JPH0377068B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an ink storage container, and particularly to an ink storage container that is used in an inkjet printer and allows the remaining amount of ink to be confirmed.

In an inkjet printer, liquid ink collides with paper in the form of droplets to record information such as letters and pictures as dots. Therefore, ink must be stored as a liquid, like gasoline in a car.Furthermore, if the ink scatters, it will stain the surrounding area, so ink must be stored in an ink container to prevent it from leaking due to vibrations or shocks. There is a need to.

This ink container contains the physical properties of the ink,
In other words, keeping surface tension, viscosity, PH, etc. constant,
It is desirable to have a structure that prevents evaporation and deterioration of the constituent components of the ink as much as possible. In addition, in the case of an inkjet printer that ejects ink by applying voltage only when recording is necessary, rather than selectively charging and deflecting ejected droplets, the ink liquid level is kept in the ink container. A structure is required that maintains a constant pressure and maintains the pressure inside the container at the same level as the atmosphere.

Furthermore, when the ink in the container runs low, it is required to be able to replenish or replace the ink.

As an ink storage container that satisfies these conditions, those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are known.

That is, in FIG. 1, ink 2 is stored in a flexible storage bag 1, and the entire ink storage bag 1 is stored in an ink cassette case 4 provided with a ventilation hole 3, and the ink storage bag is The ink 2 is delivered to the outside through a discharge pipe 5 and a rubber stopper 6 arranged inside the ink 1.
The structure is such that the following can be derived.

Specifically, the ink 2 is taken out by connecting the insertion needle 7 to the outlet pipe 5 led to the rubber stopper 6.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, this ink storage bag 1 has a nylon outer protective plastic thin film 8 with a thickness of 5 to 10 μm, and an aluminum thin film with a thickness of about 10 μm to prevent ink evaporation and deterioration due to ultraviolet rays. 9, and an inner main bag 10 made of a polyethylene thin film with a thickness of 50 to 70 μm.

In the case of an ink storage container constructed in this manner, ink is replenished by replacing the entire cassette, and the old cassette is discarded. The ink storage bag 1 is a flat bag, and the ink level changes by at most about 10 mm from when it is full to when it is empty, and is constructed to minimize pressure fluctuations.

When connecting an ink storage container configured in this way to an inkjet printer for recording,
When the remaining amount of ink is low, the printing density does not gradually become lighter, but the phenomenon of sudden printing failure also occurs when a shock is applied to the device. It is impossible to determine whether the person is disabled or not. Therefore, it is necessary to accurately inform the user of the remaining amount of ink in order to replenish the ink, replace the ink storage bag, or determine whether printing is impossible due to impact.

Conventionally, a mechanism as shown in FIG. 3 has been generally used to detect the amount of liquid remaining in a liquid storage container. That is, in the mechanism shown in FIG. 3a, a float 12 with a built-in magnet is suspended in a side channel 13 of a liquid container 11, and a reed switch 14 is disposed opposite the side channel 13.

When the liquid 15 in the liquid container 11 becomes low, the float 12 in the side passage 13 is lowered according to the level of the liquid 15, and the reed switch 14 is operated to detect the remaining amount of ink. Also, Figure 3b
The mechanism shown in Figure 1 detects the remaining amount of liquid using a light emitting means 16 and a light receiving means 17 instead of the reed switch 14. When the amount of liquid such as opaque ink decreases to below a predetermined level, light is detected. This is a method in which the means 17 receives light from the light emitting means 16 to detect the remaining amount of liquid.

In addition, in the mechanism shown in FIG. 3c, two conductors 18 are inserted into the liquid 15, and these are used as electrodes to detect resistance changes due to a decrease in the liquid 15. When the remaining amount becomes low, the resistance suddenly changes. This is to take advantage of the rising value.

However, such a conventional liquid remaining amount detection method cannot be used to detect the remaining amount of ink contained in a flat type ink storage container as shown in FIG. This is because the ink container shown in FIG. 1 is designed to minimize changes in the liquid level in order to keep the ink pressure constant. Furthermore, even with the mechanism shown in Figure 3e, even if the ink is low and completely gone, there is a risk that the resistance will drop due to ink adhering to the inside of the ink storage bag, so it is difficult to accurately detect the remaining amount of ink. I can't.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an ink storage container in which the amount of ink remaining in the container can be checked reliably using inexpensive means.

The present invention has been proposed to achieve the above-mentioned object, and is an ink cassette in which a flexible ink storage bag is housed in a housing, in which an ink guide member is arranged to draw out ink from the flexible ink storage bag. An ink remaining amount display window is provided by cutting out a part of the casing on the opposite surface of the casing, and the flexible ink storage bag is placed in contact with the ink storage bag. a moving member having a display portion that moves within the ink remaining amount display window and displays a position that is displaced in response to a decrease in the volume of the bag due to ink consumption while following the downward movement of the position; Features.

Further, the present invention provides an inkjet printer having a removably attached ink cassette containing a flexible ink storage bag in a housing, wherein the ink cassette has an ink outlet member for guiding ink from the flexible ink storage bag. An ink remaining amount display window is provided by cutting out a part of the housing on a surface opposite to the surface in which the flexible ink storage bag is placed, and the flexible ink storage bag is placed in contact with the flexible ink storage bag. a moving member having a display portion that moves within the ink remaining amount display window and displays a position that is displaced in response to a volume reduction due to ink consumption of the storage bag while following the downward movement of the storage bag; The present invention is characterized in that movement of the display portion within the remaining ink amount display window can be recognized from the outside when the ink cassette is attached to the inkjet printer.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

An embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, and in these figures, the same parts as in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, a flat, hard-to-deform flat plate 19, which is an indicating member for indicating the remaining amount of ink, is placed on top of the ink storage bag 1 in the ink cassette case 4 so as to be in contact with the ink storage bag 1. This flat plate also functions to uniformly deform the storage bag 1.

Also, on the back of the ink cassette case 4,
A viewing window 21 is formed as an opening for displaying the position of the flat plate 22.

In such a configuration, the shape of the ink storage bag 1 changes and collapses as the ink is consumed.
Accordingly, the entire flat plate 19 placed on top of the flat plate 19 freely descends.

Therefore, as the amount of ink in the ink storage bag 1 decreases, the flat plate 19 also comes down, and its end begins to be visible from above through the viewing window 21, and finally as shown in FIG. 4b.
It also becomes completely visible as shown in Figure 5b.
The edge or bent portion 20 of the flat plate 19 is red etc.
If you color it, it will be easier to confirm.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the flat plate 22 may have any shape and material as long as it moves as the ink storage bag is deformed. In addition to the opening, the viewing window may be one in which a transparent synthetic resin or the like is fitted into the opening. Furthermore, it is clear that the invention can be applied to any type of inkjet printer.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a flat plate is placed in contact with a flexible ink storage bag and lowers as ink is consumed; By providing a member that displaces as the flat plate descends so that it can be determined from the outside as the flat plate descends, the remaining amount of ink can be accurately confirmed from the outside as substantially the same as the remaining amount of ink. In particular, in the second invention, since the ink remaining amount display section is located on the side opposite to the ink supply side to the inkjet printer, the structure is simplified and the remaining ink amount can be relatively accurately displayed with minimal cost increase. It becomes possible to display.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a conventional ink storage container that does not have an ink level display function, Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of an ink storage bag, and Figures 3 a, b, and c are equipped with an ink level display function. A cross-sectional view of a conventional ink storage container,
FIGS. 4a and 4b are sectional views of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 5a and 5b are front views of the viewing window. 1... Ink storage bag, 4... Ink cassette case, 19... Flat plate, 21... Peephole.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an ink cassette in which a flexible ink storage bag is housed in a housing, the housing has a surface opposite to a surface on which an ink guiding member for guiding ink from the flexible ink storage bag is disposed. An ink level display window is provided by cutting out a part of the body and is placed in contact with the flexible ink storage bag, and is configured to respond to volume reduction due to ink consumption of the flexible ink storage bag. an ink cassette comprising: a moving member having a display portion that moves within the ink remaining amount display window and displays the position displaced by the ink remaining amount display window while following the downward movement of the ink cassette. 2. An inkjet printer having a removably attached ink cassette containing a flexible ink storage bag inside a housing, wherein the ink cassette has a surface on which an ink guiding member for guiding ink from the flexible ink storage bag is arranged. an ink level display window provided by cutting out a part of the casing on a surface facing the casing; and an ink level display window placed in contact with the flexible ink storage bag; a moving member having a display portion that moves within the remaining ink amount display window and displays a position that is displaced according to a decrease in volume due to consumption while following the downward movement of the inkjet printer; An inkjet printer characterized in that movement of the display portion within the remaining ink amount display window can be recognized from the outside when the ink cassette is attached to the printer.