JPS61277459A - Ink container - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make the enlargement of ink capacity possible, by a method wherein at least one plane of an ink container is formed out of a flexible film in an ink jet recorder and the cover member of the same shape having small holes is established. CONSTITUTION:The circumference of a flexible resin film 5 formed in an extruded state is connected to a resin container 1, the resin cover 2 or metal cover 3 of the same shape as the shape thereof when its inside is filled with deairing ink 7 being so attached to the outer surface of the flexible film 5 as to stick fast thereto and not less than one small holes 4 are bored through this cover 2, 3. Therefore, the contact area of the film 5 to air is only the small hole parts 4 and the effective air in a permeated amount can be minimized during its storage period. Further, because a flexible resin film is used as an ink container, draw working can be easily carried out without injuring flexibility and the capacity of ink can be increased.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Kougori! INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION This invention is used for an inkjet recording device. Regarding ink containers.

Conventional high-speed inkjet recording devices require ink for printing, but on-demand inkjet recording devices use cartridge-type ink containers. The ink container disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 53-10909 stores ink in a flexible ink storage bag, but since this ink storage bag is not air permeable, Outside air enters the ink storage bag,
An air trap was required to prevent air mixed into the ink from being supplied into the inkjet head. However, since the amount of dissolved air in the ink is saturated, if there is a change in temperature, there is a risk that bubbles will occur in the head.

Also, JP-A-54-151033, JP-A-56-
Publication No. 44663 discloses an ink container in which a metal layer is provided on a flexible film to make it air permeable. However, in order to have flexibility, the film must be thin, and the metal layer must be made even thinner. Must be. However, films containing metal layers generally have three to four layers, and there is a limit to how thin they can be. In addition, metal does not deform in the same way as resin film, so it is difficult to form a deep drawing shape, and even if shallow drawing is performed, the flexibility decreases, so the shape is forced to be flat. , the ink capacity is small compared to the size of the external shape, making it unsuitable for miniaturization. Further, even if an air-permeable flexible film container is used, there are problems in that the effect on long-term storage is weak.

・The present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances.
In particular, the purpose of this invention is to provide an ink container that can increase the ink capacity without impairing its flexibility and can maintain the degree of deaeration of the ink for a long period of time.

1. In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a flexible film forming at least one surface of an ink container, and a cover member having the same shape as the flexible film when filled with ink. The present invention is characterized in that the cover member is provided in close contact with the outer surface of the flexible film, and one or more small holes are provided in the cover member. below,
An explanation will be given based on an example of the present invention.

1 to 3 are diagrams showing embodiments of ink containers according to the present invention, respectively. In the figures, 1 is a resin container, 2 is a resin cover (FIG. 1), and 3 is a metal plate cover (FIG. 2). and FIG. 3), 4 is a small hole, 5 is a flexible film, 6 is an elastic body, and as shown in the figure, the periphery of the flexible resin film 5 formed into a convex shape on the resin container 1 is joined, A resin cover 2 or a metal plate cover 3, which has the same shape as the flexible film 5 when filled with the degassed ink 7, is attached so that its inner surface is in close contact with the outer surface of the flexible cover 5. .

Note that the resin cover 2 or the metal plate cover 3 is provided with one or more small holes 4.

Since spare ink containers are likely to be stored for a long period of time, and inkjet recording devices are sensitive to air bubbles, various measures have been taken in the prior art as described above, but there are various drawbacks. However, according to the present invention, the contact area between the flexible resin film 5 and the air is only in the small pores 4 and is very small, so the effective air permeability can be made very small during the storage period. It is. In addition, since the period during which this container is set and used in the device is shorter than the storage period, even if the remaining amount of ink becomes low and the contact area of the flexible resin film 5 with the air becomes large, it will become saturated. If the ink capacity is large and there is a high possibility of saturation, it is sufficient to provide an air-permeable resin layer on the flexible film 5 (for example, PUd
The oxygen permeability of C, etc. is 1/100 to 1/1 compared to P-H.
000 times or less. ). When the remaining ink level decreases,
Air enters between the cover 2 or 3 and the film 5 through the small holes 4, and the flexible film 5 gradually deforms, and when it becomes like the dot-dash line in FIG. 3, the remaining amount of ink becomes zero.

The joint surface between the resin container 1 and the flexible resin film 5 is, for example, P
-E, which is made of the same material, is easier to join (for example, by heat sealing or ultrasonic welding). Therefore, it is better to provide the air-permeable resin layer on the outer layer (P-E is chemically stable and will not deteriorate with ink).

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an embodiment in which a groove 8 is added to the ink container shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
Figure (a) is a partial cross-sectional view of the ink container shown in Figure 1; Figure (b) is a partial cross-sectional view of the ink container shown in Figure 2; In the case of a metal cover, it is a beat groove. Therefore, when the groove 8 is provided as described above, the contact area between the flexible resin film 5 and the air during storage increases somewhat, but when ink is filled, the contact area between the flexible resin film 5 and the resin cover 2 or the metal No air is left behind between the plate cover 3 and the ink filling operation becomes easier.

Results As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, (a) since a flexible resin film is used, deep drawing is easy and flexibility is not impaired. Ink capacity can be increased.

(b) Since the contact area of the film with air can be made very small (during storage), the effective air permeability is small and the degree of ink deaeration can be maintained for a long period of time.

(c) To provide an ink container that maintains the ink quality during use (for a short period of time) by providing an air-permeable resin layer on the film, and that can be easily squeezed without impairing its flexibility. I can do it.

There are advantages such as

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 are sectional views of an ink container according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 4. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Resin container, 2... Resin cover, 3... Metal plate cover, 4... Small hole, 5... Flexible resin film, 6... Elastic body, 7... Ink, 8...grooves.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The ink container includes a flexible film forming at least one surface of the ink container, and a cover member having the same shape as the flexible film when the ink is filled, and the cover member is attached to the outer surface of the flexible film. An ink container characterized in that the ink container is provided in close contact with the cover member and one or more small holes are provided in the cover member.