JP2000062212A - Ink-jet recording head and ink-jet recording system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve a small size of the apparatus as well as to maintain the recording quality by providing a terminal in an ink-jet recording head for transmitting the information on an ink tank. SOLUTION: Information is transmitted to a control means CC provided in an apparatus main body via a tank information terminal TM having the information on an ink tank, a signal terminal T1 provided in a recording head for reading the information, and a terminal T3 disposed in a carriage. The transmitted information is collated with a table in a tank judging means TT comprising the control means CC. For example, the number of the ink tank is recognized so as to execute recording with the corresponding recording conditions, or the like, optionally selected. The information on the recording head is transmitted from a head information terminal HM to the apparatus side control means CC via a terminal T2 provided in the carriage. Furthermore, the information on the record of the head is transmitted from the apparatus control means CC to the head via a head driving means HD.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and a recording medium which are detachably attached to a carriage and detachably attached to an ink tank for storing ejected ink. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording system including a control mechanism mounted on an inkjet recording device that performs recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional ink jet recording apparatus is a semi-permanently usable head (hereinafter referred to as "PH") and an apparatus for supplying ink through a tube laid in the apparatus to supply ink to the PH. On the other hand, there are many cases in which the ink cartridge is configured with a replaceable ink cartridge. However, in the case of PH, it is difficult to eliminate accidental failures due to clogging of the nozzles and the like, and temporal failures due to deterioration of the ejection element, etc., and there is a problem in terms of reliability of the recording apparatus itself. Therefore, a special maintenance service system was required to maintain the recording performance.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of reliability improvement and cost reduction, the recording head is regularly replaced at a predetermined interval, and the recording head can be replaced reliably for each predetermined ink amount. Replacement type recording head cartridge that integrates the ink tank and head (hereinafter,
It is called DH. Ink jet recording apparatus using (1) is also in practical use.

[0004]

However, since the DH cannot set a large amount of ink that can be used from the viewpoint of ensuring reliability and the size and weight of the DH cartridge itself, the running cost is higher than the PH. , Even if the drive function of the head is sufficient when the ink is used up, it must be discarded. In particular, the disposal of the head cartridge has the potential to affect environmental problems, which is a worldwide trend in recent years.

Therefore, in recent years, in terms of reliability, a recording head portion and an ink tank portion supplied to the head have been formed as a cartridge structure which takes advantage of the characteristics of DH, reduces the running cost, and considers the global environment. There has been proposed a cartridge of a type that is configured to be contactable and separable, integrates both at the time of use, and can be independently replaced at the end of ink.

In the cartridge of this structure, when the ink in the ink tank is exhausted, it will be replaced with a new ink tank. In this case, when information such as the characteristics of the ink tank is transmitted to the inkjet recording apparatus side, it is easy to configure the ink ejection state according to the information,
It becomes possible to achieve suitable recording.

In this case, it is generally necessary to set a dedicated reading mechanism on the apparatus side for the information of the ink tank, but the arrangement of the reading apparatus causes the apparatus to be upsized.

The present invention has been proposed in order to improve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to achieve an ink jet device without causing a large size of the ink jet device without separately providing a configuration for reading information of an ink tank on the device side. To aim.

[0009]

The present inventor has been proposed in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, and is an inkjet recording system equipped with a control mechanism mounted in an inkjet recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium. In, an ink jet recording head and an ink tank that stores ink to be supplied to the recording head are mounted, are electrically connected to the recording head, and are also electrically connected to a control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus. A carriage having a first carriage terminal, and a first carriage that is electrically connected to the first carriage terminal to exchange electric signals.
An ink jet recording head having a head terminal and an ink tank having a tank information terminal having information of the ink tank are provided, and the ink jet recording head is further connected to a tank information terminal of the ink tank. A second head terminal for transmitting and receiving the information of the ink tank is provided, the carriage is electrically connected to the second head terminal, and the information of the ink tank is exchanged with the inkjet recording device. It is characterized by comprising a second carriage terminal for transmitting and receiving.

In addition, in an ink jet recording head which is detachably attached to a carriage and detachably attached to an ink tank for storing ink to be ejected, the ink jet recording head is provided with the ink jet recording head. A first head terminal that is electrically connected to a first carriage terminal provided on a carriage that is connected to a control unit of a recording device, and a tank information terminal that stores information about the ink tank, and the inkjet recording A second head terminal electrically connected to a second carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to the control means of the device; and information stored in the ink tank via the inkjet recording head. Control means for the ink jet recording apparatus The feature is that it is exchanged with.

Since the ink jet recording head is provided with a terminal for transmitting the information of the ink tank, it is not necessary to form an independent reading terminal in the apparatus,
The size of the apparatus can be reduced, and since information in the ink tank can be properly transmitted, printing can be performed under optimal printing conditions and printing quality can be maintained.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The recording head in this embodiment is of an ink jet type which carries out recording by using an electrothermal converter which generates thermal energy for causing film boiling in the ink in response to an electric signal. In FIG. 1, all of the main components of the recording head 1 are laminated by bonding or crimping on the head base plate 5 with the positioning projections and notches provided on the head base plate 5 as position references, and the heater board 4 is a Si substrate. The electrothermal converters (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows and the electric wirings such as Al for supplying electric power to the electrothermal converters are formed by a film forming technique and receive an electric signal from the main body device. Pad 6
Wire bonding 7 is performed by associating the respective wirings with the head PCB 6 having wirings in which a is arranged at the end.
Connected by. Ink is introduced from the ink tank 2 and supplied to the ink flow path through a partition wall or a supply path 8 for dividing each of the plurality of ink flow paths corresponding to the ejection heater. The common liquid chamber 9 that constitutes the head and the orifice that forms a plurality of discharge ports are formed by integrally molding a groove top plate 10 made of polysulfone or the like against the heater board 4 by a spring (not shown) and crimping and fixing using a sealant. And is formed by sealing. In order to be able to be connected to the ink tank 2, the supply passage 8 that is connected and sealed to the groove top plate 10 passes through the holes provided in the head PCB 6 and the head base plate 5 to the opposite side of the head base plate 5 in this embodiment. It penetrates and is fixed to the head base plate 5 by adhesion at the penetrating portion. Further, a filter 11 is provided at the end of the flow path 8 on the side where the ink tank 2 is connected to prevent dust and bubbles from flowing into the ejection portion. In addition, the recording head 1
To protect the discharge part and the pad 6a for electrical connection,
A head cover 12 is provided to make the recording head 1 easier to hold from the handling side.

In the replacement ink tank 2, an ink absorber 2b impregnated with ink is packed in a tank case 2A having a rib 2a on the inner surface thereof with almost no gap therebetween, and a supply path provided with an ink filter 11 of the recording head 1. Atmosphere to prevent excessive negative pressure by introducing into the ink tank an atmosphere corresponding to the outflow of ink from the ink supply portion (hole) 2c for inserting the end to perform the coupling and the ink tank 2. It has a communicating part (hole) 2d. A rib 2a is provided on the inner wall of the tank in order to prevent the direct air communication to the supply section through the inner wall of the tank case and to make the most effective use of the ink in the entire area of the ink absorber by using the capillary force. The atmosphere communicating portion 2d is installed as far as possible from the ink supply portion 2c. At the same time, the rib 2a also functions as a reinforcing portion of the tank case 2A, and also improves operability when replacing the tank. The initial amount of impregnated ink in the ink absorber 2b has a functional purpose for imparting a negative head pressure to the meniscus of the ejection port at the time of coupling with the recording head 1 to enable stable ejection, and an ink tank. For the purpose of operability so that the ink does not leak even if a slight shock is applied during replacement, the ink is filled with a smaller amount than the absorbable amount of the ink absorber 2b. Atmosphere communication part 2
The ink absorber of d may be subjected to a liquid repellent treatment or may be configured by using a separate liquid repellent absorber to regulate the leakage of ink from the atmosphere communicating portion 2d.

The ink supply limit of the ink tank 2 is such that the amount of ink impregnated in the ink absorber 2b is very small, and the ink absorption capacity is higher than the ink supply capacity to the recording head 1 due to the capillary force of the nozzle associated with ink ejection. In the case where the ink suction force of the body 2b becomes strong or the amount of the atmosphere introduced from the atmosphere communicating portion 2d around the filter 11 increases and a large amount of the atmosphere in the ink absorber is supplied through the filter 11. is there.

As shown in FIG. 1, the recording head 1 and the ink tank 2 are connected together by the pressing force of the pressure hook 13 of the carriage 3 at the same time when the recording head portion 1 is connected to the carriage 3.

Here, the operation of the recording apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 4 in order to explain the arrangement and operation of the recording head 1 in the recording apparatus. In FIG. 4, the recording medium S is guided from the lower side to the upper side of the paper by using the platen roller 5000,
The paper pressing plate 5002 presses against the platen 5000 in the carriage movement direction. Carriage HC is
The carriage drive pin is fitted into the spiral groove 5004 and is rotated by itself to be supported and engaged by a lead screw 5005 which operates as a drive source and a slider 5003 which is arranged parallel to the lead screw, and is guided onto the platen roller 5000. The recording medium P reciprocates left and right along the recording surface of the recording medium P. The lead screw 5005 is rotationally drive-controlled via drive transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in association with forward and reverse rotation of a drive motor. 5007, 500
Reference numeral 8 denotes a home position detecting means for confirming the existence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area by the photocoupler and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. The image recording signal is sent to the recording head in synchronism with the movement of the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and ink droplets are ejected at a predetermined position for recording. Reference numeral 5016 is a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the recording head. Reference numeral 5015 is a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap to perform suction recovery of the recording head through the in-cap opening 5023. 5017 is a cleaning blade, and 5019 is a member for moving this blade in the front-back direction.
These are supported by the main body support plate 5018. Needless to say, the suction means, the blade, and the like need not be in this form, and known ones can be applied. Also, 5012
Is a lever for determining the timing of the suction recovery operation, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 that engages with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is movement-controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. These recovery means are constructed so that when the carriage comes to the home position side area, the desired processing can be performed at a predetermined timing at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005. Mechanical of the recording head to the above-mentioned carriage HC,
The electrical connection is made as follows.

The carriage HC has a front plate located on the platen side (front side of the head), a flexible sheet having a head drive electrode 16a corresponding to the pad 6a on the PCB of the recording head, and presses the flexible sheet from the back side. A support plate 16 for an electrical connection portion that holds a rubber pad for generating an elastic force, a head positioning portion when mechanically fixing the recording head, and an urging support for the ink tank 2 and the recording head 1 in the direction of arrow A. And a pressure hook 13 for operating. The front plate has two positioning reference surfaces 3b and 3c corresponding to the above-mentioned positioning projections 14 provided on the head base plate 5 of the recording head. The pressure hook 13 of the carriage 3 is configured to generate an urging force in the pressing direction of FIG. 1, that is, in a direction inclined by about 10 degrees with respect to the moving direction of the carriage. The front plate 3a and the electrical connection support plate 16 are pressed in two directions. At the same time, support plate 1 for electrical connection
The head positioning portion is also urged in the carriage movement direction with 6 as a fulcrum. The pressing engagement operation of the pressing hook may be any, but it is preferable that the pressing hook can be operated by a lever or the like that can be operated from the upper surface side of the carriage. In any case, when the pressure hook is engaged, the recording head and the replacement ink tank rotate slightly on the carriage HC, and the positioning projections and notches come into contact with the reference surface 3b of the front plate before electrical connection. Since this is done, the pad 6a on the head PCB and the head drive electrode 16a are also positioned reliably.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 1 and the ink tank 2 are connected to each other by replacing a tank band whose one end is fixed (not shown) with the head base plate 5 of the recording head 1 in the vicinity of the ink connecting portion of the exchange ink tank 2. A ring-shaped tank band hook provided at the end of a tank band spring provided at the other end of the tank band along the outer wall is attached to the head base plate 5
It is integrated by the biasing force of the tank band spring by being hooked while being biased by the band projection provided on the. More specifically, the connection of the replacement ink tank 2 can be performed outside the carriage as shown in FIG.
First, the tank guide hole 15 of the head base plate 5
First, start by fitting the tank guide 20 of the replacement ink tank 2. The position of this engaging portion is arranged close to the point of action of the pressure hook 13 of the carriage 3, and
By disposing the ink supply unit 2c as far as possible from the point of action of the pressure hook 13, it is possible to reduce the component force of the pressurizing force at the ink supply unit 2c when the carriage 3 is mounted, It is possible to reliably connect the ink supply paths. That is, as apparent from FIG. 2, when considering the connection between the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2, the pressure applied to the replacement ink tank 2 by the pressure hook 13, which is the force point, is the replacement ink in the clockwise direction in the figure. When the tank 2 is rotated, the ink supply portion 2c serves as a point of action with the engagement portion of the tank guide 20 as a fulcrum, so that a force that inhibits the coupling is generated at the ink coupling portion. In the ink supply unit 2c, the ink absorber 2b and the filter 11 are pressed into contact with each other by the binding force of the tank band to connect the ink supply path, and the elasticity sandwiched between the head base plate 5 and the outer wall surface of the replacement ink tank. Body ring seal 19
By pressurizing and deforming and contacting each other, the communication between the inside of the ink tank and the atmosphere is completely sealed in the ink supply portion 2c. If this sealing is insufficient, the introduction of air into the ink tank accompanying the supply of ink to the recording head 1 is directly performed at this portion without passing through the ink absorber 2b. It becomes difficult to effectively use the ink impregnated in the ink.

However, in the present invention, the joining force of the tank band spring in the ink joining portion is applied to the pressure hook 13.
Since it is larger than the acting force of (3), reliable ink coupling can be performed even when mounted on the carriage 3.

As described above, the pressure hook 13 is set in such a direction that the pressure direction is inclined by 10 degrees in order to position the recording head 1 with respect to the carriage 3 in the paper surface direction as described above. Since the shape of the head base plate 5 is complicated in order to hook the pressure hook 13 onto the pressure hook 5, it is simpler to construct the head base plate 5 so that the pressure hook 13 is hooked on the replacement ink tank 2 which is relatively tolerant in terms of accuracy according to the present invention. Is. Further, at the same time, when considering the connection between the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2, a force is applied in a direction orthogonal to the connecting direction, but in this embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The force in that direction is received by the engagement between the tank guide and the tank guide hole 15. That is, the tank guide 20 is joined to the inner wall of the tank guide hole 15 in the paper surface direction, and the recording head 1 is positioned and joined to the carriage 3 in the head positioning portion 14 by receiving the force. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the action of extra mechanical force on the flow path 8 directly connected to the ejection portion of the recording head 1 which requires particularly high accuracy, the ink in the replacement ink tank 2 is prevented. The rattling of the flow path 8 in the tank supply portion 2c is set larger than the rattling of the tank guide 20 in the tank guide hole 15, so that all the forces in the direction orthogonal to the joining direction of the ink tank 2 are received by the joining portion of the tank guide 20. I have to. The joint portion of the tank guide 20 in this embodiment is further provided with a function of preventing the replacement ink tank 2 from rotating on the surface of the head base plate 5.
The backlash in terms of its action surface is also taken into consideration so that no extra force acts on the flow path 8.

The ring seal 19 is made of a slightly thick elastic ring in this embodiment so that the joint with the outer wall of the replacement ink tank can be widened so as to allow the backlash of the ink supply portion 2c.

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are roughly engaged with each other on the carriage 3 and then the replacement ink tank 2 is replaced with 1.
By urging in the direction, the carriage 3 and the recording head 1 are positioned and connected, the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are connected.
It was possible to reliably and simultaneously combine with. Further, in this embodiment, since the carriage (recording apparatus main body) 3 and the recording head 1 are electrically connected at the same time,
The operability when exchanging the recording head and the replacement ink tank is also good, but to make the positioning of the recording head and the connection with the replacement ink tank more reliable by using a separate connector connection method for electrical connection. It is also good to have a high degree of configuration freedom.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the state before use of the replacement ink tank. In order to prevent ink from leaking or evaporating during physical distribution, it is detached from the atmosphere communicating portion 2d and the ink supply portion 2c. Sealing members 22 and 23 are provided respectively so that they can be removed in the direction of the arrow when the replacement ink tank 2 is used.

In this embodiment, the single-color recording apparatus having one recording head 1 has been described, but a plurality of recording heads capable of ejecting inks of different colors, for example, a color having four heads of Bk, C, M and Y. It can also be applied to an inkjet recording device, and can also be applied to a recording head capable of ejecting ink of multiple colors with one recording head. In that case, if a means for regulating the connecting position and direction of the replacement tank is added. good.

As described above, in this embodiment, the carriage 3 and the recording head 1 and the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are arranged in substantially the same direction, and the replacement ink tank 2 is attached. Since it is configured to be coupled at the same time by urging, the operability at the time of replacing the recording head and the replacement ink tank is good, and the mechanical and electrical coupling between them can be reliably performed with a simple configuration. .

FIG. 5 shows the recording head unit 1 of this embodiment.
The head unit 1 has a replaceable form, and the ink flow path is filled with ink for storage and distribution. In the figure, the flow path and the liquid chamber are filled with ink for storage and distribution. This ink for storage and distribution used in this example uses water + diethylene glycol in order to avoid the harmful effects of leaving bubbles that occur when the ink in the liquid chamber or ink flow path is left for a long time, which has been a conventional problem. It is possible to use liquids that have components. In addition, a sufficient effect can be obtained by using a known degassed ink in which the dissolved gas in the ink is reduced.

When the print head is mounted on the printer body, the cap and the seal member are removed, the ink tank is set, and the suction recovery operation is performed. By this suction operation, the ink for storage and distribution in the print head is sucked and the printing ink in the ink tank is sucked. Then, the printing operation can be performed by filling the printing chamber with the printing ink.

As described above, the ink of the replaceable print head is stored and used separately for physical distribution and printing to prevent the deterioration of the head when the print head is left unattended, and it is possible to save the print with improved print quality. Becomes

The head portion as described above is filled with ink for storage and physical distribution. A method of discharging this ink will be described.

This method is called aging, and a heat pulse is continuously applied to the discharge heater of the print head (several hundreds of thousands to several millions) to generate an oxide film or impurities generated on the discharge heater by this foaming energy. It is peeled off, separated, and discharged from the discharge port. FIG. 6 shows a flow showing an outline of the aging operation when a new print head is replaced.
According to FIG. 6, the printer body has a known printhead ID.
It is confirmed in step 1 that the new head is attached to the main body by the detection means. When the new head is inserted, aging is started in step 2 and ink for storage and distribution in the liquid chamber and the flow path is discharged. In step 3, it is determined whether or not the prescribed application pulse for ink ejection has reached a predetermined value, and when it is detected that it has reached the predetermined value, the aging operation ends in step 4.

By using this method for the above-mentioned storage and discharge of physical distribution ink, aging and storage of the discharge heater,
It is possible to both discharge the physical distribution ink at once. When this aging is performed with printing ink,
Although the heater may be deteriorated by the kogation of the dye or the like, the deterioration of the heater by the kogation of the dye or the like can be avoided in the above-mentioned storage and aging using the distribution ink.

Further, it is also possible to use the suction recovery device of the recording apparatus to suck and discharge the storage ink in the head to fill the recording ink from the tank side, and the ink is replaced by suction. Needless to say, the aforementioned aging process may be performed later.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the ink tank is set to 8 g and the ink capacity of the recording head portion is set to 0.1 g, so that the ink on the ink tank side is not sufficient to replace the ink for storage in the head. It can be replaced reliably without using a large amount. Moreover, since it is designed to suck an ink amount of about 0.07 g depending on the sucking operation, the ink in the head easily becomes the recording ink by performing the sucking recovery operation almost twice.

The form of the ink jet recording means as described above during distribution will be described below with reference to FIG.

When a replaceable print head is used, it is necessary to accurately recognize when the head should be replaced.
If the quality of the printed image deteriorates, it is necessary to distinguish whether it is due to the life of the print head or accidental image deterioration that can be recovered by the recovery unit built in the main body. If the image quality is recoverable, it is necessary to recover the image quality using a recovery device. In addition, even if the image is deteriorated due to the life of the print head, no matter how much the recovery operation is performed, there is no effect, and the printing ink is wastefully used, which is not preferable.
In this example, the life of the print head can be clearly specified by combining the print ink and the replacement head in one package. The package includes a replacement print head and a plurality of replacement ink tanks (containing printing ink). Here, if the life of the print head is changed to the recording medium 2
If 000 sheets, if the replacement ink tank capacity is 1
If 400 sheets can be printed per sheet, the number of ink tanks corresponding to the life of the print head will be 5. Therefore, by packing one print head and five ink tanks in the above package, the user can easily recognize the life of the print head and confirm the replacement time.

Of course, it goes without saying that the number of ink tanks accommodated in one package changes depending on the life of the head and the setting of the number of printable sheets per ink tank.

In another form, the ink in the exchange head is filled with one kind of ink for storage and distribution, and the exchange tank is filled with a plurality of color inks for each tank. In other words, if there is only one type of print head and only the replacement tanks have different colors, the print head can be handled without being limited by the color when a new print head is mounted or in physical distribution, which greatly improves versatility.

In this case, for example, by accommodating a cleaning ink tank together, the inside of the head can be easily cleaned, so that different inks are
It can also be used with one head.

Further, in the present example, the numbers may be written at positions that are easily visible from the outside of the ink tank housed in the package. By writing the number like this,
The user can easily recognize how many ink tanks are currently used. Further, in accordance therewith, information indicators 203A and 203N may be provided so that the notation number or the characteristics of the stored ink can be transmitted to the apparatus side or the head. In this way, if the number and characteristics of the ink cartridge are transmitted as information, it is possible to create a recording state corresponding to it, or the device detects the life of the head by the number of the used ink cartridge and issues a warning. You can also

Information indicators 203a and 203 are provided on the ink tank.
When n is provided, the device can be configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, it is provided in the main body of the apparatus through a tank information terminal TM provided with ink tank information, a signal terminal T1 provided in the recording head for reading this information, and a terminal T3 provided in the carriage. The information is transmitted to the control means CC. The transmitted information is collated with a table of the tank discriminating means TT provided in the control means, and for example, the number of the ink tank is recognized, and the recording condition or the like corresponding thereto is appropriately selected for recording. There is.

The information of the recording head is transmitted from the head information terminal HM to the control means CC on the apparatus side through the terminal T2 provided on the carriage. Further, the information on the recording of the head is transmitted to the head from the control means of the apparatus through the head drive means HD.

By thus mounting the information on the ink tank, it is possible to achieve the most suitable recording for the used ink tank, or it is possible to achieve the recording in consideration of the number of used ink tanks, so that the quality is not deteriorated. Can achieve a record.

[0044]

As described above, since the ink jet recording head is provided with the terminal for transmitting the information of the ink tank, the reading terminal independent of the apparatus is not formed and the apparatus can be downsized. Since the information in the ink tank can be properly transmitted, printing can be performed under the optimum printing conditions and the printing quality can be maintained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a replaceable recording head and a replacement ink tank to which the present invention is applied are mounted on a main body.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of mounting a replaceable recording head and a replacement ink tank.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing a replaceable ink tank.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an outline of an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a replaceable recording head.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a configuration of aging processing after ink replacement.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a package form of an ink tank.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an outline of information transmission between a replaceable recording head and a main body of a replacement ink tank.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 recording head 2 replacement ink tank 3 carriage 201 Package TM tank information

Continued front page    (72) Inventor Kentaro Yano             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Kiichiro Takahashi             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor, Iwasaki             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Atsushi Arai             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Hiromitsu Hirabayashi             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Hitoshi Sugimoto             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Miyuki Matsubara             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Masaya Uezuki             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation (72) Inventor Fumihiro Goto             Kyano, 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo             Within the corporation

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An inkjet recording system including a control mechanism mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium, comprising an inkjet recording head and an ink tank storing ink supplied to the recording head. A carriage having a first carriage terminal electrically connected to the recording head and also electrically connected to a control unit of the inkjet recording apparatus; and an electric signal electrically connected to the first carriage terminal. The inkjet recording head having a first head terminal for transmitting and receiving, and an ink tank having a tank information terminal having information of the ink tank, wherein the inkjet recording head further has the ink tank It is connected to the tank information terminal of A second head terminal for exchanging information on the ink tank is provided, and the carriage is electrically connected to the second head terminal for exchanging information on the ink tank with the ink jet recording apparatus. An inkjet recording system characterized by comprising two carriage terminals. 2. An inkjet recording head which is configured to be detachable from a carriage and also detachably attached to an ink tank that stores ejected ink. A first carriage terminal electrically connected to a first carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to the control means of the recording apparatus.
A second head that is connected to a head terminal and a tank information terminal that contains information about the ink tank, and that is electrically connected to a second carriage terminal provided on a carriage that is connected to the control means of the inkjet recording apparatus. An ink jet recording head, comprising: a terminal, and exchanging information held in the ink tank with a control unit of the ink jet recording apparatus via the ink jet recording head.