JP2000085146A - Liquid discharging apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid discharging apparatus which can judge easily and safely whether or not a cartridge is a not used one or used one when the cartridge is to be loaded on carriage. SOLUTION: A cartridge 14 is detachably mounted on a carriage 13 movable in a main scan direction. A switch 15 for detecting opening of a cover 10 is set to a face opposite to the cover 10 of a printer main body 1. A marking mechanism 16 facing an upper face of the cartridge 14 and a sensor 18 for detecting the presence/absence of a marking 17 provided to the upper face of the cartridge 14 are set to an inner face of the upper face of the printer main body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid such as ink to perform recording on a recording medium. Here, the recording includes the application of ink (printing) to all ink supports to which ink is applied, such as cloth, thread, paper, and sheet material. Alternatively, the present invention includes a printer as the output device, and the present invention can be used for them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printer capable of easily changing the type of ink, a cartridge including a tank containing only monochrome (black) ink for printing mainly on a document, and a color ink (cyan) for performing color printing. , Yellow, magenta, or four colors with black added)
Some printers have a plurality of types of cartridges that can be mounted according to the printing purpose.

In a printer that performs printing by ejecting ink onto a print medium such as paper in the form of droplets, the amount of ink used is roughly estimated by counting the number of ejected ink droplets, and the amount of ink used in the cartridge is determined. Some display whether ink is left. When the remaining ink becomes extremely low, a display or a warning is issued to the user to prompt the user to replace the cartridge, thereby preventing the printing from being impossible due to the ink exhaustion. .

In a printer capable of using a plurality of types of cartridges as described above, a function of counting the number of ejected ink droplets is provided independently for each cartridge in the case of a color ink cartridge or for each color in a color ink cartridge. Have been. Therefore, even when a plurality of types of cartridges are frequently replaced and used, the remaining ink amount of each cartridge can be calculated.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of the printer as described above. Reference numeral 101 denotes a printer main body,
A cover 102 is rotatably provided at the upper center of the printer main body 101. At the center of the upper part of the printer main body 101, a cartridge exchange switch 103 which can be operated by opening the cover 102 is arranged.
By operating the cartridge exchange switch 103, the carriage 105 on which the cartridge 104 is mounted moves to a position where the cartridge 104 can be easily removed. A reset switch 106 for resetting a counter for measuring the amount of ink used when an unused cartridge 104 is mounted is disposed in the upper center of the printer main body 101. Several such reset switches are prepared so as to correspond to a plurality of types of cartridges described later.

FIG. 9 shows the cartridge 104 and the carriage 1.
It is a schematic perspective view which shows the relationship with 05. Cartridge 1
04 is an ink tank 104a, a nozzle unit 104b,
And a contact portion 104c. The contact portion 104c of the cartridge 104 can be connected to a contact portion 105a provided on the carriage 105 when the cartridge 104 is mounted on the carriage 105. With this connection, the cartridge 104 receives a signal from a control board (not shown) in the printer main body 101 and receives a signal from the nozzle unit 10.
Ink is ejected from 4b. FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view, partially cut away, showing the color cartridge 107 which has the same shape as the above-mentioned cartridge 104 in appearance but is capable of storing several colors of ink by partitioning the interior according to the color of the ink. FIG.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a cartridge in which the ink tank and the nozzle are separated from each other. The cartridge holder 108 includes the nozzle portion 108a and the contact portion 1
08b, and the cartridge holder 108
Has a plurality of ink tanks 109a (for example, black ink),
109b (cyan), 109c (magenta), 109d
(Yellow) are individually and detachably accommodated. Further, the ink tanks 109a to 109d can be replaced even while the cartridge holder 108 is mounted on the carriage 105.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart at the time of cartridge replacement in such a printer. First, the power is turned on in step S21. Next, in step S22, it is determined whether or not the cartridge 104 (or 107, 108, hereinafter the same) is mounted through the contact portion of the carriage 105. Here, if the cartridge 104 is not mounted, the error LED is blinked in step S30 and displayed to the user. If the cartridge is mounted, the type of the cartridge is determined in step S23, and the ink usage amount counter of the corresponding cartridge is activated. The ink usage counter measures the number of signals emitted from the control board during printing and calculates the amount of ink used. Next, when the cartridge exchange switch 103 for exchanging the cartridge is operated in step S25, the carriage 105 on which the cartridge 104 is mounted is moved to the exchange position in step S26. Step S2 at the same time
The numerical value of the ink usage amount counter that was active in step 7 is stored. It goes without saying that this operation is not performed when the cartridge 104 is not mounted in the first place. When the cartridge replacement is performed in step S28 and the cartridge replacement switch 103 is operated again in step S29, it is determined in step S31 which cartridge is mounted, and the ink usage amount counter corresponding to the cartridge is activated, and In step S32, control is performed to return the carriage to the standby position. At this time, if the mounted cartridge 104 has been used once, the user does not need to perform any further operation, and the printer enters a print standby state in step S36. When a new unused cartridge 104 is mounted (step S33), the user needs to operate the reset switch 106 of the ink usage amount counter in step S34. By performing this operation, the printer recognizes that an unused new cartridge 104 has been mounted, resets the value of the ink usage amount counter to zero in step S35, enters a print standby state in step S36, and performs all operations. To end.

[0009]

However, in the above-described conventional printer, the user is required to operate the reset switch of the ink usage amount counter. Therefore, if the user forgets to operate the reset switch when installing an unused cartridge, Even though the ink has not been ejected yet, it is considered that ink has been used. Eventually, there is a possibility that a display for urging the user to replace the cartridge may be displayed even though a large amount of ink remains in the cartridge.

Further, if the reset switch of the ink consumption measuring counter is erroneously operated when the used cartridge is mounted, the ink is considered to be larger than the actual amount, and the display prompting the user to replace the cartridge is not displayed. There was also a possibility that the ink would run out and printing would not be possible.

Further, considering a case where a plurality of ink tanks are mounted on one cartridge holder, it is necessary to provide a reset switch for each ink tank or to perform a complicated operation with one reset switch.
In the former case, there are restrictions on cost or space. In the latter case, since the user is forced to perform a complicated operation, as in the case described above, the user may forget to perform the operation or cause an error.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and to easily determine whether a cartridge is unused or after use when mounting the cartridge on a carriage without hindering a user's hand. Another object of the present invention is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that can be performed safely.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention removably mounts a cartridge including a discharge section for discharging a liquid and a storage section for storing the liquid supplied to the discharge section. In a liquid ejecting apparatus having a mounting portion, the liquid discharging device includes a marking unit that performs marking on an outer surface of a cartridge mounted on the mounting unit, and a marking detection unit that detects presence / absence of a marking performed by the marking unit. I do.

Here, the mounting portion may be a carriage which can reciprocate in a direction intersecting a transporting direction of a recording medium which receives the ejection of the liquid from the ejection portion of the cartridge. The marking detection means may be arranged outside the moving range during the recording operation of the carriage.

Further, a liquid remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining amount of the liquid in the storage section of the cartridge, and a warning is issued when the remaining amount detected by the liquid remaining amount detecting means becomes less than a reference value. Control means for performing control may be further provided.

Further, the liquid remaining amount detecting means is means for calculating the remaining amount of liquid in the storage section of the cartridge by measuring the amount of used liquid, and the control means is provided by the marking detecting means. When it is confirmed that there is no marking on the cartridge, the measured value of the used liquid amount may be reset to zero, and control may be performed for marking the outer surface of the cartridge by the marking means.

[0017] The apparatus may further include a cover that opens and closes when the cartridge is replaced, and a cover opening / closing detecting device that detects opening / closing of the cover, wherein the control unit opens the cover by the cover opening / closing detecting unit. May be controlled to move the carriage to the cartridge replacement position when the is detected, and control may be performed to move the carriage to the marking detection position when the cover is detected to be closed. .

Further, the carriage is capable of mounting a plurality of types of cartridges, and further includes a discriminating means for discriminating the type of the cartridge mounted on the carriage, and the control means controls the discrimination result of the discriminating means. The control relating to the movement of the carriage to the marking position may be changed accordingly, wherein the carriage is capable of mounting a plurality of types of cartridges, and further includes a determination unit for determining the type of the cartridge mounted on the carriage. At the same time, the control means may change the control related to the movement of the carriage to the marking detection position according to the result of the determination by the determination means.

The ejection section and the storage section of the cartridge may be detachable. The ejection section includes an ejection port for ejecting a liquid, a liquid flow path communicating with the ejection port, and Thermal energy generating means provided in the liquid flow path for generating thermal energy sufficient to discharge the liquid.

[0020]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a printer as an embodiment of a liquid ejection apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a printer according to the present invention. A printing mechanism, a paper transport mechanism (not shown), and the like are incorporated in the printer body 1. At the rear of the printer body 1 is a paper feed tray 3 on which paper 2 can be stacked.
Is provided. The paper 2 is transported into the printer main body 1 by the above-described paper transport mechanism, and is discharged from the paper output unit 4 after printing by the printing mechanism. Top surface 1 of printer body 1
a, an operation panel unit 5 is arranged, and the power supply is turned ON-O.
An FF switch 6, an error display LED 7, a monochrome ink LED 8 and a color ink LED 9 as LEDs for notifying that the remaining amount of liquid such as ink is small (prompting cartridge replacement) are arranged. A cover 10 that can be opened and closed for cartridge replacement is provided rotatably with respect to the printer main body 1.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view (partially transparent view) showing a state where the cover 10 is opened. Opening 1 in printer body 1
1 is provided. A carriage 13 is provided so as to be movable by a drive motor (not shown) in a direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the sheet 2 in a main scanning direction 12 indicated by an arrow in the figure, and a cartridge 14 is detachable. Printer body 1
A switch 15 for detecting the opening and closing of the cover 10 is provided on the surface facing the cover 10. Here, in the embodiment, the opening and closing of the cover 10 is detected by the contact-type switch 15. For example, a convex portion is provided on the cover 10, and a photosensor is provided on the printer body 1. A mechanism for detecting by a non-contact type such as closing is easily considered. As shown in FIG. 2, a marking mechanism 16 is provided on the inner surface of the upper surface 1a of the printer main body 1 so as to face the upper surface of the cartridge 14, and a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of a marking 17 provided on the upper surface of the cartridge 14 by the marking mechanism 16. 18 are attached respectively.

FIG. 3 shows the marking 1 of the marking mechanism 16.
7 is a schematic perspective view showing, on an enlarged scale, a hammer 19 for applying 7; FIG. Shafts 20 and 21 are integrally provided at the center of the side of the hammer 19. A protrusion 22 is provided on the shaft 20 side, and one end 24 of a spring 24 attached to the shaft 20 is provided.
a. A recess 23 is provided at the tip 19a of the hammer 19, and a tank 25 in which ink for marking is sealed is attached. Outside 25a when tank 25 is attached to hammer 19
A projection 26 made of a porous member such as a sponge protrudes. The ink sealed in the tank 25 is soaked in the protrusion 26.

FIG. 4A is a sectional side view showing a state in which the hammer 19 is attached to the printer main body 1. The above-described shaft 20 is attached to a bearing member 27 provided in the printer main body 1.
21 is inserted, and the other end 24b of the spring 24 is pressed against the upper inner surface 1b of the printer body 1. As a result, at the time of attachment, the distal end portion 19a of the hammer 19 is urged to rotate in a direction away from the cartridge 14, that is, in the direction of the arrow 28 in the drawing. Rear end 1 of hammer 19
On the 9b side, an actuator 30 such as a solenoid is installed on a mounting portion 29 of the printer main body 1. A stopper 1c is provided on the inner surface 16 of the printer body 1 for stopping rotation of the hammer 19 by receiving contact with the upper surface of the tip 19a of the hammer 19 urged in the direction of arrow 28.
Is attached.

At the time of marking, as shown in FIG. 4B, the rear end 19b of the hammer 19 is pushed up by the actuator 30, and the hammer 19 is rotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 31. As a result, the tip 19a of the hammer 19 is pressed against the upper surface 14a of the cartridge 14, and the ink that has permeated the protrusion 26 of the tank 25 adheres to the upper surface 14a of the cartridge 14 and is marked.

FIG. 5 shows a marking mechanism 16 and a sensor 18,
FIG. 5 is a simplified front view showing a positional relationship of a moving range 32 when the carriage 13 performs printing. Here, since the marking mechanism 16 is a movable component, the movement range 32 of the carriage 13 at the time of printing is set so that the cartridge 13 is not erroneously marked by the operation of the carriage 13 or the external vibration or impact of the printer body 1. Installed outside. Since the sensor 18 is not a movable part, it can be installed and moved at an arbitrary position.
As in the case of 6, it is safe to install the carriage 13 outside the moving range 32 at the time of printing. However, if the configuration does not have the above problems, the marking mechanism 16 and the sensor 1
The arrangement of 8 may be within the moving range of the carriage 13. Here, the movement range of the carriage 13 other than during printing includes a home position (HP) for performing a recovery process on the nozzles of the cartridge 14.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to replacement of a cartridge according to the present invention. First, when the power is turned on by the power ON-OFF switch 6 in step S1, the cartridge 1 is passed through the contact portion of the carriage 13 in step S2.
It is determined whether or not the cartridge 4 is mounted, and if the cartridge is not mounted in step S2, the error LED is blinked in step S9 and displayed to the user. If the cartridge is mounted, the type of the cartridge is determined in step S3, and the ink usage amount counter of the corresponding cartridge is activated to be in a printing standby state. In the case of a cartridge using only a single color ink as shown in FIG. 10, there is one counter. However, when a plurality of inks are enclosed in one cartridge as shown in FIG. There will be a counter. Thus, a warning can be issued when the remaining amount of any one of the plurality of inks becomes low.

Next, when the switch 15 detects that the cover 10 is opened in steps S4 and S10, the carriage on which the cartridge is mounted is moved to the opening 11 in step S5. At the same time, the value of the ink usage amount counter that was active in step S6 is stored. In step S7, the cartridge is replaced (particularly when the cartridge is not replaced). When the switch 15 detects that the cover 10 is closed, the type of the cartridge is determined in step S11. Activate the ink usage counter of the corresponding cartridge. Next, in step S12, the carriage is moved to the position of the sensor 18, and
In step S13, the presence or absence of the marking 17 is detected.
Here, if the marking 17 is detected, it is determined that the cartridge has been used previously, and the value of the ink usage amount counter is not reset, and the process proceeds to step S17.
The print standby state is established, and the operation is terminated in step S18. If the marking 17 is not detected in step S13, it is considered that an unused new cartridge has been mounted, and the counter is reset to zero in step S14.
Further, after the carriage 13 is moved to the marking mechanism 16 in step S15, a new marking 17 is applied to the cartridge in step S16. After marking operation,
In step S13, marking 1 is again performed by the sensor 18.
The presence or absence of the mark 7 is confirmed, and if the marking 17 is confirmed, the printing standby state is set in step S17, and the operation ends in step S18.

The case where a plurality of ink tanks 109 are mounted on the cartridge holder 108 as shown in FIG. 10 and then mounted on the carriage 13 will be described.

Here, each of the ink tanks 109a-109
d is an ink usage counter 33a to 33, respectively.
It is assumed that d corresponds. Cover 1 in step S8
If it is determined that the cartridge having the above-described configuration is mounted at the time when the cartridge is closed, the sensor 18 is first used to check whether the marking 17 is present on the upper surface of the ink tank 109a. 13 is first moved to a position where the upper surface of the ink tank 109a faces the sensor 18. If the marking 17 is not detected on the upper surface of the ink tank 109a, the ink tank 109a is a new unused product.
The value of the ink usage amount counter 33a corresponding to 09a is reset to zero. The marking is performed on the upper surface of the ink tank 109a moved to the marking mechanism 16, and the marking 17 is confirmed again by the check by the sensor 18. This operation is similarly performed for each of the ink tanks 109b and 10b.
9c is also performed. In other words, the process is performed for the portion A surrounded by the dotted line in the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 by the number of ink tanks mounted on the carriage. Here, for example, the order of the markings 17 of each cartridge 109 is checked by the number thereof, and the result is stored in a memory or the like, and then the marking operation is performed on the cartridges for which the markings 17 are not detected. It is easily conceivable. The ejection unit in the liquid ejection apparatus of the present invention can have, for example, the structure shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 111 denotes a heating resistor (hereinafter, referred to as a heater) serving as energy generating means for generating thermal energy sufficient to discharge the liquid.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a liquid flow path having a heater 111 and communicating with a discharge port described later. Reference numeral 113 denotes a discharge port. The heater generates heat instantaneously when a drive signal is input, and instantaneously heats the liquid above the heater 111 to generate bubbles 120. Due to the increase in the volume of the bubble 120 generated at this time, the droplet 121 is ejected from the ejection port 113, and the recording medium 1 such as paper is
22 and is recorded. The supply of a required amount of liquid into the liquid flow path 112 is performed by a capillary force from a liquid chamber (not shown) or an appropriate pressure applied by some means.

The discharge section shown in FIG.
1 is a so-called edge shooter type structure that discharges liquid in a direction along the upper surface of the heater 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this structure. For example, a so-called side shooter that discharges liquid in a direction intersecting the upper surface of the heater is used. It is also applicable to type structures.

In this embodiment, a so-called serial type printer in which a cartridge is mounted on a carriage and the carriage is reciprocated in the main scanning direction to perform printing is described as an example. The present invention is also applicable to a so-called line type printer having a length corresponding to the width of the recording range.

(Others) The present invention includes a means (for example, an electrothermal converter, a laser beam, or the like) for generating thermal energy as energy used for ink ejection, particularly in an ink jet recording system. An excellent effect is obtained in a recording head and a recording apparatus of a type in which the state of ink is changed by the thermal energy. This is because according to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

The typical structure and principle are described in, for example, US Pat. Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740.
It is preferable to use the basic principle disclosed in the specification of Japanese Patent No. 796. This method is a so-called on-demand type,
Although it can be applied to any type of continuous type, in particular, in the case of the on-demand type, it can be applied to a sheet holding liquid (ink) or an electrothermal converter arranged corresponding to the liquid path. By applying at least one drive signal corresponding to the recorded information and giving a rapid temperature rise exceeding the nucleate boiling, heat energy is generated in the electrothermal transducer, and film boiling occurs on the heat acting surface of the recording head. Liquid (ink) corresponding to this drive signal on a one-to-one basis.
This is effective because air bubbles inside can be formed. The liquid (ink) is ejected through the ejection opening by the growth and contraction of the bubble to form at least one droplet. When the drive signal is formed into a pulse shape, the growth and shrinkage of the bubble are performed immediately and appropriately, so that the ejection of a liquid (ink) having particularly excellent responsiveness can be achieved, which is more preferable. As the pulse-shaped drive signal, those described in US Pat. Nos. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262 are suitable. Further, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 relating to the temperature rise rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, more excellent recording can be performed.

As the configuration of the recording head, in addition to the combination of the discharge port, the liquid path, and the electrothermal converter (linear liquid flow path or right-angled liquid flow path) as disclosed in the above-mentioned respective specifications, U.S. Pat. No. 4,558,333 and U.S. Pat. No. 44,558 which disclose a configuration in which a heat acting portion is arranged in a bending region.
A configuration using the specification of Japanese Patent No. 59600 is also included in the present invention. In addition, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge portion of an electrothermal converter for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and an aperture for absorbing a pressure wave of thermal energy is provided. The effect of the present invention is effective even if the configuration is based on JP-A-59-138461, which discloses a configuration corresponding to a discharge unit. That is, according to the present invention, recording can be reliably and efficiently performed regardless of the form of the recording head.

Further, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium on which a recording apparatus can record. Such a recording head may have a configuration that satisfies the length by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration as one integrally formed recording head.

In addition, even in the case of the serial type as described above, a recording head fixed to the apparatus main body, or an electric connection with the apparatus main body or ink from the apparatus main body by being attached to the apparatus main body. The present invention is also effective when a replaceable chip-type recording head that can be supplied or a cartridge-type recording head in which an ink tank is provided integrally with the recording head itself is used.

Further, it is preferable to add ejection recovery means for the recording head, preliminary auxiliary means, and the like as the constitution of the recording apparatus of the present invention since the effects of the present invention can be further stabilized. If these are specifically mentioned, the recording head is heated using capping means, cleaning means, pressurizing or suction means, an electrothermal transducer, another heating element or a combination thereof. Pre-heating means for performing the pre-heating and pre-discharging means for performing the discharging other than the recording can be used.

The type and number of recording heads to be mounted are, for example, not only one provided for single color ink, but also a plurality of inks having different recording colors and densities. A plurality may be provided. That is, for example, the printing mode of the printing apparatus is not limited to a printing mode of only a mainstream color such as black, but may be any of integrally forming a printing head or a combination of a plurality of printing heads. The present invention is also very effective for an apparatus provided with at least one of the recording modes of full color by color mixture.

In addition, in the embodiments of the present invention described above, the ink is described as a liquid. However, an ink which solidifies at room temperature or lower and which softens or liquefies at room temperature may be used. In general, the ink jet method generally controls the temperature of the ink itself within a range of 30 ° C. or more and 70 ° C. or less to control the temperature so that the viscosity of the ink is in a stable ejection range. Sometimes, the ink may be in a liquid state. In addition, in order to positively prevent temperature rise due to thermal energy by using it as energy for changing the state of the ink from a solid state to a liquid state, or to prevent evaporation of the ink, the ink is solidified in a standing state and heated. May be used. In any case, the application of heat energy causes the ink to be liquefied by the application of the heat energy according to the recording signal and the liquid ink to be ejected, or to start solidifying when it reaches the recording medium. The present invention is also applicable to a case where an ink having a property of liquefying for the first time is used. In such a case, the ink
JP-A-54-56847 or JP-A-60-7
As described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1260, it is also possible to adopt a form in which the sheet is opposed to the electrothermal converter in a state where it is held as a liquid or solid substance in the concave portion or through hole of the porous sheet. In the present invention, the most effective one for each of the above-mentioned inks is to execute the above-mentioned film boiling method.

In addition, the form of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention is not only used as an image output terminal of an information processing apparatus such as a computer, but also for a copying apparatus combined with a reader or the like, and a facsimile apparatus having a transmission / reception function. It may take a form.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
It is possible to automatically determine whether the cartridge has been used once or unused by having a means for marking and a means for detecting the presence or absence of the marking on the outer surface of the mounted cartridge. Becomes

According to the present invention, the means for calculating the amount of ink remaining in the cartridge by measuring the amount of ink used and the control for issuing a warning when the amount of ink remaining becomes a certain value or less are provided. In addition to having the control for resetting the value of the used ink amount to zero and the control for newly marking the cartridge when the marking detection unit confirms that the cartridge has no marking, , It is possible to reliably notify the remaining amount of ink in the cartridge to be used without forcing a complicated operation.

Further, according to the present invention, for example, if the control is changed to one for performing a marking check and a marking operation for each ink tank in a form in which a plurality of ink tanks can be attached to and detached from the cartridge holder, the user can be similarly provided. On the other hand, it is possible to reliably notify the remaining ink amount of each ink to be used without forcing a complicated operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer main body in a printer as one embodiment of a liquid ejection device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a state of the printer body when a cartridge is replaced.

FIG. 3 is an assembled perspective view showing a part of a marking mechanism.

FIG. 4A is a side sectional view showing a state in which a marking mechanism is attached to a printer main body, and FIG. 4B is a side sectional view when marking is performed on an upper surface of a cartridge by the marking mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a simplified front view showing a positional relationship between a marking mechanism, a sensor, and a movement range of the carriage during printing.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart relating to cartridge replacement.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a discharge unit in the liquid discharge device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional printer main body.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating a relationship between a cartridge and a carriage.

FIG. 10 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing an example of a cartridge.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a cartridge having a plurality of ink tanks.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart relating to cartridge replacement of a conventional printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 2 Paper (print medium) 3 Paper feed tray 4 Paper discharge part 5 Operation panel part 6 Power ON-OFF switch 7 Error indication LED 8 Monochrome ink LED 9 Color ink LED 10 Cover 11 Opening 12 Main scanning direction 13 Carriage 14 Cartridge 14a Upper Surface 15 Switch 16 Marking Mechanism 17 Marking 18 Sensor 19 Hammer 19a Tip 19b Rear End 20 Axis 21 Axis 22 Projection 23 Concave 24 Spring 24a One End 24b Other End 25 Tank 26 Projection 27 With Bearing 28 Force direction 29 Mounting part 30 Actuator 101 Printer main body 102 Cover 103 Cartridge exchange switch 104 Cartridge 104a Ink tank 104b Injection nozzle part 104c Contact part 105 Carriage 05a contacts 106 reset switches 107 color cartridge 107a ink tank 108 cartridge holder 109 ink tank 109a~109d ink tank 111 heater (heat energy generating means) 112 liquid flow path 113 discharge port 120 bubbles 121 droplet 122 recording medium

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A liquid ejecting apparatus having a mounting section for detachably mounting a cartridge including a discharge section for discharging a liquid and a storage section for storing the liquid to be supplied to the discharge section, wherein the mounting section is mounted on the mounting section. A marking means for marking the outer surface of the cartridge, and a marking detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of the marking by the marking means. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the mounting unit is a carriage that can reciprocate in a direction intersecting a transport direction of a recording medium that receives the ejection of the liquid from the ejection unit of the cartridge. Liquid ejection device. 3. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the marking unit is disposed outside a moving range of the carriage during a recording operation. 4. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the marking detection unit is disposed outside a moving range of the carriage during a recording operation. 5. A liquid remaining amount detecting means for detecting a remaining amount of liquid in the storage section of the cartridge, and issuing a warning when the remaining amount detected by the liquid remaining amount detecting means becomes equal to or less than a reference value. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, further comprising control means for performing control. 6. The liquid remaining amount detecting means is means for calculating the remaining amount of liquid in the container of the cartridge by measuring the amount of used liquid, and the control means is configured to detect the remaining amount of liquid by the marking detecting means. The method according to claim 5, wherein when it is confirmed that there is no marking on the cartridge, the measured value of the used liquid amount is reset to zero, and control is performed for marking the outer surface of the cartridge by the marking means. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1. 7. A cover that opens and closes when the cartridge is replaced, and a cover open / close detection device that detects opening / closing of the cover, wherein the control unit opens the cover by the cover open / close detection unit. Is detected, the control for moving the carriage to the cartridge replacement position and the control for moving the carriage to the marking detection position when the cover is detected to be closed are performed. The liquid ejection device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein 8. The carriage, on which a plurality of types of cartridges can be mounted, further comprising a discriminating means for discriminating the type of the cartridge mounted on the carriage, and wherein the control means controls the discrimination result of the discriminating means. 8. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein control relating to movement of the carriage to the marking position is changed accordingly. 9. The carriage is capable of mounting a plurality of types of cartridges, and further includes a determining unit for determining the type of the cartridge mounted on the carriage, and the control unit determines whether the type of the cartridge is correct. 8. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 5, wherein control relating to movement of the carriage to the marking detection position is changed accordingly. 10. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection section and the storage section of the cartridge are detachable. 11. A discharge unit for discharging a liquid, a liquid flow path communicating with the discharge port, and heat energy sufficient to discharge the liquid provided in the liquid flow path. The liquid ejection apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a heat energy generating unit that performs the heat energy generation.