阅读说明：本技术 墨收纳容器及墨盒 (Ink container and ink cartridge ) 是由 杉浦光 志村真一郎 守永真利绘 安藤一行 大泽信介 菅原德朗 于 2019-07-10 设计创作，主要内容包括：提供一种墨收纳容器及墨盒。本发明的课题在于,防止挠性的墨收纳容器内墨变质。本发明的解决方案为：一种墨收纳容器,其具备油性墨和收纳油性墨的挠性容器,油性墨包含硅油及具有至少1个侧链且1分子中的侧链的碳数的总和为4以上的脂肪酸酯系溶剂中的至少一者、和着色材料,硅油及具有至少1个侧链且1分子中的侧链的碳数的总和为4以上的脂肪酸酯系溶剂的合计量相对于墨总量为10质量％以上。(An ink container and an ink cartridge are provided. The invention aims to prevent ink in a flexible ink container from deteriorating. The solution of the invention is as follows: an ink storage container includes an oil-based ink and a flexible container that stores the oil-based ink, the oil-based ink including at least one of a silicone oil and a fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more, and a coloring material, and the total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more is 10% by mass or more with respect to the total amount of the ink.)

1. An ink storage container includes an oil-based ink and a flexible container that stores the oil-based ink, wherein the oil-based ink includes at least one of a silicone oil and a fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more, and a coloring material, and the total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more is 10% by mass or more relative to the total amount of the ink.

2. An ink cartridge comprising the ink container according to claim 1.

Technical Field

The invention relates to an ink container and an ink cartridge.

Background

The printing apparatus is equipped with, for example, an ink cartridge for supplying ink, and performs printing on a recording medium by supplying ink from the ink cartridge to a printing mechanism. In the ink cartridge, ink is stored in a container, and the ink is discharged from an outlet provided in the container to a printing mechanism.

As a container for storing ink, for example, a flexible container is used. The flexible container can be deformed in accordance with the amount of remaining ink inside, and therefore, after ink is discharged from the container, the amount of remaining ink in the container can be reduced. The flexible container is wrapped in an exterior material made of corrugated board or the like to form an ink cartridge.

As an example of the flexible container, there is a container using a flexible film.

Patent document 1 (japanese patent laid-open No. 2015-16899) discloses a liquid storage container having: a flexible bag body formed by thermally welding outer peripheral edges of a pair of flexible films to each other; and a tubular lead-out member disposed between the outer peripheries of the pair of flexible films, and having a lead-out port formed therethrough for communicating the inside and the outside of the flexible bag body. Patent document 1 proposes: the flexible bag body is less likely to be damaged or buckled even when an external force is applied to the flexible bag body by forming a reinforcing weld portion in which a pair of flexible films near a position where the lead-out member is arranged are directly welded.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

Since the flexible container is in direct contact with the ink, there is a possibility that the ink may be deteriorated. In addition, there is a problem that a material having flexibility contains many components having a structure similar to those of ink components, and the ink is easily deteriorated.

The ink contained in the flexible container generally has little influence of contacting the inner wall of the flexible container. However, there is a problem that the distance between the inner walls of the flexible container is shortened by folding the flexible container, and a small amount of ink is locally deteriorated by the flexible container at a portion where the inner walls of the flexible container are sandwiched.

This is problematic because the ink is deteriorated, thereby causing aggregates in the ink, a change in the viscosity of the ink, and the like. Further, aggregates generated in the ink cause a printing failure in the printing mechanism.

An object of the present invention is to prevent ink from deteriorating in a flexible ink container.

Means for solving the problems

An embodiment of the present invention is an ink container including an oil-based ink and a flexible container that stores the oil-based ink, wherein the oil-based ink includes at least one of a silicone oil and a fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and a total number of carbon atoms of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more, and a coloring material, and a total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and a total number of carbon atoms of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more is 10% by mass or more with respect to a total amount of the ink.

Another embodiment of the present invention is an ink cartridge including the ink container.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

According to an embodiment of the present invention, deterioration of ink in a flexible ink container can be prevented.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of a printing apparatus, in which (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a right side view.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of an ink container.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of an ink container.

Description of the reference numerals

1 main body

30-box mounting mechanism

100 printing device

200 ink box

220 ink container

220a, 220b plastic film

220g, 220h strengthen the weld

221 plastic container

230 leading-out member

231 lead-out port

350 upper device

Detailed Description

The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment. The following embodiments are illustrative and not intended to limit the present invention.

An ink container according to an embodiment is provided with an oil-based ink and a flexible container that stores the oil-based ink, wherein the oil-based ink contains at least one of a silicone oil and a fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbon atoms of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more, and a coloring material, and the total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent that has at least 1 side chain and in which the total number of carbon atoms of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more is 10% by mass or more relative to the total amount of the ink.

Hereinafter, a fatty acid ester-based solvent having at least 1 side chain and having a total number of carbon atoms of the side chains in 1 molecule of 4 or more will also be referred to as a fatty acid ester-based solvent E.

According to the ink container, the ink in the flexible ink container can be prevented from deteriorating.

When ink is housed in the flexible container, if the material of the flexible container is similar in molecular structure to the solvent of the ink, the flexible container becomes easier to absorb the solvent. As a material of the flexible container, a resin such as a polyethylene resin or a polypropylene resin can be preferably used in order to have appropriate flexibility. However, since these resins have high affinity with the solvent of the ink, containers made of these resins have a property of particularly easily absorbing the solvent of the ink.

When the flexible container absorbs the solvent of the ink, the concentration of solids such as pigment of the ink becomes relatively high. This density variation is not a big problem for the whole inside of the ink container. The distance between the inner walls of the flexible container is shortened by the folding back of the corner of the flexible container, the reduction of the amount of ink remaining in the flexible container, or the like. In this flexible container, at a position where a small amount of ink is present, the amount of ink is small relative to the surface area of the flexible container, the amount of solvent absorbed by the flexible container is relatively large, the concentration of solids in the ink is high, and the solids may form aggregates and precipitate. When the ink contains such aggregates, the ink may be clogged in the ink transport path, the ink ejection port such as the ink jet nozzle, and the like.

In one embodiment, the ink contains at least one of a silicone oil and a fatty acid ester-based solvent E in an amount of 10 mass% or more relative to the total amount of the ink, and thereby exhibits an effect of suppressing absorption of the solvent into the flexible container, and the above-described problem can be solved.

Silicone oil has a property of coating the surface of a flexible container due to its low surface tension, and on the other hand, has a property of being less easily absorbed by the flexible container due to its structure different from the material of the flexible container. Therefore, it is considered that the incorporation of the silicone oil does not absorb the silicone oil itself in the flexible container, and also plays a role of preventing other ink components from being absorbed in the flexible container.

The fatty acid ester-based solvent E has a large molecular structure and thus has a property of being hardly absorbed by a flexible container. Therefore, even if other ink components are absorbed by the container, the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is not absorbed but remains, and therefore, the concentration of solids such as pigments can be prevented from becoming higher than a certain level, and the generation of foreign matter can be suppressed.

(oil ink)

The ink may contain a coloring material. As the coloring material, a pigment, a dye, or a combination of these may be used.

When the pigment concentration in the ink container becomes high, the pigment may be aggregated. When the dye concentration in the ink container becomes high, the viscosity of the ink as a whole becomes high, and the ink may become a viscous body. In order to solve such a problem, silicone oil and/or fatty acid ester solvent E may be preferably blended in the ink.

As the pigment, organic pigments such as azo pigments, phthalocyanine pigments, polycyclic pigments, dye lake pigments, and the like; and inorganic pigments such as carbon black and metal oxides. As the azo pigment, there can be mentioned: soluble azo lake pigments, insoluble azo pigments, condensed azo pigments, and the like. As the phthalocyanine pigment, there can be mentioned: metal phthalocyanine pigments such as copper phthalocyanine pigments and metal-free phthalocyanine pigments. As polycyclic pigments, mention may be made of: quinacridone pigments, perylene pigments, perinone pigments, isoindoline pigments, isoindolinone pigments, dioxazine pigments, thioindigo pigments, anthraquinone pigments, quinophthalone pigments, metal complex pigments, and pyrrolopyrrole Diketones (DPP). Examples of carbon black include: furnace black, lamp black, acetylene black, channel black, and the like. As the metal oxide, there can be mentioned: titanium oxide, zinc oxide, and the like.

These pigments may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

The average particle diameter of the pigment particles in the ink is preferably 300nm or less, more preferably 200nm or less, and even more preferably 150nm or less, as an average value on a volume basis in a particle size distribution measured by a dynamic light scattering method, from the viewpoint of ejection stability and storage stability.

The pigment is usually 0.01 to 20% by mass relative to the total amount of the ink, and is preferably 1 to 15% by mass, and more preferably 4 to 10% by mass, from the viewpoint of print density and ink viscosity.

In order to stably disperse the pigment in the ink, a pigment dispersant may be used together with the pigment.

As the pigment dispersant, for example: hydroxyl-containing carboxylic acid esters, salts of long-chain polyaminoamides with high-molecular-weight acid esters, salts of high-molecular-weight polycarboxylic acids, salts of long-chain polyaminoamides with polar acid esters, high-molecular-weight unsaturated acid esters, copolymers of vinylpyrrolidone and long-chain olefins, modified polyurethanes, modified polyacrylates, polyether ester type anionic active agents, polyoxyethylene alkyl phosphate esters, polyester polyamines, and the like.

Examples of commercially available products of pigment dispersants include: "Antaron V216 (vinylpyrrolidone-hexadecene copolymer), V220 (vinylpyrrolidone-eicosene copolymer)" made by ISP Japan ltd. (trade name); solsperse 13940 (polyesteramine series), 16000, 17000, 18000 (fatty acid amine series), 11200, 24000, 28000 (all trade names) manufactured by The Lubrizol Corporation; "Efka 400, 401, 402, 403, 450, 451, 453 (modified polyacrylate), 46, 47, 48, 49, 4010, 4055 (modified polyurethane)" (trade name, all) manufactured by BASF Japan ltd.; "Disparlon KS-860 and KS-873N4 (amine salt of polyester)" manufactured by Nanguo Kabushiki Kaisha (trade name); "Discol 202, 206, OA-202, OA-600 (Multi-chain Polymer nonionic system)" manufactured by first Industrial pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (trade name); DISPERBYK2155, 9077 (trade names) manufactured by BYK-Chemie Japan K.K.; "HypermerKD 2, KD3, KD11, KD 12" (trade names) manufactured by Croda Japan K.K.

The pigment dispersant is sufficient as long as it is an amount that can sufficiently disperse the pigment in the ink, and can be appropriately set.

For example, the pigment dispersant may be added to the pigment 1 in a mass ratio of 0.1 to 5, preferably 0.1 to 1. The pigment dispersant may be added in an amount of 0.01 to 10% by mass, preferably 0.01 to 6% by mass, and more preferably 0.1 to 6% by mass, based on the total amount of the ink.

As the dye, a dye generally used in the art may be arbitrarily used. In the oil-based ink, an oil-soluble dye is preferably used as the dye in order to exhibit affinity for a non-aqueous solvent of the ink and to improve storage stability.

As the oil-soluble dye, there can be mentioned: azo dyes, metal complex salt dyes, naphthol dyes, anthraquinone dyes, indigo dyes, carbonium dyes, quinonimine dyes, xanthene dyes, cyanine dyes, quinoline dyes, nitro dyes, nitroso dyes, benzoquinone dyes, naphthoquinone dyes, phthalocyanine dyes, metal phthalocyanine dyes, and the like. These may be used alone as , or a plurality of them may be used in combination.

The dye is usually 0.01 to 20% by mass relative to the total amount of the ink, and is preferably 1 to 15% by mass, and more preferably 4 to 10% by mass, from the viewpoint of print density and ink viscosity.

As the silicone oil, a compound having 1 molecule of silicon atom and carbon atom and being liquid at 23 ℃ can be used.

As the silicone oil, a compound having a silyl group, a compound having a silyloxy group, a compound having a siloxane bond, and the like can be used, and particularly, a polysiloxane compound can be preferably used.

Examples of the silicone oil include chain silicone oils, cyclic silicone oils, modified silicone oils, and the like.

The chain silicone oil is preferably a chain polysiloxane having a silicon number of 2 to 30. The number of silicon in the chain silicone oil is more preferably 2 to 20, and still more preferably 3 to 10.

Examples of the chain silicone oil include: linear dimethylsilicone fluids such as tetradecyl hexasiloxane, hexadecyl heptamethyl siloxane, and eicosyldimethyl decasiloxane; and branched dimethylsilicone oils such as methyltris (trimethylsiloxy) silane and tetrakis (trimethylsiloxy) silane.

The cyclic silicone oil is preferably a cyclic polysiloxane having a silicon number of 5 to 9, and cyclic dimethylsilicone oil such as decamethylcyclopentasiloxane, dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane, hexadecylcyclooctasiloxane, and octadecylcyclononasiloxane can be preferably used.

As the modified silicone oil, silicone oil in which various organic groups are introduced into a part of silicon atoms of chain or cyclic dimethylsilicone oil can be used. As the modified silicone oil, it is preferable that all silicon atoms are bonded to only either carbon atoms or oxygen atoms of siloxane bonds. As the modified silicone oil, a non-reactive silicone oil is preferable. The modified silicone oil preferably contains constituent atoms including only silicon atom, carbon atom, oxygen atom, and hydrogen atom.

Examples of the modified silicone oil include: aryl-modified silicone oils such as alkyl-modified silicone oils, phenyl-modified silicone oils, and aralkyl-modified silicone oils, carboxylate-modified silicone oils, alkylene-modified silicone oils, polyether-modified silicone oils, and the like. The alkyl-modified silicone oil and the carboxylate-modified silicone oil are preferable, and the alkyl-modified silicone oil is more preferable.

The modified silicone oil preferably has a silicon number of 2 to 20, more preferably 2 to 10, even more preferably 2 to 6, and even more preferably 2 to 6.

As an example of the modified silicone oil, the following silicone oils are contained: 1 silicone oil having 2 to 6 silicon atoms in the molecule, and having an organic group in which a carbon atom is directly bonded to a silicon atom and the total of the number of carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms is 4 or more. Hereinafter, this silicone oil will also be referred to as modified silicone oil S.

The modified silicone oil S may have 1 or more organic groups selected from the group consisting of the following (a) to (D) as organic groups having a total of 4 or more carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms.

(A) An alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms.

(B) A group containing a carboxylic ester bond, wherein the total of the number of carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms is 4 or more.

(C) A group containing an aromatic ring having 6 or more carbon atoms.

(D) An alkylene group having 4 or more carbon atoms.

The modified silicone oil S preferably has a total of 4 to 20, more preferably 4 to 16, and even more preferably 6 to 12 carbon atoms and oxygen atoms contained in an organic group having a total of 4 or more carbon atoms and oxygen atoms in 1 molecule.

When 1 molecule of modified silicone oil S contains an organic group having 2 or more carbon atoms and an oxygen number of the total of 4 or more, the total of the carbon atoms and the oxygen number of the organic group having 4 or more carbon atoms and an oxygen number of the total of 2 or more carbon atoms and an oxygen number of the total of 4 or more organic groups in 1 molecule.

The modified silicone oil S preferably contains an alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms.

In the modified silicone oil S, the alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms may have a linear or branched chain, and may be a chain or alicyclic group. The number of carbon atoms of the alkyl group is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 6 or more, and further preferably 8 or more. The number of carbon atoms in the alkyl group is preferably 20 or less, more preferably 16 or less, and still more preferably 12 or less.

Examples of the alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms include: n-butyl, isobutyl, t-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, isooctyl, nonyl, decyl, dodecyl, hexadecyl, eicosyl and the like.

Octyl, isooctyl, nonyl, decyl, dodecyl are preferred.

One example of the modified silicone oil S includes a silicone oil which is a compound represented by the following general formula (X).

In the general formula (X), R ¹Is an oxygen atom, or a 2-valent organic radical in which a carbon atom is bonded directly to a silicon atom, R ²Each independently a 1-valent organic group in which a carbon atom is directly bonded to a silicon atom, m and n are each independently an integer of 0 to 4, p is each independently an integer of 0 to 2, the number of silicon atoms in 1 molecule is 2 to 6, R ¹And R ²At least 1 of the (B) s is an organic group having a total of 4 or more carbon atoms and oxygen number, and the total of 4 to 20 carbon atoms is contained in an organic group having a total of 4 or more carbon atoms and oxygen number in 1 molecule.

In the general formula (X), R ¹Is oxygen atom or 2-valent organic group with the total number of carbon atoms and oxygen numbers more than 4, R ²Each independently represents a methyl group or a 1-valent organic group having a total of 4 or more carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms.

Preferably, in the formula (X), R ¹Is an oxygen atom or an alkylene group having 4 or more carbon atoms, R ²Each independently is methyl, alkyl with 4 or more carbon atoms, a group containing carboxylic ester bond with 4 or more carbon atoms and oxygen number, or a group containing aromatic ring with 6 or more carbon atoms, R ¹And R ²At least 1 of the (B) is selected from the group consisting of an alkylene group having 4 or more carbon atoms, an alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms, a group containing a carboxylic ester bond in which the total of the number of carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms is 4 or more, and a group containing an aromatic ring having 6 or more carbon atoms, and the total of the number of oxygen atoms and the number of carbon atoms contained in 1 molecule of the alkylene group having 4 or more carbon atoms, the alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms, the group containing a carboxylic ester bond in which the total of the number of carbon atoms and the number of oxygen atoms is 4 or more, and the group containing an aromatic ring having 6.

More preferably, in the formula (X), R ¹Is an oxygen atom, R ²Each independently is methyl or C4 or more alkyl, R ²At least 1 of them is an alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms, and the total of the number of oxygen atoms and the number of carbon atoms contained in the alkyl group having 4 or more carbon atoms in 1 molecule is 4 to 20.

The modified silicone oil S can be produced by the following method, but is not limited to this method.

For example, the modified silicone oil S can be obtained by reacting a siloxane raw material with a reactive compound having an organic group and a reactive group, the total of the number of carbons and the number of oxygen atoms of which is 4 or more, in an organic solvent. The molar ratio of the reactive groups of the siloxane starting material to the reactive compounds, preferably the siloxane starting material to the reactive groups of the reactive compounds, is 1: 1-1: 1.5 to react. In the reaction, a catalyst such as a platinum catalyst such as an olefin complex of platinum at 0, a vinylsiloxane complex of platinum at 0, an olefin complex halide of platinum at 2, chloroplatinic acid, or the like can be preferably used.

As the siloxane raw material, for example, 1,1,1,3,5,5, 5-heptamethyltrisiloxane, 1,1,1,3,3,5,7, 7-nonamethyltetrasiloxane, 1,1,1,3,3,5,7,7,9,9, 9-undecamethylpentasiloxane, pentamethyldisiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5, 5-heptamethyltrisiloxane, 1,1,3, 3-tetramethyldisiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5, 5-hexamethyltrisiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5,7, 7-octamethyltetrasiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5,7, 9, 9-decamethylpentasiloxane, 1,1,1,5,5, 5-hexamethyl-3- (trimethylsilyloxy) trisiloxane, 1,1,1,5,5, 5-hexamethyltrisiloxane, 1,1,1,3,5,7,7, 7-octamethyltetrasiloxane, 1,1,3,5, 5-pentamethyl-3- (dimethylsilyloxy) trisiloxane, 1,1,3,3,5,5,7,7,9,9,11, 11-dodecamethylhexasiloxane, etc.

The reactive compound preferably has a carbon double bond as a reactive group.

In order to introduce an alkyl group into the modified silicone oil S, olefins having 4 or more carbon atoms such as 1-butene, 2-butene, 1-pentene, 1-hexene, 1-heptene, 1-octene, 2-octene, 1-nonene, 1-decene, 1-dodecene, 1-hexadecene, and 1-eicosene can be used as the reactive compound.

In addition to the olefin, an alicyclic hydrocarbon having an ethylenically unsaturated double bond such as vinylcyclohexane may be used.

In order to introduce a group containing an ester bond into the modified silicone oil S, a fatty acid vinyl ester or fatty acid allyl ester compound having a total sum of carbon number and oxygen number of 6 or more, such as vinyl acetate, vinyl propionate, vinyl butyrate, vinyl isobutyrate, vinyl valerate, vinyl pivalate, vinyl caproate, vinyl heptanoate, vinyl 2-ethylhexanoate, vinyl caprylate, vinyl isooctanoate, vinyl pelargonate, vinyl caprate, vinyl laurate, vinyl myristate, vinyl palmitate, vinyl eicosanoate, and allyl caproate, can be used as a reactive compound.

In order to introduce a group containing an aromatic ring into the modified silicone oil S, as the reactive compound, there can be used an aromatic compound having an aromatic ring having a vinyl bond and 6 or more carbon atoms, such as styrene, 4-methylstyrene, 2-methylstyrene, 4-tert-butylstyrene, allylbenzene, 1-allylnaphthalene, 4-phenyl-1-butene, 2, 4-diphenyl-4-methyl-1-pentene, 1-vinylnaphthalene, α -methylstyrene, 2-methyl-1-phenylpropylene, 1-diphenylethylene, triphenylethylene, 2,4, 6-trimethylstyrene, cis- β -methylstyrene, trans- β -methylstyrene, 3-phenyl-1-propylene.

Examples of the reactive compound that can be used to introduce an alkylene group into the modified silicone oil S include diene compounds having 4 or more carbon atoms such as 1, 3-butadiene, 1, 3-pentadiene, 1, 4-pentadiene, 1, 5-hexadiene, 1, 6-heptadiene, 1, 7-octadiene, 1, 8-nonadiene, 1, 9-decadiene, 1, 11-dodecadiene, 1, 10-undecadiene, 1, 13-tetradecadiene, hexadecadiene, and eicosadiene.

As the silicone oil, for example: "KF-96L-5 CS", "KF-96A-6 CS", "KF-96-10 CS" and "KF-56A" available from shin-Etsu chemical industries, Ltd; dow Corning Toray Co., Ltd., "DC 246 Fluid" and "FZ-3196" manufactured by Ltd.; commercially available products such as "1, 1,1,5,5, 5-hexamethyl-3-phenyl-3- (trimethylsilyloxy) trisiloxane", "hexamethylcyclotrisiloxane", "octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane", "decamethylcyclopentasiloxane" and "dodecamethylcyclohexasiloxane" manufactured by Tokyo chemical industries, Ltd.

The ink may contain a fatty acid ester-based solvent (fatty acid ester-based solvent E) having at least 1 side chain and having a total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule of 4 or more.

One example of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E includes a compound represented by the following general formula (1).

R ¹-COO-R ²General formula (1)

In the general formula (1), R ¹And R ²Each independently is alkyl, R ¹And R ²The alkyl group of at least one of (1) is a branched alkyl group having at least 1 side chain, and the total number of carbons of the side chain in 1 molecule is 4 or more.

May be R ¹And R ²At least one of them is a straight-chain alkyl group, R ¹And R ²The other of which is a branched alkyl group. In addition, R may be ¹And R ²Both are branched alkyl groups.

Herein, R is ¹And R ²The main chain of (a) is a carbon chain having the largest number of carbon atoms from the number of carbon atoms bonded to the ester bond portion "-COO-". Will be derived from the R ¹And R ²The carbon chain branched from the main chain of (2) is a side chain. At R ¹And/or R ²When the side chain is present, each side chain may be linear or branched. In addition, when R is ¹And R ²Wherein when a plurality of carbon chains each having the largest carbon number are present from the carbon number bonded to the ester bond, the carbon chain having the largest carbon number is the main chain.

In addition, when R is ¹And R ²Wherein a plurality of carbon chains each having the largest number of carbon atoms from the number of carbon atoms bonded to the ester bond are present, and the number of carbon atoms of the side chains included in the plurality of carbon chains is the same, and the main chain is the one having the smallest number of side chains.

In the fatty acid ester-based solvent E, the total number of carbon atoms in the side chain in 1 molecule is preferably 4 or more, more preferably 4 to 12, further preferably 4 to 10, and further preferably 4 to 8.

1 molecule may contain 1 or more than 2 side chains. When 1 molecule contains 2 or more side chains, the total number of carbon atoms of the side chains in 1 molecule is the total number of carbon atoms of 2 or more side chains.

The 1 side chain may have 1 or more carbon atoms, preferably 2 or more carbon atoms, more preferably 3 or more carbon atoms, and still more preferably 4 or more carbon atoms. Thereby, the absorption of the solvent into the flexible container can be suppressed by the steric hindrance of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E.

The 1 side chain is not particularly limited, and may be one having 12 or less carbon atoms, preferably 10 or less carbon atoms, and more preferably 8 or less carbon atoms.

The 1 side chain may be further branched to have a side chain.

Examples of the side chain of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E include: methyl, ethyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, isobutyl, tert-butyl, pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, isooctyl, nonyl, decyl, dodecyl and the like.

N-butyl, hexyl and octyl are preferable, and n-butyl and hexyl are more preferable.

R ¹And R ²When at least one of them is a branched alkyl group, the number of carbons in the main chain of the branched alkyl group is preferably 6 or more, and more preferably 8 or more, independently.

The number of carbon atoms in the main chain of the branched alkyl group is preferably 13 or less, more preferably 12 or less, and still more preferably 10 or less, independently of each other.

The total number of carbons of the branched alkyl group is preferably 4 to 30, more preferably 6 to 20, and further preferably 8 to 18.

R ¹And R ²When one of the linear alkyl groups is a linear alkyl group, the total number of carbon atoms in the linear alkyl group is preferably 1 to 30, more preferably 6 to 20, and still more preferably 8 to 18.

R ¹And R ²The number of carbons of the side chain and the number of carbons of the main chain of (b) are adjusted depending on the length of the main chain, the number of carbons of the side chain, and the number of carbons of the fatty acid ester solvent as a whole.

The number of carbon atoms in 1 molecule of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is preferably 6 or more, more preferably 8 or more, further preferably 10 or more, and further preferably 16 or more. This makes it possible to provide a side chain having an appropriate length, and further suppress the absorption of the ink component into the flexible container.

The number of carbon atoms in 1 molecule of the fatty acid ester-based solvent is preferably 40 or less, more preferably 30 or less, still more preferably 25 or less, and yet more preferably 23 or less. Since the ink has a high viscosity in some cases, the ink can have a low viscosity and the ejection performance can be further improved by setting the carbon number of the fatty acid ester-based solvent to the above range.

Specific examples of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E include: 1-butylhexyl acetate, 2-hexyldecyl heptanoate, 2-butyloctyl octanoate, 1-hexyloctyl octanoate, 2-hexyldecyl octanoate, 2-ethylhexyl 2-ethylhexanoate, 2-hexyldecyl 2-ethylhexanoate, 2-butyloctyl nonanoate, 1-hexyloctyl nonanoate, 1-butylhexyl decanoate, 2-butyloctyl decanoate, 2-octyldodecyl decanoate, 2-butylhexyl octanoate, octyl 2-butyloctanoate, 2-ethylhexyl 2-butyloctanoate, nonyl 2-butyloctanoate, decyl 2-butyloctanoate, 1-butylhexyl 2-butyloctanoate, hexyl 2-hexyldecanoate, and the like.

These may be used alone, or two or more kinds may be used in combination.

The fatty acid ester-based solvent E can be produced by the following method, but is not limited to this method.

The fatty acid ester solvent E can be obtained by reacting a fatty acid with an alcohol. As at least one of the fatty acid and the alcohol as the raw material, a raw material having a side chain is used. In addition, a secondary alcohol having 3 or more carbon atoms may be used to introduce a side chain into the alcohol moiety of the fatty acid ester-based solvent E.

The reaction temperature can be adjusted within the range of 80-230 ℃ according to the types of fatty acid and alcohol. The reaction time can be adjusted within the range of 1-48 hours according to the types of fatty acid and alcohol and the usage amount of raw materials. It is preferable to remove the water produced during the esterification reaction.

The fatty acid and alcohol are preferably present in a molar ratio of 1: 1, and (c).

In the reaction, a catalyst such as concentrated sulfuric acid, p-toluenesulfonic acid, methanesulfonic acid or the like may be used in an appropriate amount.

Examples of the fatty acid having a side chain as a raw material include 2-ethylhexanoic acid, 2-butyloctanoic acid, 2-hexyldecanoic acid, and 2-octyldodecanoic acid.

Examples of the straight-chain fatty acid as a raw material include acetic acid, butyric acid, valeric acid, caproic acid, enanthic acid, caprylic acid, pelargonic acid, capric acid, undecanoic acid, dodecanoic acid, and tetradecanoic acid.

Examples of the alcohol having a side chain as a raw material include 2-ethylhexanol, 2-butyl-1-octanol, 2-hexyl-1-decanol, and 2-octyl-1-dodecanol.

Examples of the secondary alcohol as a raw material include 5-decanol and 7-tetradecanol.

Examples of the linear alcohol used as a raw material include 1-butanol, 1-pentanol, 1-hexanol, 1-heptanol, 1-octanol, 1-nonanol, 1-decanol, 1-undecanol, and 1-dodecanol.

The total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is preferably 10% by mass or more, and more preferably 20% by mass or more, relative to the total amount of the ink. By containing 10 mass% or more of these solvents, it is possible to suppress the ink components from being absorbed into the flexible container.

Further, the total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E may be 50% by mass or more, or may be 80% by mass or more, based on the total amount of the ink. These solvents are expensive, and therefore, the amount of the solvent to be added may be limited, but the above-mentioned effects can be obtained even when a large amount of the solvent is contained.

The total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is not particularly limited, and may be 98% by mass or less, preferably 95% by mass or less, and more preferably 90% by mass or less, relative to the total amount of the ink, from the viewpoint of blending ratio with other components.

The total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E may be 10 to 100% by mass, or 20 to 90% by mass, based on the total amount of the nonaqueous solvent.

The mass ratio of the silicone oil to the fatty acid ester solvent E may be 0: 100-100: 0, can be 30: 70-70: 30, or 40: 60-60: 40.

the silicone oil is preferably 10% by mass or more, and more preferably 20% by mass or more, relative to the total amount of the ink. The fatty acid ester-based solvent E is preferably 10% by mass or more, and more preferably 20% by mass or more, based on the total amount of the ink.

When the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E are used in combination, the total amount of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is in the range of 10% by mass or more relative to the total amount of the ink, and at least one of the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E may be 1% by mass or more relative to the total amount of the ink, may be 3% by mass or more, and is preferably 5% by mass or more.

Other non-aqueous solvents may be included in the ink.

As the other nonaqueous solvent, either a nonpolar organic solvent or a polar organic solvent can be used. In one embodiment, a non-water-soluble organic solvent that is not uniformly mixed with an equal volume of water at 1 atmosphere and 20 ℃ is preferably used as the non-aqueous solvent.

Examples of the nonpolar organic solvent include petroleum hydrocarbon solvents such as aliphatic hydrocarbon solvents, alicyclic hydrocarbon solvents, and aromatic hydrocarbon solvents.

Examples of the aliphatic hydrocarbon solvent and the alicyclic hydrocarbon solvent include nonaqueous solvents such as paraffin type, isoparaffin type, and naphthene type solvents. Preferred examples of commercially available products include: solvent number 0, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-10, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-11, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-12, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-13, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-14, CaCtus Normal Paraffin N-15H, CaCus Normal Paraffin NP, CaCus Normal Paraffin SHNP, Isosol 300, Isosol400, Teclean N-16, Teclean N-20, Teclean N-22, AF solvent number 4, AF solvent number 5, AF solvent number 6, AF solvent number 7, Naphtesol 160, Naphtesol 200, Naphtesol 220 (both XTG Nippon & EnergyOion corporation); isopar G, Isopar H, Isopar L, Isopar M, Exxsol D40, Exxsol D60, Exxsol D80, Exxsol D95, Exxsol D110, Exxsol D130 (all manufactured by Exxon Mobil Corporation); MORESCO WHIT P-40, MORESCO WHIT P-60, MORESCO WHIT P-70, MORESCO WHIT P-80, MORESCO WHIT P-100, MORESCO WHIT P-120, MORESCO WHIT P-150, MORESCO WHIT P-200, MORESCO WHIT P-260, MORESCO WHIT P-350P (all manufactured by MORESCO, Inc.), and the like.

As the aromatic hydrocarbon solvent, Grade alkenone L, Grade alkenone 200P (all manufactured by JXTGNippon Oil & Energy Corporation), Solvesso 100, Solvesso 150, Solvesso 200ND (all manufactured by Exxon Mobile Corporation) and the like are preferably listed.

The initial distillation boiling point of the petroleum-based hydrocarbon solvent is preferably 100 ℃ or higher, more preferably 150 ℃ or higher, and still more preferably 200 ℃ or higher. The initial distillation point can be measured according to JIS K0066 "method for testing chemical products by distillation".

The polar organic solvent preferably includes a fatty acid ester solvent other than the fatty acid ester solvent E, a higher alcohol solvent, a higher fatty acid solvent, and the like.

Examples of other fatty acid ester solvents include: a solvent having a linear alkyl group such as methyl laurate, hexyl palmitate, methyl oleate, ethyl oleate, butyl oleate, hexyl oleate, methyl linoleate, ethyl linoleate, butyl stearate, hexyl stearate, soybean oil methyl ester, tall oil methyl ester and the like, the total number of carbon atoms of which is 12 or more, preferably 16 to 30; and a solvent having a side chain of 3 or less in 1 molecule, such as isodecyl isononanoate, isotridecyl isononanoate, isopropyl isostearate, isononyl isononanoate, isopropyl laurate, isopropyl myristate, isopropyl palmitate, isooctyl palmitate, isopropyl oleate, isobutyl linoleate, isooctyl stearate, isobutyl soyabean oil, isobutyl tall oil, and isostearyl palmitate (having 34 carbon atoms).

Examples of the higher alcohol solvent include higher alcohol solvents having 6 or more carbon atoms in 1 molecule, preferably 12 to 20 carbon atoms, such as isomyristyl alcohol, isopalmitol, isostearyl alcohol, oleyl alcohol, isoeicosyl alcohol, and decyltetradecyl alcohol.

Examples of the higher fatty acid solvent include higher fatty acid solvents having 12 or more, preferably 14 to 20 carbon atoms in 1 molecule, such as lauric acid, isomyristic acid, palmitic acid, isopalmitic acid, α -linolenic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, and isostearic acid.

The boiling point of the polar organic solvent such as a fatty acid ester solvent, a higher alcohol solvent, or a higher fatty acid solvent is preferably 150 ℃ or higher, more preferably 200 ℃ or higher, and still more preferably 250 ℃ or higher. The non-aqueous solvent having a boiling point of 250 ℃ or higher also includes a non-aqueous solvent not having a boiling point.

These nonaqueous solvents may be used alone, or 2 or more kinds may be used in combination as long as they form a single phase.

When a non-aqueous solvent other than the silicone oil and the fatty acid ester-based solvent E is used, the non-aqueous solvent is preferably added in an amount of 80 mass% or less, more preferably 70 mass% or less, based on the total amount of the ink.

In addition to the above-described respective components, various additives may be contained in the oil-based ink as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired. As the additive, a nozzle clogging preventive agent, an antioxidant, a conductivity modifier, a viscosity modifier, a surface tension modifier, an oxygen absorber, and the like can be added as appropriate. The kind of them is not particularly limited, and those used in this field can be used.

The ink can be produced by mixing the respective components including the coloring material and the non-aqueous solvent.

The ink can be preferably prepared by mixing and stirring the components at once or in portions. Specifically, the ink can be prepared by dispersing all the components in a dispersing machine such as a bead mill all at once or in a batch and passing the dispersion through a filter such as a membrane filter as desired.

The ink according to one embodiment can be used as printing inks for all types such as inkjet printing, offset printing, stencil printing, gravure printing, and electrophotographic printing. In particular, the ink composition can be preferably used as an oil-based ink jet ink because it prevents the formation of aggregates in a plastic container and has excellent ejection performance and dispersion stability.

The printing method using the oil-based inkjet ink is not particularly limited, and may be any of a piezoelectric method, an electrostatic method, a thermal method, and the like. When an inkjet recording apparatus is used, a method is preferable in which ink is ejected from an inkjet head based on a digital signal and the ejected ink droplets are caused to adhere to a recording medium.

The viscosity of the oil-based ink-jet ink varies depending on the nozzle diameter of an ejection head of an ink-jet recording system, the ejection environment, and the like, and is preferably 5 to 30mPa · s, more preferably 5 to 15mPa · s, and still more preferably 8 to 13mPa · s at 23 ℃.

In one embodiment, the recording medium is not particularly limited, and the following may be used: printing paper such as plain paper, coated paper, special paper and the like; cloth, inorganic sheet, film, OHP sheet, etc.; and pressure-sensitive adhesive sheets comprising these as a base material and an adhesive layer provided on the back surface thereof. Among these, from the viewpoint of ink permeability, printing paper such as plain paper and coated paper can be preferably used.

Here, plain paper is paper on which an ink-receiving layer, a thin film layer, and the like are not formed on ordinary paper. Examples of plain paper include high-quality paper, medium paper, PPC paper, wood pulp paper, and recycled paper. In plain paper, paper fibers having a thickness of several μm to several tens of μm form voids of several tens to several hundreds of μm, and thus, the paper is easily penetrated by ink.

As the coated paper, inkjet coated paper such as matte paper, glossy paper, and semi-glossy paper, so-called coated printing paper, can be preferably used. Here, the coated printing paper is a printing paper in which a coating layer is provided on the surface of a printing paper, a high-quality paper, a medium paper, or the like, which has been used in relief printing, offset printing, gravure printing, or the like, with a coating material containing an inorganic pigment such as clay or calcium carbonate and a binder such as starch. Coated printing paper is classified into micro-coated paper, high quality light coated paper, medium light coated paper, high quality coated paper, medium coated paper, high gloss printing paper, and the like according to the coating amount of the coating material and the coating method.

(ink storage container)

An ink container according to an embodiment includes an oil-based ink and a flexible container that stores the oil-based ink. The flexible container may be provided with a lead-out port for filling or discharging ink.

The ink container can be provided by being enclosed in an exterior member made of corrugated board, resin, or the like to form an ink cartridge. The ink cartridge is detachably attached to the printing apparatus, and can lead out ink from the ink container to an ink transport path of the printing apparatus.

Here, the flexible container means: when the elastic modulus of the material of the flexible container was measured in accordance with ASTM D638, the elastic modulus was 2X 10 ⁴kg/cm ²The followingThe container of (1).

As an example of the flexible container of the ink container, 2 flexible films may be laminated, and the outer peripheral portions thereof may be sealed and bonded. For the sealing, thermal welding may be preferably used. The flexible container may also be formed of partially different materials. For example, the flexible container may be formed using 2 flexible films different from each other. In addition, the flexible container may be shaped such that at least one side thereof has a crotch.

The SP value of the material of the flexible container is preferably 7.0 to 9.0cal/cm ³。

This can prevent the flexible container from absorbing the ink component, particularly the solvent, and prevent the aggregation of solid matters such as the pigment component in the flexible container, thereby preventing the generation of the solid matters. This phenomenon is more likely to occur because ink is accumulated in a position where the flexible container is deformed at the corner of the flexible container and the distance between the inner walls of the flexible container is shortened. The solid matter generated in the ink container causes clogging in the transport path from the ink cartridge to the ink jet nozzle and the ink jet nozzle portion, which becomes a problem.

Here, the SP value is also referred to as a solubility parameter and refers to a value calculated by a Fedors algorithm. That is, the sum Σ Ecoh of cohesive energy densities of the respective functional groups of the substance and the sum Σ V of molar volumes can be defined as in the following formula (1).

δ (SP value) ═ Σ Ecoh/Σ V) ^1/2···(1)

(see "solubility parameter application example set" (evaluation and calculation example based on mechanism and solubility), 97 ~ 100 pages, (strain) information organization, 3, 15 days of 2007)

The flexible container is preferably a resin container. As a material of the flexible container, a polyethylene resin, a polypropylene resin, a copolymer thereof, or the like can be preferably used. These resins have appropriate flexibility, and can push out ink from the lead-out port by applying pressure to the flexible container, and can push out ink by sandwiching the ink with the flexible container, whereby the ink can be led out, and the amount of remaining ink can be reduced.

A printing apparatus including an ink container according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an example of a printing apparatus, where (a) is a plan view, (b) is a front view, and (c) is a right side view.

In fig. 1, a printing apparatus 100 is an inkjet line color printer. Although not shown, the printing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of inkjet heads having a plurality of nozzles formed therein in the apparatus main body 1, and can perform printing on a line-by-line basis by ejecting black or color ink from each inkjet head to form an image on a printing paper positioned on a conveyor belt.

In fig. 1,4 ink cartridges 200 are mounted on the cartridge mounting mechanism 30 on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 1 of the printing apparatus 100. The 4 ink cartridges 200 are detachable in the detaching operation direction D2.

The upper surface device 350 is disposed above the pod mounting mechanism 30. The ink cartridge 200 is mounted by being inserted between the lower surface of the upper device 350 and the upper surface of the device main body 1 in the horizontal direction. The upper surface device 350 is provided with, for example, a sheet feeder (not shown), an operation panel 340, and the like.

The printing apparatus 100 includes an arithmetic processing unit 330 therein. The arithmetic processing unit 330 performs control related to ink supply from the ink cartridge, in addition to the printing process by the ink jet head and the drive control of the transport mechanism.

The ink cartridge 200 includes an ink container and a rectangular parallelepiped exterior case for accommodating the ink container. The outer case may be made of corrugated board or resin.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of an ink container 220 used in the ink cartridge 200 shown in fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a top view of fig. 2.

In fig. 2, the ink container 220 includes a band-shaped flexible container 221 and a lead-out member 230 attached to one end side in the longitudinal direction of the flexible container.

The flexible container 221 is a bag body in which the outer peripheries of the 2 flexible films 220a and 220b are sealed. The outer peripheries of the 2 flexible films 220a, 220b may be sealed by thermal welding.

The lead-out member 230 is a cylindrical resin molded product having a lead-out port 231 penetrating therethrough to communicate the inside and the outside of the flexible container 221. The lead-out member 230 preferably has rigidity that ensures the shape of the lead-out port 231 regardless of the expansion of the flexible container 221 according to the amount of remaining ink. The lead-out member 230 is held between the 2 flexible films 220a and 220b in a state in which the lead-out port 231 extends to the outside, and the outer peripheral surface of the lead-out member 230 and the 2 flexible films 220a and 220b are sealed by thermal fusion at a portion having a width Wa shown in fig. 3.

One end of the lead-out member 230 protrudes to the outside of the flexible container 221. In a state where the ink container 220 is accommodated in an unillustrated external case, one end of the guide member 230 is exposed outside the external case. Then, the leading-out member 230 is attached to the cartridge attachment mechanism 30 shown in fig. 1, and ink can be supplied from the ink container 220 into the printing apparatus.

In the flexible container 220, reinforcing weld portions 220g and 220h may be provided on the mounting portion side of the lead-out member 230. The reinforcing fusion-bonded portions 220g and 220h are portions formed by heat-fusing 2 flexible films, which are inclined along the ink lead-out direction of the flexible container 220 so as to taper from the main body portion of the flexible container 220 to the mounting portion of the lead-out member 230.

As the amount of ink remaining in the ink container 220 gradually decreases, the flexible container 221 is pressed against the attachment portion of the lead-out member 230, and there is a possibility that the flexible container 221 is broken by the rigid lead-out member 230, and the flexible container 221 is folded back and ink remains in the folded-back portion. By providing the reinforcing weld portions 220g and 220h, the pressing stress of the flexible container 220 to the attachment portion of the lead-out member 230 can be dispersed, and the above-described problem can be solved.