JP2015039882A - Ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ink cartridge which can be manufactured in a small number of work hours and enables a light receiving unit of an ink jet recording device to detect light from a light emitting unit of an IC chip while keeping manufacturing costs low.SOLUTION: An ink cartridge 1A, 1B according to the invention is attached to an ink jet recording device 10 and includes: a reflection plate 3 which reflects light from a light emitting unit 43 of an IC chip 4; and a reflection plate holding portion 52b which is provided on end surface, on latch lever 51 side, of an ink container 2a to hold the reflection plate 3. The IC chip 4 is disposed so that light emitted from the light emitting unit 43 and reflected by the reflection plate 3 enters a light receiving unit 12 provided in the ink jet recording device 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus.

  Conventionally, a light emitting section is provided on an IC chip attached to an ink cartridge as a means for the ink cartridge to be mounted on the ink jet recording apparatus and for the ink jet recording apparatus to detect color information of the ink cartridge. Detection of light emission from the light receiving section is performed by a light receiving section provided on the ink jet recording apparatus side.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a first light emitting unit that generates visible light such as an LED is provided on a substrate surface arranged toward the inside of an ink tank, and the first light emitting unit, the light receiving unit, and the like. It is disclosed that a light guide member such as an optical fiber is disposed in a recording head unit interposed between the two to guide light emitted from the light emitting portion to the light receiving portion.

  In addition, there is an ink cartridge that guides light emitted from the light emitting unit to the light receiving unit by providing a light guide member as a separate component on the latch lever of the ink cartridge.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, an infrared ray transmitting portion is disposed in a latch portion facing the light receiving portion, and the infrared ray transmitting portion is connected to an electrode portion connected to a connector provided on a printer carriage and a flexible wiring. Thus, there is disclosed an invention in which a light guide member as in Patent Document 1 is unnecessary.

Japanese Patent No. 3793216 JP 2013-18160 A

  However, in the configuration in which the light guide member is provided in the recording head unit as in Patent Document 1 or the light guide member is provided in the latch lever of the ink cartridge, the light guide member is indispensable and there is no light guide member. There is a problem in that the light receiving unit cannot detect the light of the IC chip and the ink jet recording apparatus does not operate. Further, since the light guide member is required as a separate part, there is a problem that not only the number of work steps is increased when manufacturing the ink jet recording apparatus and the ink cartridge, but also the manufacturing cost is increased.

  Further, as in Patent Document 2, by providing the infrared light emitting unit above the latch lever, the light guide member is not necessary, but the structure is complicated by the flexible wiring that connects the infrared light transmitting unit and the electrode unit. Therefore, in any case, there are problems that the number of work steps is increased when the ink cartridge is manufactured, the manufacturing cost is increased, and the wiring is easily broken.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and reduces the number of work steps when manufacturing the ink cartridge and reduces the manufacturing cost, while the light from the light emitting portion of the IC chip is inkjet. An object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge that can be detected by a light receiving unit of a recording apparatus.

  An ink cartridge according to the present invention is an ink cartridge that is mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus, and includes a reflector that reflects light from a light emitting portion of an IC chip, and a latch lever side of an ink container for holding the reflector. And the IC chip is arranged so that light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the reflecting plate is incident on a light receiving unit provided in the ink jet recording apparatus. Yes.

  As one embodiment of the present invention, an IC chip may be attached to the lower end portion of the latch lever so that the light emitting portion is exposed to the reflecting plate side.

  As one aspect of the present invention, an opening is provided in the connecting portion between the lower end of the reflector holding portion and the lower end of the latch lever, and the IC chip is attached so that the light emitting portion is exposed upward from the opening. It may be done.

  As one aspect of the present invention, an ink cartridge includes an ink container that stores ink, and an IC chip holding member that is configured separately from the ink container. The IC chip holding member includes a latch lever, an ink container, and the like. And a container fixing portion for fixing to the ink container, and the reflection plate holding portion may be formed on the surface of the container insertion portion on the latch lever side.

  According to the ink cartridge of the present invention, the light from the light emitting part of the IC chip can be detected by the light receiving part of the ink jet recording apparatus while reducing the man-hours for manufacturing the ink cartridge and reducing the manufacturing cost.

1 is a perspective view showing an appearance of an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with an ink cartridge according to the present invention. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a first embodiment of an ink cartridge according to the present invention. It is (a) front view, (b) side view, (c) back view of the IC chip concerning this 1st embodiment or this 2nd embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of the ink cartridge according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view of the IC chip holding part in the first embodiment. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows 2nd Embodiment of the ink cartridge which concerns on this invention. It is a fragmentary perspective view of the ink cartridge in the second embodiment. It is a fragmentary sectional view of the ink cartridge in the second embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of an ink cartridge according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ink cartridge 1A according to the first embodiment is an ink cartridge 1A that is used by being mounted on a cartridge holder 11 of an ink jet recording apparatus 10, and as shown in FIG. The ink container 2, the reflection plate 3, the IC chip 4, and the IC chip holding member 5 are configured.

  Hereinafter, each configuration of the first embodiment will be described in detail.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 10 is a printing apparatus that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets onto a print target such as paper, and the ink to be ejected is from an ink cartridge 1A mounted on a cartridge holder 11 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10. Supplied.

  The ink container 2 of the ink cartridge 1A according to the first embodiment is a container for storing ink to be supplied to the ink jet recording apparatus 10, and a space for storing ink is formed therein. An ink supply port 21 for supplying the ink stored in the ink container 2 to the inkjet recording apparatus 10 is formed in a cylindrical shape on the bottom surface of the ink container 2 so as to face downward.

  On the end surface of the ink container 2 on the latch lever 51 side, as shown in FIG. 2, concave fixing grooves 22 and 22 for inserting and fixing the IC chip holding member 5 upward with respect to the ink container 2. Are formed in two places in parallel. A step surface 23 for attaching the IC chip holding member 5 is formed on the bottom surface of the ink container 2 on the opposite side of the ink supply port 21. Two fixing protrusions 24 and 24 for fixing the IC chip holding member 5 so as not to easily come off are formed in two columnar shapes. With these fixing grooves 22 and 22 and fixing protrusions 24 and 24, the IC chip holding member 5 is easily attached to the ink container 2 at the time of manufacture, and is difficult to come off during use.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the reflector 3 according to the first embodiment is a member that reflects light from the light emitting portion 43 of the IC chip 4 and is made of polyethylene terephthalate and formed in a plate shape. Yes. By providing the reflecting plate 3 on the end face of the ink cartridge 1A on the latch lever 51 side, the light from the light emitting portion 43 of the IC chip 4 is reflected and provided in the ink jet recording apparatus 10 as shown in FIG. Light can be easily incident on the light receiving unit 12. In addition, the simple structure of the reflecting plate 3 can reduce the number of man-hours for manufacturing the ink cartridge 1A and can reduce the manufacturing cost.

  In addition, as shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C, the IC chip 4 according to the first embodiment has a signal line 41 wired on one surface, and these on the other surface. A control unit 42 that is operated by the signal line 41 and a light emitting unit 43 that includes LEDs that are operated by the control unit 42 are provided. In this IC chip 4, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 43 and reflected by the reflecting plate 3 enters the light receiving unit 12 provided in the inkjet recording apparatus 10. Are arranged to be. Specifically, the IC chip 4 according to the first embodiment includes a lower end portion of the latch lever 51 so that the light emitting portion 43 is exposed to the reflecting plate 3 side, as shown in FIGS. Is attached.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the IC chip holding member 5 of the ink cartridge 1 </ b> A according to the first embodiment is configured separately from the ink container 2, and includes the latch lever 51 and the ink container 2. A container insertion portion 52 for insertion and a container fixing portion 53 for fixing to the ink container 2 are configured.

  The latch lever 51 according to the first embodiment is a locking portion for detachably mounting the ink cartridge 1A to the cartridge holder 11 of the inkjet recording apparatus 10, and is formed in a slightly curved shape so as to be elastically deformable. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an opening 51a for attaching the IC chip 4 is formed at the lower end portion of the latch lever 51, and the light emitting portion 43 is disposed on the reflecting plate 3 side from the opening 51a. An IC chip 4 is attached so as to be exposed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the container insertion portion 52 according to the first embodiment is a portion for inserting and attaching the IC chip holding member 5 to the ink container 2, and includes insertion protrusions 52 a having a convex cross section. Two locations 52a are formed in parallel from the lower end of the container insertion portion 52 toward the upper side. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the insertion protrusions 52a and 52a are inserted and attached upward to the fixing grooves 22 and 22 formed on the end surface of the ink container 2 on the latch lever 51 side. It is done.

  Further, the container insertion portion 52 according to the first embodiment has a reflection plate holding portion 52b for holding the reflection plate 3 on the surface on the latch lever 51 side, as shown in FIGS. ing. In the first embodiment, the reflector holding portion 52b is arranged so that a pair of hook-like holding claws 52b and 52b face each other, and the reflector 3 is inserted between the holding claws 52b and 52b from above. Has been to hold.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the container fixing portion 53 according to the first embodiment is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and is connected to the lower end of the latch lever 51 and the lower end of the container insertion portion 52. Yes. The container fixing portion 53 is a portion that is attached to the step surface 23 of the ink container 2 and fixes the IC chip holding member 5 to the ink container 2. In the first embodiment, the container fixing portion 53 is formed with two fixing holes 53 a and 53 a for fixing to the ink container 2, and the fixing holes 53 a and 53 a are fixed to the ink container 2. The protrusions 24 and 24 are engaged and fixed.

  Next, the operation of the ink cartridge 1A according to the first embodiment will be described.

  When manufacturing the ink cartridge 1A, the ink container 2 is first filled with ink. On the other hand, in the IC chip holding member 5 configured separately from the ink container 2, the reflection plate holding portion 52 b holds the reflection plate 3 on the end surface on the latch lever 51 side and faces the inner surface of the latch lever 51. Let The IC chip 4 is attached to an opening 51a formed at the lower end of the latch lever 51 so that the light emitting portion 43 is exposed to the reflecting plate 3 side. For this reason, the reflecting plate 3 and the light emitting unit 43 are arranged to face each other.

  When the reflector 3 and the IC chip 4 are attached to the IC chip holding member 5, the upper ends of the insertion protrusions 52 a and 52 a of the IC chip holding member 5 are inserted from the lower ends of the fixing grooves 22 and 22 of the ink container 2 and upward. Inserted and fixed. At this time, the fixing holes 53 a and 53 a provided in the container fixing portion 53 engage with the fixing protrusions 24 and 24 of the ink container 2, and the upper surface of the container fixing portion 53 is brought into contact with the step surface 23 of the ink container 2. Thus, the IC chip holding member 5 is fixed to the ink container 2. As described above, in the manufacturing process of the ink cartridge 1A, the IC chip holding member 5 and the ink container 2 are separately assembled, so that the opportunity for the operator to touch the IC chip 4 is reduced. It is possible to reduce the risk of oil sticking or scratching the IC chip 4, and to reduce the defective product rate.

  Next, when the ink cartridge 1A is used when the ink cartridge 1A is mounted on the cartridge holder 11 of the ink jet recording apparatus 10, the signal line 41 of the IC chip 4 comes into contact with the contact on the cartridge holder 11 side. Connected. When the IC chip 4 of the ink cartridge 1A and the ink jet recording apparatus 10 are electrically connected, the control unit 42 of the IC chip 4 causes the light emitting unit 43 to emit light. As shown in FIG. 5, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 43 is reflected by the reflecting plate 3 and enters the light receiving unit 12 provided in the inkjet recording apparatus 10. The ink jet recording apparatus 10 recognizes that the ink cartridge 1 </ b> A has been connected when light enters the light receiving unit 12.

According to the ink cartridge 1A of the first embodiment as described above, the following effects are obtained.
1. The reflector 3 having a simple structure can reduce the man-hours for manufacturing the ink cartridge 1A, reduce the manufacturing cost, and allow the light receiving unit 12 of the inkjet recording apparatus 10 to detect light from the light emitting unit of the IC chip 4. it can.
2. In the manufacturing process of the ink cartridge 1A, by assembling the IC chip holding member 5 and the ink container 2 separately, the opportunity for the operator to touch the IC chip 4 is reduced. In addition, the risk of scratching the IC chip 4 can be reduced, and the defective product rate can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the ink cartridge according to the present invention will be described. Note that, among the configurations of the ink cartridge 1B according to the second embodiment, configurations that are the same as or correspond to those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the ink cartridge 1 </ b> B according to the second embodiment mainly includes an ink container 2, a reflection plate 3, an IC chip 4, and an IC chip holding member 5.

  In the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, an opening 51 b is provided at the connecting portion between the lower end of the reflector holding portion 52 b and the lower end of the latch lever 51 in the IC chip holding member 5. The container fixing portion 53 in the IC chip holding member 5 is provided with a housing portion 53 b for housing the IC chip 4. And as shown in FIG. 9, IC chip 4 is attached so that the light emission part 43 of IC chip 4 may be exposed to the upper side from this opening part 51b. At this time, the control part 42 of the IC chip 4 is accommodated in the accommodating part 53b of the container fixing part 53 as shown in FIG.

  Even if the IC chip 4 is provided not in the latch lever 51 but in the container fixing portion 53 as in the second embodiment, the IC chip 4 of the ink cartridge 1B is electrically connected to the inkjet recording apparatus 10. If connected, the reflecting plate 3 can reflect the light emitted from the light emitting unit 43 and enter the light receiving unit 12 of the inkjet recording apparatus 10.

  Since the ink cartridge 1B according to the second embodiment has the above-described configuration, the ink jet recording apparatus 10 having a different position of contact with the IC chip 4 is the same as the ink cartridge 1A according to the first embodiment. The effects and effects of can be achieved.

  The ink cartridge according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate.

  For example, in this embodiment, the reflection plate 3 employs a plate-like member made of polyethylene terephthalate, but reflects light from the light emitting portion 43 of the IC chip 4 to receive light provided in the inkjet recording apparatus 10. The present invention is not limited to this as long as it is incident on the portion 12. For example, a reflective seal may be employed as the reflective plate 3 and may be directly attached to the end surface of the container insertion portion 52 on the latch lever 51 side.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the ink container 2 and the IC chip holding member 5 are configured as separate bodies, but the ink container 2 and the IC chip holding member 5 may be configured as a single unit. In that case, the reflection plate holding portion 52 b is provided on the end surface of the ink container 2 on the latch lever 51 side, and the reflection plate 3 is directly held by the ink container 2. The IC chip 4 is provided at the lower end portion of the latch lever 51 or at the connecting portion between the lower end portion of the latch lever 51 and the ink container 2, and the light from the light emitting portion 43 is reflected by the reflecting plate 3 and enters the light receiving portion 12. Let

1A, 1B Ink cartridge 2 Ink container 21 Ink supply port 22 Fixing groove 23 Step surface 24 Fixing projection 3 Reflecting plate 4 IC chip 41 Signal line 42 Control unit 43 Light emitting unit 5 IC chip holding member 51 Latch levers 51a and 51b Opening 52 Container insertion part 52a Insertion protrusion 52b Reflector holding part 53 Container fixing part 53a Fixing hole 53b Storage part 10 Inkjet recording apparatus 11 Cartridge holder 12 Light receiving part

Claims (4)

An ink cartridge attached to an ink jet recording apparatus,
A reflector that reflects light from the light emitting part of the IC chip;
In order to hold the reflection plate, a reflection plate holding portion provided on the end surface of the ink container on the latch lever side,
The IC chip is an ink cartridge arranged such that light emitted from the light emitting unit and reflected by the reflecting plate enters a light receiving unit provided in the ink jet recording apparatus.   The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the IC chip is attached to a lower end portion of the latch lever so that the light emitting portion is exposed to the reflecting plate side.   An opening is provided in the connecting portion between the lower end of the reflector holding portion and the lower end of the latch lever, and the IC chip is attached so that the light emitting portion is exposed upward from the opening. The ink cartridge according to claim 1.   The ink cartridge includes an ink container that stores ink, and an IC chip holding member configured separately from the ink container. The IC chip holding member is inserted into the latch lever and the ink container. The container insertion part for fixing and the container fixing part for fixing to the said ink container are provided, The said reflecting plate holding | maintenance part is formed in the surface at the side of the said latch lever of the said container insertion part. Item 4. The ink cartridge according to any one of Items 3.

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