JPH11240167A - Ink cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display the residual quantity surely through a simple structure while preventing the display from projecting outward. SOLUTION: In an ink cassette 1 where a flexible ink bag 2 is contained in a case 3, a residual quantity display 10 of ink is disposed in the case 3, a plate 11 for designating the residual quantity display 10 by lowering depending on the volume decrease incident to consumption of ink in the flexible ink bag 2 is provided above the flexible ink bag 2, and a window 12 for viewing the residual quantity display 10 is made in the case 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink cassette containing a flexible ink bag in an ink box.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, some ink cassettes used in ink-jet printers and the like have a flexible ink bag housed in an ink box, and when the ink in the flexible ink bag is exhausted by use. Then, the ink cassette is replaced.

For example, a member for squashing a flexible ink bag flat also serves as a display of the remaining amount of ink and makes the recording apparatus detect the end of ink so that the ink cassette can be replaced. JP-A-3-101633), a flexible ink bag in which an electrode for detecting the remaining amount of ink is arranged inside the vicinity of an ink outlet.
No. 46255), a device which descends to operate a detecting device in response to a decrease in volume due to ink consumption (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-3)
No. 28706), and a movable member which descends from the remaining amount display window in accordance with a decrease in volume due to ink consumption (Japanese Patent Publication No. 3-77068).

[0004]

However, in the case where the conventional flexible ink bag is squashed flat, the flexible ink bag is also used to indicate the remaining amount of ink and to make the recording apparatus detect the end of ink. The flattened member protrudes out of the ink box and displays the remaining amount of ink.The displayed part is caught by obstacles during transportation or setting, etc., and may be damaged or peeled from the flexible ink bag. There is fear.

Further, a flexible ink bag in which an electrode for detecting the remaining amount of ink is disposed inside the vicinity of an ink outlet or an ink cartridge which operates to detect a device by descending in response to a decrease in volume due to ink consumption, The cost is increased and the size is increased due to the provision of the special detection means.

Further, the moving member which moves down from the remaining amount display window in accordance with the volume reduction due to the ink consumption can be visually checked. Since the remaining ink amount is known in the state, the remaining ink amount cannot be known accurately.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the remaining amount display can be reliably performed with a simple structure without protruding outside the ink box. It is a cost, and more specifically, you can always see the ink usage status, judge the ink remaining amount and cassette replacement, match the display and the actual amount, low cost, easy to see, the cassette uses the ink completely It is intended to provide an ink cassette which can be cut (completely using ink).

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object, the present invention has the following constitution.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink cassette comprising a flexible ink bag housed in an ink box.
A remaining amount display indicating the remaining amount of ink is provided inside the ink box, and the remaining amount is lowered above the flexible ink bag in accordance with a decrease in volume due to ink consumption in the flexible ink bag. An ink cassette, comprising: an indication plate for instructing an amount display; and an observation window provided in the ink box so that the remaining amount display can be viewed. ].

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the flexible ink bag can be accurately formed with a simple structure from the state of the indication plate for indicating the remaining amount provided in the ink box through the viewing window of the ink box. Can be known and the cost is low.
Further, the indication plate for instructing the remaining amount display does not protrude to the outside, and the handling is easy without the possibility of being damaged by being caught by an obstacle during transportation or setting.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink cassette according to the first aspect, wherein the ink box is provided with a lighting window through which external light for illuminating the remaining amount display is introduced. ].

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the outside light illuminates the remaining amount display inside the ink box from the light-receiving window of the ink box, so that the remaining amount of ink in the flexible ink bag can be more reliably measured. You can know.

[0013] According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising:
The ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein the ink cassette has a size along an inner wall of the ink box and can be lowered along the inner wall. ].

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the indicator plate has a size along the inner wall of the ink box, the indicator plate is surely lowered along the inner wall of the ink box to accurately display the remaining amount. Can be instructed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink cassette according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein a replacement time warning display is provided in the remaining amount display. 』
It is.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to accurately inform the user of the replacement time of the ink cassette by the replacement time warning display of the remaining amount display.

The invention according to a fifth aspect is characterized in that the bottom surface of the flexible ink bag in the ink box is inclined toward the ink supply port for supplying ink from the flexible ink bag. The ink cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein: ].

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the flexible ink bag is inclined toward the ink supply port for supplying ink from the flexible ink bag, so that the ink is completely used up. be able to.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the ink cassette of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a perspective view of the ink cassette, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cassette,
FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which the ink cassette is set on a receiving tray, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which an indicator indicates the remaining amount inside the ink box, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a view showing the amount display, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the ink cassette is set in the recording apparatus.

The ink cassette 1 according to this embodiment has a configuration in which a flexible ink bag 2 is housed in an ink box 3, and the ink cassette 1 is structured as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 6. The ink is set in the receiving table 4 of the recording apparatus 100 and the ink in the flexible ink bag 2 can be supplied to the recording section of the recording apparatus 100.

The ink box 3 is formed in a box shape from a material such as paper, and an ink connection hole 5 is formed in the bottom 3 a of the ink box 3 at a position facing the ink supply port 6 of the flexible ink bag 2. Have been. When the ink cassette 1 is set on the receiving base 4, the ink supply needle 7 of the receiving base 4 is moved to
The ink in the flexible ink bag 2 can be supplied from the ink supply port 6 through the ink supply needle 7 by being inserted into and connected to the ink supply port 6 via.

A bottom plate 30 is provided inside the ink box 3 at an angle, and the flexible ink bag 2 is disposed on the bottom plate 30. It is also required that the ink box 3 be used up without leaving the ink completely. To this end, the bottom plate 30 is provided with a gradient, and the ink is collected at the ink outlet of the ink supply port 6.

In the inside of the side portion 3d of the ink box 3, a remaining amount display 10 indicating the remaining amount of ink is provided, and the ink inside the flexible ink bag 2 is provided on the upper portion 2a of the flexible ink bag 2. An indication plate 11 is provided which descends in accordance with the volume decrease accompanying consumption and instructs the display of the remaining amount. The indicating plate 11 has a size along the inner wall of the ink box 3 and can move down and right and left and back and forth along the inner wall, and can be lowered in a substantially parallel state without being greatly inclined. In addition, the indicator plate 11 is lowered by the weight of the flexible ink bag 2 in accordance with the decrease of the ink inside, so that the flexible ink bag 2 is evenly crushed.

On the side portion 3b of the ink box 3, a remaining amount display 10
There is provided a viewing window 12 through which the light can be viewed.
3 are provided.

The user simply looks into the inside of the ink box 3 through the viewing window 12 to accurately change the ink in the flexible ink bag 2 from the state of the indicating plate 11 for indicating the remaining amount display 10 provided on the ink box 3. The remaining amount can be known, and the structure for knowing the remaining amount of ink is simple and low cost.

An indicating plate 11 for indicating the remaining amount display 10
Does not protrude to the outside, and is easy to handle without any risk of being caught by an obstacle during transportation or setting and damaged.

Further, a lighting window 1 provided in the ink box 3
When the external light illuminates the remaining amount display 10 inside the ink box 3 from the outside 3, the remaining amount of ink in the flexible ink bag can be more reliably known. Further, since the indicating plate 11 has a size along the inner wall of the ink box 3 and descends along the inner wall without fail, the remaining amount display 10 can be accurately indicated.

In the ink box 3, the ink is collected at the ink outlet so that the bottom plate 30 is inclined so that the ink can be completely used without leaving the ink completely. It is conceivable that the relationship with the amount scale is largely shifted, but by setting a slight gradient, the scale of the remaining amount of the re-ink and the actual remaining amount of the ink can be substantially matched.

In this embodiment, 8.5 mm at 285 mm
5 liters per liter with a rising gradient
%. When the lower limit display of the remaining amount display 10 was set to be 10% of the total amount and the actual remaining amount of ink at that position was actually measured, the display and the actual remaining amount almost coincided. That is, the correlation between the display and the actual remaining amount was obtained. By providing a slope on the bottom plate 30 of the ink box 3 and combining this with the remaining amount display, it was possible to reduce the total discharge amount and display the remaining amount corresponding to the actual amount.

The remaining amount display 10 can be displayed on a scale 10a as shown in FIG.
Replacement time warning display 10 by coloring the remaining amount display of a
b is provided. Also, the remaining amount display 10 can be displayed by double arrows 10c and 10d as shown in FIG. 5 (b). Then, the replacement time warning display 10e is displayed. As described above, since the replacement time warning displays 10b and 10e are provided in the remaining amount display 10, it is possible to accurately inform the user of the replacement time of the ink cassette 1. The replacement time warning displays 10b and 10e allow the user to sufficiently prepare for replacement.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ink cassette 1 is set on a receiving table 4 provided on a gantry 101 of a recording apparatus 100. Since the gantry 101 is relatively high, the remaining amount scale of the remaining amount display 10 is It is easier to see through the viewing window 12 from the side than from the top.

[0032]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the state of the indicator plate for indicating the remaining amount provided in the ink box can be accurately changed with a simple structure from the viewing window of the ink box. The amount of ink remaining in the ink bag and the usage status of the ink can always be seen and understood, and the display and the actual amount can be matched. Further, the indication plate for instructing the remaining amount display does not protrude to the outside, and the handling is easy without the possibility of being damaged by being caught by an obstacle during transportation or setting.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the outside light illuminates the remaining amount display inside the ink box through the light-receiving window of the ink box, so that the remaining amount of the ink in the flexible ink bag can be easily and easily recognized. Can be.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the indicator plate has a size along the inner wall of the ink box, the indicator plate surely descends along the inner wall of the ink box to accurately indicate the remaining amount display. Can be.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to determine the remaining amount of the ink and the replacement of the cassette by the replacement time warning display of the remaining amount display, so that the user can be accurately informed of the replacement timing of the ink cassette.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the flexible ink bag is inclined toward the ink supply port for supplying ink from the flexible ink bag, so that the ink can be completely used up. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink cassette.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cassette.

FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a state where an ink cassette is set on a receiving table.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which an instruction plate indicates a remaining amount display inside the ink box.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a display of a remaining amount inside an ink box.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state where an ink cassette is set in a recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink cassette 2 Flexible ink bag 3 Ink box 10 Remaining amount display 11 Indicator plate 12 Viewing window 13 Lighting window

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink cassette comprising a flexible ink bag housed in an ink box, wherein a remaining amount display indicating the remaining amount of ink is provided inside the ink box, and an upper portion of the flexible ink bag is provided above the flexible ink bag. An indicator is provided for descending in accordance with the volume decrease due to ink consumption in the flexible ink bag and instructing the remaining amount display, and a viewing window is provided in the ink box so that the remaining amount display can be viewed. An ink cassette characterized in that: 2. An ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein said ink box is provided with a lighting window through which external light for illuminating said remaining amount display is taken. 3. The ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein the indicator plate has a size along an inner wall of the ink box, and can be lowered along the inner wall. 4. The ink cassette according to claim 1, wherein a replacement time warning display is provided on the remaining amount display. 5. A bottom surface of a flexible ink bag in the ink box,
The ink cassette according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the ink cassette is inclined toward an ink supply port for supplying ink from the flexible ink bag.