Patent Application
20100053675
This application claims priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-218201, filed Aug. 27, 2008, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference herein.
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a technique for performing an open/close judgment of an opening of a device.
2. Related Art
An ink jet printer includes an opening for performing, for example, attachment and detachment of an ink cartridge, and a cover for opening and closing the opening. The ink jet printer generally has a judgment device for performing a judgment of whether or not the opening is closed (open/close judgment of the opening) in order to, for example, avoid execution of print operation while the opening is opened. The judgment device for performing the open/close judgment of the opening may be, for example, an open/close sensor having a sensor lever that is interfered with a cover to be displaced when the opening is closed by the cover, and a detection unit for detecting the displacement of the sensor lever is used (for example, see JP-A-2006-264160).
When a conventional open/close sensor is used as the judgment device for performing the open/close judgment of the opening, even when the opening is slightly opened due to a variation or the like of a contact point of the open/close sensor, it is possible that the opened state can not be detected for judging that the opening is closed. Further, there is a risk that the open/close state of the opening is misjudged, since the open/close sensor judges that the opening is closed even when the sensor lever is interfered with an object, which is not the cover to be displaced. In this manner, in the conventional judgment device for performing the open/close judgment of the opening, there is room for improving the judgment accuracy.
Note that such a problem is not limited to the open/close judgment of the opening through which attachment and detachment of an ink cartridge equipped in an ink jet printer is performed, and is a common problem in the case where the open/close judgment of an opening included in a device is performed.
An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to provide a technique which makes it possible to improve accuracy of an open/close judgment of an opening of a device.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a device including an opening/closing mechanism for opening and closing an opening of the device, a light emitting portion for emitting light, a light receiving portion whose positional relationship with the light emitting portion is changed in accordance with an open/close operation of the opening by the opening/closing mechanism, the light receiving portion being disposed so as to be able to receive the light emitted from the light emitting portion in a state where the opening is closed and so as not to be able to receive the light emitted from the light emitting portion in a state where the opening is opened, a judgment unit for judging whether or not the opening is closed based on a light receiving state of the light receiving portion, a first movable body having a plurality of slits aligned in a predetermined direction, the first movable body being positioned on an optical pathway from the light emitting portion to the light receiving portion in a state where the opening is closed and being capable of moving along the predetermined direction, a second movable body disposed in the device, the second movable body being capable of moving, and a movement transmission mechanism for moving the first movable body along the predetermined direction in accordance with the movement of the second movable body.
With the device, whether or not the opening is closed or not can be judged based on the light receiving state of the light receiving unit. Further, the first movable body includes the plurality of slits aligned in the predetermined direction, and is positioned on the optical pathway from the light emitting unit to the light receiving unit in the state where the opening is opened. Accordingly, the light receiving state of the light receiving portion repeats a light receiving state and a light non receiving state by moving the first movable body in the predetermined direction in accordance with the movement of the second movable body. Consequently, with the device, accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening of the device can be improved.
It is preferable that the first movable body is a linear scale having a straight shape capable of being reciprocated along the predetermined direction, and the movement transmission mechanism moves the linear scale in accordance with the movement of the second movable body in the device according to an aspect of the invention.
With the device, accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening of the device can be improved by moving the linear scale in accordance with the movement of the second movable body.
It is preferable that the first movable body is a rotary scale having a circular shape which is capable of being rotated along the predetermined direction, and the movement transmission mechanism rotates the rotary scale in accordance with the movement of the second movable body according to an aspect of the invention.
With the device, accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening of the device can be improved by rotating the rotary scale in accordance with the movement of the second movable body.
It is preferable that the second movable body is a carriage that is reciprocated in the device according to the aspect of the invention.
With the device, accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening of the device can be improved by using the carriage that is reciprocated in the device.
Note that the invention can be provided with various aspects. For example, the invention can be provided by a method, a device, a printing apparatus, and the like of open/close judgment of an opening.
The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numbers reference like elements.
Next, an embodiment of the invention will be described based on first to fourth examples and modifications.
As shown in
A controller 40 for controlling each portion of the printer 10 is accommodated in the main body housing 20. In the example, the controller 40 includes an ASIC (Application Integrated Circuits) equipped with hardware such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), and the like. Software for providing each function of the printer 10 is installed in the controller 40.
An upper housing 30 is provided at the upper part of the main body housing 20. A scanner mechanism (not shown) for providing a scanner function is accommodated in the upper housing 30. The upper housing 30 is provided on the main body housing 20 so as to be able to be rotationally moved about a rotation shaft 350.
As shown in
The linear scale 420 is joined with the upper housing 30 (see
The sensor 410 is a photo interrupter sensor having a light emitting portion 412 and a right receiving unit 414, that are opposed about the linear scale 420. The light emitting portion 412 emits light from a light emitting element not shown and the right receiving unit 414 receives the light emitted from the light emitting portion 412 by a light receiving element (not shown). The sensor 410 is fixed to the print mechanism 50 (or main body housing 20).
When the linear scale 420 is moved along the longitudinal direction with the rotational movement of the upper housing 30, a light receiving state exists in which the light emitted from the light emitting portion 412 is passed through the slits of the linear scale 420 and received by the light receiving portion 414, and a non-light receiving state exists in which the light emitted from the light emitting portion 412 is shielded by the linear scale 420 and not received by the light receiving portion 414. The light and non-light states are alternately repeated. Simultaneously, the light receiving portion 414 outputs a pulse signal showing a repetition of the light receiving state and the non-light receiving state. In this example, the light receiving portion 414 outputs two pulse signals with phases that are different from each other. The sensor 410 detects the moving direction and the amount of movement on the linear scale 420, based on the phase difference and pulse numbers between and of the two pulse signals. Note, the amount of movement on the linear scale 420 can be expressed also by the amount of motion.
As shown in
The transmission portion 800 is disposed at such a position that the linear scale 420 is pushed up by the support portion 820. This is in accordance with the movement of the transmission portion 800 in the upper direction with the movement of the carriage 60 during a closed state, in which the upper portion of the main body housing 20 is covered by the upper housing 30 and the opening 22 is closed (see
In the printer 10 of the example, the controller 40 performs an open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 based on a result detected by the sensor unit 400. That is, the controller 40 functions as the judgment unit. Specifically, assuming that the state in which the upper portion of the main body housing 20 is covered with the upper housing body 30 to close the opening 22 is a reference state, the controller 40 judges that the opening 22 is closed or opened by detecting the position of the upper housing 30 based on the moving direction and the amount of movement of the linear scale 420 from the reference state that are detected by the sensor 410. Accordingly, in the printer 10 of the example, the open/close judgment of the opening 22 can be performed with a high accuracy regardless of variations of size, and position of each portion of the printer 10.
Note, the closed state may be when the opening 22 is completely closed by an opening/closing mechanism such as the upper housing 30. In this case, the controller 40 judges that the opening 20 is closed in the case where the moving amount of the detected linear scale 420 from the reference state is zero, and judges that the opening 22 is opened in the case where the detected moving amount is larger than zero. Further, the closed state may not require the opening 22 to be completely closed, but can be when the opening 22 is opened by a predetermined fractional amount. In this case, the controller 40 judges that the opening 22 is closed in the case where the moving amount of the detected linear scale 420 from the reference state is not more than a predetermined threshold vale, and judges that the opening 22 is opened in the case where the detected moving amount is larger than the predetermined threshold value.
Further, the controller 40 can perform an open/close judgment of the opening 22 based on the presence or absence of the movement of the linear scale 420, in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60. That is, the controller 40 moves the carriage 60 at a position at which the carriage 60 can be interfered with the transmission portion 800. The controller 40 judges that the opening 22 is closed in the case where the movement of the linear scale 420, in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60, is detected by the sensor 410, and judges that the opening 22 is opened in the case where the movement of the linear scale 420, in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60, is not detected. Accordingly, for example, the controller 40 further performs the open/close judgment of the opening 22 based on the presence or absence of the movement of the linear scale 420 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60. The controller 40 also judges that the opening 22 is closed by the open/close judgment of the opening 22, based on the moving direction and the moving amount of the linear scale 420 from the reference state. Thus, when it is judged that the opening 22 is closed by the both open/close judgments, the controller 40 can finally judge that the opening 22 is affirmatively closed. Herewith, misjudgment can be prevented by performing the judgment based on the presence or absence of movement of the linear scale 42 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60. This occurs even when it is misjudged that the opening 22 is closed, and regardless of the state where the opening 22 is opened in reality by some reason in the judgment based on the moving direction and the amount of movement of the linear scale 420 from the reference state. Accordingly, in the printer 10 of the example, the accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 can be improved.
The carriage 60a includes a coupling portion 63 having a bar shape extending in an oblique lower direction from the carriage 60a. The coupling portion 63 includes a hole 64 having an elongated ellipse shape, and the wheel 810 of the transmission portion 800 is engaged with the hole 64 so as to be slidably moved.
In use, the carriage 60a is moved in the direction of the transmission portion 800, the position of the wheel 810 in the hole 64 of the coupling portion 63 is moved in the upper direction, and the transmission portion 800 is pushed up in the upper direction as a whole. Accordingly, the open/close judgment of the opening 22 based on the presence or absence of the moving of the linear scale 420 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60a can be performed, and accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 can be improved.
The rotary scale 430 is combined with the upper housing 30 via, for example, a link so as to rotate in accordance with rotary movement of the upper housing 30 (that is, open/close operation of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20) (see the arrows of
b are each an illustration diagram showing a relationship between a carriage 60b and the sensor unit 400b.
The positional relationship between the arm 65 and the gear 436 will be described below. The teeth of the gear 436 are engaged with the teeth of the arm 65 in the closed state, in which the upper part of the main body housing 20 is covered by the upper housing 30 to close the opening 22 (see
Also in the third example, since the rotary scale 430 is rotated in accordance with the rotary movement of the upper housing 30 (that is, open/close operation of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20). The open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 can be performed based on the result of the rotation direction and rotation amount of the rotary scale 430 detected by the sensor unit 400b. The open/close judgment of the opening 22 can be performed with a high accuracy regardless of the variations of the size and the position of each portion of the printer 10. Further, also in the third example, since the open/close judgment of the opening 22 can be performed based on the presence or absence of the rotation of the rotary scale 430 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60b, the accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 can be improved.
The sensor unit 700 includes a light emitting portion 710 and a light receiving portion 720, and a linear scale 730 described below. As shown in
In the state where the optical axis Ae of the light emitting portion 710 and the optical axis Ar of the light receiving portion 720 are aligned as shown in
In the printer 10c of the fourth example, the controller 40 performs the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 by detecting matching of the optical axes of the light emitting portion 710 and the light receiving portion 720. That is, the controller 40 functions as the judgment unit. Specifically, the controller 40 judges that the opening 22 is closed when it is detected that the signal for the light receiving state is outputted from the light receiving portion 720, and judges that the opening 22 is opened when it is detected that the signal for the non-light receiving state is outputted from the light receiving portion 720.
Further, the controller 40 can perform the open/close judgment of the opening 22 based on the presence or absence of the detection of the movement of the linear scale 730 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c. That is, the controller 40 moves the linear scale 730 by moving the carriage 60c to such a position that the carriage 60c interferes with the transmission portion 800c, and judges whether or not the movement of the linear scale 730 is detected by the sensor unit 700. When the movement of the linear scale 730 is detected, the controller 40 judges that the opening 22 is closed, and when the movement of the linear scale is not detected, the controller judges 40 that the opening 22 is opened. In the fourth example, an error judgment can be prevented by performing the open/close judgment based on presence or absence of the detection of the movement of the linear scale 730 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c, even when an error judgment that the opening 22 is closed is made, although the opening 22 is in the opened sate in reality due to some reason in the open/close judgment of the opening 22 that is performed by detecting the alignment of the optical axes of the light emitting portion 710 and the light receiving portion 720. Accordingly, the accuracy of the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 can be improved in the printer 10c of the fourth example.
Note that the invention is not limited to the aforementioned examples, and can be executed by various aspects without departing from the scope thereof, and for example, can be executed by the following modifications.
In the aforementioned examples, the printer 10 is a multi function type printer. However, the printer 10 may be a single function type printer having no scanner function. In this case, the opening 22 is opened and closed by a cover. The printer 10 is an on-carriage type in which an ink carriage Ic is mounted in the carriage 60. However, the printer 10 may be an off carriage type in which an ink cartridge Ic is not mounted in the carriage 60. Further the printer may not be a printer of an ink jet type, and may be a printer of another type (for example, laser printer).
Further, the open/close judgment of the opening 22 of the main body housing 20 is described in each example. However, the invention can be also applied to an open/close judgment of another opening (for example, an opening for discharging a paper that is opened and closed by the discharge tray 14 (see
In the aforementioned each example, the sensor is employed in which the light emitting portion (light emitting portion 412 or the light emitting portion 710) and the light receiving portion (light receiving portion 414 or the light receiving portion 720) are oppositely disposed as a sensor. However, a reflection type sensor can be also employed in which a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion are arranged in parallel.
In the aforementioned each example, the linear scale 420, the rotary scale 430, the linear scale 730, or the like are employed as the first movable body. However, it is not necessary that the first movable body is a scale. Further, in the aforementioned each example, the sensor unit 400 or the sensor unit 700 is employed as a movement detection unit for detecting a moving amount of the first movable body. However, it is not necessary that the movement detection unit is a sensor, as long as it can detect the movement amount of the first movable body. For example, in the first example, the sensor 410 may be connected to the upper housing 30 and moved up and down in accordance with the rotary movement of the upper housing 30, and the linear scale 420 may be fixed to the print mechanism 50 (or main body housing 20). In this case, the sensor 410 corresponds to the first movable body.
Further, in the aforementioned each example, the carriage 60 (60a, 60b, 60c) is employed as the second movable body. However, the second movable body may be another movable element. For example, in the case where the printer includes a processing gap adjustment mechanism (APG: Auto Platen Gap mechanism) (JP-A-2008-80649) for adjusting the gap between the surface of the platen 530 and the recording head 610 in order to perform a print processing on print papers P having different thickness, or a direct printing on a surface of a CD-R, the processing gap adjustment mechanism can be used as the second movable body. Further, when the printer includes an EJ frame (ejection frame), the EJ frame can be used as the second movable body.
In the fourth example, the structure is employed in which the linear scale 730 is horizontally moved in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c regardless of the closed state or the opened state. However, a structure may be employed in which the linear scale 730 is moved in accordance with the movement (i.e., open/close operation of the opening 22) of the upper housing 30 and the linear scale 730 is horizontally moved in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c in the opening opened state. Further, the moving direction of the linear scale 730 in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c is not limited to the horizontal direction, and may be the vertical direction or an oblique direction.
Further in the fourth example, the light emitting portion 710 is connected with the upper housing 30, and the light receiving portion 720 is fixed to the print mechanism 50 (or main body housing 20). However, the light receiving portion 720 may be connected with the upper housing 30 and the light emitting portion 710 may be fixed to the print mechanism 50 (or main body housing 20).
Further, in the fourth example, the linear scale 730 is employed as the first movable body. However, it is also possible that a rotary scale that has a plurality of slits along the circumferential direction, and rotates in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60c, is used instead of the linear scale 730.
In the aforementioned examples, a structure is employed in which the tapered portion 61, the coupling portion 63, and the arm 65 are united with the carriage 60. However, a structure can be also employed in which the tapered portion 61, the coupling portion 63, and the arm 65 are independent from the carriage 60. Also in this case, a structure is employed in which the independent tapered portion 61, the coupling portion 63, and the arm 65 are moved in accordance with the movement of the carriage 60.
Further, as in the aforementioned examples, in the case of employing the structure in which the tapered portion 61, the coupling portion 63, and the arm 65 are united with the carriage 60, the carriage 60 can be designed so as not to protrude from the printer 10.
In the aforementioned examples, a part of the structure provided by a hardware may be substituted by a software, and on the contrary, a part of the structure provided by a software may be substituted by a hardware.
Further, in the case where a part or all of the functions of the invention are provided by a software, the software (computer program) may be stored in a recording medium which can be read by a computer. In the invention, “a recording medium which can be read by a computer” includes not only a portable type recording medium such as a flexible disc, CD-ROM, and the like, but also an internal recording device in a computer such as various types of RAM, ROM, and the like, and an external recording device such as a hard disc that is fixed to a computer.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008-218201 | Aug 2008 | JP | national |
