JPH03213349A - Inkjet recording device and its ink cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device and an ink cartridge thereof, and more specifically, the present invention relates to an inkjet recording device and an ink cartridge thereof. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording device and its ink cartridge to which the inkjet recording device is supplied.

[Background technology] An inkjet recording device transfers ink used as a recording liquid from an ejection port of a recording head to a recording material such as paper or OH.
Recording is performed by ejecting ink toward a P sheet or the like, and the ink supplied to the recording head is generally stored in an ink storage section in a cartridge and supplemented by the recording head.

In addition, such ink cartridges have conventionally been formed into a box shape, and the discharged ink is stored outside the ink storage section, that is, the ink discharge port of the recording head is recovered to prevent clogging. Some printers are equipped with a waste ink storage section that stores the ink sucked during operation (referred to as waste ink), which is disposed of at the same time as the cartridge is replaced.

In this type of inkjet recording device, if a recording operation is performed without an ink cartridge installed, no recording will be obtained, and there is also a risk that waste ink from the recovery operation may be left uncollected inside the machine and contaminate the surrounding area. However, there is a risk of contaminating the electric circuit and causing an accident such as fire, so it is desirable to provide a detection means to notify the user that an ink cartridge is installed.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an inkjet recording apparatus having a detection means, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 1-101.662.

Here, 1 is a recording head mounted on a carriage 2, and the carriage 2 is driven by a timing belt stretched between an idler boot (not shown) and a carriage drive motor (not shown), and its correct By reversing the rotation, it is reciprocated along the guide shaft 3. Note that recording head 1
is supplied with ink from an ink cartridge 4 via an ink tube (not shown), and while the carriage 2 is moving from left to right, the ink is supplied from an ink discharge port (not shown) to a recording material, such as a recording sheet 5. Ink is ejected and recording is performed.

6 is a plate-shaped fixed platen that holds the recording sheet 5 at a position facing the ejection surface of the recording head 1 while maintaining a predetermined interval; 7 is a feed roller that feeds the recording sheet 5; 8 is in pressure contact with the feed roller 7; A pinch roller 9 is driven to sandwich the recording sheet 5 between them, and 9 is a pinch roller holder for applying pressure to the pinch roller 8. The holder 9 is made of a stainless steel plate or the like, and the spring force of the holder 9 causes the pinch roller to 8 toward the feed roller 7. 10 and 11 hold the recording sheet 5 fed manually, etc., and a feed roller 7 and a pinch roller 8
There is a guide between the upper guide and the lower guide.

Therefore, after the recording sheet 5 fed by the feed roller 7 and the pitch roller 8 is recorded by the recording sheet 1, it is held between the discharge roller 12 and a spur (not shown) that presses against it. , is ejected. Further, on the left side of FIG. 1, 20 is a hollow needle that is inserted into the ink cartridge 4 when the ink cartridge 4 is inserted from the cartridge insertion port 21 through the cartridge guide 22. Ink is supplied to the recording head 1 through the tube.

Note that 23 is a recovery means that is attached to the ink ejection surface of the recording head 1 when the recording head 1 is moved to the initial position, and performs a recovery operation.

Further, 24 is a transmission-type home position detection sensor mounted on the carriage 2, which detects the position when the carriage 2 is guided to the left home position, and in this example, this detection sensor By 24,
The configuration is such that it is detected whether the ink cartridge 4 is completely inserted into the mounting position from the cartridge insertion port 21. That is, 30 is a light shielding member (hereinafter referred to as a flag) that shields the detection sensor 24 from light when the carriage 2 is guided to the home position, and is fixed above the cartridge insertion slot 21.
Reference numeral 1 denotes a flag that protrudes upward as shown in the figure when the ink cartridge 4 is inserted from the insertion port 21 via the cartridge guide 22, and is detected by the detection sensor 24.

The details are shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. As shown in FIG. 5, the cartridge detection flag 31 includes a rotatable flag shaft 31B supported on the upper part of the insertion port 21, a flag plate 31C attached to the end of the shaft, and a flag plate 31C for rotating the flag shaft 31B. On the other hand, inside the insertion opening 21, a lever member 32 is provided which swings when the cartridge 4 is installed. In this way, when the ink cartridge 4 is inserted into the insertion port 21 and the hollow needle 20 is inserted into the tank (not shown) inside the cartridge 4 and is securely attached, the protrusion 32A of the lever member 32 is inserted into the front end of the cartridge 4. When pressed, the lever tip portion 32B rotates the flag plate 31C via the cam portion 31A, and maintains the flag plate 31C in the light shielding position of the detection sensor 24 as shown in the figure.

FIG. 6 shows details of the dual-purpose detection sensor 24 that detects both the home position and the cartridge. The detection sensor 24 is of a transmission type, and includes a light emitting element 33 and a light receiving element 34.
An optical path 35 is provided between the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge, and the optical path 35 is configured to be shielded from light by the home position detection flag 30, the flag plate 31C of the ink cartridge detection flag 31, and the like. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 4 is installed, when the carriage 2 is guided to the detection position, the detection sensor 24 detects the flag plate 31G, thereby confirming that the cartridge is installed.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional inkjet recording apparatus as described above, the number of detection means is reduced by using the home position sensor together with the cartridge detection sensor; Regarding 4, the user recognizes *ni-, 1\small-1 shishiko? -Tout 1-! MamlT1 female am+:IJ-y? fP/For example, there are many types of ink stored in the ink cartridge 4, such as the color and the remaining amount of ink, and in order to obtain all of this information, the number of flags must be increased or the detection means itself The structure has to be expanded, which complicates the structure and increases costs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an inkjet recording device and its inkjet recording device that enable a user to recognize various information regarding an ink cartridge using a minimum number of detection means in order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems. The purpose is to provide cartridges.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the inkjet recording device of the present invention has a fixed attachment mounted on a recording head that is mounted on a carriage and performs recording by ejecting ink while the carriage is moving. In the inkjet recording apparatus, an ink cartridge containing ink is removably installed in the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge is installed in the ink cartridge, and the ink cartridge is installed in the ink cartridge. The vehicle is characterized by comprising: a flag member that protrudes toward the path along which the carriage moves only when the vehicle is attached to the carriage; and a light sensor that is provided on the carriage and can be shielded from light by the flag member. be.

Furthermore, the ink cartridge according to the present invention is removably mounted on a fixed mounting portion of an inkjet recording device, and supplies ink to be ejected to a recording head mounted on a moving carriage. The flag member includes a retractable flag member, and a means for projecting the flag member toward the moving path of the carriage only when the flag member is mounted on the mounting portion, and the flag member allows the light sensor provided on the carriage to be detected by the flag member. It is characterized by being able to block light.

[Function] According to the present invention, when the ink cartridge is installed in the mounting portion, the flag member provided on the ink cartridge, which can be projected and stored freely, is projected from the cartridge toward the path along which the carriage moves. It is possible to detect the attachment of an ink cartridge using a light sensor, and by changing the form of the flag member in various ways, it is possible to determine information regarding multiple ink cartridges in combination with the movement position of the carriage. can.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below in detail and specifically based on the drawings.

1A and 1B show an example of an ink cartridge according to the present invention. In these figures, 101 is an ink cartridge having an ink storage part (not shown) inside;
102 is a shutter that is slidably held along the top opening 101A of the cartridge 101, 102A is a shutter protrusion that projects upward from the shutter 102, and 103 is a spring support that is interposed between the shutter 102 and the wall 101B. The coil spring 103 biases the shutter 102 to the left along the opening 101A, and the shutter protrusion 102A abuts the edge of the opening 101A to close the opening 101A. kept in good condition.

A flag member 104 is rotatable around a support shaft 105 and is made of, for example, a material capable of blocking infrared rays, and the support shaft 105 is supported on the wall of the cartridge 101. Further, 106 is a torsion coil spring provided around the support shaft 105, one end of which is attached to the flag member 10.
4, and the other end is hooked to the wall of the cartridge 101, and urges the flag member 104 clockwise around the shaft 105, directing it toward the back side of the shutter 102. It's biased. On the other hand, 22A is a stopper portion that protrudes from the cartridge guide 22 toward the cartridge insertion path 26, and is used to hold the ink cartridge 101 in the first position.
When the shutter is inserted from the right to the left in Fig. A, the shutter protrusion 102A comes into contact with the stopper 22A, and with the subsequent insertion operation, the shutter 102 is moved by the spring 10.
It functions to open the opening against the spring force of 3.

Reference numeral 124 is a transmission type photodetection sensor equipped with an infrared detection function, for example, and is mounted on the carriage 2.

Therefore, from the state shown in Figure 1A to the ink cartridge 1.
01 is inserted along the cartridge insertion path 26 (
As mentioned above, the shutter 102 is connected to the stopper section 2.
2A, and when the shutter 102 is fully opened with the ink cartridge 101 fully installed as shown in FIG. 1B, the flag member 104 stands up due to the spring force of the torsion coil spring 106 and comes into contact with the stopper portion 22A for detection. It is maintained in a position that blocks the optical path of the sensor 124. Note that the tip portion 102B protruding along the opening direction of the shutter 102 prevents the flag member 104 from standing up when the ink cartridge 101 is not fully installed as shown in FIG. 1B. Since the flag member 104 is not detected by the detection sensor 124 unless it is raised, incomplete insertion of the ink cartridge 101 can be prevented.

Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to keep the gap between the flag member 104 and the shutter 102 as small as possible.
By doing so, the timing at which the flag member 104 rises, that is, the timing at which the ink cartridge 101 is completely installed, can be made more accurate.

When removing the ink cartridge 101 from the recording apparatus, the flag member 104 is pushed by the stopper portion 102A and rotated counterclockwise by pulling out the ink cartridge 101 to the right from the state shown in FIG. 1B. , the shutter 102 moves in the direction of closing the opening 101A by the spring force of the coil spring 103, and when the shutter 102 is completely pulled out, the flag member 104 closes the shutter 102.
Stored under .

In the ink cartridge configured in this way, the flag member provided on the ink cartridge itself for detecting attachment is stored inside before attachment, so that the appearance is not damaged (also, it is easy to handle, and on the other hand, It is only necessary to provide a hole for raising and lowering the flag member and a stopper part provided in the cartridge guide. Moreover, with a simple configuration, various information regarding the ink cartridge can be provided to the user with high reliability as will be described later. can be provided.

FIGS. 2A to 2C show other embodiments of the ink cartridge according to the present invention. In these figures, the flag member 104
Only 104A, 104B and 10
4C are the light shielding parts. In this way, the light shielding part 1
04A, 104B, and 104C according to the direction along the support axis 105, that is, the moving direction of the carriage 2 (thereby, the detection position by the detection sensor 124 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B can be changed,
Depending on the detection position, the ink cartridge 101
It is possible to obtain different information (in this example, three types of information) regarding. Therefore, in order to indicate the type and characteristics of the ink contained in the cartridge 101, a flag member 104 is used whose light-shielding portion is located at a different position depending on the cartridge accommodating the ink, and the number of pieces of information is as described above. It is not limited to three types such as.

The amount of information that can be handled varies depending on the resolution during carriage scanning and the detection width of the detection sensor, but for example, if the configuration is such that 20m+n width is detected by scanning every 2mm, the light shielding part is 2mm wide. Each cartridge is provided with a flag member whose position is changed in units of Flags are required, and such flags must be placed every 2 nm on the recording device side, and as the number of parts increases, the device becomes complicated and large, which inevitably increases costs. By configuring this, it is possible to provide a large amount of information regarding ink cartridges while saving space with a minimum number of parts.

Figures 3A and 3B show yet another embodiment according to the invention. In this example, the ink bag 130 inside the cartridge 101 is
However, this is an example in which a flag is provided to cause the user to turn off LL' when the remaining amount becomes, for example, a predetermined amount or less. Reference numeral 140 denotes the flag member, and in this example, a contact portion 140A is formed at the end of the flag member 140 on the side where the support shaft 105 is provided, with only half of the flag member 140 protruding into a substantially semicircular shape as shown in the figure. Therefore, such a contact portion 140
A is always in contact with the surface of the ink bag 130 even when the ink cartridge 101 is fully installed as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, and even before it is installed (not shown).

Reference numeral 141 denotes longitudinal long grooves formed in two walls parallel to the paper surface of the ink cartridge 101, and the support shaft 105 of the flag member 140 is fitted into these long grooves 141, so that it can be freely rotated up and down. supported. Further, in this example, the torsion coil spring 106 attached around the support shaft 105 biases the flag member 140 in the clockwise direction, and also pushes the support shaft 105 itself into the long groove 14.
The flag member 1 has a spring force that urges it downward along the flag member 1.
40 is biased toward the ink bag 130.

In the ink cartridge 101 configured as described above, before the cartridge 101 is installed at a predetermined installation position along the insertion path 26, the flag member 140 is attached to the shutter 10 in the same manner as described above with reference to FIG. 1A.
2, but when the flag member 140 is securely installed at a predetermined installation position, the flag member 140 rises as shown in FIG. 3A or 3B. At the same time as this rises, the contact portion 140A of the flag member 140 is biased toward the surface of the ink bag 130 by the spring force of the torsion coil spring 106.

Therefore, in the ink cartridge 101 having the ink bag 130 as an ink storage means, when ink is sufficiently stored in the ink bag 130, the entire flag member 140 stands at a high position as shown in FIG. 3A. In order to ascend, the light shielding portion 140B is maintained at a height that shields the optical path 35 of the detection sensor 124, and when the carriage 2 is guided to the position of the cartridge 140, The detection sensor 124 detects the presence of ink. Furthermore, when there is no ink, the flag member 140 is kept at a low position even if it rises as shown in FIG. It is judged that.

It should be noted that the present invention provides excellent effects particularly in bubble jet recording heads and recording apparatuses among ink jet recording systems.

This is because such a system can achieve higher recording density and higher definition, and it is expected that the fixing speed will be even slower depending on the recording pattern.

As for typical configurations and principles thereof, it is preferable to use the basic principles disclosed in, for example, US Pat. No. 4,723,129 and US Pat. No. 4,740,796. This method can be applied to both the so-called on-demand type and continuous type, but especially in the case of the on-demand type, it is necessary to arrange the liquid (ink) in accordance with the sheet and liquid path that hold it. The electrothermal converter that is
Generating thermal energy in the electrothermal transducer and producing film boiling on the thermally active surface of the recording head by applying at least one drive signal that corresponds to recorded information and provides a rapid temperature rise above nucleate boiling. As a result, bubbles can be formed in the liquid (ink) in one-to-one correspondence with this drive signal, which is effective. The growth and contraction of the bubble causes liquid (ink) to be ejected through the ejection opening to form at least one droplet. If this drive signal is in the form of a pulse, bubble growth and contraction will occur immediately and appropriately.
Particularly responsive liquid (ink) ejection can be achieved,
More preferred. This pulse-shaped drive signal is described in US Pat. No. 4,463,359.

The one described in the specification of the same No. 4345262 is suitable. Furthermore, if the conditions described in US Pat. No. 4,313,124 concerning the invention regarding the temperature increase rate of the heat acting surface are adopted, even more excellent recording can be performed.

The structure of the recording head is that in addition to the straight liquid flow path or the right angle liquid flow path, the IF is arranged in the area where the heat acting part is bent. The present invention also includes a configuration using the method disclosed in US Pat. No. 4,459,600. In addition, JP-A-59-123670 discloses a configuration in which a common slit is used as a discharge part for a plurality of electrothermal converters, and a hole that absorbs pressure waves of thermal energy is disclosed. The effects of the present invention are also effective even with a configuration based on Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 138461/1985 which discloses a configuration corresponding to the discharge section. That is,
This is because fixing can be carried out reliably and efficiently no matter what form the recording head has.

Furthermore, the present invention can be effectively applied to a full-line type recording head having a length corresponding to the maximum width of a recording medium that can be recorded by a recording apparatus.

Such a recording head may have either a configuration in which the length is satisfied by a combination of a plurality of recording heads, or a configuration in which a single recording head is formed in one direction.

Further, the present invention also includes a recovery means for the recording head and a preliminary supplement provided as a configuration of the recording apparatus.
This is preferable because it can contain the liquid roux layer on the day of production. Specifically, these include capping means for the recording head, cleaning means, pressure or suction means, preheating means using an electrothermal transducer or another heating element, or a combination thereof; It is also effective to perform a preliminary ejection mode in which ejection is performed separately from printing in order to perform stable printing.

In addition, regarding the type and number of recording heads installed, for example, in addition to one type that corresponds to single-color ink, there is also a plurality of recording heads that correspond to multiple inks with different recording colors and densities. It may be something that can be done.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the inkjet recording device and its ink cartridge of the present invention, the carriage is provided with a transmissive optical sensor that is shielded from light by the flag member present in its movement path, and the carriage is moved only when it is attached to the ink cartridge. A flag member is provided that protrudes toward the travel path, and the installation of the ink cartridge is detected when the transmission type optical sensor is blocked from light by the flag member provided on the ink cartridge, which reduces the number of parts and reduces the number of parts. Not only can the presence or absence of an ink cartridge be detected with a simple structure, but by changing the form of the flag member for each ink cartridge, it is possible to categorize and make the user recognize a lot of information such as ink type and characteristics. In addition to this, it is also possible to detect the amount of ink remaining.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing the structure of the ink cartridge according to the present invention before and after installation, and FIGS. 2A to 2C are three types of flag member configurations in the ink cartridge according to the present invention. 3A and 3B are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of another embodiment of the ink cartridge according to the present invention with and without ink, and FIG. 4 shows the configuration of a conventional inkjet recording apparatus. FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a conventional ink cartridge detection device, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of an optical sensor for the detection device shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Recording head, 2... Carriage, 21... Cartridge insertion port, 22... Cartridge guide, 26... Cartridge insertion path, 101... Ink cartridge, 101A... Opening part, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 102...Shutter, 102A...Shutter protrusion part, 103...Coil spring, 104...Flag member, In1lA~lnar-;Wwel(...
Support shaft, ...Torsion coil spring, ...Detection sensor, ...Ink bag, ...Long groove. Figure 2A Figure 2C

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) An inkjet recording apparatus in which an ink cartridge containing ink to be supplied to a recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink is removably installed, comprising: The present invention is characterized by comprising: a flag member that protrudes toward the path along which the carriage moves only when an ink cartridge is installed in the mounting portion; and an optical sensor that is provided on the carriage and can be shielded from light by the flag member. Inkjet recording device. 2) In an ink cartridge that is removably attached to a fixed attachment part of an inkjet recording device and supplies ink to be ejected to a recording head mounted on a moving carriage, a flag member that can be protruded and retracted; means for causing the flag member to protrude toward a moving path of the carriage only when the flag member is mounted on the mounting portion, so that the light sensor provided on the carriage can be shielded from light by the flag member. An ink cartridge characterized by: 3) The ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the optical sensor is a sensor that detects infrared rays, and the flag member is formed of a material capable of blocking the infrared rays. 4) By varying the position of the flag member that blocks light from the optical sensor along the moving direction of the carriage, the detection position of the flag member by the optical sensor is varied, and different information is transmitted for each installed ink cartridge. Claim 2 or 3 characterized in that:
The ink cartridge described in. 5) The ink cartridge includes an ink bag containing the ink, and the presence or absence of the ink is determined by changing the height of the position of the flag member that blocks light from the optical sensor depending on the amount of ink in the ink bag. The ink cartridge according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the ink cartridge is configured to detect.