JP2015039810A - Liquid discharge device and liquid detection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To avoid enlargement of a liquid discharge device, prevent the exterior and interior of the liquid discharge device from being contaminated by a liquid, and enable a user to request repair service at proper timing.SOLUTION: A liquid discharge device includes an ink receiving unit 30 which is disposed vertically below an ink supply unit 63 and receives an ink leaked from the ink supply unit 63. The ink receiving unit 30 includes: an ink retaining part 31 which retains a predetermined amount of the ink leaked from an atmosphere communication chamber 6; and an ink detection part 33 which detects the ink leaked from the ink supply unit 63 through the ink retaining part 31 and also detects the ink leaked from the ink supply unit 63 through a portion other than the ink retaining part 31.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus having a liquid tank that is in communication with the atmosphere while being mounted on the liquid ejection apparatus.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining a conventional recording apparatus using a water head difference method. The conventional recording apparatus has flow paths corresponding to a plurality of ink colors, but FIG. 9 shows a schematic diagram of one ink color flow path of the recording apparatus. The ink supply unit 120 provided in the recording apparatus is configured such that an ink tank 125 having an invariable volume can be attached and detached. The ink supply unit 120 has a flow path from the ink tank 125 to the bendable tube 122 and an atmosphere communication chamber 126 that communicates from the ink tank 125 to the atmosphere via the atmosphere communication path 127.

  The ink tank 125 has two connection portions provided at the bottom. One of the two connecting portions is connected to the tube 122 via the first hollow tube 128 and is connected to the recording head 121 via the tube 122. The other connection portion communicates with the atmosphere communication chamber 126 via the second hollow tube 129 and communicates with the atmosphere via the atmosphere communication passage 127. With this configuration, when the ink tank 125 is attached to the recording apparatus, the recording head 121 communicates with the atmosphere. At the lower end portion of the second hollow tube 129, the air and the ink are exchanged between the air and the negative pressure in the recording head 121 is controlled by the water head difference H between the lower end portion and the recording head 121. .

  Since gas is held in the ink tank 125, the ink in the ink tank 125 flows out into the atmosphere communication chamber 126 due to the influence of atmospheric temperature change or atmospheric pressure change, or from the atmosphere into the ink tank 125. Gas inflow occurs. The size of the atmosphere communication chamber 126 is preferably as large as possible from the viewpoint of preventing ink from leaking to the outside of the ink supply unit 120. However, since the overall size of the recording apparatus is increased, from the viewpoint of the size of the recording apparatus. The smaller one is desirable.

  Therefore, the size of the atmosphere communication chamber 126 is set to a size capable of holding ink at a predetermined temperature difference (20 ° C. to 30 ° C.). However, in an environment where the outside air temperature is extremely low or high, ink cannot be held in the atmosphere communication chamber 126 and ink leaks from the atmosphere communication path 127. Therefore, an ink receiving member 130 is provided in the vicinity of the atmosphere communication path 127 so that the inside of the recording apparatus is not contaminated by ink leaking from the atmosphere communication path 127. An ink holding member 131 is provided in the ink receiving member 130.

  The ink receiving member 130 also functions as another fail safe. When a part of the ink supply unit 120 having the ink tank 125, the atmosphere communication chamber 126, etc. is damaged, the ink in the ink tank 125 leaks out of the flow path. The ink receiving member 130 plays a role of preventing the inside of the recording apparatus from being contaminated by the leaked ink.

  For this reason, the size of the ink receiving member 130 can be said to be the same as the size of the atmosphere communication chamber 126. The ink receiving member 130 is desirably as large as possible from the viewpoint of preventing the inside of the recording apparatus from being contaminated by ink. However, since the size of the entire recording apparatus is increased, it is desirable that the ink receiving member 130 is as small as possible from the viewpoint of the size of the recording apparatus. Therefore, the size of the ink receiving member 130 is set to be equal to or larger than the capacity of one ink tank, but the upper limit of the size is often determined based on the size of the printing apparatus. Depending on the specifications of the printing apparatus, the ink receiving member 130 may not be able to secure the capacity of two ink tanks. It is expected that the user will notice abnormally that the ink for one ink tank is consumed quickly, but often it is noticed abnormally when one ink for the ink tank is consumed However, in many cases, it does not lead to requesting repair service. In many cases, after checking whether or not an abnormality has occurred again based on the situation where the ink in the second ink tank is consumed, a repair service is requested. Therefore, if the size of the ink receiving member 130 is less than the capacity of two ink tanks, the inside of the recording apparatus will be contaminated with ink. Depending on the situation where the ink leaks, the ink may leak out of the recording apparatus.

  Therefore, in order to avoid the above-described problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707 discloses an ink leak detection unit that immediately detects that ink has leaked by providing an electrode in the ink receiving member 130 instead of the absorber 131. A configuration in which is provided is disclosed. Patent Document 2 discloses a configuration in which an absorber 131 is provided in an ink receiving member 130 and the surface state of the absorber 131 is detected using a photo interrupter sensor.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-60954 JP 2007-62236 A

  However, as described in Patent Document 1, in the configuration in which ink leakage is immediately detected when ink leaks into the ink receiving member 130, the frequency of requesting a repair service depends on the usage environment of the recording apparatus. This will increase the burden on users for repairs. Even when the ink detection position is changed so that ink leakage is detected when a predetermined amount of ink is accumulated, the ink is not removed when the user accidentally lifts and tilts the recording apparatus. There is a risk of leaking out of the recording device.

  In addition, as described in Patent Document 2, when detecting a change in the state of the surface of the absorber 131 disposed inside the ink receiving member 130, in the configuration described in Patent Document 2, inks of a plurality of colors are mixed. Targeted waste ink. However, when a single color ink is used as a subject of the present invention, there is a problem that a difference in ink leakage status depending on the ink color affects detection accuracy.

  Therefore, the present invention detects liquid leakage at an appropriate timing according to the state of liquid leakage, reduces the burden on the user, and prevents the inside and outside of the recording apparatus from being contaminated with liquid. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid discharge device and a liquid detection method that can be used.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a liquid discharge apparatus according to the present invention includes a liquid discharge head that discharges liquid onto a recording material, a volume-changing liquid tank that stores liquid therein, and a liquid tank that is detachably mounted. A liquid supply unit having a flow path for supplying a liquid from the liquid tank to the liquid discharge head and an air communication unit for communicating the liquid tank and the atmosphere, and the liquid when the liquid tank is attached to the liquid supply unit. In the liquid discharge apparatus configured such that the discharge head communicates with the atmosphere via the liquid tank, and air flows into the liquid tank from the atmosphere communication portion as the liquid is consumed, and is disposed vertically below the liquid supply unit. A liquid receiving part for receiving liquid leaking from the liquid supply unit is provided. The liquid receiving unit detects a liquid holding unit capable of holding a predetermined amount of liquid leaking from the air communication unit, and the liquid leaking from the liquid supply unit through the liquid holding unit, and from the liquid supply unit other than the liquid holding unit. And liquid detection means for detecting liquid leaking through.

  According to the above-described configuration, when the liquid gradually leaks from the atmosphere communicating portion to the liquid receiving portion little by little due to a temperature change or the like, a predetermined amount of liquid is held in the liquid holding portion. When the liquid leaks from the atmosphere communication part, the amount of liquid leaking is little by little, so the liquid detection means detects the liquid leak after the liquid held in the liquid holding part overflows from the liquid holding part It takes a predetermined period to be done. On the other hand, when an abnormality occurs in the liquid tank or the liquid supply unit, the liquid leaked from the liquid tank or the liquid supply unit is not held in the liquid holding unit, but is a liquid tank or liquid supply other than the liquid holding unit. In most cases, the liquid reaches the liquid detection means directly from the unit. For this reason, when liquid leaks from other than the liquid holding part, the occurrence of liquid leakage is immediately detected by the liquid detection means.

  According to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the liquid ejecting apparatus and the liquid is leaking, the liquid leakage can be detected immediately. Further, when the liquid leaks from the liquid tank due to the temperature change, the liquid ejection device can be continuously used for a predetermined period. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to make the frequency of the request for the repair service of the liquid ejection device appropriate, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

  Further, according to the present invention, when an abnormality occurs in the liquid ejection device and the liquid is leaking, the liquid leakage can be detected immediately, so that the inside and outside of the liquid ejection device can be prevented from being contaminated with the liquid.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control system with which the inkjet recording device of embodiment is provided. In an embodiment, it is a mimetic diagram showing the state where ink leaked from the atmosphere communication room. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which ink has leaked due to an abnormality in the inkjet recording apparatus of the embodiment. In an embodiment, it is a figure showing the relation between the amount of ink in an ink tank, and the amount of ink which overflows from an ink tank with a temperature change. It is a perspective view which shows the ink receiving unit in embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the inkjet recording device of another embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows the conventional inkjet recording device.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus 50 (hereinafter referred to as a recording apparatus 50) according to an embodiment as a liquid ejecting apparatus is fixed across an upper end portion of a pair of leg portions 55 facing each other. Yes. The recording apparatus 50 includes a recording head 1 as a liquid discharge head that performs recording by discharging ink as liquid onto a recording material, and a carriage 60 on which the recording head 1 is mounted. The recording device 50 feeds the recording material set in the transport roll holder unit 52 to the recording position during recording. Subsequently, the carriage 60 reciprocates in the main scanning direction indicated by arrow B by a carriage motor (not shown) and belt transmission means 62, and ink droplets are ejected from the ejection ports of the recording head 1 when the carriage 60 moves. . When the carriage 60 moves to one end of the recording material, the conveyance roller 51 conveys the recording material by a predetermined amount in the sub-scanning direction indicated by the arrow A. Thus, an image is formed on the entire recording material by alternately repeating the recording operation and the conveying operation. After the image formation, the recording material is cut by a cutter (not shown), and the cut recording material is stacked on the stacker 53.

  In addition, the recording apparatus 50 includes an ink supply unit 63 as a liquid supply unit that supplies ink from the ink tank 5 to the recording head 1. The ink supply unit is an atmosphere communication unit that connects the ink tank 5 and the atmosphere, and a supply tube 2 as a flow path for supplying ink from the ink tank 5 to the recording head 1 with the ink tank 5 being detachably attached. And an air communication chamber 6.

  The ink supply unit 63 is detachably provided with an ink tank 5 serving as a volume-invariant liquid tank for storing ink therein. The ink supply unit 63 is provided with ink tanks 5 divided for each ink color such as black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. In the ink supply unit 63, the ink tank 5 and the supply tube 2 are connected. Further, the supply tube 2 is bundled and supported by a tube guide 61 in order to prevent the carriage 60 from moving when the carriage 60 reciprocates.

  The ejection port forming surface of the recording head 1 facing the recording material is provided with an ejection port array in which a plurality of ejection ports are arranged, and a plurality of ejection ports along a direction substantially orthogonal to the main scanning. It has a row (not shown). The recording head 1 is connected to the supply tube 2 in units of discharge port arrays.

  Further, the recovery unit 70 is provided at a position that is outside the range of the recording material in the main scanning direction and faces the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 1. The recovery unit 70 performs a cleaning operation for sucking out ink or air from the surface of the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 1 and a suction operation for forcibly sucking out air accumulated in the recording head 1 as necessary.

  An operation panel 54 is provided on the right side of the recording apparatus 50 in FIG. In the recording apparatus 50, when an ink leak from the ink supply unit 63 is detected, an error message is displayed on the operation panel 54 to notify the user of the ink leak, thereby prompting a repair service request. .

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of one ink color flow path in the recording apparatus 50 of the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the volume-invariant ink tank 5 that can be attached to and detached from the recording apparatus 50 has joint portions provided at two locations on the bottom, and the two joint portions correspond to the recording apparatus 50. The first hollow tube 8 and the second hollow tube 9 are connected to each other. The first hollow tube 8 and the second hollow tube 9 are constituted by metal needles. Inside the ink tank 5, a standing wall 42 rising from the bottom surface of the ink tank 5 is formed at a predetermined height around the second hollow tube 9 inserted into the ink tank 5.

  When a small amount of current is passed through the first hollow tube 8 and the second hollow tube 9 and the height of the ink surface corresponding to the remaining amount of ink becomes lower than the height of the standing wall 42, the current resistance It is made possible to detect ink out of the ink tank 5 by utilizing the increase of the value. In the present embodiment, the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 5 is set to 9 ml when the ink surface falls below the height of the standing wall 42, and when the remaining amount of ink becomes 9 ml or less. It is configured to detect that ink has run out.

  The bottom surface 45 of the ink tank 5 and the top surface portion 46 of the sub-tank 4 whose volume does not change communicate with each other via the first hollow tube 8, and the sub tank 4 and the recording head 1 are connected via the supply tube 2. It is communicated. As shown in FIG. 2, the sub-tank 4 is configured by an inclined surface 49 in which the cross-sectional area of the sub-tank 4 is widened downward in the vertical direction, and the entire area of the top surface portion 46 is at the highest position of the inclined surface 49. The lower end of the first hollow tube 8 is connected.

  The top surface 46 of the sub tank 4 is provided with a solid shaft 10 made of a metal material, and the lower end of the solid shaft 10 is inserted into the sub tank 4. Based on the resistance value when a weak current is passed between the first hollow tube 8 and the solid shaft 10, it is detected whether or not the sub tank 4 is filled with ink. The ink outlet from the sub tank 4 is provided at the lowest position 48 on the side surface 47 of the sub tank 4. Between the sub tank 4 and the supply tube 2, an ink supply path can be opened and closed, and a variable volume on-off valve 3 made of a flexible member is provided. The on-off valve 3 is always urged by a compression spring 38 in a direction to open the supply flow path. The lever 39 is pushed by the cam 37, and the lever 39 rotates around the central axis 40, whereby the on-off valve 3 is closed. The cam 37 is configured to be able to detect the rotational position by the photosensor 41, meshed with a gear 36 that is rotated by a DC motor 35 that is a driving source, and the rotational position is controlled via the gear 36. . The levers 39 of the ink supply units 63 of all ink colors are connected to each other, and the opening / closing valves 3 of all ink colors are simultaneously controlled to open / close using one motor 35. The on-off valve 3 is also operated when forcibly removing the air accumulated in the recording head 1. With the ink supply path closed by the on-off valve 3, the recovery unit 70 (see FIG. 1) causes the cap to adhere to the ejection port forming surface of the recording head 1, and is sucked by the pump to be inside the recording head 1. Force air out. After the air inside the recording head 1 is wiped off, the ink supply path is opened by the on-off valve 3 to fill the recording head 1 with ink.

  The lower end of the second hollow tube 9 communicates with the atmosphere communication chamber 6 as an atmosphere communication portion, and the ink tank 5 communicates with the atmosphere via the atmosphere communication passage 7 in the atmosphere communication chamber 6. . The atmosphere communication chamber 6 is configured to hold a certain amount of ink in order to prevent ink from leaking out of the ink tank 5 when the air in the ink tank 5 expands as the temperature rises. Yes. In this embodiment, the capacity of the ink tank 5 is set to 130 ml, and the capacity of the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is set to 22 ml so as to cope with a temperature change of about 30 ° C.

  FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the amount of ink in the ink tank 5 and the amount of ink that is pushed out of the ink tank 5 when the air in the ink tank 5 expands due to a temperature change. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis indicates the amount of ink in the ink tank 5, and the vertical axis indicates the amount of ink pushed out from the ink tank 5. In FIG. 6, a line connecting “●” indicates a change when the air in the ink tank 5 is cooled to 0 ° C. and the outside air is changed to 30 ° C.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the amount of ink pushed out from the ink tank 5 changes according to the amount of ink in the ink tank 5. When the temperature changes from 0 ° C. to 30 ° C., the amount of ink pushed out from the ink tank 5 becomes maximum when the amount of ink in the ink tank 5 is about 30 ml, and about 20 ml of ink flows from the ink tank 5 to the atmosphere communication chamber. 6 will be pushed out. At this time, since the capacity of the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is set so as to be able to hold 22 ml, the ink does not overflow from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 when the temperature changes from 0 ° C. to 30 ° C.

  As the ink in the ink tank 5 is consumed, air flows into the ink tank 5 via the atmosphere communication chamber 6, so the amount of air in the ink tank 5 increases with the ink consumption. To increase. Since the ink held in the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is returned to the ink tank 5 from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 when the ink is consumed for recording or the air in the ink tank 5 contracts, it is useless. Never become.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an ink receiving unit 30 as a liquid receiving unit is provided vertically below the ink supply unit 63. The ink receiving unit 30 has a size that is equal to or larger than the outer dimensions of the ink supply unit 63 in the horizontal plane (the dimensions in the vertical and horizontal directions in the horizontal plane). In the present embodiment, the outer dimensions of the ink receiving unit 30 are formed to be equal to the outer dimensions of the ink supply unit 63 in the horizontal plane.

  The ink receiving unit 30 has an ink holding unit 31 as a liquid holding unit so that ink that cannot be held in the atmosphere communication chamber 6 leaks through the atmosphere communication port 7 and can hold ink. Is provided directly below the atmosphere communication port 7. An ink absorber 32 for holding ink is provided in the ink holder 31, and a predetermined amount of ink can be held in the ink absorber 32.

  Further, the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 is formed to be inclined, and an ink detection unit 33 as a liquid detection means is provided at the bottom of the bottom surface. The ink detection unit 33 according to the present embodiment includes two metal shafts 33a and 33b, and uses an electrode-type detection unit that has the same method as the detection of the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank 5. The ink detection unit 33 detects ink leaked from the ink supply unit 63 through the ink holding unit 31 to the ink receiving unit 30. In addition, the ink detection unit 33 detects ink leaked from the ink supply unit 63 to the ink receiving unit 30 through the ink holding unit 31 (other than the liquid holding unit).

  FIG. 3 shows a block diagram of a control system of the recording apparatus 50. As shown in FIG. 3, the control system includes a CPU 11 for controlling the recording device 50, a user interface 12 including an operation panel 54 for displaying keys and information operated by the user, and a ROM 13 in which control software is stored. Have. In addition, the control system detects ink leakage from the RAM 14, which is temporarily used when operating the control software, the I / O 15 to the drive unit 16 of the recording device 50, the drive unit 16 provided in the recording device 50, and the like. And an ink leakage sensor 17 to be detected. Ink leakage is detected by determining the resistance value of the current flowing between the two metal shafts 33a and 33b.

  In the embodiment, an operation for detecting ink leakage at an appropriate timing will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the air in the ink tank 5 expands, the ink overflows from the ink tank 5 to the atmosphere communication chamber 6, and the ink leaks from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 to the ink receiving unit 30. Indicates.

  FIG. 4A shows that the air in the ink tank 5 expands, the ink in the ink tank 5 is pushed out to the atmosphere communication chamber 6, and the ink is pushed out beyond the capacity of the atmosphere communication chamber 6. The ink leaks into the ink receiving unit 30 through the atmosphere communication port 7.

  An ink holding unit 31 is provided immediately below the atmosphere communication port 7, and an ink absorber 32 as a liquid absorber is provided in the ink holding unit 31 at a position corresponding to the atmosphere communication port 7. . For this reason, the ink leaking from the atmosphere communication port 7 is absorbed and held by the ink absorber 32 in the ink holding unit 31. Once the ink overflows from the atmosphere communication chamber 6, the ink does not leak from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 when a temperature change equal to or less than that when the ink leaks occurs thereafter. However, when the same situation occurs (for example, when recording is completed and a temperature change occurs with the same amount of air after the new ink tank 5 is installed), the ink overflows from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 in the same manner. Get out. In FIG. 6, a line connecting “■” indicates a time when the outside air changes from 40 ° C. to a state where the air in the ink tank 5 is cooled to 0 ° C. Also, the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 6 indicates the buffer capacity of the ink tank 5.

  In the case of such a temperature change, as shown in FIG. 6, when the amount of ink in the ink tank 5 is about 40 ml, the amount of ink pushed out from the ink tank 5 becomes the maximum, and the ink tank 5 has about 29 ml of ink. Is pushed out. Since the capacity of the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is 22 ml, about 29 ml−22 ml = 7 ml of ink leaks from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 to the ink receiving unit 30. If the air in the ink tank 5 reaches 40 ° C. and the outside air falls to 0 ° C., 22 ml of the ink leaking into the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is drawn back into the ink tank 5, The amount of ink is 33 ml. Even if the temperature rises from 0 ° C. to 40 ° C. again from this state, the amount of ink overflowing from the ink tank 5 to the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is only about 22 ml, so that the ink overflows from the atmosphere communication chamber 6. There is no.

  In FIG. 4B, the situation where ink leaks from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 as described above is repeated, so that the amount of ink more than the amount retained by the ink absorber 32 in the ink holding portion 31 is reduced. The state leaking from is shown. As shown in FIG. 4B, the ink leaked from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 cannot be held in the ink holding unit 31, and passes from the hole in the bottom surface of the ink holding unit 31 along the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30. Ink flows out. Since the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 is an inclined surface, the ink flowing along the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 flows to the ink detection unit 33 provided at the bottom. At this time, the ink detection unit 33 detects that the ink has leaked from the ink holding unit 31, displays an error on the operation panel 54 by the control system, and requires the user to request a repair service. To be notified.

  Normally, since the recording device 50 is assumed to be used in general business, it is considered rare that a temperature change of about 40 ° C. occurs as described above. Even if there is a situation where a temperature change of about 40 ° C. occurs, in this embodiment, the maximum amount of ink leaking from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 is about 7 ml. For this reason, if the capacity of the ink holding unit 31 is set to a capacity that can withstand such ink leakage several times, it is rare that a situation in which a repair service is requested is rare. In the present embodiment, the capacity of the ink holding unit 31 is set to 30 ml, and even if the situation where the ink leaks from the atmosphere communication chamber 6 four times as described above, 7 ml × 4 times = 28 ml <30 ml. Therefore, the ink does not leak from the ink holding unit 31.

  Since it is conceivable that the amount of ink in the ink tank 5 is also various, ink leakage is not detected only when ink leakage occurs due to temperature change. Not only does the temperature change, but if the amount of ink leaked from the ink tank 5 does not exceed a predetermined amount, the situation where it is not necessary to request repair service is eliminated, and the frequency of request for repair service can be reduced. .

  FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a part of the ink supply unit 63, for example, a joint portion between the ink supply unit 63 and the supply tube 2 is broken and ink leaks from the ink supply unit 63.

  When a part of the ink supply unit 63 is damaged, most of the flow path is the part where the ink leaks, and the ink leaks into the ink receiving unit 30 from the damaged part. Thus, the ink leaking from the flow path of the ink supply unit 63 is transmitted to the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30, and the bottom surface is an inclined surface, so that it flows to the ink detection unit 33 provided at the lowermost part. The ink detection unit 33 detects that ink has leaked from the flow path of the ink supply unit 63, displays an error on the operation panel 54 by the control system, and requires the user to request a repair service. You are notified.

  In such a case, since it is an emergency situation, it is necessary to immediately request a repair service, and the user can be notified at an appropriate timing. There is basically no problem if the capacity of the ink receiving unit 30 for receiving ink is set to the amount of ink for one ink tank 5. In this manner, when ink leaks from the flow path of the ink supply unit 63, it is possible to quickly detect that ink leakage has occurred, compared to when ink leaks from the atmosphere communication chamber 6. it can.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the ink receiving unit. The ink holding unit 31 (31a to 31d) is provided for each ink color, and an ink absorber 32 (32a to 32d) is provided for each ink color. The ink holding unit 31 (31a to 31d) is disposed vertically below the atmosphere communication chamber 6 for each ink color. The bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 is composed of a slope, and the ink detection unit 33 is provided at the bottom of the slope. The bottom surface shape of the ink receiving unit 30 may be formed in a mortar shape.

  As another embodiment, a configuration in which an ink absorber is not provided in the ink holding unit 31 in the ink receiving unit 30 is shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the ink holding unit 131 is a box-like container with no gap so that a predetermined amount of ink leaking from the atmosphere communication port 7 can be held. It is configured. The side surface of the ink holding part 131 is formed lower than the height of the outer peripheral wall of the ink receiving unit 30. As shown in FIG. 8B, when ink is accumulated in the ink holding part 131 to the height of the upper end of the side surface of the ink holding part 131, more ink overflows from the opening of the ink holding part 131. The ink overflowing from the ink holding unit 131 flows down to the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 along the side surface of the ink holding unit 131. Since the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 is inclined, the ink overflowing from the ink holding unit 131 reaches the ink detecting unit 33 along the inclined surface of the ink receiving unit 30, and it is detected that ink is leaking. Is done.

  In the present embodiment, detection is performed using the electrodes in order to detect ink leakage in the ink receiving unit 30. However, other detection methods such as a float method and an optical method may be used. . In the present embodiment, the bottom surface of the ink receiving unit 30 has a slope, but the invention is not limited to the slope. In that case, when a predetermined amount of ink leaks, the ink accumulates on the bottom surface, the ink reaches the ink detection unit 33 provided in a part of the bottom surface, and it is detected that the ink is leaking.

  By applying the configuration of the present invention, when an abnormal situation occurs in which a part of the ink supply unit 63 is damaged, it is possible to prompt the user to request a repair service immediately. In addition, in the case of ink leakage due to temperature changes in the usage environment, the recording apparatus 50 can be used continuously for a certain period of time by allowing the leaked ink to be retained by a predetermined amount. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the frequency of requesting repair service can be made appropriate, and the burden on the user can be reduced.

  Further, according to the embodiment, when an abnormal situation occurs in which ink leaks from the flow path of the ink supply unit 63, ink leakage can be immediately detected by the ink detection unit 33. , Can prevent the outside from being contaminated.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Recording head 2 Supply tube 5 Ink tank 6 Atmospheric communication chamber 7 Atmospheric communication port 30 Ink receiving unit 31 Ink holding part 32 Ink absorber 33 Ink detection part 50 Inkjet recording apparatus 63 Ink supply unit

Claims (6)

A liquid discharge head that discharges liquid onto a recording material, a volume-invariant liquid tank that stores liquid therein, and a flow that is detachably mounted to supply liquid from the liquid tank to the liquid discharge head A liquid supply unit having an atmosphere communication portion for communicating the path and the liquid tank with the atmosphere, and the liquid discharge head is connected to the atmosphere via the liquid tank when the liquid tank is attached to the liquid supply unit. In a liquid ejection device communicating with
A liquid receiving portion that is arranged vertically below the liquid supply unit and receives liquid leaked from the liquid supply unit;
The liquid receiving unit detects a liquid leaking from the liquid supply unit through the liquid holding unit, a liquid holding unit capable of holding a predetermined amount of liquid leaking from the atmosphere communication unit, and the liquid supply unit Liquid detecting means for detecting liquid leaking from other than the liquid holding unit,
A liquid discharge apparatus characterized by that.   The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid detection unit detects liquid leaking from the flow path to the liquid receiving unit without passing through the liquid holding unit.   The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the liquid holding unit is provided directly below the atmosphere communication unit of the liquid supply unit.   The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid holding unit is provided with a liquid absorber that absorbs liquid.   5. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein a bottom surface of the liquid receiving portion in a vertically lower part is formed obliquely, and the liquid detection unit is disposed below the bottom surface. 6. A liquid discharge head that discharges liquid onto a recording material, a volume-invariant liquid tank that stores liquid therein, and a flow that is detachably mounted to supply liquid from the liquid tank to the liquid discharge head A liquid supply unit having an atmosphere communication portion for communicating the path and the liquid tank with the atmosphere, and the liquid discharge head is connected to the atmosphere via the liquid tank when the liquid tank is attached to the liquid supply unit. In the liquid detection method used in the liquid ejection device communicating with
Detecting liquid leaking through a liquid holding unit capable of holding a predetermined amount of liquid leaking from the atmosphere communicating unit, and detecting liquid leaking from the liquid supply unit through other than the liquid holding unit. A liquid detection method.

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