JPH09226149A - Image-forming apparatus and recording agent-detecting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a count of parts and lower manufacturing costs in a mechanism detecting the remaining amount of a recording agent with the use of light. SOLUTION: A recording head 1 discharges an ink 4 stored in an ink tank 2 thereby forming images onto a recording medium. While the recording head 1 is at a recovery process position by a recovery system unit 6, an optical detecting part 5 detects the presence/absence of the ink 4. An optical output from a light-emitting part 51 is split in two directions. One of the optical output from the light-emitting part 51 is projected to the ink tank 2 and a reflecting light is received by a photodetecting part 52, whereby the presence/absence of the ink 4 is detected. The other optical output reaches an incident face 7A of a guide member 7 and makes a light-emitting face 7B emit light. The light- emitting face 7B is used as a power source display lamp.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus and a recording agent detecting apparatus therefor, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus and a recording agent detecting apparatus of an ink jet recording system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus forms a recorded image on a recording medium by attaching a recording agent to the recording medium. In such an image forming apparatus, it is necessary to confirm the remaining amount of the recording material, and many image forming apparatuses have a remaining amount detecting mechanism.

However, when the remaining amount detecting mechanism is provided, the number of parts as the device increases, and the cost of the product increases accordingly. Therefore, for example, in an inkjet recording apparatus, some inexpensive products do not have a remaining amount detecting mechanism. However, in such a product, it is difficult to determine whether the change in the recording state is due to ink shortage or other factors, and the burden on the user is increased. Therefore, in order to suppress the cost increase of the product as much as possible, a simpler remaining amount detecting mechanism has been required.

As a remaining amount detecting mechanism of an image forming apparatus, in Japanese Patent Application No. 6-136216 and Japanese Patent Application No. 6-136217, an ink tank is irradiated with light and the returned light is received by a light receiving sensor. A method for determining the presence or absence of ink has been proposed. In order to detect the presence / absence of a recording agent by using light as described above, an LED is mainly provided as a light emitting unit that irradiates the ink tank with light, and a light receiving unit that receives light returning from the ink tank is used as a light receiving unit. It is equipped with a sensor.

[0005]

As described above, in the remaining amount detecting mechanism using light, the LE as a light emitting unit is provided in the main body of the apparatus.
Since D, a light receiving sensor as a light receiving unit, and the like are added, the number of parts is increased, and as a result, there is a problem that the cost of the apparatus main body is also increased.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a mechanism for detecting the remaining amount of a recording agent by using light, an image forming apparatus and a recording agent detection in which the number of parts is reduced and the manufacturing cost is reduced. The purpose is to provide a device.

Another object of the present invention is to divide a light source used in a mechanism for detecting a recording agent into at least two directions so that it serves as both a light source for detecting a recording agent and a light source for display. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus and a recording material detecting apparatus.

[0008]

The image forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object has the following constitution.
That is, storage means for storing a recording agent used for forming an image on a recording medium, branching means for branching and outputting light from a light source in at least two directions, and one output light from the branching means. Display for irradiating the storage means and detecting at least the presence or absence of the recording agent in the storage means by detecting the reflected light, and a display for performing a predetermined display by using the other output light from the branching means And means.

Further, preferably, the predetermined display on the display means is a power supply display showing a power-on state of the apparatus. This is because the power source display, which is required to be turned on in the operating state of the device, is suitable for the display using the light source dividing mechanism.

Further, preferably, the detecting means comprises a sensor having a light receiving part for detecting the light source and the reflected light, and the branching means is built in the sensor. Since the branching means is built in the sensor, the number of parts can be further reduced, the man-hours for mounting the parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

Further, preferably, the detecting means includes a sensor having a light receiving section for detecting the light source and the reflected light, and the branching means is provided outside the sensor.
The light output from the sensor is branched into at least two directions. Since the branching means is provided outside the sensor used as the detecting means, it is possible to use a commercially available sensor, and the scope of application of the invention is expanded.

[0012] Further, preferably, there is further provided a changing means for changing a light emitting state of the light source based on a detection result by the detecting means. This is because the display state is changed by changing the light emitting state of the light source, and as a result, various display expressions can be performed without increasing the number of parts.

Further, preferably, the light emitting state of the light source is changed by the changing means by changing a blinking speed of the light source.

Further, preferably, the detection means detects the presence or absence of the recording agent and the presence or absence of the storage means based on the received light amount of the reflected light.

Preferably, the storage means is an ink tank for storing ink as a recording agent, and further comprises a recording head for discharging the ink to form an image on a recording medium. This is because it can be applied to an inkjet recording device.

Further, preferably, the recording head and the ink tank are mounted on a carriage, the carriage reciprocates with the recording head facing a recording medium, and the detection unit is configured such that the carriage records the recording. The presence or absence of the recording agent in the storage means is detected at the position where the head recovery process is performed. This is because the ink is detected at the position where the recovery processing of the recording head is performed, so that the mechanism of the recovery processing mechanism can substitute for the mechanism such as positioning of the recording head for performing the ink detection.

Further, preferably, the recording head is a recording head for ejecting ink by utilizing thermal energy, and an ink jet recording head provided with a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy given to the ink. Is.

Further, preferably, the recording head causes a state change in the ink by the thermal energy applied by the thermal energy converter, and the ink is ejected from the ejection port based on the state change.

Further, a recording agent detecting device of the present invention which achieves the above object is a recording agent detecting device used in an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium by using a recording agent. A branching unit for branching and outputting light in at least two directions, and one output light from the branching unit is applied to a storage unit for storing the recording agent, and the reflected light is detected to detect at least the storage unit. Detecting means for detecting the presence or absence of a recording agent, and the other output light from the branching means,
And output means for outputting to perform a predetermined display.

[0020]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 shows a color ink jet recording apparatus IJRA (hereinafter
(It is simply called a recording device). In the figure,
The carriage HC that engages with the spiral groove 5004 of the lead screw 5005 that rotates via the driving force transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in association with the forward and reverse rotations of the drive motor 5013 has a pin (not shown), and has an arrow. It is reciprocated in the a and b directions. This carriage HC has Y (yellow), M
Inkjet cartridge IJC provided with ink tanks IT for (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black)
Is installed. IJH is a recording head,
It has a nozzle for ejecting the ink supplied from the ink tank IT.

Reference numeral 5002 denotes a paper pressing plate which presses the paper against the platen 5000 in the moving direction of the carriage. Reference numerals 5007 and 5008 denote home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the lever 5006 of the carriage in this area and switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013. A member 5016 supports a cap member 5022 for capping the front surface of the recording head.
Reference numeral 5015 denotes a suction unit that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the recording head through the opening 5023 in the cap.

5017 is a cleaning blade,
Reference numeral 19 denotes a member that allows this blade to move in the front-rear direction, and these are supported by the main body support plate 5018.
It goes without saying that the blade is not limited to this form and a known cleaning blade can be applied to this example. Also, 50
Reference numeral 12 denotes a lever for starting suction for recovery of suction, which moves with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage, and the driving force from the drive motor is controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching or the like. .

The capping, cleaning, and suction recovery are configured so that the desired processing can be performed at their corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005 when the carriage comes to the area on the home position side. As long as the desired operation is performed at the timing, any of the above can be applied to this example.

In the ink jet recording apparatus having the above structure, detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink jet cartridge IJC mounted on the ink jet recording head IJH reduces the burden on the user and improves the operability. Is.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the ink remaining amount detecting section in the recording apparatus of this embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a print head IJH (hereinafter simply referred to as print head 1), and 2 is an ink tank IT (hereinafter simply referred to as ink tank 2). Reference numeral 4 denotes ink stored in the ink tank 2.

Reference numeral 5 denotes an optical detector, which is the ink tank 2
The presence or absence of the ink 4 in the ink tank 2 is detected by shining light on and detecting the reflected light. The optical detector 5 is
A light emitting unit 51 such as an LED (light source) and a light receiving unit 52 having a light receiving sensor for detecting reflected light are provided. Reference numeral 6 denotes a recovery system unit for recovering clogging of nozzles of the recording head, which is composed of a cap member 5022, a member 5016 for supporting the cap member 5022, a suction means 5016 for sucking the inside of the cap, etc. .

Reference numeral 7 is a guide member for guiding the light output from the light emitting section 51 to the outside of the device, 7A is a light incident surface, and 7B is a light emitting surface. In the present embodiment, as an example, the light emitting surface 7B is used for POWER ON display. Reference numeral 9 denotes a display unit provided on the exterior 8 of the recording apparatus body. The light emitting surface 7B functions as one of the display lamps of the display unit 9.

Here, the recording head 1 and the ink tank 2
Is mounted on the carriage HC as shown in FIG. 1 and reciprocates while facing the recording medium P to form an image. The recording head 1 may be clogged at the ejection port due to increased viscosity of the ejected ink 4 or the like. Therefore, a recovery system unit 6 is provided to recover the recording head 1. In the present embodiment, the optical detection unit 5 is provided at a position facing the ink tank 2 with the recording head 1 positioned at the position where the recovery operation is performed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the optical detection section 5 in the first embodiment. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 53 denotes a portion which will be a main body of the optical detection section 5 (hereinafter, referred to as main body member 53
And is composed of a light-impermeable resin that reflects the light emitted from the light emitting unit 51. Since the main body member 53 reflects light, it is possible to block light inside the main body (to prevent the light of the light emitting unit 51 from reaching the light receiving unit 52 inside the main body), and to effectively emit the emitted light to the outside. Can be released to. Reference numeral 54 is a cover of the light emitting portion 51 and the light receiving portion 52 made of a light transmissive resin. By coloring the cover 54, it is possible to change the color of the light output from the optical detection unit 5.

The light emitted from the light emitting section 51 enters the ink tank 2 through the path 5a. A prism portion, which will be described later, is provided in the ink tank 2, and the light incident from the path 5a is output so as to pass through the path 5b. Further, in the optical detecting section 5, the light emitted from the light emitting section 51 is also output to the path 5c. This route 5
The light output to c serves as a light source for display.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the prism portion provided in the ink tank 2. In the present embodiment, the ink tank 2 has a rectangular box shape, and the ink 4 is enclosed therein. The ink tank 2 of this embodiment is formed of a transparent or translucent plastic member that transmits light. 2A is a prism portion having an inclined surface integrally formed with the ink tank 2.

In the above structure, the light from the light emitting portion 51 is branched and emitted in two directions (the light entrance surface 7A of the ink tank 2 and the guide member 7). One of the lights enters the prism portion 2A of the ink tank 2 and is refracted on the slope of the prism portion 2A.

Here, n0 is the refractive index of air, n1 is the refractive index of the member of the ink tank 2, n2 is the refractive index of the ink 4, and
Let θ1 be the incident angle of light on the slope of the prism portion 2A, θ0 be the emission angle of light from the slope of the prism portion 2A to the air, and θ2 be the emission angle of light from the slope of the prism portion 2A to the ink 4. According to Snell's law, when air is in contact with the slope of the prism portion 2A as shown in FIG. 4B, n0 * SINθ0 = n1 * SINθ1.

When the ink 4 is in contact with the slope of the prism portion 2A as shown in FIG. 4A, the relationship of n2 * SINθ2 = n1 * SINθ1 is established.

Here, θ1 at which θ0 or θ2 becomes 90 ° is called the “critical angle” of refraction. When the incident angle exceeds the critical angle, the incident light is totally reflected. According to the refractive index of the ink 4, when the angle of the member of the ink tank 1 and the slope of the prism portion 2A and the incident angle of light are appropriately set, when the ink 4 is present, the incident light is almost returned to the light receiving portion 52. Leverage,
When the ink 4 does not exist, the incident light can be detected by the light receiving portion 52 because the light is totally reflected at the boundary between the slope of the prism portion 2A and the air.

In the example shown in FIG. 4, a right angle prism is formed in which the angle of the inclined surface of the prism portion 2A is 45 degrees and the apex angle is 90 degrees. Then, the light from the light emitting unit 51 receives the incident angle of 45
It shows the case where the ink tank is irradiated with a certain degree. Ink 4 uses water or water as a solvent and has a refractive index of 1.32,
The material of the ink tank 2 is polypropylene and the refractive index is 1.5.
If it is 0, the critical angle of the incident light from the slope of the prism portion 2A, that is, the member of the ink tank 2 to the air is 41.8.
The critical angle of the incident light on the ink 4 is 62.0 degrees.

Since the incident angle of 45 degrees is larger than the critical angle of 41.8 degrees, when there is no ink 4, the incident light is totally reflected by the two slopes as shown in FIG. 4B. The light is returned to the light receiving section 52 in parallel with and the reflected light is detected. On the other hand, when the ink 4 is present as shown in FIG. 4A, the incident light is not totally reflected because the critical angle is smaller than 62.0 degrees, and the amount of reflected light detected by the light receiving unit 52 is small. As described above, the remaining ink amount can be detected by detecting the presence / absence of reflection of light from the light emitting unit 51.

The other light is incident on the light incident surface 7A of the guide member 7 and is emitted to the outside from the light emitting surface 7B to light the display portion.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the light of the light emitting section 51 of the optical detecting section 5 is branched into two directions, and the remaining ink amount is detected and the display section 9 is turned on. It can be implemented with a single LED. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a light source dedicated to the display unit 9, and further, the LED
Since the board (for display), the space on the board, the wiring, etc. can be omitted, the total number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the light source of the sensor also serves as the light source of the display unit, but the light source of the display unit may serve as the light source of the sensor. Further, although the present embodiment has been described using the reflection type optical detection unit, it is also possible to use the transmission type optical detection unit that detects the presence or absence of ink by detecting the light transmitted through the ink tank. Is.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In the first embodiment, a mechanism for branching light is provided inside the optical detector 5. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, the light emitting unit 51
The branch of the light from is performed outside the optical detection unit 5.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the optical detector and the light branching mechanism in the second embodiment. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 11 denotes a branching prism that is made of acrylic or the like that is a plastic member that transmits light and that is used as a means for branching the light. Reference numeral 11A denotes a branching surface that splits the light output from the light emitting section 51 of the optical detecting section 5 into reflected light (broken line in the figure) and transmitted light (dotted line in the figure).
Is set to an angle (in the present embodiment, inclined by 30 degrees with respect to the normal line of the incident light) that does not totally reflect the light. 1
Reference numeral 1B is a branch prism light emitting surface for outputting the light passing through the inside of the branch prism 11, and this light emitting surface 11B constitutes one of the display lamps. Reference numeral 11C is a light-entering surface of the branch prism for the light from the light emitting section 51.

Here, in FIG. 5, the incident light (solid line in the figure) emitted from the light emitting portion 51 is the incident surface 11C of the branch prism.
From inside the branching prism 11. And the branch surface 11
By A, according to Snell's law as described above, it is divided into reflected light and transmitted light. In this example, as shown in FIG. 5, the incident light is the reflected light that is reflected as shown by a dotted line inclined by 30 degrees with respect to the normal line of the branch surface 11A and the branch surface 11 as well.
The transmitted light is branched as shown by the alternate long and short dash line inclined by 19.5 degrees with respect to the normal line of A.

Here, since the reflected light (broken line) is incident on the boundary surface between the branching prism 11 and the air at an angle of 60 degrees, the incident angle becomes larger than the critical angle, and the reflected light is totally reflected, which is shown by the dotted line. The light is traced through such an optical path and there is no loss of light, and the light is output from the branch prism light emitting surface 11B. Further, the transmitted light follows the optical path shown by the alternate long and short dash line and enters the prism portion 2A of the ink tank 2. If the light is reflected by the prism portion 2A (that is, if there is no ink), the light returns to the light receiving portion 52 and is detected. The prism portion 2A
The angle and the like of the sloped surface are as follows because the incident light is incident at an angle from the vertical direction by the branch prism 11.
The incident light is appropriately set to be emitted toward the light receiving section 52.

With the above structure, the same effects as those of the first embodiment of the present invention can be obtained, and
It is not necessary to modify the configuration of the optical detection unit 5.
For this reason, a commercially available reflection type photo sensor can be used, so that the configuration can be suitable for mass production.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the third embodiment, the types of display expressions are increased by changing the light emission interval of the light emitting unit 51.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a lighting mode of the display lamp in the third embodiment. In FIG. 6A, the display surface 7B represented by a filled black circle indicates a state in which the display surface 7B is illuminated by the light of the light emitting unit 51. Further, in FIG. 6B, a large number of lines (8 lines in this figure) are radially used around the outside of the filled black circle to indicate that the light emitting surface 7B blinks at short intervals. Shows the state (fast blinking state). In addition, in FIG. 6C, a small number of lines (4 lines in this figure) radially around the outside of the filled black circle.
The use of "" indicates that the light emitting surface 7B blinks at a long interval (slow blinking state).

By changing the lighting state of the light emitting surface 7B (that is, the lighting state of the light emitting portion 51) as described above,
It is possible to display a plurality of types of display.

In this embodiment, as an example of the display expression,
The following contents are displayed by using the change of the lighting state.

In the lighting state of FIG. 6A, it is displayed that the power source of the apparatus main body is turned on in the normal use state. In the fast blinking state of (b) of FIG. 6, it is displayed that it is not in a normal use state (with an error). Here, in the example of FIG. 6B, as a result of the detection of the remaining amount of ink by the optical detection unit 5, it is detected that the ink has run out,
The light emitting portion 51 is made to blink in a fast blinking state. FIG. 6C shows a display state indicating that the ink tank 2 itself is not attached. That is, it is detected that the ink tank 2 is not mounted, and the light emitting portion 51 is blinked in a slow blinking state.

Further, using the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the third embodiment will be described in detail. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a light emission control procedure of the light emitting unit 51 according to the third embodiment.

When the detection of the remaining amount of the ink 4 is started, the ink tank 2 is moved to a position where it can be detected by the optical detection section 5 in step S1 and enters a detection state. Here, the detectable position is the recovery processing position as described above in the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the carriage moves to the recovery position at the timing when the remaining ink amount is detected, and the remaining ink amount is detected. However, when the carriage moves to the recovery position to perform the recovery operation. Alternatively, the check of the remaining ink amount (the recovery operation is performed regularly) may be activated.

Then, the remaining amount of ink is detected by the optical detecting section 5, and the states of the ink 4 and the ink tank 2 are judged from the difference in the amount of light reaching the light receiving section 52.
First, the case where the ink 4 contains the ink 4 will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 4A, most of the light from the light emitting portion 51 is transmitted through the ink 4 due to the presence of the ink 4, but a small amount of light is generated due to the boundary between the ink 4 and the prism portion 2A. The light is reflected and detected by the light receiving unit 52. As a result, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S3.
And the ink tank 2 is installed and the ink 4
Is also confirmed to exist. Therefore, it is determined that the printable state is normal (step S4), and the light emitting unit 51 is turned on (step S5). As a result, the display unit 9 displays the normal power-on state (the lighting state of FIG. 6A).

On the other hand, the case where the ink tank 2 is present but the ink 4 is not present will be described. As described with reference to FIG. 4A, in this case, the light from the light emitting section 51 is totally reflected by the boundary between the ink 4 and the prism section 2A due to the absence of the ink 4, and a large amount of light is received by the light receiving section 52. Light will be detected. Therefore, the processing proceeds from step S2 to step S7, and it is confirmed that the ink tank 2 is present but the ink 4 is exhausted. Then, it is determined that recording is not possible because the ink tank is mounted but there is no ink 4 (step S8), and the light emitting unit 51 is rapidly blinked (step S9). As a result, the display unit 9 is in a fast blinking state as shown in FIG. 6B and warns the user that there is no ink 4.

Next, a case where the ink tank 2 itself is not attached to the apparatus will be described. In this case, the light emitting unit 51
Since there is no ink tank 2 which serves as a reflecting member, the light from the light does not enter the light receiving portion 52 at all, and the light amount detected by the light receiving portion 2 becomes almost zero. As a result, the process proceeds from step S2 to step S10, and it is confirmed that there is no ink tank 2. Then, it is determined that the recording cannot be performed because the ink tank 2 is not attached (step S11), and the light emitting unit 51 is brought into the slow blinking state (step S12). As a result, the display unit 9 blinks to the user as shown in FIG. 6C to warn that the ink tank 2 is not present.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to change the light emitting interval of the light emitting section 51 to perform a plurality of types of display expressions, and it is not necessary to separately use a light emitting source for display. Since it is completed, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced as in the first and second embodiments.

Even if the present invention is applied to a system including a plurality of devices (for example, a host computer, an interface device, a reader, a printer, etc.), an apparatus (for example, a copying machine, a facsimile machine) comprising one device Device).

Another object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium storing a program code of software for realizing the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus, and to provide a computer (or CPU) of the system or apparatus.
And MPU) read and execute the program code stored in the storage medium.

In this case, the program code itself read from the storage medium realizes the functions of the above-described embodiment, and the storage medium storing the program code constitutes the present invention.

As a storage medium for supplying the program code, for example, a floppy disk, hard disk, optical disk, magneto-optical disk, CD-ROM, CD
-R, a magnetic tape, a nonvolatile memory card, a ROM, or the like can be used.

When the computer executes the readout program code, not only the functions of the above-described embodiment are realized, but also the OS (Operating System) running on the computer based on the instruction of the program code. ) May perform some or all of the actual processing, and the processing may realize the functions of the above-described embodiments.

Further, after the program code read from the storage medium is written into a memory provided in a function expansion board inserted into the computer or a function expansion unit connected to the computer, based on the instruction of the program code, It goes without saying that the CPU included in the function expansion board or the function expansion unit performs part or all of the actual processing, and the processing realizes the functions of the above-described embodiments.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The light source used in the mechanism for detecting the recording agent is branched in at least two directions so that it serves as both the light source for detecting the recording agent and the light source for display, thus reducing the number of parts and reducing the cost. To be done.

[0065]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a color inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an ink remaining amount detection unit in the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an optical detection unit 5 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a prism portion provided in the ink tank 2.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an optical detector and an optical branching mechanism according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a lighting mode of a display lamp according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a light emission control procedure of a light emitting unit 51 according to a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Head 2 Ink Tank 2A Prism Section 4 Ink 5 Optical System Detection Section 6 Recovery System Unit 7 Guide Member 7A Light Entrance Surface 7B Light Emitting Surface 8 Exterior 9 Display Section 11 Branch Prism 11A Branch Surface 11B Branch Prism Light Surface 11C Branch Prism Entry Light surface 51 Light emitting part 52 Light receiving part 53 Main body of optical detecting part 54 Cover

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A storage means for storing a recording agent used for forming an image on a recording medium, a branching means for branching and outputting light from a light source in at least two directions, and one of the branching means. Output means of irradiating the storage means and detecting the reflected light to detect at least the presence or absence of a recording agent in the storage means, and a predetermined display using the other output light from the branching means. An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined display on the display unit is a power supply display indicating a power-on state of the apparatus. 3. The detecting means comprises a sensor having a light receiving part for detecting the light source and the reflected light, and the branching means is built in the sensor. Image forming device. 4. The detecting means comprises a sensor having a light receiving part for detecting the light source and the reflected light, and the branching means is provided outside the sensor and at least the light output from the sensor is provided. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus branches in two directions. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a changing unit that changes a light emitting state of the light source based on a detection result of the detecting unit. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the light emitting state of the light source is changed by the changing unit by changing a blinking speed of the light source. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects the presence or absence of the recording agent and the presence or absence of the storage unit based on the received light amount of the reflected light. 8. The storage means is an ink tank that stores ink as a recording agent, and further comprises a recording head that discharges the ink to form an image on a recording medium. 7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of 7. 9. The recording head and the ink tank are mounted on a carriage, the carriage reciprocates in a state where the recording head faces a recording medium, and the detection unit is configured such that the carriage recovers the recording head. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the presence or absence of a recording agent in the storage unit is detected at a processing position. 10. The recording head is a recording head that ejects ink by using thermal energy, and is an inkjet recording head that includes a thermal energy converter for generating thermal energy to be applied to the ink. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein: 11. The recording head is configured to cause a state change in ink by heat energy applied by the thermal energy converter, and eject ink from an ejection port based on the state change. The recording device according to claim 10. 12. A recording agent detecting device used in an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium using a recording agent, comprising: a branching unit for branching and outputting light from a light source in at least two directions. One of the output lights from the branching unit is irradiated to a storage unit that stores a recording agent, and a detecting unit that detects at least the presence or absence of the recording agent in the storage unit by detecting the reflected light; An output unit that outputs the other output light of the above in order to perform a predetermined display.