JP2006035482A - Liquid storage container and liquid ejecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that the consumption amount of ink cannot be correctly grasped because the transfer amount of the ink by an opening or closing movement of a pressure valve varies due to a change in the relation between the pressure of the ink in an ink storage part and the atmospheric pressure as a result of a change in the atmospheric pressure although the consumption amount of the ink is estimated from a counted value of the number of times of the opening or closing movement of the pressure valve by utilizing the fact that the ink stored in the ink storage part of an ink cartridge of an inkjet printer is consumed by the opening or closing movement of the pressure valve. <P>SOLUTION: A liquid storage container comprises an ink pack 24 that stores a liquid inside, an ink feeding member 50 that supplies the liquid to a connected exterior part, a liquid transfer part 200 that communicates with the ink pack 24 and the ink feeding member 50 and transfers a predetermined amount of the liquid of the ink pack 24 to the ink feeding member 50 in accordance with the number of times of periodic movements, a pump action detecting part 220 that counts the number of times, and an information storage part 53 that stores information related to the counted numerical value. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container and a liquid ejection device.

  Conventionally, ink stored in an ink storage part of an ink cartridge that is a liquid storage container of an ink jet printer that is a liquid ejection device is consumed by opening and closing operations of a pressure valve as described in Patent Document 1 below. Was used to count the number of opening and closing operations, and the ink consumption was estimated from the counted value.

JP-A-8-11318

  However, in the conventional method, since the relationship between the pressure of the ink in the ink reservoir and the atmospheric pressure changes when the atmospheric pressure changes, the amount of ink transferred by the opening and closing operation of the pressure valve varies. The problem was that the amount of consumption could not be accurately grasped.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a liquid storage container according to the present invention includes a liquid storage unit that stores a liquid therein, a liquid supply unit that supplies the liquid to a connected outside, the liquid storage unit, and the liquid supply A liquid transfer means for transferring a predetermined amount of the liquid in the liquid storage section to the liquid supply section according to the number of periodic operations, a counting means for counting the number of times, and the counting And an information storage unit that stores information regarding numerical values.

  According to the above configuration, the liquid transfer unit transfers a predetermined amount of liquid corresponding to the number of periodic operations from the liquid storage unit to the liquid supply unit, and thus the number of operations is counted by the counting unit. In addition, it is possible to accurately grasp the liquid consumption of the liquid storage unit.

In the liquid container according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the liquid container further includes a liquid end detection unit that detects the end of the remaining amount of the liquid stored in the liquid storage unit.
According to the above configuration, the liquid end detection unit detects the end of the remaining amount of the liquid, so that ink cannot be discharged, no printing error occurs, and the liquid supply unit and the liquid discharge device are prevented from being damaged. be able to.

In the liquid container according to the aspect of the invention, it is preferable that the liquid container further includes a transfer determination unit that determines whether or not the liquid is transferred by the liquid transfer unit, and the transfer determination unit includes the liquid supply unit. It is preferable to perform the determination from the pressure of the liquid in the vicinity.
According to the above configuration, in order to detect the pressure of the liquid in the vicinity of the liquid supply unit and determine the supply of the liquid according to the pressure, so that the pressure of the liquid in the vicinity of the liquid supply unit is always constant, Liquid can be supplied to the liquid supply unit.

In the liquid container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the liquid transfer means includes a pump for transferring the liquid by periodically repeating a constant volume discharge.
According to the above configuration, since a constant amount of liquid is transferred in one cycle, the accurate transfer amount of the liquid can be measured by counting the number of cycles.

In the liquid container according to the present invention, the pump is preferably driven by power supplied from the outside.
According to the above configuration, since the pump is driven by power applied from the outside of the liquid container, there is no need to hold a power source in the liquid container, and the liquid container can be reduced in size and weight.
In the liquid container of the present invention, the liquid container includes an actuator controlled and driven by electric power supplied from the outside, and the pump is driven by the actuator. preferable.
According to the above configuration, since the power of the actuator that drives the pump is supplied from the outside, it is not necessary to hold the power in the liquid container, and the liquid container can be reduced in size and weight.

  Then, by applying the liquid container described above to the liquid discharge ejecting apparatus, a liquid discharge apparatus that can be used while grasping the remaining amount of liquid to be discharged can be provided.

  Hereinafter, a case where the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer which is one of liquid ejecting apparatuses will be described as an example with reference to the drawings. In addition, the Example shown below does not limit the content of the invention described in the claim at all. In addition, all the configurations shown in the following embodiments are not necessarily essential as means for solving the invention described in the claims.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the basic configuration of the inkjet printer 100. A carriage denoted by reference numeral 1 in the drawing is guided by a scanning guide member 4 via a timing belt 3 driven by a motor 2 and reciprocates in the longitudinal direction of the paper receiving member 5, that is, the main scanning direction which is the width direction of the recording paper. It is configured to be moved. Although not shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording head 6 (described later) is mounted on the surface of the carriage 1 that faces the paper receiving member 5. A power supply unit that drives the motor 2 and the like, and a control unit 110 (FIG. 4) that controls each function to be described later are arranged on the bottom.

  Sub-tanks 7 a to 7 d for supplying ink to the recording head 6 are mounted on the carriage 1. In the present embodiment, four sub tanks 7a to 7d are provided corresponding to black, yellow, magenta, and cyan inks, respectively, in order to temporarily store the inks therein. The sub tanks 7a to 7d are respectively connected to main tanks 9a to 9d as ink cartridges loaded in a cartridge holder 8 disposed in the apparatus main body through respective ink supply tubes 10 made of a flexible material. Thus, each ink is supplied.

Each of the main tanks 9a to 9d as the ink cartridge described above is one of the embodiments of the liquid storage container in the present embodiment. Although not illustrated, the outer shape of the main tank 9a to 9d is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape. The cartridge holder 8 is mounted in a so-called vertical position so that the flat surfaces face the vertical surfaces.
A main tank ink supply unit 160 is provided at one end of the cartridge holder 8. The main tank ink supply unit 160 includes pump drive motors 21a to 21d corresponding to the main tanks 9a to 9d and rotation transmission means having gears (not shown). The main tanks 9a to 9d are connected to the cartridge holder 8. When it is attached to the main tank, it abuts on one end side of the main tanks 9a to 9d. In addition, the input gears 218 (FIG. 5) of the main tanks 9a to 9d are arranged so as to mesh with the output gears of the rotation transmission means. That is, the motive power that the pump drive motors 21a to 21d rotate is transmitted to the main tanks 9a to 9d via the rotation transmission means. Details of the main tanks 9a to 9d will be described later.

  On the other hand, in the non-printing area (home position) on the movement path of the carriage 1, a capping unit 11 that can seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 6 is disposed. Furthermore, a cap member 11 a formed of a flexible material such as rubber that can seal the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 6 is disposed on the upper surface of the capping portion 11. When the carriage 1 moves to the home position, the cap member 11a can seal the nozzle formation surface of the recording head.

  The cap member 11a functions as a lid that seals the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 6 and prevents drying of the nozzle openings during the rest period of the recording apparatus. Further, one end of a tube of a pump 175 (FIG. 4) that can be sucked is connected to the cap member 11a, and negative pressure by the pump 175 is applied to the recording head 6 to suck and discharge ink from the recording head 6. The cleaning operation to be performed is executed. A wiping member 12 made of an elastic material such as rubber is disposed adjacent to the printing area side of the capping unit 11 so that the nozzle forming surface of the recording head 6 can be wiped and cleaned as necessary. It is configured.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of the ink supply system mounted on the ink jet printer 100 shown in FIG. 1, and in this ink supply system, together with FIG. explain.

  This ink supply system includes main tanks 9a to 9d (represented by reference numeral 9 in FIG. 2), sub tanks 7a to 7d (represented by reference numeral 7 in FIG. 2), and recording. The head 6 is configured to include a valve 35 that controls the flow of ink from each of the sub tanks 7a to 7d to the recording head 6, and an ink supply tube (10, 36) that connects these valves.

  A detailed configuration of each independent main tank 9 will be described later. As shown in FIG. 2, the schematic configuration is formed with a lower case 42 of the outer case, in which the ink pack 24 is formed. And a liquid transfer unit 200 for transferring the ink in the ink pack 24 from the ink supply member 50 to the outside. Then, the ink transferred to the outside of the ink supply member 50 by the liquid transfer unit 200 is further pushed out by the pressing force of the liquid transfer unit 200, and each sub tank 7 mounted on the carriage 1 through the ink supply tube 10. It is comprised so that it may be supplied in.

  In addition, each ink supplied to each sub tank 7 is configured to be supplied to the recording head 6 via each valve 35 and ink supply tube 36. Accordingly, each ink is supplied to an actuator (not shown) of the recording head 6 and nozzles formed on the nozzle formation surface of the recording head 6 based on the print data received from the host computer 250 (FIG. 4). The ink droplet 13 is discharged from the opening 6a.

Next, the main tank 9 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the inside of the main tank 9. The main tank 9 includes an ink pack 24, a liquid transfer unit 200, an ink end detection unit 60, an information storage unit 53, an ink pressure detection unit 230, and an ink supply member 50.
The liquid transfer unit 200 includes a tube pump 210 and a pump operation detection unit 220. This tube pump 210 is one embodiment of the liquid transfer means in the present embodiment, and a rotor 214 is rotatably mounted in a circular space formed in the casing. A plurality of rollers 216 that are spaced apart at equal angular intervals in the direction are rotatably attached via a rotating shaft (not shown).

A difference is provided between the inner diameter in the substantially circular space and the diameter of the rotor 214, and the roller 216 is configured to be able to rotate in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the circular space.
Further, the first tube 212 is led between the arcuate wall surface located in the circular space of the tube pump 210 and the rotor 214. The first tube 212 is formed of an elastic material such as silicon rubber, for example, and one end portion communicates with the ink pack 24 and the other end portion is inside the ink supply member 50. It communicates with the space.

Furthermore, although not shown, the tube pump 210 may be provided with a gear box. This gear box converts the rotational force transmitted from the pump drive motors 21a to 21d through the rotation transmission means and the input gear 218 (FIG. 5) into a large torque by the gear mechanism. The rotor 214 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG.
As the rotor 214 rotates clockwise, the inside of the first tube 212 generates a suction force on the ink pack side from the roller 216 that rotates and moves in the direction along the rotation of the rotor 214, and the ink On the supply side, a pressing force is generated. Accordingly, the ink in the ink pack 24 is sucked into the first tube 212 and the sucked ink is continuously pressurized and transferred toward the ink supply member 50 side. As described above, the amount of transferred ink is generated in accordance with the rotation of the rotor 214, so that the amount of transferred ink can be grasped by detecting the number of rotations of the rotor 214.

The pump operation detection unit 220 is one of the embodiments of the counting means in this embodiment, and is arranged adjacent to the tube pump 210 and detects the operation of the tube pump 210 by detecting the rotation of the rotor 214. . Here, as a method of detecting the rotation of the rotor 214, for example, a method of detecting a gear box gear by a photoelectric switch can be adopted. Although not shown, this photoelectric switch includes a light projecting unit that projects light and a light receiving unit that receives light from the light projecting unit. For example, the light from the light projecting unit is provided in the gear of the gear box. The rotation of the rotor 214 connected to the gear is detected by detecting the rotation of the gear so as to be detected by the light receiving unit through the slit.
The ink end detection unit 60 is one of the embodiments of the liquid end detection means in the present embodiment. One of the ink end detection units 60 is connected to the other end of the second tube 14 communicating with the ink pack 24, and the inside of the ink pack 24. The end of the remaining amount of ink is detected. The interior of the ink end detection unit 60 is not shown, but an ink follower that moves toward the ink pack as the ink decreases, and a detector that detects that the ink follower has moved to a predetermined position. It may be constituted by. Alternatively, the pressure in the ink pack may be monitored to detect a negative pressure at the end of the ink.
Similarly to the first tube 212, the second tube 14 is formed of a material having elasticity, such as silicon rubber.

The information storage unit 53 is one embodiment of the information storage unit in the present embodiment, and is a tube pump detected by the pump operation detection unit 220 in a state where the main tank 9 is mounted on the cartridge holder 8 on the ink jet printer 100 side. In addition to information on the number of rotations of the rotor 214 of 210 and information on the end of the remaining amount of ink detected by the ink end detection unit 60, the type of ink enclosed in the main tank 9, serial number, expiration date, etc. It is configured so that data can be stored and exchanged with the outside. Further, since the information storage unit 53 includes a nonvolatile storage element, the stored information is retained even when the main tank 9 is detached from the cartridge holder 8.
The ink pressure detection unit 230 is one of the embodiments of the transfer determination unit in the present example, and includes a pressure sensor inside and is disposed in communication with the first tube 212 in the vicinity of the ink supply member 50. . This pressure sensor is composed of, for example, a diaphragm switch, and detects the pressure of ink in the vicinity of the ink supply member 50. When the detected pressure value falls below a predetermined value, the ink pressure detection unit 230 sends a signal requesting driving of each pump drive motor 21 to the inkjet printer 100 side via the connection connector 54 described later. send.

  The ink supply member 50 is one of the embodiments of the liquid supply unit in the present embodiment, and is formed of, for example, an elastic member such as rubber, and an ink that is a space for storing ink in one side. A reservoir 58 is provided, and is attached to the lower case 42 of the main tank 9 so that one side thereof faces the inside of the main tank. The ink reservoir 58 communicates with the first tube 212, and the ink transferred by the tube pump 210 is stored in the ink reservoir 58. When the main tank 9 is attached to the cartridge holder 8, a hollow needle 15 attached to the other end of the ink supply tube 10 having one end communicating with the sub tank 7 is provided on the other side of the ink supply member 50. Since the ink supply member 50 is inserted, the ink supply member 50 is connected to the sub tank 7.

The ink pack 24 is one of the embodiments of the liquid storage part in the present example, and two flexible materials formed in a rectangular shape, such as a polyethylene film, are used. For example, the surface is laminated by aluminum staying or the like. And the above-mentioned 1st tube 212 is attached to the approximate center part in the side edge part of one transversal direction. Moreover, the above-mentioned 2nd tube 14 is attached to the side edge part of one longitudinal direction.
Then, the three sides of the side end portion to which the first tube 212 is attached and the two side end portions orthogonal to the first end portion are first joined by thermal welding to form a bag shape. Then, ink is introduced into the ink pack 24 using the opening in the remaining one side of the ink pack 24 formed in a bag shape, and finally the remaining one side is joined by thermal welding, The ink is sealed.
Due to the above-described configuration, the ink pack 24 is easily deformed by a negative pressure, and thus deforms and contracts as the ink in the ink pack 24 is consumed.

Next, the functional configuration of the inkjet printer 100 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing the main part of the inkjet printer 100.
The inkjet printer 100 includes an I / F (Interface) 105, a control unit 110, a recording head 6, a head driving unit 120 that controls driving of the recording head 6, a main scanning unit 130, and head ink. A supply unit 150, a main tank ink supply unit 160, a cleaning unit 170, and a display unit 180 are provided.

The I / F unit 105 receives print data generated by the printer driver of the host computer 250 and transfers it to the control unit 110. Further, signals from the ink pressure detection unit 230 of the main tank 9 and the information storage unit 53 are input and transferred to the control unit 110.
The control unit 110 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 111, an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory) 112, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 113, and a PROM 114.
The CPU 111 executes various processes such as a printing process. The EEPROM 112 and the RAM 113 are a kind of nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and the EEPROM 112 stores print data input from the host computer 250 via the I / F unit 105 in a data storage area (not shown). The RAM 113 temporarily develops application programs such as print processing. Further, the PROM 114 is a kind of nonvolatile semiconductor memory, and stores a control program for controlling each unit. Each component of the control unit 110 is electrically connected via a bus (not shown).

The main scanning unit 130 operates the motor 2 that reciprocates the carriage 1 in the main scanning direction in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110.
Further, the head ink supply unit 150 opens and closes the valve 35 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110. Similarly, the main tank ink supply unit 160 operates the pump drive motor 21 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110.
In addition, the cleaning unit 170 operates the pump 175 for cleaning the head described above in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110.
Then, the display unit 180 displays a message or the like on the liquid crystal display panel 185 disposed on the exterior side of the inkjet printer 100 in accordance with an instruction from the control unit 110.
As described above, since the four main tanks 9 are provided according to the color of the ink, the pump drive motor 21 and the valve 35 are also provided for each of the main tanks 9. The Accordingly, the main tank ink supply unit 160 and the head ink supply unit 150 are configured to issue instructions to the pump drive motor 21 and the valve 35 corresponding to each main tank 9.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the main tank 9 as an ink cartridge. The outer case of the ink pack 24 is constituted by an upper case 41 and a lower case 42. Among these, the lower case 42 has a flat box shape, and the upper surface portion is opened, and the inside thereof includes the ink pack 24, the liquid transfer unit 200, the ink end detection unit 60, and the like. The ink pressure detection unit 230 can be stored.
Note that an opening 43 is formed on the bottom surface of the lower case 42 at the bottom surface around which the liquid transfer unit 200 is accommodated. Through this opening 43, the output gear of the rotation transmission means of the main tank ink supply unit 160 and the input gear 218 are engaged.
Further, a pair of opening holes 51 are formed on the front side surface of the cartridge case as positioning means used when loading the ink jet printer 100. Both the opening holes 51 are arranged in a state of being separated at two places along the longitudinal direction on the one surface of the cartridge case. With these two opening holes 51, the main tank 9 is attached to the ink jet printer 100 with a predetermined relative positional accuracy. Therefore, the input gear 218 and the output gear of the rotation transmission means of the main tank ink supply unit 160 are always meshed in a stable state.

An ink supply member 50 for supplying ink from the ink pack 24 is attached to a substantially middle portion between the opening holes 51 on the front side surface of the cartridge case.
In addition, a connection connector 54 connected to the ink pressure detection unit 230 is formed between the ink supply member 50 and the one opening hole 51, and the information described above is provided outside the one opening hole 51. A storage unit 53 is arranged. These are connected to the control unit 110 via the I / F unit 105 of the inkjet printer 100 in a state where the main tank 9 is loaded in the inkjet printer 100.

  In the above configuration, as the inkjet printer 100 performs printing and consumes ink, negative pressure is generated inside the recording head 6 that ejects the ink. Accordingly, the ink in the sub tank 7 is transported by being sucked toward the recording head 6 by this negative pressure, so that the ink is supplied to the recording head 6. When such an operation is repeated and ink is consumed and the ink in the sub tank 7 is reduced, the ink pressure detection unit 230 of the main tank 9 communicating with the sub tank 7 is depressurized beyond a predetermined pressure value. This is detected, and information on the pressure is transmitted to the control unit 110. Then, the control unit 110 instructs the main tank ink supply unit 160 to operate the pump drive motor 21. In response to this instruction, the pump drive motor 21 starts to rotate and transmits the power of this rotation to the tube pump 210, and the rotor 214 rotates, so that the ink in the first tube 212 is fed by the roller 216. The ink is pressed and transferred from the ink pack 24 to the sub tank 7 through the ink supply member 50. Further, the rotational speed of the rotor 214 is counted by the pump operation detecting unit 220, and the counted numerical value is stored in the information storage unit 53 each time.

When the sub tank 7 is filled with ink and the pressure detected by the ink pressure detection unit 230 exceeds a predetermined pressure value, the transmission of information about the pressure from the ink pressure detection unit 230 to the control unit 110 is suspended. It instructs the main tank ink supply unit 160 to end the operation of the pump drive motor 21. In accordance with this instruction, the rotation of the rotor 214 of the tube pump 210 stops and the transfer of ink is finished.
The above operation is repeated, and when the ink in the ink pack 24 runs out and the ink pack 24 needs to be replaced, the ink end detection unit 60 detects and detects the approximate end of the ink. Information is sent to the information storage unit 53. Then, the information storage unit 53 stores that the ink in the ink pack is almost finished. In addition, since the information storage unit 53 stores in advance the amount of ink that can be transferred after the ink in the ink pack is almost finished, the information storage unit 53 permits the tube pump 210 to be driven until the amount of ink is reached. . Then, the information storage unit 53 sends information related to the end of the ink to the control unit 110 when the amount of stored ink is transferred. As a result, the control unit 110 can display a message for requesting replacement of the main tank 9 on the liquid crystal display panel 185 to notify the user of the inkjet printer 100 or to automatically stop the message.
If the ink end detection unit 60 does not detect the end of ink even though the rotational speed of the rotor 214 exceeds a predetermined value, the control unit 110 performs processing to determine that the main tank 9 has failed. .

The embodiment described above has the following effects.
(1) Since the amount of ink transferred to the sub-tank 7 can be accurately grasped from the number of rotations of the rotor 214 stored in the information storage unit 53, the amount of ink filled in the ink pack 24 is accurately obtained in advance. The remaining amount of ink can be accurately known.
(2) Since the information stored in the information storage unit 53 is retained even when the main tank 9 is detached from the cartridge holder 8, the main tank 9 that has been used is transferred to another inkjet printer 100 on the way. Even when the ink pack is mounted, the amount of ink used in the ink pack 24 is maintained and inherited. Therefore, other ink jet printers 100 can accurately know the amount of ink used so far.

(3) Since the ink end detection unit 60 can know the almost end of the remaining amount of ink in the ink pack 24, the ink pack 24 can be manufactured by obtaining in advance the amount of ink that can be transferred from the substantially end point. Sometimes the end of ink can be known without knowing exactly how much ink has been filled. Accordingly, the pump drive motor 21 is not driven when there is no ink in the ink pack 24 or the first tube 212, and the malfunction of the liquid transfer unit 200 or the breakage of the first tube 212 can be prevented. Further, air from the open hole of the sub tank does not enter, and printing mistakes and damage to the print head can be prevented.
(4) Since the failure of the ink tank 9 can be determined based on the number of rotations of the rotor 214, damage to the pump drive motor 21 and the main tank ink supply unit 160 caused by transmitting power to the failed ink tank 9 can be prevented.

The liquid end detection device of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the following modifications may be assumed.
(1) The ink pressure detection unit 230 is not limited to the inside of the main tank 9 and may be provided in the inkjet printer 100.
(2) The main tank 9 is not limited to the sealed ink pack 24, but may be an ink container in which one is opened to the atmosphere.
(3) The pump of the liquid transfer unit 200 is not limited to the tube pump 210, and any pump can be used as long as it is capable of quantitative transfer such as a reciprocating type double-acting pump using a crank or a cam or a diaphragm pump. good. In addition, a Mono pump or a gear pump that can obtain a discharge amount proportional to the driving rotational speed may be used, and the amount of ink used and thus the remaining amount of ink can be known from the cumulative rotational speed.
(4) The power of the pump is not limited to the structure transmitted from the ink jet printer 100, and the main tank itself may be provided with a power source.
(5) A wireless data transmission / reception system may be used instead of the connection connector 54.
(6) The sub-tank between the ink supply tubes 10 and 36 may be eliminated and an accumulator may be arranged.
(7) The rotational speed of the pump drive motor 21 on the ink jet printer 100 side may be monitored without providing the pump drive detection device 220 in the main tank.
(8) The ink pressure detection device 230 may be provided on the ink jet printer 100 side without being provided in the main tank.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a basic configuration of an ink jet printer. The figure which showed the structure of the ink supply system typically. The schematic block diagram inside a main tank. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the main part of an inkjet printer. It is the perspective view which showed the external appearance structure of the main tank.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Carriage, 2 ... Motor, 3 ... Timing belt, 4 ... Scanning guide member, 5 ... Paper receiving member, 6 ... Recording head, 7 ... Sub tank, 8 ... Cartridge holder, 9 ... Main tank, 10 ... Ink supply tube, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Capping part, 12 ... Wiping member, 13 ... Ink droplet, 14 ... 2nd tube, 15 ... Hollow needle, 21 ... Pump drive motor, 24 ... Ink pack, 35 ... Valve, 36 ... Ink supply tube, 41 ... Upper case 42 ... Lower case 50 ... Ink supply member 51 ... Opening hole 53 ... Information storage part 60 ... Ink end part 100 ... Inkjet printer 105 ... I / F part 110 ... Control part 111 ... CPU, 112 ... EEPROM, 113 ... RAM, 114 ... PROM, 120 ... head drive unit, 130 ... main scanning unit, 150 ... head 160, main tank ink supply unit, 170 ... cleaning unit, 175 ... pump, 180 ... display unit, 185 ... liquid crystal display panel, 200 ... liquid transfer unit, 210 ... tube pump, 212 ... tube, 214 ... rotor 216, rollers, 218, input gears, 220, pump operation detector, 230, ink pressure detector, 250, host computer.

Claims (8)

A liquid storage section for storing liquid inside,
A liquid supply unit for supplying the liquid to the connected outside;
Communicating with the liquid reservoir and the liquid supply;
A liquid transfer means for transferring a predetermined amount of the liquid in the liquid storage part to the liquid supply part according to the number of periodic operations;
Counting means for counting the number of times;
An information storage unit that stores information relating to the counted numerical value. The liquid container according to claim 1,
The liquid container further includes a liquid end detection unit that detects the end of the remaining amount of the liquid stored in the liquid storage unit. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 2,
The liquid storage container further includes a transfer determination unit that determines whether or not the liquid is transferred by the liquid transfer means. In the liquid container according to claim 3,
The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the transfer determination unit performs the determination from the pressure of the liquid in the vicinity of the liquid supply unit. The liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The liquid transfer means includes a pump for transferring the liquid by periodically repeating a fixed volume discharge. The liquid container according to claim 5,
The liquid container is driven by power supplied from the outside. The liquid container according to claim 5,
The liquid container includes an actuator controlled and driven by electric power supplied from the outside in the liquid container, and the pump is driven by the actuator. A liquid discharge apparatus including a liquid discharge head that reciprocates to discharge liquid,
The liquid ejecting apparatus includes the liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

Images