WO2011063659A1

WO2011063659A1 - Ink cartridge, chip, inkjet printer and method for determining whether the ink cartridge is mounted correctly

Info

Publication number: WO2011063659A1
Application number: PCT/CN2010/075737
Authority: WO
Inventors: 丁励
Original assignee: 珠海纳思达企业管理有限公司
Priority date: 2009-11-26
Filing date: 2010-08-05
Publication date: 2011-06-03
Also published as: CN101716855A

Abstract

An ink cartridge, a chip, an inkjet printer and a method for determining whether the ink cartridge is mounted correctly are disclosed. The ink cartridge (1) comprises: an ink bag for storing ink; a chip contact part (102) for electrically connecting with a contact part (152) of the inkjet printer; an information storing part (103B) for storing information about the ink cartridge; an invisible light emitting part (101) for emitting invisible light; a controller (103) for controlling access to the information storing part, controlling the invisible light emitting part according to the information supplied by the inkjet printer and received by the chip contact part, and receiving an instruction from the inkjet printer via the chip contact part. The chip (100,100') mounted on the ink cartridge (1) includes the chip contact part, the information storing part, the invisible light emitting part, and the controller. The ink cartridge can be identified by the inkjet printer whether it is mounted on a correct position.

Description

Ink cartridge, chip, inkjet printer, and method for confirming that the ink cartridge is correctly installed

The present invention relates to the field of ink jet printers, and more particularly to an ink cartridge, a chip, an ink jet printer, and a method of confirming the mounting of the ink cartridge. Background technique

The ink jet printer includes a recording head including an ejection opening and a corresponding energy generating element, and the energy generating element ejects ink on the recording material through the ejection opening in accordance with desired information to be recorded. The energy generating component can be an electrothermal sensing component that generates a thermal energy effect to create a film boiling jet of ink in the ink. In such an ink jet printer, the recording head and the ink container are collectively constituted as a unit or a separate arrangement, and an ink cartridge having ink is used to supply ink of the recording head. Depending on the color and/or type of ink, different ink cartridges are placed and supported on the carriage of the inkjet printer. When the recording head and the ink cartridge integrally constitute one unit, the unit is detachably mounted on the ink jet printer; when the recording head and the ink cartridge are separately disposed, only the ink cartridge is detachably mounted, and the recording head is held in the ink jet printer In the main component.

With the development of ink jet printers, a larger number of ejection openings and energy generating elements are disposed in the recording head, and the ejection openings are simultaneously driven by the energy generating elements, so that both the printing speed and the print yield are improved.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 7-076104 discloses that in such a high performance recording head, a recording head is provided with a storage element for storing various information of the recording head itself to provide information on remaining life and/or recording head update time. . 1 is a schematic view showing a first embodiment of a connection structure of a recording head, an ink cartridge and an ink jet printer in the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a second embodiment of a connection structure of a recording head, an ink cartridge and an ink jet printer in the prior art. In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of ink cartridges 1001K:, 1001Y, 1001M, and 1001C have respective storage elements 1100A, 1100B, 1100C, and 1100D. The signal lines of the respective storage elements are gathered together with the signal lines for the storage elements 1018 in the recording head 1105, and the signal line groups 1016 are connected from the connector 1028 on the recording head 1105 to the control circuit of the main assembly of the ink jet printer via the flexible cable 1206. CPU1300. In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, storage elements 1100A, 1100B, 1100C, and 1100D storing various kinds of information, and storage elements 1018 in the recording head 1105 are directly connected to the control circuit portion of the main assembly of the inkjet printer through the signal line group 1016. The CPU 1300 does not pass through the recording head 1105.

As can be seen from Figures 1 and 2, the ink jet printer main assembly is in electrical communication with the ink cartridge and the recording head via the signal line group 1016.

In a specific implementation, since the ink cartridge of the ink jet printer has different ink colors or/and types, it is prohibited to mount the ink cartridge in the wrong position during the process of mounting the ink cartridge in the ink jet printer. If the ink cartridge is installed in the wrong position, it will cause different ink colors or / and types of ink to be mixed, resulting in jamming of the print head or poor printing, such as color cast.

Therefore, it is necessary to install the ink cartridge in the correct position. Currently, there are two ways to install the ink cartridges in the correct position: The first method, the ink cartridges with different ink colors or/and types are different in appearance, but in this case, the manufacturing cost of the ink cartridges is increased. Increasingly high, it is troublesome to store and manage the ink cartridges having different outer structures; the second method is as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, wherein the ink cartridges 1001K:, 1001Y, 1001M, and 1001C have respective storage elements 1100. 1,100 Β, 1100C, and 1100D to store data representing the color or/and type of ink stored therein, respectively Different electrical connections identify data on the color or/and type of ink. If the ink cartridge is installed in the wrong position, you can recognize this and prompt the user to replace it to avoid trouble.

Further, information such as the kind of ink accommodated, the remaining amount of ink, the service life, and the like can also be stored in the storage element of the recording head at the same time. Thus, the ink color or/and type of the ink cartridge can also be read from the storage element.

Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 4-275156 also discloses an example of another structure to appropriately indicate the life of the recording head or the ink cartridge, and the timing of its replacement. With this configuration, the integrated recording head and the ink cartridge are provided with a light-emitting portion in the form of a light-emitting diode (LED), which indicates the ink remaining amount of the ink cartridge based on the information of the storage member, and the storage element stores the number of times of recording the power of the ink cartridge.

However, in order to prevent the ink cartridge from being installed in the wrong position, it is necessary to electrically connect the storage element of the ink cartridge and the storage element of the recording head with the main assembly of the ink jet printer. As the number of ink cartridges having different ink colors or/and types increases, the number of storage elements increases, and the number of signal lines used for parallel electrical communication also increases.

In particular, the connection between the storage element provided at both the recording head and the plurality of ink cartridges and the CPU 1300 of the ink jet printer main assembly control circuit portion must be permanently set. On commonly used inkjet printers, four colors of ink are used, namely black, yellow, magenta, and cyan. Thus, the four ink cartridges 1001K:, 1001Y, 1001M, and 1001C are simultaneously mounted on the main assembly of the ink jet printer. Therefore, for each of the storage elements 1100A-D on the four ink cartridges, the signal line group 1016 is necessary, wherein each of the two or more wires is disposed. In the case where the recording head 1105 is provided with the memory element 1018, three wires are required for the signal line group 1016 in addition to the wires for the ink cartridge storage element. Thus, in accordance with the situation shown in Figure 1, the desired signal line set 1016 is guided The number of lines is not less than twice the total number of storage elements.

When the number of wires for the signal line group 1016 for electrical connection increases, the connection step becomes troublesome because the reliability of electrical connection must be ensured. In particular, in a conventional ink jet printer, the mounting and detaching of the ink cartridge is performed manually, so that the connection step is not expected to be complicated. Further, the main assembly of the ink jet printer has to have a large number of contacts or/and wiring wires to be connected to the signal wire group 1016, resulting in an increase in manufacturing cost and a complicated structure.

Further, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. Hei 7-076104, the ink cartridge is further provided with indicating means for indicating the remaining amount of ink, and for the opening/closing of the pointing device, an additional wiring wire is required, regardless of the grounding wire, each of the ink cartridges At least one such wire is also needed. That is to say, in the case of using four or more ink cartridges, more than four signal lines are required.

Summary of the invention

In view of the above, the present invention provides an ink cartridge which can be recognized by an ink jet printer whether it is mounted in the correct position.

The present invention also provides a chip mounted on the above-described ink cartridge, which enables the ink cartridge to be recognized by the ink jet printer whether it is mounted in the correct position.

The present invention also provides an ink jet printer capable of recognizing whether the ink cartridge is mounted in the correct position.

The present invention also provides a method of confirming the installation of an ink cartridge which is capable of identifying whether the ink cartridge is mounted in the correct position.

To achieve the above objective, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention is specifically implemented as follows: An ink cartridge mounted on an inkjet printer, comprising:

a chip and an ink cartridge for storing ink, the chip comprising:

a chip contact portion for electrically connecting to a contact portion on the inkjet printer;

The installation position identification portion is used for the printer to identify whether the ink cartridge installation position is correct;

An information storage unit, configured to store information related to the ink cartridge;

And a controller for controlling access of the information storage unit and receiving an instruction from the inkjet printer through the chip contact portion, the mounting position identifying portion is a light emitting portion, and the controller controls the light emitting portion to emit light.

The light emitting portion is an invisible light emitting portion that emits invisible light.

A driver is further included, the controller driving the invisible light emitting portion to emit invisible light through the driver according to information provided by an inkjet printer received by the chip contact.

The invisible light emitting portion is an infrared light emitter.

There are a plurality of ink cartridges which are respectively mounted on different parts of the ink jet printer.

Also included is a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink.

The controller further includes three parameters, a reset threshold, a reset initial value, and a reset count. When the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold, the data is reset to the reset. The count is restarted after the initial value, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount.

The number of resets is an infinite number of times.

The number of resets is finite, wherein

When the remaining amount of the reset times is not zero, the data is reset to the reset initial value and restarts counting as long as the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold value; When the remaining amount of the limited number of resets is zero, the data representing the ink capacity in the chip will not be reset.

Also included is a light conducting portion that directs light emitted from the invisible light emitting portion to the light receiving portion on the ink jet printer.

A chip mounted on an inkjet printer cartridge, the chip comprising:

The invisible light emitting portion is an infrared light emitter.

The controller further includes three parameters, a reset threshold, a reset initial value, and a reset count. When the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold, the data is reset to the reset. The count is restarted after the initial value, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount. The number of resets is an infinite number of times.

The number of resets is finite, wherein

When the remaining amount of the reset times is not zero, as long as the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold, the data is reset to the reset initial value, and the counting is restarted; When the remaining amount is zero, the data representing the ink capacity in the chip will not be reset.

An inkjet printer for use in combination with the ink cartridge, the inkjet printer comprising an ink cartridge mounting portion, a paper feeding mechanism, a print head, and a mounting position identifying portion for identifying the mounting position identifying portion, the mounting position identifying portion For the light receiver.

The optical receiver is an invisible light receiver.

The invisible light receiver is an infrared light receiver.

A method of confirming the installation of an ink cartridge, wherein a light emitting portion is disposed on the ink cartridge, and an optical receiver is disposed in the ink jet printer, the method comprising:

When the ink cartridge is mounted on the inkjet printer, the inkjet printer sends a signal for detecting the ink cartridge installation information to the controller of the ink cartridge;

The controller of the ink cartridge controls the light emitting portion to be turned on according to the signal;

The light receiver in the ink jet printer determines whether the ink cartridge is correctly installed based on the received light amount of the light emitting portion.

A drive is further disposed on the ink cartridge, and the controller of the ink cartridge controls the light emitting portion to be turned on by the driver according to the signal.

A light conducting portion is further disposed on the ink cartridge, and light emitted by the light emitting portion is transmitted through the light conducting portion Go to the light receiving section.

As can be seen from the above technical solution, the present invention provides a light receiving portion in an ink jet printer by providing a controller and an invisible light emitting portion on the ink cartridge/chip. The controller on the ink cartridge performs a process according to the state of the ink cartridge, and the driver drives the invisible light emitting portion to emit light by the correct mounting signal of the ink cartridge; the light receiver in the ink jet printer determines whether the ink cartridge is properly mounted by the amount of light received. Further, the ink cartridge may further include a light conducting portion, and the light emitted by the invisible light emitting portion is concentrated and transmitted to the light receiving portion of the inkjet printer, thereby reducing the loss of light energy and reducing the driving voltage of the driving portion. The above requirement makes it easier for the light receiving portion to sense the state of the ink cartridge, and the loss of the components of the chip mounted on the ink cartridge is reduced, so that the cost of the chip is also lowered.

Further, the controller on the ink cartridge/chip of the present invention, in addition to controlling access to the information storage portion, and the information provided by the ink jet printer received by the chip contact portion, drives the invisible light emission through the driver And receiving, by the chip contact, an instruction from the inkjet printer, and including three parameters, respectively, a reset threshold, a reset initial value, and a reset count, when the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold At the time of the value, the data is reset to the reset initial value and the counting is restarted, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount. When the number of resets is infinite, the chip mounted on the ink cartridge can be used repeatedly, and the ink cartridge can be repeatedly used only by injecting ink, that is, environmental protection saves the user the use cost. When the number of resets is finite, wherein when the remaining amount of the reset times is not zero, the data is reset to the reset initial value as long as the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold. , and restart counting; when the remaining amount of reset times is zero, the data representing the ink capacity in the chip will not be reset. In this way, by limiting the number of resets, the chip can be matched to a high-capacity ink cartridge, which is also environmentally friendly. It also saves users money.

As can be seen from the above analysis, the ink cartridge, chip, ink jet printer and method provided by the present invention can recognize whether the ink cartridge is mounted in the correct position. DRAWINGS

1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a connection structure of a recording head, an ink cartridge, and an ink jet printer in the prior art;

2 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of a connection structure of a recording head, an ink cartridge, and an inkjet printer in the prior art;

Figure 3 is a side view of an ink cartridge of one embodiment to which the present invention is applicable;

Figure 4 is a front elevational view of an ink cartridge of one embodiment to which the present invention is applicable;

Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of an embodiment of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6 is a side cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge of an embodiment to which the present invention is applicable;

Figure 7 is a side elevational view showing an example of a substrate 100 provided on the ink cartridge 1 according to the present invention;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view showing an example of a substrate 100 mounted on the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention; Figure 9 is a front view showing an example of the substrate 100 mounted on the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention; A side view of an example of a suitable substrate 100' disposed on an ink cartridge with a light conducting portion;

Figure 11 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer mounting portion provided by the present invention;

Figure 12 is a side view showing the operation of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder Figure 13 is a side view showing the operation of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder. Figure 14 is a side view showing the operation of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder. A schematic perspective view of an inventive inkjet printer;

Figure 16 is a diagram showing the circuit principle of the chip to which the present invention is applied;

Figure 17 is a second diagram of the circuit principle of the chip to which the present invention is applied;

Figure 18 is a timing chart of a data write operation and a data read operation of the chip/substrate memory array of the present invention;

19 is a timing chart of starting and releasing the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the present invention; FIG. 20 is a specific workflow diagram of the controller performing a reset operation when the number of resets is limited;

Figure 21 is a flow chart showing the mounting and dismounting of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention;

Figure 22 is a flow chart showing a specific embodiment of mounting and disassembling the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention;

23 is a flow chart of a method for confirming the installation of the ink cartridge 1 according to the process of FIG. 22; FIG. 24 is a schematic view showing the state of the control process of the mounting and dismounting of the ink cartridge according to the present invention;

Fig. 25 is a second schematic view showing the state of the control process of the mounting and dismounting of the ink cartridge of the present invention. Detailed ways

The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments.

The present invention provides an ink cartridge, and the structure of the ink cartridge of this embodiment will be described below. Figure 3 is a side elevational view of an ink cartridge of one embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a front elevational view of an ink cartridge of one embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 5 is a bottom plan view of an ink cartridge of one embodiment of the present invention. Figure 6 is a side cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge to which the present invention is applied. In the following description, the front side of the ink cartridge is the side facing the person who is operating the ink cartridge.

In Fig. 3, the ink cartridge 1 has a support member 3 which is at the lower half of the front side of the ink cartridge. The support member 3 may be made of a resin material integrally formed with the outer casing of the ink cartridge 1, and when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the container holder of the ink jet printer, the ink cartridge 1 is movable around a portion of the supported support member. A first joint portion 5 is disposed at the rear of the ink cartridge 1, and a second joint portion (a protrusion indicated by a triangle in the figure) is disposed on the support member 3 of the ink cartridge 1, and the joint portion can be coupled with a lock portion provided on the container holder. Combine. Attached to the support member 3 is a mounting portion 6, which is resilient for driving the ink container 1 to be movable about the supported support member.

In this embodiment, the plane of the support member 3 may also have projections (not shown) which are non-slip when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted.

The bottom surface of the ink cartridge 1 is provided with an ink supply hole 7 for supplying ink, and the ink supply hole 7 is connected to the ink introduction port of the recording head. A substrate 100 is disposed on the bottom side of the support member 3 at a portion where the bottom side and the front side intersect each other.

In Fig. 6, the inside of the ink cartridge 1 is divided into: an ink storage chamber 11 disposed adjacent to the front side of the ink cartridge 1; and a negative pressure generating member accommodating chamber 12 disposed adjacent to the rear of the ink cartridge 1 and in fluid communication with the ink supply hole 7. The ink storage chamber 11 and the negative pressure generating element accommodating chamber 12 are in fluid communication with each other through the communication port 13, the ink storage chamber 11 contains ink, and the negative pressure generating element accommodating chamber 12 houses the ink absorbing material 15 for liquid in the ink jet tube with the recording head. The force of the curved surface is balanced to prevent ink from leaking from the ink-jet portion to the outside, and to allow ink to be ejected by driving the recording head. On the top surface of the negative pressure generating element accommodating chamber 12, the vent hole 12A is provided in communication with the surrounding environment to reduce the tendency that the negative pressure tends to increase as the ink is supplied to the recording head, and keep the negative pressure within a predetermined selection range. .

The structure shown in Fig. 6 can be made by preparing a container body of the ink cartridge 1, mounting the substrate 100 under the container body, and then injecting ink into the ink storage chamber 11. For example, after the top surface of the ink storage chamber 11 is injected, the injection port is sealed by the sealing member 11A.

In Fig. 6, the sealing member 7A is for sealing the ink supply hole 7, which can be detachably mounted to place the manufactured ink cartridge 1 missing during transportation or storage.

The structure of Fig. 6 is only a specific embodiment, and the internal structure of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention is not limited thereto.

In Fig. 6, the bottom of the ink storage chamber 11 is provided with a detected portion 17, which is in the face of the remaining amount of ink disposed on the side of the color inkjet printer when the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on a color inkjet printer. The position of the sensor (this sensor is explained below). In this embodiment, the ink remaining amount detecting sensor is a light sensor including a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and the detected portion 17 is made of a transparent material or a translucent material, and when the ink is not loaded, the light emitting portion is The emitted light is appropriately reflected to the light receiving portion by an inclined surface portion having a certain shape, angle or the like.

Referring to Figure 7, the structure and function of the substrate 100 will be described. Figure 7 is a side elevational view showing an example of a substrate 100 provided on the ink cartridge 1 according to the present invention;

Referring to Figures 8 and 9, Figure 8 is a side elevational view showing an example of a substrate 100 mounted on the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention, and Figure 9 is an example of the substrate 100 mounted on the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention. View, the following describes the working process in conjunction with Figures 7-9. By the engagement of the first joint portion 5 and the second joint portion of the ink cartridge 1 with the first locking portion 155 and the second locking portion 156 of the holder 150, respectively, the ink cartridge 1 is reliably mounted in or on the holder 150, fixed The unit 150 is integrally formed with the recording head unit 105, and the recording head unit 105 has a recording head 105. At this time, the contact portion 152 provided on the holder 150 is electrically contacted with a contact portion provided on the surface of the substrate 100, and is in contact with the contact portion of the electrode sheet 102 to establish communication. When the contact portion 152 supplies an electric signal to the electrode sheet 102, a voltage is generated to supply power to the driver to cause the invisible light emitting portion 101 to emit light.

In the present invention, the invisible light emitting portion 101 may be disposed on the substrate 100 or may be relatively independent and connected to the substrate 100 through a flexible cable. At this time, in the case where the ink cartridge is properly mounted, in order for the light emitted from the invisible light emitting portion 101 to smoothly reach the light receiver 210 of the ink jet printer, the ink cartridge 1 has an opening at least between the invisible light emitting portion 101 and the light receiver 210. Or an opening made of a transparent material.

Specifically, the invisible light emitting portion 101 in the present invention is selected according to the light receiver 210 in the ink jet printer, for example, when the light receiver 210 in the ink jet printer is most sensitive to near-infrared light, such as 900 Nano-infrared light receiving is most sensitive. In the specific technical solution, an infrared light emitting device that emits infrared light having a wavelength of about 900 nm is selected as the invisible light emitting portion; for example, when the light receiver 210 in the inkjet printer is near-ultraviolet When the light is most sensitive, such as the most sensitive to the 300 nm ultraviolet light receiving, in the specific technical solution, the ultraviolet light emitting device emitting ultraviolet light with a wavelength of about 300 nm is selected as the invisible light emitting portion;

Of course, the invisible light emitting portion may be replaced with a visible light emitting portion, but the use of invisible light has better light sensitivity with respect to the visible light emitting portion. Because the optical receivers that are commonly used are silicon photosensors, such as those used on various remote controls, it is inexpensive, the most infrared light for 900 nm. Be sensitive. If visible light, such as red light of 600 nm wavelength, is used as the light emitting portion, the light-conducting portion must be transmitted on the ink cartridge to conduct red light to a distance close to the light receiver to make the light emitter feel the light, and the identification ink cartridge is installed. correct. If infrared light of invisible light such as 780 nm wavelength is used as the light emitter, the light receiver can be sensitively sensed without using the light conducting portion, and the identification ink cartridge is correctly installed. Thus, the structure of the ink cartridge is made simple.

In addition, the ink cartridge 1 may further include a light conducting portion that conducts the light emitted by the invisible light emitting portion to the light receiver in the inkjet printer, thereby reducing the loss of light energy and reducing the driving voltage of the driving portion. It is required that the above-described light receiving portion can more easily sense the state of the ink cartridge, and the loss of the components of the chip mounted on the ink cartridge is reduced, so that the cost of the chip is also lowered. As shown in Fig. 10, Fig. 10 is a side elevational view showing an example of a substrate 100' to which the present invention is applied, which is provided on an ink cartridge having a light-conducting portion.

In one specific embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the light conducting portion y is located above the substrate loo', and includes a light conducting portion and a light reflecting portion 20, wherein the light conducting portion cooperates with the invisible light emitting portion 101 to conduct light. To the light reflecting portion 20. The light reflecting portion 20 is a smooth surface located at an end of the light guiding portion remote from the light emitting portion 10 to reflect the light to the printer light receiver 210. The light-conducting portion y is made of a transparent material, and a certain amount of light emitted from the invisible light emitting portion 101 can be collected. In addition to this, the light-conducting portion y in this embodiment also has a function of supporting elements in the structure of the ink cartridge 1 without the light-conducting portion. The ink cartridge in this embodiment further includes a mounting portion 6' and an ink supply port Ύ which have the same function as the mounting portion 6 and the ink supply hole 7 in the structure of the ink cartridge 1 without the light-conducting portion. Further, the substrate 100 in the present embodiment and the substrate 100 in the structure of the ink cartridge 1 without the light-conducting portion may be the same substrate.

Here, the related information of the ink cartridge 1 includes at least one of: The mounting state of the ink cartridge 1 is correct. This Some of the relevant information may be provided by the emission or non-emission of the invisible light emitting portion 101, or/and the light emission state. In addition, if three parameters are set in the controller of the ink cartridge, the ink cartridge will also have a reusable function. How to specifically let the invisible light emitting portion 101 emit or not emit and how to make the ink cartridge have a reusable function will be described in detail below.

The mounting portion of the ink cartridge will be described below.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer mounting portion provided by the present invention, showing an example of a recording head device having a holder in which the ink cartridge 1 according to the first embodiment can be mounted.

Figure 12 is a side view showing the operation of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder, and Figure 13 is a side view showing the operation of the ink cartridge 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder. Figure 14 is a side elevational view of the operation of the ink container 1 of the present invention when it is mounted on or removed from the holder. A three-step operation of mounting and detaching the ink cartridge 1 according to the first embodiment on the holder is shown.

The recording head device 105 includes: a holder 150, a recording head 105, which is disposed adjacent to the bottom side. By mounting the ink cartridge 1 on the holder 150, the ink inlet 107 of the recording head 105 disposed adjacent to the bottom of the holder is connected to the ink supply port 7 of the ink cartridge 1, establishing a fluid communication path of the ink.

An example of a suitable recording head device 105 includes a liquid passage that defines a nozzle, i.e., an electrothermal conversion element disposed within the liquid passage. According to the recording signal, the electrothermal conversion element is supplied with an electric pulse, so that the ink applied by the thermal energy in the liquid passage causes the ink to undergo a phase change, and as a result, the foam is generated, and the ink is ejected from the nozzle and disposed on the ink cartridge 1 to transmit a signal. The electrical contact portion (not shown) and the electrical contact portion 157 of the recording head device 105 are in electrical contact with each other, and thus, the recording signal is transmitted to the electrothermal conversion element drive circuit of the recording head device 105 through the wiring portion 158, and the wiring portion 159 is The electrical contact 157 extends to the contact 152. When the ink cartridge 1 is mounted on the recording head device 105, the ink cartridge 1 is placed at a position above the holder 150 (Fig. 12), and the shape of the projections, the first joint portion 5 provided on the rear side of the ink cartridge 1 is inserted and disposed behind the holder. The side is shaped as a first locking portion 155 of the through hole, such that the ink cartridge 1 is placed on the inner bottom surface of the holder (Fig. 13). In this state, the upper end of the front side of the ink cartridge 1 is depressed in the direction indicated by the arrow P, and the ink cartridge 1 is rotated around the joint between the first joint portion 5 and the first lock portion 155 in the direction indicated by the arrow R, and thus, The front side of the ink cartridge 1 moves downward. During this action, the support member 3 is displaced in the direction indicated by the arrow Q by the depression of the mounting portion 6, and the side surface of the second engaging portion provided on the support member 3 on the front side of the ink cartridge 1 is pressed toward the setting. A second locking portion 156 on the front side of the holder.

When the second engaging portion reaches the lower portion of the second locking portion 156, the supporting member 3 is displaced in the direction of Q by the elastic force of the supporting member 3, and thus, the second engaging portion is locked with the second locking portion 156. In this state (Fig. 14), the second locking portion 156 elastically pushes the ink cartridge 1 in the horizontal direction by the supporting member 3, and the rear surface of the ink cartridge 1 abuts against the rear of the holder 150. The upward displacement of the ink cartridge 1 is suppressed by the first locking portion 155 engaged with the first joint portion 5 and the second locking portion 156 engaged with the second engaging portion. At this time, the mounting of the ink cartridge 1 is completed, in which the ink supply hole 7 communicates with the ink introduction port 107, and the electrode pad 102 and the contact portion 152 communicate.

The present invention does not limit the connection mode of Fig. 11, and may be other connection methods.

The present invention also provides an ink jet printer that can be used in conjunction with the above described ink cartridge.

Figure 15 is a schematic perspective view of an ink jet printer of the present invention, the ink jet printer 200 of this embodiment includes: a main assembly; a paper output tray 203 disposed at the front of the main assembly; and an automatic paper feeding device 202 disposed behind the main assembly ; main assembly cover 201; and other outer casing parts, the outer casing part covers the main parts, these The part includes: means for performing a scanning movement of the carriage carrying the recording head and the ink cartridge 1, and performing recording during the movement of the carriage. An operation panel portion 213 is further provided, the operation panel portion including: a display device that displays the state of the inkjet printer 200 regardless of whether the main assembly cover is opened or closed; a main switch; and a reset switch.

As shown in FIG. 15, when the main assembly cover 201 is opened, the user can see the movable range of the portable recording head device 105 and the ink cartridges 1K:, 1Y, 1M, and 1C and their vicinity (for convenience, the ink cartridge 1 is used). When the main assembly cover 201 is opened, a sequence of operations is performed, and thus, the carriage 205 automatically reaches the replacement position of the ink cartridge 1 to perform replacement of the ink cartridge 1.

In this embodiment, the recording head 105, (not shown), is mounted in the recording head unit 105 corresponding to the corresponding ink cartridge 1. The recording head 105 scans the recording material by the movement of the carriage 205, and in this process, the recording head 105 ejects ink for printing. To this end, the bracket 205 is slidably engaged with the guide shaft 207, and the guide shaft 207 extends in the moving direction of the bracket 205, and the bracket 205 is driven by the carriage motor through the drive actuator. The inks corresponding to Κ, Υ, Μ, and C are ejected according to the ejection data, and the ejection data is transmitted through the flexible cable 206 by a control circuit provided on the main assembly side. A paper feeding device is provided which includes a paper feed roller and a paper discharge roller and the like to feed recording material (not shown) from the automatic paper feed device 202 to the paper discharge tray 203. The recording head unit 105 having an integrated ink container holder is detachably mounted on the carriage 205, and the corresponding ink cartridge 1 is detachably mounted on the recording head unit 105. Thus, the recording head unit 105 can be mounted on the carriage 205, and the ink cartridge 1 can be mounted on the recording head unit 105. Therefore, in this embodiment, the ink cartridge 1 is detachably mounted on the carriage 205 by means of the recording head unit 105.

The recording head device 105 has a holder portion provided for each of the ink cartridges 1, and the recording head device 105 is provided with a connector corresponding to each of the ink cartridges, a corresponding connector and a substrate disposed on the ink cartridge 1. The electrode pads of 100 are in contact. Thus, for each of the ink cartridges 1, the control of the transmission of light by the invisible light emitting portion 101 in the ink jet printer can be sequentially performed.

In addition, the inside of the printer shown in FIG. 15 is further provided with a light receiver 210, which is the amount of invisible light emitted from the invisible light emitting portion 101 on the ink cartridge received by the light receiver 210 to identify whether the corresponding ink cartridge is properly installed. .

The control sequence of the light transmitted by the invisible light emitting portion 101 in the ink jet printer described above and how the ink jet printer transmits the invisible light emitted by the invisible light emitting portion 101 to identify whether the corresponding ink cartridge is correctly mounted will be described below. Description.

The present invention also provides a chip that can be mounted on an ink cartridge of an ink jet printer. The structure of the chip will be described below with reference to Fig. 16 and Fig. 17, wherein Fig. 16 is a circuit diagram of the chip applied to the present invention, and Fig. 17 is a second schematic diagram of the circuit principle of the chip to which the present invention is applied.

The chip mounted on the ink cartridge includes a chip contact portion, an information storage portion, an invisible light emitting portion, a driver and a controller, wherein the chip contact portion is for electrically connecting with a contact portion on the inkjet printer; the information storage portion is used For storing ink cartridge related information; an invisible light emitting portion for emitting invisible light; a driver for driving the invisible light emitting portion to emit light; a controller for controlling access of the information storage portion, and receiving according to the chip contact portion The information provided by the ink jet printer drives the invisible light emitting portion through the driver and receives an instruction from the ink jet printer through the chip contact portion.

Figure 16 is a circuit diagram showing details of one embodiment of the chip. A controller 103 to which the present invention is applied is provided on the chip, and the controller 103 is located inside the chip, and the description will be made with the ink cartridge 1 as a carrier and an infrared light emitter as the invisible light emitting portion 101.

As shown, the controller 103 disposed on the cartridge container substrates 100A - 100D includes: The conductor substrate 120 has a memory array 103B; an infrared light emitter 101, a driver 103C for driving the infrared light emitter 101; and an I/O control circuit 103A for controlling the memory array 103B and the driver 103C. The I/O control circuit 103A responds to the control data transmitted from the control circuit 300 on the main assembly side through the flexible cable 206 to control the infrared light emitter 101 through the driver 103C, thereby notifying the operation, writing data and reading in the memory array 103B. data. In Fig. 11, the signal communication between the control circuit 300 on the main assembly side and the substrate 100A on the side of the ink cartridge 1 is shown in a simplified manner. Actually, the control data transmitted from the control signal connector 110 in the main assembly side through the flexible cable 206 is not directly transmitted to the substrates 100A - 100D of the ink cartridge 1, but is transmitted through the paper discharge tray 203 for signal transmission. The electrical communication portion, the electrical contact portion 157 on the side of the recording head device 105, or the like is transmitted.

In the present embodiment, the storage array 103B is an EEPROM, and can store various information of the ink cartridge 1, such as information about the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 1, information on the color of the ink in the ink cartridge 1, and manufacturing information. For example, the number of ink containers, product lot numbers, or the like. The color information is written in a predetermined address in the memory array 103B corresponding to the ink color, the ink is stored in the ink cartridge 1, and the color information is used as identification information (specific information) of the ink cartridge 1 to write data to and from the storage array 103B. When the array 103B is read, or when the activation and deactivation of the infrared light emitter 101 of the specific ink cartridge 1 is controlled, the ink cartridge 1 is identified, and how it is identified will be explained.

When the signal supplied from the I/O control circuit 103A is a high value, the driver is activated to drive the infrared light emitter 101 to emit light, otherwise it is turned off.

Reference numeral 113 denotes a contactor that communicates the anode of the infrared light emitter 101 with the driver 103C; reference numeral 115 is also a contactor that turns on the cathode of the infrared light emitter 101 and the ground. Reference numeral 114 denotes a current limiting resistor that determines the power supplied to the infrared light emitter 101. The current is inserted between the input side of the driver 103C and the anode of the infrared light emitter 101. The current limiting resistor 114 may be disposed in the substrates 100A to 100D of the ink cartridge 1, or may be built in the semiconductor substrate 120. .

In the embodiment of the present invention, the current limiting resistor may not be included.

Fig. 17 is a circuit diagram showing a modified example of the substrate shown in Fig. 11, which is disposed inside the semiconductor substrate 120 in a structure different from that of Fig. 16 in the structure for supplying power to the infrared light emitter 101. In the figure, the respective elements constituting the controller 103 are all built in the semiconductor substrate 120, and only the contactor 113 is connected to the infrared light emitter 101, and the number of contactors is reduced to the area occupied by only one pair of the semiconductor substrate 120. There is a significant influence that the cost of the semiconductor substrate 120 is significantly reduced.

The following describes the operation of the controller.

Figure 18 is a timing chart of a data write operation and a data read operation of the chip/substrate memory array of the present invention, illustrating an operation of writing data and reading data to the chip/substrate memory array 103B.

Fig. 19 is a timing chart showing the activation and deactivation of the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the present invention, illustrating the activation and deactivation of the invisible light emitting portion 101 in the ink jet printer.

As shown in FIG. 18, when writing to the memory array 103B, the start code plus the color information, the control code, the address code, and the data code are all in the order named by the control circuit 300 in the main component side, through the signal line DATA ( 12-14), in synchronization with the clock CLK, is supplied to the I/O control circuit 103A of the controller 103 in the ink cartridge 1. The start code in the start code plus color information signal indicates the beginning of the data signal sequence, and the color information is valid for identifying the particular ink cartridge associated with the data signal sequence.

As shown, the color information has codes corresponding to the colors K, C, M, and Y of the ink. The I/O control circuit 103A compares the color information represented by the encoding with the color information of the ink cartridge 1 itself stored in the memory array 103B. Subsequent data is only received if they are the same, and if they are different, the subsequent data is ignored. In the present embodiment, the color information corresponds to information provided from an inkjet printer. By doing so, even when a common data signal is supplied to all the ink cartridges 1 from the main component side through the common signal line DATA shown in Figs. 12-14, the ink cartridge 1 involved in the data can be correctly recognized because the data The color information is contained therein, and therefore, only the recognized ink cartridge 1 is executed in accordance with subsequent data processing such as writing of the subsequent data, reading, activation and deactivation of the invisible light emitting portion 101. As a result, a common data signal line is sufficient for all four ink cartridge data writing, activation of the invisible light emitting portion 101, and deactivation of the invisible light emitting portion 101, thereby reducing the number of signal lines required, as understood. Regardless of the number of cartridges, a common data signal line is sufficient for all data exchanges.

As shown in FIG. 19, the control mode of this embodiment includes: an OFF code and an ON code to activate and deactivate the invisible light emitting unit 101, that is, the invisible light emitting unit 101 transmits or does not transmit; the READ code and the WRITE code, Control access to the storage array, that is, read data from and write data to the storage array. In the write operation, the WRITE code follows the color information code to operate on the identified ink cartridge. The next code, the address code, represents an address in the storage array in which data is to be written. The last code is the data code, which represents the content of the data to be written.

In the present embodiment, these codes correspond to instructions from the recording head device. The content represented by the control code is not limited to the contents of the above example, and for example, a verification command and/or a continuous read command may be added.

For a read operation, the structure of the data signal is the same as in the case of a write operation. The code of the start code plus color information is received by the I/O control circuit 103A of all the ink cartridges 1, similar to the write operation. The subsequent data signal is only received by the I/O control circuit of the ink cartridge 1 having the same color information. The difference is that the read data is output synchronously with the rising edge of the first clock pulse after being designated by the address code, so that the I/O control circuit 103A can avoid reading data and other input signals when performing control. Mutual interference.

As shown in FIG. 19, with respect to the activation (emission) of the invisible light emitting portion 101 and the deactivation of the invisible light emitting portion 101, the data signal of the start code plus color information is similar to that described above, passing the signal line DATA from the main assembly side. First, it is sent to the I/O control circuit 103A. As described above, the correct ink cartridge 1 is identified based on the color information, and only the identified ink cartridge 1 is activated (emitted) and deactivated by the control code that is subsequently fed to the invisible light emitting portion 101. As described above in connection with Fig. 16, the start and release of the activated control code includes an ON code and an OFF code, which are effective for starting and deactivating the invisible light emitter 101, respectively. That is, when the control code is indicated as ON, the I/O control circuit 103A outputs an ON signal to the driver 103C, as shown in Fig. 16, as described above, and thereafter continues to maintain the output state. On the other hand, when the control code is indicated as OFF, the I/O control circuit 103A outputs an OFF signal to the driver 103C, and thereafter continues to maintain the output state. The actual time at which the invisible light emitting portion 101 is activated or deactivated is after the seventh clock pulse of each data signal clock CLK.

In the example of the figure, the black (K) ink cartridge 1 of the data signal at the leftmost position is first recognized, and then the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the container of the black ink K is turned on. Then, the color information of the second data signal represents magenta ink M, and the control code represents activation, so that the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the container of magenta ink M is turned on, and the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the container of ink K remains On state. The control code of the third data signal is an instruction to release the start, and only the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the container of the ink K is deactivated. In addition, the controller can also include a resettable function, mainly by setting three parameters in the controller, namely reset threshold, reset initial value and reset count, when the data of the ink capacity in the chip changes. When the reset threshold is reset, the data is reset to the reset initial value, and the counting is restarted, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount. When the number of resets is infinite, the chip mounted on the ink cartridge can be used repeatedly, and the ink cartridge can be repeatedly used only by injecting ink, which is environmentally friendly and saves the user the use cost. When the number of resets is finite, wherein when the remaining amount of the reset times is not zero, the data is reset to the reset initial value as long as the data change indicating the ink capacity in the chip reaches the reset threshold. , and restart counting; when the remaining amount of reset times is zero, the data representing the ink capacity in the chip will not be reset. In this way, by limiting the number of resets, the chip can be used to match the high-capacity ink cartridge, which is also environmentally friendly and saves the user cost.

Figure 20 shows the specific workflow of the controller performing a reset operation when the number of resets is finite. The on-chip machine exchanges information with the inkjet printer, and the data representing the ink capacity in the chip a reflects the information that the ink is full. As the printing progresses, the ink is consumed, step S101 is performed, the data a indicating the ink capacity in the chip changes correspondingly, and then the determination of step S102 is performed until the data a changes to the reset threshold b, and then step S103 is performed. Otherwise, it returns to step S101. In step S103, it is determined whether the reset number k is zero. If k is equal to zero, step S104 is performed, the data a indicating the ink capacity in the chip is no longer reset, and the printing operation is performed until the printing device alarms or stops the printing operation; if k is not equal to zero, Then, in step S105, k is decreased by one unit amount, and at the same time, step S106 is executed, the data a characterizing the ink capacity is reset to the reset initial value c, and then the printing operation is continued, and the cycle operation maximizes the use of the ink in the ink cartridge. .

The workflow of the chip in the present invention in the entire printing process of the inkjet printer is not limited to the above In this case, all methods for maximizing the use of ink in the ink cartridge are included in the present invention. For example, whether the number of resets k can be detected first is zero, and then whether the data a indicating the ink capacity in the chip changes to the reset gate is detected. Limit b and so on.

The following is a description of the control process.

Figure 21 is a flow chart showing the mounting and dismounting of the ink container 1 of the present invention, showing a control process for mounting and detaching the ink container 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, particularly showing the control circuit 300 for each main assembly of the ink jet printer. The invisible light emitting portion 101 of one of the ink cartridges 1K:, 1Y, 1M, and 1C starts and releases the start control. In the figure, the user opens the cover of the ink jet printer main assembly cover, and the cover is opened by a predetermined sensor. When the control process is opened, the ink cartridge 1 is mounted or detached by step S201. After the invisible light emitting portion 101 is activated, a light confirmation process is performed.

Figure 22 is a flow chart showing a specific embodiment of the present invention for attaching and detaching the ink cartridge 1. As shown, during the mounting or dismounting process, the carriage 205 is moved in step S301 to obtain status information of the ink cartridge 1 carried by the carriage 205. The status information obtained here is the remaining amount of the ink cartridge 1 or the like, and this information is read from the storage array 103B together with the number of the ink cartridges 1. In step S302, it is discriminated whether or not the carriage 205 reaches the replacement position of the ink cartridge 1. If the discrimination result is YES, step S303 is performed to perform correct control of the installation of the ink cartridge 1.

Figure 23 is a flow chart showing a method of confirming the installation control of the ink cartridge 1 based on the process of Figure 22 of the present invention, showing the installation confirmation control in detail. First, in step S401, a parameter 指示 indicating the number of ink cartridges 1 carried on the carriage 205 is set, and an initial flag F(k) = 0 is set, which is used to confirm the invisible light emitting portion 101 corresponding to the number parameter of the ink cartridge 1. Light emission. In the present embodiment, N is set to 4, indicating that the number of the ink cartridges 1 is 4, and then, four marks F(k) are prepared, initialized to zero.

In step S402, the variable A relating to the mark of the ink cartridge 1 mounting discrimination command is set to 1, In step S403, mounting discrimination control is performed on the A-th ink cartridge 1. In this control, the contact portion 152 of the holder 150 and the contact portion 102 of the ink cartridge 1 are in contact with each other, at this time, by the user installing the ink cartridge 1 at the correct position of the holder 150 of the recording head device 105. Thus, the control circuit 300 recognizes the ink cartridge 1 by means of the color information, and the color information stored in the memory array 103B of the identified ink cartridge 1 is read, and whether the color information of the two is the same is discriminated.

In step S404, if the color information has been read and is different from the information that has been read, it is discriminated that the ink cartridge 1 is mounted as the Ath cartridge, otherwise, it is discriminated that the ink cartridge 1 is not mounted. Here, the Ath ink cartridge only indicates the order in which the ink cartridges 1 are discriminated, and does not represent the order in which the ink cartridges 1 are mounted. When the A-th ink cartridge is discriminated as being correctly mounted, the mark F(A) is set to 1 in step S405, and the invisible light emitting portion 101 of the ink cartridge 1 having the corresponding color information is driven to emit light as described with reference to Fig. 19. Otherwise, F(A) is set to 0 in step S411. The inkjet printer confirms that the installation is correct by the amount of light received by the light receiver 210.

Then, in step S406, the variable A is incremented by 1, and in step S407, it is discriminated whether or not the variable A is larger than the set value N (in the present embodiment, N = 4) in step S401. If the variable A is not greater than N, the subsequent process of step S403 is repeated. If no, the installation is complete. In step S408, based on an output of the sensor, it is discriminated whether the main assembly cover 201 is in the open position, and if not, the abnormality returns to the processing procedure shown in FIG. 22 in step S412; otherwise, all four marks F are discriminated in step S409. Whether or not (k) is 1, that is, whether or not the invisible light emitting portion 101 is all turned on, if not, step S402 is repeatedly performed; otherwise, step S410 is performed, and after the normal end, the process proceeds to the process shown in FIG.

In Fig. 24, Fig. 24 is a schematic view showing the state of the control process of the mounting and dismounting of the ink cartridge of the present invention, showing a state in which all the ink cartridges 1 are installed at the correct positions, so that the corresponding ones are not It is seen that the light emitting portion 101 is driven to emit light.

Returning to Fig. 22, after the ink cartridge 1 mounting confirmation control is executed in the process shown in Fig. 23, in step S304, it is discriminated whether or not the control is normally completed. If it is normal, the display unit is in the operation portion 213 (Fig. 15). Step S305 is, for example, bright green, and the normal end is performed in step S306, and the operation returns to the example shown in FIG. 21; otherwise, the display unit 213 (FIG. 15) displays the abnormal installation such as blinking orange in step S307, and the abnormal end is in the step. S308 returns to the processing procedure shown in FIG.

In Fig. 21, when the ink cartridge 1 of step S201 is attached or detached, it is judged whether it is normally mounted or disassembled in step S202, and if not, it waits for the main assembly cover 201 to be opened, and the process returns to step S201, and the process shown in Fig. 22 is combined. If so, in step S203, the main assembly cover 201 is closed, and it is determined in step S204 whether the main assembly cover 201 is closed. If not, the process proceeds to step S203, and if so, the light confirmation process of step S205 is performed. In the light confirmation process of step S205, as shown in FIG. 25, FIG. 25 is a second schematic diagram of the state of the control process of the ink cartridge mounting and dismounting according to the present invention. If the main component cover 201 is detected to be closed, the carriage 205 is moved to perform the confirmation. Position, ink cartridge

The invisible light emitting portion 101 of 1 is disconnected.

It is discriminated in step S206 in Fig. 21 whether or not the light confirmation process is completed, and if so, in the operation section 213.

(Fig. 15) The display device is, for example, bright green at step S207, and ends normally; otherwise, at the operation portion 213

(Fig. 15) The display device displays an abnormal mounting position, e.g., blinking orange, in step S209, and displays an abnormal ink container in step S210.

The present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention. All modifications, equivalent substitutions and improvements made within the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included within the scope of the invention.

Claims

Rights request

1. An ink cartridge mounted on an inkjet printer, comprising:

a chip and an ink cartridge for storing ink, the chip comprising:

a controller, configured to control access by the information storage unit and receive an instruction from the inkjet printer through the chip contact portion, wherein the mounting position identification portion is a light emitting portion, and the controller controls the light emitting portion Emitting light.

The ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the light emitting portion is an invisible light emitting portion that emits invisible light.

3. The ink cartridge according to claim 2, further comprising a driver, wherein the controller drives the invisible light emitting portion to emit invisible light through the driver according to information provided by the inkjet printer received by the chip contact portion .

4. The ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the invisible light emitting portion is an infrared light emitter.

The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the plurality of ink cartridges are respectively mounted on different portions of the ink jet printer.

The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, characterized by further comprising: a recording head which performs recording by ejecting ink.

7. The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, wherein the controller further comprises three parameters, respectively a reset threshold, a reset initial value, and a reset count, when the chip is characterized When the data change of the ink capacity reaches the reset threshold value, the data is reset to the reset initial value, and the counting is restarted, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount.

8. The ink cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the number of resets is an infinite number of times.

9. The ink cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the number of resets is a finite number of times, wherein

The ink cartridge according to claim 1 or 2 or 3 or 4, further comprising a light guiding portion for guiding the light emitted from the light emitting portion to the light receiving portion on the ink jet printer.

The ink cartridge according to claim 7, further comprising a light guiding portion for guiding the light emitted from the light emitting portion to the light receiving portion on the ink jet printer.

12 . A chip mounted on an inkjet printer cartridge, wherein the chip comprises: a chip contact portion for electrically connecting with a contact portion on the inkjet printer;

The chip according to claim 12, wherein the light emitting portion is invisible light The transmitting part emits invisible light.

14. The chip according to claim 13, further comprising a driver, the controller driving the invisible light emitting portion to emit invisible light through the driver according to information provided by the inkjet printer received by the chip contact portion .

The chip according to claim 13, wherein the invisible light emitting portion is an infrared light emitter.

The chip according to claim 12 or 13 or 14 or 15, wherein the controller further comprises three parameters, namely a reset threshold, a reset initial value and a reset count, when the ink is characterized in the chip When the data change of the capacity reaches the reset threshold, the data is reset to the reset initial value, and the counting is restarted, and the remaining amount of the reset number is decreased by one unit amount.

The chip according to claim 16, wherein the number of resets is an infinite number of times.

The chip according to claim 16, wherein the number of resets is a finite number of times, wherein

An ink jet printer for use in combination with the ink cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 11, comprising an ink cartridge mounting portion, a paper feeding mechanism, a print head, and a mounting position for identifying a mounting position indicator portion in the ink cartridge The identification unit is characterized in that the mounting position recognizing unit is an optical receiver.

20. The inkjet printer of claim 19, wherein the light receiver is an invisible light receiver.

The ink jet printer according to claim 20, wherein the invisible light receiver is an infrared light receiver.

22. A method of confirming the installation of an ink cartridge, characterized in that a light emitting portion is disposed on the ink cartridge, and an optical receiver is disposed in the ink jet printer, the method comprising:

The method of confirming the mounting of an ink cartridge according to claim 22, wherein the light emitting portion is an invisible light emitting portion that emits invisible light.

A method of confirming the mounting of an ink cartridge according to claim 23, wherein a drive is further provided on said ink cartridge, and said controller of said ink cartridge controls said light emitting portion to be turned on by said driver in accordance with the signal.

The method for confirming the mounting of the ink cartridge according to claim 22 or 23 or 24, wherein a light conducting portion is further disposed on the ink cartridge, and light emitted by the light emitting portion is transmitted to the light receiving portion through the light conducting portion unit.