JP2011194776A - Liquid container and liquid consuming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technology of detecting the correct mounting of a liquid container in a liquid consuming device with a simple structure.SOLUTION: The liquid container mounted in the liquid consuming device includes a liquid containing part containing the liquid, a liquid feed part feeding the liquid to the liquid consuming device, and a claw part engaged with a given engaging part in the liquid consuming device to fix the liquid containing part to the inside of the liquid containing part. At least part of the claw is provided with a conductor in contact with a terminal set in the engaging part, when the claw part is engaged with the engaging part of the liquid consuming device.

Description

The present invention relates to a liquid storage container and a liquid consumption device, and more particularly to a technique for detecting a mounting state of a liquid storage container on a liquid consumption device.

In recent years, some ink cartridges installed in printers include a substrate on which a memory IC is mounted. In such a memory IC, for example, a serial number of the ink cartridge is recorded. With respect to such a substrate, Patent Document 1 discloses that an ink cartridge is detected by detecting electrical continuity between a terminal on the substrate provided in the ink cartridge and a terminal in the printer body when the ink cartridge is mounted on the printer. A technique for detecting whether or not a device is correctly mounted is disclosed.

However, the terminals on the circuit board are often formed larger than the terminals on the printer main body side in order to ensure good electrical continuity with the terminals in the printer main body. For this reason, even if the ink cartridge is not securely attached to the printer, the terminals on the circuit board and the terminals on the printer main body may be electrically connected. There is a possibility that a phenomenon in which it is erroneously determined that the cartridge is mounted is generated. Such problems are not limited to printers and ink cartridges,
This is a problem common to various liquid consuming apparatuses and liquid storage containers attached thereto.

JP 2007-168448 A

In view of the above-described problems, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a technique capable of detecting with a simple configuration that the liquid container is correctly attached to the liquid consuming device.

The present invention can be realized as the following forms or application examples in order to solve at least a part of the above-described problems.

Application Example 1 A liquid storage container to be mounted on a liquid consumption device, in which a liquid storage unit that stores liquid, a liquid supply unit that supplies the liquid to the liquid consumption device, A claw portion for engaging the predetermined engagement portion to fix the liquid storage portion in the liquid consuming device, and at least a portion of the claw portion includes the claw portion as the engagement portion. A liquid storage container provided with a conductor that comes into contact with a terminal provided in the engaging portion when engaged.

In the case of the liquid container having such a configuration, it is directly detected that the liquid container is fixed to the liquid consuming device by detecting the conduction state between the conductor of the claw portion and the terminal of the engaging portion. Therefore, it can be detected with a simple configuration that the liquid container is correctly attached to the liquid consuming apparatus.

[Application Example 2] The liquid container according to Application Example 1, wherein a base portion is fixed to an outer surface of the liquid storage portion and includes a lever portion that can be bent toward the liquid storage portion side, and the claw portion Is a liquid container provided in the lever portion. With such a configuration, by using the lever part,
The liquid container can be easily detached from the liquid consuming device.

Application Example 3 The liquid container according to Application Example 1 or Application Example 2, wherein the conductor is metal or plating. With such a configuration, the strength of the claw portion for fixing the liquid container to the liquid consuming device can be improved.

Application Example 4 A liquid consuming device in which the liquid container described in any one of Application Example 1 to Application Example 3 can be mounted, wherein the engagement portion, a terminal provided in the engagement portion, A liquid consuming device comprising: a detection unit that detects that the conductor is in contact with the terminal. With such a configuration, it is possible to provide a liquid consuming device capable of detecting with a simple configuration that the liquid storage container is correctly attached.

Application Example 5 In the liquid consumption device according to Application Example 4, when the detection unit detects that the conductor is in contact with the terminal, consumption of the liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit is reduced. A liquid consuming device comprising a liquid consuming unit for starting. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the liquid from being consumed in a state where the liquid storage container is not properly attached.

The present invention can be configured as, for example, a method for manufacturing a liquid storage container, a method for using a liquid storage container, a method for controlling a liquid consumption apparatus, and the like in addition to the above-described configuration as a liquid storage container or a liquid consumption device.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of an inkjet printer. 2 is an external perspective view of an ink cartridge. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where an ink cartridge is attached to a carriage. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a detection principle of a mounted state of an ink cartridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the ink cartridge as a modification, and the detection principle of the mounting state.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer 10 to which an ink cartridge 50 as an embodiment of the present invention is mounted. An ink jet printer 10 as a liquid consuming device includes a carriage 20 in which an ink cartridge 50 containing inks of cyan, magenta, yellow, and the like is fitted, a carriage motor 25 that drives the carriage 20 in the main scanning direction, and printing paper. Paper feed motor 30 for conveying PA in the sub-scanning direction
A print head 35 that is mounted on the carriage 20 and discharges ink supplied from the ink cartridge 50, and a control unit 40 that controls the overall operation of the inkjet printer 10.

Based on the print data received from the computer 90 or the like connected via the predetermined interface 85, the control unit 40 performs the carriage motor 25 and the paper feed motor 3.
0, the print head 35 is controlled to perform printing. The control unit 40 includes a CPU, a ROM,
It is configured as a computer with built-in RAM. The CPU loads the control program stored in the ROM into the RAM and executes it, thereby controlling the printing described above,
It functions as a detection unit 42 that detects the mounting state of the ink cartridge 50. The mounting state of the ink cartridge 50 detected by the detection unit 42 is displayed on the display panel 80 connected to the control unit 40. A method for detecting the mounting state of the ink cartridge 50 by the detection unit 42 will be described later.

FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the ink cartridge 50. 2, the X axis negative direction side is the front side (front side) of the ink cartridge 50, the X axis positive direction is the back side, the Z axis negative direction is the bottom side, and the Z axis positive direction is the top side. Will be described.

The ink cartridge 50 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped container main body 51 that stores ink. On the bottom surface of the container main body 51, an ink supply port 52 for supplying ink accommodated in the container main body 51 to the print head 35 and an air introduction port 53 for introducing air into the container main body 51.
And are provided. The ink supply port 52 is provided in front of the air introduction port 53.

A substrate 54 is provided below the front surface of the container body 51. A memory IC (not shown) on which the serial number of the ink cartridge 50 is recorded is mounted on the substrate 54. The substrate 54 is further provided with a plurality of terminals 55 electrically connected to input / output terminals and power supply terminals of the memory IC. When the ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the carriage 20, these terminals 55 are electrically connected to the control unit 40 of the ink jet printer 10, and data is read from and written to the memory IC by the control unit 40.

A base portion of a lever 56 for mounting the ink cartridge 50 on the carriage 20 of the ink jet printer 10 is fixed substantially at the center of the front surface of the container body 51. The lever 56 extends toward the upper front side of the ink cartridge 50, and the ink cartridge 5
When 0 is mounted on the carriage 20, it bends toward the container body 51 and enters between the container body 51 and the carriage 20. A claw portion 57 for fixing the ink cartridge 50 to the carriage 20 is provided on the front surface of the lever 56. A metal plating 58 is provided on the upper surface of the claw portion 57.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state where the ink cartridge 50 is attached to the carriage 20. When the ink cartridge 50 is fitted into the carriage 20 from above, the lever 5
6 is engaged with a locking hole 21 formed in the carriage 20 and fixed in the carriage 20. Thus, the ink cartridge 50 is formed by the claw portion 57 and the locking hole 21.
Is fixed to the carriage 20, the vertical movement of the ink cartridge 50 is restricted.
It is possible to prevent the ink cartridge 50 from floating from the carriage 20 during printing. Two metal terminals 22 that are in electrical contact with the metal plating 58 provided on the upper surface of the claw portion 57 are provided on the upper surface of the locking hole 21 provided in the carriage 20.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the principle of detecting the mounting state of the ink cartridge 50 by the detection unit 42. FIG. 4 shows a claw portion 57 and a metal plating 58 provided in the ink cartridge 50.
The arrangement of the locking hole 21 provided in the carriage 20 and the two terminals 22 when viewed from the upper surface side of the ink cartridge 50 is schematically shown. When the ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the carriage 20, the claw portion 57 provided on the ink cartridge 50 enters the locking hole 21 of the carriage 20 as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 4. Then, the claw part 57
Two metal terminals 22 provided on the upper surface of the locking hole 21 are provided with a metal plating 58 provided on the upper surface thereof.
These two metal terminals 22 are electrically connected. When the detection unit 42 detects that the two metal terminals 22 are conducted, the detection unit 42 determines that the ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the carriage 20. When the detection unit 42 determines that the ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the carriage 20, the control unit 40 starts printing using the ink supplied from the ink cartridge 50.

In the present embodiment described above, the metal plate 58 is provided on the claw portion 57 for fixing the ink cartridge 50 to the carriage 20, and the metal terminal 22 that can be electrically connected to the metal plating 58 in the locking hole 21 of the carriage 20. And detecting whether the ink cartridge 50 is mounted on the carriage 20 by detecting the continuity. Therefore, it is possible to directly detect whether or not the claw portion 57 used for fixing the ink cartridge 50 and the locking hole 21 are engaged, so whether or not the ink cartridge 50 is correctly attached to the inkjet printer 10. Can be detected with high accuracy.

In this embodiment, the ink jet printer 10 starts printing when the continuity between the metal plating 58 provided on the claw portion 57 and the metal terminal 22 provided on the locking hole 21 is detected. Therefore, printing can be performed in a state where the ink cartridge 50 is securely attached to the inkjet printer 10. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects due to erroneous mounting of the ink cartridge 50.

Further, in this embodiment, since the metal plating 58 is provided on the claw portion 57 for fixing the ink cartridge 50 to the carriage 20, the strength (wear resistance) of the claw portion 57 can be improved. Therefore, even when the ink cartridge 50 is repeatedly detached and attached,
It can be suppressed that the claw portion 57 is deformed and cannot be attached to the ink jet printer 10. In the present embodiment, the metal plating 58 is provided on the claw portion 57, but the entire claw portion 57 or the entire lever 56 may be formed of a conductor such as metal.

As mentioned above, although one Example of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to such an Example, A various structure can be taken in the range which does not deviate from the meaning. For example, the following modifications are possible.

・ Modification 1:
In the above embodiment, the detection unit 42 of the ink jet printer 10 performs printing when it detects that the claw portion 57 provided in the ink cartridge 50 is engaged with the locking hole 21 provided in the carriage 20. It was decided to start. In addition to this, the detection unit 42 includes a substrate 54.
It is detected whether or not the memory IC mounted in the memory can be accessed, and the claw portion 57
The printing may be started when both the engagement with the engagement hole 21 and the control unit 40 detects that the memory IC on the substrate 54 is accessible. By doing so, it becomes possible to detect with high accuracy whether or not the ink cartridge 50 is correctly attached to the inkjet printer 10. In this way, even when the memory IC on the substrate 54 becomes accessible, printing is performed unless it is detected that the claw portion 57 of the ink cartridge 50 is engaged with the locking hole 21 of the carriage 20. Since this is not performed, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of printing defects due to erroneous mounting of the ink cartridge 50.

Modification 2
FIG. 5 shows a configuration of an ink cartridge 50b as a modified example and the ink cartridge 5
It is explanatory drawing which shows the detection principle of the mounting state of 0b. In the above embodiment, the ink cartridge 5
The claw portion 57 provided on the zero lever 56 is provided with a metal plating 58 and the carriage 2
It was determined whether the ink cartridge 50 was installed in the inkjet printer 10 by providing two metal terminals 22 in the 0 locking hole 21 and detecting the conduction between them. On the other hand, in the present modification, a wiring 60 that is electrically connected to the metal plating 58 on the claw portion 57 is provided inside or outside the ink cartridge 50 b, and the wiring 60 is electrically connected to a predetermined terminal 55 b on the substrate 54. Connect to. On the inkjet printer 10 side, a terminal that can contact the terminal 55 b on the substrate 54 and a terminal that can contact the metal plating 58 of the claw portion 57 of the ink cartridge 50 are provided. Detects the terminal conduction state. With such a configuration, the engagement state of the claw portion 57 and the locking hole 21 and the electrical contact between the substrate 54 and the ink jet printer 10 can be detected at a time, so that the ink cartridge 5
It becomes possible to accurately detect whether 0b is correctly attached to the inkjet printer 10.

・ Modification 3:
In the above embodiment, the claw portion 57 used for fixing the ink cartridge 50 to the carriage 20 is provided in the lever 56, but the claw portion 57 may be provided in another portion of the ink cartridge 50. In addition, the lever 56 is configured from the configuration of the ink cartridge 50.
The ink cartridge 50 may be directly fixed to the carriage 20 by the claw portion 57. In addition, a claw portion can be provided on the carriage 20 side, and a locking hole can be provided on the ink cartridge 50 side.

-Modification 4:
In the above-described embodiments and modifications, an example in which the present invention is applied to an ink cartridge and an ink jet printer has been described. However, the present invention is used for a liquid consuming apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a liquid container that contains such a liquid. Further, the liquid container of the present invention can be used for various liquid consuming devices including a liquid ejecting head that discharges a minute amount of liquid droplets. “Droplet” refers to the state of the liquid ejected from the liquid consuming apparatus, and includes those that have a tail in the form of particles, tears, or threads. In addition, the “liquid” referred to here may be a material that can be ejected by the liquid consuming device. For example, it may be in the state when the substance is in a liquid phase, and may be in a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts) ) And a liquid as one state of the substance, as well as particles in which functional material particles made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, typical examples of the liquid include ink as described in the above embodiment, liquid crystal, and the like. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot-melt inks. Specific examples of the liquid consuming device include, for example, a liquid containing dispersed or dissolved materials such as an electrode material and a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, and a color filter. It may be a liquid consuming device for injecting a liquid, a liquid consuming device for injecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, or a liquid consuming device for injecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid consumption devices that pinpoint lubricant oil to precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid consuming device that jets a liquid onto the substrate, or a liquid consuming device that jets an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate or the like may be employed.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet printer 20 ... Carriage 21 ... Locking part 22 ... Metal terminal 25 ... Carriage motor 30 ... Paper feed motor 35 ... Print head 40 ... Control unit 42 ... Detection part 50, 50b ... Ink cartridge 51 ... Container body 52 ... Ink Supply port 53 ... Air introduction port 54 ... Substrate 55, 55b ... Terminal 56 ... Lever 57 ... Claw portion 58 ... Metal plating 60 ... Wiring 80 ... Display panel 85 ... Interface 90 ... Computer

Claims (5)

A liquid container mounted on the liquid consuming device,
A liquid storage section in which liquid is stored;
A liquid supply unit for supplying the liquid to the liquid consumption device;
A claw portion for engaging with a predetermined engaging portion in the liquid consuming device and fixing the liquid containing portion in the liquid consuming device,
At least a part of the claw portion is provided with a conductor that contacts a terminal provided in the engaging portion when the claw portion engages with the engaging portion. The liquid container according to claim 1,
A base portion is fixed to the outer surface of the liquid storage portion, and includes a lever portion that can be bent toward the liquid storage portion side,
The claw portion is a liquid container provided in the lever portion. The liquid container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
The liquid container is a metal or plating. A liquid consuming device capable of mounting the liquid container according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The engaging portion;
A terminal provided in the engaging portion;
A detection unit for detecting that the conductor is in contact with the terminal;
A liquid consuming device comprising: The liquid consuming device according to claim 4,
A liquid consumption apparatus comprising: a liquid consumption unit that starts consuming liquid supplied from the liquid supply unit when the detection unit detects that the conductor is in contact with the terminal.

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