JPH08142344A - Recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily confirm the ink residual amt. in the ink container mounted on a recording apparatus. CONSTITUTION: Transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 capable of seeing through the inks in ink containers housing recording inks of magenta, cyan, yellow and black and the opaque covers covering the surfaces of the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 in an openable and closable manner are provided to the wall surface parts capable of being looked at the time of the mounting of the ink containers on a recording apparatus of the ink containers. A user opens the opaque covers to confirm the ink residual amts. in the ink containers from the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 by his naked eye.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium using recording ink,
For example, the present invention relates to an inkjet printer that discharges and prints recording ink, and a similar printing apparatus such as a facsimile machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The above-mentioned ink jet printers, etc.
It is a recording device that records with ink liquid instead of ink ribbon, and ink is ejected as droplets from fine ejection ports (orifices) provided in the recording head portion according to image data signals and attached to recording media such as paper. Since recording is performed with high speed, high-speed recording is possible and no noise is generated.
It has various advantages such as easy recording on plain paper.

An ink jet recording apparatus has a plurality of ejection openings for ejecting recording ink, a plurality of liquid passages for flowing the ink through the ejection openings, and an electric current input to heat and eject the ink in the liquid passages. An ink jet cartridge having a structure in which a discharge energy generating element for discharging ink from an outlet is provided in each liquid path is attached to a carriage of a recording apparatus in a replaceable manner together with a plurality of ink containers containing color inks, and moves relative to a recording medium. A color image is recorded by ejecting recording inks of a plurality of colors.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional recording apparatus, it is not possible to confirm the ink remaining amount inside the ink containers of each color containing the recording inks of a plurality of colors. breaking bad. Then, there is a problem in that the use of the time-consuming recording device is interrupted for supplying the ink.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of easily confirming the amount of ink remaining in each color ink container. is there.

[0006]

Therefore, a recording apparatus according to the present invention is a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by using recording inks of a plurality of colors, the ink containing the recording inks. It is an object of the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object by a structure characterized in that the container is provided with a transparent portion through which the ink inside can be seen even when it is attached to the recording apparatus.

In addition to the above-mentioned structure, an opaque cover that covers the surface of the transparent portion so as to be openable and closable is provided, or an ink remaining amount detection for detecting the amount of ink inside from the transparent portion. It is intended to achieve the above-mentioned object by the constitution characterized by including the means.

[0008]

With the above structure, the amount of ink remaining in the ink container of each color can be visually confirmed through the transparent portion through which the ink in the ink container mounted in the recording apparatus can be seen. Further, the quality of the ink inside the ink container can be prevented from being deteriorated by the opaque cover that covers the surface of the transparent portion so as to be opened and closed.

Further, by providing the remaining ink amount detecting means for detecting the amount of ink inside from the transparent portion, the amount of remaining ink inside the ink container can be more easily and surely confirmed.

[0010]

EXAMPLE An example of a recording apparatus according to the present invention is a recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium using recording inks of a plurality of colors, like the recording apparatus using the ink jet,
The ink container containing the recording ink has a feature.

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of an ink container wall surface portion showing the characteristics of an ink container provided in an embodiment according to the present invention.

In the ink container containing the recording inks of magenta, cyan, yellow and black, the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 through which the internal ink can be seen are formed on the wall surface which is visible even when the recording device is mounted. The transparent windows 1, 2, 3 and 4 can read the remaining ink amount for each color.

Then, as shown in the partial perspective view of FIG.
An opaque cover 5 that covers the surfaces of the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 is provided so that the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 can be covered with the opaque cover 5 when the remaining ink amount is not read. Also, light rays do not enter the ink container from the outside, and it is possible to prevent discoloration due to light rays of the ink.

(Other Embodiments) In the above embodiment, the user confirms the ink remaining amount with the naked eye, but as another embodiment, the transparent windows 1, 2, 3, 4 are used. In addition, the remaining ink amount detection meter that reads the remaining ink amount by detecting the decrease of transmitted light, the change of transmitted light color, the change of reflected light amount, etc. due to the characteristics of the color ink is provided, and the remaining ink amount can be easily -It is possible to have a configuration that allows reliable reading.

[0015]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The amount of ink remaining inside the ink container of each color can be confirmed by the transparent portion that allows the ink inside the ink container mounted on the recording apparatus to be seen through. Further, the quality of the ink inside the ink container can be prevented from being deteriorated by the opaque cover that covers the surface of the transparent portion so as to be opened and closed.

Further, by providing an ink remaining amount detecting means for detecting the amount of ink inside from the transparent portion, the amount of ink remaining inside the ink container can be more easily and surely confirmed.

With the above effects, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of problems such as the recording apparatus running out of ink and the recording being defective, and the interruption of the use of the recording apparatus for replenishing the ink, thereby enabling efficient recording. it can.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial front view of an ink container wall surface portion showing the characteristics of an ink container included in an embodiment of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the wall surface portion of the ink container showing opacity that covers the surface of the transparent window of the ink container provided in one embodiment so as to open and close.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 2, 3, 4 Transparent window 5 Opaque cover that covers the surface of the transparent window so that it can be opened and closed

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by using recording inks of a plurality of colors, wherein an ink container containing the recording inks has an internal structure at a portion which is visible even when mounted on the recording apparatus. A recording apparatus comprising a transparent portion through which ink can be seen. 2. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by using recording inks of a plurality of colors, wherein an ink container containing the recording inks has an internal structure at a portion which is visible even when mounted on the recording apparatus. A recording apparatus comprising: a transparent portion through which ink can be seen, and an opaque cover that covers the surface of the transparent portion so that the transparent portion can be opened and closed. 3. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by using recording inks of a plurality of colors, wherein an ink container containing the recording inks has a transparent portion through which the ink inside can be seen and a transparent portion. And a remaining ink amount detecting means for detecting the amount of ink inside the recording device.