JPH0976521A - Printing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing unit capable of easily knowing the residual amt. of ink by a simple structure. SOLUTION: In a printing unit 3 equipped with a printing head part 7 having ink nozzles 11 injecting ink to printing paper P and an ink tank 5 housing ink, an ink residual amt. display window 9 is provided to the side surface of the printing head part 7 and graduations for confirming the residual amt. of ink are applied to the ink residual amt. display window 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing unit used in a printing apparatus or the like, and more particularly to a printing unit using ink.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been the following methods for detecting the remaining amount of ink in a printing unit.
That is, according to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-218845 (first cited example), a means for detecting the responsiveness of the ink supply means or its driving means at the time of driving, and a means for storing the ink in the ink storage means according to a change in the responsiveness There is provided a means for detecting the remaining ink amount. This is because when the remaining amount of ink decreases, the weight of the printing unit decreases, so even if the driving force of the driving unit is the same, the printing unit can be moved more quickly. There is.

In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-201123 (second cited example), an electrode is directly provided in an ink containing portion, and based on an electrical measurement value that changes according to the amount of ink decrease. The remaining amount of ink is detected.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-60654 (the third cited example), the pulse signals applied to drive the print head are counted, and the cumulative count reaches a preset value. When it does, it judges that the remaining amount of ink is low, and alarms the near empty of ink.

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional examples have the following inconveniences. That is, in the first reference example, in order to detect the remaining amount of ink with a constant accuracy, the viscosity of the ink changes depending on whether the external temperature rises or falls. Therefore, the change in the viscosity characteristic of the ink must be measured. That caused the inconvenience. Further, in order to detect the responsiveness of the printing unit, it is necessary to detect the change in the sliding characteristic between the carrier bearing having the printing unit and the guide shaft. And, it is generally difficult to measure these characteristics, and the structure becomes complicated.

Further, in the second cited example, it is necessary to provide a complicated detection electrode and an electric circuit for detecting the remaining amount, which complicates the structure of the printing unit and increases the manufacturing cost. It was

Further, in the third reference example, since the ink consumption is estimated by counting the number of prints, the print head or the ink tank is attached or detached, or the print head or ink tank is replaced with another same model. It is impossible, and there is a problem that ink runs out during printing.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to improve the disadvantages of the above-mentioned conventional examples, and in particular to provide a printing unit capable of easily knowing the remaining amount of ink with a simple structure. .

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, in the invention according to claim 1, a print head portion having an ink nozzle for ejecting ink toward a print sheet,
In a printing unit provided with an ink tank for containing ink, an ink remaining amount display window is provided on the side surface of the print head portion, and a scale for confirming the ink remaining amount is attached to the ink remaining amount display window. I am collecting.

With the above configuration, the ink tank is filled with ink in the initial stage of use of the printing unit. Then, as the printing work progresses, the amount of ink decreases. When the printing operation is further performed, the ink remaining amount becomes small, and the ink surface appears in the ink remaining amount display window provided in the print head unit.

Further, since the ink remaining amount display window is provided with a scale for confirming the remaining amount of ink, when the scale and the ink surface of the ink coincide with each other, a substantially accurate remaining amount of ink is obtained. Can be confirmed. Here, by dividing the scale according to the number of possible prints, for example, about 5000 characters, it is possible to prevent ink from running out during printing. Further, since the ink remaining amount display window is also provided on the upper surface of the print head portion, the ink remaining amount can be easily confirmed from above even when the printing unit is located at the end portion of the printing device. be able to.

Further, according to a second aspect of the present invention, in a printing unit including a print head portion having an ink nozzle for ejecting ink toward a print sheet, and an ink tank containing the ink, a side surface of the ink tank is provided. In addition to providing an ink remaining amount display window, the ink remaining amount display window is provided with a scale for confirming the ink remaining amount.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the remaining ink amount display window is made of a Teflon sheet, and the other configurations are the same as those of the first or second aspect of the invention.

Further, in the invention of claim 4, the remaining ink amount display window is made of glass, and other configurations are the same as those of the invention of claim 1 or 2.

Further, the invention according to claim 5 adopts a structure in which the bottom surface inside the ink tank is inclined so as to descend as it approaches the print head portion, and the other structure is defined in claim 1, 2, 3 or This is the same as the invention described in 4.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, referring to FIG.
Mounts the printing unit 3 according to the present invention on the carrier 15, and the carrier 15 is fitted to the guide shaft 19 and the rear guide 21 which are fixed in parallel with each other.
It can be moved in parallel to the left and right. One end of a spacing belt 25 is engaged with the carrier 15 and is connected to a stepping motor (not shown). Here, the printing unit 3 in FIG. 1 is shown separated from the carrier 15 for convenience of description.

To explain the above configuration in detail, in FIG. 1, the printing unit 3 has a print head portion 7 having an ink nozzle 11 for ejecting ink toward the printing paper P,
An ink tank 5 for storing ink is provided, ink remaining amount display windows 9 and 9A are provided on the side surface of the print head portion 7, and a scale 10 for confirming the ink remaining amount is provided in the ink remaining amount display windows 9 and 9A. It is attached.

The print unit 3 will be described in more detail. The print head portion 7 of the print unit 3 has a cubic shape, and an ink nozzle 11 for ejecting ink is formed on the front surface thereof. This ink nozzle 11
Are formed by a plurality of through holes that are separated from each other by a predetermined distance. Then, the ink heated inside the print head unit 7 is ejected onto the printing paper P by the action of the bubbles generated by the heating, that is, the bubble jet type. However, the print head unit 7 is not limited to the bubble jet type, and may be an electrostatic ink jet type using electrostatic force.

A head portion cable 13 for supplying electric power and electric signals to the print head portion 7 is arranged below the front surface of the print head portion 7. This head cable 1
The cables 3 are arranged on the bottom surface of the print head unit 7 so that the cables are parallel to each other so as to come into contact with a carrier cable 17 described later. And in FIG.
When the printing unit 3 is installed on the carrier 15,
It is electrically connected to the carrier cable 17.

An ink remaining amount display window 9 is formed on the side surface of the print head portion 7. This ink remaining amount display window 9
The Teflon sheet 10 is fitted into a through hole formed in the print head unit 7 for checking the remaining amount of ink that decreases as the printing operation progresses. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, a cross-shaped scale 10A is attached to the surface of the Teflon sheet 10. This scale 10A
This is for checking the remaining amount of ink with a predetermined accuracy, and the horizontal scale 10A is provided at a position where the remaining about 5000 characters are the remaining amount of ink that can be printed. Here, the material of the ink remaining amount display window 9 is not limited to the Teflon sheet, and any kind of material may be used as long as it is a material such as glass to which ink is unlikely to adhere.

An ink remaining amount display window 9A is formed on the upper surface of the print head portion 7 similarly to the side surface thereof. The ink remaining amount display window 9A is displayed from the side when the printing unit 3 is stopped at the end of the printer 1.
In this case, it is possible to confirm the remaining amount of ink from above since the image cannot be seen. Therefore, the configuration is similar to that formed on the side portion of the print head portion 7. At this time, as a method of confirming the remaining amount of ink from above, since the inside of the print head unit 7 is inclined downward toward the ink nozzle 11, the liquid level of the ink nozzle is changed as the ink is consumed. Move to 11 side. Thereby, the remaining amount of ink can be confirmed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink tank 5 connected to the print head portion 7 has a hollow inside, and this space is filled with ink used for printing. The ink tank 5 is of a cartridge type and cannot be replenished with ink after use. However, it is, of course, free to provide the ink tank 5 with a lid mechanism so that necessary ink is replenished each time.

As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface of the ink tank 5 is inclined and descends at a predetermined rate as it approaches the print head portion 7. This is to prevent the ink from remaining on the bottom surface. Of course, it is also possible to have a horizontal bottom surface without inclination. However, by providing the inclination, as a result, the absolute amount of ink remaining in the vicinity of the print head unit 7 can be suppressed. It will be possible to make an almost accurate estimation.

The printing unit 3 is mounted on a carrier 15 made of a predetermined plate-shaped member, as shown in FIG. A through hole is formed in the front side of the carrier 15, and a guide shaft 19 is fitted in the through hole. On the other hand, the rear side has a U-shaped cross section and is fitted so as to sandwich a rear guide 21 arranged in parallel with the guide shaft 19. The guide shaft 19, the rear guide 21, and the carrier 15 can slide relative to each other.

The carrier cable 17 is fixed to the surface of the carrier 15 as described above. The carrier cable 17 is for supplying electric power and electric signals to the print head portion 7, and is electrically connected by installing the print unit 3 on the carrier 15. That is, the carrier cable 17
They are arranged in a line and are formed in a substantially film shape. Further, the carrier cable 17 on the carrier 15 is connected to the second carrier cable 23 extending from the printer 1.

On the lower surface of the carrier 15, as shown in FIG. 1, a spacing belt 25 is connected.
The spacing belt 25 is for moving the carrier 15 based on a signal from a control unit (not shown), and is also connected to a stepping motor (not shown).

Next, the function of the printing unit 3 configured as described above will be explained. As shown in FIG. 1, the printing paper P is positioned at a position facing the ink nozzles 11 of the printing unit 3. Then, the carrier 15 on which the printing unit 3 is placed moves to the right side in the drawing. Ink corresponding to an image to be formed is ejected from the ink nozzle 11 to form a print image on the print paper P. At this time,
In the ink ejection, a signal from a control unit (not shown) is transmitted to the head unit cable via the second carrier cable 23 and the carrier cable 17, and an ink ejecting mechanism unit (not shown) provided inside the print head unit 7 is shown. ) Is controlled.

The printing unit 3 is placed on the carrier 15 while forming a printed image on the printing paper P as described above, and moves leftward in the drawing. This movement is performed by rotating the above-described stepping motor based on a signal from the control unit and moving the spacing belt coupled to this stepping motor. This completes the printing operation for one line. Then, a series of these operations is repeated to complete the printing operation.

The ink in the ink tank 5 of the printing unit 3 gradually decreases as the printing operation is performed for a long time. Then, as the amount of ink decreases, the position of the liquid surface decreases. When the remaining amount of ink becomes considerably small, the ink travels down the inclined surface of the ink tank 5 and remains only in the vicinity of the inside of the print head unit 7.

When the amount of the ink further decreases, the liquid surface of the ink lowers to the position of the ink remaining amount display window 9, and the operator can confirm the lowering of the liquid surface position. At this time, the horizontal scale 10A provided on the surface of the ink remaining amount display window 9 indicates the position of the remaining amount of ink that can be printed by about 5000 characters. Therefore, by confirming the liquid surface position of the ink remaining amount display window 9, the operator can avoid the interruption of the printing work due to the ink exhaustion.

In addition to the side surface of the print head unit 7,
An ink remaining amount display window 9A is also provided on the upper surface thereof.
Therefore, even when the printing unit 3 is located at the end of the printing apparatus 1 and the remaining amount of ink cannot be confirmed from the side, it can be confirmed from above.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described above. In particular, the present embodiment has described the case where the print head portion 7 is provided with the ink remaining amount display windows 9 and 9A. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, you may make it provide the ink residual amount display window directly in the ink tank 5 which accommodates ink. Thus, for example, even when the ink tank and the print head unit are detachable, the amount of ink remaining in the ink tank can be easily confirmed.

[0033]

Since the present invention is constructed and functions as described above, according to the invention of claim 1, it is possible to easily check the remaining amount of ink, and particularly, in the remaining ink amount display window. Since the scale is attached, the excellent effect that the remaining printable number can be confirmed substantially accurately is produced.
Further, since the ink remaining amount display window is provided on the side and above the print head portion, the ink remaining amount can be easily maintained even when the printing unit is located at the end portion of the printing apparatus. This produces the excellent effect that the amount can be confirmed.

Further, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the ink remaining amount display window is provided in the ink tank, even in the case of a printing unit having a structure in which the ink tank and the print head portion are removable, This has an excellent effect that it is possible to easily check the remaining amount of ink inside.

According to the third or fourth aspect of the invention, a Teflon sheet or glass is used as the material of the ink remaining amount display window. Therefore, even if the ink adheres to the ink remaining amount display window inside the ink tank, the ink does not easily separate and stick to the surface. As a result,
This has an excellent effect that the remaining amount of ink can always be confirmed in a good field of view.

Further, according to the invention of claim 5, since the bottom surface of the ink tank is inclined, the ink can be used up to the end without the ink remaining in the ink tank. Produces excellent results.
This is especially true when used together with the ink level indicator window.
It also has an excellent effect that the ink can be used efficiently and surely.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially omitted perspective view of a printing apparatus equipped with a printing unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view in which a part of the printing unit according to the present invention is cut away.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of an ink remaining amount display window disclosed in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 3 Printing unit 5 Ink tank 7 Print head 9,9A Ink remaining amount display window 10 Teflon sheet 10A Scale 11 Ink nozzle

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A printing unit comprising a print head section having an ink nozzle for ejecting ink toward a print sheet and an ink tank containing the ink, wherein an ink remaining amount display window is provided on a side surface of the print head section. And a scale for confirming the ink remaining amount is provided on the ink remaining amount display window. 2. A printing unit comprising a print head section having an ink nozzle for ejecting ink toward a printing sheet, and an ink tank containing the ink, wherein an ink remaining amount display window is provided on a side surface of the ink tank. A printing unit characterized by being provided with a scale for confirming the ink remaining amount in the ink remaining amount display window. 3. The printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the remaining ink amount display window is made of a Teflon sheet. 4. The printing unit according to claim 1, wherein the ink remaining amount display window is made of glass. 5. The printing unit according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein a bottom surface of the inside of the ink tank is inclined so as to descend as it approaches the print head portion.