Compositions: coating or plastic – Coating or plastic compositions – Marking
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-17
2004-01-27
Bell, Mark L. (Department: 1755)
Compositions: coating or plastic
Coating or plastic compositions
Marking
C106S031860
Reexamination Certificate
active
06682592
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ink for an ink jet printer and to an ink jet recording method.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
An ink jet recording method has been increasingly prevailed and is further developing, because the material cost is inexpensive, capable of high speed recording and noiseless during recording.
As ink jet recording methods, there are a method of pressurizing ink by a piezoid and discharging ink droplets, a method of generating bubbles in ink by heat and discharging ink droplets, and a method of sucking and discharging ink droplets by electrostatic force. As the inks for ink jet recording, water-based inks, oil-based inks and solid inks (a melting type) are used.
Coloring agents for use in the inks for ink jet printers are required to be high in solubility in a solvent, capable of high density recording, excellent in hue, fast to light, heat, air, water and chemicals, nonpoisonous, high in purity, and inexpensive. Inks are required to have good fixing ability to image-receiving materials and not liable to blot, excellent in storage stability, and do not cause clogging at discharge opening.
Various kinds of dyes and pigments have been suggested and used in practice as inks for ink jet printers. However, a coloring agent which satisfies all of these requirements is not found yet. As a means for solving these problems, inks comprising glycerin, diethylene glycol and an ethylene oxide addition product of alcohol are disclosed in JP-A-58-74761 and JP-A-60-92369 (the term “JP-A” as used herein means an “unexamined published Japanese patent application”), and to use an ethylene oxide addition product of a long chain and straight chain alcohol is disclosed in JP-A-2000-265098. However, clogging of a nozzle can be prevented to a certain degree but not sufficiently and further these techniques have a drawback that the quality of the image formed is deteriorated during storage.
Further, it is suggested in JP-A-6-88048, JP-A-8-333532, JP-A-8-333533, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,837,043 and 5,626,655 that blotting of images can be reduced by the inks using ethylene oxide addition products of higher alcohols, but clogging is liable to occur, the storage stability of printed images is poor and hues are varied.
Ink consisting of a dye, glycerin and a product comprising a carbon fluoride compound and ethylene glycols is disclosed in JP-A-10-251578, and ink comprising a dye, glycerin and an ethylene glycol lower straight chain fatty acid ester compound is disclosed in JP-A-10-251579, but these techniques also have a drawback that clogging is liable to occur, the storage stability of printed images is poor and hues are varied.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide ink for ink jet recording which does not cause clogging of a nozzle, has sufficient image density and is excellent in the storage stability of the images formed, and an ink jet recording method using the same.
As a result of eager investigation of the present inventors for solving the above problems, the present invention has been attained by the following means.
(1) An ink for ink jet recording comprising water, a coloring agent and at least one compound represented by the following formula (1)
wherein R
1
and R
2
each independently represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and m represents an integer of from 2 to 40 or by the following formula (2):
wherein R
1
and R
2
each independently represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and m represents an integer of from 4 to 40.
(2) The ink for ink jet recording as described in (1) above, wherein R
1
and R
2
in formula (1) each independently represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 4 to 13 carbon atoms.
(3) The ink for ink jet recording as described in (1) or (2) above, wherein the total number of the carbon atoms included in the saturated hydrocarbons represented by R
1
and R
2
in formula (1) is from 8 to 18.
(4) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (3) above, wherein R
1
and R
2
in formula (2) each independently represents a straight chain or branched alkyl group having from 2 to 13 carbon atoms.
(5) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (4) above, wherein the total number of the carbon atoms included in the straight chain or branched alkyl groups represented by R
1
and R
2
in formula (2) is from 6 to 24.
(6) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (5) above, wherein the content of the at least one compound represented by the formula (1) is from 0.001 wt % to 15 wt % based on 100 wt % of the content of the ink.
(7) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (6) above, wherein the content of the at least one compound represented by the formula (2) is from 0.001 wt % to 15 wt % based on 100 wt % of the content of the ink.
(8) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (7) above, wherein the coloring agent is one of a water-soluble dye, a pigment, an oil-soluble dye and a disperse dye.
(9) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (8) above, which further comprises a water-soluble organic solvent.
(10) The ink for ink jet recording as described in any one of (1) to (9) above, which further comprises a penetration accelerating agent.
(11) The ink for ink jet recording as described in (10) above, wherein the penetration accelerating agent is one of monoalkyl ether of polyhydric alcohol, dialkyl ether of polyhydric alcohol, a nonionic surfactant and an anionic surfactant.
(12) The ink for ink jet recording as described in (11) above, wherein the monoalkyl ether of polyhydric alcohol is one of diethylene glycol monobutyl ether and triethylene glycol monobutyl ether.
(13) The ink for ink jet recording as described in anyone of (1) to (12) above, which further comprises antiseptics.
(14) An ink jet recording method comprising ejecting an ink for ink jet recording comprising water, a coloring agent and at least one compound represented by the following formula (1):
wherein R
1
and R
2
each independently represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and m represents an integer of from 2 to 40 or by the following formula (2):
wherein R
1
and R
2
each independently represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms, and m represents an integer of from 4 to 40.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is described in detail below.
In the first place, a compound represented by formula (1) is described in detail. R
1
and R
2
each represents a saturated hydrocarbon having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms (e.g., ethyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, n-nonyl, n-decyl, n-dodecyl, n-hexadecyl, and n-octadecyl), preferably a saturated hydrocarbon having from 4 to 13 carbon atoms, and more preferably the total number of the carbon atoms of R
1
and R
2
is from 8 to 18. m represents from 2 to 40, preferably from 4 to 30, and more preferably from 4 to 20.
In the next place, a compound represented by formula (2) is described in detail. R
1
and R
2
each represents a straight chain or branched alkyl group having from 2 to 20 carbon atoms (e.g., ethyl, n-butyl, i-butyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, n-nonyl, n-decyl, n-dodecyl, n-tridecyl, n-hexadecyl, and n-octadecyl), preferably a straight chain or branched alkyl group having from 2 to 13 carbon atoms, and more preferably the total number of the carbon atoms of R
1
and R
2
is from 6 to 24. m represents from 4 to 40, preferably from 5 to 35, and more preferably from 5 to 30.
The compounds represented by formulae (1) and (2) can be obtained according to the method described in Takehiko Fujimoto,
Shin Kaimen Kasseizai Nyumon
(
New Introduction to Surfactants
), Revised Edition, p. 107 (1992), however, m in formulae (1) and (2) represents an average value which is variable according to the starting materials and methods of synthesis. Accordingly, two or more compounds different in m may be used in combination or a
Adachi Keiichi
Yamanouchi Junichi
Bell Mark L.
Burns Doane , Swecker, Mathis LLP
Faison Veronica F.
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
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