JP3168116B2 - Replaceable ink cartridge - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a replaceable ink cartridge, and more particularly, to a replaceable ink cartridge which is connected to an ink jet recording head so as to be exchangeable and supplies ink to the recording head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various replaceable ink cartridges which are detachable from an ink jet recording head via an ink supply pipe or the like so as to be detachable from the head have been proposed.
Such replaceable ink cartridges are configured such that ink is generally stored in a plastic housing or the like, and the ink supply port to the recording head side and the air communication port are sealed with a seal member in preparation for distribution. Care is taken to prevent ink from leaking due to changes in ambient temperature and atmospheric pressure. Then, the seal member is peeled off by the user during use. At this time, tension or shear force acts on the seal member for peeling, so it is necessary to form the seal member using a material that can withstand it. For example, a flexible material such as an aluminum laminate resin which is a laminate of an aluminum flake and a resin-based material has been used.

In particular, in a replaceable ink cartridge in which an ink supply port and an air communication port are formed on the same surface,
The ink supply port and the air communication port are configured to be sealed by one seal member as described above.

[0004]

However, in many cases, the exchangeable ink cartridge as described above has an ink absorber mounted in the cartridge (housing), so that the ink absorber holds the ink. The ink is densely held near the ink supply port, and the ink becomes sparse near the air communication port, so that the ink is easily supplied to the print head when connected to the ink jet print head. It is like that. Therefore, when opening by peeling off the seal member, it is desirable to open the air communication port first, and by opening in this way, the internal pressure is increased in the unopened state due to the relationship between the environmental temperature and the atmospheric pressure. Even in such a case, the internal pressure can be reduced from the atmosphere communication port side, and the ejection of ink by the internal pressure from the ink supply port can be suppressed.

Conversely, even in the case of an ink tank in which a gas such as air is simultaneously sealed in the housing, the ink supply port side precedes the air communication port side in the above-described opening under a reduced pressure environment. If it is opened, the ink is scattered in all directions from the ink supply port by the expansion pressure of the gas in the housing, and the clothes and hands of the user may be stained.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a configuration and an opening method in which the air communication port is opened first have been proposed. Depending on the way of opening, the peeling force acts on the tapes of the above two seal portions at the same time, and as a result, the ink supply port may be opened earlier.

An object of the present invention is to pay attention to the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to solve the problems, there is no risk of leakage at the time of distribution, and it is also possible to prevent ink from flowing out of the ink supply port at the time of opening. An object of the present invention is to provide a replaceable ink cartridge having high reliability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a replaceable ink cartridge according to the present invention has an ink supply port and an atmosphere communication port in a housing, and a periphery of the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port. In an exchangeable ink cartridge in which a portion is peeled off and sealed by one seal member, the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port for the peeling operation of the seal member. A structure is provided around the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port so that the structure includes a convex rib surrounding the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port. The shape of the outer edge of the convex rib provided around the mouth is larger than the shape of the outer edge of the convex rib provided around the ink supply port. In addition, the replaceable ink cartridge of the present invention has an ink supply port and an air communication port in a housing, and the periphery of the ink supply port and the air communication port is sealed by a single peelable seal member. In the replaceable ink cartridge, the structure is provided around the ink supply port and the air communication port such that the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port in response to the peeling operation of the seal member. Body, the structure is constituted by a convex rib surrounding the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port, and the inner edge shape of the convex rib provided around the atmosphere communication port is the It is characterized by being larger than the inner edge shape of the convex rib provided around the ink supply port. In addition, the replaceable ink cartridge of the present invention has an ink supply port and an air communication port in a housing, and the periphery of the ink supply port and the air communication port is sealed by a single peelable seal member. In the replaceable ink cartridge that is stopped, the peeling operation of the seal member
A structure is provided around the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port so that the atmosphere communication port is opened before the ink supply port, and the structure surrounds the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port. And a convex rib that surrounds the periphery of the air communication port is formed in a larger polygonal shape than a convex rib that surrounds the periphery of the ink supply port. And

[0009]

According to the present invention, the periphery of the ink supply port and the periphery of the atmosphere communication port are sealed by the close contact of a single seal member. The surrounding area of the air communication port is opened earlier than the surrounding area of the ink supply port in accordance with the peeling operation in the direction indicated by the arrow. Since the supply port is opened, it is possible to prevent the ink from flowing out from the ink supply port.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the replaceable ink cartridge according to the present embodiment, the seal member is provided in association with the package (package), and when the user opens the package, the seal member is peeled off along with the package member. Here, 1 is a replaceable ink cartridge according to the present invention, 2 is its ink supply port,
Reference numeral 3 denotes an air communication port, and reference numeral 4 denotes a seal member that simultaneously seals the ink supply port 2 and the air communication port 3. That is, 2A and 3A are cartridge housings 1A.
A seal member 4 for sealing the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 formed in the housing 1A and arranged at substantially the same center line on the same surface is welded to the end. This is a tubular collar rib.

On the other hand, the sealing member 4 has a sufficient strength against tension and the like and is a flexible barrier material, for example, a single-layered or multi-layered plastic film. It is preferable to use a material having a welding property to the end faces of the color ribs 2A and 3A. As shown in FIG. 1B, the welding seal portion 4A of the rail member 4 is welded to the ink supply port 2 and the air communication port 3 to seal the ink contained therein.
Reference numeral 4B denotes a part (referred to as an extension) of the seal member 4 which is extended in a form bent from the welding seal part 4A.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a bag-like package consisting of two upper and lower paper sheets, and the ink cartridge 1 sealed by the seal member 4 is sealed in the package 5 together with the seal member 4. The sealing member extending portion 4B is bonded together with the peripheral portion 6 of the package 5 at the time of sealing. FIGS. 1A and 1B show the replacement ink cartridge 1 packaged in this way together with its packaging body 5 in a see-through state. FIG. 2 shows an example of this type of ink cartridge 1 taken out of the package 5. In this ink cartridge 1, the ink supply port color rib 2A has an opening larger than the atmosphere communication port color rib 3A, and the thickness of the ink supply port color rib 2A is larger than the thickness of the atmosphere communication port color rib 3A. It is formed thicker than thick. Note that these points will be described in more detail later. However, although not shown, the ink supply port 2 formed in the housing 1 has a larger opening than the atmosphere communication port 3.

Next, an example of the configuration around the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 according to the present invention and a state in which the openings 2 and 3 are sealed by the seal member 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 3B and 3C show a cross section taken along line AA and a cross section taken along line BB in FIG. 3A.

In this embodiment, the color rib 2A formed around the ink supply port 2 has a cylindrical shape concentric with the ink supply port 2, and the color rib 3A formed around the atmosphere communication port 3 has It has a square shape. Further, the opening of the color rib 3A is made larger than the opening of the color rib 2A, and the radial thickness WA of the color rib 2A is made sufficiently thicker than the thickness WB of the color rib 3A in the same direction, so that the outer diameter and the inner diameter of the color rib 2A are reduced. D02, D12, respectively
The outer and inner dimensions of the color rib 3A are W03 and W, respectively.
When 13, the relationship of W03 ≧ D02 and W13 ≧ D12 is obtained. However, FIG.
As shown in (C), the diameter D2 of the ink supply port 2 is formed sufficiently larger than the diameter of the air communication port D3.

In the above setting, when the sealing member 4 is peeled off, the air communication port 3 is physically connected to the ink supply port 2.
To be released to the atmosphere prior to
Further disclosure examples of this technique will be described later.

The opening operation of the replaceable ink cartridge 1 having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 shows the right half of the package 5 shown in FIG.
That is, a state is shown in which the portion (free portion) opposite to the left half where the sealing edge 4B is joined with the package peripheral edge 6 is torn off. In this way, the right half of the replaceable ink cartridge 1 is exposed, and the left half of the package 5 is turned upside down as shown in FIG. Via the part 4B (B),
The seal portion 4A is pulled up in the same direction P as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 5 (B) and 5 (C), the color rib 3A around the atmosphere communication port 3 has the ink supply port 2 as shown in FIGS. A peeling action force is received prior to the surrounding collar rib 2A. Further, since the thickness WB of the color rib 3A is formed thicker than the thickness WA of the color rib 2A, the color rib 3A is easily opened earlier than the color rib 2A even with the same acting force. Thus, the air communication port 3 can be opened earlier than the ink supply port 2 during the peeling operation of the seal member 4.

In this embodiment, the color ribs 3A, 2A
Are formed to have the same thickness along the circumference, but at least the portion of these color ribs corresponding to the peeling side may maintain the above-mentioned relationship of WB ≧ WA.

FIGS. 6 to 8 show the configuration around the ink supply port 2 and the atmosphere communication port 3 according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows a case where the collar rib 3A around the atmosphere communication port 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape and the thickness is WB '.
The relationship of WB '<WA is obtained, and the center of the color rib 3A is eccentric from the center of the color rib 2A around the ink supply port 2 toward the extension 4B of the seal member. Also in this example, the air communication port 3 can be opened prior to the ink supply port 2 during the peeling operation of the seal member 4 as in the above-described example.

FIG. 7 shows a color rib 3A around the air communication port 3.
Is formed in a square cylindrical shape and the corners thereof are located on the side of the sealing edge 4B. FIG. 8 shows the color rib 3A formed in a star-shaped cylindrical shape, This is an example in which roundness is provided and one of the protruding portions is located on the extending portion 4B side of the seal member 4. In each of these embodiments, the thickness of the color rib 3A is smaller than the thickness of the color rib 2A around the ink supply port 2 in each case. With such a configuration, the air communication port 3 can be opened prior to the ink supply port 2 in any case.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the color rib 2A formed around the ink supply port 2 has an opening which is preferably larger than the color rib opening and has a thickness larger than that of the color rib 2A. As an example in which the color rib 3A is thinner and at least a part of the outer peripheral portion is located at a position preceding the color rib 2A when the seal member 4 is peeled off, the shape and the position of the color rib 3A are different.
However, the shapes and relative positions of the color ribs 2A and 3A are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the point is that any shape may be used as long as the above-described conditions are obtained. Not even.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a case where the air communication port or the ink supply port is formed as a concave portion instead of providing the color rib, or a case where these holes are formed on a flat surface. .

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port in response to the peeling operation of the seal member from a limited direction. Since the peripheral portions of the ink supply port and the air communication port are configured, when opening the seal member, the user can naturally open and close the air communication port prior to the ink supply port with a simple configuration. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of ink leakage in response to environmental changes in the internal and external pressures.

It is not always necessary to join the extending portion of the seal member to the package, and the package is directly packaged in such a manner that the ink supply port and the air communication port are sealed in the package by the seal member. In this case, the invention can be applied, and a similar effect can be obtained. However, in such a case, it is desirable that the peeling direction of the seal member is clearly indicated by a description or the like.

[Brief description of the drawings]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a perspective view (A) of a packaged state and a cross-sectional view (A) of FIG.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration example of a replaceable ink cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a sealing surface of the replaceable ink cartridge shown in FIG. 2 with a sealing member, (A), (A) a sectional view taken along line AA (B), (B) of (A). B line sectional view (C)
FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of a moving body for taking out an ink cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the opening operation of the ink cartridge according to the present invention, FIG. 3 (A) is a sectional view taken along line AA shown in FIG. 3 (A), and FIG. FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a sealing surface showing another configuration example around the ink supply port and the air communication port according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a sealing surface showing still another configuration example around the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a sealing surface showing still another configuration example around the ink supply port and the air communication port according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 replaceable ink cartridge 1A housing 2 ink supply port 2A color rib 3 atmosphere communication port 3A color rib 4 seal member 4A (weld) seal portion 4B extension portion 5 package 6 (package) peripheral edge portion WA, WB, WB '( Color rib) Thickness W03 Outer dimension of air communication port color rib W13 Inner dimension of air communication port collar rib D02 Outer diameter dimension of ink supply port collar rib D12 Inner dimension of ink supply port collar rib

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masami Ikeda 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-5-162326 (JP, A) JP-A-6 -328712 (JP, A) JP-A-7-205439 (JP, A) JP-A-7-315437 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/175

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. An exchange having an ink supply port and an atmosphere communication port in a housing, and sealing around a periphery of the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port with a single peelable seal member. In the mold ink cartridge, a structure is provided around the ink supply port and the air communication port so that the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port for the peeling operation of the seal member, The body is constituted by a convex rib surrounding the ink supply port and the air communication port, and the outer edge shape of the convex rib provided around the air communication port is formed around the ink supply port. An exchangeable ink cartridge characterized by being larger than the outer edge shape of the provided convex rib. 2. An exchange in which a housing has an ink supply port and an air communication port, and the periphery of the ink supply port and the air communication port is sealed by a single peelable seal member. In the mold ink cartridge, a structure is provided around the ink supply port and the air communication port so that the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port for the peeling operation of the seal member, The body is constituted by a convex rib surrounding the ink supply port and the air communication port, and the inner edge shape of the convex rib provided around the air communication port is formed around the ink supply port. An exchangeable ink cartridge characterized by being larger than the inner edge shape of the provided convex rib. 3. A replacement having an ink supply port and an air communication port in a housing, and sealing around a periphery of the ink supply port and the air communication port by one peelable seal member. In the mold ink cartridge, a structure is provided around the ink supply port and the air communication port so that the air communication port is opened before the ink supply port for the peeling operation of the seal member, The body is constituted by a convex rib surrounding the ink supply port and the atmosphere communication port, and the convex rib surrounding the atmosphere communication port is surrounding the ink supply port. An exchangeable ink cartridge characterized by being formed in a polygonal shape larger than a convex rib. 4. The peeling direction of the seal member is regulated via an extending portion extending from the structure around the ink supply port and the air communication port. The replaceable ink cartridge according to claim 1. 5. An extension portion of the seal member is joined to a package in which the housing is packaged, and the extension portion is opened together with the package when the package is opened. 5. The replaceable ink cartridge according to claim 4, wherein the ink cartridge is regulated in a predetermined direction.