JP5765453B2 - ink cartridge - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an ink cartridge, in particular, it relates to an ink cartridge simply ink cartridge was able to see whether the ink end state visually in a state detached from the inkjet printer.

Conventionally, an ink end state in which an ink remaining amount of an ink cartridge is equal to or less than a predetermined amount is determined on the side of an ink jet printer as described in Patent Document 1, and a user is notified via a display lamp or the like. To let you know. For this reason, in order to determine whether or not the ink cartridge removed from the ink jet printer can be used, it is necessary to attach the ink cartridge to the ink jet printer. When handling multiple ink cartridges, whether or not they can be used
The operation of attaching and checking the ink jet printer one by one is complicated.

In Patent Document 2, when a sensor detects a state of no ink in a printing apparatus, the trademark logo is painted out by a writing apparatus before the ink cartridge is taken out from the mounting portion, so that it cannot be used. A method has been proposed.

JP 10-34965 A JP 2003-11469 A

When printing information indicating ink end on an ink cartridge using the printing apparatus described in Patent Document 2, a dedicated writing device for painting the trademark logo is required, which increases the number of components and the structure. This increases the cost of the apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink end display method for an ink cartridge capable of printing information indicating that the ink cartridge is in an ink end state with a simple configuration, and to be used for the method. It is to propose a suitable ink cartridge.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is an ink end information printing method for printing ink end information indicating that an ink cartridge mounted on an ink jet printer is in a predetermined ink end state on the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge includes an ink storage unit for storing ink, a cartridge information storage unit that stores information on the remaining amount of ink stored in the ink storage unit, and a part of the outer surface of the ink cartridge. An ink end display printing surface for printing the ink end information, and the ink remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold based on information on the remaining amount of ink stored and held in the cartridge information storage unit. Is detected, ink droplets are ejected onto the ink end display printing surface. And wherein the printing the ink end information.

Further, according to the present invention, the printing surface for ink end display is disposed at a position adjacent to a platen that defines a printing position by the ink jet head of the ink jet printer, and the ink cartridge is brought into the ink end state by the ink jet printer. When it is detected that the ink cartridge is in the ink end state, the ink jet head is moved to a position facing the ink end display printing surface and stopped at the position. The ink end information is printed on the ink end display printing surface by ejecting ink droplets from at least one ink nozzle row facing the ink end display printing surface of the inkjet head. To do.
In the ink end information printing method of the present invention, the ink end display printing surface of the ink cartridge mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion is disposed adjacent to the platen, and the ink jet recording is performed at a position facing the ink end display printing surface. The head is moved and ink end information is printed using the ink jet head. Accordingly, the ink end information can be printed on the ink cartridge without requiring a dedicated writing device. Also, since the ink end display printing surface on which the ink end information is printed is arranged adjacent to the platen, the increase in the amount of movement of the inkjet head required for printing the ink end information is minimized. it can.

Here, it is desirable that predetermined print information is formed in advance on the ink end display printing surface of the ink cartridge, and a strikethrough is printed on the print information as the ink end information. Since the ink droplets need only be ejected once from each ink nozzle while the ink jet head is stopped, the drive control becomes extremely simple. In addition, it is preferable to make print information such as a character string canceled by a strike-through line, because it can be visually recognized that the ink is in an end state and cannot be used.

In the ink end information printing method of the present invention, a label is affixed so as to cover a portion that becomes the ink end display printing surface of the ink cartridge, and the ink end information is printed on the surface of the label. It is desirable to do. In general, the ink stored in the ink cartridge is water-based ink and does not fix on a water-repellent surface such as plastic. Therefore, instead of forming an ink image-receiving layer on the surface of the ink cartridge, a label is attached. It is desirable to keep it.

Here, when the ink cartridge is locked by the lock mechanism so that the ink cartridge is not taken out from the ink cartridge mounting portion, when the printing of the ink end information is finished, the ink jet head is set in advance. After returning to the position, the ink cartridge may be unlocked.

Further, the present invention provides an ink cartridge mountable to an ink jet printer, the cartridge case and an ink storage portion for storing ink which is formed inside the cartridge case, cartridge information attached to the cartridge case a storage unit, said has a label affixed to the cartridge case, and the cartridge information storage unit, information relating to the ink remaining amount to be stored in the ink storage portion is stored and held, outside of the cartridge case A protruding surface formed by protruding a part of the outer surface is formed on the surface, and the label is pasted from the protruding surface to another outer surface of the cartridge case orthogonal to the protruding surface. is, the surface portion of the affixed the label to the projecting surface, the ink When mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the inkjet printer, it becomes the adjacent position of the platen that defines the printing position by the inkjet head of the inkjet printer, and based on the information on the remaining amount of ink stored and held in the cartridge information storage portion, When it is detected that the remaining amount of ink is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, ink droplets are ejected from the inkjet head onto the ink end display printing surface, so that the ink storage portion is in a predetermined ink end state. wherein the ink is an ink-end display printing surface capable of printing-ink information indicating that it is now.

Also, in the cartridge of the present invention, predetermined information is pre-printed on the ink end display printing surface of the label, and information indicating that the ink end state is reached is printed over the predetermined information. It is desirable that it is possible to recognize whether the ink end state is present or not by visually observing whether the cancellation line is printed on the ink end display printing surface. The cartridge case preferably includes a locking engagement portion that is locked by a locking mechanism disposed in an ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer.

In the present invention, the ink end display printing surface of the ink cartridge mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion is disposed adjacent to the platen, and the ink jet head is moved to a position facing the ink end display printing surface to The ink end information is printed using the head. Accordingly, the ink end information can be printed on the ink cartridge without requiring a dedicated writing device. Also, since the ink end display printing surface on which the ink end information is printed is arranged adjacent to the platen, the increase in the amount of movement of the inkjet head required for printing the ink end information is minimized. it can.
In particular, when a strike-through line is printed as ink end information in the print information printed on the ink end display printing surface, it is convenient because the ink end can be immediately recognized from the print state.

1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer to which the present invention is applied. It is a perspective view of the printer mechanism part of the inkjet printer of FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear perspective view and a front perspective view of an ink cartridge. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge. FIG. It is a top view which shows the structure of the cover plate of an ink cartridge. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a structure of an ink cartridge mounting unit. It is a partial perspective view of a lock mechanism, a partial side view, and a partial side view of an ink cartridge. It is a schematic block diagram of the control system of an inkjet printer. It is a flowchart of a printing operation, and is an explanatory view of an ink end display printing surface.

Hereinafter, an ink jet printer using an ink cartridge capable of displaying an ink end as an ink supply source according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Overall configuration of inkjet printer)
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet printer. The ink jet printer 1 performs color printing on a long recording paper fed out from roll paper using a plurality of types of color inks, and includes a printer case 2 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. An opening 3 for mounting a roll paper is formed in the front central portion. An opening / closing lid 5 having a recording paper discharge guide 4 attached to the upper end thereof is attached to the opening 3 so as to be opened and closed. A recording paper discharge port 6 is formed between the recording paper discharge guide 4 and the upper edge portion of the opening 3 of the printer case 2. When the lock (not shown) is released and a finger is placed on the recording paper discharge guide 4 and pulled toward the front, the opening / closing lid 5 can be opened from the closed position shown in the drawing to the open position that falls forward about the lower end.

A power switch 7a, a paper feed switch 7b, a plurality of operation state display lamps 7c, and the like are arranged on the right side of the opening / closing lid 5 on the front surface of the printer case 2. A mounting port 8a of an ink cartridge mounting portion 8 having a vertically long rectangular cross section extending in the front-rear direction of the printer is opened on the left side portion of the opening / closing lid 5 on the front surface of the printer case 2, and the ink cartridge 20 is provided in the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. Is installed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing the printer mechanism unit 10 covered with the printer case 2 in the inkjet printer 1. The printer mechanism unit 10 includes a metal bottom plate 11a.
The printer main body frame 11 is composed of left and right side plates 11b and 11c. A roll paper storage portion 12 is formed at the center of the printer main body frame 11 on the front side of the printer. When the opening / closing lid 5 is opened, the roll paper storage unit 12 opens forward, and the roll paper can be replaced.

On the upper side of the roll paper storage unit 12, a platen 13 is bridged in the printer width direction, and on the upper side of the platen 13, a carriage 15 on which an inkjet head 14 is mounted.
Is arranged. The carriage 15 can reciprocate in the printer width direction along a carriage guide shaft 15a spanned in the printer width direction. As a drive mechanism for moving the carriage 15, although not shown, a known mechanism composed of a motor, a transmission mechanism including a belt and a pulley, and the like is incorporated.

The carriage 15 has an ink pump for each color ink, for example, ink pumps 16a to 16d for storing inks of four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
Are mounted on the ink pumps 16a to 16d and the flexible ink tubes 17a to 17d.
One end of 7d is connected to each. The other ends of the flexible ink tubes 17a to 17d are connected to four ink supply paths (not shown) extending in the vertical direction, which are arranged at the rear end portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. . Each of the ink supply paths communicates with the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion 8.

A head maintenance unit 18 is disposed at a position off the right side of the platen 13, and the inkjet head 14 mounted on the carriage 15 is at a home position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 facing the head maintenance unit 18. Maintenance operations such as ink droplet ejection operation not involved in printing and ink suction operation from each ink nozzle are performed. Waste ink liquid discharged from the inkjet head 14 is collected from the head maintenance unit 18 to the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 via a waste ink liquid recovery path (not shown). The head maintenance unit 18 is provided with a pump, for example, a tube pump, for sending the waste ink liquid toward the ink cartridge 20.

Here, the ink cartridge mounting unit 8 is disposed on the left side of the roll paper storage unit 12,
A rectangular opening 8b that is long in the longitudinal direction of the printer adjacent to the left edge of the platen 13 is formed at the upper end. From the rectangular opening 8b, a part of the upper surface (ink end display printing surface) of the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 is exposed.

In this example, the carriage 15 can move between a home position 15A indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 that is deviated to the right side from the platen 13 and a left end position 15B that is indicated by an imaginary line in FIG. is there. In a normal printing operation, the roll paper storage unit 12
The recording paper fed out from the roll paper stored in the paper is conveyed to the recording paper discharge port 6 side along the surface of the platen 13 by a conveyance mechanism (not shown), and the inkjet head 14 is moved left and right in synchronization with this conveyance. Printing is performed on the recording paper while reciprocating.

As will be described later, when it is detected that the ink cartridge 20 is in an ink end state, the carriage 15 moves to the left end position 15B, and the ink nozzle surface (not shown) of the ink jet head 14 mounted there downward. ) Is opposed to the upper surface portion (ink end display printing surface) of the ink cartridge 20 exposed from the rectangular opening 8b. In this example, at least one ink nozzle array arranged on the ink nozzle surface is an ink cartridge 2.
It faces the upper surface portion of 0. In this state, the inkjet head 14 can be driven to print straight lines and broken lines on the upper surface portion of the ink cartridge 20.

(Overall configuration of ink cartridge)
3A and 3B are a front perspective view and a rear perspective view showing the ink cartridge 20, respectively. The ink cartridge 20 includes a cartridge case 21 having a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the front-rear direction as a whole. Inside the cartridge case 21, as will be described later (see FIG. 4), an ink storage section 45 (supply liquid storage section) is formed on one side in the width direction, and a waste ink storage section is formed on the other side. 46 (collected liquid storage section) is formed, and the ink storage section 45 includes a plurality of ink bags, in this example, cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.
Contains different types of ink bags.

A front surface 22 in the insertion direction of the cartridge case 21 has a long rectangular shape, and a plurality of holes are formed therein. In this example, on one side in the width direction, in order from one side (upper side) in the length direction, the number corresponding to the positioning needle insertion holes 23 and the accommodated ink bags, four in this example. Ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 and rotation stopper needle insertion holes 28 are formed. On the other side in the width direction, a waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 is formed at the upper end portion thereof, and an air release needle insertion hole 30 is formed at the lower end portion thereof.

A rectangular protruding surface 32 that protrudes upward with a substantially half width is formed in the rear half of the rectangular upper end surface 31 of the cartridge case 21. The protruding surface 32 is a flat surface parallel to the upper end surface 31. A rectangular label 34 on which ink cartridge information is printed is affixed to the side surface 33 of the cartridge case 21 from the protruding surface 32. The front end portion of the upper end surface 31 of the cartridge case 21 is formed with a recess 35 that is one step lower. On the flat bottom surface of the recess 35, an IC chip in which ink cartridge information that can know the remaining amount of ink is written. 36 (cartridge information storage unit) is attached.

On the other hand, a rectangular concave portion 37 that is recessed in the width direction is formed at the lower front end corner portion of the side surface 33 of the cartridge case 21, and the ink cartridge 20 is formed at the lower end side of the rectangular concave portion 37.
A wedge-shaped engagement protrusion 38 for locking the lens in the mounting position protrudes laterally.

Here, in the label 34, the surface of the label portion 34 a attached to the protruding surface 32 formed on the upper end surface 31 of the cartridge case 21 is printed information, in this example, the Roman character string “
“NEW INK CARTRIDGE” is an ink end display printing surface 34 b preprinted, and the surface of the label portion 34 c affixed to the side surface 33 of the label 34 has various information such as the manufacturing number of the ink cartridge 20. Is printed.

(Ink cartridge internal structure)
Next, FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing an example of the internal structure of the ink cartridge 20. As shown in this figure, the cartridge case 21 of the ink cartridge 20 has a case body 40.
And a cover plate 41 and a cover plate 42 attached to the case body 40 from both sides. The case main body 40 includes a rectangular partition plate portion 43 and the partition plate portion 43.
And a rectangular outer peripheral frame plate portion 44 integrally formed in a state of surrounding the outer peripheral edge.
An ink storage portion 45 is defined by the partition plate portion 43 and the outer peripheral frame plate portion 44 of the case body 40 and the one cover plate 41, and the waste ink storage portion 46 is formed on the other cover plate 42 side.
Is formed. Labels 41a and 42 carrying various information such as a trade name, a model name to be used, a manufacturer, and notes on the outer side surface of the lid plate 41 and the outer side surface of the lid plate 42, respectively.
a is pasted.

The ink storage unit 45 stores four types of ink bags 54 to 57 in which cyan, magenta, yellow, and black inks are stored. In the figure, one ink bag 5
Only 4 is shown, and the other ink bags have the same structure. Ink supply port 5 of each ink bag 54
4a is an ink supply needle insertion hole 2 formed on the front surface 22 of the outer peripheral frame plate portion 44.
4 to 27 are fixed coaxially.

Each of the ink supply ports 54a to 57a has the same configuration. The ink supply port 54a will be described. An annular cap 54b, an annular seal rubber 54c coaxially disposed on the rear side, and a disc-shaped valve body 54d disposed on the rear side of the seal rubber 54c. The spring member 54e pressing the valve body 54d against the rear end surface of the seal rubber 54c, and the cylindrical frame 5 in which the cap 54b, the seal rubber 54c, the valve body 54d, and the spring member 54e are incorporated.
4f. The ink supply port 54a is normally sealed by a normally closed valve mechanism including a valve body 54d and a spring member 54e.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the inner surface of the lid plate 42. Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG.
The waste ink storage 46 on the side of the lid plate 42 is formed between the inner surface of the lid plate 42 and a highly rigid film (not shown) affixed thereto. The waste ink storage section 46 includes a waste ink recovery path 61 formed between two lateral ribs extending in the front-rear direction at an upper portion of the waste ink storage section 46 and a film (not shown). The lower side is a waste ink collection chamber 62, and the upper side of the waste ink collection path 61 is an air release chamber 63.

The front end 61 a on the ink cartridge insertion side in the waste ink collection path 61 communicates with the waste ink collection port 65. The waste ink collection port 65 is coaxially connected to a waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 formed on the front surface 22 of the cartridge case 21. Waste ink collection port 65
Has the same configuration as the ink supply port 54a, and is pushed in by an annular seal rubber 65a that is spread by a later-described waste ink collection needle 89 (see FIG. 6) and a waste ink collection needle 89 inserted in the seal rubber 65c. And a normally closed valve mechanism 65b for switching the waste ink recovery port 65 to an open state. The rear end 61 b of the waste ink collection path 61 communicates with the waste ink collection chamber 62 on the rear end side of the cartridge case 21. The waste ink collection chamber 62
It is partitioned into three compartments up and down by horizontal ribs 62a of a predetermined height extending horizontally in the front-rear direction formed on the flat inner surface of the cover plate 42, and these compartments communicate with each other at the front and rear ends. ing.

The upper atmosphere release chamber 63 is provided with a first compartment chamber group 63a composed of a plurality of compartments partitioned by a plurality of ribs formed on the inner surface of the lid plate 42 at the rear portion thereof. In the first compartment group 63a, the first compartment 63a1 located on the most upstream side in the air discharge direction communicates with the waste ink collection chamber 62. Further, in each compartment of the first compartment group 63a, the communication hole with the upstream compartment is at a position offset in the vertical direction with respect to the communication hole with the downstream compartment, and the waste ink is removed. It is prevented from flowing into the downstream compartment side.

A second compartment group 63 consisting of a plurality of compartments is provided on the front side of the most downstream first compartment 63a2.
b is arranged. The most downstream first compartment 63a2 is the most upstream second compartment 63b.
1, and each compartment of the second compartment group 63 b communicates with a downstream compartment through a communication groove 63 c formed on the opposite surface of the lid plate 42. As shown in FIG. 4, the communication groove 63c is sealed by attaching the film 42a. Second compartment 6 on the most downstream side
3b2 communicates with an air release path 63d extending forward and formed along the upper edge of the cover plate 42. The rear end of the air release path 63d extends downward along the front edge of the lid plate 42.
e.

A middle part of the air release path 63e is bifurcated and one of the liquid reservoir spaces 63f extends downward.
The other lower end communicates with the atmosphere opening path 63g extending forward in the ink cartridge mounting direction along the lower edge of the lid plate 42. The front end of the atmosphere release path 63g communicates with the atmosphere release port 66.

The air release port 66 is an air release needle insertion hole 30 in this example, and includes an annular seal rubber 66a and an air release needle 90 (see FIG. 6) that is an air release member inserted into the seal rubber 66a. ) And a normally-closed valve mechanism 66b that switches the air release needle insertion hole 30 to an open state.

(Configuration of ink cartridge mounting part)
6A and 6B show the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 of the ink jet printer 1.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the rear-end part. As shown in the figure, a plurality of insertion needles protrude horizontally from the rear end surface 81 of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 toward the front of the printer. In this example, the positioning needles 83, 4 are arranged in order from the upper side on one side of the rear end surface 81 in the width direction.
The ink supply needles 84 to 87 and the rotation prevention needle 88 are arranged. On the other side in the width direction, a waste ink collecting needle 89 is disposed at the upper end portion thereof, and an air release needle 90 is disposed at the lower end portion thereof.

A slide plate 92 that can slide in the front-rear direction of the printer is disposed on the bottom surface 91 of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. A tension coil spring 93 extending in the front-rear direction is bridged between the slide plate 92 and the portion on the printer main body side. When the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 8, the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the slide plate 92.
The slide plate 92 is pushed together with the ink cartridge 20 to the rear side of the printer. When the slide plate 92 is pushed rearward from the position shown in FIG. 4, the tension coil spring 93 is extended, and a spring force in a direction of pushing the slide plate 92 forward acts on the slide plate 92.

7A to 7C are a partial perspective view, a partial side view, and a portion of the engagement protrusion 38 on the ink cartridge side showing the lock mechanism disposed on the rear end side portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. It is a partial side view shown. Referring also to FIG. 7, when the ink cartridge 20 on the slide plate 92 is pushed backward, the ink cartridge 20 protrudes laterally from the rectangular recess 37 at the lower corner of the rear end of the ink cartridge 20. The inclined upper surface 38a of the locking engagement projection 38
In addition, an engagement roller 94 of the lock mechanism disposed on the side of the rear end portion of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 rides up. The engaging roller 94 is attached to the front end of the rotating plate 95, and the rotating plate 95 is urged downward by a tension coil spring 96 about a rear end support shaft 97 extending horizontally in the printer width direction. .

The ink cartridge 20 is pushed backward while the engaging roller 94 is gradually pushed up against the spring force by the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging protrusion 38 by the pushing force of the ink cartridge 20. When the ink cartridge 20 is completely pushed, the engaging roller 94 gets over the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging protrusion 38 and falls to the front side of the front vertical surface 38b. As a result, the ink cartridge 20 is locked in the mounted state (FIG. 6 (
b), see FIG.

The rotating plate 95 is connected to the expansion / contraction rod 98a of the electromagnetic solenoid 98. When the electromagnetic solenoid 98 is excited, the expansion / contraction rod 98a is pulled upward, and the engagement roller 94 is moved from the front vertical surface 38b of the engagement protrusion 38. Move away and move upward. As a result, the slide plate 92 is pushed forward by the spring force of the tension coil spring 93, and the ink cartridge 20 riding on the slide plate 92 is also pushed forward together. Thereby, the ink cartridge 20 can be removed forward from the mounting opening 8a of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8. The electromagnetic solenoid 98 can be driven by operating a lock release switch (not shown) disposed in the printer case 2, for example.

(Ink cartridge insertion operation)
Here, when the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 20, FIG.
As shown in (a), first, the positioning needle 83 and the anti-rotation needle 88 are inserted into the positioning needle insertion hole 23 and the anti-rotation needle insertion hole 28 formed on the front surface 22 of the ink cartridge 20, respectively. The ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 while being positioned by these. Ink cartridge 2
A state is formed in which the sliding connection brush 100 (mounting side contact portion) disposed on the ink cartridge mounting portion 20 side is pressed against the IC chip 36 disposed on the upper end of the front surface 22 of 0. Is done. The connecting brush 100 is connected to the lower slide plate 92 and is pushed together with the slide plate 92.

Thereafter, the ink supply needles 84 to 87, the waste ink collection needle 89, and the atmosphere release needle 90 are inserted into the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30, respectively. It will be. The ink supply needles 84 to 87 are inserted from the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27 while the seal rubbers of the ink supply ports 54 a to 57 a are pushed and spread.
Push the valve body of the normally closed valve mechanism against the spring force. Similarly, the waste ink collection needle 89 and the air release needle 90 are also inserted through the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29 and the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30, respectively, while expanding the seal rubber of the waste ink collection port 65 and the atmosphere release port 66. Then, the valve bodies of those normally closed valve mechanisms are pushed against the spring force.

Further, as described above, the ink cartridge 20 is gradually pushed up against the spring force by the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging projection 38 by the pushing force of the ink cartridge 20, while the ink cartridge 20 is pushed upward. Is pushed backwards.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the ink cartridge 20 is completely pushed in, the engaging roller 94 gets over the inclined upper surface 38a of the engaging protrusion 38 and falls to the front side of the front vertical surface 38b. As a result, the ink cartridge 20 is locked in the mounted state. In this state, the ink supply needle insertion holes 24 to 27, the waste ink collection needle insertion hole 29, and the atmosphere release needle insertion hole 30 are blocked by the ink supply needles 84 to 87, the waste ink collection needle 89, and the atmosphere release needle 90, respectively. The normally closed valve mechanism is opened, and each ink bag 5 of the ink cartridge 20 is opened.
An ink supply path for supplying each color ink from 4 to 57 to the inkjet head 14 side through each ink supply needle 84 to 87 is formed. Further, the waste ink collection chamber 62 of the ink cartridge 20 is disposed from the head maintenance unit 18 side through the waste ink collection needle 89.
Is formed, and the waste ink collection chamber 62 of the ink cartridge 20 is opened to the atmosphere by the atmosphere release needle 90. Further, a state in which the IC chip 36 is electrically connected to the sliding connection brush 100 is established.

(Inkjet printer control system)
FIG. 8 is a schematic block diagram showing a control system of the ink jet printer 1. The control system
A control circuit 101 mainly composed of a microcomputer is provided, and the control circuit 10
1 communicates with the host computer 102 and receives a print command, print information, and the like. Ink cartridge information stored and held in the IC chip 36 of the mounted ink cartridge 20 is input to the control circuit 101, and the remaining amount of ink in each of the ink bags 54 to 57 of the ink cartridge 20 is based on this ink cartridge information. Is detected to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that the ink cartridge 20 is in an ink end state.

Upon receiving a print command and print information from the upper computer 102, the control circuit 101 drives the paper feed motor 104 via the driver 103, and feeds the recording paper from the roll paper along the transport path passing through the platen 13. Transport. Synchronized with the conveyance of the recording paper,
The carriage motor 106 is driven via the driver 105 to start the movement of the carriage 15. Further, the inkjet head 14 is driven via the head driver 107 to perform printing on the portion of the recording paper located on the platen 13.

The control circuit 101 counts the amount of ink used in the printing operation and the amount of ink consumed by the maintenance operation of the inkjet head 14. The count value and the cartridge read from the IC chip 36 of the ink cartridge 20 are counted. The ink remaining amount information of the ink cartridge 20 is updated based on the ink remaining amount included in the information.

(Ink end information print processing operation)
FIG. 9A is a schematic flowchart showing the processing operation when the ink end state of the ink cartridge 20 is detected. As described above, the control circuit 101 of the inkjet printer 1 monitors whether or not the ink cartridge 20 is in the ink end state (step ST1). When it is detected that the ink end state has been reached, the carriage 15 is moved to the left end position 15B (see FIGS. 2 and 8) and stopped there after the printing operation is finished (see FIG. 2).
Step ST2 → ST3). As a result, the inkjet head 14 faces the ink end display printing surface 34 b attached to the ink cartridge 20.

For example, when an inkjet head 14 having a head having cyan and magenta ink nozzle rows and a head having yellow and black ink nozzle rows is used, only one of the heads is used for ink. What is necessary is just to make it face the printing surface 34b for end displays.

Thereafter, the inkjet head 14 is driven to eject ink droplets from each ink nozzle only once. As a result, the number of strike-through lines corresponding to the ink nozzle row is printed on the ink end display printing surface 34b (step ST4). For example, a double strikethrough of different colors is printed.
FIG. 9B shows the ink end display printing surface 34b before the double strike line L is printed, and FIG. 9C shows an example of the state after the strike line L is printed. .

Referring again to FIG. 9A, after printing of the strikethrough L is completed, the carriage 15 is returned to the home position 15A on the opposite side of the platen 13 and stopped there (step ST5). Thereafter, the electromagnetic solenoid 98 is driven to release the lock (step ST6).
). As a result, the ink cartridge 20 is pushed forward from the mounting opening 8a of the ink cartridge mounting portion 8 by the spring force, and the ink cartridge 20 can be taken out and replaced with a new one.

In the ink cartridge 20 thus ejected, the print information “NEW INK CARTRIDGE” displayed on the ink end display printing surface 34b is erased by the double strikethrough L. Therefore, it can be seen that the user cannot use the display by viewing the display.

Further, in this example, the strikethrough line L is printed as the ink end information, so there is no need to perform printing while moving the inkjet head 14 to the left and right, and the area outside the platen 13, that is, the ink cartridge is mounted. The ink end information can be printed using a small empty space above the section 8. Therefore, it is not necessary to take a wide space for moving the inkjet head 14 for printing the ink end information, so that an increase in the size of the inkjet printer can be suppressed.

(Example of change)
In the above example, the strike line L is printed on the print information printed on the label 34 to indicate that the ink cartridge 20 is in the ink end state. A Roman character string is used as the print information, but characters, numbers, symbols, codes, and the like other than Roman characters can be used, and are not limited to specific information.

In addition, although a double strikethrough is printed as the ink end information, the ink end information may be information other than the double strikethrough, for example, a broken line or a single straight line. Any information that can be printed by the inkjet head 14 may be used.

Furthermore, in this example, the portion of the label 34 attached to the protruding surface 32 of the ink cartridge 20 is used as the ink end display printing surface 34b.
It is also possible to perform surface treatment on 2 and use the surface as a printing surface for ink end display.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 Printer case, 3 Opening part, 4 Recording paper discharge guide, 5 Opening / closing lid, 6 Recording paper discharge port, 7a Power switch, 7b Paper feed switch,
7c Operation status display lamp, 8 Ink cartridge mounting portion, 8a Mounting port, 8b Rectangular opening portion, 10 Printer mechanism portion, 11 Printer body frame, 12 Roll paper storage portion, 13 Platen, 14 Inkjet head, 15 Carriage, 15A Home position 15B Left end position, 15a Carriage guide shaft, 16a to 16d Ink pump, 17a to 17d Ink tube, 18 Head maintenance unit, 20
Ink cartridge, 21 Cartridge case, 22 Front face, 23 Positioning needle insertion hole, 24-27 Ink supply needle insertion hole, 28 Non-rotating needle insertion hole, 29 Waste ink collection needle insertion hole, 30 Air release needle insertion hole, 31 Upper end surface 32 Projection surface, 3
3 side, 34 label, 34a label part, 34b printing surface for ink end display, 3
4c Label portion, 35 recess, 36 IC chip, 37 rectangular recess, 38 engagement protrusion, 38a inclined top surface, 38b front vertical surface, 40 case body, 41, 42 lid plate, 41
a, 42a label, 43 partition plate portion, 44 outer peripheral frame plate portion, 45 ink storage portion,
46 Waste ink storage section, 54 to 57 ink bag, 54a to 57a Ink supply port, 61
Waste ink collection path, 61a front end, 61b rear end, 62 waste ink collection chamber, 62a lateral rib, 63 atmosphere release chamber, 63a first compartment group, 63a1, 63a2 first compartment, 63b
Second compartment group, 63b1, 63b2 Second compartment, 63c communication groove, 63d atmosphere release path, 63e atmosphere release path, 63f liquid reservoir space, 63g atmosphere release path, 65 waste ink collection port, 65a seal rubber, 65b normally closed Valve mechanism, 66 Air release port, 66a Seal rubber, 66b Normally closed valve mechanism, 81 Rear end face, 83 Positioning needle, 84-87 Ink supply needle, 88 Non-rotating needle, 89 Waste ink collection needle, 90 Air release needle, 91 Bottom face , 92 slide plate, 93 tension coil spring, 94 engaging roller, 95 rotating plate, 96 tension coil spring, 97 rear end support shaft, 98 electromagnetic solenoid, 98a telescopic rod, 100
Connecting brush, 101 control circuit, 102 computer, 103, 105 driver, 104 paper feed motor, 106 carriage motor, 107 head driver, L strikethrough.

Claims (2)

An ink cartridge that can be attached to an inkjet printer,
A cartridge case,
An ink storage portion for storing ink formed inside the cartridge case;
A cartridge information storage unit which is attached to the cartridge case and stores information on the remaining amount of ink stored in the ink storage unit;
A label having an ink end display printing surface on which printing information that is not ink end information indicating that the ink storage unit has reached a predetermined ink end state is printed in advance ;
A projecting surface formed by projecting a part of the outer surface on the outer surface of the cartridge case ;
The label is
Affixed from the protruding surface of the cartridge case to another outer surface orthogonal to the protruding surface,
The ink end display printing surface , which is a part of the label attached to the protruding surface ,
When mounted on the ink cartridge mounting portion of the ink jet printer , located at the adjacent position of the platen that defines the printing position by the ink jet head of the ink jet printer,
When it is detected that the ink remaining amount is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold value based on the information regarding the ink remaining amount stored and held in the cartridge information storage unit, ink is discharged from at least one ink nozzle row of the inkjet head. by a droplet is ejected, the ink end information is printable,
The ink end information is
An ink cartridge, wherein the ink cartridge is a strikethrough printed over the print information on the ink end display printing surface . The ink cartridge according to claim 1 , wherein the cartridge case includes a locking engagement portion that is locked by a lock mechanism that is disposed in an ink cartridge mounting portion of an inkjet printer.

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