JP2006142484A - Liquid container, liquid supplying system equipped with the container, manufacturing method for the container, circuit board for the container and liquid storage cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out emission control of a light emitting means of an ink tank even for the ink tank set in an apparatus which supplies signals by a common signal line to installation positions of a plurality of ink tanks, and to enable emission control of the light emitting means even in this case for which the installation position of the ink tank or the like liquid container is specified. <P>SOLUTION: The ink tank is equipped with a memory array 103B which holds individual information of the ink tank such as ink color information, a light emitting part 101 such as an LED, and a control circuit 103A as a control part which controls lighting and extinction of the light emitting part 101 according to the individual information. Whether or not the ink tank is set at a correct position can be detected accordingly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid storage container, a liquid supply system including the container, a method for manufacturing the container, the circuit board for the container, and a liquid storage cartridge, and more specifically, a liquid such as an ink remaining amount of an ink tank used in ink jet recording. The present invention relates to a liquid storage container used in a configuration in which notification regarding the state of the storage container is performed by light emitting means such as an LED, a liquid supply system including the container, a manufacturing method of the container, the circuit board for the container, and a liquid storage cartridge.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of digital cameras, applications (non-PC recording) in which a digital camera and a printer as a recording apparatus are directly connected without using a personal computer (PC) are increasing. Further, an increasing number of forms (non-PC recording) in which a card type information storage medium, which is an information storage medium detachably used in a digital camera, is directly attached to a printer for data transfer and printing. In general, there is known a method in which the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank of the printer is confirmed on a monitor via a PC. However, even when performing the non-PC recording, the ink in the ink tank is not via the PC. There was an increasing demand to know the remaining amount. In other words, if the user knows that the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank is small, for example, a situation where the recording is substantially impossible because the ink is replaced with a new ink tank in advance before starting the recording and the ink amount is insufficient during the recording. Can be prevented.

  Conventionally, a configuration using a display element such as an LED is known as a configuration for notifying the user of the state of such an ink tank. Patent Document 1 describes that two LEDs are provided in an ink tank integrated with a recording head, and these LEDs are lit according to the remaining ink level in two stages. Similarly, Patent Document 2 describes that an ink tank is provided with a lamp that is turned on in accordance with the remaining amount of ink. This document also discloses that the above-described lamp is provided in each of four ink tanks used in the recording apparatus.

  On the other hand, in light of the demand for higher image quality, lighter colors such as light magenta and light cyan are being used in the conventional four colors (black, yellow, magenta, and cyan), and red and blue. The use of so-called special color inks such as inks has also been proposed. In such a case, 7 to 8 ink tanks are individually mounted on the ink jet printer. At that time, a mechanism for preventing the ink tank from being mounted at the wrong mounting position is required. In Patent Document 3, when the ink tank is mounted on the carriage, the shape of the engagement between the carriage mounting portion and the ink tank is different for each ink tank, so that the ink tank is mounted at an incorrect position. A configuration that prevents this is disclosed.

JP-A-4-275156 JP 2002-301829 A JP 2001-253087 A

  Even when the ink tank is provided with a lamp as described in Patent Document 2 described above, when the main body side control unit identifies an ink tank that is recognized as having a low ink remaining amount, Ink tanks to be signaled for lamp lighting, etc. based on such recognition must be identified. For example, when the ink tank is mounted at the wrong position, there is a possibility that the ink tank in which the ink has not run out is erroneously displayed as no ink remaining. Therefore, in the light emission control of the indicator such as a lamp, it is necessary to specify the mounting position of the mounted ink tank.

  As described above, as a configuration for specifying the mounting position of the ink tank, there is a configuration in which the mutual shape in which the mounting portion and the ink tank are engaged differs for each mounting position. However, in this case, in particular, it is necessary to manufacture ink tanks having different shapes for each color or type of ink, which is disadvantageous in terms of manufacturing efficiency and cost.

  As another configuration, a configuration is considered in which the signal line of the circuit formed by connecting the electrical contact of the ink tank and the electrical contact on the main body side at the mounting position of the carriage or the like is individual for each mounting position. . For example, the ink color information of the ink tank is read from the ink tank, and the signal line for controlling the lighting of the LED is made individual for each mounting position, so that the read color information matches the mounting position. If not, it is possible to know that the ink tank is installed by mistake.

  However, the configuration in which such signal lines are individually provided for each ink tank or mounting position increases the number of signal lines. In particular, as described above, in recent inkjet printers and the like, one tendency is to improve image quality by increasing the types of ink used. In such a printer, an increase in the number of signal lines particularly causes an increase in cost. On the other hand, in order to reduce the number of wires, a so-called common signal line configuration such as bus connection is effective, but in a configuration using only a common signal line such as bus connection, the ink tank or its mounting position is specified. Obviously you can't.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to control light emission of a display device such as an LED using a common signal line for a plurality of ink tank mounting positions. In this case as well, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid storage container that can perform light emission control of a display device that specifies the mounting position of the liquid storage container such as an ink tank.

  To this end, in the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted, device-side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and light receiving means for receiving light from the liquid storage containers And a liquid storage container that is detachable from a recording apparatus having a wiring electrically connected in common to the device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the liquid storage containers to be mounted, The contact that can be electrically connected to the device-side contact, an information holding unit that can hold at least individual information of the liquid storage container, a light emitting unit, a signal related to individual information input from the contact, and the information And a control unit that controls light emission of the light emitting unit according to individual information held by the holding unit.

In the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, and a device-side contact that can be electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container; and light from the liquid storage container The liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid storage container by receiving light, and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to the individual information. In a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having wiring for generating a signal according to
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
It is characterized by having.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, and a device-side contact that can be electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container; and light from the liquid storage container The liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid storage container by receiving light, and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to the individual information. In a liquid supply system comprising: a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having a wiring for generating a signal according to the above; and a liquid storage container detachable from a carriage of the recording apparatus.
The liquid storage container has the contact that can be electrically connected to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
It is characterized by having.

In addition, according to the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, a device-side contact that can be electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container, and light from the liquid storage container. The liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid storage container by receiving light and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers In a method of manufacturing a liquid storage container that is detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having a wiring for generating a signal related to information,
Input from the contact, the contact that can be electrically connected to the device-side contact, an information holding unit that holds at least individual information of the liquid storage container, a light emitting unit that projects light onto the position detection unit, Preparing a liquid storage container including a substrate having a control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
Injecting ink into the liquid container;
With

In the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, and a device-side contact that can be electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container; and light from the liquid storage container The liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid storage container by receiving light, and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to the individual information. In a circuit board provided in a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having wiring for generating a signal related to
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A connecting part connected to a light emitting part for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
It is characterized by having.

  Furthermore, the present invention resides in a recording apparatus capable of mounting the liquid storage container, wherein the recording apparatus includes a light receiving unit that receives light from a light emitting unit of the liquid storage container.

In addition, the present invention provides a device-side contact capable of mounting a plurality of liquid storage containers at different positions and electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container; Commonly electrically connected to the liquid container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid container by receiving light and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each liquid container to be mounted. In a liquid storage cartridge that is detachable from a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having a wiring for generating a signal related to individual information,
A recording head for recording by discharging liquid;
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
It is characterized by having.

In the present invention, a plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, and a device-side contact that can be electrically coupled to a contact provided in the liquid storage container; and light from the liquid storage container The liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the liquid storage container by receiving light, and the device side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to the individual information. In a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having wiring for generating a signal according to
Ink stored in a storage container;
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding information about stored ink;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when a signal related to the information about the ink input from the contact corresponds to information about the ink held by the information holding unit;
A liquid container characterized by comprising:

  According to the above configuration, based on the signal input through the contact (pad) of the ink tank that is the liquid storage container connected to the contact (connector) on the main body side of the recording apparatus, and the individual information of the ink tank. Therefore, even if a plurality of mounted ink tanks receive the same control signal through a common signal line, only the ink tank that matches the solid information performs the light emission control. As a result, light emission control such as lighting of the light emitting unit specifying the ink tank can be performed. Next, when the light emission control specifying such an ink tank is possible, for example, with respect to a plurality of ink tanks mounted on the carriage, the light emitting unit is caused to emit light sequentially at a predetermined position along with the movement, and the above treatment is performed. By detecting the light emission at the position, it can be recognized that the ink tank in which the light emission is not detected is mounted at the wrong position. Thereby, for example, it is possible to perform a process of prompting the user to remount the ink tank at the correct position, and as a result, the mounting position can be specified for each ink tank.

  As a result, light emission control of indicators such as LEDs is performed using a common signal line for the mounting positions of a plurality of ink tanks. It becomes possible to control.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail along the following flow with reference to the drawings.
1. Mechanical configuration 1.1 Ink tank 1.2 Modification 1.3 Ink tank mounting section 1.4 Recording device 2. Configuration of control system 2.1 Overall configuration 2.2 Configuration of connection section 2.3 Control procedure Other embodiments

1. Mechanical configuration
1.1 Ink tank (Figs. 1-5)
1A, 1B, and 1C are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view, respectively, of an ink tank that is a liquid storage container according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. In the present description, the front surface of the ink tank refers to a surface that enables operations (attachment / detachment operation, etc.) and provision of information to the user (light emission of LEDs described later) by facing the user.

  In FIG. 1, an ink tank 1 of the present embodiment has a support member 3 supported at the lower part on the front side. The support member 3 is formed of a resin integrally with the exterior of the ink tank 1 and is configured to be displaceable around the supported portion when performing a mounting operation to a tank holder, which will be described later. On the back side and the front side of the ink tank 1, a first engaging portion 5 and a second engaging portion 6 (in this example, integrated with the support member 3) that can engage with a locking portion on the tank holder side, respectively. These are engaged, and the mounting state of the ink tank 1 to the tank holder is ensured. The operation at the time of mounting will be described later with reference to FIG.

  An ink supply port 7 is provided on the bottom surface of the ink tank 1 to supply ink in combination with an ink introduction port of a recording head, which will be described later, when the ink tank 1 is attached to the tank holder. In the portion where the bottom surface and the front surface cross each other, a base body constituting the main part of the present embodiment is provided on the bottom surface side of the support portion of the support member 3. Although the shape of the substrate may be a chip shape or a plate shape, the substrate 100 will be described below.

  FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the ink tank 1. The interior of the ink tank 1 is divided into an ink storage chamber 11 located on the front side where the support member 3 and the substrate 100 are provided, and a negative pressure generating member storage chamber 12 located on the back side and communicating with the ink supply port 7. Both are connected via the communication port 13. While the ink is stored in the ink storage chamber 11 as it is, the negative pressure generating member storage chamber 12 has an ink absorber 15 such as a sponge or a fiber assembly impregnated and held therein (hereinafter referred to as a porous member for convenience). Is shown). This porous member 15 is sufficient to prevent ink leakage from the ink discharge portion in balance with the holding force of the meniscus formed in the ink discharge nozzle portion of the print head, and the ink discharge operation of the print head can be performed. This is to generate an appropriate negative pressure within the possible range.

  The upper surface of the negative pressure generating member storage chamber 12 is provided with an atmospheric communication portion 12A for introducing external air to alleviate the negative pressure that increases with the supply of ink to the recording head and maintain it in a preferable predetermined range. It has been.

  The ink tank 1 shown in FIG. 2 can be manufactured by preparing a main body of the ink tank 1 on which a substrate described later is provided, and then injecting ink into the inside. The ink inlet for carrying out the method can be formed on the upper surface of the ink storage chamber 11, for example. After the ink is injected, the injection port can be sealed with the sealing member 11A.

  After the use of the ink tank 1 is started and the ink starts to be consumed, for example, after the remaining amount of ink to be stored substantially disappears, the sealing member 11A is removed or the inlet is re-formed by destroying the sealing member 11A. In addition, after injecting ink using a syringe or the like, it is possible to seal the injection port with the sealing member 11A or an alternative member if necessary. Alternatively, instead of using such an initially formed injection port, for example, an opening is formed in another portion of the upper surface of the ink storage chamber 11 and ink is injected through this opening, and then this is changed as necessary. It is also possible to seal. For example, injecting ink into an ink tank in which the remaining amount of ink to be stored substantially disappears is also included in the implementation of the ink tank manufacturing method according to the present invention.

  Further, a sealing member 7A for preventing ink leakage during distribution or storage of the manufactured ink tank 1 is detachable from the ink supply port 7. The sealing member 7A may be in any form, such as a cap or a tape-like member, that exhibits a predetermined sealing performance and can be removed when the ink tank is attached to the recording head. Further, when the ink tank is removed from the recording head after the start of use, the ink supply port 7 can be sealed with the sealing member 7A or its alternative member.

  The internal configuration of the ink tank 1 is not limited to the form divided into such a porous member storage chamber and a storage chamber for storing ink as they are. For example, the porous member may be filled in substantially the entire interior space of the ink tank. Also, instead of using a porous member as the negative pressure generating means, ink is directly filled into a bag-shaped member formed of an elastic material such as rubber that generates tension in the direction of expanding the volume, and this bag-shaped member A negative pressure may be applied to the ink inside by the generated tension. Furthermore, at least a part of the ink storage space is formed of a flexible member, and only ink is stored in the space, and a negative pressure is generated by applying a spring force to the flexible member. It may be a thing. In these cases also, it is possible to manufacture an ink tank by performing ink injection similar to the above. Further, in these cases, atmospheric communication for reducing the negative pressure in the ink containing space that increases with the ink supply to the recording head and introducing outside air into the ink containing space in order to maintain this in a preferable predetermined range. However, it is also possible to perform ink injection using the air communication part.

  At the bottom of the ink storage chamber 11, a detected portion 17 is provided at a portion that can face an ink remaining amount detection sensor (described later) provided on the apparatus side when the ink tank 1 is attached to the apparatus. . In the present embodiment, the remaining ink detection sensor is an optical sensor having a light emitting part and a light receiving part. The detected portion 17 is made of a transparent or semi-transparent material, and has a shape, an angle, etc. so that the light from the light emitting portion can be appropriately reflected and returned to the light receiving portion (described later) when ink is not contained. It has a prism shape with a predetermined slope.

  The configuration and function of the substrate 100, which is the main part of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIGS. 3A and 3B are schematic side views for explaining the outline of the function of the substrate disposed in the ink tank according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 3 and an arrow view of the section in the IVb direction, and FIGS. 5A and 5B are each attached to the ink tank according to the first embodiment. 2 is a side view and a front view showing an example of a control board 100. FIG.

  The first engaging portion 5 and the second engaging portion 156 of the ink tank 1 with respect to the first engaging portion 155 and the second engaging portion 156 of the holder 150 integrated with the recording head unit 105 having the recording head 105 ′. The ink tank 1 is mounted on the holder 150 and fixed by the engagement of the joint portions 6. At this time, a contact (hereinafter referred to as a connector) 152 provided on the holder 150 and an electrode pad 102 (FIG. 5 (FIG. 5) as a contact provided on the surface of the ink tank located toward the outside of the substrate 100. b)) are in contact with each other and electrical connection becomes possible.

  On the surface of the substrate 100 located toward the inside of the ink tank 1, a first light emitting unit 101 that generates visible light, such as an LED, and a control element 103 that controls the light emitting unit are provided. The control element 103 controls light emission of the first light emitting unit 101 by an electric signal supplied via the pad 102. 5A shows a state in which the control element 103 is mounted on the substrate 100 and then covered with a protective sealant. Also, when a memory element that stores information such as the color of ink stored in the ink tank and the ink remaining amount is mounted, it can be mounted at the same position and covered with a sealant. .

  Here, as described above, the substrate 100 constituting the main part of the present embodiment is disposed below the support portion of the support member 3 at the portion where the bottom surface and the front surface of the ink tank 1 intersect each other. ing. In this arrangement portion, the ink tank 1 is formed with a slope connecting both surfaces. Accordingly, when the first light emitting unit 101 emits light, a part of the light is projected outward from the front side of the ink tank 1 along the slope.

  By using the substrate 100 having such an arrangement, not only a recording device (and thus a host device such as a computer to which the substrate is connected), but also a user, the first light emitting unit 101 is also used as a predetermined for the ink tank 1. It is possible to present information directly. That is, as shown in FIG. 3A, a light receiving portion is arranged at a position at the end of the scanning range of the carriage on which the holder 150 is mounted and which receives light projected in the upper right direction of the drawing. By controlling the light emission of the first light emitting unit 101 when the carriage is positioned at the position, the recording apparatus side can recognize predetermined information relating to the ink tank 1 from the light receiving content of the light receiving unit. Further, for example, by controlling the light emission of the first light emitting unit 101 by positioning the carriage at the center of the scanning range, as shown in FIG. Such predetermined information can be recognized.

  The predetermined information of the ink tank (liquid storage container) 1 is determined in advance according to whether or not the ink tank 1 is attached (that is, whether or not the attachment is complete) and whether or not the attachment position is appropriate (corresponding to the ink color). Whether or not it is properly installed at the mounting position on the holder, and whether or not there is a remaining amount of ink (whether or not a sufficient amount of ink remains). This makes it possible to present such information. The aspect of the control of light emission and the accompanying information presentation will be described in detail in the description of the configuration of the control system.

  Preferred configurations for the arrangement and operation of the substrate 100 to the first light emitting unit 101 include those shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). That is, the light emitted from the first light emitting unit 101 is transmitted to the first light receiving unit 210 or the user's light on the portion of the ink tank 1 facing the surface of the substrate 100 on which the first light emitting unit 101 and the control element 103 are provided. For the purpose of smoothly reaching the field of view, it is desirable to form the space 1A along at least the optical axis (arrow). Further, for the same purpose, the optical axis is not blocked by appropriately determining the arrangement position and shape of the support member 3. Further, the holder 150 is provided with a hole (or a light transmitting portion) 150H for securing the optical axis.

1.2 Modification (FIGS. 6 to 13)
The above-described configuration is merely an example, and if it is possible to present the predetermined information related to the ink tank 1 to the recording apparatus and the user also using the first light emitting unit 101, appropriate modifications can be made. it can. This section describes some of them.

  6A and 6B are a side view and a front view, respectively, showing a modification of the control board attached to the ink tank according to the first embodiment. In this example, the light is particularly directed in the direction toward the first light receiving unit 210 and the position of the user's eyes. For this purpose, in addition to arranging the posture of the first light emitting unit 101 appropriately, a member (lens or the like) for causing the orientation can be provided.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, only the first light emitting unit 101 is positioned on the surface of the substrate 100 positioned toward the inner side of the ink tank 1, and the control element 103 is arranged as the electrode pad 102. At the same time, it is provided on the surface located toward the outside of the substrate 100. As a result, since the light emitted from the first light emitting unit 101 is not blocked by the control element 103, it goes not only diagonally upward but also diagonally downward along the surface of the substrate 100.

  FIG. 8 is a side view for explaining a usage mode of an ink tank provided with a control board having such a configuration. As is clear from this figure, the first light emitting unit 101 emits light not only in the upper right direction but also in the lower left direction in the figure that the user can see. Therefore, by arranging the first light receiving unit 210 on the optical axis toward the lower left direction, the recording apparatus side can receive predetermined information related to the ink tank 1.

  FIG. 9 is a side view for explaining another example of usage of the ink tank provided with the control board of FIG. This example is suitable for the case where an ink remaining amount detection sensor 117 in the form of an optical sensor is provided in the recording apparatus so as to be able to face the prism-shaped detected portion 17 when the ink tank 1 is attached to the apparatus. That is, the ink remaining amount detection sensor 117 includes a light emitting portion 117A and a light receiving portion 117B. When the ink remaining amount in the ink chamber 11 of the ink tank 1 is low, the light from the light emitting portion 117A is prism-shaped detected portion 17. And is returned to the light receiving unit 117B, the apparatus can recognize the state. In this example, the light receiving unit 117B is also used as a light receiving unit for the light from the first light emitting unit 101 so that the apparatus can recognize whether or not the ink tank 1 is installed and whether it is appropriate.

  In the example shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, the control element 103 is disposed on the surface of the substrate 100 positioned toward the inside of the ink tank 1, while the first light emitting unit 101 together with the electrode pad 102 is disposed on the substrate 100. It is provided on the surface located toward the outside. As a result, the light emitted from the first light emitting unit 101 also travels in the direction from the surface of the substrate 100 toward the outside.

  FIG. 11 is a side view for explaining a usage mode of an ink tank provided with a control board having such a configuration. As is clear from this figure, the first light emitting unit 101 projects light not only in the upper right direction of the figure visible to the user but also in the lower right direction. Therefore, by arranging the first light receiving unit 210 on the optical axis toward the lower right direction, the recording apparatus side can receive predetermined information relating to the ink tank 1.

  In each of the above configurations, the position and shape of the member that blocks the optical axis is appropriately determined, or the opening and the translucent part are set so that the optical axis toward the user's eyes and the light receiving unit is positively secured. It is preferable to provide it. However, it is possible to adopt a configuration that guides light to the user's eyes and the light receiving unit.

  FIGS. 12A and 12B show a configuration example for that purpose, and a light guide member 154 such as an optical fiber for guiding the light emitted from the first light emitting unit 101 toward a required position is arranged. It is set up. That is, the light guide member 154 can transmit predetermined information related to the ink tank 1 to the first light receiving unit 210 (FIG. 12A) and the user's eyes (FIG. 12B). It becomes.

  The above is mainly various configuration examples related to the first light emitting unit 101 of the control board, but an appropriate arrangement can also be performed for the pad 102.

  FIGS. 13A and 13B are a side view and a front view showing still another example of the control board attached to the ink tank, respectively. In the above-described examples, a plurality of electrode pads 102 are provided in alignment with the surface of the substrate 100 (for example, FIG. 5B), but in this example, the plurality of electrode pads 102 are dispersed on the surface of the substrate 100 ( They are arranged in a staggered pattern in the figure. The advantage of this arrangement is that the load applied to the substrate in the contact state with the connector 152 is dispersed, so that distortion of the substrate 100 can be suppressed even when a relatively high contact pressure is obtained.

1.3 Ink tank mounting part (FIGS. 14 to 16)
FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a recording head unit in which the ink tank according to the first embodiment is configured to be detachable. FIGS. 15A to 15C are views when the ink tank is mounted on the recording head unit. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement.

  The recording head unit 105 generally includes a holder 150 that detachably holds a plurality (four in the figure) of ink tanks and a recording head 105 ′ (not shown in FIG. 14) disposed on the bottom side. . By mounting the ink tank on the holder 150, the ink introduction port 107 on the recording head side located at the bottom of the holder and the ink supply port 7 on the ink tank side are coupled to form an ink communication path therebetween.

  As the recording head 105 ′, an electrothermal conversion element is provided in a liquid path constituting a nozzle, and thermal energy is applied to the ink by applying an electric pulse serving as a recording signal to the ink, and the phase change of the ink at that time What uses the pressure at the time of the foaming (boiling) produced for ink discharge can be used. Then, contact is made between an electrical contact portion (not shown) for signal transmission provided on a carriage 203 (to be described later) and an electrical contact portion 157 on the recording head unit 105 side, and the recording head 105 ′ is connected via the wiring portion 158. The recording signal is transmitted to the electrothermal transducer driving circuit. A wiring part 159 extending from the electrical contact part 157 to the connector 152 is also extended.

  When the ink tank 1 is mounted on the recording head unit 105, the ink tank 1 is handled above the holder 150 (FIG. 15A), and the protruding first engaging portion 5 provided on the back side of the ink tank. Is placed on the bottom surface of the holder in a state of being inserted into a through-hole-shaped first locking portion 155 provided on the back side of the holder (FIG. 15B). In this state, when the upper end on the front side of the ink tank 1 is pushed down as indicated by an arrow P, the ink tank 1 moves in the direction of the arrow R with the engaging portions of the first engaging portion 5 and the first locking portion 155 as rotation fulcrums. It turns and the front side of the ink tank is displaced downward. In this process, while the side surface of the second engagement portion 5 provided on the support member 3 on the front side of the ink tank is pressed by the second locking portion 156 provided on the front side of the holder, the support member 3 also moves in the direction of the arrow Q. It will be displaced to.

  When the upper surface of the second engaging portion 5 reaches below the second engaging portion 156, the support member 3 is displaced in the Q ′ direction by its own elastic force, and the second engaging portion 5 becomes the second engaging portion. Locked by 156. In this state (FIG. 15C), the second locking portion 155 elastically biases the ink tank 1 in the horizontal direction via the support member 3, and the back surface of the ink tank 1 contacts the back surface of the holder 150. Touch. Further, the upward displacement of the ink tank 1 is suppressed by the first locking portion 155 engaged with the first engaging portion 5 and the second locking portion 156 engaged with the second engaging portion 6. This is a state where the ink tank 1 is completely installed, and at this time, the ink supply port 7 and the ink introduction port 107, the pad 102, and the connector 152 are joined.

  When compared to the operation of the “lever”, in the process of the mounting operation as shown in FIG. 15B, the engaging portion of the first engaging portion 5 and the first locking portion 155 is a fulcrum, and the front side of the ink tank 1 is It will be a key point. The connecting portion of the ink supply port 7 and the ink introduction port 107 becomes an action point, which is located between the force point and the fulcrum, preferably near the fulcrum. Therefore, the ink supply port 7 is pressed against the ink introduction port 107 with a large force as the ink tank 1 rotates. In general, a relatively flexible elastic member such as a filter, an absorber, or a packing is disposed at the joint between the two for the purpose of ensuring ink communication and preventing ink leakage.

  Therefore, it is preferable in view of the arrangement purpose to adopt the arrangement and mounting operation as in this example and to elastically deform these members with a relatively large force. When the mounting operation is completed, the ink tank 1 is prevented from being lifted by the first locking portion 155 engaged with the first engaging portion 5 and the second locking portion 156 engaged with the second engaging portion 6. Therefore, since the restoration of the elastic members is suppressed, the members are held in an appropriately elastically deformed state.

  On the other hand, the pad 102 and the connector 152 as contacts are conductive members having relatively high rigidity such as metal, and good electrical connectivity should be ensured between them. On the other hand, abutting them with an excessive force is not preferable from the viewpoint of damage prevention and durability. In this example, first, the contact force is preferably made small by arranging them in a part as far as possible from the fulcrum, that is, in the vicinity of the front surface of the ink tank.

  For this purpose, it is conceivable to arrange the pads of the substrate on the bottom surface of the ink tank and in the region closest to the front. On the other hand, it is also conceivable to arrange a substrate pad in front of the ink tank. However, in either case, there is a restriction on the arrangement of the first light receiving unit 210 and the first light emitting unit 101 on the substrate for appropriately projecting light to the user's eyes. In addition, when the substrate is arranged on the bottom surface of the ink tank and in a position close to the front, the pad 102 and the connector 152 approach each other in a state immediately before the completion of the mounting of the ink tank 1 and are joined as they are. In order to achieve a good electrical connection regardless of the state of both surfaces, a large mounting force must be exerted, and as a result, an excessive force may act on the pad and the connector. In the unlikely event that leakage occurs from the joint between the ink supply port 7 and the ink introduction port 107, the leaked ink may travel down the bottom surface of the ink tank and reach the connection portion between the pad and the connector. When the substrate is arranged in front of the ink tank, it may be difficult to remove the ink tank from the apparatus main body.

  On the other hand, in this example, the substrate 100 is disposed on the slope connecting the both surfaces at the portion where both the bottom surface and the front surface of the ink tank 1 intersect. Here, considering the balance of force only at the contact portion in a state where the pad 102 is in contact with the connector 152 immediately before the completion of mounting, the connector 152 is balanced with the mounting force acting downward in the vertical direction. The reaction force exerted on (vertical upward force) is a component of actual contact pressure between the connector 152 and the pad 102 (force in the direction perpendicular to the slope). Therefore, when the user depresses the ink tank toward the mounting completion position, the increase in the ink tank mounting force for electrical connection between the board and the connector is small, and the operability for the user may be significantly reduced. Absent.

  Further, when the ink tank 1 is pressed toward the mounting completion position (the position where the first engagement portion 5 and the first engagement portion 155 and the second engagement portion 6 and the second engagement portion 156 engage), The pressing force also generates a component force in a direction parallel to the plane of the substrate 100 (a force that causes the pad 102 to slide on the connector 152). Therefore, it is possible to obtain a mounting completion state in which good electrical connectivity between the two is ensured. Further, in this state, since the electrical connection portion is located at a high position from the bottom surface of the ink tank, there is very little possibility that leaked ink is transmitted. Furthermore, the optical axis of the first light receiving unit 210 and the first light emitting unit 101 to the user's eyes can be secured.

  That is, the arrangement of the electrical connection portions as in this example is not only preferable for securing a light projecting path when the first light projecting unit 101 is used for projecting the first light receiving unit and the user's eyes. In other words, it can be said to be appropriate in consideration of various points such as the magnitude of the ink tank mounting force, the securing of the electrical contact state, and the protection from leaked ink.

  The configuration of the attachment portion of the ink tank according to the first embodiment or the modification of the present invention is not limited to that shown in FIG.

  This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4A is a perspective view of another configuration example of a recording head unit that receives a supply of ink from an ink tank and executes a recording operation, and a carriage incorporating the same, and FIG. It is.

  The recording head unit 405 according to this example is different from the holder 150 as in the above example that fixes and holds the entire ink tank, as shown in FIG. 16A, a holder portion corresponding to the front side of the ink tank, and It does not have the 2nd latching | locking part and connector etc. which were arrange | positioned. Others are substantially the same as the above example. The ink introduction port 107 connected to the ink supply port 7 is provided on the bottom surface, the first locking portion 155 is provided on the back side, and the signal transmission is provided on the back surface. It has an electrical contact (not shown).

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 16B, the carriage 415 movable along the shaft 417 is connected to a lever 419 for mounting and fixing the recording head unit 405 and a recording head side electrical contact portion. In addition to the electrical contact portion 418, a holder portion corresponding to the configuration on the front side of the ink tank is provided. That is, the second locking portion 156, the connector 152, and the wiring portion 159 to the connector are disposed on the carriage side.

  In this configuration, if the recording head unit 405 is mounted on the carriage 415 as shown in FIG. 16B, the entire ink tank mounting portion is configured. That is, through the mounting operation similar to that in FIG. 15, the ink supply port 7 and the ink introduction port 107 are joined and the pad 102 and the connector 152 are connected to complete the mounting operation.

1.4 Recording device (FIGS. 17 to 18)
FIG. 17 is a view showing an appearance of the ink jet printer 200 that performs recording by mounting the ink tank described above, and FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a state in which the main body cover 201 shown in FIG. 17 is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 17, the printer 200 of this embodiment includes a main body cover 201 and other parts of the printer such as a mechanism in which a carriage on which a recording head and an ink tank are mounted moves for scanning. A printer main body covered with a case portion, a paper discharge tray 203 provided on the front and back sides of the printer main body, and an automatic paper feeder (ASF) 202 are provided. An operation unit 213 including a display for displaying the status of the printer in both the closed state and the open state of the main body cover, a power switch, and a reset switch is provided.

  In the state in which the main body cover 201 is opened, as shown in FIG. 18, the user indicates the recording head unit 105 and the ink tanks 1K, 1Y, 1M, and 1C (hereinafter, these ink tanks are denoted by the same reference numeral “1”). It is possible to see the range of movement of the carriage 205 on which the carriage 205 is mounted and its surroundings. Actually, when the main body cover 201 is opened, a sequence in which the carriage 205 automatically moves to a substantially central position (hereinafter also referred to as “tank replacement position”) shown in FIG. Each ink tank can be exchanged.

  In the printer of this embodiment, the recording head unit 105 is provided with a recording head (not shown) in the form of a chip corresponding to each color of ink, and the recording head of each color applies to a recording medium such as a sheet by moving the carriage 205. Scanning is performed, and recording is performed by ejecting ink onto the recording medium during this scanning. That is, the carriage 205 is slidably engaged with the guide shaft 207 extending in the moving direction, and can be moved as described above by the carriage motor and its driving force transmission mechanism. In each of the recording heads corresponding to K, Y, M, and C inks, ink is ejected based on ejection data sent from the control circuit on the main body side via the flexible cable 206. Further, a paper feed mechanism such as a paper feed roller and a paper discharge roller is provided, and a recording medium (not shown) fed from the automatic paper feeder 202 can be conveyed to the paper discharge tray 203. The carriage 205 is detachably mounted with a recording head unit 105 integrally provided with an ink tank holder. On the other hand, each ink tank 1 is detachably attached to the recording head unit 105 in the form of a cartridge. Installed. That is, it is possible to mount the recording head unit 105 on the carriage 205 and further mount the ink tank 1 on the recording head unit 105. In this embodiment, the ink tank 1 is attached to and detached from the carriage 205 via the recording head unit 105. Is possible. Further, by mounting the ink tank 1 on the recording head unit 105, an embodiment of the liquid supply system of the present invention is configured.

  In the recording operation, the recording head scans by the above movement, and during that time, ink is ejected from the respective recording heads to the recording medium to perform recording in a region having a width corresponding to the ejection port in the recording head. During scanning, the paper feeding mechanism feeds a predetermined amount of paper according to the width, thereby sequentially recording on the recording medium. In addition, an ejection recovery unit such as a cap is provided at the end of the moving range of the recording head by the carriage movement described above to cover the surface of each recording head on which the ejection port is provided. As a result, the recording head moves to a position where the recovery unit is provided at predetermined time intervals, and performs recovery processing such as preliminary ejection.

  As described above, the recording head unit 105 having the tank holder portion of each ink tank 1 is provided with a connector corresponding to each ink tank, and each connector is provided in the ink tank 1 to which the ink tank 1 is attached. In contact with the pad on the substrate. Accordingly, it is possible to control lighting or blinking of each LED 101 according to a sequence described later with reference to FIGS.

  Specifically, at the above-described tank replacement position, when the ink remaining amount of each ink tank 1 decreases, the LED 101 of the corresponding ink tank 1 is turned on or blinked. In the carriage movement range, a first light receiving unit 210 having a light receiving element is provided in the vicinity of the end opposite to the position where the recovery unit is provided. Thus, the LED 101 emits light when the LED 101 of each ink tank 1 passes through the light receiving unit 210 as the carriage 205 moves, and each of the carriages 205 in the carriage 205 is based on the position of the carriage 205 when the light is received. The position of the ink tank 1 can be detected. Furthermore, as another example of control such as lighting of the LED, control is performed to turn on the LED 101 of the tank when the ink tank 1 is correctly mounted at the tank replacement position. These controls are executed by sending control data (control signals) from the control circuit on the main body side to the respective ink tanks via the flexible cable 206 in the same manner as the control of ink ejection of the recording head.

2. Configuration of control system
2.1 Overall configuration (Figure 19)
FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of the control system of the above-described inkjet printer, and a configuration relating to a control circuit in the form of a PCB (printed wiring board) in the printer main body and light emission of the LED of the ink tank controlled by the control circuit. Is mainly shown.

  In FIG. 19, a control circuit 300 executes data processing and operation control relating to the printer. Specifically, the CPU 301 executes processing described later with reference to FIGS. 25 to 28 in accordance with a program stored in the ROM 303. The RAM 302 is used as a work area when the CPU 301 executes processing.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 19, the recording head unit 105 mounted on the carriage 205 is for ejecting black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) inks. Each recording head 105K, 105Y, 105M, and 105C having a plurality of ejection openings is provided. The ink tanks 1K, 1Y, 1M, and 1C are detachably mounted on the holder of the recording head unit 105 corresponding to these recording heads.

  As described above, each ink tank 1 is provided with a substrate 100 provided with an LED 101, a display control circuit thereof, a pad serving as a contact terminal, and the like. When the ink tank 1 is correctly attached to the recording head unit 105, the pads on the substrate 100 come into contact with connectors provided respectively corresponding to the ink tanks 1 in the recording head unit 105. Further, a connector (not shown) provided on the carriage 205 and a control circuit 300 on the main body side are signal-connected through a flexible cable 206. Further, when the recording head unit 105 is mounted on the carriage 205, the connector of the carriage 205 and the connector of the recording head unit 105 are signal-connected. With the above connection configuration, signals can be exchanged between the control circuit 300 on the main body side and each ink tank 1. As a result, the control circuit 300 can control lighting or blinking according to a sequence described later with reference to FIGS.

  Similarly, with respect to the control of the respective ink ejections in the recording heads 105K, 105Y, 105M, and 105C, the drive circuits provided in the respective recording heads via the flexible cable 206, the connector of the carriage 205, and the connector of the recording head unit. Are connected to the control circuit 300 on the main body side, so that the control circuit 300 can control ink ejection and the like in each recording head.

  The first light receiving unit 210 provided in the vicinity of one end of the movement range of the carriage 205 receives light emitted from the LED 101 of the ink tank 1 and outputs a signal corresponding thereto to the control circuit 300. The control circuit 300 can determine the position of each ink tank 1 in the carriage 205 based on this signal, as will be described later. An encoder scale 209 is provided along the movement path of the carriage 205, and an encoder sensor 211 is provided on the carriage 205. The detection signal of this sensor is input to the control circuit 300 via the flexible cable 206, and thereby the movement position of the carriage 205 can be known. This position information is used for each print head ejection control, and is also used in an optical collation process for detecting an ink tank position, which will be described later with reference to FIG. Further, the second light emitting / receiving unit 214 provided in the vicinity of a predetermined position in the movement range of the carriage 205 includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element, and the remaining amount of ink in each ink tank 1 mounted on the carriage 205. Is output to the control circuit 300. The control circuit 300 can detect the remaining amount of ink based on this signal.

2.2 Configuration of connecting part (FIGS. 20 to 24)
FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the configuration of signal wiring for signal connection with the ink tank 1 in the flexible cable 206 in relation to the substrate 100 of each ink tank.

  As shown in FIG. 20, the signal wiring for the ink tank 1 is composed of four signal lines, and is a signal wiring common to the four ink tanks 1 (so-called bus connection). That is, the signal wiring for each ink tank 1 includes a power supply signal line “VDD” and a ground signal line “GND” for power supply such as operation of the functional element group 103 that performs light emission and driving of the LED 101 in the ink tank. As will be described later, four signals of the signal line “DATA” and its clock signal line “CLK” for sending a control signal (control data) relating to processing such as lighting and blinking of the LED 101 from the control circuit 300 Consists of lines. In the present embodiment, description will be made with four signal lines. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the “GND” line can be omitted by achieving a ground signal in another configuration. . It is also possible to configure the signal line of “CLK” and “DATA” by sharing one.

  On the other hand, the substrate 100 of each ink tank 1 is provided with a control unit 103 that operates in response to signals from these four signal lines and an LED 101 that operates thereby.

  FIG. 21 is a circuit diagram showing details of a substrate on which these control units and the like are provided. As shown in the figure, the control unit 103 includes an input / output control circuit (I / O CTRL) 103A, a memory array 103B, and an LED driver 103C. The input / output control circuit 103A controls display driving of the LED 101 and data writing to and reading from the memory array 103B according to control data sent from the control circuit 300 on the main body via the flexible cable 206. The memory array 103B is in the form of an EEPROM in this embodiment, and ink tank individual information such as manufacturing information such as a unique number of the ink tank and a manufacturing lot number in addition to ink remaining amount and ink color information to be stored. Can be stored. The color information is written at a predetermined address in the memory array 103B corresponding to the color of the ink stored when the ink tank is shipped or manufactured. For example, this color information is used as identification information (individual information) of the ink tank, as will be described later with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24, whereby the ink tank is specified and data is written to the memory array 103B or stored in the memory. Data can be read from the array 103B, and the lighting and extinguishing of the LED 101 of the ink tank can be controlled. The data written to and read from the memory array 103B includes, for example, ink remaining amount data. As described above, the ink tank of the present embodiment is provided with a prism at the bottom thereof, and when the remaining amount of ink is reduced, this fact can be detected optically via this prism. In this embodiment, in addition to this, the control circuit 300 counts the number of ejections for each recording head based on the ejection data, and calculates the ink remaining amount for each ink tank based on the count. Then, the remaining amount information is written into and read from the corresponding ink tank memory array 103B. As a result, the memory array 103B can hold information on the remaining amount of ink at that time, and this information is used for, for example, more accurate detection of the remaining amount in combination with the remaining amount of ink using the prism. Or used to determine whether the installed ink tank is new or has been used once and remounted.

  The LED driver 103C operates to apply a power supply voltage to the LED 101 when the signal output from the input / output control circuit 103A is on, thereby causing the LED 101 to emit light. Therefore, when the signal output from the input / output control circuit 103A is in an on state, the LED 101 is turned on, and when the signal is in an off state, the LED 101 is turned off.

  FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the substrate 100 shown in FIG. This modified example is different from the example shown in FIG. 21 in that power is supplied from a VDD power pattern provided in the substrate 100 of the ink tank in a configuration in which a power supply voltage is applied to the LED 101. The control unit 103 is generally built on a semiconductor substrate, and the connection terminals on the semiconductor substrate are only LED connection terminals. Reducing the number of connection terminals greatly affects the area occupied by the semiconductor substrate, leading to cost reduction of the semiconductor substrate.

  FIG. 23 is a timing chart for explaining the data writing and reading operations for the memory array 103B described above, and FIG. 24 is a timing chart for explaining the operation of turning on and off the LED 101, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 23, when writing to the memory array 103B, the “start” is sent from the control circuit 300 on the main body side to the input / output control circuit 103A in the control unit 103 of the ink tank 1 via the signal line DATA (FIG. 20). Each data signal of “code + color information”, “control code”, “address code”, “data code” is sent in this order in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. "Start code + color information" means the start of a series of data signals by the "start code" signal, and the ink tank that is the target of this series of data signals is specified by the "color information" signal To do. The “color” of the ink here includes not only ink colors such as Y, M, and C but also inks having different densities.

  As shown in the figure, the “color information” has codes corresponding to the ink colors “K”, “C”, “M”, “Y”, and the input / output control circuit 103A The color information indicated by is compared with its own color information stored in the memory array 103B, and the subsequent data signal is fetched only when they match, and if they do not match, the subsequent data signals Process to ignore importing. As a result, even if a data signal is commonly sent from the main body side to each ink tank via the common signal line “DATA” shown in FIG. 20, the ink tank is specified by including the color information described above. Thus, subsequent processing based on the data signal, such as writing, reading, turning on / off the LED, can be performed only for the specified ink tank. As a result, it is possible to control the lighting and extinguishing of LEDs in addition to data writing by data transmitted through a common (single) data signal line to the four ink tanks. The number of signal lines required for control can be reduced as in the present invention. It is apparent from the above description that the configuration using such a common (single) data signal line can be the same without being limited to the number of ink tanks.

  As shown in FIG. 23, the “control code” of the present embodiment includes “OFF” and “ON” codes used for LED on / off control, which will be described later, and “READ” indicating reading and writing to the memory array. ”And“ WRITE ”codes. In this writing operation, the “WRITE” code follows the “color information” code for specifying the ink tank. The next “address code” indicates the address of the memory array that is the write destination, and the last “data code” indicates the content to be written.

  Note that the content represented by the “control code” is not limited to the above example, and for example, a control code related to a verify command, a continuous read command, or the like can be added.

  In reading, the configuration of the data signal is the same as in the case of the above writing, and the code of “start code + color information” is the input / output control circuit 103A of all the ink tanks as in the case of the above writing. After that, the data signal after that is taken in only by the input / output control circuit 103A of the ink tank whose “color information” matches. The difference is that after the address is specified by the address code, the read data is output in synchronization with the rising edge of the first clock (the 13th clock in FIG. 23). Even if the data signal terminals of a plurality of ink tanks are connected to such a common (single) data signal line, the input / output control circuit 103A arbitrates so that the read data does not collide with other input signals. Is doing.

  When the LED 101 is turned on or off, as shown in FIG. 24, as in the above case, first, a data signal of “start code + color information” is sent from the main body side to the input / output control circuit 103A via the signal line DATA. come. As described above, the ink tank is specified by the “color information”, and the LED 101 is turned on / off based on the “control code” sent thereafter, only in the specified ink tank. As described above with reference to FIG. 23, the “control code” for turning on / off includes the “ON” or “OFF” code, and the LED 101 is turned on by “ON” and turned off by “OFF”. Is called. That is, when the control code is “ON”, the input / output control circuit 103A outputs an ON signal to the LED driver 103C as described above with reference to FIG. 22, and maintains the output state thereafter. Conversely, when the control code is “OFF”, the input / output control circuit 103A outputs an OFF signal to the LED driver 103C and maintains the output state thereafter. The actual timing of turning on or off the LED 101 is performed after the seventh clock of the clock CLK for each data signal shown in FIG.

  In the example shown in the figure, first, as shown in the leftmost data signal in the figure, the black K ink tank is specified, and the LED 101 of the ink K tank is turned on. Next, since the “color information” of the second data signal specifies magenta ink M and the “control code” instructs to turn on the ink, the ink 101 tank LED 101 remains lit while the ink is in the ink. The LED 101 of the M tank is also lit. In the third data signal, since the “control code” instructs to turn off the ink K tank, the LED 101 is turned off only for the ink K tank.

  As can be understood from the above description, the blinking control of the LED is made possible by the control circuit 300 on the main body side sending a data signal including “control code” for turning on and off and specifying the ink tank. . In that case, the cycle of blinking can be controlled by determining the cycle of sending the signal.

2.3 Control procedure (FIGS. 25 to 31)
FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing a control procedure related to the attachment and detachment of the ink tank based on the configuration of the present embodiment described above. In particular, the control of the LED 101 of each ink tank 1 by the control circuit 300 on the main body side is shown. Is.

  The process shown in FIG. 25 is a process that is activated when a user opens the main body cover 201 of the printer according to the present embodiment and detects this by a predetermined sensor. When this process is started, first, an ink tank attaching / detaching process is executed in step S101.

  FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing details of the ink tank attaching / detaching process. As shown in the figure, in the attaching / detaching process, first, in step S201, the carriage 205 is moved, and status information (individual information report of the ink tank) is acquired for each ink tank mounted at that time. The acquired state information includes the remaining amount of ink at that time, and these are read from the memory array 103B together with the unique number of the ink tank. In step S202, it is determined whether the carriage 205 has reached the ink tank replacement position described with reference to FIG.

  If it is determined that the carriage 205 has reached the ink tank replacement position, ink tank mounting confirmation control is performed in step S203.

  FIG. 27 is a flowchart showing details of the attachment confirmation control. First, in step S301, a parameter N indicating the number of ink tanks mounted on the carriage 205 is set, and a flag F (k) for checking LED emission is initialized according to the number of ink tanks. . In the present embodiment, N is set to 4 as the number of K, C, M, and Y ink tanks. In accordance with this, four flags of F (1), k = 1 to 4 are prepared, and these are all initialized and their contents are set to “0”.

  Next, in step S302, the variable A relating to the ink tank mounting determination order of the flag is set to 1, and in step S303, mounting confirmation control is performed for the Ath ink tank. In this control, when the user mounts the ink tank in the correct position on the holder 150 of the recording head unit 105, the contact 152 of the holder 150 and the contact 102 of the ink tank are brought into contact with each other. As described above, the circuit 300 is an operation of sequentially reading out the color information stored in the memory array 103B of the specified tank while specifying the ink tank based on the color information that is individual information of the ink tank. Of course, the color information for specifying is not used for information that has already been read. Further, in this control, it is also determined whether or not the read color information is different from the color information read so far after the start of the processing.

  In step S304, when the color information can be read out and the color information is different from those read out so far, it is determined that the ink tank of the color information is attached as the Ath ink tank. In other cases, it is determined that the A-th ink tank is not attached. Note that the A-th described here simply describes the order in which the ink tanks are determined, not the order in which the ink tanks are mounted. If it is determined that the Ath ink tank is installed, in step S305, the flag F (A), that is, of the four prepared flags F (k), k = 1 to 4, k = The content of the flag (A) corresponding to A is set to “1”, and the LED 101 of the ink tank 1 of the corresponding color information is turned on as described above with reference to FIG. If it is determined that it is not attached, the content of the flag F (A) is set to “0” in step S311.

  Next, in step S306, the variable A is incremented by 1. In step S307, it is determined whether or not the variable A is greater than N (N = 4 in the case of the printer of the present embodiment) set in step S301. Here, when it is determined that the variable A is equal to or less than N, the processes after step S303 are repeated. When it is determined that the variable A is greater than N, it is determined that the attachment confirmation control has been completed for all four ink tanks. In step S308, whether the main body cover 201 is open is determined. Judge based on output. That is, when the main body cover is in a closed state, the user may have closed the cover with some of the ink tanks not attached or incompletely attached. Is returned to the processing routine of FIG. 26 and the present processing is terminated.

  If it is determined in step S308 that the main body cover 201 is open, whether or not the contents of all four flags F (k), k = 1 to 4 are “1”, that is, all It is determined whether the LED 101 is turned on for all ink tanks. When it is determined that the LED 101 of any of the ink tanks is not lit, the processing from step S302 is repeated. That is, the user repeats the above-described process until the ink tank whose LED 101 is not lit is mounted or the mounting operation is performed again, and the LED of the ink tank is lit.

  When it is determined that the LEDs of all the ink tanks are lit, a normal end operation is performed in step S310, the process is terminated, and the process returns to the process routine shown in FIG. FIG. 28A is a diagram showing a state in which all ink tanks are correctly mounted and each LED is lit.

  Referring to FIG. 26 again, after the ink tank mounting confirmation control in step S203 is executed as described above, in step S204, whether or not the control is normally completed, that is, whether or not the ink tank is normally mounted. Judging. When it is determined that the mounting is normal, the display (FIGS. 17 and 18) of the operation unit 213 is lit in, for example, green in step S205, and is normally terminated in step S206 and returns to the processing routine shown in FIG. If it is determined that the attachment is abnormal, the display of the operation unit 213 blinks in, for example, orange in step S207, abnormally ends in step S208, and the process returns to the processing routine shown in FIG. When a host PC for controlling the recording apparatus is connected, it is possible to display a mounting abnormality through the PC monitor at the same time.

  In FIG. 25, when the ink tank attaching / detaching process in step S101 is completed, it is determined in step S102 whether the attaching / detaching process has been normally completed. If it is determined that the process has ended abnormally, in step S108, the process waits for the user to open the main body cover 201. When the cover 201 is opened, the process in step S101 is started, and the process described in FIG. 26 is repeated. .

  If it is determined in step S102 that the attaching / detaching process has been completed normally, in step S103, the process waits for the user to close the main body cover 201, and in step S104, it is determined whether the cover 201 is closed. Here, when it is determined that the main body cover is closed, the process proceeds to the optical collation process in step S105. At this time, as shown in FIG. 28B, when it is detected that the main body cover 201 is closed, the carriage 205 moves to a position for optical collation, and the LED 101 of each lit ink tank is displayed. Turns off.

  The optical matching process is a process for determining whether or not each of the normally installed ink tanks is installed at the correct position. In the present embodiment, for example, the ink tank mounting position is set such that the ink tank and the mounting position cannot be mounted with ink tanks of other inks, and the mounting positions are determined corresponding to the ink tanks of the respective colors. Since such a configuration is not adopted, there is a possibility that the ink tanks of the respective colors are erroneously attached to places that are not the original positions. For this reason, this optical collation process is performed, and if it is worn by mistake, this is notified to the user. Thereby, in particular, it is possible to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost of manufacturing the ink tank without changing the shape of the ink tank for each color.

  FIGS. 29A to 29D and FIGS. 30A to 30D are diagrams for explaining this optical matching process.

  As shown in FIG. 29A, first, the moving carriage 205 is started with respect to the first light receiving unit 210 from the left side to the right side in the drawing. First, the LED 101 of the ink tank 1Y is caused to emit light at a position where the ink tank at the position where the yellow ink tank 1Y should be mounted faces the first light receiving unit 210 (as described in FIG. 24). Actually, it is turned on and turned off after a predetermined time. When the ink tank is mounted at the original correct position, the first light receiving unit 210 can receive the light emitted from the LED 101, and the control circuit 300 determines that the ink tank 1Y is mounted correctly at the mounting position. To do.

  Similarly, while moving the carriage 205, as shown in FIG. 29B, the ink tank at the position where the ink tank 1M for magenta ink should be mounted faces the first light receiving unit 210 at the ink tank. The 1M LED 101 is caused to emit light. In the example shown in the figure, the ink tank 1M is mounted at the correct position, and the first light receiving unit 210 receives the emitted light. Sequentially, as shown in FIGS. 29B to 29D, light emission is performed while changing the determined mounting position. These drawings show an example in which they are mounted at the correct positions.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 30B, when the cyan ink tank 1C is erroneously installed at the position where the magenta ink tank 1M is to be installed, it faces the first light receiving unit 210. The LED 101 of the ink tank 1 </ b> C that is running does not emit light, and the LED 101 of the ink tank 1 </ b> M that is mounted at another position emits light. As a result, since the first light receiving unit 210 cannot receive light at this timing, the control circuit 300 determines that an ink tank other than the ink tank 1M is mounted at the mounting position. Correspondingly, as shown in FIG. 30 (c), the magenta ink tank 1M is erroneously installed at the position where the cyan ink tank 1C is to be installed, and faces the first light receiving unit 210. The LED 101 of the ink tank 1M that is being used does not emit light, and the LED 101 of the ink tank 1C that is mounted at another position emits light.

  By performing the optical collation process described above, the control circuit 300 can specify an ink tank that is not mounted in its original position. Also, if the correct ink tank is not installed at the position where it should be installed, control is performed to cause the other three color ink tanks to emit light in order at that installation position. It is also possible to specify whether a color ink tank has been installed.

  In FIG. 25, after the above-described optical collation processing in step S105, it is determined in step S106 whether or not this processing has ended normally. If it is determined that the optical verification has been completed normally, the display unit of the operation unit 213 is lit in green, for example, in step S107, and the process is terminated. On the other hand, when it is determined that the operation has not been completed normally, the display unit of the operation unit 213 blinks in, for example, orange in step S109, and in step S110, the ink tank that is not mounted in the original correct position specified in step S105. The LED 101 blinks or lights up, for example. Accordingly, when the user opens the main body cover 201 in step S108, it is possible to know the ink tank that is not mounted in the original correct position, and to prompt the user to remount the ink tank in the correct position.

  FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing recording processing according to the present embodiment. In this process, first, in step S401, an ink remaining amount confirmation process is performed. In this process, for the job that is going to be recorded, the recording amount is obtained from the recording data, and this amount is compared with the remaining amount of each ink tank. It is a process to confirm. In this process, the ink remaining amount obtained by counting the remaining amount at that time by the control circuit 300 can be used.

  In step S402, it is determined whether there is an ink amount necessary for recording based on the above confirmation processing. When there is a sufficient amount of ink, the recording operation is performed in step S403, and the display of the operation unit 213 is lit in green in step S404 to complete the normal end. On the other hand, when it is determined in step S402 that there is not a sufficient amount of ink, in step S405, the indicator of the operation unit 213 blinks orange, and in step S406, the LED 101 of the ink tank 1 with a low ink remaining amount blinks. Or turn it on and terminate abnormally. When a host PC for controlling the printing apparatus is connected, the remaining ink amount can be displayed through the PC monitor at the same time.

3. Other embodiments (FIGS. 32 to 40)
In the first embodiment described above, the first engagement portion 5 on the back side of the ink tank is inserted into the first locking portion 155 on the back side of the holder, and the insertion portion is rotated as a fulcrum while pressing down on the front side of the ink tank. As described above, the mounting operation is performed while rotating the ink tank 1. For this, a preferred arrangement position of the substrate 100 is located on the front side away from the rotation fulcrum as described above, and accordingly, the first light receiving unit 210 and the user's eyes are also used for light projection. The first light emitting unit 101 is also integrated with the substrate 100.

  However, the preferred arrangement position for the substrate and the arrangement position required for the light emitting part may differ depending on the configuration of the ink tank and its mounting part, in which case the substrate and the light emitting part are respectively placed at appropriate positions. It can be arranged. That is, the two do not necessarily have to be integrated.

  FIGS. 32A to 32C are views for explaining an example of the configuration of an ink tank and its mounting portion according to another embodiment of the present invention and the mounting operation thereof.

  In FIG. 32A, the ink tank 501 of the present embodiment is provided with a substrate 600 provided with a light emitting unit 601 such as an LED on the upper front side and a pad 602 on the upper back side. Therefore, when the light emitting unit 601 emits light, light is projected from the front side. Therefore, the light receiving unit 620 is disposed at a position at the end of the scanning range of the carriage to receive the light projected in the left direction in the drawing, and the light emission of the light emitting unit 601 is controlled when the carriage is positioned at that portion. As a result, the recording apparatus side can recognize predetermined information related to the ink tank 501 from the received light content of the light receiving unit. Further, for example, by controlling the light emission of the light emitting unit 601 by positioning the carriage in the center of the scanning range, the user can recognize predetermined information related to the ink tank 501 by viewing the light emission state. .

  As shown in FIG. 32C, the recording head unit 605 includes a holder 650 that detachably holds a plurality (two in the figure) of ink tanks, and a recording head 605 ′ disposed on the bottom surface side. Yes. By mounting the ink tank 501 on the holder 650, the ink introduction port 607 on the recording head side located at the bottom of the holder and the ink supply port 507 located at the bottom of the ink tank are coupled to form an ink communication path therebetween. Is done. The holder 650 has an engaging portion 655 serving as a rotation center when the ink tank 501 is mounted on the front side, and a locking portion 656 for locking the ink tank 501 at the mounting completion position on the back side. . A connector 652 connected to the pad 502 of the substrate 500 is provided in the vicinity of the locking portion 656.

  When the ink tank 501 is attached to the recording head unit 605, the ink tank 501 is handled from the front of the holder 650, and the lower edge of the back of the ink tank is pressed against the back of the holder 650 as shown in FIG. Then, the part in front of the ink tank is engaged with the engaging part 655 of the holder 650. In this state, when the front upper portion of the ink tank 501 is pressed in the back direction, the ink tank 501 is mounted in the holder while rotating in the direction of the arrow about the engaging portion 655. FIGS. 32A and 32C show a state where the ink tank 501 has been completely installed. At this time, the ink supply port 507 and the ink introduction port 607, and the pad 602 and the connector 652 are joined. Further, the pad 602 and the connector 652 are located as far as possible from the center of rotation at the time of mounting, and the two abut immediately before the mounting of the ink tank 501 is ensured, thereby ensuring good electrical connectivity between the two. The mounted completion state can be obtained.

  The engaging portion 655 and the locking portion 656 on the holder 650 side, or the configuration on the ink tank 501 side corresponding to these can be determined as appropriate. In the illustrated example, the substrate 600 is provided as a surface parallel to the upper surface of the ink tank 501, but it is needless to say that the substrate 600 may be disposed on a slope as in the first embodiment. Further, the head unit may not have the holder 650 and related components.

  FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing a modified example of the configuration of FIG. 32, in which two recording head units (liquid storage cartridges) are integrally formed of an ink tank 501 and a recording head 605 ′. . In the present embodiment, one is a cartridge for black ink, and the other is a cartridge for yellow, magenta, and cyan ink.

  Corresponding to such a configuration, a configuration similar to that of the holder 650 may be provided in the carriage. In this example, the control circuit of the light emitting unit 601 located on the front side may be configured on a substrate provided at an appropriate part of the head unit, but a drive circuit integrated with the recording head 605 ′. It is also possible to form a control circuit on the substrate and connect to the light emitting unit 601 through a wiring (not shown). In this case, the drive circuit of the recording head 605 ′ and the control circuit of the light emitting unit 601 are connected to the carriage-side electrical contact unit via the wiring unit 657 and the electrical contact unit (not shown).

  FIG. 34 is a perspective view showing a printer that performs recording by mounting an ink tank having a structure according to another embodiment described above, and shows a state in which a main body cover is opened. In the figure, the same elements as those described in FIGS. 17 and 18 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 34, an ink tank 501K storing black ink and an ink tank 501CMY integrally forming storage chambers storing cyan, magenta, and yellow inks are respectively holders of the recording head unit 605 on the carriage 205. It is attached to. In each ink tank, as described above, the LED 601 is provided separately from the substrate, and the user can see these LEDs 601 on the front surface in a state where the ink tank is attached (in the ink tank replacement position). . Further, a light receiving unit 210 is provided in the vicinity of one end of the movement range of the carriage 205 in correspondence with the position of the LED.

  FIGS. 35A and 35B are a schematic side view and a front view, respectively, of an ink tank according to still another embodiment of the present invention. In the ink tank according to the first embodiment, a substrate and a light emitting unit are respectively shown. This is an example in which is disposed at another position.

  In this example, a light emitting unit 101 such as an LED and a substrate 100-2 on which the light emitting unit 101 is mounted are provided in the upper front of the ink tank. In the same manner as described above, the substrate 100 and the substrate 100-2 to the light emitting unit 101, which are disposed on the inclined surface preferable for good connection with the connector 152 on the carriage side and protection from ink, and the wiring unit 159-2 are provided. By connecting via, electrical signals are exchanged. 3H is a hole provided in the base portion of the support member 3 in order to arrange the wiring portion 159-2 along the ink tank casing.

  In this example, when the light emitting unit 101 emits light, light is projected from the front side. Therefore, the light receiving unit 210 is disposed at a position at the end of the scanning range of the carriage to receive the light projected in the right direction in the figure, and the light emission of the light emitting unit 101 is controlled when the carriage is positioned at that position. As a result, the recording apparatus side can recognize predetermined information relating to the ink tank 1 from the received light content of the light receiving unit. In addition, for example, by controlling the light emission of the light emitting unit 101 by positioning the carriage in the center of the scanning range, the user can more easily visually check the light emission state as shown in the parentheses in the figure, and then in the ink tank 1. Such predetermined information can be recognized.

  FIG. 36 is a schematic side view of an ink tank according to a modification of the embodiment of FIG. In this example, the light emitting unit 101 and the substrate 100-2 on which the light emitting unit 101 is mounted are provided at the front surface position of the ink tank on the back side of the operation unit 3M, which is a part operated by the user, in the support member 3. In this example, the same operation as the above example can be performed, and the same effect can be obtained. Furthermore, in this example, for example, when the carriage is positioned at the center of the scanning range and the light emitting unit 101 emits light, the operation unit 3M of the support member 3 is also irradiated with light. It becomes possible to understand the operation more intuitively. In order to make it easier to visually recognize the irradiation state of the operation unit 3M, a portion that transmits or scatters an appropriate amount of light may be added to the operation unit 3M.

  FIG. 37 is a schematic side view of an ink tank according to still another modification. In this example, the light emitting unit 101 and the substrate 100-2 on which the light emitting unit 101 is mounted are provided on the front side of the operation unit 3M of the support member 3. The substrate 100 and the substrate 100-2 or the light emitting unit 101 are connected by a wiring unit 159-2 along the support member 3 through a hole 3H provided in a base portion of the support member 3. Also in this example, the same effect as in FIG. 36 can be obtained.

  In the configurations of FIGS. 35 to 37, the substrate 100, the wiring portion 159-2, and the substrate 100-2 can be formed as an integral member by using a flexible printed cable (FPC).

  In each of the above embodiments, the supply system is configured such that an amount of ink corresponding to the amount of ejected ink is always supplied continuously to the print head (hereinafter referred to as a continuous supply method). The case where the present invention is applied to a configuration using an ink tank that is detachably attached to a recording head mounted on a carriage or the like and reciprocally moved (main scanning) has been described. However, the present invention can also be applied to a configuration using an ink tank that is inseparably attached to the recording head. This is because even with such a configuration, it is conceivable that if the mounting position is different, data of different colors is received, or the order of color overlap is different from the design, so that a desired recording quality cannot be obtained.

  Further, according to the present invention, an ink tank is attached to a fixed portion of the recording apparatus separately from the recording head mounted on the carriage, and the fixed ink tank and the recording head are connected via a flexible tube to supply ink. The present invention can also be applied to a continuous supply system using a supply tube. In this embodiment, an ink tank that functions as an intermediate tank between the ink tank and the recording head may be mounted on the recording head or the carriage.

FIG. 38 shows an example of such an ink jet recording apparatus.
In the figure, reference numeral 710 denotes a cassette-type paper feed tray. The recording media stacked on the cassette are separated and fed one by one, conveyed along a folded conveyance path, and mounted on a carriage 803. After passing through a recording area (not shown), it is discharged to a paper discharge tray 703. The carriage 803 is supported and guided by a guide shaft 807, and moves in the left-right direction in the drawing to perform recording scanning of the recording head.

  The carriage 803 is mounted with a recording head for each color ink, and each recording head for each color ink has its own intermediate tank (for example, black ink, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink). Tanks 811K to 811Y) are mounted. In addition, these intermediate tanks are supplied with respective inks from relatively large-capacity fixed tanks 701K to 701Y that are detachably provided at fixed positions of the apparatus. Reference numeral 850 denotes a flexible follow-up portion that follows the movement of the carriage 803. In addition to an electric wiring portion that transmits a required electric signal to each recording head mounted on the carriage, each fixed tank is connected to each intermediate tank. The ink supply tube group is collectively shown. The supply tube group communicates with the fixed tank through the ink via a communication pipe (not shown).

  Although the recording operation is the same as that of the above-described embodiment, in this example, the light emitting units 801 having the same function as the above-described light emitting unit 101 are provided in each of the fixed tanks 701K to 701Y. Corresponding to the light emitting unit 801, a light receiving unit 810 capable of detecting the light emitting state in the main scanning process is mounted on the carriage 803. That is, with these mechanisms, the fixed tanks 701K to 701Y recognize the state of each fixed tank and perform the necessary control in the same manner as described above with respect to the presence / absence of the remaining amount of ink, the presence / absence of the attachment, Can be performed. Further, the user can recognize information regarding each fixed tank by visually recognizing the light emission state of the light emitting unit 801. The fixed tank is not only detachable, but may be substantially semi-permanently attached so that ink can be replenished according to the remaining amount of ink.

  Further, such a configuration is not only based on a continuous supply method using a tube, but also includes a storage unit that stores a relatively small amount of ink in the recording head, and stores a relatively large amount of ink in the storage unit. Applicable also to a system (intermittent supply system; so-called pit-in supply system) in which the supply system is configured so that ink is intermittently supplied at an appropriate timing from a supply source (fixed tank similar to the above) Is possible.

  As an aspect thereof, the ink supply system with the fixed tank can be spatially connected only when ink is filled into the intermediate tank. Or, while adopting the connection structure of both tanks similar to FIG. 38, an electromagnetic valve or the like is inserted into the connection structure, and the tank is fluidly insulated and connected by appropriately controlling the opening and closing thereof. It may have a configuration. In addition, a gas-liquid separation membrane (a membrane that allows gas to pass but not liquid) is provided in the intermediate tank, and it is also applied to a pit-in method that supplies ink into the intermediate tank by sucking air in the tank through the membrane. Is possible.

  FIG. 39 is a circuit diagram showing details of the substrate 100 provided with the control unit 103 and the like according to still another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the control unit 103 includes an input / output control circuit (I / O CTRL) 103A and an LED driver 103C.

  The input / output control circuit 103 </ b> A controls the display drive of the LED 101 in accordance with control data sent from the control circuit 300 on the main body side via the flexible cable 206.

  The LED driver 103C operates to apply a power supply voltage to the LED 101 when the signal output from the input / output control circuit 103A is on, thereby causing the LED 101 to emit light. Therefore, when the signal output from the input / output control circuit 103A is in an on state, the LED 101 is turned on, and when the signal is in an off state, the LED 101 is turned off.

  This embodiment is different from the first embodiment shown in FIG. 21 in that there is no memory array 103B. A method for specifying an ink tank even when there is no individual information (for example, color information) stored on the memory array and controlling turning on / off of the LED 101 of the ink tank is shown below in the timing chart shown in FIG. explain.

  “Start code + color information” and “control code” are sent from the control circuit 300 on the main body side to the input / output control circuit 103A in the control unit 103 of the ink tank 1 via the signal line DATA (FIG. 20). The signal is sent in synchronization with the clock signal CLK. Input / output control circuit The input / output control circuit 103A identifies the “color information” + “control code” sent together as a “command” and determines whether the output signal to the LED driver 103C is on or off. 103D inside. Each color ink tank from 1K to 1Y is equipped with a control unit 103 having a different command identification unit 103D, and commands for controlling turning on and off of each color are configured as shown in FIG. . That is, the command identification unit 103D for each color includes individual information (color information) for each color, and compares and identifies the “color information” portion of the input “command”. Control various operations. Thus, for example, when the main body transmits “K-ON” color information for turning on the ink tank 1K + control code “000100” together with the start code, only the command identification unit 103D of the ink tank 1K identifies, and only the ink tank 1K. Can be controlled to light up. In the present embodiment, it is necessary to configure the control unit 103 different for each color, but it is advantageous in that it is not necessary to mount the memory array 103B.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 40, the command identification unit 103D does not only turn on / off the LEDs 101 for each color, but also commands “ALL-ON”, “ALL-OFF” for turning on / off the LEDs 101 of all colors, for example. A function of identifying a plurality of commands such as a “CALL” command for designating each color and outputting a response signal from the control unit 103 may be provided.

  As yet another example, the present invention also applies to a case where a command comprising color information + control code sent from the main body side control circuit 300 to the ink tank 1 is not directly compared with color information (individual information) in the ink tank. As applicable. That is, the control unit 103 converts (calculates) the input command, compares the converted result value with a predetermined value held in the memory array 103B or the command identification unit 103D, and the comparison result is a predetermined value. Control corresponding to lighting or extinguishing may be performed in response to the above relationship.

  Separately from the above example, the signal sent from the main body side is converted (calculated) by the control unit 103, and the value held in the memory array 103B or the command control unit 103D is also converted (calculated) by the control unit 103. When the converted values are compared with each other and the comparison result corresponds to a predetermined relationship, control such as turning on or off may be performed.

(A), (b), and (c) are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view of the ink tank according to the first embodiment of the present invention, respectively. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the ink tank according to the first embodiment of the present invention. (A) And (b) is a typical side view for demonstrating the outline of the function of the board | substrate arrange | positioned at the ink tank which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) And (b) is the enlarged view of the principal part of FIG. 3, and its IVb direction arrow view, respectively. (A) And (b) is the side view and front view which respectively show an example of the control board attached to the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is the side view and front view which respectively show the modification of the control board attached to the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is the side view and front view which respectively show the other modification of the control board attached to the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating the usage condition of the control board of FIG. It is a side view for demonstrating the other example of the usage condition of the control board of FIG. (A) And (b) is the side view and front view which show another modification of the control board attached to the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment, respectively. It is a side view for demonstrating the usage condition of the control board of FIG. (A) And (b) is a typical side view for demonstrating the outline of another structural example and operation | movement of the principal part of the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) And (b) is the side view and front view which show the further another example of the control board attached to an ink tank, respectively. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a recording head unit having a holder to which an ink tank according to the first embodiment is attached. (A)-(c) is a typical side view for demonstrating the operation | movement at the time of attaching / detaching the ink tank which concerns on 1st Embodiment to the holder shown in FIG. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows the other example of a structure of the ink tank attachment part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the inkjet printer which mounts | wears with the ink tank of the said 1st Embodiment, and performs recording. It is a perspective view which removes and shows the main body cover 201 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control structure of the said inkjet printer. It is a figure which shows the structure of the signal wiring for the signal connection with an ink tank in the flexible cable of the said inkjet printer in relation to the board | substrate of each ink tank. It is a circuit diagram which shows the detail of the said board | substrate with which the control part etc. were provided. FIG. 22 is a circuit diagram illustrating a modified example of the configuration of the substrate illustrated in FIG. 21. 4 is a timing chart for explaining data writing and reading operations with respect to the memory array of the substrate. It is a timing chart explaining the operation | movement of turning on and off of LED101, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the control procedure regarding attachment / detachment of the ink tank which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of the ink tank attachment / detachment process in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the detail of mounting | wearing confirmation control in FIG. (A) is a figure which shows the state with which all the ink tanks were correctly mounted | worn in the control regarding attachment / detachment of the said ink tank, and each LED lighted, (b) is a main body cover after the said lighting. It is a figure explaining that a carriage moves to the position for optical collation by being closed. (A)-(d) is a figure explaining this optical collation process. (A)-(d) is a figure explaining an optical collation process similarly. It is a flowchart which shows the recording process concerning the said embodiment. (A)-(c) is a figure for demonstrating the structural example of the ink tank which concerns on other embodiment of this invention, its attachment part, and its mounting | wearing operation | movement. It is a perspective view which shows the modification of the structure of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the printer which mounts and mounts the ink tank which has the structure which concerns on the said other embodiment. (A) And (b) is a typical side view and front view of an ink tank concerning other embodiments of the present invention, respectively. FIG. 36 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the configuration of FIG. FIG. 36 is a schematic side view showing another modification of the configuration of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the printer which has the structure which concerns on another embodiment of this invention. It is a circuit diagram which shows the detail of the board | substrate with which the control part etc. which concern on another embodiment of this invention were provided. 40 is a timing chart according to the embodiment of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1, 1K, 1C, 1M, 1Y, 501 Ink tank 3 Support member 3M Support member operation section 5 First engagement section 6 Second engagement section 7,507 Ink supply port 100, 100-2 Substrate 101, 601 Light emitting section (LED)
102, 152, 602 Pad (contact terminal)
103 Control element (control unit)
103A Input / output control circuit Input / output control circuit 103B Memory array 103C LED driver 103D Command identification unit 105, 605 Recording head unit 105 ', 105K, 105C, 105M, 105Y, 605' Recording head 107, 607 Ink inlet 150, 650 Holder 152, 652 Connector 154 Light guide member 155 First locking portion 156 Second locking portion 157 Electrical contact portion 158, 159, 159-2 Wiring portion 201 Main body cover 206 Flexible cable 209 Encoder scale 210, 810 First light receiving portion 211 Encoder sensor 213 Operation unit 214 Second light emitting / receiving unit 301 CPU
302 RAM
303 ROM
701K, 701C, 701M, 701Y Fixed tank 811K, 811C, 811M, 811Y Intermediate tank

Claims (12)

A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted, device-side contacts that can be electrically coupled to contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, light receiving means for receiving light from the liquid storage containers, and liquids to be mounted In a liquid storage container that is detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having a wiring electrically connected in common to the device-side contact that is coupled to the contact of each storage container,
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit capable of holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit;
A control unit for controlling the light emission of the light emitting unit according to the signal related to the individual information input from the contact and the individual information held by the information holding unit;
A liquid container characterized by comprising: A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to generate a signal related to individual information. In a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having a wiring for
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
A liquid container characterized by comprising:   The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein the liquid container has a plurality of contacts.   The liquid storage container according to claim 1, wherein ink is stored in the liquid storage container. A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to generate a signal related to individual information. In a liquid supply system comprising: a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having wiring for; and a liquid storage container detachable from a carriage of the recording apparatus,
The liquid storage container has the contact that can be electrically connected to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
A liquid supply system comprising: A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to generate a signal related to individual information. In a method for manufacturing a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having wiring for
Input from the contact, the contact that can be electrically connected to the device-side contact, an information holding unit that holds at least individual information of the liquid storage container, a light emitting unit that projects light onto the position detection unit, Preparing a liquid storage container including a substrate having a control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
Injecting ink into the liquid container;
Of manufacturing a liquid storage container. A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to generate a signal related to individual information. In a circuit board provided in a liquid storage container detachable with respect to a recording apparatus having an electric circuit having wiring for
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A connecting part connected to a light emitting part for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
A circuit board comprising:   The circuit board according to claim 7, wherein the light emitting unit is disposed on the circuit board.   3. A recording apparatus in which the liquid storage container according to claim 1 or 2 can be mounted, the recording apparatus having a light receiving unit that receives light from a light emitting unit of the liquid storage container.   The recording apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising a carriage on which the liquid storage container can be mounted, the carriage being movable so that the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit face each other. A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the liquid storage containers to be mounted are electrically connected in common to generate a signal relating to individual information. In a liquid storage cartridge detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having a wiring for
A recording head for recording by discharging liquid;
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding at least individual information of the liquid storage container;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when the signal related to the individual information input from the contact matches the individual information held by the information holding unit;
A liquid storage cartridge comprising: A plurality of liquid storage containers can be mounted at different positions, the device side contacts that can be electrically coupled to the contacts provided in the liquid storage containers, and the liquid by receiving light from the liquid storage containers A liquid storage container position detecting means for detecting the mounting position of the storage container and a device-side contact coupled to the contact of each of the mounted liquid storage containers are commonly electrically connected to generate a signal related to individual information. In a liquid storage container detachable from a recording apparatus having an electrical circuit having a wiring for
Ink stored in a storage container;
The contact that is electrically connectable to the device-side contact;
An information holding unit for holding information about stored ink;
A light emitting unit for projecting light onto the position detecting means;
A control unit that causes the light emitting unit to emit light when a signal related to the information about the ink input from the contact corresponds to information about the ink held by the information holding unit;
A liquid container characterized by comprising:

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