JP5101335B2 - Ink pack - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink pack used for an ink jet printer or the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink pack configured by sealing ink used for an ink jet printer or the like is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).
9A and 9B are diagrams schematically illustrating a configuration example of a conventional ink pack, in which FIG. 9A is a longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 9B is an enlarged view of a main part. In this ink pack, for example, a cylindrical member 102 (so-called spout) is fixed to an ink bag body 101 that stores ink, and an elastic property that blocks communication between the outside and the inside of the ink bag body 101 in the cylindrical member 102. The seal member 103 is inserted.

  In use, such an ink pack is attached to an ink jet printer in a state where the ink bag body 101 is housed inside the cartridge case 104 while fixing the cylindrical member so as to be exposed from the side surface of the cartridge case 104. The When the cartridge case 104 is attached, the elastic seal member 103 fitted into the cylindrical member 102 is pierced by the ink supply needle 105 on the ink jet printer side, and the ink bag is passed through the hollow ink supply needle 105. Ink inside the body 101 is led to the outside and supplied to a recording head that discharges ink to a recording medium through a tube connected to the ink supply needle 105.

In such an ink pack, a seal member is loaded inside the cylindrical member. For the seal member, a material having excellent elasticity such as a rubber material is usually used. During the use of the ink pack, the sealing property (sealing property) is maintained by the sealing member being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply needle.
In addition, when the ink pack with the remaining amount of ink is removed from the printer and stored when not in use or the like, the needle opened to the seal member by the ink supply needle when the ink supply needle is removed from the seal member The hole is closed by restoring the shape of the seal member.

However, some rubber materials having excellent elasticity are poor in solvent resistance to the solvent in the ink and are easily eroded by the solvent in the ink. Therefore, there is a problem that the seal member is eroded by the solvent in the ink and ink leakage occurs.
Further, if the seal member is properly used according to the type of ink, management becomes complicated.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-129489

  The present invention has been proposed in view of such a conventional situation, and it is possible to prevent ink leakage due to the erosion of the ink solvent by the ink solvent in the cylindrical member (spout) of the ink pack. And an object is to provide a highly reliable ink pack.

本発明の請求項５に記載のインクパックは、請求項１乃至４のいずれかにおいて、インクジェットプリンタに用いられることを特徴とする。 An ink pack according to claim 1 of the present invention includes: an ink container that stores ink; a cylindrical member that is fixed to the ink container and has an ink supply hole; A seal member that blocks communication with the inside, and the ink supply needle is inserted into the ink supply hole through the seal member, so that the ink inside the ink container is led to the outside through the ink supply needle In the pack, the seal member includes a seal member main body made of an elastic material and a fluorine-containing elastomer, covers at least a surface on the inner end side of the seal member main body, and can correspond to the shape of the seal member main body. a coating layer which have a flexibility, consists,
When the ink supply needle is inserted into the ink supply hole through the seal member, the ink supply needle is formed through both the seal member main body and the coating layer constituting the seal member .
An ink pack according to a second aspect of the present invention is the ink pack according to the first aspect, wherein the coating layer covers the entire surface of the seal member main body.
The ink pack according to claim 3 of the present invention is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2, the seal member is fixed to the cylindrical member by a fluorine-containing elastomer.
An ink pack according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the ink pack according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the fluorine-containing elastomer has a chemical structure shown below.

An ink pack according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is used in an ink jet printer according to any one of the first to fourth aspects.

  In the present invention, since the surface of the seal member body made of an elastic material is coated with the coating layer made of a fluorine-containing elastomer, the influence of the ink solvent on the seal member body can be reduced. That is, the solvent resistance of the seal member can be increased. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably prevent the dissolution of the seal member due to the adhesion of ink and the ink leakage resulting therefrom, and to provide a highly reliable ink pack.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an ink pack according to the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
1A and 1B are diagrams schematically illustrating a configuration example of an ink pack according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a longitudinal sectional view taken along line A ₁ -A ₂ . FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the cylindrical member 3 of the ink pack 1 which is the main part of the present invention.
The ink pack 1 includes an ink bag body 2 that stores ink therein, and a cylindrical member (referred to as a spout, which corresponds to a plug of the ink pack) 3 that is fixed to the ink bag body 2 and has an ink supply hole 3a. And a seal member 4 that is inserted into the cylindrical member 3 and blocks communication between the outside and the inside of the ink bag body 2. In the ink pack 1, the ink supply needle 10 (see FIG. 7) is inserted into the ink supply hole 3 a through the seal member 4, so that the ink inside the ink bag body 2 is externally passed through the ink supply needle 10. Is derived.

In the ink pack 1 of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, the seal member 4 is made of a seal member main body 5 made of an elastic material and a fluorine-containing elastomer, and at least the inner end side of the seal member main body 5 ( And a coating layer 6 covering the surface 5a on the ink liquid surface side).
In the present invention, the surface of the seal member body 5 made of an elastic material is coated (coated) with the coating layer 6 made of a fluorine-containing elastomer, so that the influence of the ink solvent on the seal member body 5 can be reduced. it can. That is, the solvent resistance of the seal member 4 can be improved. As a result, in the ink pack 1 of the present invention, ink leakage due to the ink solvent eroding the seal member 4 in the cylindrical member 3 can be surely prevented, and the reliability is high. Further, in the ink pack 1 of the present invention, since one spout can be used for all the current inks, management becomes easy.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink pack 1 includes an ink bag body 2 in which ink is stored, and an ink supply hole portion 7 provided in the ink bag body 2.
The ink bag body 2 has a flexible bag shape, and has an inner surface layer (not shown) made of a material mainly composed of substantially the same material as the cylindrical member 3 on the inner peripheral surface thereof. The inner surface layer is welded to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical member 3. Therefore, the cylindrical member 3 and the ink bag body 2 are coupled with a high welding force.
The ink bag body 2 is not particularly limited. For example, an adhesive layer and a nylon layer (outer surface layer) are formed on one surface side with an aluminum alloy layer as a center, and an adhesive layer and a polyethylene terephthalate layer on the other surface side. A laminate in which an adhesive layer and a polypropylene layer (inner surface layer) are sequentially laminated can be used.

As will be described later, the ink supply hole portion 7 is fixedly attached to the cartridge case and has a cylindrical member 3 centered on the ink supply hole 3a, and the ink bag body 2 is fitted into the ink supply hole 3a of the cylindrical member 3. And a seal member 4 that blocks communication between the outside and the inside.
The cylindrical member 3 is formed of a heat-adhesive resin molding such as polyethylene or polypropylene, and is heat-sealed in a state of being sandwiched by the upper edge of the ink bag body 2 as shown in FIG. A mounting portion 3b in which (ink supply hole 3a) is formed; and a cylindrical mouth portion 3c that is connected to the mounting portion 3b and protrudes outside the ink bag body 2 and has a spout at the tip. And are in communication with each other.

The seal member 4 has an outer diameter larger than the inner diameter of the inner peripheral surface of the ink supply hole 3a, and presses the seal member 4 into the ink supply hole 3a against elasticity, whereby the outer peripheral surface of the seal member 4 is pressed. And the inner peripheral surface of the ink supply hole 3a are in elastic contact with each other to ensure a sealing property (sealing property), and to reliably block communication between the outside and the inside of the ink bag body 2.
The seal member 4 is made of an ink-impermeable and gas-impermeable elastic material. As a result, sealing performance is secured, ink leakage is prevented, and generation of bubbles in the ink is suppressed. A rubber material is used as such an elastic material. Thereby, the above-mentioned effect can be made more reliable.

  In particular, in the ink pack 1 of the present invention, the seal member 4 includes a seal member main body 5 made of an elastic material, and a coating layer 6 made of a fluorine-containing elastomer and covering at least the surface on the inner end side of the seal member main body. Is composed of. In the ink pack 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the coating layer 6 covers the entire surface of the seal member main body 5.

For example, a rubber material having excellent elasticity is used for the seal member body 5. Here, “excellent elasticity” means, for example, having flexibility enough to have an elastic restoring force that can reliably seal the needle hole portion after the ink supply needle 10 is removed from the seal member 4. Say.
The rubber material having excellent elasticity is not particularly limited. For example, natural rubber, butyl rubber, urethane rubber, silicone rubber, butadiene rubber, isoprene rubber, chloroprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, ethylene- Examples include propylene rubber.

In particular, the rubber material is preferably a rubber material having a hardness (JIS K 6253) of 50 degrees or less. Such a rubber material is generally rich in elasticity and flexible, so that it is easily bent and deformed. Therefore, by using such a rubber material having a hardness of 50 degrees or less, the adhesiveness with the ink supply needle 10 is excellent, and the needle hole portion 4c after the ink supply needle 10 is pulled out can be reliably closed. Ink leakage can be prevented more reliably.
More specifically, the compression strain measured by the JIS measurement method (JIS Handbook 28-1 Rubber I 2006 p.669-682) for compression set at room temperature, high temperature and low temperature of vulcanized rubber and plastic rubber is 3 % Or less rubber material is preferably used. If the compressive strain is greater than 3%, the shape of the seal member 4 (seal member main body 5) is not restored after the ink supply needle 10 is pulled out, and the needle hole portion 4c is not completely closed, which may cause ink leakage. . Therefore, by using such a rubber material having a compressive strain of 3% or less, the adhesiveness with the ink supply needle 10 is excellent, and the needle hole portion 4c after the ink supply needle 10 is pulled out can be reliably closed. Ink leakage can be prevented more reliably.

  If the thickness of the seal member 4 is too thin, the seal member 4 may not be sufficiently sealed with the ink supply needle 10 or the needle hole 4c after the ink supply needle 10 is pulled out. The member 4 preferably has an appropriate thickness. For example, the member 4 preferably has a thickness of 2 times or more, more preferably 3 times or more the diameter (outer diameter) of the ink supply needle 10.

また、含フッ素エラストマーを用いることで、シール部材本体５の形状に対応できる柔軟性があり、また、加工が容易である。 The fluorine-containing elastomer used for the coating layer 6 is a synthetic rubber containing a fluorine atom in the molecule. For example, a fluorine-containing acrylate polymer, a vinylidene fluoride copolymer, a tetrafluoroethylene-propylene copolymer (TFE). -P), tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoromethyl vinyl ether copolymer (TFE-PMVE), vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer, vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene-tetrafluoroethylene copolymer, polytetrafluoro There can be mentioned a mixture of a fluorine resin and a fluorine-containing elastomer capable of electron beam irradiation crosslinking, such as ethylene (PTFE) and polyvinylidene fluoride, fluorine-containing phosphazene, and fluorine-containing silicone. Also have structure It is preferably used.

Moreover, by using a fluorine-containing elastomer, it has the flexibility which can respond to the shape of the sealing member main body 5, and processing is easy.

Such a fluorine-containing elastomer can be impregnated and immersed in a paint form (liquid) or sprayed when the emphasis is on reducing the outer diameter of the seal member 4, and emphasis is placed on processing stability. When placed, it may be used in a solid form (rubber form).
The thickness of the coating layer 6 is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately changed as necessary.

  In the above description, the case where the coating layer 6 covers the entire surface of the seal member main body 5 has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this case, and the coating layer 6 is As long as it is arranged so as to cover at least the inner end portion (ink liquid surface side) surface 5a of the seal member main body 5, various forms can be taken. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, only the surface 5a on the inner end side of the seal member main body 5 may be covered, or for example, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface 5a and the side surface 5b of the seal member main body 5 are covered. It may be coated. Moreover, when the coating layer 6 covers the side surface 5b of the seal member main body 5, the entire side surface portion 5b may be coated, or only a part thereof, for example, only a part in contact with the tubular member 3 or It may be coated in a ring shape.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 2, the entire surface of the seal member main body 5 is preferably covered with the coating layer 6. Thereby, the influence which the ink solvent has on the seal member main body 5 can be further reduced, and the solvent resistance of the seal member 4 can be made higher. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the dissolution of the rubber due to the ink adhering and the ink leakage resulting therefrom, and the ink pack 1 can be made more reliable.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5, it is preferable that the seal member 4 is fixed to the tubular member 3 with a fluorine-containing elastomer (that is, the fluorine-containing elastomer as an adhesive 8). Thereby, the influence which the ink solvent has on the seal member main body 5 can be further reduced. That is, the solvent resistance of the seal member 4 can be further increased. As a result, it is possible to more reliably prevent the rubber from being dissolved due to the ink adhering and the ink leakage resulting therefrom, and the ink pack 1 can be made more reliable.

The ink pack 1 of the present invention as described above is normally housed, attached and fixed in a box-shaped cartridge case 22 provided with a lid member 21 as shown in FIG.
When connecting the ink supply needle 10 to the ink cartridge 20, the ink supply needle 10 is first opposed to the ink supply hole 3 a, and then the ink cartridge 20 is moved so that the ink supply needle 10 is moved to the seal member 4. The ink inside the ink bag body 2 can be led out to the outside through the hollow ink supply needle 10 by penetrating through the ink supply hole 3a of the cylindrical member 3. The ink supply needle 10 is connected to a print head of a printer (not shown) through an ink supply tube 11.

By using the ink pack 1 of the present invention as described above, the seal member body 5 is sufficiently adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply needle 10 by the seal member body 5 having excellent elasticity during use. When the ink supply needle 10 is pulled out when not in use or the like (see FIG. 7), the shape of the seal member main body 5 is restored, so that the needle hole portion 4c can be completely closed (FIG. 8). reference). As a result, ink leakage from the needle hole can be prevented.
In addition, since the outer surface of the seal member main body 5 is coated with the coating layer 6 made of a fluorine-containing elastomer, the solvent resistance of the seal member 4 can be improved. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the dissolution of the rubber due to the adhesion of the ink and the ink leakage resulting from the dissolution, and the reliability becomes high.

Although the ink pack of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the invention.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the ink pack used by being mounted inside the ink cartridge has been described as an example. However, the ink pack of the present invention is not limited to this and is used without being mounted on the ink cartridge. The present invention can also be applied to ink packs or ink packs used in other forms.
In the above-described embodiment, the ink pack used by being mounted on the ink jet printer has been described as an example. However, the ink pack of the present invention is not limited to this, and the ink pack used in a printer other than the ink jet printer. Is also applicable.

  The present invention is applicable to ink packs used in ink jet printers and the like.

It is a figure which shows typically one structural example of the ink pack which concerns on this invention, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an ink supply hole in the ink pack illustrated in FIG. 1. It is a figure which shows typically the other structural example of the ink pack of this invention, and is sectional drawing which expands and shows an ink supply hole part. It is a figure which shows typically the other structural example of the ink pack of this invention, and is sectional drawing which expands and shows an ink supply hole part. It is a figure which shows typically the other structural example of the ink pack of this invention, and is sectional drawing which expands and shows an ink supply hole part. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state where an ink pack is stored in a cartridge case. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state where an ink supply needle is inserted into an ink supply hole. FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating a state after an ink supply needle is pulled out from an ink supply hole. It is a figure which shows typically the example of 1 structure of the conventional ink pack, (a) is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, (b) is a principal part enlarged view.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Ink pack, 2 ... Ink bag body, 3 ... Cylindrical member, 3a ... Ink supply hole, 4 ... Seal member, 5 ... Seal member main body, 6 ... Cover layer, 7 ... Ink supply hole part, 8 ... Adhesive

Claims (5)

An ink container that stores ink, a cylindrical member that is fixed to the ink container and has an ink supply hole, and a seal member that is inserted into the cylindrical member and blocks communication between the outside and the inside of the ink container; In the ink pack in which the ink inside the ink container is led to the outside through the ink supply needle by inserting the ink supply needle into the ink supply hole through the seal member,
The sealing member is
A seal member body made of an elastic material;
Consists fluoroelastomer coating the surface of at least the inner end portion side of the seal member body, and a coating layer which have a flexibility for the shape of the sealing member main body is composed of,
When the ink supply needle is inserted through the ink supply hole through the seal member, the ink supply needle is formed through both the seal member main body and the coating layer constituting the seal member. Ink pack.   The ink pack according to claim 1, wherein the coating layer covers the entire surface of the seal member main body.   The ink pack according to claim 1, wherein the seal member is fixed to the cylindrical member with a fluorine-containing elastomer. The ink pack according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the fluorine-containing elastomer has a chemical structure shown below.

  The ink pack according to claim 1, wherein the ink pack is used in an ink jet printer.

Images