.

14 is a control unit that controls the drive of each part; 15
Reference numeral 16 denotes an operation unit equipped with various display units and drive switches, etc., and 16 a printer that prints out various data.

Here, in the display section of the operation section 15, 15-1 and 15-2 are a dye concentration indicator and a heavy metal ion concentration indicator, respectively, and display the detection results of the dye concentration detector 11 and the heavy metal ion concentration detector 12, respectively. indicate. That is, the dye concentration value and the heavy metal ion concentration value in the ink as the final product obtained in the ink preparation tank 1 are displayed on the circle display. Based on this display result, the operator can manage the properties (loft management) of the manufactured ink.

Further, the printer 1θ prints out the detection results of the single-car detectors 11 and 12 at regular intervals. Based on this output result, the operator can monitor changes in the properties of the manufactured ink over time.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the dye purification apparatus in the apparatus shown in FIG.

Here, 21 is a dye supply section that stores dye powder 22, and supplies the dye powder 22 to a mixing tank 24 via a dye valve 23. In addition, a pure water valve 2 is provided in the mixing tank 24.
Pure water is supplied through a pure water supply pipe 26 with a pipe 5 inserted therein.

In the mixing tank 24, the supplied dye powder 22 and pure water are mixed and dissolved by a mixing tank agitator 27 to create an aqueous dye solution. The amount of the aqueous dye solution stored in the mixing tank 24 is detected by a mixing tank liquid amount detector 28 . Dye solution obtained in the mixing tank! At night, particles of dye powder that did not dissolve in the pure water remain, and these are removed by the filtration filter 28.
Remove by. For this filter 28, ordinary filter paper, Fluoropore (trade name), or the like can be used. The dye solution that has been passed through the filter 28 to remove particles, etc.
The dye solution is supplied to a supply tank 31 via a supply valve 30.

A supply tank liquid level sensor 32 is disposed in the supply tank 31, and the dye solution supply valve 3o is controlled to open and close based on the output of this sensor, thereby controlling the liquid level height in the supply M31.

Next, 41 is a purification section that removes heavy metal ions from the aqueous dye solution, and includes a plurality of processing units (in this example, three first to third processing units) 42-1, 42-2 and 4.
Consists of 2-3. each processing unit) 42 (42-1 to 4
In 2-3), the dye aqueous solution in the supply tank 31 is supplied to the ion exchange resin column 44 (44-1 to 44-3) via the supply valve 43 (43-1 to 43-3). The ion exchange resin column 44 separates heavy metal ions from the dye aqueous solution by so-called ion exchange separation. That is, due to ion exchange within the column, highly adsorbable heavy metal ions contained in the aqueous dye solution are captured by the ion exchange resin and remain within the column. Here, there are valves 45 (45-1 to 45-3) for controlling the liquid level in the column.
is installed to control the amount of dye aqueous solution supplied into the column. Further, the column 44 is made detachable from the processing unit, and whether or not the column is attached is detected by a filter replacement end switch (not shown).

Next, heavy metal ion concentration sensors 4θC4B-1 to 48-
3) is placed in the effluent solution passageway at the lower end of the column 44 to detect the heavy metal ion concentration in the effluent solution from the column 44. As a method for detecting the heavy metal ion concentration, for example, a measurement method using a metal ion electrode or a measurement method using atomic absorption spectroscopy is used. Solution sensor 47 (47
-1 to 47-3) are similarly disposed in the outflow solution passage, and detect the presence or absence of the outflow solution in the outflow solution passage.

The effluent solution from the column 44 is passed through the first discharge valve 48 (48
-1 to 48-3) to the storage tank 49. Further, the water is returned to the supply tank 31 via the second discharge valve 50 (50-1-50-3) by the action of the circulation pump 51. Opening/closing control of both valves 48 and 5o is performed based on the detection results of the heavy metal ion concentration sensor 4θ as described later.

The aqueous dye solution obtained in the storage tank 49 from which heavy metal ions have been removed is taken out through the supply valve 3 as described above and used for ink preparation.

FIG. 3 shows parts related to the dye purification apparatus in the control system of the apparatus shown in FIG. Here, 101 is a controller,
In charge of drive control of each part. A read-only memory (ROM) 102 stores a control program such as the operating procedure shown in FIG. A random access memory (RAM) 103 temporarily stores various data.

104 is the operation section! 5, and sends various command signals to the controller 101 via the single output buffer circuit 105. Reference numeral 10B designates a display section similarly disposed in the operation section 15, and as described later, the first to third unit filter replacement indicators displaying that the column in each processing unit needs to be replaced, and each processing unit. 1st to 3rd displays indicating that the dye aqueous solution is being purified.
It has an indicator when the unit is in operation.

A drive circuit 107 controls the display of the display 10B based on a drive signal from the controller lot.

The detection outputs of the mixing tank liquid level detector 28 and the supply tank liquid level sensor 32 are sent to the controller 10 via an input buffer circuit 108.
1. The drive circuits 11o to 114 operate on each load (valve 23, 25
, 3, the stirrer 27, and the pump 51).

Next, 120 is a control system of the processing unit 42-1.

Since the configuration of each processing unit is the same, the other units 42-2 and 42-3 are omitted in the figure. The detection signal from the heavy metal ion concentration sensor 4G-] is digitized via the A/D converter 121, and then
It is supplied to the controller 101 via the input buffer 7 circuit 122. Further, a digital detection signal is output from the solution sensor 47-1 and is supplied to the controller +01 via the input buffer circuit 122. 123.124 and 125 are the respective valves 43-1.48-1, t'J and 5 mentioned above.
It is a drive circuit for opening and closing 0-1 respectively,
On/off control is performed by a drive signal supplied from the controller 101 via the output buffer circuit 12B.

In the dye purification apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above, based on the detection output of the heavy metal ion concentration sensor 46,
The processing units 44-1 to 44-3 are sequentially replaced to perform heavy metal ion removal processing. That is, there is a limit to the ability of the ion exchange resin in the ion exchange resin column 44 to capture heavy metal ions, and once a certain amount of heavy metal ions have been adsorbed, ion exchange separation is no longer performed. As a result, the dye solution containing heavy metal ions is discharged as is, and the concentration of heavy metal ions in the solution flowing out from the column 44 increases. By detecting this concentration increase, the use of the ion exchange resin column is disabled, and subsequent purification of the dye solution is performed using one of the other two columns (X).

In addition, an ion exchange resin column that is no longer usable is replaced with a new column, or the ion exchange resin is regenerated so that it can be purified again in the processing unit.

FIG. 4 shows the operation of each processing unit.

Here, each flag is used to make the following determination.

Unit filter replacement flag: A flag that instructs to replace the filter in each processing unit, that is, the ion exchange resin column. When this flag is turned on, the corresponding unit filter replacement indicator will display that filter replacement is necessary. .

Unit change request flag: A flag that requests a change in the processing unit. When this flag is turned on, the processing unit indicated by the unit selection counter is selected.
Dye purification operations are transferred to that processing unit.

Unit operation flag: A flag indicating that the corresponding processing unit has been selected.

Unit in operation flag: A flag indicating that the corresponding processing unit is in operation.

Unit discharge flag: A flag that turns on when the concentration of heavy metal ions in the solution effluent from the column in the corresponding processing unit exceeds a set value, and instructs the pump 51 to start refluxing the effluent solution to the supply tank 31. .

Next, each step shown in FIG. 4 will be explained.

In FIG. 4(A), each display and data are initialized in step STI. In step ST2, the processing unit change request flag is turned on, and the contents of the unit selection counter are set to "1". In step ST3,
Based on the detection output of the supply tank liquid level sensor 32, it is determined whether a predetermined amount of dye solution is stored in the supply tank 31. When the predetermined amount is stored, the dye solution supply valve 30 is closed in step ST4, and then the process proceeds to step ST6. However, if the predetermined amount has not been reached, step S
At T5, the supply valve 30 is opened to supply the aqueous dye solution to the supply tank.

Step ST6 is a processing step when there is a filter replacement request in the first processing unit) 42-1, and consists of steps 5TI (-1 to 5T8-3).
If it is determined in step S'T8-1 that the first unit filter replacement flag is on, step S'T6-1 is determined.
2, it is determined whether the first unit filter replacement end switch is on. If the filter is on, the process proceeds to step 56-3, where the first unit filter replacement flag is turned off and the display indicating that replacement is required is erased from the first unit filter replacement indicator. . After this, the process advances to step ST7. In addition, step 1. P5T6
-1, when the filter exchange flag is off, and when the filter exchange luer switch is off at step 5T8-2, step ST follows the flow of "NO".
? Proceed to.

Step ST7 and step ST8 are the second
processing unit) 42-2 and third processing unit 42
This is a processing step when there is a filter replacement request in step-3, and its contents are the same as step 5TI3, so the explanation thereof will be omitted.

In step S'T9, it is determined whether or not the unit change request flag is in the on state. If the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 5TIO; if the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 5TII (FIG. 4(B)). In step 5TIO, the content of the unit selection counter is determined and the content is "1".
'', the process proceeds to step 5T13, ``2'', step 5T14, and ``3'', the process proceeds to step 9-15, respectively.

Step 5713~5T15ha4%J! lyu = -/
h 42-1~! This is a processing step when 12-3 is selected. Since the contents of each of these steps 5T13 to ST+5 are the same, the contents of step 5T13 when the first process step 42-1 is selected will be explained. first,
In step 5T13-1, it is determined whether the first unit filter replacement flag is in the off state. If the determination is negative, the process proceeds to step 5T13-5, and if the determination is affirmative, the process proceeds to step 5T13-2. Step 5T13-2 turns on the first unit operating indicator to display that the first processing unit 42-1 is operating. In step 5T13-3, the supply valve 43-1 and the second discharge valve 50-1 are opened. Subsequently, in step 5T13-4, the first unit operation flag is turned on and the unit change request flag is turned off. Next, step 5T13
-5, the content of the unit selection counter is set to "2", and then the process proceeds to step 5T16.

Here, the content of the unit selection counter is r2 J
, r3 J , rl J , r2 J , . . . , and by executing step 5T14, its content changes to "3", and by executing step 5T15, its content changes to rlJ Changes to

Next, Fig. 4 (B) +7) Steps 5T16 and 5T17
5TI8 and 5TI8 are discharge control steps for the effluent solution from the ion exchange resin column in each processing unit. The contents of each of these steps are similar, so the first
Step 5T showing control in processing unit 42-1
The contents of only 113 will be explained.

First, in step 5T16-1, it is determined whether the first unit operation flag is in the on state.

If the judgment is negative, jump to step 5TI8-5,
~ If the determination is positive, proceed to step 5T1G-2.In step 5T1B-2, check whether the heavy metal ion concentration in the column outflow solution detected by the heavy metal ion sensor 46-1 is below the set value. is determined. Negative judgment Naraha Proceeds to step 5TI6-5, and if affirmative judgment, step 5TII! -Proceed to 3. In step 5T1fl-3,
Close the second discharge valve 50-1, and close the first discharge valve 48-1.
Open 1. As a result, the aqueous dye solution from which heavy metal ions have been removed to a value below the set value in the ion exchange resin column 44-1 is discharged into the storage tank 48 via the first discharge valve 48-1. Next, in step 5T18-4, the first unit operation flag is turned off, and the first unit operation flag is turned on, after which the process advances to step 5T18-5.

In step 5T18-5, it is determined whether the first unit operating flag is on or not. If it is in the off state, proceed to step 5TIG-10; if it is in the on state, proceed to step 5T18-6; in step ST+6-8,
It is determined whether the concentration detected by the heavy metal ion concentration sensor 46-1 exceeds a set value. If the set value is not exceeded, the process proceeds to step ST]8-10, and if it is exceeded, the process proceeds to step ST1B-7. Step 5
After turning off the first unit operation indicator at T1B-7, the process proceeds to step 5T1G-8, where the supply valve 43-
1 and the first discharge valve 48-■ are closed. Furthermore, the second
At the same time as opening the discharge valve 50-1, the circulation pump 51 is driven to start a reflux operation in which the effluent solution from the column 44-1 is refluxed to the supply tank 31 via the second discharge valve 50-1. Next, in step ST9, the first unit operating flag is turned off and the first unit discharge flag is turned on, and then the process proceeds to step 5T1fi-10.

Next, in step 5TI8-10, it is determined whether or not the first unit discharge flag is in the on state. If it is in the off state, the process proceeds to step 5TI7, and if it is in the on state, the process proceeds to step 25TI8-11. move on. Step STl[1
-11, it is determined whether the solution sensor 47-1 disposed in the outflow solution passage of the column 44-1 is off, that is, whether or not the outflow solution remains in the outflow solution passage. When not in the off state, that is, when a solution is detected, step STl? The process proceeds to step 5T1B-12 when the control is in the off state. In this off state,
This means that all of the aqueous dye solution discharged from the column 44-1 whose heavy metal ion concentration value is higher than the set value has been refluxed to the supply tank 31. In step 5T1fi-12, the first unit filter replacement indicator is turned on to indicate that the column of the first processing unit needs to be replaced. Next, in step 5T18-13, the second exhaust valve 50
-1 is closed, the drive of the pump 51 is stopped, and the reflux operation is stopped. Next, in step 5TI6-14, the first unit discharge flag is turned off, the first unit filter exchange flag is turned on, and the unit change request flag is turned on. After this, the process advances to step 5T17.

Next, after passing through steps 5T17 and 5T18, the process returns to step ST3 shown in FIG. 4(A).

By executing each of the above steps, the dye aqueous solution is purified in each processing unit 42-1 to 42-3, and a purified dye aqueous solution whose heavy metal ion concentration is below the set value is obtained in the storage tank 48. .

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, ion exchange separation is performed to capture heavy metal ions in the dye solution, and the dye solution from which the heavy metal ions have been removed is continuously supplied to produce ink. When preparing the ink, the dye concentration of the prepared ink is detected and the detected value is displayed and recorded. Therefore, the properties of the final product, especially the color density, can be determined based on the displayed value. In addition to being able to manage time, the state over time can be confirmed from the recorded values, and ink having quality suitable for use in inkjet recording etc. can be manufactured.

In the above-described embodiment, the detected value of the dye concentration is constantly displayed and printed out at regular intervals, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a switching key may be provided on the operation unit so that either the detected value can be displayed or printed out as required.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a dye purification device in the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a control system of the device shown in FIG. 1. A block diagram showing the parts related to the dye purification device in FIG. 4(A) and
2(B) is a flowchart showing the purification operation in the processing unit of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 1... Ink preparation tank, 2... Dye purification device, 3... Valve, 4... Reservoir, 5... Reservoir, 6... Valve, 7... Valve, 8... ·valve. 8... Stirrer, lO... Liquid amount detector, 11... Dye concentration detector. 12...Heavy metal ion concentration detector, 13...Discharge valve, 14...Control unit, 15...Operation unit, 15-1...Dye concentration indicator, 15-2...Heavy metal ion Concentration display, 16... Printer, 21... Dye supply section, 22... Dye powder, 23... Dye valve, 24... Mixing tank, 25... Pure water l help, 26. ... Pure water supply pipe, 27 ... Preparation tank agitator, 28 ... Preparation tank liquid level detector, 29 ... Filtration filter, 30 ... Dye solution supply valve, 31 ... Supply tank, 32... Supply tank liquid level sensor, 41... Purification section, 42... Processing unit, 43... Supply valve, 44... Ion exchange resin column, 45... Valve, 46... Heavy metal ion concentration sensor. 47... Solution sensor, 48... First discharge pulp, 48... Storage tank. 50... wS2 discharge valve, 51... Circulation pump, 101... Controller, 102... Read only memory, 103... Random access memory, 104... Switch, 105,... Person Output buffer circuit, 1013...Display device, 107...Drive circuit, 108...Input 4 Fufu 7 circuit, 108...Output buffer circuit, 110-tta...Drive circuit, 121...A /D converter, 122... Input buffer circuit, 123.124, 125... Drive circuit, 1213
...Output buffer circuit. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A means for producing a dye solution; a means for treating the dye solution for performing ion exchange separation to capture heavy metal ions in the dye solution; and a purified dye solution discharged from the treatment means. The invention is characterized by comprising: an ink preparation section that prepares ink using the ink, a display means that detects the dye concentration in the prepared ink and displays the detected value, and a recording means that records the detected value. Ink manufacturing equipment. (Margin below)