Patent Application
20140247296
The present invention relates to a liquid container which is mounted in a liquid ejecting apparatus (also referred to as a liquid consuming apparatus) that ejects liquid and which accommodates liquid therein.
In general, a liquid container such as an ink cartridge which accommodates liquid therein as a liquid source is installed in a liquid ejecting apparatus which ejects liquid such as ink from ejection nozzles like an ink jet printer. The liquid container is detachably installed to the liquid ejecting apparatus, and the liquid is supplied to the liquid container from a liquid supply port. When the liquid in the liquid container has been expended, a new liquid container can replace the liquid container.
With the purpose of informing a user of replacement time of the liquid container (when the liquid in the liquid container has been expended), technology that a rectangular prism is provided on a bottom portion of the liquid container, and the liquid in the liquid container can be detected by using a light emitting element and a light receiving element provided in the liquid ejecting apparatus main body has been proposed (For example, PTL 1). In the technology, light which enters an incident surface of the prism from the light emitting element to, and is transmitted into the liquid container in a state in which the liquid in the liquid container is sufficient. On the other hand, when the liquid in the liquid container is consumed and the prism is exposed from the liquid, the light of the light emitting element which enters the incident surface of the prism is reflected by a boundary surface between the prism and air in the liquid container to reach the light receiving element. Accordingly, it is possible to detect the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container based on whether the light receiving element receives the light of the light emitting element.
In the liquid container disclosed in PTL 1, a contact portion is provided on a side surface of the liquid container, and when the liquid container is mounted in the liquid ejecting apparatus, the contact portion of the liquid container and a connection unit of the liquid ejecting apparatus main body side are electrically connected to each other.
However, in the above-described liquid container in the related art, there is a problem that foreign substances such as ink are attached to the incident surface of the prism in some cases. As a result, there is a problem that the light which enters the prism (or the light which exits from the prism) is blocked by the foreign substances and it is difficult to detect the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container. Without being limited to the liquid container which detects the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container by using the prism, the same problem can be generated by the attachment of foreign substances to an input section to a member for detection (a detecting member) in a liquid container which detects a remaining liquid amount by receiving an input to the member for detection provided in the liquid container from outside.
The liquid container includes a liquid accommodation unit which accommodates liquid and is arranged with a prism, and a liquid conducting channel which communicates with the liquid accommodation unit to make the liquid in the liquid accommodation unit flow outside (the liquid ejecting apparatus) in some cases. Herein, in a mounting state in which the liquid container is mounted in the liquid ejecting apparatus, the liquid container is inclined from a proper posture which is originally designed (the right posture) due to vibration from outside and external force applied at the time of mounting in some cases. When the liquid container is inclined from the right posture, a state that the liquid is eccentrically present in a side where the prism is positioned in the liquid accommodation unit, and the liquid is not present in a side of the liquid accommodation unit with which the liquid conducting channel communicates (also referred to as a “first state”) can occur. When the liquid container is in the first state, for example, the liquid container is inclined, and the prism is immersed into the liquid regardless of the liquid accommodation unit accommodating the liquid just with an amount of degree of exposing the prism in the right posture. Accordingly, although the liquid ejecting apparatus detects the remaining liquid amount to “liquid remains”, there is a concern that the liquid may not be sufficiently supplied to the liquid conducting channel from the liquid accommodation unit. When the liquid is not sufficiently supplied to the liquid conducting channel from the liquid accommodation unit, an irregularity such as a so-called air shot which is a phenomenon that the liquid is not discharged often occurs in spite of the liquid consuming apparatus performing a liquid discharging operation.
Such problems are not limited to the liquid container which detects the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container by using the prism, and also occur in the liquid container which includes a detection member used to detect the remaining liquid amount by receiving an input from outside.
When the liquid container deviates from the right posture and is mounted in the liquid ejecting apparatus, a positional deviation of the prism to the liquid ejecting apparatus is generated, and the detection accuracy of the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container using the liquid ejecting apparatus is lowered in some cases.
Such problems are not limited to a liquid container which detects the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container by using a prism, and also occur in a liquid container which includes a detection member used to detect the remaining liquid amount by receiving an input from outside.
The invention is made to solve at least a part of the problems in the related art, and the first object is to provide technology capable of suppressing foreign substances from becoming attached to an input section to a detection member in a liquid container which detects the remaining liquid amount therein by using the detection member such as a prism. In the mounted state where the liquid container is mounted in a liquid ejecting apparatus, the second object is to provide technology capable of suppressing the liquid container from deviating from the right posture. In the mounted state where the liquid container is mounted in the liquid ejecting apparatus, the third object is to provide technology capable of suppressing the positional deviation of the detection member to the liquid ejecting apparatus.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid container which employs the following configuration. That is, the liquid container which has a bottom surface which is flatly formed and a first side surface which extends from one end of the bottom surface in a longitudinal direction, and which can accommodate liquid in a liquid accommodation unit and is detachably mounted in a liquid consuming apparatus including a liquid outlet which makes liquid in the liquid accommodation unit flow to the outside of the liquid container; a contact portion which is electrically connected to the liquid consuming apparatus by mounting the liquid container in the liquid consuming apparatus; and a detection member which has an input receiving unit provided on the bottom surface to receive an input from outside, and is provided to be able to come into contact with the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodation unit, and in which response to the input to the input receiving unit changes depending on a surface state of a side which comes into contact with the liquid in the liquid accommodation unit, in which the contact portion is provided on the first side surface, the liquid outlet is provided to be close to the one end of the bottom surface, and the input receiving unit is provided to be close to other end in the longitudinal direction of the bottom surface.
When the liquid container is mounted in and detached from the liquid consuming apparatus, there is liquid leakage around the liquid outlet. From the viewpoint of securing the electrical connection between the contact portion and the liquid consuming apparatus, since the contact portion and a member of the liquid consuming apparatus side are rubbed each other at the time of mounting and detaching the liquid container, chips of the contact portion or the liquid consuming apparatus side member are generated. In the liquid container of the present invention, the liquid outlet and the input receiving unit are provided at a position apart from each other on the same bottom surface, and the contact portion is provided on the first side surface which extends from an end of the bottom surface opposite to a side where the input receiving unit is provided. For this reason, it is possible to suppress liquid from the liquid outlet and chips generated in the contact portion from becoming attached to the input receiving unit. As a result, the input to the detection member from outside is blocked due to the foreign substance attachment, and the detection accuracy of the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container can be suppressed from being lowered.
The input to the input receiving unit of the liquid container of the present invention is set to light, and a prism where a reflection state of light input to the input receiving unit changes on the basis of whether a detection section which is a light path comes into contact with the liquid in the liquid container may be used as the detection member.
By doing this, it is possible to detect whether the liquid remains by the position of the detection section of the detection member in the liquid accommodation unit in a non-contacting method. By using a cheap prism as the detection member, the liquid container can be manufactured at a low price. Although a member which makes the light enter the detection member in the liquid consuming apparatus side, and a member which detects the reflected light from the detection member are needed, since the members are not so expensive, manufacturing costs does not increase for the liquid consuming apparatus as a whole.
In the above-described liquid container of the present invention, a concave portion may be formed on the bottom surface of the liquid container, and the input receiving unit may be provided in the concave portion.
By doing this, since the input receiving unit is arranged in a back position from the bottom surface of the liquid container (a position where foreign substances are difficult to intrude), effect of suppressing the foreign substances (liquid and chips) from becoming attached to the input receiving unit can be increased. When the input receiving unit is arranged at such position, contact of the input receiving unit with fingers of the user and attachment of finger prints can be suppressed at the time of mounting and detaching the liquid container. As a result, the detection accuracy of the remaining liquid amount in the liquid container can be further suppressed from being lowered by foreign substances.
In the above-described liquid container of the present invention, a convex portion may be formed on the bottom surface of the liquid container, and the liquid outlet may be provided in the convex portion.
When the liquid outlet is arranged at such position, it is possible to have a longer distance from the liquid outlet to the input receiving unit than a case that the liquid outlet is provided on the bottom surface of the liquid container. Due to this, it is possible to further suppress the liquid from becoming attached to the input receiving unit, thereby further suppressing the detection accuracy of the remaining liquid amount from being lowered by foreign substances.
The above-described liquid container of the present invention may further include a liquid conducting channel in which a communication port which is one end is connected to the liquid accommodation unit, and other end is the liquid outlet, and which makes the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodation unit flow to the liquid outlet, and a protrusion which is provided at a position closer to the other end than the one end of the bottom surface, and the communication port may be provided at a position closer to the one end than the detection member in the longitudinal direction.
In the liquid container, the protrusion is provided at the position closer to the other end than the one end of the bottom surface. Due to this, even when the liquid container tries to move so that the one end of the bottom surface is positioned in an upper side and the other end is positioned in a lower side in the mounted state where the liquid container is mounted in the liquid consuming apparatus, in comparison with the time of the right posture of the liquid container, the protrusion abuts onto the liquid consuming apparatus to control the movement of the liquid container. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the liquid container from being inclined from the right posture to be a first state.
In the above-described liquid container of the present invention, the protrusion may be provided at a position closer to the other end of the bottom surface than the detection member.
According to the liquid container, the protrusion is provided at a position closer to the other end than the detection member. Due to this, even when the liquid container tries to move by a strong external force so that the one end of the bottom surface is positioned in the upper side and the other end is positioned in the lower side in comparison with when the liquid container is in the right posture, the protrusion abuts onto the liquid consuming apparatus to more stably control the movement of the liquid container. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the liquid container from being inclined from the right posture to be the first state.
The above-described liquid container of the present invention may further include a second side surface which extends from the other end of the bottom surface to face the first side surface, and the second side surface may be provided with a side protrusion. According to the liquid container, in comparison with when the liquid container is in the right posture, even when the liquid container tries to move so that other end of the bottom surface is positioned in the lower side, the side protrusion abuts onto the liquid consuming apparatus to further control the movement of the liquid container. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the liquid container from being inclined from the right posture to be the first state.
The above-described liquid container of the present invention may include a liquid supply unit in which the liquid outlet is formed in an end, and extends from the position closer to the one end than the other end of the bottom surface.
According to the liquid container, in comparison with when the liquid container is in the right posture, even when the liquid container tries to move so that the one end of the bottom surface is positioned in the lower side and the other end is positioned in the upper side, the liquid supply unit abuts onto the liquid consuming apparatus to control the movement of the liquid container. Therefore, it is possible to further suppress the liquid container from being inclined from the right posture.
In the above-described liquid container of the present invention, an elastic member which is provided on the first surface to be used when the liquid container is mounted and detached in the liquid consuming apparatus, and which makes the first side surface biased to a direction toward the other end from the one end when the liquid container is mounted in the liquid consuming apparatus may be provided. According to the liquid container, it is possible to push the liquid container to the liquid consuming apparatus by the elastic member. For this reason, a possibility of relatively moving the liquid container by external force to the liquid consuming apparatus can be lowered. In the mounted state, even when the liquid container moves in the direction where the elastic member is compressed, it is possible to return the liquid container to the right posture by the elastic member.
In the above-described liquid container of the present invention, the liquid outlet may be inserted into a liquid acquisition needle of the liquid consuming apparatus when the liquid container is mounted in the liquid consuming apparatus, the detection member has a triangular prism which includes the surface, the triangular prism may be provided with a ridge line forming an apex so as to extend along the longitudinal direction, and a virtual surface which includes the ridge line and is perpendicular to the bottom surface may be provided so as to pass through the center of the liquid outlet. According to the liquid container, positioning of the liquid outlet to the liquid consuming apparatus is performed by inserting the liquid acquisition needle. By determining the position of the triangular prism in the liquid container on the basis of the liquid outlet which is positioned to the liquid consuming apparatus, the positional deviation of the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be suppressed. That is, positioning the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be precisely performed. In particular, since the liquid acquisition needle is inserted so as to pass through the center of the liquid outlet, it is difficult for the center of liquid outlet to generate the positional deviation to the liquid consuming apparatus in the liquid outlet. Therefore, by determining the position of the triangular prism in the liquid container on the basis of the center of the liquid outlet, the positional deviation of the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be more suppressed.
The above-described liquid container of the present invention may further include a pair of container side control units which are provided on the first side surface to position the contact portion to the liquid consuming apparatus are positioned in both sides of the short direction on bottom surface to the contact portion, in which a contact portion surface which is a surface of the contact portion may be a plurality of container side terminals arranged in the short direction of the bottom surface and including a first container side terminal provided at a position of passing a center line on the surface of the contact portion in the short direction of the bottom surface, the detection member may have the triangular prism including the surface, and the triangular prism may be provided with the ridge line forming the apex so as to extend along the longitudinal direction, and the virtual surface which includes the ridge line and is perpendicular to the bottom surface may be provided so as to pass the first container side terminal.
According to the liquid container, the contact portion is positioned to the liquid consuming apparatus by the container side control unit. By determining the position of the triangular prism in the liquid container on the basis of the contact portion which is positioned to the liquid consuming apparatus, the positional deviation of the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be suppressed. That is, positioning the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be precisely performed. In particular, since the positioning of the contact portion to the liquid consuming apparatus is performed by the pair of container side control units positioned in both sides in the short direction with respect to the contact portion, it is difficult to generate the positional deviation in the section of the contact portion passing the center line. Therefore, by determining the position of the triangular prism in the liquid container on the basis of the first container side terminal which passes the center line of the contact portion, the positional deviation of the triangular prism to the liquid consuming apparatus can be more suppressed.
Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in the following order to easily understand the content of the invention described above.
A. First Embodiment
A-1. Apparatus Configuration:
A-2. Ink Cartridge Configuration of Embodiment:
A-3. Detection Method of Remaining Ink Amount:
B. Second Embodiment:
C. Modification Examples:
In the ink jet printer 10 shown in the drawing, a color image can be printed using four kinds of inks of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, and thereby, each ejection nozzle is provided for each kind of ink in the ejecting head 24. The ink is supplied to the each ejection nozzle through a supply passage (not shown) from the corresponding ink cartridge 100.
The drive mechanism 30 which makes the carriage 20 reciprocate is configured by a timing belt 32 where a plurality of tooth shapes are formed therein, and a driving motor 34 to drive the timing belt 32. A part of the timing belt 32 is fixed in the carriage case 22, and when the timing belt 32 is driven, it is possible for the carriage 20 to reciprocate in the main scanning direction as being guided by a guide rail extending in the main scanning direction.
A detection unit 300 to optically detect a remaining ink amount in the ink cartridge 100 is provided at a position other than a print region of the ink jet printer 10. In the detection unit 300 which will be described in detail later, a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit are provided, and when the ink cartridge 100 passes over the detection unit 300 according to the movement of the carriage 20, light is emitted from the light emitting unit, and the detection unit 300 detects the remaining ink amount in the ink cartridge 100 based on whether the light receiving unit receives the light. The detection unit 300 of the embodiment is set to be provided at a position other than the print region, but the detection unit 300 may be provided in the print region. Due to this, it is possible to detect the remaining ink amount without moving the carriage 20 a long distance in printing.
Furthermore, a control unit 60 which controls all operations of the ink jet printer 10 is installed on a back surface of the ink jet printer 10. The control unit 60 controls all operations such as the operation to make the ejecting head 24 reciprocate, the operation to eject the ink from the ejection nozzle, and the operation to detect the remaining ink amount in the ink cartridge 100.
A convex portion is provided on the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 100 in a near side of the drawing (a positive direction side of the X axis) and an ink supply port 106 (a liquid outlet) to supply the ink in the ink accommodating chamber 102 outside is provided in the convex portion. A substrate unit 108 which stores various kinds of information relating to the ink cartridge 100 is provided in the side surface of the ink cartridge 100 in the near side of the drawing (the positive direction side of the X axis). In addition, a prism 104 (a member used for detection) formed with plastic material having light transparency is provided on the bottom portion of the ink accommodating chamber 102 in a back side of the drawing (a negative direction of the X axis). The prism 104 is a so-called rectangular prism, and a part of the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 100 is configured with a bottom surface of the prism 104 (a light transmission surface 104c), as shown in
Furthermore, a connector unit 200 is provided on the surface of the carriage case 22 in the back side of the drawing. The connector unit 200 is configured with a connector 202 which is connected to the control unit 60 of the ink jet printer 10 and a holder 204 which holds the substrate unit 108 (not shown) of the ink cartridge 100 at the position of the connector 202. A surface of the substrate unit 108 is a contact portion which can be connected to the connector 202, and when the ink cartridge 100 is mounted in the carriage case 22, the substrate unit 108 and the connector 202 are rubbed and electrically connected each other. In the state, the substrate unit 108 of the ink cartridge 100 and the main body side of the ink jet printer 10 (control unit 60) are connected each other to exchange various kinds of information therebetween.
Since the ink cartridge 100 is mounted in the carriage case 22 (main body side of the ink jet printer 10) to be electrically connected to the connector 202, the substrate unit 108 of the embodiment corresponds to a “contact portion” in the invention. The substrate unit 108 is not limited to a member that is electrically connected to the main body side of the ink jet printer 10 to perform information exchange as described above, and includes a member which functions just as an electrical contact portion.
In the ink jet printer 10 configured in such a manner, the remaining ink amount in the ink cartridge 100 is detected by using the prism 104 provided in the ink cartridge 100 as follows.
Meanwhile, when the ink in the ink cartridge 100 is consumed and the ink level is below the apex of the prism 104 as described in
As described above, it can be said that the detection member (the prism 104) is a member used for optically detecting the remaining ink amount and the presence of the ink in the ink cartridge 100. Herein, optically detecting may be performed by a generally used light reflection type sensor or a light transmission type sensor. The sensor itself may be provided in the printer 10 side or be integrally formed with the ink cartridge 100.
Herein, in the ink cartridge which detects the remaining ink amount therein by using the prism as above, when foreign substances are attached to the light transmission surface of the prism, entering the light into the prism (or exiting the reflected light from the prism) is blocked by the foreign substances and thereby, detecting the remaining ink amount is difficult. On the contrary, in the ink cartridge 100 of the embodiment, it is suppressed that the foreign substances are attached to the light transmission surface 104c by providing the ink supply port 106, the substrate unit 108 and the light transmission surface 104c of the prism 104 to have a predetermined positional relationship.
First, to focus on the positional relationship between the ink supply ports 106 and 506 and the light transmission surfaces 104c and 504c, a distance between the ink supply port 106 and the light transmission surface 104c in the ink cartridge 100 of the embodiment is set to be larger than a distance between the ink supply port 506 and the light transmission surface 504c in the ink cartridge 500 of the reference example. Since the vicinity of each ink supply port 106 and 506 is a section to which the leaked ink is attached when the ink leaks out from the ink supply port at the time of detaching or mounting the ink cartridge and the like, it is possible to suppress the ink from becoming attached to the light transmission surface 104c by providing the ink supply port 106 at the distant position from the light transmission surface 104c as in the ink cartridge 100 of the embodiment in comparison with the ink cartridge 500 of the reference example in which the ink supply port is provided near the light transmission surface 104. As a result, since entering the light into the prism 104 (or exiting the light from the prism) is blocked by the ink, it is possible to suppress the detection of the remaining ink amount from being difficult.
To focus on the positional relationship between the substrate units 108 and 508 and the light transmission surfaces 104c and 504c, a distance between the substrate unit 108 and the light transmission surface 104c in the ink cartridge 100 of the embodiment is set to be larger than a distance between the substrate unit 508 and the light transmission surface 504c in the ink cartridge 500 of the reference example. The vicinity of each substrate unit 108 and 508 is a section where the contact portion of the each substrate units 108 and 508 and the connector 202 (refer to
As shown in
The carriage case 22a has a concave shape. The carriage case 22a has a case bottom wall 294, a case front wall 296, a case back wall 295, a first case side wall 297, and a second case side wall 298. The concave shape of the carriage case 22a is formed by each wall 294 to 298. In other words, the carriage case 22a is partitioned a receiving space unit 299 which receives the cartridge 100a by the each wall 294 to 298.
The ink acquisition needle (liquid acquisition needle) 206 is protrusively provided on the case bottom wall 294. The through hole 208 is provided on the case bottom wall 294 (
As shown in
The apparatus side control unit 204a controls the movement of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state by touching the cartridge 100a, and the substrate unit of the cartridge 100a is positioned to the carriage case 22a. Specifically, the positive and negative direction sides of the Y axis of one substrate unit are positioned so as to be inserted between the convex portions of two apparatus side control units 204a.
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The front surface 115 extends from one end 114t in a longitudinal direction of the bottom surface 114 (the X-axis direction). The back surface 116 extends from other end 114p of the bottom surface 114 in the longitudinal direction. The front surface 115 and the back surface 116 face each other. The upper surface 113 faces the bottom surface 114 to intersect the front surface 115 and the back surface 116. The right side surface 117 extends from one end 114m of the back surface 114 in a short direction (the Y-axis direction). The left side surface 118 extends from other end 114s of the bottom surface 114 in the short direction (the Y-axis direction). The right side surface 117 and the left side surface 118 face each other.
The bottom surface 114 is a concept including a wall which forms the bottom wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “bottom wall portion (bottom wall) 114”. The upper surface 113 is a concept including a wall which forms the upper wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “upper wall portion (upper wall) 113”. The front surface 115 is a concept including a wall which forms the front wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “front wall portion (front wall) 115”. The back surface 116 is a concept including a wall which forms the back wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “back wall portion (back wall) 116”. The right side surface 117 is a concept including a wall which forms the right wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “right wall portion (right wall) 117”. The left side surface 118 is a concept including the left wall of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state and can be referred to as the “left wall portion (left wall) 118”. “Wall portion” and “wall” are not necessary to be formed by a single wall, and may be formed by a plurality of walls. For example, the bottom wall portion (bottom wall) 114 is a wall which is positioned in the negative direction of the Z axis to the inner space of the cartridge 100a in the mounted state.
Here, the front surface 115 is also referred to as the first side surface 115. The back surface 116 is also referred to as the second side surface 116. The right side surface 117 is also referred to as the third side surface 117. The left side surface 118 is also referred to as the fourth side surface 118.
A length (length in the X-axis direction), a width (length in the Y-axis direction), and a height (length in the Z-axis direction) of the cartridge 100a are large in order of the length, the width, and the height. The magnitude relationship of the length, the width, and the height of the cartridge 100a can be arbitrarily changed, and for example, the height, the length, and the width may be large in order and the height, the length, and the width may be same.
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Each container side terminal 410 to 490 can be respectively referred to as following based on functions (uses).
(First Terminal Row L1)
(5) Mounting Detection Terminal 450 (High-voltage Terminal)
(6) Power Terminal 460 (Low-voltage Terminal)
(7) Earth Terminal 470
(8) Data Terminal 480 (Low-voltage Terminal)
(9) Mounting Detection Terminal 490(High-voltage Terminal)
(Second Terminal Row L2)
(1) Overvoltage Detection Terminal 410
(2) Reset Terminal 420 (Low-voltage Terminal)
(3) Clock Terminal 430 (Low-voltage Terminal)
(4) Overvoltage Detection Terminal 440
A pair of overvoltage detection terminals 410 and 440 are terminals to detect an excessively high voltage value (referred to as “overvoltage”). A pair of mounting detection terminals 450 and 490 are used to detect whether the mounted state of the cartridge is good or bad. The overvoltage detection terminals 410 and 440 may be used to detect the mounted state as well as the overvoltage detection. In the embodiment, since a voltage (rating 42 V or 36 V) higher than a power supply voltage for the memory 403 (rating 3.3 V) is applied to the mounting detection terminals 450 and 490, the mounting detection terminals are also referred to as “high-voltage terminals” or “terminals for applying high voltage”. Other five terminals 420, 430, 460, 470, and 480 are terminals for the memory 403. Since the voltage (rating 3.3 V) lower than that of the high-voltage terminals 450 and 490 is applied to four terminals 420, 430, 460, and 480 other than the earth terminal 470 of the five terminals, the four terminals are referred to as “low-voltage terminals” or “terminals for applying low voltage”.
As shown in
When the cartridge 100a is mounted in the carriage case 22a, an earth terminal 437 is formed to come into contact with the first connector 257 (
In the embodiment, the earth terminal 437 is formed to be longer in a direction along the Z axis than other container side terminals 431 to 436, 438, and 439. Due to this, the contact of the earth terminal 437 and the first connector 257 can be more reliably performed. In other embodiment, all of the container side terminals 431 to 439 may be formed to have the same size in the substrate unit 108a.
It is preferable for the positional relationship of the prism 104 and the cartridge 100a to satisfy at least one of three positional relationships below. Due to this, the positional deviation of the prism 104 to the printer 10 can be suppressed. That is, the positioning of the prism 104 to the printer 10 can be accurately performed.
First Positional Relationship:
Second Positional Relationship:
Third Positional Relationship:
As shown in
The first to third positional relationships may satisfy a plurality of positional relationships at the same time as long as in the range in which the positional relationship is not conflicting. For example, when the plane surface which passes the earth terminal 470 and the surface which passes the center 106p of the plane surfaces paralleled with the X-axis and the Z-axis directions match, the prism 104 can be arranged so as to satisfy the first and second positional relationships at the same time. In the embodiment, the first to third positional relationships are satisfied at the same time.
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The ink in the ink accommodating chamber 102 flows to the printer 10 through the liquid conducting channel. A communication port 179 which is one end of the liquid conducting channel is connected to the second accommodating chamber 102b and the other end thereof is the ink supply port 106. When the ink is consumed by the printer 10, air is introduced into the ink accommodating chamber 102 through an air introduction channel. One end of the air introduction channel is the air clear aperture 130 (
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In particular, the protrusion 124 is provided at a position closer to other end 114p of the bottom surface 114 than the prism 104. Even when the cartridge 100a tries to move so that one end 114t of the bottom surface 114 is positioned in the upper side, and other end 114p is positioned in the lower side in comparison with the time of the right posture, the protrusion 124 can more stably control the movement of the cartridge 100a by abutting onto the case bottom wall 294. That is, even when a strong external force to rotate the cartridge 100a is applied to the cartridge 100a in the arrow R1 direction by a strong shock and the like, the protrusion 124 can control the movement of the cartridge 100a by abutting onto the case bottom wall 294. For this reason, it is possible to stably suppress that the cartridge 100a is inclined from the right posture to be the first state.
The cartridge 100a has a side protrusion 123 on the second side surface 116. When the cartridge 100a moves to the arrow R1 direction, the side protrusion 123 abuts onto the case back wall 295 and controls the movement of the cartridge 100a in the arrow R1 direction. Accordingly, it is possible to further suppress that the cartridge 100a is inclined from the right posture to be the first state.
The ink supply unit 120 extends from the position closer to one end 114t than other end 114p in the bottom surface 114. Due to this, when the cartridge 100a is inclined in an arrow R2 direction, since the ink supply unit 120 abuts onto the carriage case 22a (in detail, the case bottom wall 294), the movement of the cartridge 100a in the arrow R1 direction can be controlled. For this reason, the incline of the cartridge 100a from the right posture can be further suppressed. Here, the arrow R2 direction is a direction where the cartridge 100a rotates so that other end 114p of the bottom surface 114 is positioned in the upper side and one end 114t of the bottom surface 114 is positioned in the lower side in comparison with the time of the right posture.
The cartridge 100a has the lever 125 on the first side surface 115. The lever 125 makes the first side surface 115 biased to other end 114p from one end 114t in the mounted state. In
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In the above-described embodiments, the fact that the light transmission surface 104c of the prism 104 configures a part of the bottom surface in the ink cartridge 100 has been described. Herein, when the prism 104 is provided in the following manner, it is possible to further suppress foreign substances from becoming attached to the light transmission surface 104c.
From the point that foreign substances are suppressed from becoming attached to the light transmission surface 104c, it is preferable for the light transmission surface 104c to be apart from the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 100 as much as possible. In the above-described ink cartridge 100 of the modification examples, since the light transmission surface 104c can be set to a position entered inside from the bottom surface of the ink cartridge 100, it is possible to suppress foreign substances such as ink and chips from becoming attached to the light transmission surface 104c. Since the light transmission surface 104c is provided in the back of the concave portion 22d with a narrow entrance, contact of the light transmission surface 104c with fingers of the user can be suppressed at the time of mounting and detaching the ink cartridge 100. As a result, it is possible to suppress fingerprints from becoming attached to light transmission surface 104c to have a negative influence on detecting the remaining ink amount.
Various kinds of embodiments are described above, but the invention is not limited to the embodiments, and can be realized in various aspects in a range of not departing from the scope thereof. For example, the positional relationship of the ink supply port, the substrate unit, and the light transmission surface in the ink cartridge of the above-described embodiments and modification examples may be applied to an ink cartridge which has an ink supply port and a substrate unit and detects a remaining ink amount by applying voltage to a liquid detecting sensor and the like in a liquid accommodation unit from outside. At this time, when a position of the light transmission surface is changed to a position of a contact portion to apply voltage from outside, foreign substances can be suppressed from becoming attached to the contact portion and harmful effects by attaching the foreign substances can be suppressed.
Furthermore, the invention is not limited to an on-carriage type ink jet printer in which an ink cartridge is mounted in a carriage case integrally configured with an ejecting head, and can be applied to an off-carriage type ink jet printer in which a holder which accommodates an ink cartridge and an ejecting head are separately provided.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-182250 | Aug 2011 | JP | national |
| 2012-124160 | May 2012 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2012/005298 | 8/23/2012 | WO | 00 | 5/20/2014 |
