EP0689936B1 - Appareil d'enregistrement et cartouche d'encre correspondante - Google Patents

Appareil d'enregistrement et cartouche d'encre correspondante Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0689936B1
EP0689936B1 EP95202370A EP95202370A EP0689936B1 EP 0689936 B1 EP0689936 B1 EP 0689936B1 EP 95202370 A EP95202370 A EP 95202370A EP 95202370 A EP95202370 A EP 95202370A EP 0689936 B1 EP0689936 B1 EP 0689936B1
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EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
cartridge
recording
ink
carriage
ink cartridge
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP95202370A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0689936A2 (fr
EP0689936A3 (fr
Inventor
Soichi Hiramatsu
Kenichirou Hashimoto
Hideo Fukuzawa
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Canon Inc
Original Assignee
Canon Inc
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Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Canon Inc filed Critical Canon Inc
Publication of EP0689936A2 publication Critical patent/EP0689936A2/fr
Publication of EP0689936A3 publication Critical patent/EP0689936A3/fr
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0689936B1 publication Critical patent/EP0689936B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17503—Ink cartridges
    • B41J2/17543—Cartridge presence detection or type identification
    • B41J2/17546—Cartridge presence detection or type identification electronically
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J25/00—Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J25/304—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J11/00—Devices or arrangements  of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in sheet or web form
    • B41J11/36—Blanking or long feeds; Feeding to a particular line, e.g. by rotation of platen or feed roller
    • B41J11/42—Controlling printing material conveyance for accurate alignment of the printing material with the printhead; Print registering
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J19/00—Character- or line-spacing mechanisms
    • B41J19/18—Character-spacing or back-spacing mechanisms; Carriage return or release devices therefor
    • B41J19/20—Positive-feed character-spacing mechanisms
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/17—Ink jet characterised by ink handling
    • B41J2/175—Ink supply systems ; Circuit parts therefor
    • B41J2/17596—Ink pumps, ink valves
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J21/00—Column, tabular or like printing arrangements; Means for centralising short lines
    • B41J21/02—Stops or stop-racks
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J29/00—Details of, or accessories for, typewriters or selective printing mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J29/42—Scales and indicators, e.g. for determining side margins
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J29/00—Details of, or accessories for, typewriters or selective printing mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J29/46—Applications of alarms, e.g. responsive to approach of end of line
    • B41J29/48—Applications of alarms, e.g. responsive to approach of end of line responsive to breakage or exhaustion of paper or approach of bottom of paper

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a recording apparatus provided with a carriage for carrying a recording head which is preferably detachably mountable on the carriage, and an ink cartridge therefor.
  • the present invention is particularly effective for a recording apparatus of an ink jet type having, in addition to a usual sheet feeding function, an automatic sheet feeding function, recovery function for sucking ink from the recording head and the like.
  • Figure 16 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer as an exemplary recording apparatus of this kind.
  • Figure 17 is a side view illustrating details of a part of the ink jet printer of Figure 16.
  • the apparatus comprises a friction roller 5 for feeding a recording sheet 6 by friction to a recording position.
  • the friction roller 5 is supported on a shaft 43 which is rotatably supported by left and right side plates not shown of the sheet feeding device.
  • the recording sheet 6 is guided along the outer periphery of the friction roller 5 by a paper pan 38, and is press-contacted to the friction roller 5 by an unshown pinch roller.
  • the rotational movement of the friction roller 5 is effected by the rotational driving of a feed motor 21 through an intermediate gear 20 fixed on the shaft of the friction roller 43.
  • the sheet confining plate 8 functions to guide the recording sheet 6 fed to the platen 4 so that it is urged toward the platen 4, by which the recording surface of the recording sheet 6 is maintained flat along the platen 4.
  • An ink jet recording head 1 mounted on the carriage 2 is brought to face the recording surface of the recording sheet 6 at the platen 4. More particularly, the carriage 2 is slidably engaged with a guide shaft 3 and a rear guide shaft 45 extending parallel with the platen 4 between the unshown left and right side plates at the opposite ends of a frame 44 of the printer.
  • the carriage 2 is connected with a part of a timing belt 47 extended parallel with the guide shaft 2 around pulleys at the opposite ends of the printer. By this, the carriage 2 is moved along the guide shaft 3 and the rear guide shaft 45 by a carriage motor 46 through the timing belt 47. Together with the movement, the ink jet recording head 1 effects its recording operation.
  • the recording head is driven for the recording by recording signals supplied from a controller provided on a print board through a recording head cable 48.
  • Ink ejected by the driving of the recording head is supplied from an ink cartridge 27 through an ink tube 58 and a subordinate container 51 to the ink jet recording head 1.
  • a recovery means 52 is disposed which includes a cap 13 movable toward and away from the ink ejection side of the ink jet recording head 1 and an unshown pump for sucking the ink from the ink ejection outlets through the cap 13.
  • Designated by a reference numeral 11 is a home position sensor for discriminating a position of the movable recording head 1, wherein the position when the sensor 11 detects a part of the carriage 2 is deemed as a home position, that is a reference position for the control of the movement of the ink jet recording head.
  • Designated by a reference numeral 53 is an ink cartridge sensor for discriminating whether the ink cartridge 27 for supplying the ink is loaded or not.
  • Figure 17 is a side view of the recovery means 52 of Figure 16 in detail.
  • the cap 13 faced to the ejection side of the ink jet recording head 1 and the pump 24 for sucking the ink are movable by a rotation of a pump cam 23 in left-right directions and up-down directions in the Figure, respectively.
  • the pump cam 23 is driven by an unshown pump motor.
  • a recovery means home position sensor 54 is mounted at a side of the pump cam 23. The home position sensor 11 is detected while the pump cam 23 being rotated, and the rotational position upon the detection is stored, and the operations of the cap 13 and the pump 24 are controlled on the basis of rotation degree from the stored position.
  • the leads for the sensors for various discriminations in the recording apparatus are scatteredly disposed, and therefore, the wiring from the sensor to the print board 49 having a controller for controlling the apparatus in accordance with the detections of the sensors, are complicated.
  • the wiring is further made complicated due to the existence of the recording head cable 48 for supplying the recording signal to the ink jet recording head 1, with the result of difficulty in the servicing.
  • the complicated wiring results in an expensive apparatus, together with the necessity of the long leads.
  • DE-A-2705282 describes a recording apparatus having a carriage for carrying a recording head along a scanning path during recording.
  • the carriage carries a detector for detecting flags provided along the scanning path for representing an operational condition of the apparatus and recording is controlled in accordance with the detected operational condition.
  • Figures 1 - 7 illustrate detecting means for an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer illustrating the general arrangement thereof.
  • Figure 2 is a side view of a carriage and an ink cartridge of the ink jet printer.
  • Figure 3 is a somewhat schematic top plan view to illustrate an operational principle of a transparent type sensor of detecting means used in this embodiment.
  • Figure 4 is a perspective view illustrating a fundamental operation of the detecting means.
  • Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating control steps for the detecting means.
  • Figure 6 shows a relationship between a position of the carriage having the detecting means and various operations.
  • Figures 7A and 7B are flow charts illustrating the control steps.
  • an ink jet recording head 1 is mounted on a carriage 2 which is movable along a guide shaft 3 while the ejection side of the head 1 is being faced to a platen 4.
  • a recording sheet 6 is supplied by rotation of a friction roller 5, so that the recording head 1 effects recording on the recording sheet 6.
  • the carriage 2 has an integrally formed spring member 2a which is slidably engaged with a rail 7a disposed on a paper guide 7. By the engagement of the spring member 2a with the rail 7a, the carriage 2 is urged in a rotational direction about the guiding shaft 3.
  • the carriage 2 is provided with an abutment portion 2b at its platen side.
  • the abutment portion 2b is abutted to a sheet confining plate 8.
  • the carriage 2 travels while the abutment portion 2b is in sliding contact with the sheet confining plate 8, and therefore, the ink jet recording head 1 is maintained spaced from the recording sheet 6 with a predetermined gap. Therefore, a stabilized recording operation is possible.
  • the contacts are electrically connected to a head connector 9.
  • the head connector 9 is mounted on a head print board 10.
  • the head print board 10 is electrically connected with an unshown print board by an unshown head cable.
  • the carriage 2 is also provided with a home position sensor 11 in the form of a light transparent type sensor and a sheet width detecting sensor 12 in the form of a light reflection type sensor.
  • the home position sensor 11 functions to discriminate various conditions in the recording apparatus.
  • the sheet width detecting sensor 12 functions to detect a width of the recording sheet 6 by the difference in the light reflection from the recording sheet 6 and from the other portion.
  • a cap of recovery means is mounted on a recovering means moving portion 14. Together with the movement of the recovering means moving portion 14 along the recovering means shaft 15, the cap 13 is moved toward and away from an ink ejection side of the ink jet recording head 1 by way of movement of a cam 16 disposed behind the cap 14, so that the capping state and non-capping-state are selectively established.
  • the leftward movement of the recovery means moving portion 14 in Figure 1 is provided by engagement of an arm 17 of the recovering means with a projection 2c of the carriage 2 when the carriage is moved to the left.
  • the movement of the recovering means moving portion 14 to the right is effected by urging force to the right by a spring 18.
  • Designated by a reference numeral 19 is a switchable transmission gear train which establishes different transmission pads to switch the transmission in accordance with positions of the carriage 2 and the recovery means moving portion 14. More particularly, the driving force of the feed motor 21 is transmitted to an intermediate feed gear 20 through the transmission gear train 19 to rotate the friction roller 5. On the other hand, the driving force of the feed motor 21 is transmitted to the pump gear 22 through the gear train 19 to rotate the pump cam 23 formed integrally, by which the pump 24 is driven.
  • absorbing means 25 and a wiper 26 are provided within the movable region of the ink jet recording head 1, and at a position adjacent to the gap 13, absorbing means 25 and a wiper 26 are provided.
  • the absorbing means 25 absorbs water droplet or the like on the surface of the recording head at the ejection side, and the wiper 26 removes dust or residual ink thereon.
  • a cartridge guide 28 Adjacent the left-hand end in the recording head movable region, a cartridge guide 28 is disposed, along which an ink cartridge 27 is mounted into or dismounted from the apparatus, during which a needle 29 fixed on the cartridge guide 28 pierces the cartridge or is pulled out therefrom.
  • the ink in the ink cartridge 27 is supplied to the ink jet recording head 1 through an unshown ink tube.
  • a home position detecting flag 30 is mounted at a fixed position to determine a position of the carriage 2.
  • the home position flag 30 is disposed at a slit of the home position sensor 11 of the carriage 2, by the movement of the carriage 2. By this, the home position is detected.
  • the home position detecting flag 32 for the recovery means is mounted for rotation about a pivot 32a disposed behind the cartridge guide 28 in Figure 1.
  • the detecting flag 32 has a flag portion 32c and a lever portion 32b formed at a position across the pivot 32a from flag portion 32c.
  • the flag portion 32c is set into a moving path of the carriage 2.
  • the sensor 11 and the flag portion 32c are engaged by the movement of the carriage 2, and therefore, it is detected that the recovering means is at its home position. If it is not at the home position, the flag portion 32c is not set, and therefore, the recovery means is not detected.
  • the home position sensor 11 used in this embodiment is a light transmitting type sensor, as shown in Figure 3. Normally, the light emitted from an emitting element 33 is received by a light receiving element 34, so that the sensor is in the on-state. When the flag is set into the slit, the light emitted from the emitting element 33 is blocked, so that the electric current through the light receiving element 34 is stopped (sensor becomes off-state), so that the presence of the flag can be detected.
  • Figure 5 is a flow chart of initial processing steps in the ink jet printer.
  • the home position detecting fixed flag 30, the ink cartridge detecting flag 31 and the recovering means home position detecting flag 32 are disposed in the order named from the right-hand side of Figure 4.
  • the carriage 2 In order to detect the home position detecting flag 30 to detect the initial position of the recording head 1 at first, the carriage 2 is moved to the right in Figure 4 through a distance not less than (L1+L2) at step S51, and thereafter, the carriage 2 is moved to the left at step S52. Then, at step S53, the carriage 2 is moved while discriminating the whether the flag is detected or not.
  • the flag it is discriminated that the first detected flag is the home position detecting fixed flag 30.
  • the position is stored as a home position A.
  • step S55 the carriage 2 is moved to the left from the home position A through a distance which is approximately (L1+L2), by which the home position sensor 11 is moved to a position C in the Figure, that is, the position where the flag portion 32c of the recovery means home position detecting flag 32 can be detected.
  • the carriage 2 is retained at the current position C, and the pump cam 23 is rotated at the next step S56.
  • the flag portion 32c of the recovery means home position detecting flag 32 is detected (step S57), and then, the position is stored as the home position of the pump cam 23 at step S58.
  • the carriage 2 and the pump cam 23 are controlled on the basis of the stored home positions by movement or rotation through known degrees with the reference of the home positions.
  • the carriage 2 is moved until the home position sensor 11 reaches the position B, the state of the home position sensor 11 is checked, by which the discrimination is made as to whether or not the ink cartridge 27 is mounted.
  • a carriage motor (CR motor) is used to move the carriage 2 with reference to the home position of the recording head 1.
  • Figure 6 shows the relationship between the step numbers of the carriage motor (angular position) and the operations corresponding thereto.
  • Figures 7A and 7B are flow charts illustrating the control steps performed on the basis of the positions of the carriage 2 from the initial operation of the ink jet printer to the first column recording.
  • the carriage motor (CR motor) is provided with an encoder for detecting the rotational position thereof.
  • the carriage motor is rotated through 50 steps while checking an output of the encoder at each of the steps, by which the carriage 2 is moved to the right (as seen in Figure 6).
  • the carriage 2 before the initial processing is within 50 steps from the right end of the apparatus, the carriage 2 stops by abutment to the right end, and therefore, the carriage motor is no longer rotated with the result of unchanged output of the encoder.
  • the reverse drive of the carriage motor is terminated at this time, and the operation proceeds in the manner similar to the case in which the 50 step movement is completed.
  • step S704 and S705 the carriage motor is rotated in the forward direction one by one step, so that the carriage 2 moved to the left until the home position sensor 11 detects the home position detecting flag 30, and when the flag 30 is detected, the position at this time is stored as the home position at step S706.
  • the carriage motor is rotated forwardly through 11 steps to move the carriage 2 to an ink cartridge detecting position, where the state of the home position sensor 11 is checked.
  • the flag portion 31c of the ink cartridge detecting flat 31 is detected, that is, when the sensor 11 is in off-state, it is discriminated that the ink cartridge 27 is not mounted, and the operation flow branches out to an error routine for the case of the absence of the ink cartridge.
  • the flag portion 31c is not detected, that is, when the sensor 11 is in on-state, it is discriminated that the ink cartridge 27 is mounted, and the subsequent steps are executed.
  • step S709 the carriage motor is rotated in the forward direction through 37 steps further, so that the carriage 2 is moved to the pump operating position.
  • the transmission path of the switchable transmission gear train 19 is for the pump gear 22, and therefore, the rotation of the feed motor 21 (LF motor) rotates the pump cam 23 through the pump gear 22.
  • the state of the home position sensor 11 is detected at step S710.
  • the flag portion 32c of the recovery means home position detecting flag 32 is detected, that is, when the sensor 11 is in the off-state, the feed motor 21 is once reversely rotated at step S712, S713 and S714 to establish the state of no flag portion (32c detection).
  • the feed motor 21 is rotated in the forward direction at steps S714 and S715.
  • the position where the home position sensor 11 detects the recovery means home position detecting flag 32 is stored as the home position of the recovery means.
  • the feed motor is rotated forward further with reference to the home position of the recovery means while the carriage 2 is retained at the position, and a series of recovery operations is performed, which includes a forced air supply operation, a sucking operation, a sucking state retaining operation and an idle sucking operation.
  • the carriage motor is rotated reversely through 21 steps to return the carriage 2 to the LF (line feed) operating position, by which the transmission path of the switchable transmission gear train 19 is switched to the intermediate feed gear 20.
  • the feed motor 21 is rotated reversely and forwardly, the adverse affect of the backlash of the gear is removed by shifting to one side.
  • the recording operation is started at step S726 from the position after 88 step reverse rotation of the carriage motor.
  • Figures 8 and 9 are somewhat schematic perspective view of an apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention and a flow chart illustrating the operation thereof.
  • Figure 8 is similar to Figure 4, that is different from Figure 4 in that the home position detecting fixed flag 30 has a width Wa which is different from a width Wb of the recovery means home position detecting flag 32 and of the ink cartridge detecting flag 31.
  • the width Wa is smaller than the width Wb.
  • the home position detecting flag 30 is required to be at the right end.
  • the position of the home position detecting fixed flag 30 may be at any position relative to the ink cartridge detecting flag 31 and the recovery means home position detecting flag 32.
  • the home position detecting fixed flag 30 is between the ink cartridge detecting flag 31 and the recovery means home position detecting flag 32.
  • step S101 the carriage 2 is moved through a distance not less than L2 to the right (as seen in Figure 8).
  • step S102 the carriage 2 is moved to the left while monitoring by the home position sensor 11 to detect the position where the flag is switched from the non-detection state to the detection state.
  • step S103 the flag is detected, and then, the carriage is moved further to the left from the detection position (S104) through a predetermined distance which is not less than the width Wa approximately and not more than the width Wb to confirm the detection by the home position sensor 11.
  • step S105 the discrimination is made as to whether the width of the flag is Wa or Wb.
  • the operation returns to the step S102 through the step S106 to move the carriage to the left. If the width of the flag is Wa, the detected flag is discriminated as being the home position detecting flag 30. Then, at step S107, the current position is stored as the home position B. Subsequently, at steps S108 - S111, the carriage 2 is moved further to the left through a distance approximately L2, and the initial operation of the pump cam is performed.
  • Figures 10 - 12 show a third embodiment of the present invention.
  • Figures 10 and 11 are sectional views for illustrating the operation of a flag 36 for detecting absence of the recording sheet in this embodiment.
  • Figure 12 is a somewhat schematic perspective view illustrating the structure of the detecting means used in this embodiment.
  • Figure 10 shows the state in which there is no recording sheet
  • Figure 11 shows the state in which the recording sheet 6 is loaded.
  • the sheet absence lever 37 is not prevented from counterclockwise rotation in this Figure about the pivot 37a, and therefore, the sheet absence detecting flag 36 rotates in the clockwise direction about the pivot 36b by the weight of the flag portion 36a of the sheet absence detecting flag 36, by which the sheet absence lever 37 is raised by its rotation about the pivot 37a.
  • the flag portion 36a of the sheet absence detecting flag 36 is out of the slit of the home position sensor 11.
  • the sheet absence lever 37 is lowered by the recording sheet 6.
  • the sheet absence detecting flag 36 is rotated clockwisely about the pivot 36b, and therefore, the flag portion 36a is inserted into the slit of the home position sensor 11.
  • the sheet absence detecting flag 36 has the flag portion 36a having a width larger than those of the other three flags.
  • Figures 13 - 15 show a fourth embodiment of the present invention, wherein a light reflection type sensor is used to detect various states.
  • Figure 13 schematically shows the structure of a sheet width detecting sensor 12 of a light reflection type.
  • the refractive index of the objects 40 to be detected is high, the light emitted from the light emitting element 33 is detected by the light receiving element.
  • the light from the light emitting element 33 does not reach the light receiving element, and therefore, no current flows through the light receiving element.
  • the surfaces of the home position detecting fixed reflecting plate 41 and the ink cartridge detecting reflecting plate 42 are coated in such that a white level (high reflective index) similarly to the recording sheet 6.
  • the portion hatched in this Figure, that is, the surface of the platen 4, for example, has a surface such that the black level (low refractive index) is provided thereby.
  • Figure 15 is a flow chart illustrating the initial processing in the ink jet printer.
  • the carriage is first moved to the right, as seen in Figure 15, through a predetermined distance. Then, at step S162, the carriage is moved to the left, while monitoring by the sheet width detecting sensor 12, to look for the white level position.
  • the white level is detected, and then, at steps S164, S165 and S166, the leftward movement is continued until the black level is detected, while counting a distance counter (not shown). By this, the white level width is counted, and at step S167, the discrimination is made as to whether the width is a or not.
  • the width is not a , the detected white level is not that of the home position detecting fixed reflecting plate 41, and therefore, the operation returns to the step S162, and the leftward movement of the carriage 2 is further continued. If the width is a , the position is stored as a home position A at step S168. Thereafter, the presence or absence of the ink cartridge or the like can be detected by moving the carriage through a known degree with reference to the home position.
  • the wiring for the detection of various conditions of the apparatus is only for the sensor 11 or for the sensor 12 on the carriage.
  • the wiring can be disposed on the head print board of the carriage. Therefore, the results of the sensing can be transmitted to the print board through the head cable in a single route.
  • a single sensor may be enough for functioning as the home position sensor, the ink cartridge detection sensor, the recovery means home position sensor and the like.
  • the conditions of the recording apparatus to be detected are the presence or absence of the ink cartridge, the presence or absence of the recording sheet and the home position of the recovering means.
  • the conditions to be detected may be another.
  • the condition to be detected includes the presence or absence of a font cartridge, the open or close state of a cover.
  • the detecting means are for the ink jet printer, but the embodiments are applicable to the other type recording apparatus if the recording operation is effected while a carriage is moved.
  • the various conditions of the apparatus can be detected together with the movement of the recording head, and the detection signals may be transmitted through the same wiring path for driving the recording head.
  • the servicing and assembling of the apparatus are made easier.
  • the various conditions can be discriminated using a minimum number of detecting elements, and therefore, the number of the detecting elements can be reduced with the result of significant reduction of the cost.
  • the flag is inserted into or retracted from the detection path of the detecting element.
  • the flag is inserted or retracted in association with the ink cassette.
  • the structure suitable for such an ink cassette will be described.
  • the flag 31 may displace to such a position as to obstruct the movement of the carriage, when it is mounted.
  • the ink cassette is provided with tapered portion at the two upper corner of which are leading when it is inserted into the apparatus.
  • Two stopper members 84 are provided at positions continuing from the taper.
  • a cover for the ink cassette mounting at a side of the upper paper guide 7 there are two projections 86 at upper corners.
  • the projections 86 permit passage of the tapered portion of the ink cassette, but prevents it when they are engaged with the stoppers 84.
  • the position of engagement between the projections and the stoppers 84 is such that the flag 31c is outside the movable region of the carriage 2 so that the carriage movement is not obstructed, when the ink cassette 27 acts on the ink cartridge lever portion 28a.
  • the engaging position is so determined that the flag 31c is out of contact with the sensor 11, but is assuredly in the clearance formed in the sensor 11.
  • the ink cartridge 27 can assuredly supply the ink, and simultaneously, a member insertable into and retractable from the movement path of a movable detecting element such as a flag 31 is prevented from being inserted beyond a predetermined position.
  • the present invention is particularly suitably usable in a bubble jet recording head and recording apparatus developed by Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan. This is because, the high density of the picture element, and the high resolution of the recording are possible.
  • the principle is applicable to a so-called on-demand type recording system and a continuous type recording system.
  • it is suitable for the on-demand type because the principle is such that at least one driving signal is applied to an electrothermal transducer disposed on a liquid (ink) retaining sheet or liquid passage, the driving signal being enough to provide such a quick temperature rise beyond a departure from nucleation boiling point, by which the thermal energy is provide by the electrothermal transducer to produce film boiling on the heating portion of the recording head, whereby a bubble can be formed in the liquid (ink) corresponding to each of the driving signals.
  • the liquid (ink) is ejected through an ejection outlet to produce at least one droplet.
  • the driving signal is preferably in the form of a pulse, because the development and collapse of the bubble can be effected instantaneously, and therefore, the liquid (ink) is ejected with quick response.
  • the driving signal in the form of the pulse is preferably such as disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
  • the temperature increasing rate of the heating surface is preferably such as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,313,124.
  • the structure of the recording head may be as shown in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,558,333 and 4,459,600 wherein the heating portion is disposed at a bent portion in addition to the structure of the combination of the ejection outlet, liquid passage and the electrothermal transducer as disclosed in the above-mentioned patents.
  • the present invention is applicable to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Publication No. 123670/1984 wherein a common slit is used as the ejection outlet for plural electrothermal transducers, and to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 138461/1984 wherein an opening for absorbing pressure wave of the thermal energy is formed corresponding to the ejecting portion. This is because, the present invention is effective to perform the recording operation with certainty and at high efficiency irrespective of the type of the recording head.
  • the present invention is applicable to a serial type recording head wherein the recording head is fixed on the main assembly, to a replaceable chip type recording head which is connected electrically with the main apparatus and can be supplied with the ink by being mounted in the main assembly, or to a cartridge type recording head having an integral ink container.
  • the provision of the recovery means and the auxiliary means for the preliminary operation are preferably, because they can further stabilize the effect of the present invention.
  • the recording head mountable it may be a single corresponding to a single color ink, or may be plural corresponding to the plurality of ink materials having different recording color or density.
  • the present invention is effectively applicable to an apparatus having at least one of a monochromatic mode mainly with black and a multi-color with different color ink materials and a full-color mode by the mixture of the colors which may be an integrally formed recording unit or a combination of plural recording heads.
  • the ink has been liquid. It may be, however, an ink material solidified at the room temperature or below and liquefied at the room temperature. Since in the ink jet recording system, the ink is controlled within the temperature not less than 30 °C and not more than 70 °C to stabilize the viscosity of the ink to provide the stabilized ejection, in usual recording apparatus of this type, the ink is such that it is liquid within the temperature range when the recording signal is applied. In addition, the temperature rise due to the thermal energy is positively prevented by consuming it for the state change of the ink from the solid state to the liquid state, or the ink material is solidified when it is left is used to prevent the evaporation of the ink.
  • the ink may be liquefied, and the liquefied ink may be ejected.
  • the ink may start to be solidified at the time when it reaches the recording material.
  • the present invention is applicable to such an ink material as is liquefied by the application of the thermal energy.
  • Such an ink material may be retained as a liquid or solid material on through holes or recesses formed in a porous sheet as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 56847/1979 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 71260/1985.
  • the sheet is faced to the electrothermal transducers.
  • the most effective one for the ink materials described above is the film boiling system.
  • the ink jet recording apparatus may be used as an output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as computer or the like, a copying apparatus combined with an image reader or the like, or a facsimile machine having information sending and receiving functions.
  • an information processing apparatus such as computer or the like
  • a copying apparatus combined with an image reader or the like or a facsimile machine having information sending and receiving functions.

Landscapes

  • Ink Jet (AREA)
  • Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)

Claims (9)

  1. Appareil d'enregistrement comportant :
    un chariot (2) destiné à transporter une tête d'enregistrement le long d'un trajet de balayage pour effectuer un enregistrement sur un support d'enregistrement en utilisant de l'encre ;
    des moyens détectables (30, 31, 32 ; 42) disposés le long du trajet de balayage pour représenter une condition de fonctionnement dudit appareil ;
    des moyens (11 ; 12) portés par le chariot pour détecter les moyens détectables ; et
    des moyens de commande destinés à commander un enregistrement en fonction de la condition de fonctionnement détectée par les moyens de détection, caractérisé en ce que les moyens détectables comprennent un élément mobile (31 ; 42) ; et un élément de commande (28c) est prévu pour commander, en réponse au montage sur l'appareil d'une cartouche d'encre (27) pour alimenter en encre une tête d'enregistrement, un mouvement de l'élément mobile afin que l'élément mobile puisse être déplacé dans une position éloignée du trajet de balayage où l'élément mobile n'est pas détectable par les moyens de détection et une position le long du trajet de balayage où l'élément mobile est détectable par les moyens de détection, grâce à quoi la position de l'élément mobile fournit une indication indiquant si la cartouche à encre est montée ou non sur l'appareil.
  2. Appareil selon la revendication 1, comportant des moyens de guidage (28) pour guider le montage d'une cartouche à encre sur l'appareil (2), les moyens de guidage (28) ayant un levier élastique (28a) qui porte l'élément de commande (28c) et qui, lorsqu'une cartouche d'encre est montée sur l'appareil, fléchit de façon à amener l'élément de commande (28c) porté par le levier (28a) à déplacer l'élément mobile (31 ; 42) jusque dans la position indiquant qu'une cartouche à encre est montée sur l'appareil.
  3. Appareil selon la revendication 1 ou 2, dans lequel les moyens de détection (11) comprennent un capteur optique.
  4. Appareil selon la revendication 1, 2 ou 3, dans lequel l'élément mobile (42) est optiquement réfléchissant.
  5. Appareil selon la revendication 1, 2, 3 ou 4, comportant en outre une cartouche à encre (27) montée sur l'appareil.
  6. Appareil d'enregistrement selon la revendication 5, dans lequel ladite cartouche à encre comporte un élément d'arrêt (84) pouvant entrer en contact avec ledit appareil d'enregistrement pour empêcher la cartouche à encre d'être introduite au-delà d'une position dans laquelle elle est convenablement montée.
  7. Appareil selon la revendication 5, dans lequel la cartouche est sensiblement rectangulaire et ses deux angles qui sont situés le plus en haut et sont introduits en premier dans l'appareil lors de l'utilisation, sont biseautés.
  8. Appareil selon la revendication 7, comportant en outre un guide (7) de papier ayant des saillies (86) qui coopèrent avec les parties biseautées de la cartouche pour permettre l'introduction de la cartouche et qui portent en appui contre des éléments d'arrêt (84) situés sur la cartouche lorsque la cartouche a été complètement introduite dans l'appareil.
  9. Cartouche à encre pouvant être introduite dans un appareil d'enregistrement selon la revendication 1, dans laquelle la cartouche est sensiblement rectangulaire et ses deux angles, qui sont situés le plus en haut et sont introduits en premier dans l'appareil lors de l'utilisation de la cartouche, sont biseautés, la cartouche étant pourvue d'éléments d'arrêt (84) destinés à coopérer avec des saillies (86) portées par l'appareil pour amener l'élément de commande (28c) à déplacer l'élément mobile (31 ; 42) jusque dans une position prédéterminée dans le trajet de balayage lorsque la cartouche est introduite dans l'appareil.
EP95202370A 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement et cartouche d'encre correspondante Expired - Lifetime EP0689936B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP10375590 1990-04-19
JP2103755A JPH041056A (ja) 1990-04-19 1990-04-19 インクジェット記録装置
JP103755/90 1990-04-19
EP90308663A EP0452585B1 (fr) 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement

Related Parent Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP90308663.5 Division 1990-08-07
EP90308663A Division EP0452585B1 (fr) 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0689936A2 EP0689936A2 (fr) 1996-01-03
EP0689936A3 EP0689936A3 (fr) 1996-07-31
EP0689936B1 true EP0689936B1 (fr) 1999-06-16

Family

ID=14362366

Family Applications (2)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP95202370A Expired - Lifetime EP0689936B1 (fr) 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement et cartouche d'encre correspondante
EP90308663A Expired - Lifetime EP0452585B1 (fr) 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement

Family Applications After (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP90308663A Expired - Lifetime EP0452585B1 (fr) 1990-04-19 1990-08-07 Appareil d'enregistrement

Country Status (6)

Country Link
EP (2) EP0689936B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPH041056A (fr)
KR (1) KR940010886B1 (fr)
CN (1) CN1029027C (fr)
DE (2) DE69029387T2 (fr)
HK (1) HK1011836A1 (fr)

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Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP0452585A3 (en) 1992-04-01
DE69029387T2 (de) 1997-04-24
HK1011836A1 (en) 1999-07-16
DE69033170D1 (de) 1999-07-22
KR940010886B1 (ko) 1994-11-19
CN1029027C (zh) 1995-06-21
CN1055814A (zh) 1991-10-30
EP0689936A2 (fr) 1996-01-03
EP0452585B1 (fr) 1996-12-11
KR910018197A (ko) 1991-11-30
EP0452585A2 (fr) 1991-10-23
DE69029387D1 (de) 1997-01-23
JPH041056A (ja) 1992-01-06
DE69033170T2 (de) 1999-11-18
EP0689936A3 (fr) 1996-07-31

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