JPH10305588A - Ink jet cartridge and image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an ink jet cartridge which can stored the information of time elapsed after unsealing or use thereof by providing the ink jet cartridge with a built-in air cell, an air hole, a timer IC, and a seal for hermetically sealing a recording head and the air hole. SOLUTION: A timer IC 16 is not actuated when a cartridge 10 is conducting and power generation is started after peeling off a seal 11, i.e., after starting use of cartridge 10. Consequently, the time information after unsealing is stored in the timer IC 16. When it is not used for a long term, a seal 11 may be applied again to a recording head 10b in order to prevent deterioration of ink. When an air hole 14 is sealed hermetically at that time, an air cell 12 stops power generation again after the residual oxygen in the air hole 14 is consumed. Consequently, time measurement through the timer IC 16 is also stopped and progress of the time information is stopped as the ink is deteriorated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet cartridge for an ink jet recording apparatus for recording an image by ejecting ink, and a recording apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At present, an ink jet recording apparatus for discharging and recording ink is widely used. In such an ink jet recording apparatus, an ink jet cartridge in which a recording head having an ink discharge port and an ink tank are integrally formed is often used.

[0003] Such ink jet cartridges include those dedicated to black filled only with black ink, color cartridges having four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black; There are many types of cartridges, such as a gray-scale color cartridge having magenta dark, magenta light, cyan dark, cyan light, black, and the like.

[0004] Since the ink used in these ink jet cartridges is a liquid, it may be fixed by drying and cause clogging of the ink discharge port. In order to recover from the clogging, a recovery operation of forcibly ejecting or sucking ink is performed at power-on or by manual scanning.

[0005]

Since this recovery operation consumes a predetermined amount of ink, it is wasteful to carry out the operation even when clogging does not occur. Further, although the ink jet cartridge is supplied in a sealed state with a seal, it is considered that deterioration or drying starts after being opened. Therefore, it is desirable that the recovery operation be performed based on the time after opening or the time elapsed since the last use.

[0006] However, as described above, the ink jet cartridge is frequently replaced and used. Further, when a plurality of printing apparatuses are used, the inkjet cartridge may be reused by the plurality of printing apparatuses. For this reason, time information that has elapsed since opening or last use is stored and managed in the main unit of the recording device.
It was difficult to control.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a means for storing time information elapsed since opening the ink cartridge and time information elapsed since the previous use in the ink jet cartridge.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, an ink jet cartridge according to the present invention comprises an ink tank for storing ink and a recording head for discharging the ink, and is mounted on an image recording apparatus. An ink jet cartridge to be used, wherein an air battery built in the ink jet cartridge, an air hole for passing outside air through the air battery, and one or two timer ICs powered by the air battery, It is characterized by having a seal sticking so as to seal the recording head and the air hole when supplying the ink jet cartridge.

The ink jet cartridge has two timer ICs, and one of the timer ICs
It is desirable that C be configured to be able to be initialized, and that the inkjet cartridge or the image recording apparatus be provided with initialization means for initializing the one timer IC.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image recording apparatus including a carriage on which the above-described ink-jet cartridge can be mounted, and one or two built-in ink-jet cartridges via the carriage. The time information is read from the timer IC, and based on the read time information, the user is notified or the recording head is recovered.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[First Embodiment] Next, a first embodiment of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective explanatory view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the inside of the recording apparatus, FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the ink jet cartridge, and FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a circuit inside the ink jet cartridge.

As shown in FIG. 1, this recording apparatus feeds a recording medium P set on a feed tray 1a of a main body 1 by a pickup roller 2, and also drives and rotates a conveying roller 3 which rotates.
a, and the recording medium P is pressed against the roller 3a and is conveyed onto the platen 4 by the pinch roller 3b which is driven and rotated,
After predetermined recording is performed by the recording means, the recording medium P is driven and rotated by the driving roller 5a, and the recording medium P is pressed and discharged by the spur 5b which is driven and rotated.
The spur 5b is made of a highly water-repellent material, and comes into contact with the recording surface of the recording medium P only at the edge-shaped circumferential portion. Are driven and rotated without affecting the image.

The recording medium P conveyed on the platen 4
An image is recorded by a recording unit. The recording unit according to the present embodiment uses a serial type ink jet recording system, and a carriage 6 is provided at a position facing the platen 4.
Are slidably held by a guide shaft 7 so as to be able to reciprocate in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium P. The carriage 6 is locked with a timing belt 9 wrapped around a pulley 8 driven by a carriage motor (not shown). Let it.

The carriage 6 has an ink jet cartridge (hereinafter simply referred to as a cartridge 10) in which an ink tank 10a containing liquid ink and a recording head 10b are integrated.
Is removably loaded. Recording head 10
b denotes a recording head which is provided so that the ink discharge port faces the platen 4 and which corresponds to the movement of the carriage 6.
By transmitting a recording signal to 10b, liquid ink is ejected from the ejection port to record an image on the recording medium P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the suction means is located at a position where the carriage 6 waits for a recording signal, that is, a so-called reference position.
18 are provided. The suction means 18 performs a recovery operation for eliminating clogging by forcibly sucking ink from the recording head 10b.

In this embodiment, the ink is ejected by energizing the electrothermal transducer in accordance with a recording signal and utilizing the film boiling caused by the thermal energy to grow and shrink bubbles generated in the ink. The recording is performed by discharging the ink from the discharge port.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, an air battery 12 is built in a side surface of the cartridge 10 and a battery cover 13 is attached. This battery cover 13 and cartridge
An air hole 14 is provided between 10 and is configured to allow outside air to communicate with the air battery 12.

As shown in FIG. 5, a timer IC 16 is built in the cartridge 10 and is connected to the air battery 12. The time information measured by the timer IC 16 is read by the control unit (not shown) of the image recording apparatus main body 1 via the carriage 6.

When the cartridge 10 is in circulation and not in use for a long period of time, a sealing seal 11 is attached to the recording head 10b in order to shut off the recording head 10b from outside air and prevent drying. The sealing seal 11 is formed so as to reach the air hole 14 from the recording head 10b, and also seals the air hole 14 to shield the air battery 12 from the outside air.

Then, since the air battery 12 does not generate power without oxygen, it does not generate power until the sealing seal 11 is removed, and the timer IC 16 does not operate. Air holes from this
Opening and closing 14 with the sealing seal 11 corresponds to the switch 15 of the air battery 12, which can be used to control the driving of the timer IC 16.

Therefore, when the cartridge 10 is in circulation, the timer IC 16 does not operate, and the power generation is started after the sealing seal 11 is peeled off, that is, after the use is started. Therefore, the time information after opening is stored in the timer IC 16. Further, when the recording head 10b is not used for a long period of time, the seal 11 may be attached to the recording head 10b again in order to prevent the deterioration of the ink. At this time, if the air hole 14 is sealed at the same time, after the oxygen remaining in the air hole 14 is consumed, the air battery 12 stops power generation again. Accordingly, the time measurement by the timer IC 16 is also stopped, and the progress of the time information is stopped together with the deterioration of the ink.

As described above, since information on the time elapsed after opening the cartridge 10 can be stored in the cartridge 10 itself, the cartridge 10 can be used while being exchanged.
Even when the same cartridge 10 is reused in a plurality of image recording apparatuses, time information after the cartridge 10 is opened can always be obtained. If the time information is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the ink has deteriorated or deteriorated due to drying or oxidation, and the user is notified through the image recording apparatus main body 1 to prompt the user to replace the cartridge 10.
As a result, it is possible to avoid using deteriorated ink, and it is possible to maintain print quality.

[Second Embodiment] Next, a second embodiment according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit inside the ink jet cartridge according to the present embodiment. The same parts as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In the first embodiment, one timer IC is provided in the cartridge 10 so that time information after the cartridge 10 is opened can be stored in the cartridge 10. However, in particular, clogging of the recording head due to drying of the ink is affected by the elapsed time since the last use. That is, even if the time does not elapse so much after the opening, the ink may be dried due to the infrequent use of the cartridge 10, and the recording head 10b may be clogged.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, two timer ICs 17a and 17
b is provided. As in the first embodiment, the timer IC 17a is supplied with power from the air battery 12 when the air hole 14 and the switch 15 by the sealing seal 11 are connected, and measures the elapsed time after opening.

On the other hand, the timer IC 17b is also supplied with power from the air battery 12 by the switch 15, but it is possible to initialize time information measured by sending a signal from an initialization means (not shown) provided in the apparatus body 1. It is configured. The timer IC is initialized by initializing each time an image is recorded.
In 17b, information on the time elapsed since the last time an image was recorded using the cartridge 10 is recorded.

If the time information from the timer IC 17b is equal to or longer than a predetermined time, it is determined that the ink may have dried and clogged.
b can be sucked by the suction means 18 to perform a clogging recovery operation. From this, the recording head 10b is always
Can be kept in the best condition, and unnecessary recovery operation is not performed and ink is not consumed.

Although the reset operation of the timer IC 17b is performed by a signal transmitted from the apparatus main body, the reset operation can be performed by the cartridge 10. For example, by providing a physical switch on the cartridge 10 and resetting it by short-circuiting the line, the timer IC can be reset every time it operates.

[0029]

As described above, in the ink jet cartridge and the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, information on the time elapsed since the sealing seal was opened can be stored in the cartridge itself. Therefore, even when a plurality of cartridges are used while being exchanged, or when reused in a plurality of image recording apparatuses, time information after opening the cartridge can be obtained. By notifying the user when the time information is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, it is possible to avoid continuing image recording with the deteriorated ink, and to always perform high-quality image recording.

Also, two timer ICs are provided in the ink jet cartridge, and one timer IC is initialized each time an image is recorded, so that information on the time elapsed since the last time image recording was performed is stored in the cartridge. be able to. By performing the clogging recovery operation of the print head when the time information is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, it is possible to always perform high-quality image recording and consume ink by unnecessary recovery operation. There is no fear.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory perspective view of an inkjet recording apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional explanatory view of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the inside of a recording apparatus.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the ink jet cartridge.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a circuit inside the ink jet cartridge.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a circuit inside an ink jet cartridge according to a second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P: Recording medium 1: Image recording apparatus main body 1a: Feed tray 2: Pickup roller 3a: Transport roller 3b: Pinch roller 4: Platen 5a: Discharge roller 5b: Spur 6: Carriage 7: Guide shaft 8: Pulley 9: Timing Belt 10 Cartridge 10a Ink tank 10b Recording head 11 Sealing seal 12 Air battery 13 Battery cover 14 Air hole 15 Switch 16, 17a, 17b Timer IC 18 Suction means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An ink jet cartridge comprising an ink tank for storing ink and a recording head for discharging the ink, the ink cartridge being used by being mounted on an image recording apparatus, wherein an air battery built in the ink jet cartridge; An air hole through which outside air flows through the air battery; a timer IC supplied with power by the air battery; and a sealing seal affixed to seal the recording head and the air hole when the ink jet cartridge is supplied. An ink jet cartridge comprising: 2. An apparatus comprising two timer ICs, one of which is capable of being initialized, and an initialization means for initializing the one of the timer ICs in the ink jet cartridge or the image recording apparatus. The ink-jet cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the ink-jet cartridge is provided. 3. An image recording apparatus having a carriage on which the inkjet cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 can be mounted, wherein one or two timer ICs built in the inkjet cartridge via the carriage. An image recording apparatus characterized in that time information is read from a computer. 4. An image recording apparatus comprising: a carriage on which the ink jet cartridge according to claim 2 can be mounted; and recovery means for recovering clogging of the recording head, wherein the one of the timer ICs that can be initialized is provided. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the recovery unit performs a recovery operation of the recording head based on the read time information.