JP5573755B2 - Fluid cartridge - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fluid cartridge in which fluid is stored.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, ink jet recording apparatuses that record images on recording paper (recording medium) using ink are widely known. The ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink jet recording head. The recording head selectively ejects the ink supplied from the ink cartridge from the nozzles toward the recording paper. The ink cartridge is detachably attached to the ink jet recording apparatus.

  The ink cartridge stores ink having any one color such as cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. In addition, inks having different ink characteristics such as pigment-based inks and dye-based inks may be stored. From the viewpoint of preventing color mixing and solidification of ink, the ink cartridge attached by the user stores what color ink or what kind of ink the ink cartridge stores. It is desirable that the ink jet recording apparatus can be distinguished. As one configuration for this determination, an ink cartridge having a storage means capable of storing information such as ink color, such as an IC chip, is known (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 09-39265 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 23003-54003

  However, it is assumed that the information stored in the storage means is lost when the ink cartridge is transported or stored, or handled by the user. In such a case, it is not desirable to make the ink cartridge unusable at all because the information cannot be read from the storage means. On the other hand, in consideration of a serious influence on the ink jet recording apparatus such as color mixing or solidification of ink, it may be desirable to determine at least the type of ink cartridge even if information cannot be read from the storage means.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide means capable of determining the type of a printing fluid cartridge using an electrical interface provided in the printing fluid cartridge. is there.

The present invention relates to a printing fluid cartridge that includes at least a first electrode and a second electrode that are electrically connected to each contact during mounting in a cartridge mounting portion. The printing fluid cartridge has a front surface in the front- rear direction in which the direction in which the cartridge mounting unit is mounted is forward, and a rear surface disposed away from the front surface in the front- rear direction. A main body capable of storing; a printing fluid supply section which is provided on the front surface and capable of flowing printing fluid from the room to the outside of the main body; and storage means having at least the first electrode and the second electrode. An electrical interface. The first electrode and the second electrode are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and at least one of the electrodes has an insulating portion that cuts off conduction in the front-rear direction, so that the shape of the electrode pattern Are different in the front-rear direction .

  Since the electrode pattern of the electrical interface is different, the electrical connection state between the electrical interface and the contact changes depending on the position in the front-rear direction while the printing fluid cartridge is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion. The type of the printing fluid cartridge can be determined based on the change in the conduction state.

The present invention, in the course that is mounted on a cartridge mounting portion, a recording apparatus having at least provided with printing fluid cartridge of the first electrode and the second electrode for conducting respectively the contacts, the printing fluid cartridge, the has a rear surface from the front and the front are spaced apart to said longitudinal direction in the longitudinal direction of the forward orientation that is mounted on a cartridge mounting portion, a body capable of storing a printing fluid in a room provided inside, A printing fluid supply unit provided on the front surface and capable of flowing a printing fluid from the room to the outside of the main body; and an electrical interface including storage means having at least the first electrode and the second electrode ; comprising a said first electrode and said second electrode is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, at least one of the electrodes By having an insulating portion for blocking conduction in serial longitudinal direction, the shape of the electrode pattern is different from the above longitudinal direction, the cartridge mounting portion, at least said first electrode and said second electrode and the respective contact The recording apparatus may include a determination unit that determines the type of the fluid cartridge based on a signal generated by the conduction.

  According to the present invention, since the electrode pattern of the electrical interface differs in the front-rear direction, the type of the printing fluid cartridge can be determined based on the conduction state between the electrode pattern and the contact.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view schematically showing an internal structure of a printer 10 including a cartridge mounting unit 110 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the ink cartridge 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the ink cartridge 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the IC substrate 80 and the contacts 131, 132, 133 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the cartridge mounting portion 110 as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge 30 and the cartridge mounting portion 110 showing a state where the ink cartridge 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating waveforms of the output A and the output B.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiment described below is merely an example in which the present invention is embodied, and it is needless to say that the embodiment can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

[Overview of Printer 10]
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 records an image by selectively ejecting ink droplets onto a recording sheet based on an ink jet recording method. The printer 10 includes an ink supply device 100. The ink supply device 100 is provided with a cartridge mounting portion 110. The ink cartridge 30 can be mounted on the cartridge mounting unit 110. The cartridge mounting portion 110 is provided with an opening 112 whose one surface is open to the outside. The ink cartridge 30 is inserted into or removed from the cartridge mounting part 110 through the opening 112. The ink cartridge 30 corresponds to a printing fluid cartridge. The printer 10 corresponds to a recording device.

  The ink cartridge 30 stores ink that can be used by the printer 10. In a state where the ink cartridge 30 is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 110, the ink cartridge 30 and the recording head 21 are connected by the ink tube 20. The recording head 21 is provided with a sub tank 28. The sub tank 28 temporarily stores the ink supplied through the ink tube 20. The recording head 21 selectively ejects the ink supplied from the sub tank 28 from the nozzles 29 by the ink jet recording method.

  The recording paper fed from the paper feed tray 15 to the transport path 24 by the paper feed roller 23 is transported onto the platen 26 by the transport roller pair 25. The recording head 21 selectively ejects ink onto a recording sheet that passes over the platen 26. Thereby, an image is recorded on the recording paper. The recording sheet that has passed through the platen 26 is discharged by a discharge roller pair 22 to a discharge tray 16 provided on the most downstream side of the transport path 24.

  Note that the schematic configuration of the printer 10 according to the present embodiment is merely an example. For example, other configurations in a known inkjet printer may be employed for the recording paper feeding method, the conveying method, the shape of the conveying path, and the like. Needless to say, it is good.

[Ink supply apparatus 100]
As shown in FIG. 1, the ink supply device 100 is provided in the printer 10. The ink supply device 100 supplies ink to the recording head 21 provided in the printer 10. The ink supply device 100 includes a cartridge mounting unit 110 in which the ink cartridge 30 can be mounted. FIG. 1 shows a state where the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110.

[Ink cartridge 30]
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink cartridge 30 is a container for storing ink. A space formed inside the ink cartridge 30 is an ink chamber 36 for storing ink. The ink chamber 36 corresponds to the room. The ink chamber 36 is a space partitioned by the main body 31, but the ink chamber 36 may be partitioned by a member different from the main body 31.

  The ink cartridge 30 is in the standing state shown in FIG. 2, that is, the bottom surface is the bottom surface and the top surface is the top surface, and the arrow 50 (see FIG. 6) with respect to the cartridge mounting portion 110. ) (Hereinafter referred to as “insertion and removal direction 50”). That is, the ink cartridge 30 is inserted into the cartridge mounting portion 110 along the insertion direction 56 (see FIG. 6), and is extracted from the cartridge mounting portion 110 along the removal direction 55 (see FIG. 6). The ink cartridge 30 is inserted into and removed from the cartridge mounting portion 110 while standing. The direction in which the ink cartridge 30 is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion 110 is the insertion direction 56, and the direction in which the ink cartridge 30 is extracted is the extraction direction 55. The height direction 52 in the standing state corresponds to the direction of gravity.

  The outer shape of the main body 31 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The main body 31 is thin in the width direction (left-right direction) 51, and has a flat shape in which the height direction (up-down direction) 52 and the depth direction (front-rear direction) 53 are larger than the width direction 51. When the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110, the front wall 40 is the front wall 40 and the rear wall 42 is the rear wall 42. The front wall 40 and the rear wall 42 face each other in the depth direction 53. The front wall 40 and the rear wall 42 connect the front wall 40 and the rear wall 42, and extend from the upper end of the front wall 40 toward the upper end of the rear wall 42, and from the lower end of the front wall 40 to the rear wall The lower wall 41 extends toward the lower end of the lower wall 41 and is divided into four walls. Further, the upper wall 39, the front wall 40, the lower wall 41, and the rear wall 42 are connected by a pair of side walls 37, 38 that are located apart in the width direction 51. Note that the insertion and removal direction 50 is parallel to the depth direction 53. The front wall 40 corresponds to the front surface, and the rear wall 42 corresponds to the rear surface.

  An ink supply unit 43 is provided below the center in the height direction 52 of the front wall 40 of the main body 31. The ink supply unit 43 has a cylindrical outer shape, and projects outward from the front wall 40 along the insertion / removal direction 50. An ink supply port 71 is formed at the protruding end of the ink supply unit 43. An ink flow path 72 extending from the ink supply port 71 through the internal space of the ink supply unit 43 in the insertion and extraction direction 50 to the first chamber 81 is formed. The ink supply port 71 is configured to be opened and closed by an ink supply valve 70. When the ink cartridge 30 is attached to the cartridge attachment portion 110, the ink needle 122 (see FIG. 5) provided in the cartridge attachment portion 110 is inserted into the ink supply port 71 and the ink supply valve 70 is opened. As a result, the ink flows out from the ink chamber 36 through the ink flow path 72 to the ink needle 122 provided in the cartridge mounting portion 110. The ink supply unit 43 corresponds to a printing fluid supply unit.

  The ink supply port 71 is not necessarily limited to a configuration that can be opened and closed by the ink supply valve 70. For example, the ink supply port 71 is closed by a film, a rubber plug, or the like, and the ink cartridge 30 is connected to the cartridge mounting unit 110. When mounted, the ink supply port 71 may be opened by the ink needle 122 breaking through the film.

  An IC substrate 80 is provided on the upper wall 39 of the main body 31. The IC substrate 80 is electrically connected to the contacts 131, 132, 133 (see FIG. 5) while the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110, and the ink cartridge 30 is also mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110. Conductive with the contacts 131, 132, 133. The IC substrate 80 corresponds to an electrical interface.

  An IC 81, a HOT electrode 82, a GND electrode 83, and a signal electrode 84 are mounted on the IC substrate 80. The IC 81 is a so-called semiconductor integrated circuit, and stores information relating to the ink cartridge 30, such as data indicating information such as a lot number, date of manufacture, and ink color, in a readable manner. IC81 corresponds to the storage means.

  The HOT electrode 82, the GND electrode 83, and the signal electrode 84 are electrically connected to the IC 81. Each of the HOT electrode 82, the GND electrode 83, and the signal electrode 84 extends along the depth direction (front-rear direction) 53 and is spaced apart in the width direction 51. The HOT electrode 82 corresponds to the first electrode, the GND electrode 83 corresponds to the second electrode, and the signal electrode 84 corresponds to the third electrode.

  The patterns of the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 are different in the depth direction 53. The HOT electrode 82 extends from the front end in the insertion direction 56 of the signal electrode 84 to the front side in the depth direction 53. In addition, the HOT electrode 82 is provided with an insulating portion 85 that blocks conduction in the depth direction 53 in front of the front end of the insertion direction 56 of the signal electrode 84 in the depth direction 53. On the other hand, the GND electrode 83 extends from the front end of the insertion direction 56 of the signal electrode 84 in the depth direction 53 to the front side. In addition, the GND electrode 83 is continuous in the depth direction 53 without any portion that interrupts conduction on the front side of the front end of the insertion direction 56 of the signal electrode 84. That is, the patterns of the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 differ depending on the presence or absence of the insulating portion 85. The signal electrode 84 extends in the depth direction 53, and the front end in the insertion direction 56 is behind the insulating portion 85 of the HOT electrode 82.

[Cartridge mounting part 110]
As shown in FIG. 5, a case 101 as a housing of the cartridge mounting unit 110 has a box shape having an opening 112 on the front side of the printer 10. The ink cartridge 30 is inserted into or removed from the case 101 through the opening 112. In the case 101, for example, four ink cartridges 30 corresponding to each color of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black can be accommodated. In each drawing shown in each embodiment, only the case 101 corresponding to one ink cartridge 30 is illustrated.

  The case 101 has an end surface 102 that faces the opening 112 in the insertion and extraction direction 50 and faces the internal space of the case 101. As shown in FIG. 5, the connection portion 103 is provided below the end surface 102 of the case 101. The connection unit 103 is disposed on the end surface 102 at a position corresponding to the ink supply unit 43 of each ink cartridge 30 attached to the case 101.

  The connection unit 103 includes an ink needle 122 and a holding unit 121. Although not shown in the figure, the ink needle 122 is connected to the ink tube 20 on the outer surface side of the case 101 which is opposite to the end surface of the case 101. Each ink tube 20 connected to each ink needle 122 is connected to the recording head 21 of the printer 10 so that ink can flow.

  The holding part 121 is formed on the end surface 102 of the case 101, for example, and a part of the end surface 102 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The ink needle 122 is arranged in the insertion and extraction direction 50 at the center of the holding part 121. As shown in FIG. 6, when the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting unit 110, the cylindrical ink supply unit 43 is inserted into the cylindrical holding unit 121. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the ink supply unit 43 is in contact with, for example, in close contact with the surface defining the holding unit 121. When the ink supply unit 43 is inserted into the holding unit 121, the ink needle 122 is inserted into the ink supply port 71 of the ink supply unit 43, and the ink needle 122 moves the ink supply valve 70. As a result, the ink supply valve 70 in the closed position is moved to the open position against the bias of the coil spring 73, and the ink stored in the ink chamber 36 can flow out to the outside. The ink that has flowed out of the ink chamber 36 flows into the ink needle 122 due to a water head difference or the like, and flows to the recording head 21 through the ink tube 20.

  As shown in FIG. 5, contacts 131, 132, and 133 are provided between the end surface 102 and the opening 112 on the top surface 104 of the case 101. The contact points 131, 132, and 133 are arranged away from each other in a direction orthogonal to the insertion and extraction direction 50. The arrangement of the contacts 131, 132, 133 corresponds to the arrangement of the HOT electrode 82, the GND electrode 83, and the signal electrode 84 of the ink cartridge 30.

  Each contact 131, 132, 133 is electrically connected to the arithmetic unit 134 via an electric circuit. The arithmetic device 134 includes, for example, a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and may be configured as a control unit of the printer 10. The contact 131 is for applying the voltage Vc to the HOT electrode 82 by being electrically connected to the HOT electrode 82. The contact 132 is electrically connected to the GND electrode 83, whereby the GND electrode 83 is grounded. When the contacts 131 and 132 are electrically connected to the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83, electric power is supplied to the IC 81. The contact 133 is electrically connected to the signal electrode 84 so that the data stored in the IC 81 can be accessed. Output A and output B are output from the electric circuit to the arithmetic unit 134. The arithmetic device 134 corresponds to the determination means.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the HOT electrode 82, the GND electrode 83, and the signal electrode 84 of the IC substrate 80 are connected to the contacts 131, 132, Each is in contact with 133 and is electrically connected. As described above, the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 extend to the front side from the front end in the insertion direction 56 of the signal electrode 84. Therefore, in the process of mounting the ink cartridge 30 to the cartridge mounting portion 110, first, the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 come into contact with the contacts 131 and 132 and are electrically connected.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the respective contacts 131 and 132 are brought into electrical contact with the front ends of the insertion direction 56 of the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 (timing T1), the output A becomes an HI signal. The output B is an HI signal corresponding to the voltage Vc.

  Further, when the ink cartridge 30 is inserted in the insertion direction 56, the contact 131 is positioned on the insulating portion 85 of the HOT electrode 82 (timing T2). Then, the output A becomes a LOW signal. Further, when the ink cartridge 30 is inserted in the insertion direction 56, the insulating portion 85 moves from the contact 131 toward the end surface 102, and the HOT electrode 82 is electrically connected to the contact 131 (timing T3). As a result, the output A becomes the HI signal again.

  Further, when the ink cartridge 30 is inserted in the insertion direction 56, the signal electrode 84 is electrically connected to the contact 133 (timing T4). Thereby, the output B becomes an output signal lower than the voltage Vc by the circuit resistance. The arithmetic device 134 determines the type of the ink cartridge 30 based on whether or not the output A has changed to a LOW signal at this timing. For example, the ink color of the ink cartridge 30 can be determined by referring to a table in which each color of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black is assigned in advance depending on whether the output A has changed to a LOW signal, or the number of times. . Of course, not the ink color but the amount of ink stored in the ink chamber 36 may be determined.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 110, the rear end portions of the insertion direction 56 of the HOT electrode 82, GND electrode 83, and signal electrode 84 of the IC substrate 80 are respectively The contacts 131, 132, and 133 are brought into electrical contact with each other. As a result, power is supplied to the IC 81 through the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83, and the arithmetic device 134 can access the information in the IC 81 through the signal electrode 84.

[Effect of the embodiment]
According to the present embodiment, since the patterns of the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 of the IC substrate 80 are different in the depth direction 53, the outputs A and B caused by the conduction state between the HOT electrode 82 and the GND electrode 83 and the contacts 131 and 132 are obtained. The ink color of the ink cartridge 30 can be determined based on the above. Therefore, even if the data of the IC 81 cannot be accessed or the data is lost from the IC 81, the ink color of the ink cartridge 30 can be determined.

[Modification]
In the embodiment, the remaining amount detection unit is omitted. However, the ink cartridge 30 may be provided with a remaining amount detection unit. The remaining amount detection unit is arranged so as to protrude from the front wall 40 of the ink cartridge 30 in a direction away from the ink chamber 36. The remaining amount detection unit is made of a light transmissive resin. It is possible to view the inside of the ink chamber 36 from the outside via the remaining amount detecting unit and visually recognize the remaining amount or to detect it with an optical sensor. The distance between the pair of side walls constituting the remaining amount detection unit when using the optical sensor is set to be smaller than the distance between the light emitting element and the light receiving element of the optical sensor. A light shielding plate that moves according to the amount of ink may be provided in the remaining amount detection unit. In place of this light shielding plate, the amount of light reaching the light receiving element is reduced by reflecting, diffracting or attenuating all or part of the light emitted from the light emitting element according to the amount of ink in the ink chamber 36. It may be allowed.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment, a mode in which ink is stored in the ink cartridge 30 as a printing fluid corresponding to the ink jet printer 10 is shown, but the printing fluid is not limited to ink, for example, electrophotography The present invention can also be applied to a cartridge that stores toner as a printing fluid corresponding to the image forming apparatus of the type.

10: Printer (recording device)
30 ... Ink cartridge (printing fluid cartridge)
31 ... Body 36 ... Ink chamber (room)
37 ... Ink supply unit (printing fluid supply unit)
40 ... Front wall (front)
42 ... rear wall (rear surface)
80 ... IC substrate 81 ... IC (memory means)
82... HOT electrode (first electrode)
83 ... GND electrode (second electrode)
84 ... Signal electrode (third electrode)
85... Insulating part 110... Cartridge mounting part 131, 132, 133... Contact 134.

Claims (7)

A printing fluid cartridge comprising at least a first electrode and a second electrode that are electrically connected to the respective contacts in the course of being mounted on the cartridge mounting portion,
It has a rear surface which is spaced apart from the front and the front to the longitudinal direction in the longitudinal direction of the forward orientation to be attached to the cartridge mounting portion, a body capable of storing a printing fluid in a room provided inside ,
A printing fluid supply section provided on the front surface, capable of flowing printing fluid out of the main body from the room;
An electrical interface comprising memory means having at least the first electrode and the second electrode ,
The first electrode and the second electrode are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and at least one of the electrodes has an insulating portion that cuts off conduction in the front-rear direction, so that the shape of the electrode pattern Printing fluid cartridges different in the front-rear direction . The electrode having no the insulating portion of the first electrode and the second electrode is printed fluid cartridge according to claim 1 which is continuous in the longitudinal direction. The electrical interface, printing fluid cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 further comprising a third electrode disposed in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. The printing fluid cartridge according to claim 3 , wherein a front end of the third electrode is located behind a front end of the first electrode and the second electrode. The printing fluid cartridge according to claim 3 or 4 , wherein the third electrode is a signal electrode for reading information from the storage means. When mounted to the cartridge mounting portion, according to any of claims 1-5 in which the first electrode, the rear end portion in the longitudinal direction of the second electrode and the third electrode are respectively conducted with the respective contact Printing fluid cartridge. A recording apparatus including a printing fluid cartridge including at least a first electrode and a second electrode that are electrically connected to the respective contacts in the course of being mounted on the cartridge mounting portion,
The printing fluid cartridge has a front surface in the front- rear direction in which the direction in which the cartridge mounting unit is mounted is forward and a rear surface disposed away from the front surface in the front- rear direction, and is disposed in a chamber provided in the interior. A main body capable of storing the liquid, a printing fluid supply unit that is provided on the front surface and can flow out of the printing fluid from the room to the outside of the main body, and a storage means having at least the first electrode and the second electrode comprising an electrical interface with the said first electrode and said second electrode is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, at least one of the electrodes cuts off conduction in the longitudinal direction By having an insulating part, the shape of the electrode pattern is different in the front-rear direction ,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge mounting unit includes determination means for determining a type of the fluid cartridge based on a signal generated by conduction between at least the first electrode and the second electrode and the respective contacts .

Images