RU2288104C2 - Container for storing liquid and method for producing the container - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: computer engineering.

SUBSTANCE: device has casing enclosing chamber containing liquid, window available in the casing for supplying the stored liquid to printing jet head. The container is fastened by means of engagement parts. The first of them comes into engagement with the first locking part located in montage part available on one casing side and the second one comes into engagement with the second locking part in montage part available on the opposite casing side. Holding member is available for holding the second part coming into engagement allowing its displacement. The container also has data storage part for saving data concerning the container for storing liquid, contact member electrically connected to another contact available in the montage part, a part emitting light and reflecting part for directing the emitted light to outside of the container. The contact is disposed in corner part area having window for supplying liquid. The reflecting part is near the upper part of the container for storing liquid. One of invention embodiments has the container for storing liquid set into printing device having montage part allowing a set of containers to be introduced into and removed from the device in several positions. The printing device has electric contact members corresponding to the containers for storing liquid, photoreceptor means for receiving light and electric circuit connected to line connected to all mentioned electrical contact members. The container also has controller for controlling light emittance when information available in signal representing individual data sent through mentioned electrical contact of the container is like the information saved in mentioned means for storing data. Method involves manufacturing container and filling it with liquid.

EFFECT: enhanced effectiveness in perfecting known printing systems.

16 cl, 79 dwg

Description

The technical field to which the invention relates,

and description of the prior art

The present invention relates to a liquid container and a method for manufacturing it, and more particularly, to a liquid container and to a method for manufacturing the container, in which information about the state of the liquid container, such as information about the amount of remaining ink in the ink container, is provided by a radiating means, such as led indicator.

The present invention relates to a liquid container, in particular to a liquid container in the form of an ink container, removably mounted in an inkjet printing unit or in an inkjet printing device that prints on a recording medium by supplying ink.

An inkjet printing apparatus that forms an image on a recording medium by applying ink in liquid form using an inkjet printhead is widely used as an output medium for such information processing devices as a copy machine, fax machine, electronic typewriter, printer, as a peripheral device output for a word processor, workstation, personal or host computer, etc., or as a portable printer connected to a device with optical drive, to a camcorder, digital camera, etc.

As a system that supplies ink to such inkjet printing devices as described above, there is a system in which the ink container is inseparably or detachably attached to a print head mounted on a carriage or the like and reciprocating (in the main scanning direction) ), and ink goes directly to the print head from this container. As in the case where the inkjet printing device has a structure in which the ink container is inseparably attached to the print head, and in the case where it has a structure in which the ink container is detachably attached to the print head, the position of the ink container relative to the print head or positioning of the printhead assembly, i.e., a single combination of the printhead and ink container relative to the corresponding element (for example, print carriage its sequential operation of the device, reciprocating motion in the main scanning direction) of the main assembly of the recording apparatus, is one of the most important issues related to the print quality. In addition, it is very important, in particular in the field of inkjet printing devices for personal use, to have an ink supply system for an inkjet printing device, which is small in size, easy to use with regard to the installation or removal of an ink container or inkjet printhead assembly, and also has a simple mechanism.

Thus, in response to the above problems, the inventors of the present invention have proposed a combination of an ink container and a structure for mounting an ink container with a possibility of its extraction. According to this proposal, the ink container is provided with a fastening gripper that extends from one of its end surfaces and an elastically latched lever with a fastening gripper that retreats from the bottom of the surface opposite the surface with the fastening gripper. In addition, the holder to which the ink container is attached is provided with a fixing hole into which the fixing grip of the ink container is inserted and a fixing hole in which the fixing grip of the resiliently latched lever of the ink container is inserted. Two mounting holes of the holder are located one at a time on opposite two side walls of the holder. Regarding the installation of the ink container, the ink container is first positioned so that a mounting grip extending from one end of the ink container is inserted into the mounting hole of the holder, and then press down on the ink container so that it is in a predetermined position in the holder with its other end, which leads to the snap fastening of the locking lever of the ink container in the mounting hole of the holder. When the two grips are locked in the respective mounting holes, the ink container is prevented from shifting from the above specified position in the holder.

It is known that an removable ink container, such as the one described above, is provided with a memory device that is capable of electrically storing information regarding the ink container itself (for example, the color of the ink contained therein), in order to be able to control the printing process by an inkjet printing device on based on the information stored in the storage device. Information stored in the storage device is read when the ink container is installed in the inkjet printing device. In the case where the inkjet printing apparatus has the construction described above, the ink container must be connected to the print head in such a way that not only an ink channel is created between the ink container and the print head, but also an information exchange channel is created between them.

As one of the means to achieve the above objectives, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-253087 describes the following block diagram. The electrical contacts of the ink container and the electrical contacts of the holder are arranged on one side so that when the ink container is installed in the holder, the electrical contacts of both sides are connected to each other, and so that when they come into contact with each other, they are held in contact with each other with the other by means of engagement between the fixing catch of the ink container, such as described above, with the corresponding fixing hole of the holder, and between the fixing catch of the latching ink lever nogo container, such as described above, and the corresponding anchoring hole of the holder. In the case of this design, the electrical contacts of the two sides are automatically connected when the ink container is installed in the holder, which eliminates the need for a mechanism designed to connect, or the need to perform a procedure designed for connection. Thus, this design is preferred in terms of operational efficiency.

On the other hand, with the recent increase in the use of digital cameras, the need for printing with a direct connection of a digital camera to a printer (printing device) has increased, that is, printing without connecting to a personal computer (printing in which a digital camera is directly connected to a printer, called "direct printing from the camera"). In addition, they use a storage medium in the form of a card, which is a storage medium that can be detachable mounted on a digital camera, and which can be installed directly on the printer to transfer data to the printer and provide printing (printing without connecting to a personal computer, called "printing directly from the map "). This type of printing is also spreading ever wider. In addition, the so-called multi-function printer, which acts as a printer and a scanner and which acts as a copy machine without using a personal computer (direct printing function), is being increasingly used.

When using an inkjet printer, in some cases, it is desirable that the user is provided with information related to the status of the individual ink container, such as the installation status of the ink container and the amount of remaining ink in the ink container. Or the user wishes to receive such information. For example, if the user is aware of the fact that there is little ink remaining in the ink container, the ink container is replaced with a new one, so that wasteful printing can be prevented in advance (for example, only up to the middle of the print medium) due to insufficient ink supply.

Typically, such information is transmitted to the display to which the printer is connected, and the event is displayed on the display of the personal computer. In the case of printing without using a personal computer, this is impossible and, therefore, it would be necessary to equip the printer (main unit) with a computer display on which information can be displayed. However, the use of such a display device increases the cost of the printer, increases the size of the printer and, in addition, it affects the design of the printer, etc. and thus, the use of a display device is not always desirable. Even if a display device is used, it is not always guaranteed that the user immediately and clearly recognizes the state of the ink container.

In another known example, a display element, such as an LED indicator, is used to notify the user of the status of the ink container. For example, Japanese Published Patent Application Hei No. 4-275156 states that the ink container, which is integral with the print head, is provided with two LED elements that are included in two stages depending on the amount of ink remaining. More specifically, an ink cartridge having a single inkjet printhead and an ink container is equipped with a means for counting the number of pulses of power supply to the inkjet printhead, a means for storing a count, an LED indicator for displaying a quick emptying to display its glow event of the approximation of the total count to the empty emptying detection value and the emptying display LED, which turns on when the total countdown is reached Gives ink recognition values.

Similarly, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-301829 describes the use of a light bulb on an ink container or carriage for it, which is turned on depending on the amount of ink remaining. The same application also indicates that four ink containers used with one printing device are provided with the indicated bulbs, respectively.

In addition, light magenta inks, light cyan inks, etc., have been used to meet high quality image requirements. in addition to the usual four colors of ink (black, yellow, magenta, and cyan). In addition, the use of ink of special colors such as red ink, green ink, or blue ink has been proposed. In this case, the inkjet printer uses seven to eight separate containers with color ink. Therefore, a mechanism is needed to prevent erroneous installation of ink containers. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-253087 indicates that the configurations of the engaging portions of the ink containers engaged with the carriage of the carriage are different depending on the colors of the ink containers to prevent ink containers from being misplaced.

For comparison, the design described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-253087 suffers from the following disadvantages. If the latched lever of the ink container and the electrical contacts of the holder have unequal elasticity, for example, if the contact pressure of the electrical contacts exceeds the force exerted by the elasticity of the latched lever, the latched lever is excessively deformed, thereby not holding the ink container in a predetermined position with respect to the direction in which the force exerted by the snap lever acts on the ink container. Thus, the ink channel of the ink container and the ink channel of the print head may not be aligned at the junction, preventing proper ink supply and / or allowing ink to leak from the junction. It is also possible that the contact pressure between the electrical contacts on the ink container and on the holder will be unstable, as a result of which the proper connection from the point of view of electrical conductivity will not be ensured.

As a solution to the above problems, it is possible to arrange electrical contacts on the bottom surface of the ink container in the same manner as described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2 178050. According to Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2 178050, the inkjet print head is integral with the ink container and can be removably mounted in the carriage of an inkjet printing device. Its electrical contacts, through which print signals are transmitted to the print head from the main unit of the printing device, are attached to the bottom surface of the print head and to the corresponding surface of the carriage. Thus, when the print head is installed in the carriage, the electrical contacts of the print head come into contact with the electrical contacts of the carriage and then slide on them when the print head moves (rotated) to its end position on the carriage. Thus, the electrical contacts of the print head and the electrical contacts of the carriage are better connected in terms of electrical conductivity. Thus, it is acceptable to borrow the electrical connection design between the print head and the carriage described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2 178050 to perform the electrical connection design between the ink container and the print head through which the ink container information is electronically transmitted.

However, the electrical contacts are electrically conductive elements formed of a relatively rigid metal material, and thus applying a large pressure to the electrical contacts and / or sliding the electrical contacts relative to each other when applying high pressure to ensure that the electrical contacts of the ink container and the electrical contacts the main node will remain satisfactorily connected to each other with regard to electrical conductivity, it is unreasonable to Sights of view to prevent damage to electrical contacts and ensure the durability of electrical contacts. In other words, the amount of pressure applied to the electrical contacts to ensure that the electrical contacts of the ink container will remain satisfactorily connected to the electrical contacts of the main device should be optimal, that is, at a minimum level that ensures efficiency. Thus, it is unreasonable to borrow the technologies described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2 178050, without any modifications. In particular, in the case where the ink container can be detachably attached to the print head, it is possible that when the ink container is attached or removed, the tip of the ink outlet means of the ink container will come into contact with the electrical contacts of the main device and moisten them. In addition, in the case where the ink flows at the junction between the ink outlet of the ink container and the ink inlet of the main device when the ink container is installed, it is highly possible that the ink flowing out of the joint reaches the electrical contacts because the electrical contacts are attached to bottom surface of the ink container.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei No. 4-275156 describes an ink cartridge design in which a display LED is mounted on a printed circuit board for electrical communication with a main printer apparatus. However, with this design, to place the LED indicator in a position that provides convenient observation by the user, it is necessary to place a printed circuit board in this position. However, since the printed circuit board includes an electrical connection portion for electrically communicating with the main printer apparatus, the storage space is small. One would have to consider using a large area printed circuit board to cover the preferred location of the electrical connector and the preferred location of the LED indicator. However, this will increase the cost. If the design described in Japanese Published Patent Application Hei No. 8-58107 is included in a printer that contains a plurality of separate ink containers for ink of corresponding colors, the structure for installing the ink container in the printer will be limited and thus the actual capacity of the ink container will be reduce or have to increase the size of the printer.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-301829 simply states that the ink warning lamp is positioned in such a position that the user can easily recognize it. However, the application does not describe a preferred design for supplying electricity or signal to the ink warning lamp. Based on Fig.6 - 8 proposed wire output connecting the inkjet printing device and the warning lamp on the amount of ink, but the required number of wire leads corresponds to the number of warning lamps on the amount of ink, which leads to a complication of wiring and, therefore, to increase the cost, and In addition, the wire terminal and the connecting part will make observation difficult. In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-301829 of FIG. 6 shows that the ink warning lamp is located on a fixed arm, which is a movable member for securing the ink container to a carriage carrying the ink container, and FIG. 7 Shows the design in which the ink warning lamp is located on the ink container itself. However, there is no description of the method for powering the ink warning lamp.

These problems have recently become more and more significant as a result of the tendency to downsize and to multifunctionality. In particular, in the case of a multifunction printer, in which a scanner is located at the top of the printer, the display is even more limited.

The display is used not only to provide the user with information, but also to ensure proper control of the main part of the device.

Even when the ink container is provided with a light bulb, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-301829, the main unit controller must identify the ink container that is recognized as containing less ink. To do this, it is necessary to correctly identify the ink container into which you want to signal to turn on the light bulb. For example, if the ink container is installed in the wrong location, there is a chance that a signal of a small amount of remaining ink will be displayed for another ink container that contains enough ink. Thus, to control the luminance of a display device, such as a lamp, etc., there is an initial condition that the installation of the ink container must be precisely specified.

Regarding the design for pinpointing the position of the installed ink container, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-253087 indicates that the engagement means configurations for the installed ink containers are different from each other depending on the colors of the ink in the containers. However, in this case, it is required that the ink containers have configurations depending on the colors of the ink that they contain, as a result of which the cost of production increases, which becomes more significant as the number of ink colors increases.

There is the possibility of monitoring the light emission relative to the corresponding LED indicators of the ink containers and receiving the emitted light by a photoreceptor installed in the printer, and the location of the ink container can be accurately determined based on the state of the output signal. With this design, the LED indicator of the ink container has two functions, namely, light emission to notify the user of the status of the ink container and light emission to accurately determine the location of the ink container.

Here, the user will probably look at the display portion of the ink container in the printer in different directions. In view of this fact, it is desirable that light be emitted in a wide range.

As will be understood from the above, there are conflicting requests, namely: (1) ease of installation on the installation part, (2) ensuring electrical connection with the installation part of the main printer device while protecting the electrical connection part from ink and (3) guaranteed light transmission from the radiating part to the printer’s photoreceptor and to the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the main objective of the present invention is to provide a liquid container and a method for manufacturing it, according to which the installation mechanism has a simple structure and is easily connected to the installation part, while ensuring positioning and reliable establishment of the electrical connection, and, in addition, light from the emitting light means located in the ink container, is reliably transmitted to the user and the photoreceptor of the printer.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid container, removably mounted on an installation portion of an inkjet printing apparatus, said liquid container comprising a housing defining a chamber containing liquid; a window for supplying liquid, made in the specified housing for supplying the liquid contained therein to the inkjet printhead; a first engaging portion engaging with a first locking portion located in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said housing; a second engaging portion engaging with a second locking portion located in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being opposed to the other side of said housing, said other side being opposed to said one side; a holding portion for biasably holding said second engaging portion; a part for storing information for storing information regarding said liquid container; a contact that can form an electrical connection with a contact located in the specified installation part; light emitting part; a display part for directing the light emitted by said light emitting part outward from said liquid container, said liquid supply window being located on a side of said body that is between said one side and said other side, and said contact is located in the region of the corner part between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, while the specified display part is located near the top, when used, often said other side of said liquid container. A liquid container in which said contact is inclined with respect to said lower side and relative to said first side. A liquid container in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is 40-50 °. A liquid container in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is approximately 45 °. A liquid container in which the liquid contained in said liquid container is the ink used for printing. A liquid container in which said emitting part operates in the same way as said indicating part. A liquid container in which said emitting part and said display part are connected to each other by a light guide part to direct light emitted from said radiating part.

A liquid container, removably mounted in a printing device having a mounting part, in which a plurality of liquid containers can be installed at different locations and can be removed, said printing device including electrical contacts of a device corresponding to liquid containers, photoreceptor means for light reception and an electrical circuit connected to a line connected to all of the indicated electrical contacts, wherein said ner liquid comprises a liquid supply window for supplying liquid contained therein to the ink jet head; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion provided in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said fluid container; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being opposite the other side of said fluid container, and said other side being opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; an electrical contact of the container included in an electrical connection with one of these contacts of the device; an information storage part for storing individual information related to the liquid container; a display portion for directing light to the specified location detection means; a controller for controlling light emission by the light emitting part when the information indicated by the signal showing the individual information supplied through said electrical contact of the container and said information stored by said information storage means are similar; in which the specified window for supplying fluid is made on the side of the specified container for fluid, which is between the specified one side and the specified other side, and the specified contact is located in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, in use, part of the specified other side of the specified container for liquid. A liquid container in which said contact is inclined with respect to said lower side and relative to said first side. A liquid container in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is 40-50 °. A liquid container in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is approximately 45 °. A liquid container in which the liquid contained in said liquid container is the ink used for printing.

A liquid container, removably mounted in an installation portion of an inkjet printing device, wherein said inkjet printing device has an inkjet printhead, said liquid container comprising a window for supplying liquid for supplying liquid to the inkjet printhead; first side; a second side opposite the specified first surface; the lower side in which the specified window for supplying fluid; a first corner portion substantially formed by said first side and said bottom side; a second corner portion substantially formed by said second side and said lower side; a third corner portion substantially formed by said second side and an upper side of said liquid container; a first engaging portion, which may engage with a first locking portion, made in the mounting portion; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking part, made in the installation part; contact, which may enter into electrical connection with the electrical contact located in the installation part; a display portion for directing light to said inkjet printing apparatus, wherein said first engaging portion is located near said first corner portion on said first side; said liquid supply window is located near said first corner portion on said lower surface; said contact is located on said second corner part and said display part is located near said third corner part. A liquid container in which the liquid contained in said liquid container is the ink used for printing.

A method of manufacturing a liquid container, in which the specified liquid container can be removably installed in the installation part of the inkjet printing device, the method comprising the following operations: manufacturing a liquid container including a housing defining a chamber for supplying ink; a window for supplying liquid, made in the specified housing for supplying the liquid contained therein to the inkjet printhead; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion formed in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said housing; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, wherein said second engaging portion is located opposite the other side of said housing and said other side is opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; a part storing information for storing information related to the specified liquid container; contact, which may be in electrical connection with the contact located in the specified installation part; light emitting part; a display part for directing the light emitted by said radiating part outward from said liquid container, wherein said liquid supply window is provided on a side of said body that is between said one side and said other side, and said contact is in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, when used, part of the specified the other side of said fluid container; pumping fluid into said fluid container.

A method of manufacturing a liquid container, wherein said liquid container can be removably mounted in a printing device having a mounting part, which can be installed in different locations and can be removed with a plurality of liquid containers, said printing device including electrical contacts of the device, corresponding to liquid containers, photoreceptor means for receiving light and an electrical circuit connected to a line connected to all the indicated electrical contacts of the device, wherein said method comprises the following operations: manufacturing a liquid container including a window for supplying liquid for supplying the liquid contained therein to the jet head; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion provided in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said fluid container; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being located opposite the other side of said fluid container and said other side is opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; an electrical contact of the container included in an electrical connection with one of these contacts of the device; an information storage part for storing individual information related to the liquid container; a display portion for directing light to the specified location detection means; a controller for controlling light emission by the light emitting part when the information indicated by the signal showing the individual information supplied through said electrical contact of the container and said information stored by said information storage means are similar; in which the specified window for supplying fluid is made on the side of the specified container for fluid, which is between the specified one side and the specified other side, and the specified contact is located in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, in use, part of the specified other side of the specified container for liquid; pumping fluid into said fluid container.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to obtain a liquid container that has a liquid outlet and an information storage means having electrical contacts with a simpler mechanism for installing the liquid container in the holder of the device to which it is attached, simplifying its procedure installation, more reliable and accurate positioning, reducing the effort required to install it, and improved connection between the fluid outlet and the inlet the liquid contact of the device to which it is attached, and improved contact between the electrical contacts of its means for storing information and the electrical contacts of the device with which it is connected.

In addition, the present invention can provide a combination of a liquid container and a holder of a liquid container of a device into which a liquid container is mounted, so that the electrical contacts are protected against leakage of liquid from the liquid container.

This and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following description of preferred embodiments of the present invention given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Figure 1 is a side view (a), a front view (b) and a bottom view (c) of an ink container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view (a) and an enlarged view (b) of a main part thereof showing functions of a light guide portion and the like located on an ink container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a schematic side view showing an example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

4 is a side view (a) and a front view (b) of an embodiment of a controller substrate disposed on an ink container in a first embodiment of the invention.

5 is a schematic side view showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

6 is a schematic side view showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

7 is a side schematic view (a) and (b) showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 8 is a side schematic view (a) and (b) showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

9 is a schematic side view showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

10 is a schematic side view showing another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention.

11 is a perspective view of an example embodiment of a printhead assembly on which an ink container can be removably mounted.

Figa - operation (a) - (b) installing an ink container in the node of the print head.

Figv - operation (c) - (d).

13 is a perspective view (a) of a printhead assembly for receiving ink from an ink container for performing a printing operation in accordance with another example and a perspective view of a carriage used with it, a perspective view (b) showing a state in which they are connected to each other.

14 is an external perspective view of an inkjet printer used with an ink container.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the printing apparatus shown in Fig. 14 with the cover of the main device open.

FIG. 16 is a schematic side view showing the operation of a light guide portion located on an ink container in accordance with a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic side view of a modified example shown in FIG.

Fig. 18 is a side view (a), a front view (b) and a bottom view (c) of an ink container which is a liquid container in accordance with another embodiment of the second embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 19 is a schematic side view (a) and an enlarged view (b) of a main part of the light guide part, showing the operation of the light guide part.

Fig. 20 is a side view (a) and a front view (b) corresponding to a side view of a modified example of the structure shown in Fig. 18.

21 is a side view (a), a top plan view (b), a bottom view (c) and a front view (d) of an ink container that is a liquid container in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is a schematic top view (a) of a printing apparatus on which several ink containers 1 shown in FIG. 21 are mounted, and a schematic view (b) showing ink containers facing a light receiving portion located in a lower position in printer when the carriage moves.

FIG. 23 is a schematic side view showing the operation of the light guide portion of the ink container shown in FIG.

Fig. 24 is a side view (a), a plan view (b) from above, a bottom view (c) and a front view (d) of an ink container, which is a modified example of the embodiment shown in Fig. 21.

FIG. 25 is a schematic front view (a) of a printing apparatus comprising several ink containers 1 shown in FIG. 24 and a schematic view (b) showing ink containers facing a light receiving portion located in a lower position in the printer when the carriage moves .

Fig is a schematic side view showing the propagation of the beam from falling on the light guide part to exit from the light guide part shown in Fig. 24 (a).

Fig. 27 is a schematic side view of a modified embodiment of the ink container shown in Fig. 24 (a).

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an ink container that is a liquid container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

Fig. 29 is a side view (a), a plan view (b) from above, a plan view (c) from below and a front view (d) of the ink container shown in Fig. 28, and a plan view (e) and plan view (f) ) in front of the ink container without a cover.

30 is a block diagram showing a structure of an ink jet printer control system.

Fig - structure of the signal line wiring for signal transmission between the ink container and the flexible cable of the inkjet printer using the substrate of the ink container.

32 is a circuit diagram showing details of a substrate provided with controllers, etc.

Fig. 33 is a schematic diagram of a modified example of the substrate shown in Fig. 32.

Fig. 34 is a timing chart showing the operations of writing data to and reading from the substrate memory matrix.

Fig. 35 is a timing chart showing turning on and off the LED 101.

Fig. 36 is a flowchart showing a control process related to installing and removing an ink container according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 37 is a flowchart of a process for installing and removing an ink container in accordance with Fig. 36.

Fig. 38 is a block diagram showing in detail the installation confirmation control in accordance with Fig. 37.

Fig. 39 is a state (a) in which all ink containers are correctly installed in the correct positions, as a result of which the LED indicators turn on, respectively, in the process of controlling the installation and removal of ink containers, state (b), in which the movement of the carriage to the position is shown , the confirmation of the correctness of which is carried out using light (light confirmation), after the lid of the main device closes after the LED indicator is lit.

Fig - process (a) - (d) light validation.

Fig - also the process (a) - (d) of light validation.

Fig. 42 is a flowchart showing a printing process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 43 is a schematic side view (a) and a schematic front view (b) of an ink container according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 44 is a schematic side view of a modified example of the structure shown in Fig. 43.

Fig. 45 is a schematic side view of a modified example of the structure shown in Fig. 43.

Fig. 46 is a circuit diagram of a substrate having a controller or the like. according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 47 is a timing diagram of an operation of a structure in accordance with this embodiment of the invention.

Description of Preferred Options

the implementation of the invention

Next, a description will be given of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1. The first embodiment of the invention.

1.1 Description of the first embodiment of the invention

1 shows a side view (a), a front view (b) and a bottom view (c) of an ink container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the front side of the ink container is the side facing the user who manipulates the ink container (performs the operation of installing and removing the ink container), which provides the user with information (through the emission of light from the display part, which will be described later).

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink container 1 in this embodiment of the invention has a holding member 3 fixed on the lower part of its front side. The holding member 3 is made of a polymer material molded integrally with the outer casing of the ink container 1, and the ink container 1 can be displaced relative to the portion of the ink container held when the ink container 1 is located in the container holder. The ink container 1 is provided with a first engaging part 5 and a second engaging part 6, located on its rear side and the front side, respectively, which may engage with locking parts located in the container holder. In this embodiment, they are integral with the retaining element 3. Due to the engagement of the engaging part 5 and the engaging part 6 with the locking parts, the ink container 1 is firmly mounted. Installation steps will be described below with reference to FIGS. 12 (a) to (c).

The bottom surface of the ink container 1 is provided with an ink supply window 7, which can be connected to the ink inlet of the print head, which will be described later, by installing the ink container 1 in the container holder. In the place where the lower side and the front side intersect each other, there is a base located on the lower side of the holding part of the holding element 3. The base may be in the form of a chip or board. In the following description, it is called a “substrate” 100.

A description of the construction and operation of the main part of this embodiment of the invention will be given with reference to FIGS. 2 and 4. FIG. 2 shows a schematic side view (a) and an enlarged view (b) of its main part, illustrating the operation of the light guide part, etc. located on an ink container according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 4 shows a side view (a) and a front view (b) of an embodiment of a controller substrate mounted on an ink container in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention.

As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the ink container 1 is firmly mounted in the holder (or on it) 150, which is integral with the print head assembly 105 having the print head 105 by engaging the first engaging portion 5 and a second engaging portion 6 of the ink container 1 with a first locking portion 155 and a second locking portion 156 of the holder 150, respectively. In this state, the contact (connector) 152 located in the holder 150 and the contact in the form of an electrode pad 102 ((b) in FIG. 4) located on the surface of the substrate 100 facing outward enter into electrical contact with each other, establishing an electrical compound.

The interior of the ink container 1 is divided into an ink supply chamber 11, which is adjacent to the front side, and a chamber 12 for receiving a negative pressure generating element adjacent to the rear side and in fluid communication with the ink supply window 7. The ink supply chamber 11 and the negative pressure generating element chamber 12 are in fluid communication with each other through the connecting window 13. The ink supply chamber 11 in this embodiment contains only ink, while the chamber 12 for receiving the negative pressure generating element the pressure comprises an ink absorbent material 15 (a negative pressure generating element, which in this embodiment is a porous element), representing a sponge, fiber aggregate, etc. for holding ink by absorption. The porous member 15 generates a negative pressure sufficient to balance the meniscus forming force in the ink nozzle of the print head, to prevent ink from leaking from the ink discharge portion to the outside, and to allow ink to escape when the print head is actuated.

The internal structure of the ink container 1 is not limited to such a structure with a partition in which the internal space is divided into a chamber for accommodating the porous element and a reservoir containing only ink. In another example, the porous element may occupy substantially the entire interior of the ink container. The means for generating negative pressure is not limited to the means of a porous material. In another example, only ink is contained in an element similar to an elastic balloon made of an elastic material such as rubber, which creates tension in the direction of expanding its volume. In this case, a negative pressure for holding the ink is generated by tensioning the elastic cylinder element. In another example, at least a portion of the ink containing space is a flexible element, and only ink is contained in the space, and a spring force is applied to the flexible element, due to which negative pressure is generated.

As shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and (b), the surface of the substrate 100 facing the ink container 1 is provided with a radiating part 101 for emitting visible light, such as an LED indicator, and a control element 103 for controlling the radiating part. The control element 103 controls the light emission of the radiating part 101, in response to an electrical signal output through the pad 102 from the connector 152.

As shown in (a) and (b), the light guide portion 121 extends upwardly with a gap relative to the front side wall of the outer case of the ink container from the point at which it faces the radiating part 101 and can efficiently direct light. Its free end is a display portion 122 that the user can easily see. The part from which the light emanates is called the “display part” or “output part”. To reduce the attenuation of the light flux during the passage of light from the radiating part 101 to the light guide part 121, the radiating part 101 is located on the substrate 100 so that it faces the light-receiving surface 123 of the light guide part 121, being in a location close to it (Fig. 2 (b )).

Thus, the emitting part and the display part are separated from each other, while the display part is located on the front side of the ink container, namely the upper part of the side having a snap lever, which thus facilitates its observation by the user. As will be described later, when the light receiving portion is located in the main apparatus of the printer, light can be reliably received from the display portion of the light receiving portion. Since the light guide portion 121 for conducting light from the emitting portion to the display portion is located on the ink container 101, the need for wire leads or the like is necessary. for power supply and signal exchange can be eliminated and, thus, the radiating part 101 and the display part 122 can be located in the respective optimal positions with low cost. Thus, freedom of arrangement of the display part 122 is provided for the convenience of the user, so that the user can easily observe the light emission by which the user can transmit predetermined information related to the ink container 1. By using molding as a unit of the light guide portion 121 and the outer case of the container 1, the production costs do not increase significantly due to the use of the light guide portion 121.

In this embodiment, there is an air layer (free space) between the light guide portion 121 and the front side wall of the outer case of the ink container forming the ink supply chamber 11. One could consider an option in which the light guide part is completely integral with the front side wall of the outer case of the ink container, in other words, when the front side wall of the outer case of the ink container is used as the light guide part. However, the construction of this embodiment is preferred in that the light is transmitted to the display portion 122 efficiently. A description will be given regarding this option.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 (a) and (b), the light guide portion 121 is integrally connected to the outer casing of the chamber 11 for ink supply, but does not depend on the front side wall. Namely, in a structure according to this embodiment of the invention, an air layer is formed between the light guide portion 121 and the ink supply chamber 11. The outer case of the ink container is made of polypropylene. If the light guide portion 121 is completely integral with the outer casing of the ink supply chamber 11, the material of which the light guide portion 121 is made must be polypropylene.

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), in this embodiment, the light emitted from the radiating portion 101 is incident on the light receiving surface 123, which is the end surface of the light guide portion 121, and the light moves through the light guide portion 121 to the display portion 122 for display to the user . The radiating portion 101, as described above, emits visible light, which is scattered light. Thus, it consists of many light rays shown by arrows A1-A3.

It is assumed here that polypropylene has a refractive index of 1.49 (= n1) in the light guide portion 121. Since air has a refractive index of 1.00 (= n2), the critical angle of refraction between polypropylene and air is determined by the following Snellius law of refraction:

n1 sinI1 = n2 sinI2,

that is, the critical angle of refraction is approximately 43 °.

Thus, light rays that incident at an angle of incidence I1 of 43 ° or more at point (i) in FIG. 2 (b) are completely reflected at the interface between the polypropylene (light guide portion 121) and air, and the light rays move in the light guide portion 121, when the total reflection is repeated, as shown by arrows A1 or A3, to the display part 122. When the angle of incidence I1 does not exceed 43 °, the light beam is transmitted into the air and does not reach the display part 122.

The specified information about the ink container (liquid container) 1 above includes information on whether the ink container 1 is installed in the correct position (whether installation has been completed to the end), information on the correct installation location of the ink container (in the correct location on the holder an ink container is installed based on the color of the ink contained therein) and / or information regarding the amount of ink remaining (is the amount of ink remaining sufficient). Information of these types can be displayed by the presence or absence of light emission, the state of light emission (flashing, etc.), etc.

Next, a description will be given of a method of manufacturing an ink container. The interior of the ink container 1 is divided into an ink supply chamber 11, which is adjacent to the front side, and a chamber 12, to accommodate a negative pressure generating element, which is adjacent to the rear side and which is in fluid communication with the ink supply window 7. The ink supply chamber 11 and the negative pressure generating chamber 12 are in fluid communication with each other through the connecting window 13. The upper surface of the negative pressure generating chamber is provided with an air inlet 12A. The ink container 1 shown in FIG. 2 can be manufactured by preparing the main body of the ink container 1 provided with a substrate 100 having a contact, a controller and a radiating part, and then injecting ink into it. An ink injection hole may be formed, for example, in the upper surface of the ink supply chamber. After the ink has been injected through the ink injection hole, the hole is plugged with a plug element 11A.

Alternatively, after the ink I has been used up in the ink container, the clogging element 11A is removed or an injection hole is formed in the ink container body whereby ink can be re-injected into the ink container. If necessary, the ink supply window 7 can be closed with a protective cap or a sealing tape (not shown) or similar means with which the ink containers 1 can be transported.

1.2 Modified example (Fig.3, 5 and 8)

The constructions described above are examples, and appropriate modification is possible if the emitting part 101 is used and it is able to provide predetermined information related to the ink container 1, the printing apparatus, and the user. Some modified examples will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view illustrating an example of a modification of a first embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, the light guide portion 121 is integral with the front side wall forming the ink supply chamber 11. In this modified embodiment of the invention, the luminous flux reaching the display portion 122 is weaker than in the first embodiment, in which free space exists between the light guide portion 121 and the ink supply chamber 11, but this modified embodiment can be used if the luminous flux is amplified. This modified version is preferable in that the ink container is compact, and in that the efficiency of using the volume for ink content is improved.

5 is a schematic side view illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, the light guide portion 121 is formed by an element that is an element separate from and connected to the outer casing of the ink container 1. In such an example, appropriate materials can accordingly be selected. For example, the material for making the light guide portion 121 may be polycarbonate or acrylic and the like having refractive indices that are more different from the refractive index of air, whereby the light emitted by the radiating part can be efficiently guided. On the other hand, with regard to the material of the outer casing of the ink container 1, polypropylene can be selected as it, which gives a good effect on counteracting the evaporation of the ink I contained in the ink container. Since they can be made of different materials, the material for the ink container 1, which does not have to be transparent, can be selected from a wider range of possible materials.

6 is a schematic side view illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, the display portion 122 at the free end of the light guide portion 121 has a substantially hemispherical configuration, and the light is preferably scattered due to the curvature of the surface. In this example, the light beam guided by the light guide portion 121 is scattered by the display part, and thus, the light flux is weakened, but light can be seen on the display part from a wider angle. Due to this, the viewing angle (range) is increased, thus further improving the visualization.

7 is a schematic view of ((a) and (b)) illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, the light guide portion 121, the holding member 3, and the portion to which the substrate 100 is adhered are formed as a single member 131, which is a member separate from the member constituting the outer body of the ink container 1. As a result, like the example shown in FIG. .5, suitable materials can be selected that meet the requirements for the element constituting the outer body of the ink container and the element constituting the light guide portion, respectively. As shown in FIG. 7 (b), the element 131 to which the substrate 100 is adhered can be detached so that after all of the ink I in the ink container has been used up, the element 131 can be installed on a new ink container, that is, it can be reuse. This reduces operating costs since the substrate 100 and / or the radiating portion 101, which are relatively expensive parts, can be reused.

Fig. 8 is a schematic views ((a) and (b)) illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, the light guide portion 121 and the portion to which the substrate 100 is adhered are formed as a single element 131 ′, and the element 131 ′ constitutes a part of the outer casing of the ink container 1, separate from the element constituting the holding element 3. Due to this, like the example shown figure 5, expanding the selection of possible materials. Fig. 8 (b) shows an element 131 ′, which has an integral part of the light guide portion 121 and a part to which the substrate 100 is glued so as to be detachable and thus reusable.

In the first embodiment of the invention and in the modified example, there is a layer of air between the ink supply chamber 11 and the light guide portion 121, whereby the attenuation of the light flux emanating from the radiating part 101 is reduced, and the visual display is improved. This can also be achieved by arranging another element between the ink supply chamber 11 and the light guide portion 121.

9 is a schematic side view illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, a low refractive index element 108 is arranged between the light guide portion 121 and the surface of the front side wall of the ink supply chamber 11 containing ink I. It has a refractive index that is lower than the refractive index of the light guide portion 121. The light guide portion 121 in this example is an element separate from the ink container 1 and made of polycarbonate having high light transmission. The low refractive index element 108 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene.

Here, the refractive index of polycarbonate is 1.59 and the refractive index of polytetrafluoroethylene is 1.35. According to Snell's law of refraction, the critical angle of refraction when converting from polycarbonate to polytetrafluoroethylene is approximately 58 °, and thus light rays with an angle of incidence in the range of 58 ° to 90 ° reach the imaging part 122 among the light rays emitted by the emitting part 101.

In this example, the low refractive index element 108 may be replaced by a reflective element made of metal. In the above examples, in which the difference in the refractive indices of materials is used, light rays that do not meet the condition for total reflection are transmitted, as a result of which the total luminous flux is attenuated to a greater or lesser extent. Due to the use of the reflective element, light rays incident on the light receiving surface 123 and reaching the reflective element can be substantially completely reflected. Due to this, the light can be effectively guided, and the visual display can be improved.

10 is a schematic side view illustrating another example of a modification of the first embodiment of the invention. In this example, there is no such element as a low refractive index element 108 or the like (FIG. 9) between the light guide portion 121 and the front side wall of the ink supply chamber 11 for ink supply, and they come into contact with each other. However, in this example, the ink supply chamber 11 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene like the low refractive index element 108 and the light guide portion 121 is made of polycarbonate. In this case, similarly to the example shown in Fig. 9, the light emitted by the radiating part 101 can be directed to the display part 122 with high efficiency.

In such modified examples, the emitting part and the imaging part are separated from each other, and the optical fiber part 121 for optical connection between them is located on the ink container 1 so that the emitting part 101 and the imaging part 122 can be placed in the corresponding optimal positions at low cost and without the need for wiring for power and signal exchange, which may interfere with operation and surveillance. Due to this, thus, a space is obtained for the location of the display portion 122, providing convenience for the user, who can easily observe the emission of light, so that the user can receive the set information regarding the ink container 1.

Modification examples of the first embodiment are not limited to those described above. One skilled in the art can further modify these examples within the scope of the present invention. For example, in the preceding examples, the light guide portion is made of polymer, and the difference in refractive indices between the material and the air coming into contact with it is used to direct the light. However, an optical fiber containing a core and a sheath can be used. Instead of a solid light guide part, a hollow member having an internal reflective surface (stainless steel tube) can be used.

Two or more of the preceding examples may be combined. In the first embodiment of the invention or in examples of modifications thereof, surface treatment of the display portion 122 described in connection with FIG. 6 can be used.

This is applicable in the second embodiment of the invention, in the third embodiment of the invention and in their modified examples, which will be described later.

1.3 Installation part for the ink container (11 - 13)

11 is a perspective view illustrating an example embodiment of a printhead assembly having a holder onto which an ink container according to a first embodiment of the invention is mounted.

12A and 12B are a schematic side view illustrating installation and removal operations (a) to (c) of an ink container according to a first embodiment of the invention. The installation part described here can be used in the variants that will be described below, and in variants of their modification.

The printhead assembly 105 is generally represented by a holder 150 for retrievably holding several (four in the example shown in the figure) ink containers and a printhead 105 adjacent to the underside (not shown in FIG. 11). When the ink container is installed in the holder 150, an ink receiving hole 107 for the print head located at the bottom of the holder is connected to the ink supply window 7 for creating an ink supply message between them.

An example of a suitable printhead 105 comprises a fluid channel, which is a nozzle, and an electrothermal transducer located in the liquid channel. The electrothermal converter receives electrical impulses in accordance with print signals, as a result of which thermal energy acts on the ink in the liquid channel. This causes a change in the phase of the ink and the formation of bubbles (boiling) and, thus, a sharp increase in pressure, which pushes the ink out of the nozzle. The electrical contact portion (not shown) for signal transmission located on the carriage 203, which will be described below, and the electrical contact portion 157 of the print head assembly 105 are in electrical contact with each other, thereby transmitting the print signal to the excitation circuit of the print electrothermal converter heads 105 through electrical wiring 158. From electrical contact portion 157, electrical wiring 159 extends to connector 152.

When the ink container 1 is installed in the printhead assembly 105 in the holder 150 ((a) in FIG. 12A), and the first engaging portion 5 in the form of a protrusion located on the rear side of the ink container is inserted into the first locking portion 155 in the form of a through holes made in the rear side of the holder, while the ink container 1 is placed on the inner lower surface of the holder ((b) in figa). While maintaining this position, the upper end of the front side of the ink container 1 is pressed down as shown by arrow P, whereby the ink container 1 is rotated in the direction shown by arrow R around the engagement point between the first engaging part 5 and the first locking part 155 so so that the front side of the ink container slides down. During this action, the holding member 3 is biased in the direction shown by the arrow Q, while the side surface of the second engaging part 6 located on the holding member 3 on the front side of the ink container is pressed against the second locking part 156 (upper end edge of the front side of the holder ) located on the front side of the holder ((c) in FIG. 12B). At this point, the connector 152 of the main device comes into contact with the contact pad 102 located on the ink container. If the user stops the installation operation at this stage (that is, the user no longer presses the container (in the direction P)), the holding element 3 is bent at that moment and, thus, the elastic force of the holding element 3 itself lifts the ink container. As a result, the electrical contact opens and the user is notified of the incomplete installation of the ink container. In this way, the printing operation with the incomplete installation of the ink container can be prevented.

When the upper surface of the second engaging portion 6 extends beneath the second locking portion 156 located below the upper end edge portion of the front side of the holder, the retaining element 3 is displaced in the direction Q ′ by the elastic force of the retaining element 3 itself, as a result of which the second engaging portion 6 is locked by the second locking part 156. The construction of the second locking part 156 is not limited to the one described above. The locking portion may be formed by making a hole in the upper end edge portion of the front side of the holder, and the locking portion may be formed by performing the stepped portion, as in this embodiment of the invention. In this position ((d) in FIG. 12B), the second locking portion 156 elastically loads the ink container 1 horizontally through the holding member 3 so that the back side of the ink container 1 abuts against the back side of the holder 150. The ink container 1 takes up force the z direction ((d) in FIG. 12B) as a result of the contact between the ink receiving hole 107 and the absorbent material in the ink supply window 7 of the ink container 1. The upward movement of the ink container 1 is prevented by the first locking part 1 55, which engages with the first engaging part 5, and the second locking part 156, which engages with the second locking part 6. In this position, the installation of the ink container 1 is completed, while the ink supply window 7 is connected to the reception hole 107 ink, and the contact pad 102 is in electrical contact with the connector 152.

In the process described above, the “lever” principle is used in the installation shown in FIG. 12B (c), wherein the engagement point between the first engaging part 5 and the first locking part 155 is a fulcrum, and the front side of the ink container 1 is an application point efforts. The connecting part between the ink supply window 7 and the ink receiving hole 107 is an operating point which is located between the force application point and the fulcrum, preferably closer to the fulcrum. Thus, the ink supply window 7 is pushed against the ink receiving hole 107 with a great effort when the ink container 1 is rotated. An elastic element, such as a filter, an absorbent material, a sealant, and the like, which has relatively high flexibility, is provided in the connecting part to allow ink to flow and to prevent ink leakage at this location.

Such a construction, arrangement and installation method are thus preferred in that such an element elastically deforms with relatively high force. When the installation is completed, the first locking part 155 engaging with the first engaging part 5 and the second locking part 156 engaging with the second engaging part 6 effectively prevent the ink container 1 from rising from the holder, and thus restoration of the elastic element is prevented, and the element is held in a proper elastically deformed state.

On the other hand, the contact pad 102 and the connector 152 (electrical contacts) are made of a relatively hard conductive material, such as metal, to provide a satisfactory electrical connection between them. On the other hand, excessive contact force between them is not preferable from the point of view of preventing damage and sufficient durability. In this example, they are located at a location farthest from the fulcrum, more specifically near the front side of the ink container in this example, whereby the contact force is minimized.

In this embodiment, the substrate 100 is located on an inclined surface connecting the lower side of the ink container 1 with the front side of the ink container 1, namely in the corner portion between them. If we consider the balance of forces only in the contact part in the position where the contact pad 102 comes into contact with the connector 152 just before the installation is completed, it is such that the reaction force (vertical upward force) applied by the connector 152 to the contact pad 102, balancing the force at the installation, applied vertically downward, includes a force component constituting the actual contact pressure between the pad 102 and the connector 152. Thus, when the user clicks on nilny container down toward the mounting completion position, add force when mounting the ink container to create an electrical connection between the substrate and the connector is small, and thus the work can be quite small.

When the ink container 1 is pushed down in the direction of the completed installation position, and when the first engaging part 5 engages, the second engaging part 6 and the second locking part 156 engage with each other, and a force component (force causing the contact pad 102 to slip along the connector 152) parallel to the surface of the substrate 100. In this way, a good electrical connection is maintained when the installation of the ink container is completed. In addition, the electrical connecting part is located above the lower side of the ink container and, therefore, the probability of leakage of ink on it is low. In this embodiment, the ink receiving hole 107 is located in the lower surface of the ink container near the first engaging portion 5, and the contact pad 102 is located in the corner portion on the front side, away from the first engaging portion, wherein the user can be protected from ink in the hole 107 for receiving ink when installing and removing the ink container.

Thus, the design and arrangement of the electrical connecting portion described above is preferable in terms of the amount of force required when installing the ink container, providing electrical contact and protecting against leakage of ink.

As described above, the ink container can be reliably installed in the correct position in the printing device using a simple design, and a stable electrical connection is provided without affecting the responsiveness when installing the ink container due to the location of the contact pad, as described above. In addition, the visualization is improved for the user due to the arrangement of the display part that emits light from the radiating part outward, in the upper part of the front side (the side having the snap lever) of the ink container. Thus, the construction of the present invention effectively provides various advantages.

The design of the mounting part for the ink container in the first embodiment of the invention or in a modified example is not limited to that shown in FIG. 11.

In this regard, a description will be given with reference to FIG. 13. 13 shows a perspective view (a) of a print head assembly for receiving ink from an ink container for performing a printing operation according to another example, and a perspective view of a carriage that can be used with it, and a perspective view (b) showing the state in which they are connected to each other.

As shown in FIG. 13 (a), the printhead assembly 405 in this example differs from the above (holder 150) in that it does not have a holding portion corresponding to a front side of the ink container, a second locking portion or connector. The printhead assembly 405 is similar to the previous one in other respects, the bottom side thereof being provided with an ink receiving hole 107 connected to the ink supply window 7. Its rear side is provided with a first locking part 155 and the rear side is provided with an electrical contact part (not shown) for signal transmission.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), the carriage 415 can move along the shaft 417 and is provided with a lever 419 for fixing the print head assembly 405 and an electrical contact part 418 connected to the electric contact part of the print head. The carriage 415 is also provided with a holding part corresponding to the construction of the front side of the ink container. The second locking part 156, the connector 152 and the wiring 159, connected to the connector, are located on the carriage.

With this design, when the printhead assembly 405 is mounted on the carriage 415, as shown in FIG. 13 (b), a mounting portion for an ink container is obtained. Thus, by the installation operation, which is similar to the example shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, a connection is established between the ink supply window 7 and the ink receiving hole 107 and the connection between the pad 102 and the connector 152, and the installation operation is completed.

1.4 The printing device (Fig.14 - 15)

FIG. 14 shows the appearance of an inkjet printer 200 into which the ink container described above is installed. In FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a printer with the cover 201 of the main apparatus shown in FIG. 14 open. The printing device can be used in embodiments of the invention and modified examples, which will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 14, the printer 200 in this embodiment of the invention comprises a main device, a sheet dispensing tray 203 on the front side of the main device, an automatic sheet feeding device 202 on its back side, a main device cover 201 and other parts of the case that close main parts, including a mechanism for the scanning movement of the carriage carrying the printheads and ink containers, and for printing when the carriage moves. The printer also has a working panel 213, which includes a display device, which in turn displays the status of the printer regardless of whether the cover of the main device is closed or open, the main switch and the reset switch.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the cover 201 of the main device is open, the user can see the range of movement of the carriage carrying the print head assembly 105 and ink containers 1K, 1Y, 1M and 1C (ink containers for simplicity, may be denoted by “1” below ) In this embodiment, when the main device cover 201 is opened, a sequence of operations is performed, as a result of which the carriage 205 automatically extends to the center position (“container replacement position” shown in the figure), in which the user can perform an ink container replacement operation or the like actions.

In this embodiment, a printhead (not shown) is in the form of a chip mounted on a printhead assembly 105 corresponding to certain inks. The printheads scan the print medium due to the movement of the carriage 205, during which the printheads emit ink for printing. The carriage 205 may be slidably coupled to a guide shaft 207 extending in the direction of movement of the carriage 205 and moved by the carriage electric motor and its motion transmission mechanism. The printheads corresponding to the inks K, Y, M, and C (black, yellow, magenta, and cyan) emit ink based on the print data received from the main device control circuit via flexible cable 206. The printer is equipped with a paper feed mechanism including a feed roller paper, roll sheet, etc. to feed the print medium (not shown) supplied by the automatic sheet feeder 202 to the sheet delivery tray 203. The printhead assembly 105, having an integral part of the ink container holder, is detachably mounted on the carriage 205, and the corresponding ink containers 1 are detachably mounted on the printhead assemblies 105.

During the print operation, the print head scans the print medium in the aforementioned motion, while the print heads emit ink onto the print medium to print across the width of the print medium corresponding to the coverage of the set of outlet openings of the print head. During the period of time between one scanning operation and the next scanning operation, the paper feed mechanism feeds the print medium a predetermined distance corresponding to this width. Thus, printing is carried out sequentially and covers the entire area of the print medium. At the end of the range of motion of the print head when the carriage moves, a feed recovery unit is located, including caps for closing the sides of the print heads having outlet openings. Thus, the printheads are moved to the location of the assembly to restore feed at predetermined time intervals and are subjected to restoration processing, including pre-feed, and the like.

The printhead assembly 105 having a holding part for each ink container 1 is provided with a connector corresponding to each of the ink containers, and the corresponding connectors come into contact with the contact pad of the substrate located on the ink container 1. In this case, the switching and blinking of the corresponding radiating parts 101 may be controlled in accordance with a given sequence performed by the printing device. In this way, information regarding the status of the ink container can be provided.

More specifically, after the container has been set to the replacement position, the emitting part 101 of the ink container 1 containing a small amount of ink turns on or blinks, and this event can be observed by the user using the light guide part 121 and the display part 122. This concerns the corresponding ink containers 1. In another an example of controlling the inclusion of the radiating part, when the ink container 1 is set to the correct position, the radiating part 101 of the container is lit, so that the user can observe the event the help of the light guide portion 121 and the display portion 122. These types of control are carried out similarly to controlling the ink output by the print head by supplying control data (control signals) to the respective ink containers from the control circuit of the main device via the flexible cable 206.

The light receiving portion 210 having the light receiving element may be located near the end portion, which is located opposite the location where the above node for restoring the feed is located. In this case, the emitting part 101 is activated when the imaging part 122 of the ink container 1 passes by the light receiving part when the carriage 205 moves, and the light receiving part can receive the emitted light passing through the light guide part 121 and the display part 122. Based on the use of the carriage 205 and when receiving light, it is possible to detect whether the ink container 1 is installed and / or the ink container 1 is installed in the correct position on the carriage 205. Thus, the display portion 122 not only performs the function of providing I have information to the user, but also performs the function of facilitating the detection operation and the monitoring operation of the executed printing device. Another preferred embodiment of the invention providing both functions will be described below with reference to a third embodiment of the invention.

2. The second embodiment of the invention (Fig.16 - 20).

In the above embodiments, the light guide portion 121 extends from a point near the radiating portion 101 to the display portion 122, which is located at the upper end. Next, a description will be given of examples in which the display portion is in a position that is more convenient for the user. The elements performing the corresponding functions are assigned reference positions similar to those indicated in relation to the previous embodiment, and a detailed description of such elements is omitted for simplicity.

16 is a schematic side view illustrating the operation of a light guide portion located on an ink container according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the light is directed from the emitting part 101 to the display part 322, and the light guide part 321 passes upward with an air gap between the light guide part 321 and the surface of the front side wall of the chamber 11 for supplying ink containing ink I, so that the free end bent so that the display portion 322 is directed up and to the right. In this example, the imaging part is located in the upper part of the front side of the ink container, that is, the side provided with a snap lever, as in the previous embodiments, as a result of which the user can easily observe it.

With this design, similar to that indicated with respect to the first embodiment of the invention, light can pass to the display portion 322 without attenuating the light emanating from the emission portion 101. In addition, the light guide portion 321 is bent so that the display portion 322 is directed up and to the right in FIG. .16 so that the user can easily observe the display portion 322.

On Fig shows a schematic side view of an example of a modification of the structure shown in Fig.16. In this embodiment, the light guide portion 321 is also curved, but has a lower height than in FIG. 16, as a result of which the end surface 310 is opposite the back side of the holding member 3, more specifically its working part 3M, which is the part that the user is manipulating. At least the working portion 3M of the holding member 3 in this embodiment is a translucent member in this example.

As shown in FIG. 17, in this example, light emanating from the radiating portion 101 is directed to the end surface 310 of the light guide portion 321, and then the light is directed to the working portion 3M. In this case, the working part 3M of the holding element 3, which is a translucent element, begins to glow. In other words, the working part 3M itself acts as a display part for providing the user with information.

This example provides the same preferred results as the first embodiment of the invention. In addition, according to the features of this example, the working part 3M, which the user manipulates, lights up, as a result of which, when the user is notified of the need to replace the ink container, the specific ink container can be directly recognized, and the part that needs to be manipulated to install or remove the ink containers can also be directly recognized. In order to make light more visible on the working part 3M, the working part 3M may be provided with a part scattering an appropriate amount of light.

The design for changing the direction of the optical axis to specify the location of the imaging part is not limited to the curved light guide part. A description will be given below regarding this issue.

On Fig shows a side view (a), a front view (b) and a bottom view (c) of an ink container corresponding to an example of modification of the second embodiment of the invention. The location from which the light guide portion 450 extends upward is substantially similar to the previous examples, but the light guide portion 450 in this example is not bent and extends substantially straight. On the upper end part there is an inclined surface. The inclined surface 451 is located behind the working part 3M of the holding member 3, and its end located opposite the rear side of the working part 3M is higher, and the end opposite the front side of the ink supply chamber 11 is located lower. An air gap exists between the light guide portion 450 and the surface of the front side wall of the ink container 1. When the light guide portion 450 is molded as a unit with the outer casing of the ink container 1, the entire element consists of a translucent material.

Next, a description will be given regarding the structure and functions of the light guide portion 450 in this example. On Fig shows a schematic side view (a) and an enlarged view (b) of the main part of the light guide part, illustrating the operation of the light guide part.

As shown in these figures, the light guide portion 450 extends upward from a location where the lower end surface is opposite the radiating part 101. Thus, when the radiating part 101 emits light, light is directed from the end surface of the lower side of the light guide part 450 to the inclined surface 451 located in the upper end part, and is reflected by the inclined surface 451 in the direction of the working part 3M. Similar to the example shown in FIG. 17, the structure in this example is such that light emanating from the radiating portion 101 located at the bottom of the ink container 1 is directed to the working portion 3M through the light guide portion 450, and thus the user manipulating the working part 3M, easily recognizes predetermined information regarding the ink container 1.

A preferred relative arrangement of the light guide portion 450, the inclined surface 451, and the radiating portion 101 corresponds to the following. Preferably, from the point of view of supplying a large amount of light, so that the light emitted by the radiating part 101 is directed to the inclined surface 451 of the light guide part 450, the radiating part 101 is located against the end surface of the lower side of the light guide part 450 and in the projection plane of the cross section of the light guide part 450 (perpendicular to the optical axis 456 of the light guide portion 450).

In order for the light reflected by the inclined surface 451 to uniformly reach the working part 3M, it is preferable that the angle of inclination of the inclined surface 451 relative to the optical axis 456 is not less than the critical angle for full reflection of light. For example, when the light guide portion 450, molded integrally with the ink container 1, is made of polypropylene having a refractive index of 1.49, the general reflection conditions are determined by Snell's law of refraction as follows (air refractive index is 1):

1.49 sin AND = 1.

sinI = 1 / 1.49.

And approximately equal to 43 °.

Thus, the angle of inclination relative to the optical axis (equal to the angle of incidence) is at least 43 °. In this embodiment, the angle of inclination is 45 ° to satisfy the full reflection condition. In this case, the light guided by the light guide portion 450 is completely reflected by the inclined surface 451 and sent to the working part 3M in such a way that its visibility is improved.

FIG. 20 shows a side view (a) and a front view (b) corresponding to an example of modifying the structure shown in a side view of FIG. 18. In this example, the light guide portion 450 is represented by an element separate from the ink container 1. According to this example, the ink container 1 and the light guide portion 450 may be made of suitable materials, respectively. In the case where the ink container 1 is made of a non-light-conducting material, a hole 32 is formed in the part of the working part 3M. Through the hole 32, reflected light coming from the inclined surface 451 of the light guide part 450 is perceived by the user.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 18 and 20, the inclined surface is located so that the angle (angle of incidence) relative to the optical axis defined by the light guide portion 450 is equal to the angle (angle of reflection) in the direction of the working part 3M. Depending on the materials used, etc. they are appropriately set to satisfy the general conditions of reflection.

To efficiently reflect light, the inclined surface may consist of a material exhibiting a high refractive index or a high reflectance, for example, glued metal foil or the like.

In addition, in another alternative embodiment, the working part 3M of the holding member does not function as a display part, while the light guide part 450 extends above the working part similar to that shown in the example in FIG. 16, and the display part is the upper front part of the light guide part 450, adjacent to an inclined surface.

3. The third embodiment of the invention (Fig.21 - 27).

Perhaps the user will look at the display part from different directions depending on the location of the printer, etc. and thus, it is desirable that light be emitted in a wider range from the imaging part. On the other hand, the display part is intended not only for user observation, but also for performing an ink container detection and monitoring operation by the printing device, and thus, a light receiving part 210 is located in the printing device, as shown in FIG.

For example, when the carriage 205 makes a scanning motion with respect to the light receiving portion 210, the ink container and / or the displaying part passes by the light receiving portion 210, respectively. With this passage, a check can be made to see if ink containers are installed in the correct position, respectively. More specifically, at a time when a particular ink container is facing the light receiving portion 210, the emitting part of the ink container containing the ink of a certain color and in a position in which it is facing the light receiving portion 210 is driven and emits light through the display portion. If the light receiving portion 210 receives light, it is recognized that the ink container is set to the correct position; if not, the container is not installed correctly. If the latter occurs, the printing operation, for example, is prevented, and the user is notified that the main device cover 201 should be opened and the ink container installed in the wrong position to be reinstalled by flashing the emitting part or the display part, indicating the ink container is not installed correctly. This eliminates the inconvenience that the color reproduction is not performed properly due to the incorrect installation of the ink container or containers, and the inconvenience that the warning was not given regarding the ink container in which there is little ink, and erroneous warning regarding an ink container containing a sufficient amount of ink.

The light receiving portion 210 used with such an ink container for detection or monitoring is installed in the main device, while the ink container is mounted on the carriage and makes a reciprocating movement, and thus, during the detection operation, the relative position with respect to the display portion of the ink container remains constant . For this reason, it is preferable that the imaging part emits light in a small range corresponding to the allowable tolerances for installing the light-receiving part in the printing apparatus, so that the density of the light flux directed to the light-receiving part is kept at a sufficiently high level, in contrast to the case with user observation.

Thus, the imaging part is required to satisfy conflicting functions. Next, a description will be given of an embodiment of the invention that satisfies conflicting requirements.

FIG. 21 shows a side view (a), a top plan view (b), a bottom view (c) and a front view (d) of an ink container that is a liquid container in accordance with a third embodiment of the present invention. 21, reference numeral 550 denotes a light guide portion (a light guide rib). Like the previous embodiment, the end surface of the lower side is raised relative to the position in which it would face the radiating part 101.

With reference to FIGS. 22 and 23, the configuration and operation of the light guide member of this embodiment of the invention will be described.

On Fig shows a schematic view (a) of the top of the printing device, which has several ink containers 1 shown in Fig.21, and a schematic view (b) showing ink containers facing the light receiving portion located in the lower position in the printer when the carriage is moving, and in which, in particular, a cyan ink container 1C, a magenta ink container 1M, and a yellow ink container 1Y are shown. The ink containers are located close to each other in the direction along the width of the containers, namely, in the direction of movement (scanning direction) of the carriage 205. As shown in FIG. 22 (b), several ink containers face the bottom of the light receiving portion 210 (FIG. 15) located in the printer when the carriage moves. The light guide portion 550 has a substantially T-shaped cross section when viewed from above (perpendicular to the sheet of drawing), and the T-shaped portion includes a part (part B) extending in the scanning direction (left direction, x direction in Fig.22), and part (part A) extending from the central part B in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction (vertical direction, direction y in FIG. 22). The light guide portion in this example is in the form of a rod having a T-shaped cross section.

FIG. 23 is a schematic side view illustrating the operation of the light guide portion of the ink container shown in FIG. 22. 23, a state is shown in which light emitted from the radiating part 101 is incident on the light guide part 550 and is conducted along the light guide part 550, reaching the upper end part 552 of the light guide part, from where the light exits, as shown by arrows 551. In this example the radiating part 101 is located so that it faces the intersection between the part A and the part B of the T-shaped section at the end of the lower side of the light guide part 550, and the light emitted by the radiating part 101 is directed to part A and to part B of the light guide part 550.

Here, the position of the light receiving portion 210 attached to the printing apparatus relative to the ink container may change due to assembly tolerances when installing the light receiving portion 210. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 22 (b), deviations in the scanning direction of the carriage (x direction ) in a perpendicular direction (y direction) perpendicular to it, and in a direction perpendicular to the sheet on which this figure is depicted (z direction). According to this embodiment of the invention, the configuration of the light guide portion 550 allows deviations in such directions and yet allows the correct operation of detecting the container to be performed to recognize the correct installation of the ink containers and their correct location relative to it.

Deviation in the z direction affects the change in the distance from the upper end part 552 to the light receiving part 210 and, thus, affects the detected light intensity coming from the upper end part 552. However, an appropriate threshold value can be set to allow a change in the luminous flux in the range of acceptable values so that the deviation of the light receiving portion 210 in the z direction is not a problem during the ink container detection operation.

A deviation in the x direction is permissible for the light receiving part 210, which continuously receives light emanating from the upper end part 552 when scanning with the carriage and emitting light from the emitting part 101 of the ink container. More specifically, even if there is a deviation of the light receiving portion in the x direction, light emission and reception of light are carried out in a range set taking into account the deviation, as a result of which the ink container detection operation can be carried out properly. Part A effectively gives the maximum value (peak value) of the curve of the light flux received by the light receiving part 210. Thus, taking into account the moment of detection of the peak value, it is possible to adjust the moment of subsequent light emission by the emitting part 101 to perform the detection operation, so that the deviation can actually be compensated in the x direction.

In addition, if part A has a length in the y direction that is not less than the installation tolerance limits for the light receiving part 210 in the y direction, light coming from the upper end part 552 can be received. In this case, the deviation of the light receiving portion 210 in the y direction may be acceptable within such limits that the operation of detecting the ink container can be accurately performed. As the length of part A decreases, the density of light emanating from the end of the light guide portion 550 increases, as a result of which the light flux received by the light reception part 210 is amplified. Due to this, the influence of external interference is minimized and the reliability of the ink container detection operation is ensured. Thus, the length of part A can be appropriately selected taking into account the installation tolerances for the light receiving part 210 and the preferred luminous flux received by the light receiving part 210.

On the other hand, the upper end portion 552 of the light guide portion (the display portion) starts to glow or blink, for example, when the ink container is empty, and the user observes this. Thus, it is desirable that the display area be so wide that the user can see it from different positions at different angles. Part A described above effectively ensures that the detection operation of the light receiving part is carried out properly by sizing and configuration. On the other hand, part B can provide a sufficiently wide area of light when choosing the proper size and configuration. The upper end portion 552 of the light guide portion 550 extends also in the width direction of the ink container 1 so that light can spread widely in the width direction. Due to this, the visible area increases.

In this example, the light guide portion has a T-shaped cross section. But it is not limited to this configuration, and the configuration of the light guide portion may differ if the configuration and dimensions are selected so that light radiation from the upper end portion 552 is sufficient. The upper end portion may have a shape other than a T-shape.

On Fig shows a schematic top view in plan, illustrating another example configuration of the light guide portion. On Fig shows a schematic view (a) of the front of the printing device carrying several ink containers 1 shown in Fig.24, and a schematic view (b) illustrating the ink containers facing the light receiving part located in the lower position in the printer, carriage movement. FIG. 26 is a schematic side view illustrating the passage of a beam when incident on the light guide portion and before exiting the light guide portion shown in FIG. 24 (a).

The configuration of the light guide portion 580, similar to that shown in FIG. 22, has a substantially T-shaped cross section when viewed from above, wherein the T-shaped portion includes a part (part B) extending in the scanning direction and a part (part A) departing from the central parts of part B in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction. The light guide portion 580 has an inclined surface 582 similar to the surface in the example shown in FIG. 18 and in FIG. 25 (a), the light guide portion 580 ends with an inclined surface 582. The configuration has a substantially T-shape made up of part E extending into the scanning direction (x direction) when viewed from the front, and part D, departing from it in the perpendicular direction (in the vertical direction (a) in Fig.25 or in the z direction).

As shown in FIG. 26, light emitted from the radiating part 101 is incident on the light guide part 580, guided by the light guide part 580, reflected by the inclined surface 582, and emanates forward from the front side of the ink container (to the right in FIG. 26). The inclination angle of the inclined surface 582, similar to that described above, is set so that it is not less than the critical angle to ensure full reflection of the light guided by the light guide part 580. If the light guide part 580 is formed, for example, of polypropylene, it can be approximately 45 °. Alternatively, for efficient light reflection, the inclined surface may be represented by an element having a high refractive index or high reflectivity. For example, metal foil or the like may be glued to the inclined surface 582.

In this example, the light receiving portion 210 is positioned so that the outgoing light is received in front (direction y), and not in the upper part (z direction) of the ink container. In such a case, deviations of the light receiving portion 210 arising in the x, y, and z directions are similar to those indicated above. According to this example, the configuration of the light guide portion 550 also allows deviations in such directions and yet allows the operation of error-free detection of the ink container to recognize the correct installation of the ink containers and the correctness of their relative location.

Here, the deviation in the y direction corresponds to the deviation in the z direction in the previous example and affects the change in the distance from the light emitting point to the light receiving part 210, but the deviation is permissible by setting an appropriate threshold value to allow the luminous flux to change in such a way that the ink container is correctly detected .

The deviation in the x direction is similar to the deviation in the x direction and may be acceptable for the light receiving part 210, which continuously receives light from the upper end part 552 during the scanning movement of the carriage and the light emitting from the emitting part 101 of the ink container 1.

In addition, the deviation in the z direction corresponds to the deviation in the y direction in the previous example. If the length of the part D, measured in the z direction when viewed from the front, is not less than the installation tolerance limits for the light receiving part 210 in the z direction, light from the upper end part 582 can be received, while installing the light receiving part 210 in the z direction is acceptable, and the operation is performed accurate detection of the ink container.

Like specified in the previous example, dimensions, configuration, etc. corresponding parts D, E can be specified taking into account the operation of the light receiving part and observation by the user.

Instead of positioning the imaging portion on the upper portion of the front side of the light guide portion 580 from which the light emanates, the inclined surface 582 may be located behind the imaging portion 3M of the holding member 3, as shown in FIG. 27, so that the imaging portion 3M acts as the imaging portion like indicated in the example shown in Fig.19. Similar to that indicated in the example shown in FIG. 20, the working portion 3M may be provided with a window through which light reflected from the inclined surface 582 of the light guide portion 580 can be observed.

4. The fourth embodiment of the invention (FIGS. 28 and 29).

It is desirable that the user can correctly identify the ink container by the imaging part that emits light. If the outgoing luminous flux is too small, it is not easy for the user to detect the light. On the other hand, if the emitted light flux is too large, it is difficult to distinguish adjacent fluid containers. This also applies to the light receiving part. More specifically, the light receiving portion could receive light from a neighboring ink container other than the container that this action touches.

Next, a description will be given of an embodiment of the invention in which the light emanating from the display portion is appropriately perceived by the user as well as the light reception portion.

FIG. 28 is a perspective view of an ink container being a liquid container in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. On Fig shows a side view (a), top view (b) from above in plan, view (c) from below and front view (d) of the ink container shown in Fig.28, and top view (e) in plan and view ( f) in front of the ink container without a lid.

The design in this example is generally similar to that shown in FIG. The light guide portion 580 has a substantially T-shaped cross section, has an inclined surface 582, and extends upward from a point located opposite the radiating portion 101, so that light comes from the portion (the portion corresponding to portions D, E in FIG. 25), which is located on top of the front side and which is the display part 585. In this example, a predetermined window 21A is arranged against the display part 585, and the peripheral part of the display part 585 is closed to limit the direction of light emission by the element 21 A light emission restrictions.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a lid that is mounted on the upper surface of the ink container 1 and closes the interior space and which has an air inlet 20 for communicating the interior space with the environment. In this example, the element 21 for limiting light emission is made, for example, of a thermoplastic elastomer, so that it can be welded to the cover 2 to obtain a single element. Since the thermoplastic elastomer is transparent, it can be colored to reduce light emission in the peripheral part to stabilize the operation of the light receiving part 210 and improve visibility for the user. In another embodiment, a material other than the elastomer may be used, and it may be molded as a unit with the lid 2 made of the same material. When the cover 2 is made of a transparent material, light emission can be limited by applying a non-smooth configuration to at least one of the front and back surfaces of the part constituting the light emission restricting member 21, or the surface can be sandblasted.

According to this embodiment of the invention, the light emission of the display portion is appropriately limited, whereby a preferred luminous flux can be obtained both for observation by the user and for stabilizing the operation of the light receiving portion. The design of the light guide portion is not limited to that described above, and its configuration may differ from that shown in FIG. A display portion may be formed on the upper end surface of the light guide portion.

5. Management system.

5.1 General device (Fig.30)

On Fig shows a block diagram of an example structure of an inkjet printer control system. The control system mainly comprises a control circuit (printed circuit board) in the main printer device and a light emission structure by an LED indicator of an ink container controlled by a control circuit.

The control circuit 300 shown in FIG. 30 processes data related to the printer and controls its operation. More specifically, a central processing unit (CPU) 301 performs the processes that will be described below in connection with FIGS. 36 to 39, in accordance with a program stored in a read-only memory (ROM) 303. A random access memory (RAM) 302 is used as work area when the process is performed by the Central processing unit (CPU) 301.

As shown schematically in FIG. 30, the printhead assembly 105 mounted on the carriage 205 has printheads 105K, 105Y, 105M, and 105C that have a plurality of outlets for supplying black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M) and cyan (C) ink, respectively. On the holder of the printhead assembly 105, ink containers 1K, 1Y, 1M, and 1C corresponding to specific printheads are installed.

Each ink container 1, as described above, is provided with a substrate 100 having an LED 101, a display control circuit therefor, and a contact pad (electrical contact) or the like. When the ink container 1 is correctly installed in the printhead assembly 105, the contact pad on the substrate 100 comes into contact with a connector corresponding to each of the ink containers 1 and located in the printhead assembly 105. A connector (not shown) located on the carriage 205, and a control circuit 300 located in the main device, are electrically connected to each other using a flexible cable 206 for transmitting signals. In addition, by installing the printhead assembly 105 on the carriage 205, the carriage connector 205 and the connector of the printhead assembly 105 are in electrical contact with each other to transmit signals. In such a structure, signals can be transmitted between the control circuit 300 of the main device and the corresponding ink containers 1. Thus, the control circuit 300 can control the on and off LED indicators in accordance with the sequence, which will be described below with reference to Fig.36 - 38.

The ink is also controlled by the print heads 105K, 105Y, 105M, and 105C using a flexible cable 206, a carriage connector 205, a print head assembly connector with a signal connection between the drive circuit, etc. located in the print head and the control circuit 300 in main device. Thus, the control circuit 300 controls the allocation of ink, etc. appropriate printheads.

The first light receiving part 210, located near one of the end parts of the range of movement of the carriage 205, receives light coming from the LED indicator 101 of the ink container 1, and a signal representing the event is transmitted to the control circuit 300. The control circuit 300, as will be described later, is responsive to the signal and recognizes the position of the ink container 1 in the carriage 205. In addition, a position sensor scale 209 is located along the line of movement of the carriage 205, and the carriage 205 is accordingly provided with a position sensor 211. The detection signal from the sensor is transmitted to the control circuit 300 via a flexible cable 206, as a result of which information about the position of the moving carriage 205 is obtained. The position information is used to control the ink output by the corresponding print head, and is also used in the process of checking the reliability of light detection, during which the positions of the ink containers are determined, which will be described below with reference to FIG. The second light emitting / light receiving portion 214, located near a predetermined location in the range of movement of the carriage 205, includes a light emitting element and a light receiving element and is designed to provide a signal to the control circuit 300 related to the amount of remaining ink in each ink container 1 mounted on the carriage 205 The control circuit 300 may determine the amount of remaining ink based on the signal.

5.2 The connecting part (Fig.31 - 35)

On Fig shows the wiring structure of the signal line for signal transmission between the ink container 1 and the flexible cable 206 of the inkjet printer on the example of the substrate 100 of the ink container 1.

As shown in FIG. 31, the signal line for the ink container 1 in this embodiment of the invention contains four signal lines, each of which is common to all four ink containers 1 (bus connection). The wiring of the signal line for ink containers 1 includes four signal lines, namely a signal line of a voltage source related to power supply, for example, for operating a group of functional elements for emitting light, driving an LED 101 in an ink container; ground signal line; a signal data line for supplying control signals (control data), etc. from the control circuit 300 related to the process, for example, turning on and off the LED 101; and a line of synchronization signals. Four signal lines are used in this embodiment of the invention, but the present invention is not limited to this case. For example, grounding can be carried out using a different structure, in which case the grounding line can be excluded from the structure described above. On the other hand, the synchronization signal line and the data transmission line can be combined into one line.

Each of the substrates 100 of the ink containers 1 has a controller 103 that responds to signals supplied by four signal lines, and the LED indicators 101 are driven by the output signals of the controller 103.

On Fig shows a schematic diagram of a substrate having such a controller or similar means. As shown in FIG. 32, the controller 103 comprises an input / output control circuit 103A, a memory matrix 103B, and an LED driver 103C. The I / O control circuit 103A responds to control data received via flexible cable 206 from the control circuit 300 of the main printer device to drive the LED 101, write data to the memory matrix 103B, and read data. In this embodiment, the memory matrix 103B is in the form of an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory device and is capable of storing individual ink container information, such as information regarding the amount of ink remaining in the ink container, color information of the ink contained therein, and furthermore production information such as ink container number, batch number of products, and the like. The color information is recorded at a predetermined address in the memory matrix 103B corresponding to the color of the ink contained in the ink container. For example, color information is used as information for recognizing an ink container (individual information), which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 34 and 35, for recognizing an ink container when data is written to and read from the memory matrix 103B or when monitoring is performed driving and turning off the LED 101 for a particular ink container. Data written to or read from the memory matrix 103B includes, for example, data indicative of the amount of ink remaining. The ink container in this embodiment, as described above, is provided with a prism located in its lower part, and when the amount of remaining ink becomes small, the event can be optically detected using a prism. In addition, the control circuit 300 in this embodiment of the invention counts the number of ink supply pulses for each of the print heads based on the ink supply data. Information about the remaining quantity is recorded in the memory matrix 103B of the corresponding ink container and the information is read. Meanwhile, the memory matrix 103B stores information on the amount of remaining ink in real time. The information represents the amount of ink remaining with high accuracy, since the information is also output using a prism. In addition, it can be used to recognize whether the installed ink container is a fresh container or used and then reconditioned.

The LED driver 103C performs the function of supplying voltage from an electric power source to the LED indicator 101 for emitting light when the signal supplied from the input / output control circuit 103A is high. Thus, when the signal supplied from the input / output control circuit 103A is at a high level, the LED 101 is in an on state, and when the signal is at a low level, the LED 101 is in an off state.

On Fig shows a schematic diagram of an example of a modification of the substrate shown in Fig. 32. This modified example differs from the example shown in Fig. 21 by a structure for supplying voltage from the electric power source to the LED indicator 101, more specifically, the voltage of the voltage source is supplied through the signal line of the voltage source located inside the substrate 100 of the ink container. Typically, the controller 103 is embedded in the semiconductor substrate, and in this example, the connecting contact on the semiconductor substrate is only for connecting an LED indicator. Reducing the number of connecting contacts significantly affects the size of the area occupied by the semiconductor substrate, and in this sense, the modified example provides an additional advantage in reducing the cost of the semiconductor substrate.

34 is a timing chart illustrating operations of writing data to and reading data from a substrate matrix 103B.

Fig. 35 is a timing chart illustrating the actuation of the LED 101 on and off.

As shown in FIG. 34, when writing to the memory matrix 103B, the initial bit sequence plus color information, a control code, an address code, a data code are received in the order established by the control circuit 300 of the printer main device via a data signal line (FIG. 31 ) to the input / output control circuit 103A of the controller 103 of the ink container 1 synchronously with the synchronization signal. The initial bit sequence signal in the initial bit sequence plus color information indicates the beginning of a series of data signals, and the color information signal is used to indicate a particular ink container to which a series of data signals belongs. Here, the ink color information relates not only to Y, M, C or another color, but also to ink having different densities.

As shown in the figure, the color information has a code corresponding to each of the colors K, C, M, and Y of the ink. The I / O control circuit 103A compares the color information indicated by the code with the color information stored in the memory matrix 103B of the ink container itself. Only if they are similar will subsequent data be accepted, and if not, will subsequent data be ignored. Moreover, even when the data signal is transmitted simultaneously to all ink containers from the main printer device via the common data line shown in FIG. 31, the ink container to which the data relates can be correctly identified, since the data includes color information, and thus, work based on subsequent data, such as writing and reading subsequent data, activating and turning off the LED indicator, can only be carried out with the identified ink container (i.e. only with the proper ink container). As a result, a common (one) data signal line is sufficient for all four ink containers to record data, to activate LED indicators and to turn off LED indicators, which thus reduces the required number of signal lines. As will be readily understood, a common (single) data signal line is sufficient regardless of the number of ink containers.

As shown in FIG. 34, the control modes in this embodiment of the invention include on and off codes for driving and turning off the LED indicators, as will be described below, and read and write codes for reading information from and writing to the memory matrix. During the recording operation, the recording code follows the color information code to identify the ink container. The following code, that is, the address code, denotes the address in the memory matrix where the data should be written, and the last code, i.e. the data code, indicates the content of the recorded information.

The content indicated by the control code is not limited to the example described above, and, for example, control codes for confirming a command and / or a continuous read command can be added to it.

For the read operation, the structure of the data signal is similar to the structure in the case of the write operation. The initial bit sequence code plus color information is received by the input / output control circuitry of all ink containers similar to that of the write operation, and subsequent data signals are received only by the input / output control circuitry 103A of the ink container having the same color information. The following is different. The read data is issued in synchronism with the first clock pulse (the 13th clock pulse in FIG. 34) that occurs after the address is indicated by the address code. Thus, the input / output control circuit 103A controls to prevent mutual interference of the read data and the other input signal, even if the data signal transfer contacts of the ink containers are connected to a common (single) data signal line.

As shown in FIG. 35, with regard to driving (turning on) and disabling (turning off) the LED indicator 101, a data signal containing the initial sequence of bits plus color information is first transmitted to the I / O control circuit 103A through the signal line data transfer from the main printer device as described above. As described above, the proper ink container is identified based on the color information, and the LED 101 is activated and turned off by a control code transmitted subsequently only with the identified ink container. The control codes for driving and shutting down described above with reference to FIG. 34 include either a turn-on code or a turn-off code that cause the LED 101 to turn on and off, respectively. Namely, when the control code means on, the input / output control circuit 103A provides an enable signal to the LED driver 103C, as described with reference to FIG. 33, and thereafter, the output state is continuously maintained. Conversely, when the control code means turn off, the input / output control circuit 103A provides a turn-off signal to the LED driver 103C, and then the output state is continuously maintained. The actual timing for driving or turning off the LED 101 is performed after the 7th clock pulse in the synchronization signal line for each of the data signals shown in FIG. 35.

In the example shown in FIG. 35, the ink container with black (K) ink, which is indicated by the leftmost data signal, is identified first, and then the black ink container LED 101 is turned on. Then, the color information of the second data signal indicates magenta ink M, and the control code indicates actuation, as a result of which the LED of the ink container M is turned on, and the LED indicator 101 of the ink container K remains on TATUS. The control code of the third data signal means a shutdown command, and only the ink container LED 101 is turned off.

As will be understood from the foregoing description, the LED indicator for blinking operation is controlled by the control circuit 300 of the printer main unit, which sends alternating control codes for switching on and off for the identified ink container. A cyclic flashing period can be set by selecting a cyclic period of alternating control codes.

5.3 Control method (Fig. 36 - 31)

Fig. 36 is a flowchart illustrating control processes related to installing and removing an ink container according to an embodiment of the present invention, in particular showing control of driving and turning off the LED 101 of each of the ink containers 1 by the control circuit 300, located in the main printer device.

The process shown in FIG. 36 begins in response to a user opening a cover 201 of a printer main device that is detected by a predetermined sensor. At the beginning of the process, an ink container is installed or removed during operation S101.

On Fig shows a block diagram of the process of installing and removing the ink container. As shown in FIG. 37, during installation or removal, the carriage 205 moves during operation S201, and information is provided on the status of the ink container (individual information about it) installed on the carriage 205. The status information currently being provided is information about the amount of ink remaining, etc., read from the memory matrix 103B, and the number of the ink container. In operation S202, it is recognized whether the carriage 205 has reached the position for replacing the ink container described with reference to FIG. 15.

If the recognition result is affirmative, the ink container installation confirmation control operation S203 is performed.

FIG. 38 is a flowchart detailing installation confirmation control. First, in step S301, a parameter N is designated indicating the number of ink containers mounted on the carriage 205, and the flag F (k) for confirming light emission by the LED indicator is initialized in accordance with the number of ink containers. In this embodiment, N is set to 4 because the number of ink containers is 4 (K, C, M, Y). Then four flags F (k) are prepared, k = 1-4, and all of them are initialized to zero.

In step S302, the flag variable An relating to the recognition range of the ink container setting is set to “1”, and in step S303, the confirmation of setting for the A-th ink container is controlled. With this control, the holder contact 152 and the ink container contact 102 come into contact with each other when the user sets the ink container in the holder 150 in the holder 150 of the printhead assembly 105, as a result of which the control circuit 300 of the printer main apparatus, as described above, identifies the ink container according to the color information (individual information about the ink container), and the color information stored in the memory container matrix 103B of the identified container is subsequently read. Color information for identification is not used in relation to already read or already read. This management process also recognizes whether the read color information is different from the color information already read after the start of this process.

In operation S304, if the color information could be read and the color information was different from the already read item or items of information, it is recognized that the ink container corresponding to the color information is set as the A-th ink container. Otherwise, it is recognized that the A-th ink container is not installed. Here, “A-th” represents only the recognition order of the ink container and does not represent the order indicating the installation position of the ink container. When the A-th ink container is recognized as installed correctly, the flag F (A) (the flag corresponding to k = A from the prepared flags F (k), where k = 1-4) is set to "1" during operation S305, as described 35 with reference to FIG. 35, and the LED 101 of the ink container 1 having the corresponding color information is turned on. When it is recognized that the ink container is not installed, the value “0” is set to the flag F (A) in step S311.

Then, in step S306, 1 is added to variable A, and in step S307, it is determined whether the variable An is larger than the value N set in step S301 (in this embodiment, N = 4). If the variable An is not greater than N, the process following the operation S303 is repeated. If it is recognized that it is greater than N, installation confirmation control is completed for all four ink containers. Then, in operation S308, based on the output from the sensor, it is recognized whether the cover 201 of the main printer device is in the open position. When the lid of the main printer device is in the closed position, the abnormal state is detected, and during operation S312, the data processing procedure shown in FIG. 37 is returned, since it is possible that the user has closed the lid, although one or part of the ink containers not installed or installed incorrectly. Then this processing operation is completed.

When, in step S308, it is recognized on the contrary that the cover 201 of the main printer device is open, it recognizes whether all four flags F (k), where k = 1-4, have the value “1”, that is, all the LEDs 101 are on If it is recognized that at least one of the LEDs 101 is not turned on, the process following the operation S302 is repeated. Until the user installs or reinstalls the ink container or ink containers correctly, the LED indicators 101 of which are not turned on, and until the LED indicator of the container or containers turns on, the processing operation is repeated.

When all the LEDs are recognized as being on, normal completion is performed during operation S310, and this processing operation is completed. Then, the process returns to the processing procedure shown in Fig. 37. On Fig shows the state (a) in which all the ink containers are correctly installed in the proper position, and, thus, all the LED indicators, respectively, are on.

Returning to Fig. 37, it is noted that after the ink container confirmation confirmation control has been performed in the manner described above (operation S203), operation S204 recognizes whether the operation is completed normally, namely, the ink containers are correctly installed. If the installation is recognized as normal, the display means (Figs. 14 and 15) in the working part 213 during operation S205 lights up, for example, in green, and during operation S206, normal completion and return to work is performed in the example shown in Fig. 36 . When an abnormal setting is recognized, the imaging means in the working part 213 during operation S207 flashes, for example, in orange and terminates under abnormal conditions, after which the process returns to the processing procedure shown in Fig. 36. When the printer is connected to the host PC that controls the printer, the abnormal setting is also displayed on the PC screen at the same time.

As shown in FIG. 36, when the installation process of the ink container during operation S101 is completed, during operation S102, it is recognized whether the installation or removal process is completed correctly. If an abnormality is recognized, the process proceeds to waiting for the user to open the cover 201 of the main printer device, and as a reaction to opening the cover 201, operation S101 starts, and the process described with reference to FIG. 37 is repeated.

When the correct installation or removal is detected in step S102, the process in step S103 proceeds to wait for the user to close the cover 201 of the printer main device, and in step S104, it is determined whether the cover 201 is closed. If the recognition result is affirmative, operation continues with the light confirmation process during operation S105. In this case, if the closed state of the cover 201 of the main printer device is detected, as shown in FIG. 39 (b), the carriage 205 is moved to the light confirmation position, and the ink container LEDs 101 are turned off.

The light confirmation process is designed to recognize if correctly installed ink containers are located in the correct locations, respectively. In this embodiment of the invention, the ink container designs are not such that their configurations are made individually depending on the colors of the ink contained therein in order to prevent the ink containers from being installed in the wrong locations. This is done to simplify the manufacture of ink container bodies. Thus, it is possible that ink containers will be installed in the wrong locations. The light confirmation process allows you to effectively detect such an erroneous installation and notify the user about this event. Thanks to this, efficiency and low production costs are achieved, since ink container configurations that differ from each other depending on the ink colors are not required.

On Fig (a) - (d) shows the process of light confirmation.

On Fig (a) - (d) also shows the process of light confirmation.

As shown in FIG. 40 (a), the movable carriage 205 first begins to move from the left side to the right side in the direction of the first light receiving portion 210. When the ink container placed at the location for the yellow ink container moves to the position against the first light receiving part 210 , a signal is issued to drive the LED indicator 101 of the container with yellow ink to turn it on and maintain it on for a predetermined period of time using the control process described with other links 35 is. When the ink container is placed in the correct location, the first light receiving portion 210 receives light from the LED 101 so that the control circuit 300 recognizes that the ink container 1Y is installed in the correct location.

When moving the carriage 205 shown in FIG. 40 (b), when the ink container placed in the location for the magenta ink container is moved against the first light receiving portion 210, a driving signal is generated in a similar manner to turn on the LED indicator 101 of the container with magenta ink. In the example shown in this FIG. 40 (b), the ink container 1M is installed in the correct location, whereby the first light receiving portion 210 receives light emanating from the LED indicator. As shown in FIGS. 40 (b) to (d), light is emitted sequentially when the recognition location changes. In this figure, all ink containers are installed in the correct locations.

Conversely, if the blue ink container 1C is erroneously set to a location intended for the magenta ink container 1M, as shown in FIG. 41 (b), the LED indicator 101 of the ink container 1C, which is opposite the first light receiving portion 210, is not provided in action, but the LED indicator of the ink container 1M, installed in a different location, turns on. As a result of this, the first light receiving portion 210 does not receive light at a predetermined point in time, as a result of which the control circuit 300 recognizes that an ink container other than the ink container 1M (proper container) is installed at a given location. If the magenta ink container 1M is erroneously set to a location intended for the cyan ink container 1C, as shown in Fig. 41 (c), the LED indicator 101 of the ink container 1M, which is opposite the first light receiving portion 210, is not activated, but turns on LED indicator of the ink container 1C installed in another location.

Thus, the light confirmation process performed by the control circuit 300 described above effectively identifies the ink container or ink containers installed in the wrong locations. If the wrong container is installed in the installation location, the color of the ink of the incorrectly installed container can be identified by the subsequent activation of the LED indicators of the ink containers in three other colors.

In this example, since, as shown in FIG. 31, the wiring in the printing apparatus is a common wiring (so-called bus wiring), the wiring of the main printer apparatus is simplified. In general, locating ink containers is not possible using common wiring. According to the present invention, the location of ink containers in a printing apparatus using common wiring is made possible by the use of an information storage part in an ink container for storing individual information about an ink container emitting light of a part for emitting light to a light receiving part located in the printing apparatus, and controller to turn on the specified emitting part when the signal displaying individual information coming from the print device, similar to information stored in the part that stores information.

42 is a flowchart illustrating a printing process according to an embodiment of the present invention. According to this process, the amount of remaining ink is first checked in step S401. According to this process, the print volume is determined based on the print data corresponding to the job for which it is necessary to print, and a certain print volume is compared with the amount of ink remaining in the container to check if the remaining quantity is sufficient (confirmation process). According to this process, the amount of remaining ink is the amount determined by the reference control circuit 300.

In operation S402, a recognition is made whether there is enough ink remaining for printing based on the confirmation process. If the amount of ink is sufficient, during the operation S403, the process starts printing, and the display means of the working part 213 during the operation S404 lights up in green (normal completion). On the other hand, if the recognition result in step S402 indicates a lack of ink, the means of the working part 213 blinks in orange during step S405, and in step S406, the LED 101 of the ink container 1 containing insufficient ink blinks or lights up (abnormal completion). When the printing device is connected to a host personal computer that controls the printing device, the amount of remaining ink can be simultaneously displayed on the display of the personal computer.

FIG. 43 shows a schematic side view (a) and a schematic view (b) of an ink container according to another embodiment of the present invention, representing a first embodiment of the invention, modified by arranging the substrate and the light emitting part at different locations.

In this embodiment, a substrate 100-2 is disposed on the upper portion of the front side of the ink container, having a light emitting portion 101, such as an LED indicator. Thus, in this embodiment, the emitting part 101 acts in the same way as the imaging part of the preceding embodiment. Similar to that indicated in relation to the preceding embodiment, the substrate 100 is located on an inclined surface, since it is preferable from the point of view of satisfactory connection with the carriage connector 152 and ink protection, while the substrate 100 is connected to the substrate 100-2 or light emitting part 101 by electrical wiring 159- 2 so that an electrical signal can be transmitted between them. Reference numeral 3H denotes a window formed at the base of the holding member 3 for conducting electrical wiring 159-2 along the ink container body.

In this embodiment, when the light emitting portion 101 is driven, the light is directed forward. The light receiving portion 210 is located at a location that receives light directed to the right in the figure, near the end of the scanning range of the carriage, and when the carriage is facing this location, the light emission of the light emitting part 101 is controlled so that the printing apparatus can obtain predetermined information related to to the ink container 1, according to the content of the light signal received by the light receiving part. When the carriage is located, for example, in the central part of the scanning range, the light emitting part 101 is controlled, which makes it easier for the user to see the luminous state, and the user can recognize the predetermined information related to the ink container 1.

On Fig shows a schematic side view of an ink container corresponding to a modified version of the container shown in Fig. 43. In this embodiment, the light emitting part 101 and its supporting substrate 100-2 are located behind the working part 3M on the front side of the ink container, the working part 3M being the part that the user manipulates. The functions and advantages of this embodiment are similar to those described in relation to the preceding embodiments. When the carriage is, for example, in the central part of the scanning range, the light emitting part 101 is activated and thus the working part 3M of the holding member 3 is also illuminated, and the user can intuitively understand what kind of manipulation is required, for example, replacing an ink container. The working part 3M may be provided with a part for transmitting or scattering an appropriate amount of light to facilitate recognition of the illuminated state of the working part 3M.

On Fig shows a schematic side view of a modified construction example. In this embodiment, the substrate 100-2 having the light emitting part 101 is located on the front side of the working part 3M of the holding element 3. The substrate 100, the substrate 100-2 and the light emitting part 101 are connected to each other through a window 3H formed at the base of the holding element 3 by wiring 159-2 extending along the retaining element 3. According to this example, advantages similar to those indicated with respect to the embodiment shown in FIG. 44 can be obtained.

In the designs shown in FIGS. 43 to 45, a flexible printer cable may be used by which the substrate 100, the wiring 159-2, and the substrate 100-2 can be a single element.

Using the design shown in FIGS. 43 to 45, the ink container can be installed in the mounting part of the printing apparatus having a simple and easy to use structure, while positioning is ensured as in the first embodiment of the invention and, moreover, the location of the contact area, described above, effectively ensures the establishment of an electrical connection without compromising the good speed of installation of the ink container. In addition, the imaging part for emitting light to the outside is located in the upper part of the front side of the ink container, namely, the side having a snap lever (Figs. 43 - 45, where the emitting part and the imaging part are combined), as a result of which the visibility for the user is improved. Thus, the design of the present invention effectively provides various advantages.

In the embodiment described above, the fluid supply system is a so-called continuous feed system in which outwardly supplied ink is supplied substantially continuously to the print head using an ink container which is removably mounted to the print head reciprocating in the main direction scan. However, the present invention can be used in another fluid supply system in which an ink container is attached to the print head as a unit with it. Even in such a system, if the installation location is erroneous, the print head receives data regarding a different color, or the ink supply order of a different color differs from the predetermined order, resulting in poor print quality. When the ink container, which is integral with the head, is installed or removed from the printing device, ink flowing from the print head can reach the contact pad. This opportunity should be taken into account.

On Fig shows a schematic diagram of a substrate having a controller and the like, corresponding to another variant implementation of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 46, the controller 103 comprises an input / output control circuit 103A and an LED indicator driver 103C.

The input / output control circuit 103A drives the LED indicator 101 in response to the control data coming from the control circuit 300 of the main printer device via the flexible cable 206.

The LED driver 103C provides voltage from a power source to the LED indicator 101 for emitting light when the signal coming from the input / output control circuit 103A has a high voltage level. Thus, when the signal coming from the I / O control circuit 103A has a high voltage level, the LED 101 is in an on state, and when the signal has a low voltage level, the LED 101 is in an off state.

This embodiment of the invention differs from the first embodiment in that it does not use a memory matrix 103B. Even if information (eg, color information) is not stored in the memory matrix, the ink container can be identified, and the LED of the identified ink container 101 can be powered on or off.

This will be described with reference to FIG.

The input / output control circuit 103A of the ink container controller 103 of the ink container 1 receives an initial bit sequence plus color information and a control code with a clock signal from a control circuit 300 of a printer main device via a data signal line (Fig. 46). The I / O control circuit 103A includes an instruction recognition part 103D for recognizing a combination of color information plus a control code as an instruction for setting the driving or turning off of the LED driver 103C. The ink containers 1K, 1C, 1M, and 1Y are provided with respective controllers 103 that have different instruction recognition parts 103D, and the LED on / off control commands for the respective colors have the configurations shown in FIG. 47. Thus, the respective instruction recognition parts 103D have corresponding individual information (color information) in this sense, and the information is compared with the color information in the incoming command, whereby various operations are controlled. For example, when the main printer device transmits, together with the initial bit sequence, color information plus a control code 000100, which indicates a command to turn on the LED indicator of the ink container 1K, it is received only by the ink container instruction recognition part 103D of the ink container 1K, and only the LED indicator of the ink container is turned on 1 TO. In this example, the controllers 103 should have structures that differ from each other depending on the colors, but they are preferable in that there is no need to use memory matrices 103B.

The command recognition part 103D shown in FIG. 40 can perform a function of recognizing not only the commands meaning turning on and off a particular LED 101, but also the “turning on all” or “turning off all” commands meaning turning on and off all ink LEDs 101 containers, and / or the command "call", initiating the issuance of a response signal by the controller 103 related to a specific color.

As another possible alternative, a command including light information and a control code transmitted from the control circuit 300 of the main printer device to the ink container 1 is not directly compared to the color information (individual information) of the ink container. In other words, the inputted command is converted or processed by the controller 103, and the value obtained from the conversion is compared with a predetermined value stored in the memory matrix 103B or in the instruction recognition part 103D, and only when the comparison result corresponds to a predetermined ratio, the LED indicator is activated or off.

As another alternative, the signal from the printer main unit is converted or processed by the controller 103, and the value stored in the memory matrix 103B or in the command recognition part 103D is also converted or processed by the controller 103. The converted data is compared only when the comparison result matches preset ratio, the LED indicator is activated or turned off.

6. Other options.

The description of the preceding embodiments of the invention concerned ink containers comprising yellow ink, magenta ink, cyan ink, and black ink. However, the color or hue used is not limited to these examples, and the number of ink containers is not limited to these examples. In addition to such inks, inks of specific colors such as light inks, red inks, green inks, blue inks, and the like can be used. With the increase in the number of ink containers, the likelihood of incorrectly installing ink containers increases, and the visibility and / or convenience of installation and removal deteriorate due to an increase in the number of wiring and connecting parts, and therefore, the effectiveness of the present invention increases.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the constructions herein, it is not limited to the details set forth, and this description covers modifications or changes that may be made within the scope of the following claims.

Claims (18)

1. The liquid container, with the possibility of extracting installed in the installation part of the inkjet printing device, and the specified container for liquid contains a housing defining a chamber for containing liquid; a window for supplying liquid, made in the specified housing for supplying the liquid contained therein to the jet head; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion formed in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said housing; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being opposite the other side of said housing and said other side being opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; a part storing information for storing information related to the specified liquid container; a contact that is in electrical connection with a contact located in said installation portion; light emitting part; a display part for directing the light emitted by said radiating part outward from said liquid container, in which the specified window for supplying fluid is made on the side of the specified housing, which is between the specified one side and the specified other side, and the specified contact is located in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified the part is located near the upper, in use, part of the specified other side of the specified container for liquid. 2. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein said contact is inclined with respect to said lower side and relative to said first side. 3. The liquid container according to claim 2, in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is 40-50 °. 4. The liquid container according to claim 3, in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is approximately 45 °. 5. A liquid container according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the liquid contained in said liquid container is the ink used for printing. 6. The liquid container according to claim 1, in which the specified radiating part also works as the specified display part. 7. The liquid container according to claim 1, wherein said radiating part and said display part are connected to each other by a light guide portion for directing light emitted from said radiating part. 8. The liquid container, with the possibility of extracting installed in a printing device having an installation part, which can be installed in different locations and with the possibility of extracting many containers for liquid, and the specified printing device includes electrical contacts of the device corresponding to the liquid containers, photoreceptor means for receiving light and an electrical circuit connected to a line connected to all of said electrical contacts, said contact the fluid trainer comprises a fluid supply port for supplying the fluid contained therein to the jet head; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion provided in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said fluid container; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being opposite the other side of said fluid container, and said other side being opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; an electrical contact of the container included in an electrical connection with one of these contacts of the device; an information storage part for storing individual information related to the liquid container; a display portion for directing light to the specified location detection means; a controller for controlling light emission by the light emitting part when the information indicated by the signal showing the individual information supplied through said electrical contact of the container and said information stored by said information storage means are similar; in which the specified window for supplying fluid is made on the side of the specified container for fluid, which is between the specified one side and the specified other side, and the specified contact is located in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, in use, part of the specified other side of the specified container for liquid. 9. The liquid container of claim 8, wherein said contact is inclined with respect to said lower side and relative to said first side. 10. The liquid container according to claim 9, in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is 40-50 °. 11. The liquid container of claim 10, in which the angle of inclination relative to the specified lower side is approximately 45 °. 12. The liquid container according to any one of claims 8 to 11, wherein the liquid contained in said liquid container is the ink used for printing. 13. A liquid container, removably mounted in an installation portion of an inkjet printing device, wherein said inkjet printing device has an inkjet printhead, said liquid container comprising a window for supplying liquid for supplying liquid to the inkjet printhead; first side; a second side opposite the specified first surface; the lower side in which the specified window for supplying fluid; a first corner portion substantially formed by said first side and said bottom side; a second corner portion substantially formed by said second side and said lower side; a third corner portion substantially formed by said second side and an upper side of said liquid container; a first engaging portion, which may engage with a first locking portion, made in the mounting portion; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking part, made in the installation part; contact, which may enter into electrical connection with the electrical contact located in the installation part; a display portion for directing light into said inkjet printing apparatus; wherein said first engaging portion is located near said first corner portion on said first side; said liquid supply window is located near said first corner portion on said lower surface; said contact is located on said second corner portion; the specified display part is located near the specified third corner part. 14. The liquid container of claim 13, wherein the liquid contained in said liquid container is ink used for printing. 15. A method of manufacturing a liquid container, in which the specified liquid container can be removably installed in the installation part of the inkjet printing device, the method comprising the following steps: manufacturing a liquid container, comprising a housing defining an ink supply chamber; a window for supplying liquid, made in the specified housing for supplying the liquid contained therein to the inkjet printhead; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion formed in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said housing; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, wherein said second engaging portion is located opposite the other side of said housing and said other side is opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; a part storing information for storing information related to the specified liquid container; contact, which may be in electrical connection with the contact located in the specified installation part; light emitting part; a display part for directing the light emitted by said radiating part outward from said liquid container, wherein said liquid supply window is provided on a side of said body that is between said one side and said other side, and said contact is in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, when used, part of the specified the other side of said fluid container; and pumping liquid into said liquid container. 16. A method of manufacturing a liquid container, wherein said liquid container can be removably mounted in a printing device having a mounting part, which can be installed in different locations and can be removed with a plurality of liquid containers, said printing device comprising electrical contacts devices corresponding to liquid containers, photoreceptor means for receiving light, and an electrical circuit connected to a line connected all of said apparatus electrical contacts, said method comprising the steps of: manufacturing a liquid container comprising a liquid supply window for supplying liquid contained therein to the ink jet head; a first engaging portion that may mesh with a first locking portion provided in the mounting portion, said first engaging portion being located on one side of said fluid container; a second engaging portion, which may engage with a second locking portion, provided in the mounting portion, said second engaging portion being opposite the other side of said fluid container, and said other side being opposite to said one side; a holding member for biasably holding said second engaging portion; an electrical contact of the container included in an electrical connection with one of these contacts of the device; an information storage part for storing individual information related to the liquid container; a display portion for directing light to the specified location detection means; a controller for controlling light emission by the light emitting part when the information indicated by the signal showing the individual information supplied through said electrical contact of the container and said information stored by said information storage means are similar; in which the specified window for supplying fluid is made on the side of the specified container for fluid, which is between the specified one side and the specified other side, and the specified contact is located in the region of the corner between the specified other side and the specified side having the specified window for supplying fluid, and the specified display part is located near the upper, in use, part of the specified other side of the specified container for liquid; and pumping liquid into said liquid container. Priority on points: November 12, 2004 - pp. 1, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16; 12/26/2003 - paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11.

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