Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Fluid or fluid source handling means
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-23
2001-04-24
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Fluid or fluid source handling means
C206S593000, C206S594000, C206S524800
Reexamination Certificate
active
06220702
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink container which is removably accommodated in a casing of an ink jet type recording apparatus to supply ink to a recording head and, in more particular, to a flexible ink bag for storing ink therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet type recording apparatus performs a printing operation by reciprocating a recording head in the sheet width direction of a recording sheet. To supply ink from an ink supply source to the recording head while reducing the weight of a reciprocatingly moving section, a recording apparatus, which carries out a large amount of print, generally adopts an arrangement in which the ink supply source is disposed in a casing of the apparatus whereas ink is supplied through a tube to the recording head.
The ink jet type recording apparatus is designed to pressurize ink in a pressure generation chamber to thereby generate ink droplets. If the ink contains air bubbles therein, then the pressure generated is reduced due to such air bubbles to lower the ejection performance of the ink droplets. In order to avoid this problem, the ink jet type recording apparatus requires ink which eliminates dissolved air therefrom.
For this reason, an ink bag
60
shown in
FIG. 14
is formed in the following manner: That is, a laminated film having a gas barrier property, which is composed of a polyethylene film and aluminum vapor-deposited on the polyethylene film, is folded at its center so that two half sections of the laminated film are superimposed one on the other. The three sides of the thus superimposed laminated film except for one. short side thereof are connected together by thermal fusion or any other suitable processing. The remaining one short side is sealed with an ink supply hole forming member
61
made of a plastic molding be secured thereto. Further, in order to protect the ink bag
60
from damage due to an external force or the like and to form an ink cartridge, the ink bag
60
is stored in a hard case
62
formed of high-molecular material. In
FIG. 14
, reference numeral
63
designates a plate member to be fixed to one side of the ink bag
60
to deform the ink bag
60
uniformly and enable detection of the ink end, and
64
designates a cover forming a part of the hard case
62
.
However, the ink bag for commercial printing purpose must be supplied or distributed to a user without being stored in the hard case because the capacity of the ink bag
60
must be increased as well as the cost thereof must be reduced.
Therefore, the ink bag itself is required to have such strength as to withstand the distribution and a setting operation for setting the ink bag into a recording apparatus, but the increased strength of the ink bag hinders smooth reduction of the capacity of the bag in conjunction with the ink consumption by printing, which, in turn, incurs an obstacle to the supply of ink to the recording head. The ink bag, which is filled with ink, has such a rounded shape that the central portion of the ink bag is larger in thickness than the peripheral portions thereof, and therefore, the accommodation of the relatively rounded ink bag into an easy-to-handle rectangular case arises another problem in that space utility is low due to the presence of a dead space.
Moreover, if the ink storage capacity of the ink bag is increased, then the shaking or rocking motion of the ink during the distribution causes greater shocks to the ink bag, so that the ink bag is easy to break.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is a first object of the invention to provide an ink bag which can secure such degree of strength as to be able to protect the ink bag from damage in handling when it is loaded into a recording apparatus.
A second object of the present invention is to provide an ink bag which can maintain its rectangular shape by itself in its ink filled state to thereby provide a high ink filling efficiency.
A third object of the present invention is to provide an ink bag which can supply ink to the recording apparatus positively.
A fourth object of the invention is to provide an ink bag which provides a rectangular shape in its ink filled state to thereby allow it to be stored in a recording apparatus with only a small dead space produced.
A fifth object of the invention is to provide an ink bag, which is able to receive external forces acting on the four corners of the ink bag in such a manner that the external forces are dispersed by four connecting portions formed in their associated four corners of the ink bag to thereby able to prevent the ink bag against damage as much as possible.
A sixth object of the invention is to provide an ink bag, which, according to the ink amount, can reduce the thickness of the side surface portions of the ink bag having relatively weak rigidity due to tensile forces given from connecting portions of the four corners of the ink bag to thereby be able to discharge ink positively.
A seventh object of the invention to provide a package for packing therein an ink bag in such a manner that the side surface portions of the ink bag are supported and held by and between the side surface inner packing members of the package, and the shoulder portions of the ink bag are supported and held by and between the end portion inner packing members of the package to eliminate a space for oscillation of the ink bag, thereby being able to prevent the ink bag from being damaged by large shocks that could be possibly applied to the ink bag during distribution.
An ink bag according to a preferred embodiment of the invention is structured such that, to the respective long side portions of a rectangular-shaped, thermally fusible first film forming the surface portions of the ink bag, there are attached, by thermal fusion, the long side portions of a rectangular-shaped, thermally fusible second film forming the side surface portions of the ink bag and having lower rigidity than the first film to thereby form a cylindrical body. The one-side short side portions of the surface portions of the ink bag are attached together by thermal fusion to thereby form a bag body. An ink supply hole forming member is attached by thermal fusion to the other-side short side portions of the surface portions of the ink bag. In the four corners of the ink bag, there are formed strip-like connecting portions each starting from one of the two mutually adjoining sides of the ink bag and reaching the other of the two sides.
An ink bag package according to a preferred embodiment of the invention includes end portion inner packing members, each having a trapezoidal-shaped section, for holding between them the end portion areas of the short-side sides of the ink bag from both surfaces thereof. The package further includes rectangular-shaped side surface inner packing members to be respectively contacted with the side surfaces of the long-side sides of the ink bag. A container is provided for storing therein theses inner packing members together with the ink bag.
The present disclosure relates to the subject matter contained in Japanese patent application Nos. Hei. 10-367539 (filed on Dec. 24, 1998) and Hei. 11-234916 (filed on Aug. 23, 1999), which are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.
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Honzawa Tadatoshi
Kamijyo Masanori
Kobayashi Takeshi
Nakamura Masahiro
Tsukahara Michinari
Le N.
Nguyen Judy
Seiko Epson Corporation
Sughrue Mion Zinn Macpeak & Seas, PLLC
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