JP2012000789A - Method of manufacturing inkjet cartridge, and inkjet cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of manufacturing an inkjet cartridge where two or more absorbers consisting of fibers are arranged in a tank case, capable of reducing a dimensional change of each absorber.SOLUTION: The inkjet cartridge is provided with, in the tank case, the two or more nearly rectangular-shape absorbers that consist of the fibers and are mutually in a surface contact. The method of manufacturing the inkjet cartridge includes: a step of manufacturing the two or more absorbers by compressing the fibers in 2 or 3 axial directions sequentially to form into a nearly rectangular shape; a step of measuring the repulsion in a perpendicular direction to each surface of each absorber; and a step of arranging each absorber in the tank case, preventing the absolute value of the difference of the repulsion in the perpendicular direction in the surface in contact with each absorber from being maximum.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet cartridge manufacturing method and an ink jet cartridge. In particular, the present invention relates to a manufacturing method for reducing the dimensional change of an absorber that holds ink for supplying ink to an ink jet head, and an ink jet cartridge manufactured by the manufacturing method.

  Conventionally, an ink-jet cartridge that supplies ink to an ink-jet head uses an absorber that can hold the ink. The absorber is required to be able to hold ink so as not to leak outside in a state other than during recording, and to be able to efficiently supply ink to the inkjet head during recording.

  As means for efficiently supplying ink to an inkjet head during recording, it is generally known to impart a distribution to the capillary force of the absorber. That is, by making the capillary force of the absorber in the vicinity of the ink supply port higher than that of the other portions, it is possible to suck the ink near the ink supply port and use the ink efficiently. On the other hand, the absorber other than the vicinity of the ink supply port needs to have a minimum capillary force so as not to leak ink to the outside. In general, it has been proposed to use, for example, a continuous porous body in which intersections between fibers are fused by heating and melting resin fibers, urethane sponge, or the like as an absorbent body.

  In recent years, miniaturization of an ink jet printer body is required as customer needs, and it is important how efficiently an ink jet cartridge can be arranged in the ink jet printer body. That is, it is required that a complicated ink jet cartridge shape can be efficiently arranged in the ink jet printer main body. When the continuous porous body in which the intersections between the fibers are fused as described above or the absorbent body using the urethane sponge is applied, it is necessary to cut out from a lump of material having a certain shape into a complicated shape suitable for the ink jet cartridge. Therefore, if an absorber is produced in accordance with an ink jet cartridge having a more complicated shape than before, the use efficiency of the material is reduced and the cost is increased. Therefore, in order to improve the degree of freedom of the shape of the ink jet cartridge, it is not an absorbent using a continuous porous body or urethane sponge fused with fibers as described above, but an absorption without fusing fibers. A method of applying the body has also been proposed. That is, since it is not necessary to cut the absorber into a complicated product shape, the use efficiency of the material used for forming the absorber is improved, and the ink jet cartridge can be provided to the customer at a low cost.

  In Patent Document 1, as a method for increasing the absorber capillary force in the vicinity of the ink supply port to be higher than that in other portions in an absorber made of fibers that are not fused at the interfiber intersections, the absorber in the vicinity of the ink supply port is used as another method. It has been proposed to use fibers having a fiber diameter smaller than that of the portion. That is, it is the structure which arrange | positions two absorbers from which a fiber diameter differs in a tank case. According to this configuration, in the absorber near the ink supply port using fibers with a thin fiber diameter, the size of the void formed by the fiber is smaller than in the other absorbers, and the capillary force of the absorber near the ink supply port Becomes higher than the capillary force of the other absorber. As a result, ink can be sucked near the ink supply port having a high capillary force, and the ink can be efficiently supplied to the inkjet head.

JP-A-8-20115

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as consumers become more aware of the environment, there is a demand for a product that can use ink in an ink jet cartridge more efficiently, that is, an ink jet cartridge that can supply ink to an ink jet head more efficiently.

  In order to supply ink more efficiently to an inkjet head in an absorbent body composed of ordinary fibers that are not fused at fiber intersections, the present inventors have used fibers that are thinner than the fiber diameter described in Patent Document 1. Used as an absorber near the ink supply port. However, when the absorber near the ink supply port and the absorber other than the ink supply port are compressed to the designed size of the absorber and then inserted into the tank case, there is a problem that the size of both absorbers changes from the designed size. It was revealed. That is, the size of the absorber near the ink supply port is reduced, and the size of the absorber other than the vicinity of the ink supply port is increased. As a result, the absorber in the vicinity of the ink supply port has a higher fiber density than the designed value, the size of the voids formed by the fibers is reduced, and the capillary force is increased. On the other hand, the absorber other than the vicinity of the ink supply port has a fiber density lower than the design value, the size of the void formed by the fiber increases, and the capillary force decreases. As a result, the capillary force of the absorber other than the vicinity of the ink supply port is lower than the minimum necessary capillary force so as not to leak ink to the outside. This is because the rebound force of the absorber near the ink supply port is reduced by using fibers with a thinner fiber diameter in the absorber near the ink supply port, and the repulsive force of the absorber other than the vicinity of the ink supply port. It became clear that the difference was the cause. That is, it became clear that the difference in repulsive force at the contact surface of each absorber increased, so that one absorber pushed in the other absorber, and the size of each absorber changed from a predetermined size. .

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing method capable of reducing the dimensional change of each absorber in an ink jet cartridge in which two or more absorbers made of fibers are arranged inside a tank case. .

  An ink jet cartridge manufacturing method of the present invention is a method for manufacturing an ink jet cartridge comprising two or more substantially rectangular parallelepiped absorbers made of fibers in contact with each other in a tank case, wherein the fibers are arranged in two or three axial directions. The absolute value of the difference in the repulsive force in the vertical direction on the surface in the process of manufacturing two or more absorbers by sequentially compressing and forming into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and the surface in contact with each absorber is not maximized. And disposing each absorber in a tank case.

  In addition, the manufacturing method of the ink jet cartridge of the present invention is the manufacturing method of the ink jet cartridge provided with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped first absorbent body and a second absorbent body, which are in contact with each other, in a tank case. The material, fiber diameter, and fiber length of the fibers constituting the absorbent body and the second absorbent body are the same, the first absorbent body has a higher fiber density than the second absorbent body, and the two fibers Or sequentially compressing in three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and manufacturing the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body; and the first compressed axial direction of the first absorbent body; And disposing the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body in the tank case so that a perpendicular surface is in contact with one surface of the second absorbent body.

  According to the present invention, the difference in repulsive force between the contact surfaces of two or more absorbers, that is, the difference in pressing force, can be reduced, so that the dimensional change of each absorber can be reduced.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of compressing the fiber 10 to a predetermined | prescribed absorber dimension. It is a schematic diagram which shows the method of measuring the repulsive force which each surface of an absorber has. It is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement direction of the absorber in 1st embodiment and Example 1. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the process of inserting an absorber into a tank case. It is a schematic diagram of the inkjet cartridge manufactured by the method of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the absorber compression and insertion apparatus in 1st embodiment. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the compression order of the absorber in Example 2, 3 and a repulsive force. It is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement direction of the absorber in 2nd embodiment and Example 2. FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a structure of the absorber compression in 2nd embodiment, and an insertion apparatus.

[First embodiment]
1 to 4 schematically show the steps of the inkjet cartridge manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows an ink jet cartridge manufactured based on the manufacturing method of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ink jet cartridge 14 in the first embodiment has a higher capillary force of the absorber in the vicinity of the ink supply port 18 than other portions, and efficiently supplies ink to the ink supply port 18. In addition, a high capillary force absorber 11 (hereinafter referred to as absorber A11) is disposed above the ink supply port 18. Further, the low capillary force absorber 12 (hereinafter referred to as the absorber B12) is disposed in the other part. The absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged side by side in the Y direction of the tank case 13 so that each surface of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 is in contact with each other in the tank case 13. In addition, the shape of each absorber is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and the dimension of each absorber is not particularly limited as long as there is no significant gap when each absorber is inserted into the tank case 13, and the shape of the tank case 13 is not limited. It can be selected as appropriate depending on the required capillary force distribution. The tank case 13 is covered with a lid 15, and the ink 16 is absorbed by the absorber A11 and the absorber B12. The ink 16 is supplied to the ink discharge device 17 through the ink supply port 18.

  The absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are made of fibers, and the material of the fibers can be appropriately selected in consideration of ink resistance. For example, polyolefin, polyester, acrylonitrile and the like can be mentioned. Polyolefin having high chemical stability is preferable. A fiber having a two-layer structure such as a core-sheath structure generally used for an absorbent body can also be selected. Specifically, different materials such as polypropylene (PP) for the core and polyethylene (PE) for the sheath may be selected. These fibers may use only 1 type and may use 2 or more types together. Moreover, as a fiber which comprises each absorber, the mutually same fiber may be used and a different fiber may be used. In the present invention, the term “fiber” refers to an aggregate of fibers one by one.

  The capillary force of the absorbent body is mainly determined by the size of the void formed by the fiber. That is, the capillary force is determined by the volume of the ink container formed in the tank case 13, the ratio of the fiber volume existing in the ink container (hereinafter referred to as fiber density), and the fiber diameter. Therefore, the capillary force of each absorber can be made different by making at least one of the fiber density and the fiber diameter of each absorber different from each other. The higher the fiber density of the absorber, the greater the capillary force, and the thinner the fiber diameter of the absorber, the greater the capillary force. Further, the fiber length of the absorbent body is not a factor that affects the capillary force of the absorbent body, but can be appropriately selected depending on the handling in production. In the present embodiment, the fiber diameter of the fibers constituting the absorber A11 is smaller than the fiber diameter of the fibers constituting the absorber B12, and the fiber material, fiber density, and fiber length are the same.

  Next, a manufacturing method of the ink jet cartridge 14 in the present embodiment will be described in detail. First, the fibers are sequentially compressed in two or three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, thereby manufacturing the absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12. This process will be described with reference to FIG. The fibers 10 constituting the absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12 are individually compressed up to the design size of each absorbent body. The fibers 10 weighed in advance to a predetermined amount are first compressed by the first compression plate 201, and then sequentially compressed by the second compression plate 202 and the third compression plate 203 in three orthogonal axial directions. In FIG. 1, the single-sided compression plate is fixed in each axial direction and is compressed from one side in each axial direction, but may be compressed from both sides in each axial direction.

  Next, the repulsive force in the direction perpendicular to the surfaces of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 is measured. This process will be described with reference to FIG. Here, the repulsive force in the direction perpendicular to the surface means that when the fiber 10 is compressed to a predetermined size of the absorbent body and the fiber 10 is held at that size, each surface of the absorbent body is given in a direction perpendicular to the surface. It is defined as force. The measured repulsive force is used to determine the force with which one absorber pushes the other adjacent absorber in the tank case 13 when the arrangement direction of each absorber is determined later. Therefore, exactly, it is necessary to obtain the repulsive force of each absorber in the tank case 13. However, it is difficult to arrange a device for measuring the repulsive force in a narrow space inside the tank case 13. Therefore, in the method according to the present invention, the compression plate 201, 202, 203 compresses the fiber 10 to a predetermined absorber size, and the compression plate 201 holds the fiber 10 at the predetermined absorber size with the compression plate. , 202 and 203 are measured by the force gauge 101 with the force received from the absorber, and the measured value is defined as the repulsive force. In FIG. 2, the force gauge 101 can measure f2 as a repulsive force. In order to better reproduce the state of the absorber in the tank case 13, that is, to reproduce the frictional force acting between the absorber and the tank case 13, the material of the compression plate is the same as the material of the tank case 13. And As the force gauge 101, “ZP-50N” (trade name, manufactured by Imada Co., Ltd.) can be used.

  Next, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 so that the absolute value of the difference in the repulsive force is not maximized on the surface where the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are in contact. A method for defining the arrangement direction of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 in the tank case 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The f1a, f2a, and f3a in FIG. 3 are the repulsive forces received by the compression plates 201, 202, and 203 when the absorber A11 is compressed, respectively, and the f1b, f2b, and f3b are the compression plates 201, when the absorber B12 is compressed, respectively. Repulsive force received by 202 and 203 is represented.

  In the method according to the present invention, among the combination of one surface with the absorber A11 and one surface with the absorber B12, the surfaces where the absolute value of the difference in repulsive force (hereinafter referred to as the difference in repulsive force) is not maximized. Arrange each absorber in the direction of contact. This is because if the difference in the repulsive force between the surfaces of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 that are in contact with each other is large, the absorber having the larger repulsive force when the absorber is inserted into the tank case 13 has a smaller repulsive force. This is because the absorber is pushed in, and the dimensional change of each absorber becomes remarkable. In this embodiment, the combination of f1a of the absorber A11 and f2b of the absorber B12 has the largest repulsive force difference. In this case, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 so that surfaces other than this combination are in contact with each other. In addition, if each absorber is arranged so that the surfaces with smaller repulsive force contact each other, the dimensional change of each absorber is further reduced, so that the surfaces with the smallest difference in repulsive force contact each other as much as possible. It is preferable to arrange each absorber in the above. Moreover, it is more preferable to arrange each absorber so that the surfaces where the difference in repulsive force is minimized are in contact with each other. The arrangement direction of other surfaces can be appropriately selected. In this embodiment, the combination of f2a of the absorber A11 and f1b of the absorber B12 is arranged in the tank case 13 so that the difference in repulsive force is minimized and the surfaces of this combination are in contact with each other as shown in FIG. .

  Next, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are inserted into the tank case 13 so as to be in the prescribed arrangement direction. This process will be described with reference to FIG. The absorbent body A401 maintained in a compressed state by the compression plate is disposed on the tank case 13 in a state where the prescribed arrangement direction is maintained (FIG. 4A). Next, the compression plate 204 serving as the bottom surface is pulled out in a direction horizontal to the opening of the tank case 13 (FIG. 4B), and the compression plate 205 serving as the top surface is pushed toward the tank case 13 (FIG. 4C). As a result, the absorber A11 is inserted into the tank case 13 (FIG. 4D). The absorber B12 is also inserted into the tank case 13 in the same manner as the absorber A11 (FIGS. 4E and 4F). In FIG. 4, the absorber B12 is inserted after the absorber A11 is inserted into the tank case 13. However, the absorber B12 may be inserted first, and the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 may be inserted. It may be inserted at the same time.

  After inserting the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 into the tank case 13, the ink 16 is injected, and the lid 15 is joined. Thus, the ink jet cartridge 14 shown in FIG. In the ink jet cartridge produced in the present embodiment, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged so that the difference in the repulsive force between the surfaces of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 that are in contact with each other is not maximized. Dimensional changes are reduced.

  In addition, in this embodiment, since the repulsive force of each surface of absorber A11 and absorber B12 was unknown, after measuring the repulsive force of each surface of each absorber, the arrangement | positioning direction of each absorber is prescribed | regulated. Yes. However, when the repulsive force of each surface of each absorber is already known and the arrangement direction of each absorber can be defined according to the repulsive force, the step of measuring the repulsive force can be omitted.

  In the case of omitting the step of measuring the repulsive force, for example, by the apparatus configuration shown in FIG. 6, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are compressed on the same apparatus, and each absorber is placed in the tank case 13 in the prescribed direction. Can be inserted. The fiber 19 constituting the absorbent body A11 (hereinafter referred to as fiber A19) is provided on one side of the compression plate 204 serving as the bottom surface partitioned by the partition plate 306, and the fiber 20 constituting the absorbent body B12 (hereinafter referred to as fiber B20) is provided on the other side. It arrange | positions (FIG. 6 (a)). The fiber B20 is compressed in the Y direction by the compression plate 303 (FIG. 6B). The fiber A19 and the fiber B20 are compressed in the Z direction by the compression plate 304 and the absorbent body insertion tool 305 (FIG. 6C). The absorber A19 is compressed in the Y direction by the compression plate 302 (FIG. 6D). The fiber A19 and the fiber B20 are compressed in the X direction by the compression plate 301 (FIG. 6E). A tank case 13 is disposed below the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 that have been compressed to a predetermined absorber size. The compression plate 204 serving as the bottom surface is pulled out in a direction parallel to the opening of the tank case 13 (FIG. 6 (f)), and the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are tanked by pushing the absorber insertion tool 305 in the direction of the tank case 13. Insert into case 13. According to this method, each absorber is arranged so that the second compressed surface (f2a) of the absorber A11 and the first compressed surface (f1b) of the absorber B12 are in contact with each other as in the manufacturing method described above. Is done.

  In addition, in this embodiment, although two absorbers, absorber A11 and absorber B12, are used, the number of absorbers may be three or more. In this case as well, as in the case of two absorbers, three or more absorbers are manufactured, and each absorber is placed in a tank case so that the difference in repulsive force between the surfaces where each absorber contacts each other is not maximized. By arranging in, the dimensional change of each absorber can be reduced. In the present embodiment, the fibers are sequentially compressed in three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. However, when the shape of the fiber before molding is a flat plate shape, the compression surface corresponding to the flat plate surface is fixed at a predetermined size position, and then the fiber is supplied and sequentially compressed in the two axial directions. Thus, it can be formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[Second Embodiment]
In 2nd embodiment, as a means to make capillary force of absorber A11 larger than absorber B12, the fiber density of absorber A11 (first absorber) is made into the fiber of absorber B12 (second absorber). Make it higher than the density. In addition, the material of the fiber which comprises absorber A11 and absorber B12, a fiber diameter, and fiber length are mutually the same.

  As in the first embodiment, the fibers are sequentially compressed in two or three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. In this embodiment, it is assumed that the fibers are sequentially compressed in three orthogonal axial directions and formed into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape to manufacture the absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12. Further, the repulsive force in the direction perpendicular to the surface of each absorber is measured. At this time, the repulsive force of the surface perpendicular to the second and third compressed axial directions is almost the same in the absorbent body of any fiber density, and is perpendicular to the first compressed axial direction. Only the repulsive force of the formed surface is smaller than the other surfaces. Moreover, when the repulsive force is compared with respect to the surface that is perpendicular to the n-th compressed axial direction for the absorbents having different fiber densities, the absorbent having a higher fiber density has a larger repulsive force. Therefore, as in this embodiment, when the material, fiber diameter, and fiber length of the fibers constituting each absorber are the same and the fiber density is different, the repulsive force of each surface of each absorber It is possible to define the arrangement direction of each absorber without measuring the. That is, by arranging each absorber so that the surface perpendicular to the first compressed axial direction of the absorber with high fiber density is in contact with one surface of the other absorber, the contact surface of each absorber An arrangement direction in which the difference in repulsive force is maximized can be avoided. The arrangement direction of other surfaces can be selected as appropriate. Further, in addition to the arrangement direction, even if the surface perpendicular to the second or third compressed axial direction of the absorber B12 is arranged so as to be in contact with one surface of the absorber A11, the contact of each absorber An arrangement direction in which the difference in repulsive force on the surface is maximized can be avoided.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8, the surface (f1a) perpendicular to the first compressed axial direction of the absorber A11 is perpendicular to the third compressed axial direction of the absorber B12. Each absorber is arranged so as to be in contact with the surface (f3b). After inserting the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 into the tank case 13 in the arrangement direction, the ink 16 is injected, and the lid 15 is joined to obtain the ink jet cartridge 14 (FIG. 5). In this embodiment, since the surface (f1a) perpendicular to the axial direction compressed first of the absorber A11 is disposed so as to contact one surface of the absorber B12, the contact surface between the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 The difference in the repulsive force at is not maximized, and the dimensional change of each absorber can be reduced.

  In the present embodiment, for example, the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 can be compressed on the same device by the device configuration shown in FIG. 9, and each absorber can be inserted into the tank case 13 in a prescribed direction. The fiber A19 which comprises absorber A11 with the compression board 302 is compressed to a Y direction. The compression plate 304 and the absorbent body insertion tool 305 compress the fiber A19 and the fiber B20 constituting the absorbent body B12 in the Z direction. The compression plate 301 compresses the fibers A19 and B20 in the X direction. The absorber B20 is compressed in the Y direction by the compression plate 303. The process of inserting each absorber into the tank case 13 is the same as in the first embodiment. According to this method, each absorber is arranged so that the first compressed surface (f1a) of the absorber A11 and the third compressed surface (f3a) of the absorber B12 are in contact with each other as in the manufacturing method described above. Is done.

[Other Embodiments]
The method according to the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments, and is also applicable to a form in which one or a plurality of fiber materials, fiber diameters, fiber densities, fiber lengths, absorbent body dimensions, and the like are different. Is possible. Further, as described above, the present invention can also be applied to a form using three or more absorbers. Further, in the first and second embodiments, the mode in which the ink discharge device 17 is attached to the inkjet cartridge 14 as shown in FIG. 5 has been described, but the mode in which the ink discharge device 17 is separated is also described. The method according to the present invention can be applied.

[Example 1]
An ink jet cartridge 14 shown in FIG. 5 was produced. A tank case 13 having internal dimensions of 20 mm in length (X dimension), 40 mm in width (Y dimension), and 20 mm in height (Z dimension) was used. The shape of the absorber was a cube shape having an X dimension of 20 mm, a Y dimension of 20 mm, and a Z dimension of 20 mm for both of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12. As the fiber material, both the absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12 were made of a two-layer fiber (PP-PE). As the fiber diameter, a fiber having a fiber diameter of 6.7 dtex was used for the absorber B12, and a fiber having a fiber diameter of 2.2 dtex was used for the absorber A11. The fiber density was 12% for both the absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12. As the fiber length, 50 mm long fibers were used for both the absorber A11 and the absorber B12.

  First, about the fiber used for absorber A11 and absorber B12, the mass part calculated from the said fiber density, an absorber size, and fiber specific gravity, respectively was measured. Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the weighed fibers 10 are first compressed by the first compression plate 201, then the second compression plate 202, and then the third compression plate 203 in order to be orthogonal. Compressed in three axial directions. Next, the force that the compression plates 201, 202, and 203 receive from the absorber while the fibers 10 are held at a predetermined size by each compression plate is a force gauge 101 (trade name: “ZP-50N”, Imada Corporation. And the measured value was defined as the repulsive force of each surface. Table 1 shows the results of measuring the repulsive force of each surface of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12. f1a, f2a, f3a are the repulsive forces received by the compression plates 201, 202, 203 when the absorber A11 is compressed, respectively, f1b, f2b, f3b are the compression plates 201, 202, The repulsive force 203 received.

  From Table 1, the combination of the first compressed surface (f1a = 0.7N) of the absorber A11 and the second compressed surface (f2b = 2.6N) of the absorber B12 has the maximum repulsive force difference. is there. The absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 in a direction in which surfaces other than this combination come into contact with each other. In the present embodiment, the second compressed surface (f2a = 1.3N) of the absorber A11 and the first compressed surface (f1b = 1) of the absorber A11, which is a combination that minimizes the difference in repulsive force. .4N) are in contact (FIG. 3). Further, the absorber A11 is arranged so that the first compressed surface (f1a) and the absorber B12 the second compressed surface (f2b) are respectively horizontal with the opening surface of the tank case 13 (FIG. 3). .

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the absorber A <b> 11 and the absorber B <b> 12 are arranged in the tank case 13 in the arrangement direction. First, the absorbent body A401 maintained in a compressed state by the compression plate was disposed on the tank case 13 while maintaining the above-described arrangement direction (FIG. 4A). Next, the compression plate 204 serving as the bottom surface is pulled out in a direction horizontal to the opening of the tank case 13 (FIG. 4B), and the compression plate 205 serving as the top surface is pushed toward the tank case 13 (FIG. 4C). Thus, the absorbent body A11 was inserted into the tank case 13 (FIG. 4D). The absorber B12 was also inserted into the tank case 13 in the same manner as the absorber A11 (FIGS. 4E and 4F). After inserting the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 into the tank case 13, the ink 16 was injected and the lid 15 was joined to obtain the ink jet cartridge 14 (FIG. 5). In FIG. 5, the Y dimension (ya) of the absorber A11 inserted into the tank case 13 was reduced by 0.9 mm from the design value. Further, the Y dimension (yb) of the absorbent body B12 expanded by 0.9 mm from the design value.

[Comparative Example 1]
In Example 1, the first compressed surface (f1a = 0.7N) of the absorber A11, which is a combination that maximizes the difference in repulsive force, and the second compressed surface (f2b = 2.6N) of the absorber B12 The absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 so as to be in contact with each other. Otherwise, the ink jet cartridge 14 was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 1. In FIG. 5, the Y dimension (ya) of the absorber A11 inserted into the tank case 13 is reduced by 2.4 mm from the design value. Further, the Y dimension (yb) of the absorbent body B12 expanded 2.4 mm from the design value. Therefore, it was confirmed that the dimensional change of the absorber was reduced in the manufacturing method of Example 1.

[Example 2]
In the same manner as in Example 1, the ink jet cartridge 14 shown in FIG. In this example, the fiber density of the absorbent body A11 was 13.5%, and the fiber density of the absorbent body B12 was 10.0%. For both the absorber A11 and the absorber B12, the fiber material is a two-layer structure fiber (PP-PE), the fiber diameter is 6.7 dtex, the fiber length is 50 mm, the absorber dimensions are X dimension 20 mm, Y dimension 20 mm, The Z dimension was 20 mm. Table 2 shows the results of manufacturing the absorber A11 and the absorber B12 in the same manner as in Example 1 and measuring the repulsive force on each surface of the absorber A11 and the absorber B12.

  From Table 2, the third compressed surface (f3a = 5.1N) of the absorber A11 and the first compressed surface (f1b = 1.3N) of the absorber B12 are combinations that maximize the difference in repulsive force. is there. The absorbent body A11 and the absorbent body B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 so that the surfaces other than this combination are in the direction of each other. In this embodiment, the first compressed surface (f1a = 3.6N) of the absorber A11 and the third compressed surface (f3b = 2) of the absorber B12, which are combinations that minimize the difference in repulsive force. .5N) are in contact with each other (FIG. 8). Further, the absorber A11 is arranged such that the second compressed surface (f2a) and the absorber B12 are arranged so that the first compressed surface (f1b) is horizontal with the opening surface of the tank case 13 (FIG. 8). . Thereafter, an ink jet cartridge 14 was obtained in the same manner as in Example 1 (FIG. 5). In FIG. 5, the Y dimension (ya) of the absorbent body A11 inserted into the tank case 13 expanded by 1.2 mm from the design value. Further, the Y dimension (yb) of the absorber B12 was reduced by 1.2 mm from the design value.

[Comparative Example 2]
In Example 2, the third compressed surface (f3a = 5.1N) and the first compressed surface (f1b = 1.3N) of the absorber A11, which is a combination that maximizes the difference in repulsive force. The absorber A11 and the absorber B12 are arranged in the tank case 13 so as to be in contact with each other. Otherwise, the ink jet cartridge 14 was manufactured in the same manner as in Example 2. In FIG. 5, the Y dimension (ya) of the absorbent body A11 inserted into the tank case 13 was expanded by 4.1 mm from the design value. Further, the Y dimension (yb) of the absorber B12 was reduced by 4.1 mm from the design value. Therefore, it was confirmed that the dimensional change of the absorber was reduced in the manufacturing method of Example 2.

[Example 3]
Using the same fiber material, fiber diameter, and fiber length as in Example 2, an absorber having a fiber density of 8.1%, 16.1%, and 18.7% was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2. The results of measuring the repulsive force on each surface of each absorber are shown in Table 3 and FIG. Table 3 and FIG. 7 also show data on the repulsion force of the absorbents having the fiber density of 10.0% and 13.5% measured in Example 2. It was confirmed that the repulsive force of the second and third compressed surfaces was the same in the absorbent bodies of any fiber density measured, and only the repulsive force of the first compressed surface was small. Further, when the repulsive force was compared for the nth compressed surface, it was confirmed that the repulsive force increased as the fiber density increased. From this result, in the case where absorbers having the same fiber material, fiber diameter and fiber length and different fiber densities are arranged in the tank case 13, it is not necessary to measure the repulsive force of each surface of each absorber. By arranging each absorber in the tank case 13 so that the first compressed surface of the absorber with high fiber density (absorber A11) is in contact with the other absorber (absorber B12), It was confirmed that the arrangement direction with the largest difference can be avoided. Thereby, the dimensional change of an absorber can be reduced.

10 Fiber 11 High capillary force absorber (Absorber A)
12 Low capillary force absorber (absorber B)
13 Tank Case 14 Inkjet Cartridge 15 Lid 16 Ink 17 Ink Ejecting Device 18 Ink Supply Port 19 Fiber A
20 Fiber B
101 Force gauge 201 First compression plate 202 Second compression plate 203 Third compression plate 204 Compression plate 205 serving as a bottom surface Compression plate 401 serving as a top surface Absorber A maintained in a compressed state by a compression plate
402 Absorber B maintained in a compressed state by a compression plate

Claims (5)

In a method for manufacturing an ink jet cartridge comprising two or more substantially rectangular parallelepiped absorbent bodies in contact with each other made of fibers in a tank case,
A step of sequentially compressing fibers in two or three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and producing two or more absorbent bodies;
Arranging each absorber in a tank case so that the absolute value of the difference in repulsive force in the vertical direction on the surface is not maximized on the surface in contact with each absorber. .   The method for producing an ink jet cartridge according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a fiber density and a fiber diameter of each absorber is different from each other.   The method of manufacturing an ink jet cartridge according to claim 1, further comprising a step of measuring a repulsive force in a direction perpendicular to the surface of each absorber. In a method of manufacturing an inkjet cartridge comprising a first absorber and a second absorber in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that are in contact with each other made of fibers in a tank case,
The material, fiber diameter and fiber length of the fibers constituting the first absorbent body and the second absorbent body are the same, and the first absorbent body has a higher fiber density than the second absorbent body,
A step of sequentially compressing fibers in two or three axial directions to form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and manufacturing a first absorbent body and a second absorbent body;
The first absorber and the second absorber are placed inside the tank case so that a surface perpendicular to the first compressed axial direction of the first absorber is in contact with one surface of the second absorber. A method of manufacturing an ink jet cartridge, comprising the step of:   An ink jet cartridge manufactured by the method according to claim 1.

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