JPH1120188A - Waste ink absorbing cartridge, ink jet printer using the same, and method of controlling ink jet printer - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: In an ink jet printer not provided with means for absorbing unnecessary ink, a waste ink absorbing cartridge capable of reliably and easily discharging ink remaining in the printer, and an ink jet printer using the same. I will provide a. A cartridge dedicated to absorbing waste ink has a cartridge body that can be mounted on an ink jet printer and that is configured to turn off a cartridge sensor when mounted. A waste ink absorbing member 43 capable of absorbing unnecessary ink is provided in the cartridge main body 41, and a pseudo near-end detecting plate 42 for turning on the near-end sensor 34 of the ink jet printer at the time of mounting.
Is provided. When the detection result of the cartridge sensor 35 is off and the detection result of the near-end sensor 34 is on, the pump means 38 is operated to discharge ink to the waste ink absorbing member 43.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer which discharges ink droplets from nozzles to perform recording on recording paper, and more particularly to a technique for discharging ink remaining in the printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, a so-called off-carriage type printer has been proposed in which an ink-jet head for discharging ink and an ink cartridge for storing ink are arranged at positions separated from each other.

In such a printer, an ink flow path for supplying ink from an ink cartridge to an ink jet head is long, and if the printer is transported without discharging ink in the ink flow path, the ink flowing out of the ink flow path This contaminates the interior of the printer and renders it unusable.

For this reason, in this type of printer,
Before transporting the printer, it is necessary to discharge ink from the ink jet head and the ink flow path. In addition, when replacing the ink jet head and the ink flow path during maintenance of the printer, it is necessary to discharge ink similarly.

Therefore, conventionally, an ink jet printer having a waste ink absorbing member for absorbing such unnecessary ink has been proposed.

[0006]

However, as this type of ink jet printer, there is a printer which does not have the above-described waste ink absorbing member in the printer in order to reduce the size. There is a problem that the ink cannot be discharged at the time of replacing the ink jet head or the ink jet head.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. In an ink jet printer having no means for absorbing unnecessary ink, an ink remaining in the printer can be reliably and simply removed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a cartridge dedicated to absorbing waste ink which can be discharged to a printer and an ink jet printer using the same.

[0008]

Means for Solving the Problems A first invention made to achieve the above object can be mounted on an ink jet printer, and when mounted on this ink jet printer,
A cartridge body formed so as to turn off the cartridge detector, a waste ink absorbing member provided in the cartridge body and capable of absorbing unnecessary ink, and a near-end detector when attached to the inkjet printer. And a pseudo-near-end detecting member disposed so as to turn on the waste ink absorbing cartridge.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the cartridge main body forms a part which is not detected by the cartridge detector by cutting off a part of the cartridge main body of the printing ink cartridge.

Further, a third invention provides an ink bag having a near-end detecting member which moves according to the remaining amount of ink,
An ink jet printer in which a waste ink absorbing cartridge according to the first or second aspect of the present invention can be mounted in place of an ink cartridge having a waste ink absorbing member capable of absorbing unnecessary ink. An ink jet head for discharging ink supplied through a supply path from a nozzle, and a pump connected to the ink jet head for discharging ink to a waste ink absorbing member of the waste ink absorbing cartridge through an ink discharge path Means, a cartridge detector for detecting the presence or absence of the ink cartridge or the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge, and a near end detector for detecting the near end detection member of the ink cartridge or the pseudo near end detection member of the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge, The above cartridge Based on the detection result obtained by the detector and the near end detector is an ink jet printer, characterized in that a control means for controlling the discharge operation of the pump means.

By mounting the waste ink absorbing cartridge of the first or second invention on the ink jet printer of the third invention having such a configuration and driving the pump means, the ink remaining on the ink jet head or the like is reduced. The ink is discharged to the waste ink absorbing member via the ink discharge path. As a result, according to the present invention, it is possible to reliably and easily discharge ink even in an ink jet printer that does not have a means for absorbing ink.

In the ink jet printer according to the third aspect of the invention, when the ink remaining in the printer is discharged, the detection result of the cartridge detector is turned off and the near-end detection is performed as in the fourth aspect. The operation of the pump means may be controlled so as to discharge ink to the waste ink absorbing member when the detection result in the container is ON.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when the ink cartridge is mounted on the ink jet printer of the second aspect of the invention, the ink discharging operation is not performed, and the cartridge dedicated to absorbing waste ink of the first or second aspect of the invention is mounted. Only when this is done, it becomes possible to automatically discharge the ink. As a result, according to the present invention, the third operation can be performed without performing any special operation.
The ink can be reliably and easily discharged from the ink flow path and the inkjet head only by mounting the waste ink absorbing cartridge of the first or second aspect to the inkjet printer of the invention.

In addition, when the waste ink absorbing cartridge of the second invention is used, parts can be shared between the cartridge body of the printing ink cartridge and the cartridge body of the waste ink absorbing cartridge. As a result, for example, when the cartridge body is manufactured by injection molding of plastic, only one molding die is required.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a waste ink absorbing cartridge according to the present invention and an ink jet printer using the same will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the overall configuration of an ink jet printer (hereinafter, referred to as "printer") 1 of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the internal configuration of the printer 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer 1 as viewed from the front.

As shown in FIG. 1, in a printer 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, a main body cover 2 made of resin or the like is provided.
A roll paper S is disposed behind the inside of the printer, and a paper transport unit 3 for transporting the roll paper S is provided in front of the roll paper S.

On the other hand, a printing section 4 for printing on roll paper S or the like is disposed adjacent to the paper transport section 3 in front of the paper transport section 3, and this printing section 4 is made of resin or the like. Covered by a main body front cover 5.

The above-described roll paper S, paper transport section 3 and printing section 4 are mounted on a main body frame 6 made of metal or the like.

The printing section 4 according to the present embodiment performs printing by an ink jet system. As shown in FIG. 2, the printing section 4 is arranged along a guide rail 7 attached to the main body frame 6. 6 is configured to be movable between both side portions.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Has an ink-jet head 4a to which ink is supplied from an ink cartridge 30, which will be described later. The ink-jet head 4a is disposed so as to oppose a platen unit 8 provided in the paper transport unit 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, a cap 4b is provided at a position adjacent to the paper transport section 3. The cap 4b is configured to move the printing unit 4 to cover the nozzles of the inkjet head 4a when printing is not performed for a certain period of time. Thus, even when printing is not performed for a long time, drying of the nozzles can be prevented.

On the other hand, the roll paper S is rotatably supported by a pair of support rollers 10 and 11 arranged in parallel with the winding core 9, and its leading end is pulled upward from the lower side of the apparatus main body. It is configured as follows.

In the paper transport section 3, a transport path for the roll paper S is formed. That is, the paper transport unit 3 reverses the feed direction of the roll paper S by the paper guide unit 12 and the transport roller 13, and the roll paper S after printing from the discharge port 16 provided in the upper cover 15 by the transport roller 14. Is configured to discharge.

As shown in FIG. 1, the main body upper cover 15
The main body upper cover 15 is attached so as to be rotatable about the support shaft 17, and the platen 8 is separated from the inkjet head 4 a with the rotation of the main body upper cover 15.

In the center of the upper part of the main body, a slip paper 200 is provided by a main body upper cover 15 and a main body front cover 5.
A discharge port 18 for discharging (see FIG. 2) is formed. A pair of sub-slip upper rollers 19 and 20 are provided near the discharge port 18. Further, a pair of slip center rollers 21, 2 are provided between the paper transport section 3 and the printing section 4.
2 and a pair of sub-slip lower rollers 23 and 24 are provided below the printing unit 4. Further, a pair of guide members 25 and 26 are arranged so that the sub-slip lower rollers 23 and 24 and the slip center roller 21
It is provided so as to extend toward the sub-slip upper rollers 19 and 20 via 22, thereby forming the paper insertion port 27 and forming the transport path of the slip paper 200.

Further, a cartridge holder for mounting an ink cartridge 30 described below is provided behind the main body.

FIG. 3A shows a printer 1 according to the present embodiment.
1 shows a schematic configuration of an ink cartridge 30 mounted on the ink cartridge 30.

The cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge holder 60 by sliding in the direction of arrow A, and is detached from the cartridge holder 60 by sliding in the direction of arrow B.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the ink cartridge 30 has an ink bag 32 for storing ink for an ink jet printer in a cartridge body 31. The ink bag 32 is made of an aluminum laminated film in which an aluminum foil is sandwiched between, for example, a nylon film on the outside and a polyethylene film on the inside to improve gas barrier properties.

A near-end detecting plate (near-end detecting member) 33 is fixed to the ink bag 32. The near-end detection plate 33 is configured to move as the amount of ink in the ink bag 32 decreases and to protrude from the cartridge body 31 when the remaining amount of ink decreases. The protruding portion of the near-end detection plate 33 is configured to be detected by an ink near-end sensor 34 composed of a micro switch provided on the cartridge holder 60, for example.

As shown in FIG. 3A, the cartridge holder 60 in the printer 1 is provided with a cartridge sensor (cartridge detector) 35 composed of, for example, a microswitch for detecting the cartridge body 31. When the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge holder 60 of the printer 1, the presence of the ink cartridge 30 is detected by the cartridge sensor 35.

On the other hand, a waste ink absorbing member 36 made of felt or the like for collecting unnecessary ink is provided in the cartridge body 31. The ink bag 32 in the cartridge body 31 is connected to the ink jet head 4 via an ink supply tube (ink supply path) 37.
a. In this case, the ink supply tube 3
7 is connected to the ink bag 32 by inserting the supply needle 37a provided at the tip thereof into the ink bag 32.

As described above, the cap 4b for cleaning the ink jet nozzle (not shown) and sucking the ink is attached to the ink jet head 4a, and the cap 4b is connected to the pump means 38. The pump means 38 is connected to the waste ink absorbing member 36 via an ink discharge tube (ink discharge path) 39.
It is connected to. In this case, the ink discharge tube 39
Is connected to the ink absorbing member 36 via a discharge needle 39a provided at the tip thereof. The supply needle 37a of the ink supply tube 37 and the ink discharge tube 3
The 9 discharge needles 39a are fixed at predetermined positions of the cartridge holder 60.

The ink near-end sensor 3
4. The cartridge sensor 35, the inkjet head 4a, the cap 4b, and the pump means 38 are connected to a CPU, ROM,
It is connected to control means (not shown) composed of a RAM or the like. Here, this control means recognizes and judges the detection results of the ink near-end sensor 34 and the cartridge sensor 35, and controls the operation of each part of the printer 1 such as the ink jet head 4a and the pump means 38 based on the results. It has the function to do.

FIG. 3B shows a printer 1 according to the present embodiment.
Cartridge 40 for exclusive use of waste ink attached to
FIG.

The waste ink absorbing cartridge 40
Plays a role as a dummy cartridge, so to speak, and has a cartridge body 41 having substantially the same shape as the cartridge body 31 of the ink cartridge 30.

On the other hand, in the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40, a concave portion 41a is formed at a position corresponding to the cartridge sensor 35 of the cartridge main body 41. When the cartridge 40 for exclusive use of waste ink absorption is mounted, the cartridge sensor 35 enters the concave portion 41a, so that the cartridge sensor 3
5 is turned off so that the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40 is not detected.

Further, the ink bag 32 is not provided in the cartridge main body 41, and the ink supply tube 3 is not provided.
The seventh supply needle 37a is inserted into the space in the cartridge main body 41. The cartridge body 41 is provided with a pseudo near-end detection plate (pseudo near-end detection member) 42 similar to the near-end detection plate 33. The pseudo near-end detection plate 42 is configured to detect the pseudo near-end detection plate 42 by turning on the ink near-end sensor 34 in a state where the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40 is mounted on the printer 1. Further, in the cartridge main body 41, a waste ink absorbing member 43 similar to the above is provided.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the ink cartridge 30 shown in FIG.

In the drawing, reference numeral 32a denotes an ink supply tube 3.
7, an ink supply port into which the supply needle 37a is inserted;
Reference numeral a denotes an ink discharge port into which the discharge needle 39a of the ink discharge tube 39 is inserted. In the present embodiment, when the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the cartridge holder 60, the ink cartridge 30 comes into contact with the portion 31a of the cartridge main body 31.
By forming a concave portion corresponding to one concave portion 41a,
It can be used as the cartridge main body 41 of the above-described waste ink absorption-dedicated cartridge 40, thereby sharing parts between the cartridge main body 31 of the ink cartridge 30 and the cartridge main body 41 of the waste ink absorption-only cartridge 40. As a result, for example, when these cartridge bodies 31 and 41 are manufactured by injection molding of plastic, only one molding die is required, and the cost of parts can be reduced.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a main control operation sequence in the control means of the printer 1 of the present embodiment.

First, when the power of the printer 1 is turned on,
In step S1, the cartridge sensor 35 is turned on based on the detection result from the cartridge sensor 35.
Is determined, and if “YES”, the process proceeds to step S.
The process moves to step S2, and if "NO", the process moves to step S3. Here, the case where the cartridge sensor 35 is ON is a case where the ink cartridge 30 is mounted, and the case where the cartridge sensor 35 is not ON is a case where the waste ink absorbing dedicated cartridge 40 is mounted or This is the case where no cartridge is mounted.

In step S2, an initial setting operation of the printer 1 is performed, and thereafter, the process proceeds to step S4.

In step S3, based on the detection result from the ink near-end sensor 34, it is determined whether or not the ink near-end sensor 34 is ON, and "YES".
If so, the process proceeds to step S5, and if “NO”, the process proceeds to step S6. Here, the case where the ink near-end sensor 34 is ON is a case where the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge 40 is mounted, and the case where the cartridge sensor 35 is not ON is a case where the cartridge is not mounted at all. It is.

In step S5, the pump means 38 is driven to discharge the ink remaining in the ink supply tube 37, the ink jet head 4a, the cap 4b, and the ink discharge tube 39 to the waste ink absorbing member 43.

In step S6, an operation panel (not shown) displays an ink end indicating that no cartridge is mounted, and displays a request that the ink cartridge 30 or the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40 is requested.

On the other hand, in step S4, based on the detection result from the ink near-end sensor 34, it is determined whether or not the ink near-end sensor 34 is ON.
If “ES”, the process proceeds to step S7, and if “NO”, the process proceeds to step S8. Here, the case where the ink near-end sensor 34 is ON means that the ink bag 3
The case where the remaining ink in the ink cartridge 2 is low and the case where the ink near-end sensor 34 is not ON is the case where the ink is sufficiently remaining in the ink bag 32.

In step S8, the pump means 38 is driven to perform a pumping operation. Thereafter, in steps S9 and S10, a standby operation is performed until a print command is issued from the control means. When a print command is received from the control unit in step S10, the inkjet head 4a is driven in step S11 to perform a flushing operation before printing is started, and then in step S1
At 2, the printing operation is started.

On the other hand, in step S7, the printer power is turned off last time based on the data stored in the control means.
It is determined whether or not the ink near-end sensor 34 was ON at the time of F, and if “YES”, the ink bag 32
In step S, it is determined that the amount of ink remaining in
13 and if “NO”, the previous printer power supply O
Between the FF and the current power ON of the printer, the ink bag 32
Ink cartridge 30 with sufficient ink remaining
With little ink remaining in the ink bag 32,
Since there is a high possibility that the ink cartridge 30 has been replaced with the ink cartridge 30 in the so-called end state, the process proceeds to step S14.

In step S14, an ink end display is performed on an operation panel (not shown), and a display requesting replacement of the ink cartridge 30 is displayed.

On the other hand, in step S13, an ink remaining amount counter (not shown) is checked. In step S15, it is determined whether or not the ink ends during the pumping operation. If "YES", the process proceeds to step S16. ,
If “NO”, the process moves to step S17.

In step S16, an ink end display indicating that ink has been completed is displayed on the operation panel, and a display requesting that the ink cartridge 30 be replaced is displayed.

In step S17, the pump means 38 is driven to perform a pumping operation, and in steps S18 and S19.
, The amount of ink used at that time is counted, and the ink remaining amount counter is subtracted by the counted number.

Thereafter, steps S20 and S21
In, a standby operation is performed until there is a print command from the control means. Then, when a print command is received from the control unit in step S21, the inkjet head 4a is driven in step S22 to perform a flushing operation before printing is started, and then a printing operation is started in step S23.

As described above, according to the present embodiment,
When the ink cartridge 30 is mounted on the printer 1, the ink discharging operation is not performed, and the ink can be automatically discharged only when the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40 is mounted. As a result, in the printer 1 having no means for absorbing ink, it is possible to reliably and easily remove the ink from the ink flow path and the inkjet head 4a simply by mounting the waste ink absorbing cartridge 40 without performing any special operation. Can be discharged.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various changes can be made. For example,
In the above-described embodiment, the ink discharging operation is performed based on the result of detecting the near end of the ink. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and based on the result of detecting the end of the ink (end). An ink discharging operation may be performed.

The cartridge detector and the near-end detector are not limited to a mechanical sensor using a microswitch, but may be an optical sensor using a photodiode or the like.

Further, the present invention can be applied to various printers as long as they are printers of the ink jet system.

[0060]

As described above, according to the present invention, in an ink jet printer having no means for absorbing unnecessary ink, it is possible to simply mount a waste ink absorbing cartridge without performing any special operation. The ink remaining in the printer can be reliably and easily discharged.

Further, according to the present invention, parts can be shared between the cartridge body of the printing ink cartridge and the cartridge body of the cartridge dedicated to waste ink absorption. In the case of manufacturing by molding, only one mold is required, and the cost of parts can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating an overall internal configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer according to the embodiment as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3A is a schematic configuration diagram of an ink cartridge mounted on the printer of the embodiment. FIG. 3B is a schematic configuration diagram of a waste ink absorbing cartridge mounted on the printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the ink cartridge of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a sequence of a main control operation in a control unit of the printer according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink jet printer 4a Ink jet head 4b Cap 30 Ink cartridge 31 Cartridge main body 31a Cartridge main body part 32 Ink bag 33 Near end detection plate (Near end detection member) 34 Near end sensor (Near end detector) 35 Cartridge sensor (Cartridge detector) 36 Waste ink Absorbing member 37 Ink supply tube (ink supply path) 38 Pump means 39 Ink discharge tube (ink discharge path) 40 Cartridge for exclusive use of waste ink 41 Cartridge main body 41a Depression 42 Pseudo near-end detection plate (pseudo near-end detection member) 43 Waste ink absorption member

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cartridge main body which can be mounted on an ink jet printer, and which is configured to turn off a cartridge detector when mounted on the ink jet printer, and provided inside the cartridge main body to absorb unnecessary ink. A waste ink absorbing cartridge, comprising: a possible waste ink absorbing member; and a pseudo near-end detecting member arranged to turn on the near-end detector when mounted on the inkjet printer. 2. The cartridge for exclusive use of waste ink absorption according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge main body is formed by cutting out a part of the cartridge main body of the printing ink cartridge so as to form a part which is not detected by the cartridge detector. A special cartridge for absorbing waste ink. 3. An ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said ink cartridge includes an ink bag having a near-end detecting member which moves according to the remaining amount of ink, and a waste ink absorbing member capable of absorbing unnecessary ink. An ink jet printer to which the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4 can be attached, wherein an ink jet head which discharges ink supplied from the ink cartridge via an ink supply path from a nozzle is connected to the ink jet head. Pump means for discharging ink to a waste ink absorbing member of the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge via an ink discharge path; a cartridge detector for detecting the presence or absence of the ink cartridge or the waste ink absorption dedicated cartridge; Near-end detection member of ink cartridge or the above waste ink A near-end detector for detecting a pseudo near-end detecting member of the cartridge for exclusive use of absorption; and control means for controlling a discharge operation of the pump means based on detection results obtained by the cartridge detector and the near-end detector. An inkjet printer characterized by the following. 4. A method for controlling an ink jet printer according to claim 3, wherein the detection result of the cartridge detector is off and the detection result of the near end detector is on, the waste ink absorbing member is turned off. A method for controlling an ink jet printer, comprising controlling the operation of the pump means so as to discharge ink.