Patent Grant
8752945
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-218728, filed on Sep. 30, 2011, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-218729, filed on Sep. 30, 2011. The disclosures of these applications are incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to cartridges for storing liquid.
2. Description of Related Art
A known liquid ejecting apparatus includes two cartridges. One of the cartridges stores ink and the other of the cartridges stores an improving liquid. The known liquid ejecting apparatus further includes two heads. One of the heads is configured to eject ink supplied from the cartridge that stores the ink and the other of the heads is configured to eject the improving liquid supplied from the cartridge that stores the improving liquid. The improving liquid improves the recordability of ink.
Another known liquid ejecting apparatus is configured to perform a preliminary ejection, e.g., purging or flushing, to reduce clogging in nozzles of a head. However, the preliminary ejection wastes the ink and the improving liquid. Therefore, frequent performance of the preliminary ejection is not economical. To reduce the frequency of the preliminary ejection, the known liquid ejecting apparatus includes a capping unit configured to seal an area opposite to a surface having the nozzles of the head with a cap and to maintain humidity in the area, in addition to the preliminary ejection.
Humidifying liquid may also be stored in a cartridge like the above-described ink and improving liquid, but not in a tank fixed to the liquid ejecting apparatus. The cartridge is configured to be attachable to and removable from the liquid ejecting apparatus. Thus, the ink, the improving liquid, and the humidifying liquid may be stored in their respective liquid cartridges. Therefore, a user may need to attach or remove each of the cartridges to or from the liquid ejecting apparatus individually. Accordingly, a process of installing or removing the cartridges to or from the liquid ejecting apparatus may become complicated or inconvenient.
The present invention may provide a liquid cartridge configured to accomplish supply of three different kinds of liquid to the liquid ejecting apparatus while facilitating installation and removal of the liquid cartridge with respect to the liquid ejecting apparatus.
According to an embodiment of the invention, a cartridge, comprising: an engagement portion disposed on a first surface facing a first direction; a first reservoir storing a first liquid comprising a colorant; a second reservoir storing a second liquid comprising a characteristic of coagulating the colorant; and a third reservoir storing a third liquid comprising water, wherein each of the first, the second, and the third reservoirs comprises an outlet portion configured to direct liquid from an interior of the respective reservoirs to an exterior of the cartridge in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, and wherein the outlet portions of the first, the second, and the third reservoirs do not overlap each other in the first direction.
According to another embodiment of the invention, a cartridge, comprising: a first reservoir storing a first liquid comprising a colorant; a second reservoir storing a second liquid comprising a characteristic of coagulating the colorant; and a third reservoir storing a third liquid comprising water, without colorant or liquid comprising characteristic of coagulating colorants.
According to still another embodiment of the invention, a cartridge, comprising: an engagement portion disposed on a first surface facing a first direction; a first reservoir; a second reservoir; and a third reservoir, wherein each of the first, the second, and the third reservoirs comprises an outlet portion extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and configured to communicate an interior of the respective reservoirs with an exterior of the cartridge, and wherein the outlet portions of the first, the second, and the third reservoirs do not overlap each other in the first direction.
Other objects, features, and advantages will be apparent to persons of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.
For a more complete understanding of the present invention, needs satisfied thereby, and the objects, features, and advantages thereof, reference now is made to the following descriptions taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.
Embodiments of the invention now are described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings; like reference numerals are used for corresponding parts in the various drawings.
Referring to
Referring to
The controller 100 may comprise a central processing unit (CPU), a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), such as a nonvolatile RAM, and an interface. The ROM may be configured to store programs to be executed by the CPU and various fixed data. The RAM may be configured to temporarily store data, e.g., image data, for the CPU to execute programs. The controller 100 may be configured to transmit and receive data to and from a memory 141, e.g., as depicted in
The sheet feed unit 1b may comprise a tray 23 and a roller 25. The tray 23 may be configured to be detachably attached to the housing 1a along the primary direction. The tray 23 may have a substantially box shape and may open upward. The tray 23 may be configured to accommodate sheets P of various sizes. As depicted in
The transport unit 21 may comprise two rollers 6 and 7 and an endless transport belt 8. The transport belt 8 may be wound around the rollers 6 and 7. The roller 7 may be a driving roller configured to rotate in the clockwise direction, as depicted in
The secondary direction may be parallel to a transport direction in which the transport unit 21 may transport the sheet P. The primary direction may be perpendicular to the secondary direction. Each of the primary direction and the secondary direction may be a horizontal direction.
When the sheet P held on the outer surface 8a of the transport belt 8 passes below the heads 2, the controller 100 may control the heads 2 to discharge one or both of the black ink and the pretreatment liquid from the lower surfaces 2a toward an upper surface of the sheet P, thereby forming an image on the sheet P. A separating plate 5 may be configured to separate the sheet P from the outer surface 8a of the transport belt 8 when the sheet P is fed to the separating plate 5. The printer 1 may be configured to transport the sheet P upward while the guides 29a and 29b guide the sheet P and two pairs of transport rollers 28 nip the sheet P. The printer 1 may discharge the sheet P through an opening 30 formed at the top of the housing 1a onto the sheet discharge portion 31. Referring to
The pretreatment liquid may have one or more of a property of improving a density of ink discharged onto the sheet P, a property of preventing the occurrence of ink blurring or strike-through, e.g., the penetration of ink through the sheet P that is being recorded, and a property of improving color reproduction and a quick dry property of ink, and a property of preventing the occurrence of wrinkles or curls on the sheet P after ink is discharged on the sheet P. For example, liquid containing a polyvalent salt, such as cationic high polymer or a magnesium salt, may be used as the pretreatment liquid. The head 2 for discharging the pretreatment liquid may be disposed upstream from the head 2 for discharging the black ink with respect to the transport direction.
Each head 2 may be a line type head elongated in the primary direction and may have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The heads 2 may be aligned in the secondary direction with a predetermined pitch and may be supported by the housing 1a via a frame 3. A joint may be disposed at an upper surface of each head 2 for receiving a flexible tube. A plurality of discharge nozzles may be formed in the lower surface 2a of each head 2. A flow path may be formed inside each head 2 such that liquid, which may be supplied from a corresponding reservoir 42B and 42P of the cartridge 40 via a corresponding tube and a corresponding joint, may flow to corresponding discharge nozzles.
As depicted in
Referring to
As depicted in
Referring to
As depicted in
The O-ring 61 may comprise an elastomeric material, e.g., rubber. The O-ring 61 may be fixed to a surface that may face the plug 50 of the valve body 62. The valve 60 may be urged toward an opening 43y of a narrowed portion 43x of the ink outlet path 43 by a coil spring 63. One end of the coil spring 63 may be fixed to the other end of the ink outlet tube 43, and the other end of the coil spring 63 may contact the other surface of the valve body 62. As depicted in
A sensor unit 70 may be disposed in the ink outlet tube 43 of each of the black ink unit 40B and the pretreatment liquid unit 40P. The sensor unit 70 may comprise the Hall device 71, e.g., Hall effect sensor, and a magnet 72. The magnet 72 may produce a magnetic field. The Hall device 71 may be a magnetic sensor that may be configured to detect a magnetic field of the magnet 72, convert the detected magnetic field to an electric signal, and generate the electric signal. The Hall device 71 may be configured to generate a signal that may indicate a voltage proportioned to the magnetic field magnitude. The magnetic field magnitude may vary in accordance with the movement of the valve body 62. As depicted in
As depicted in
As depicted in
The cartridge inserting direction may be parallel to the first cartridge direction, and the tube inserting direction may be parallel to the second cartridge direction. The cartridge inserting direction may be perpendicular to the tube inserting direction.
The housing 41 may comprise a hollow 48, e.g., engagement portion, a recessed portion 41r, and a hand well portion 49. The hollow 48 may retain the housing 41 of the cartridge 40 in the housing 1a of the printer 1 when the cartridge 40 is mounted in the space C. The recessed portion 41r may be defined by the outer surfaces 41g and 41h. The hand well portion 49 may allow the user to hold the cartridge 40. The outer surface 41g, e.g., first surface, of the cartridge 40 may have the hollow 48. As depicted in
The outer surface 41c may have a recessed portion 41c1 at an upstream part of the outer surface 41c with respect to the tube inserting direction. The substrate 142 may be disposed inside the recessed portion 41c1.
The substrate 142 may comprise the memory 141 on one surface thereof and a plurality of, e.g., eight, terminals 170c-177c on the other surface thereof, as depicted in
The terminals 170c-177c may be exposed to the outside of the cartridge 40 via the recessed portion 41c1. The terminals 170c-177c may have substantially the same size and shape and may be exposed at the outer surface 41c of the cartridge 40. A shape of each of the terminals 170c-177c may be substantially rectangular including two shorter sides extending in a direction parallel to the second cartridge direction and two longer sides extending in a direction parallel to the third cartridge direction. The terminals 170c-177c may be arranged in a plurality of rows, e.g., two rows.
As depicted in
The memory 141 may comprise an electrically erasable programmable ROM (“EEPROM”) or the like, and may store data relating to the cartridge 40. More specifically, the memory 141 may prestore an amount of liquid remaining in each reservoir 42B and 42P, and sensor output values, e.g., output values Vmax and Vmin received from each Hall device 71. The controller 100 may be configured to read data from the memory 141 while the cartridge 40 is mounted in the space C of the printer 1. In addition, while the cartridge 40 is mounted in the printer 1, the controller 100 may be configured to write data in the memory 141, e.g., the amount of liquid remaining in each reservoir 42B and 42P.
As depicted in
As depicted in
A relationship among lengths of longer sides of the cross sections of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may satisfy L1>L2>L3, where L1 may represent a length of the longer side of the cross section of the reservoir 42B, L2 may represent a length of the longer side of the cross section of the reservoir 42P, and L3 may represent a length of the longer side of the cross section of the reservoir 42H. A relationship among lengths of shorter sides of the cross sections of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, 42H may satisfy W1>W2>W3, where W1 may represent a length of the shorter side of the cross section of the reservoir 42B, W2 may represent a length of the shorter side of the cross section of the reservoir 42P, and W3 may represent a length of the shorter side of the cross section of the reservoir 42H. The length L3 of the longer side of the cross section of the reservoir 42H may be less than a sum of the lengths W1, W2, and W3 of the shorter sides of the cross sections of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H and less than or equal to a sum of the lengths W1 and W2 of the shorter sides of the cross sections of the reservoirs 42B and 42P. Thus, the relationship of L3≦(W1+W2)<(W1+W2+W3) may be satisfied. The reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may have the substantially same length with respect to the discharge direction.
A relationship among capacities of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may satisfy C1>C2>C3, where C1 may represent a capacity of the reservoir 42B, C2 may represent a capacity of the reservoir 42P, and C3 may represent a capacity of the reservoir 42H. A relationship among amounts of liquid stored in the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H, e.g., a liquid storage amount, may satisfy V1>V2>V3, where V1 may be an amount of black ink, e.g., first liquid, stored in the reservoir, 42B, V2 may be an amount of pretreatment liquid, e.g., second liquid, stored in the reservoir 42P, and V3 may be an amount of humidifying liquid, e.g., third liquid, stored in the reservoir 42H.
The reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be disposed such that the discharge directions in the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be parallel to each other. The discharge directions, e.g., second direction, in the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be opposite to the tube inserting direction, as depicted in
As depicted in
One of the surfaces 42Ps of the reservoir 42P, which faces the reservoir 42H, e.g., the right surface 42Ps of the reservoir 42P in
As depicted in
The hand well portion 49 may be disposed in a recessed portion that may face the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction and the reservoir 42H with respect to the third cartridge direction, e.g., the hand well portion 49 may be disposed on the right side of the reservoir 42P and above the reservoir 42H, as depicted in
The recessed portion 41r may face the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction and face the reservoir 42B with respect to the third cartridge direction, e.g., the recessed portion 41r may be defined at the left of the reservoir 42P and above the reservoir 42B in
A partition 41p may be disposed between the reservoirs 42B and 42H. The partition 41p may protrude along the third cartridge direction from a lower wall of the housing 41 of the cartridge 40 and an upper edge of the partition 41p may be disposed lower than an upper surface of the reservoir 42B. The partition 41p may not contact the reservoir 42P when viewed in the first cartridge direction.
The above shape and size of the cross section of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H, the liquid storage amount V1, V2, and V3 of each reservoir 42B, 42P, 42H, and the like may be applied to a new cartridge 40, e.g., a cartridge 40 which has not been used and which has the same amount of liquid stored in each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H as when the cartridge 40 was assembled, and each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may be full of liquid. The liquid storage amount V1, V2, and V3 may be reduced and the shape and size of the cross section of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may be changed in accordance with consumption of liquid stored in each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H when the cartridge 40 is used. For example, the cross section of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may become further flattened, e.g., the length W1, W2, and W3 of the shorter side of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may decrease. As a result, one or more of the relationship of L3≦(W1+W2), the relationship of L3<(W1+W2+W3) and the relationship of V1>V2>V3 may no longer be satisfied. In addition, the consumption of liquid may cause one or more situations in which the reservoirs 42P and 42H may not partially overlap each other when viewed in the third cartridge direction, the one or more of the walls defining the hand well portion 49 may not hold one or both of the reservoirs 42P and 42H, the one or more of the walls defining the recessed portion 41r may not hold one or both of the reservoirs 42B and 42P, and the upper edge of the partition 41p may be disposed higher than or at the same level as the upper surface of the reservoir 42B.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 9A-9C, the space C may be defined by walls of the housing 1a of the printer 1. The walls of the housing 1a may comprise walls 1aa, 1ab, 1ac, and 1af. The walls 1aa and 1ab may extend substantially parallel to the cartridge inserting direction and be separated from each other with respect to the tube inserting direction. A support member 154 may be disposed on the wall 1aa. The support member 154 may be configured to hold a plurality of hollow tubes 153, e.g., three hollow tubes 153, corresponding to the black ink unit 40B, the pretreatment liquid unit 40P, and the humidifying liquid unit 40H, respectively. The support member 154 may be further configured to be movable in the tube inserting direction and in the direction opposite to the tube inserting direction with respect to the housing 1a of the printer 1 by a moving mechanism 155, as depicted in
The wall 1ac may extend substantially parallel to the cartridge inserting direction and define a downstream-side surface of the cartridge 40 with respect to the cartridge inserting direction. The wall 1ac may be disposed between the walls 1aa and 1ab with respect to the tube inserting direction. A substrate 182 may be disposed on the wall 1ac.
The wall 1af may extend substantially perpendicular to the walls 1aa, 1ab, and 1ac, and define the lower surface of the space C. The wall 1af may have a recessed portion 1afx, as depicted in
The substrate 182 may have substantially the same size as the substrate 142. The substrate 182 may be disposed to face the substrate 142 of the cartridge 40 when the cartridge 40 is installed in the space C, as depicted in
As depicted in
The terminals 170p-177p may be arranged in a mirror image of the terminals 170c-177c, such that each of the terminals 170p-177p may contact one of the terminals 170c-177c, respectively, when the cartridge 40 is installed in the space C.
As depicted in
Referring to
For installation of the cartridge 40 into the space C of the housing 1a of the printer 1, first, the user of the printer 1 may open the cover 1c of the printer 1, as depicted in
In a process of installing the cartridge 40 in the predetermined position depicted in
Because the cartridge 40 is disposed in the predetermined position, as depicted in
After the cartridge 40 is mounted in the predetermined position, as depicted in
The installation detection switch 159 may comprise a protrusion at a wall having the opening 10c, as depicted in
When the controller 100 determines that the cartridge 40 has been installed in the predetermined position in the space C, e.g., “YES” at step S1, then at step S2, the controller 100 may read, from the memory 141 of the cartridge 40, e.g., the data of the amount of liquid remaining in each reservoir 42B and 42P and the sensor output values. At step S3, the controller 100 then may control the moving mechanism 155, as depicted in
In accordance with the movement of the hollow tubes 153 at step S3, the hollow tubes 153 may penetrate the substantially center portions of the respective plugs 50 of the black ink unit 40B, the pretreatment liquid unit 40P, and the humidifying liquid unit 40H along the primary direction, as depicted in
At step S4, the controller 100 may receive signals from the Hall devices 71 of the black ink unit 40B and the pretreatment liquid unit 40P. At step S5, the controller 100 may determine whether the valves 60 of the black ink unit 40B and the pretreatment liquid unit 40P are in the open positions based on the signals received at step S4 and the output values Vmax and Vmin read from the memory 141 at step S2. The controller 100 may perform the determination at step S5.
Referring to
When a predetermined time has elapsed while the valves 60 of the black ink unit 40B and the pretreatment liquid unit 40P are not in the open positions, e.g., “YES” at step S6, the controller 100 may issue an error notification via an output device, e.g., a display or a speaker of the printer 1 at step S7, and the controller 100 may stop operations of each components of the printer 1 at step S8. The open error may occur due to a faulty Hall device 71 of the black ink unit 40B caused by a short circuit occurred between the terminal 170c and the terminal 174c, due to a faulty Hall device 71 of the pretreatment liquid unit 40P caused by a short circuit occurred between the terminal 171c and the terminal 174c, due to a malfunction in communications capabilities of the controller 100 caused by a short circuit occurred between the terminal 173c and the terminal 174c, or due to a defective condition in one or more of the plugs 50, the valves 60 of the cartridge 40, the hollow tubes 153, and the moving mechanism 155 of the printer 1.
When the controller 100 determines that the valves 60 of the black ink unit 40B and the pretreatment liquid unit 40P are in the open positions, e.g., “YES” at step S5, the controller 100 may determine whether a recording command has been received from the external device at step S9. When the controller 100 determines that the recording command has been received, e.g., “YES” at step S9, the controller 100 may determine whether an amount of black ink and an amount of pretreatment liquid to be used in recording according to the recording command are less than the remaining amount of black ink and the remaining amount of pretreatment liquid, respectively at step S10. The amount of liquid to be used may be an amount of liquid to be discharged during recording according to the recording command and obtained based on image data included in the recording command. The data read from the memory 141 at step S2 may be used to derive the amount of liquid remaining.
When the amount of liquid to be used is greater than or equal to the amount of liquid remaining, e.g., “NO” at step S10, the controller 100 may issue an error notification at step S7 and may stop operations of each components of the printer 1 at step S8.
When the amount of liquid to be used is less than the amount of liquid remaining, e.g., “YES” at step S10, the controller 100 may control the sheet feed motor 125, the transport motor 127, a feed motor 128, and the heads 2 to perform recording on a sheet P at step S11.
After step S11, the controller 100 may write, into the memory 141, the data of the amount of liquid remaining in each reservoir 42B and 42P at step S12. The controller 100 may obtain an amount of liquid currently remaining by subtracting the amount of liquid used obtained at step S10 from the amount of liquid remaining read from the memory 141 at step S2, and may write an update into the memory 141.
After step S12, the controller 100 may return the routine to step S9 and wait until the controller 100 determines that a recording command is received.
For removal of the cartridge 40 from the space C, the user of the printer 1 may first open the cover 1c, as depicted in
The user may insert his/her four fingers other than the thumb into the recessed portion 1afx of the printer 1 while holding the hand well portion 49 of the cartridge 40 with one hand. The cartridge 40 may be moved along a direction opposite to the cartridge inserting direction. A force may act on the housing 41 in the direction opposite to the cartridge inserting direction. When the force becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined force, the protrusion 148a of the engagement member 148 may be removed from the hollow 48. After the protrusion 148a is removed from the hollow 48 of the cartridge 40, the cartridge 40 may be moved in the direction opposite to the cartridge inserting direction with relatively smaller force. When the cartridge 40 is removed from the space C, the substrate 142 of the cartridge 40 may be separated from the substrate 182 of the printer 1. Therefore, electrical connections between the terminals 170c-177c and the corresponding terminals 170p-177p may be released, and the electric power may not be supplied to the Hall devices 71 and the memory 141. Accordingly, the controller 100 may stop performing further signal transmission and reception with the Hall devices 71 and the memory 141.
The controller 100 may further comprise a communication section for performing communications with the cartridge 40 installed in the space C, as depicted in
A cartridge installation detecting section M1 may correspond to the processing of step S1. A reading section M2 may correspond to the processing of step S2. A notification control section M3 may correspond to the processing of step S7. A recording prohibiting section M4 may correspond to the processing of step S8. A moving control section M5 may correspond to the processing of step S3. A receiving section M6 may correspond to the processing of step S4. A writing section M7 may correspond to the processing of step S12. A recording control section M8 may correspond to the processing of step S11. A fluid communication determining section M9 may correspond to the processing of step S5. A sealing control section M10 may correspond to the sealing operation. A humidity control section M11 may embody the humidifying operation.
Referring to
Two joints 91 may be provided for each head 2. In each head 2, one of the joints 91 may be fixed to one end of the frame 3 the other of the joints 91 may be fixed to the other end of the frame 3 with respect to a longitudinal direction of the head 2. The joints 91 may have a substantially cylindrical shape. Each joint 91 may have an opening 91a in its lower surface, and the opening 91a may be in fluid communication with an internal space defined in the sealing member 2c. The tube 95 may connect the pump 93 and the one of the joints 91 to allow fluid communication therebetween. The tube 96 may connect the pump 93 and the tank 94 to allow fluid communication therebetween. The tube 97 may connect the tank 94 and the other of the joints 91 to allow fluid communication therebetween.
Although the tubes 95 and 97 corresponding to one of the heads 2 are depicted in
The tank 94 may store humidifying liquid supplied from the reservoir 42H in its lower portion and air humidified by the humidifying liquid in its upper portion. The tube 96 may be in fluid communication with the lower portion of the tank 94, and the tube 97 may be in fluid communication with the upper portion of the tank 94. A check valve may be attached to the tube 96 to allow air to flow through the tube 96 in one direction, as indicated by a black arrow in
The sealing-member up-and-down mechanism 2cM may comprise gears and a gear motor. The gears may be configured to engage with the respective sealing members 2c. The gear motor may be configured to drive the gears. In the sealing operation, the controller 100 may control the sealing-member up-and-down mechanism 2cM, as depicted in
In the humidifying operation, the controller 100 may drive the pump 93 while keeping the sealing members 2c in the sealing position. With the driving of the pump 93, air in the discharge space R1 may be recovered via the opening 91a of the one of the joints 91, and the air may flow into the lower space of the tank 94 through the tube 95, the pump 93, and the tube 96. The recovered air may be humidified by the humidifying liquid stored in the tank 94 and then discharged from the upper space of the tank 94. The discharged air may be supplied back to the discharge space R1 through the tube 97 via the opening 91 of the other of the joints 91. In
The humidifying operation may prevent or reduce an increase of the viscosity of the liquid that may clog the nozzles. Further, the humidifying operation may reduce a frequency of performance of a preliminary ejection, e.g., one or both of purging and flushing, and the consumption of the black ink and the pretreatment liquid.
For example, the humidifying operation may be performed once a day, when the sealing members 2c are located in the sealing position for a predetermined period or more.
As describe above, the cartridge 40 may comprise therein the reservoir 42B for storing black ink, the reservoir 42P for storing pretreatment liquid, and the reservoir 42H for storing humidifying liquid. This configuration may facilitate the installation and removal of the cartridge 40 and accomplish the supply of the three different kinds of liquid to the corresponding heads 2 by one-time cartridge installation.
The relationship among the liquid storage amounts V1, V2, and V3 of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may satisfy V1>V2>V3.
A relationship between an amount of black ink to be used and an amount of pretreatment liquid to be used during recording of an image onto a sheet P may be obtained by, for example, the following equation:
U2=U1×(1/5−1/10)
U1 may represent the amount of black ink to be used and U2 may represent the amount of pretreatment liquid to be used. An amount of humidifying liquid to be used during humidifying operation U3 may be obtained by, for example, the following equations:
U3=U1×(1/20−1/100) (when moisture is added to the black ink)
U3=U2×(1/20−1/100) (when moisture is added to the pretreatment liquid)
The humidifying liquid may be used to add moisture to the nozzles of each head 2. Normally, the amount of humidifying liquid to be used during the humidifying operation may be less than the amounts of black ink and pretreatment liquid discharged from the nozzles during recording. In some cases, the pretreatment liquid may not be used in accordance with one or more of a type of a sheet P to be used and a recording mode, e.g., a color printing mode, a monochrome printing mode, a photo printing mode, or a document printing mode. For example, when a sheet P to be used is a relatively thick paper or glossy paper or when the recording mode is a photo printing mode, the recording may be performed without using the pretreatment liquid.
The liquid storage amounts V1, V2, and V3 of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may satisfy an effective relationship in view of the consumption of each liquid in the printer 1. Therefore, when the reservoir 42B becomes empty of black ink, the amount of pretreatment liquid remaining in the reservoir 42P and the amount of humidifying liquid remaining in the reservoir 42H may be low. Thus, the above-described relationship may reduce waste of one or both of the pretreatment liquid and the humidifying liquid due to replacement of the cartridge 40. Consequently, the reduction of the liquid wastes may reduce cost and be friendly to the environment.
If the liquid storage amounts V1, V2, and V3 of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H do not satisfy the above-described relationship and one or both of the amount of pretreatment liquid stored in the reservoir 42P and the amount of humidifying liquid stored in the reservoir 42H are greater than actually required, the cartridge 40 may become greater in size. Therefore, satisfying the above-described relationship may reduce the size of the cartridge 40.
The relationship among the capacities C1, C2, and C3 of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may satisfy C1>C2>C3. Therefore, the size of the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be reduced and the size of the cartridge 40 may be reduced correspondingly.
As depicted in
Each reservoir 42B and 42P may have the crease lines 42Bi and 42Pi formed in the surfaces 42Bs and 42Ps and extending in the direction perpendicular to the edges to which the ink outlet tube 43 is attached, and may be configured to be folded inward at the crease lines 42Bi and 42Pi as the amount of liquid stored in the reservoir 42B and 42P decreases. With this configuration, the capacity C1 and C2 of each reservoir 42B and 42P may be increased while the size of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may be reduced.
The reservoir 42H may be configured such that surfaces extending in the direction perpendicular to the edge to which the ink outlet tube 43 is attached may not be folded inward as the amount of liquid stored in the reservoir 42H decreases. With this configuration, the capacity C3 of the reservoir 42H may be reduced while the size of each reservoir 42B, 42P, and 42H may be reduced.
As depicted in
The length L3 of the longer side of the cross section of the reservoir 42H may be less than or equal to the sum of the lengths W1 and W2 of the shorter sides of the cross sections of the reservoirs 42B and 42P, e.g., the relationship of L3≦(W1+W2) may be satisfied. Therefore, liquid levels may substantially be the same among the reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H, and thus, the pressure difference among the liquid stored in the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be reduced. This effectiveness may be obtained when the cartridge 40 is oriented in a predetermined posture, e.g., when the reservoir 42H may be disposed next to the reservoirs 42B and 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction while its longer side of the cross section may extend parallel to the third cartridge direction and its shorter side of the cross section may extend parallel to the first cartridge direction.
The center O3 of the opening 43b communicating with the reservoir 42H may be disposed between the center O1 of the opening 43b communicating with the reservoir 42B and the center O2 of the opening 43b communicating with the reservoir 42P with respect to the third cartridge direction. With this configuration, the openings 43b communicating with the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H may be disposed closer to each other with respect to the third cartridge direction. Thus, the three hollow tubes 153 configured to be inserted into the corresponding openings 43b may be disposed closer to each other with respect to the vertical direction correspondingly and a size of the support member 154 comprising the hollow tubes 153 may be reduced.
In the above-described illustrative embodiment, the center O1 of the opening 43b communicating with the reservoir 42B may be located closer to the reservoir 42H than the center of the reservoir 42B with respect to the first cartridge direction. The center O2 of the opening 43b communicating with the reservoir 42P may be located closer to the reservoir 42H than the center of the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction. With this configuration, the openings 43b corresponding to the respective reservoirs 42B, 42P, 42H may be disposed closer to each other with respect to the first cartridge direction. Thus, the three hollow tubes 153 configured to be inserted into the corresponding openings 43b may be disposed closer to each other with respect to the third cartridge direction correspondingly and the size of the support member 154 comprising the hollow tubes 153 may be reduced.
The hand well portion 49 may be provided in the recessed portion that may face the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction and the reservoir 42H with respect to the third cartridge direction, e.g., the hand well portion 49 may be disposed on the right of the reservoir 42P and above the reservoir 42H in
The one or more walls defining the hand well portion 49 may be configured to hold the reservoirs 42P and 42H. With this configuration, the one or more walls may maintain the posture of the reservoirs 42P and 42H. Further, the one or more walls defining the hand well portion 49 may have a function of holding the reservoirs 42P and 42H. Therefore, the structure of the cartridge 40 may be simplified.
The recessed portion 41r may be provided in the recessed portion facing the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction and the reservoir 42B with respect to the third cartridge direction, e.g., the recessed portion 41r may be defined at the left of the reservoir 42P and above the reservoir 42B in
The recessed portion 41r may be an unused space in the housing 41. The outer surface 41g defining the unused space may have the hollow 48 and the engagement member 148 of the printer 1 may be disposed in the unused space of the cartridge 40 when the cartridge 10 is mounted in the space C, as depicted in
The one or more walls defining the recessed portion 41r, e.g., walls defining the outer surfaces 41g and 41h, may be configured to hold the reservoirs 42B and 42P. Therefore, the one or more walls defining the recessed portion 41r may maintain the posture of the reservoirs 42B and 42P. Further, the one or more walls, e.g., the recessed portion 41r, may have a function of holding the reservoirs 42B and 42P. Therefore, the structure of the cartridge 40 may be simplified.
The cross section of each reservoir 42B and 42P may have a substantially rectangular shape and the cross section of the reservoir 42H may have a substantially ellipse shape. The one surface 42Ps of the surfaces 42Ps, which faces the reservoir 42H, e.g., the right surface 42Ps of the reservoir 42P in
The partition 41p may facilitate the precise positioning of the reservoirs 42B and 42H. The partition 41p may not overlap the reservoir 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction. Therefore, the partition 41p may not interfere with the close arrangement of the reservoir 42P and the reservoir 42H.
In another embodiments, in a liquid cartridge, a first liquid may comprise one of a color ink, e.g., cyan, magenta, or yellow, instead of black ink. A color material of the first liquid may be pigments or dyes.
A second liquid may comprise a liquid that may have a function of coagulating the color material included in the first liquid. The second liquid may comprise liquid that may be discharged onto a recording medium having an image to improve quality of the recorded image.
A third liquid may comprise a liquid that may be used to add moisture to one of the first liquid and the second liquid.
A size of an ink droplet of the first liquid discharged from a first head may be the same as or different from a size of an ink droplet of the second liquid discharged from a second head. For example, the size of the ink droplet of the first liquid discharged from the first head may be selected from three volumes, e.g., 7 pL, 10 pL, and 14 pL (“pL” stands for picoliter), in accordance with the number of discharging ink droplets in one recording cycle, and the size of the ink droplet of the second liquid discharged from the second head may be selected from one volume, e.g., 5 pL.
In another embodiments, each reservoir may comprise a box comprising one or more plates that may have a greater thickness than the sheets.
In another embodiment, the cross section of all of the first to third reservoirs may be various shapes, e.g., a rectangle, ellipse, or circle. The first to third reservoirs may be aligned along one direction. The first to third reservoirs may be disposed such that their discharge directions may be different from each other.
Centers of discharge ports communicating with the first and second reservoirs, respectively, may not be located off-center from the respective centers of the first and second reservoirs.
A partition disposed between the first reservoir and the third reservoir may overlap the second reservoir with respect to a first direction. The partition may be omitted from the liquid cartridge.
A surface, which may face the third reservoir, of the second reservoir may not be located closer to the third reservoir than a surface, which may face the third reservoir, of the first reservoir, with respect to the first direction. The second and third reservoir may not overlap each other with respect to the first direction.
The retaining portion may be disposed at a position other than a space that may be opposite to the second reservoir with respect to the first direction and opposite to the first reservoir with respect to a second direction. The retaining portion may be omitted from the liquid cartridge.
A hand-held portion may be disposed at a position other than a space that may be opposite to the second reservoir with respect to the first direction and opposite to the third reservoir with respect to the second direction. The hand-held portion may be omitted from the liquid cartridge.
A center of a first discharge port and a center of a second discharge port may not be located off-center from the center of the first reservoir and the center of second reservoir, respectively.
A center of a third discharge port may not be disposed between the center of the first discharge port and the center of the second discharge port with respect to the second direction.
A length of a longer side of the cross section of the third reservoir may be less than a sum of lengths of shorter sides of the cross sections of the first, second and third reservoirs. In another embodiment, the length of the longer side of the cross section of the third reservoir may be greater than a sum of the lengths of the shorter sides of the cross sections of the first and second reservoirs.
The third reservoir may be disposed on the side of at least the first reservoir with respect to the first direction. Therefore, the third reservoir may not necessarily be disposed on the side of the second reservoir with respect to the first direction. The reservoir 42H may be disposed adjacent to the reservoirs 42B and 42P with respect to the first cartridge direction, as depicted in
The discharge port and the reservoir may comprise one piece or separate parts. The discharge port and the reservoir may comprise separate parts. Thus, the ink outlet tubes 43 may be attached to the bag-shaped reservoirs 42B, 42P, and 42H, respectively. For example, the reservoir may be a box comprising one or more plates having a greater thickness than the sheets and an opening formed in the box may serve as the discharge port.
In the liquid cartridge, each part constituting the liquid cartridge may be arbitrarily changed or modified, one or more new parts may be added, or one or more parts may be omitted without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims of the invention.
In a liquid ejecting apparatus, a structure of a humidifying unit may be arbitrarily changed. In another embodiments, a pump and a tank may be provided for each head.
The image recording device may be a color inkjet printer comprising heads for discharging inks of black, magenta, cyan, and yellow.
The image recording device may be a line-type image recording device, a serial-type image recording device, or the like. In another embodiment, the image recording device may be a facsimile machine or a copying machines, or any other suitable machine for ejecting ink, for example.
The recording medium may be not only papers but also any suitable media, for example, cloth.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus, each part constituting the liquid ejecting apparatus may be arbitrarily changed or modified, one or more other parts may be added, or one or more parts may be omitted without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims of the invention.
While the invention has been described in connection with embodiments of the invention, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that variations and modifications of the embodiments described above may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. Other embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the specification or practice of the invention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and the described examples are considered merely as exemplary of the invention, with the true scope of the invention being defined by the following claims.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-218728 | Sep 2011 | JP | national |
| 2011-218729 | Sep 2011 | JP | national |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20130083139 A1 | Apr 2013 | US |
