JPH10128998A - Ink reservoir - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect presence or absence of an ink container with light substantially horizontally transmitted through a transmission window by forming a window having predetermined optical attenuating characteristics under the container. SOLUTION: A photointerrupter 26 as a photodetector formed in a U shape and having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit disposed at outsides of both sidewalls of a protruding part 19 and opposed to a transmission window 22 is provided on an upper surface of a mount 14 where the part 19 of an ink container 15 is disposed. The photointerrupter 26 is connected to a control circuit to obtain a control signal based on its detection output. The part 19 of the container 15 is disposed between the emitting unit and the receiving unit of the photointerrupter 26. Thus, light quantity transmitting through a transmission window 22 is changed, and an output of the photointerrupter 26 is altered. That is, if the container 15 is not mounted, the detected light of the photointerrupter 26 is in the state the light is not attenuated at all and the light quantity detected by the receiving unit is mostly increased.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink storage device used for an ink jet printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, in an ink jet printer, dots of liquid ink are made to collide with a recording medium in the form of droplets in accordance with information to be recorded, and dots are formed. ing. The ink droplets are ejected from the head, and the ink needs to be supplied to the head at a constant pressure. In addition, in the ink reservoir, it is necessary to prevent the ink solvent and the like from evaporating so that the physical properties of the ink, such as surface tension and viscosity, are maintained at constant values. To meet these requirements, for example,
As disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 15103, an ink storage container using a flat flexible bag is used. That is,
In a hard ink cassette formed in a flat housing shape,
An ink bag made of a flexible material containing ink and a conductive liquid are stored in a sealed state, and a pair of electrodes in contact with the conductive liquid are formed at a lower position inside the ink cassette. I have. Therefore, when the amount of remaining ink is large, the electrodes are in a conductive state by the conductive liquid, but when the amount of remaining ink is small, the volume of the ink bag becomes small, so that the level of the conductive liquid becomes low and Electrical continuity is interrupted. Thus, the remaining amount of ink is detected by detecting the conduction state between the electrodes. In addition to the above-described principle, there is also a method using the conductivity of the ink itself or using a pressure sensor in a supply path to the head.

[0003]

According to the conventional means for detecting the remaining amount of ink, it is possible to detect the remaining amount of the ink itself, but it is possible to detect the presence or absence of an ink cassette containing the ink. Can not. Therefore, in order to add a function of detecting whether or not the ink cassette is set, it is necessary to separately provide a mechanism for detecting the presence or absence of the ink cassette in addition to providing the ink remaining amount detecting mechanism. In addition, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-1510
The structure described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 3 is complicated, particularly, the connection of the supply tube to the ink bag is complicated, and the ink bag is made of a hard member in an ink cassette for easy handling. There is a problem that it has to be stored in. Further, a conductive liquid must be sealed in the ink cassette, which results in an expensive ink container.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
A transparent light-transmitting window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed below the ink storage container, and light for detecting the remaining amount of ink and detecting the presence or absence of the ink storage container by transmitted light transmitted substantially horizontally through the transmission window. It is provided with a detector. Therefore, a detection state in which ink is transmitted by one photodetector,
It is possible to obtain a detection output in three stages, a detection state in which only the transmission window is transmitted, and a detection state in which only the space is transmitted, thereby reliably detecting the remaining amount of ink and the presence or absence of the ink storage container. You can do it.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a projection including an ink storage space is formed below the ink storage container, and a transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuation is formed on both side walls of the projection. A photo-interrupter having a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion facing each of these transmission windows, and performing detection of the remaining amount of ink and detection of the presence / absence of the ink storage container by transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window is provided. is there. Therefore, the combination of the projecting portion of the ink container and the photo interrupter can reliably detect the remaining amount of ink and the presence or absence of the ink container with a very simple structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a projecting portion including an ink storage space is formed by changing the position of each of the inks of different colors below a plurality of types of ink storage containers containing inks of different colors. A transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed on both side walls of the unit, and mounting portions are provided for positioning and mounting each of the plurality of types of the ink storage containers, and are opposed to the transmission windows of the ink storage containers, respectively. A photo-interrupter having a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit for detecting the remaining amount of ink and detecting the presence or absence of the ink container by the transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window corresponds to the position of the protruding portion of each ink container. It was arranged. Therefore, when performing color printing, the ink storage containers of the respective colors can be mounted without any mistake in the installation position, and at the same time, the detection of the remaining ink amount and the detection of the presence or absence of the ink storage container can be reliably performed. Can be done.

[0007]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the ink storage container 1 and the head 2 are connected by the liquid feed pipe 3. A tube pump 4 is provided at an intermediate portion of the liquid sending pipe 3.
The tube pump 4 includes a main body 6 having a concave portion 5 which curves the liquid supply tube 3 in an arc shape, and a rotor 8 having three pressing portions 7 formed protruding therearound. The head 2
Is a pressure chamber 1 provided for each of the common pressure chamber 9 and the discharge port 10.
And 1. A head difference of H is set between the pressure chamber 11 and the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1.

Next, the ink reservoir 1 is provided with an air communication port 13 and the upper surface thereof is used as a mounting portion 14 so that yellow, magenta, cyan, black (Y,
M, C, and K) are detachably mounted. These ink storage containers 15
A constant liquid level device 16 is provided on the lower surface of the. The constant liquid level device 16 includes an ink outflow pipe 17 projecting into the ink 12 stored in the ink storage container 1 and the ink 1.
2 and an air inflow pipe 18 in contact with the upper surface.

Each of the ink storage containers 15 has a projection 19 having a constant width on one side surface. The protrusions 19 are positioned so that the positions are different for each of the ink storage containers 15 of each color. These projections 19 are provided on both side walls 20.
Is set to a constant width, and an ink storage space 21 having a relatively narrow width is provided. In addition, a transmission window 22 is formed on a lower side wall 20 of the protrusion 19 by a transparent member having a predetermined light attenuation property.

Next, the mounting portion 1 of the ink storage container 1
Above 4, there is provided an erroneous insertion prevention guide 23 which can be inserted in a state where the four kinds of ink storage containers 15 are closely arranged in the order of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black (Y, M, C, K). Have been. That is, the erroneous insertion prevention guide 23 is composed of four guides into which the projecting portions 19 having different positions for each color are inserted from the rectangular insertion portion 24 into which the four main body portions of the ink storage container 15 are inserted. And a part 25. On the upper surface of the mounting portion 14 where the projecting portion 19 of the ink storage container 15 that is positioned and attached in this manner is located, it is located outside both side walls 20 of the projecting portion 19 and faces the transmission window 22. Four photointerrupters 26 are provided as light detectors, each having a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion and formed in a U-shape. These photointerrupters 26 are connected to a control circuit (not shown) to obtain a control signal based on the detection output.

In such a configuration, in order to set the ink storage container 15, the ink storage containers 15 of the respective colors are mounted on the mounting portion 14 in accordance with the arrangement order of each color. At this time, since the erroneous insertion prevention guide 23 is used, the ink storage container 15 of any color cannot be attached to an erroneous position, so that the erroneous position can be known.
If there is only one, it can be attached to any position, but in order to attach all four ink storage containers 15, it cannot be attached if there is any difference in position, You will notice errors in each position. When the ink storage container 15 is set in this manner, the ink 12 in the ink storage container 15 is used until the upper surface of the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1 contacts the lower surface of the air inlet pipe 18 of the constant liquid level device 16. The ink 12 flows out of the ink outflow pipe 17 into the ink reservoir 1. When the upper surface of the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1 comes into contact with the lower surface of the air inlet tube 18 of the constant liquid level device 16, the flow of air from the air inlet tube 18 into the ink container 15 is cut off. The outflow of the ink 12 from the ink outflow pipe 17 stops. Therefore, the ink 12 is replenished from the ink storage container 15 every time the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1 is consumed and the level of the upper surface is reduced, but the upper surface of the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1 is always It is located on the lower surface of the air inlet pipe 18 of the constant liquid level device 16.

As described above, since the projecting portion 19 of the ink container 15 is located between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter 26, the amount of light passing through the transmission window 22 changes, and Output changes.
That is, when the ink container 15 is not attached, the detection light of the photo interrupter 26 is in a state of no attenuation, and the light amount detected by the light receiving unit is the largest. Then, the ink container 15 filled with the ink 12
In the case of, the amount of light detected by the photo interrupter 26 is the smallest because it passes through the transmission window 22 and the ink 12 filling the ink storage space 21.

Next, the supply of the ink 12 to the head 2 is performed by driving the tube pump 4 as shown in FIG. When the rotor 8 of the tube pump 4 rotates, the pressing portion 7 deforms the liquid supply pipe 3, whereby the ink 12 is supplied to the head 2, and the ink 12 is supplied to the common pressure chamber 9 and the pressure chamber 10. The operation of the tube pump 4 is stopped when the tube pump 4 is filled and drops to the extent of dripping from the outlet. As shown in FIG. 2 (b), the tube pump 4 in this stopped state has the pressing portion 7
Is not in contact with That is, the ink 2 can be supplied to the head 2 by the liquid supply pipe 3. Therefore, when the ink 12 is consumed in the head 2 by the printing operation, a required amount of the ink 12 is supplied from the ink reservoir 1 to the head 2 by the siphon principle. That is, the pressure chamber 11 is divided into a plurality of channels, and is made of a piezoelectric member. Therefore, when a voltage is applied to the pressure chamber 11, the ink 12 is ejected as droplets. When the ink 12 is consumed and the ink 12 in the ink storage container 1 is consumed, the level of the ink 12 becomes lower than the air inlet 13 of the constant liquid level device 11 as described above. Ink storage container 1
The ink 12 in 5 is supplied into the ink storage container 1.

As described above, when the ink 12 in the ink container 15 is depleted, the ink 12 in the ink storage space 21 in the transmission window 22 is depleted, and the amount of light detected by the photo interrupter 26 is reduced by the transmission window 22. The amount of light that has passed becomes the state where the ink container 15 does not exist between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the photo interrupter 26,
Is an intermediate light amount from the state in which the ink container 15 filled with. Therefore, the detection output by the photo interrupter 26 indicates that the ink storage container 15 does not exist.
When there is the ink container 15 filled with the ink 12, there are three stages when the ink 12 in the ink container 15 is consumed. When it is detected that the ink 12 has run out in the ink container 15 in this way, a display to refill the new ink container 15 is displayed on the display unit or the like. Of course, even if the photo interrupter 26 detects that the remaining amount of the ink 12 is exhausted, a small amount of the ink 12 remains in the ink storage container 15 so that printing can be performed to some extent.

In the above-described embodiment, color printing using four color inks 12 has been described. However, in the case of monochrome printing, it is sufficient that one system of ink replenishment structure exists. is there.

[0016]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed below the ink storage container, and the remaining amount of ink is detected by the transmission light transmitted substantially horizontally through the transmission window. And a photodetector that detects the presence or absence of the ink storage container is provided, so that a detection state in which ink is transmitted by one photodetector, a detection state in which only the transmission window is transmitted, and a detection state in which only the space is transmitted. It is possible to obtain a detection output of three stages, and thereby it is possible to reliably detect the remaining amount of ink and to detect the presence or absence of the ink container.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a projection including an ink storage space is formed below the ink storage container, and a transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed on both side walls of the projection. Since a photo-interrupter having a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit facing each of these transmission windows and performing detection of the remaining ink amount and detection of the presence or absence of the ink storage container is provided by transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window, The combination of the protrusion of the ink container and the photo interrupter has an effect that the remaining amount of ink and the presence or absence of the ink container can be reliably detected with a very simple structure.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a projecting portion including an ink storage space is formed by changing the position of each of the inks of different colors below a plurality of types of ink storage containers containing inks of different colors. A transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed on both side walls of the unit, and mounting portions are provided for positioning and mounting each of the plurality of types of the ink storage containers, and are opposed to the transmission windows of the ink storage containers, respectively. A photo-interrupter having a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit for detecting the remaining amount of ink and detecting the presence or absence of the ink container by the transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window corresponds to the position of the protruding portion of each ink container. The ink storage containers for each color can be installed in the correct installation position when performing color printing. It has the effect that it is possible to perform the detection of the presence or absence of the container reliably.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sectional views of a tube pump. FIG. 2A shows a state in which ink is supplied to a head, and FIG. 2B shows a normal use state.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a mounting state of four ink storage containers.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an ink container.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a protruding portion of the ink container.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 15 ink storage container 19 projecting part 20 side wall 21 ink storage space 22 transmission window 26 photo interrupter (photodetector)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A transparent transmission window having a predetermined light attenuating property is formed below an ink storage container, and the remaining amount of ink is detected by the transmitted light passing through the transmission window substantially horizontally, and the presence or absence of the ink storage container is determined. An ink storage device provided with a photodetector for performing detection. 2. A protruding portion including an ink storage space is formed below the ink storage container, and transparent transmissive windows having a predetermined light attenuating property are formed on both side walls of the protruding portion. An ink storage device, comprising: a photointerrupter having a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion facing each other, and detecting a remaining ink amount and detecting presence / absence of the ink storage container by transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window. . 3. A projecting portion including an ink storage space is formed below a plurality of types of ink storage containers containing inks of different colors by changing the position for each ink of a different color, and a predetermined portion is formed on both side walls of the projecting portion. Forming a transparent transmission window having a light attenuating property, providing an attachment portion for positioning and mounting each of the plurality of types of ink storage containers, and a light-emitting portion and a light-receiving portion facing the transmission windows of the ink storage containers, respectively. A photo interrupter for detecting the remaining amount of ink and detecting the presence / absence of the ink storage container based on transmitted light transmitted through the transmission window is provided corresponding to the position of the protrusion of each ink storage container. An ink storage device comprising: