JP3213452B2 - Ink jet recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus capable of detecting the presence or absence of ink in an ink cartridge by using light transmitted or reflected.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, two electrodes are exposed in ink,
The presence or absence of the ink in the cartridge is detected by detecting a change in the resistance of the ink between the electrodes or a change in the pressure in the closed ink flow path. There is also a method of making the ink tank transparent and checking the remaining amount of the tank.

[0003]

However, in the conventional example, the electrode is provided in the ink cartridge, which is a consumable, causing a cost increase factor, and the pressure change in the flow path is extremely small. Since the change has to be detected, the detection accuracy varies, and the reliability is impaired.

In addition, in an ink jet recording apparatus equipped with a plurality of ink cartridges, it is necessary to install a considerable number of circuits and sensors, resulting in a problem that the cost and the space are increased.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of reducing manufacturing costs and improving the accuracy of detecting the presence or absence of ink.

[0006]

The present invention Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve the above object, double the corresponding plurality of recording heads and these
In an ink jet recording apparatus including a carriage mounted with a number of detachable ink cartridges and reciprocally scanned, and a cap for capping each recording head at a home position of the carriage, the ink cartridge includes:
When mounted side by side in the scanning direction of the carriage
Detects the presence of ink in each ink cartridge
A single ink presence / absence detection means
It characterized by having a cap and a position facing the ink presence detection means intended to detect the presence or absence of ink by the light is transmitted through the lower surface and the surface adjacent thereto of the ink cartridge and, or, the ink cartridge The presence or absence of ink may be detected by light reflected on the lower surface, and in any of these, the threshold value of the current in the light receiving element at the time of detecting the presence or absence of ink may be different depending on the color. .

Further, the above-described ink presence / absence detection means may be one which also detects the presence or absence of a cartridge, or may be one which also detects the home position of the carriage.

[0008]

In the present invention configured as described above, when the carriage on which a plurality of ink cartridges are mounted in the scanning direction is moved from the home position to the printing position,
Each ink cartridge is sequentially passed through a single ink presence detection means kicked set in a position corresponding with the most print position side of the cap, presence of ink in the ink cartridge is detected by an ink presence detection means.

[0009]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a first embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, an ink jet recording apparatus 1
Comprises a carriage 3 which is reciprocally scanned along the sliding shaft 5, the carriage 3 has a plurality number of ink cartridges 1
2 together with at least one end portion thereof is detachably mounted to allow appearance plurality pieces of ink-jet heads 2 corresponding to each of the ink cartridge 12 is mounted. A paper feed roller 6 for feeding the recording paper 7 from the section A to the section B is provided.
Is printed and recorded by the inkjet head 2 supplied with ink from the ink cartridge 12 in the section B.

A cap 16 for preventing the drying of the orifice of the ink jet head 2 is provided at a position where the carriage 3 starts to move (hereinafter, referred to as a “home position”), relative to the ink jet head 2 mounted on the carriage 3. ing. The cap 16 is integrally formed with a suction recovery system for recovering non-ejection of the inkjet head 2 and filling ink.

When there is no print signal, the carriage 3 is located at the home position, and the cap 16 seals the ink jet head 2 with a cap.
Drying of the orifice of the inkjet head 2 can be prevented.

A sensor 30 for detecting the presence / absence of ink is provided on the main body of the apparatus as ink presence / absence detection means on the lower surface side of the ink cartridge 12 which can be seen outside, more specifically, near the lower surface of the ink cartridge 12 closest to the printing position at the home position. Fixed.

Here, the specific positional relationship of the sensor 30 is shown in FIGS.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the positions of sensors used in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram for specifically explaining the arrangement relationship shown in FIG. 2.

The sensor 30 has an L-shape as shown in FIG. 2, and is opposed to a position which does not interfere with the corners on the lower surfaces of the ink cartridges 12A to 12D arranged in parallel in the carriage scanning direction. Fixed.

As shown in FIG. 3, the outer shell of the ink cartridge 12 is formed of a translucent resin. An ink cartridge 1 is provided at one end of the L-shaped sensor 30.
Light emitting element 3 for irradiating light to the bottom surface of 2 at an angle of α <90 °
0A is provided, and the other end is provided with a light receiving section 30B for receiving light emitted from the light emitting element 30A.

By setting the angle α to about 45 ° ± 5 °, the sensor 30 becomes the smallest, and the shorter the length β, the smaller the remaining amount of ink at the time of detection. it can. It is appropriate for practical use that this length β is suppressed to 1 to 2 mm.

The light emitting element 30 is provided around the light receiving element 30B.
A light receiving window (not shown) is provided only in the direction of A, whereby the light receiving element 30B is configured to be hardly affected by disturbance light.

Since the threshold value of the current in the light receiving element differs depending on the color, the detection accuracy is high for each color.

Next, the operation for detecting the presence or absence of ink in this embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 2, when a print signal is input and the carriage starts to move to the print position, the ink cartridge 1
2A, 12B, 12C, and 12D are sensors 30 in this order.
Pass through. At this time, the voltage drop of the light receiving unit due to the transmitted light transmitted through each ink cartridge 12 is observed. When a voltage drop is detected, the detected ink cartridge is determined to be out of ink, and the absence of ink is displayed, and the printer returns to the home position in a state of waiting for a printing operation.

If there is no ink cartridge 12,
The maximum current flows to the light receiving side. As a result, a message indicating that there is no cartridge is displayed, and the apparatus stands by at the home position.

When the print signal ends, the carriage moves to the home position. At this time, the ink cartridge 1
2D, 12C, 12B and 12A are sensors 30 in this order.
When the sensor 30 detects the fourth ink cartridge 12A, the home position is detected at this timing, and the capping operates well.

As described above, the sensor used for the ink presence / absence detection means can also serve as home position detection.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 4, a blade 17 for wiping the head surface by sliding contact with the head face surface is provided near the printing position of the cap 16 having the same suction recovery system as in the first embodiment. Protrudes at right angles to the head scanning direction in order to eliminate ink droplets adhered by the cap 16 on the face surface and scumming due to mist accumulation on the face surface during continuous printing.

The sensor 30 similar to that of the first embodiment is fixed at a position shifted from the position described in the first embodiment toward the printing position by a distance between the cap 16A and the blade 17. That is, the sensor 30 is fixed at a position facing the blade 17.

When the carriage is moved in the direction of the printing position for wiping the face surface of each head, the ink cartridges 12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D pass over the sensor 30 in this order, so that the presence or absence of ink is detected. be able to.

When the print signal ends, the carriage moves to the home position. At this time, the ink cartridge 1
2D, 12C, 12B and 12A are sensors 30 in this order.
A predetermined distance (cap 16A) after the sensor 30 detects the fourth ink cartridge 12A.
After the movement of the home position, the stop position can be confirmed as the home position.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, in the home position, caps 16A and 16A for preventing the orifice from drying out.
6B, 16C and 16D are provided, and a suction cap 16E for sucking and recovering the heads 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D is provided near the printing position of the cap 16. The suction cap 16E protrudes perpendicularly to the head scanning direction to recover the head by suction. This embodiment is different from the first and second embodiments in that the suction recovery system and the cap are separate.

The sensor 30 similar to that of the first embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment.
The position of the cap 16A and the suction cap 16E is shifted from the position described in the first embodiment to the printing position and fixed.

Obviously, the loss of time can be prevented by checking the presence / absence of ink immediately after the head recovery operation.

When the carriage is moved to the home position after the print signal ends, the ink cartridges 12D, 1
2C, 12B, and 12A pass near the sensor 30 in this order, and the sensor 30
It is apparent that the stop position can be confirmed as the home position after moving a predetermined distance (16 A and the offset of the sensor 30) after detecting 2A.

(Fourth Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 6, the sensor 31 has the same position as that described in the first embodiment, and is disposed at a position facing the lower surface of the ink cartridge 12. The sensor 31 is a light reflection type sensor, and includes a light emitting element 31A that irradiates light toward the lower surface of the ink cartridge 12, and a light receiving element 31B that receives light reflected through the lower surface of the ink cartridge 12. . As a result, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of ink in each ink cartridge and to confirm the home position, as in the first embodiment.

(Fifth Embodiment) FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the structure of a fifth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 7, in this embodiment, the transmission type sensor 30 described in the second embodiment is replaced with a reflection type sensor 31. Therefore, it is obvious that the ink presence detection and the home position detection can be confirmed.

(Sixth Embodiment) FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the transmission type sensor 30 described in the third embodiment is replaced with a reflection type sensor 31. Therefore, it is obvious that the ink presence detection and the home position detection can be confirmed.

(Seventh Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 9, the ink cartridge 12D
Is for black ink, and is formed wider in the scanning direction of the carriage to increase the capacity in consideration of the frequency of use than other color inks. Also in this embodiment, the transmission type sensor 30 or the reflection type sensor 3 (not shown) is provided in the same place as in the first and fourth embodiments.
By arranging 1, the presence / absence detection of each ink and the detection of the home position can be reliably performed.

(Eighth Embodiment) FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the present invention.

Printers used as network bases frequently use ink. Therefore, a large capacity is achieved by extending the container of the ink cartridge upward.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, even if ink cartridges 13 of different sizes are mounted
The sensor 30 installed based on the lower surface of the cartridge can detect the presence or absence of ink with one sensor for each ink cartridge without reducing the detection accuracy.

(Ninth Embodiment) FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the structure of a ninth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 11, the head and the ink cartridge are single. Also in this embodiment, the first
Similarly to the ninth embodiment, the sensor 30 arranged at a position corresponding to the position of the cap 16 can detect the presence of ink, check the presence or absence of a cartridge, and detect the home position. Further, even if a different ink jet cartridge is mounted in the head scanning direction or vertically upward, the presence of the cartridge and the detection of the home position can be similarly detected.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of
Recording heads and their corresponding detachable ink cars
A carriage mounted with a carriage and reciprocally scanned;
Key each recording head at the home position of the carriage.
Ink jet recording apparatus including capping cap
The ink cartridge in the carriage.
Mounted side by side in the scanning direction,
A single ink presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of ink,
By being provided at a position facing the cap closest to the printing position, the presence or absence of ink in a plurality of ink cartridges can be detected by a single sensor. In addition, since the presence / absence of the ink cartridge can also be detected, the size of the apparatus can be reduced due to the small space. Further, by also serving as home position detection, it is possible to reduce the number of sensors and reduce the electric capacity, thereby lowering the manufacturing cost.

Since the ink presence / absence detecting means is configured to transmit the lower surface of the ink cartridge and the surface adjacent thereto, the sensor can be used in common for ink cartridges having different shapes such as vertical and horizontal shapes. Due to the decrease in the number of managed parts and application to other models, it is possible to anticipate cost reductions due to the increase in types.

Further, the ink presence / absence detection means is used on two adjacent surfaces to reduce the size of the apparatus. By integrally manufacturing parts, the detection accuracy is high even in a large-capacity cartridge. In addition, using the lower surface of the ink cartridge can minimize the remaining amount of ink at the time of detecting the presence or absence of ink, thereby improving reliability.

By using the ink presence detection as the home position detection, it is possible to improve the suction recovery performance by good capping.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a first embodiment of an inkjet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an arrangement position of a sensor used in the ink jet recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for specifically explaining an arrangement relationship shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a second embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a third embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fourth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fifth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a sixth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a seventh embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an eighth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a ninth embodiment of the ink jet recording apparatus of the present invention.

[Description of Signs] 1 Inkjet recording device 2 Head 3 Carriage 5 Slide shaft 6 Paper feed roller 7 Recording paper 12, 13 Ink cartridge 16 Cap 16E Suction cap 17 Blade 30, 31 Sensor 30A, 31A Light emitting element 30B, 31B Light receiving element

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Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of recording heads corresponding to the plurality of recording heads;
In an ink jet recording apparatus including a carriage on which a plurality of detachable ink cartridges are mounted and reciprocally scanned, and a cap for capping each recording head at a home position of the carriage, the ink cartridge is moved in a scanning direction of the carriage. common
All the ink cartridges are installed
A single ink presence / absence detection means for detecting the presence / absence of ink,
An ink jet recording apparatus, which is provided at a position opposed to a cap closest to a printing position . 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink presence / absence detecting means detects presence / absence of ink by light transmitted through a lower surface of the ink cartridge and a surface adjacent thereto. 3. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink presence / absence detecting means detects presence / absence of ink by light reflected on a lower surface of the ink cartridge. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a threshold value of a current in the light receiving element at the time of detecting presence / absence of ink is different depending on a color. 5. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink presence / absence detection means also functions as a cartridge presence / absence detection. 6. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ink presence / absence detection means also serves to detect a home position of a carriage.