JP5874535B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Inkjet printers are widely known as recording apparatuses that perform a recording process on a recording medium such as a sheet that is conveyed while reciprocating a carriage that includes a liquid ejecting head and an ink cartridge that supplies ink to the liquid ejecting head. . Such an ink jet printer includes a detecting unit including a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit, and the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage depending on whether light emitted from the light emitting unit is reflected on the ink cartridge side and detected by the light receiving unit. In some cases, it is detected whether or not the ink cartridge is mounted, or the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge is detected.

  For example, Patent Document 1 includes a main scanning rail that vertically positions a carriage that slides in a main scanning direction via a sliding member. The main scanning rail includes incident light from a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit. A hole for allowing the reflected light to pass therethrough is formed. A method is disclosed in which the edge of the hole provided in the main scanning rail is formed into a convex shape, thereby preventing external light from entering the light receiving unit and erroneously detecting it.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-138854

  However, the light emitted from the light emitting unit is applied to a range of angles that spread using the light emitting unit as a light source. Therefore, the light emitted from the light emitting unit toward the wall on the light emitting unit side in the carriage provided with the ink cartridge may be reflected by the wall and enter the light receiving unit. Thereby, there exists a subject that a light-receiving part may misdetect.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms or application examples.

  Application Example 1 A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid, a liquid accommodating portion that accommodates the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head, a liquid ejecting head, and the liquid accommodating portion are provided to reciprocate with respect to the apparatus main body. A carriage that moves, an opening that is formed on the wall of the carriage and exposes the liquid storage portion, a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion, and is disposed at a position in the apparatus body that can face the opening; A detection unit that emits light emitted from the light emitting unit toward the liquid in the liquid storage unit through the opening and receives the reflected light by the light receiving unit through the opening; And a reflection surface for reflecting light emitted from the light emitting unit so as to be removed from the light receiving unit is formed on a wall on the detection unit side of the carriage.

  According to this application example, the reflection surface that reflects the light emitted from the light emitting unit so as to be removed from the light receiving unit is formed on the wall on the detection unit side of the carriage. Thereby, it can suppress that the light emitted from the light emission part is reflected by the wall of a carriage, and is received by the light-receiving part. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the detection unit increases, and the detection accuracy of the remaining amount of liquid in the liquid storage unit increases.

  Application Example 2 The recording apparatus, wherein the reflecting surface is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a moving direction of the carriage.

  According to this application example, the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be reflected so as to be removed from the light receiving unit.

  Application Example 3 The light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are arranged in the movement direction of the carriage, the light receiving unit is arranged in the movement direction side of the carriage at the time of detection, and the direction of the inclined surface is the direction at the time of detection. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording apparatus is directed in a direction opposite to the carriage moving direction.

  According to this application example, the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be reflected so as to be removed from the light receiving unit.

  Application Example 4 The recording apparatus, wherein the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are arranged in a moving direction of the carriage, and the direction of the inclined surface is in a direction crossing the moving direction of the carriage.

  According to this application example, the light emitted from the light emitting unit can be reflected so as to be removed from the light receiving unit.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the recording apparatus with a cover removed. The top view which looked at the part with which the carriage was provided from the upper side. The perspective view which looked at the carriage from the lower side. FIG. 3 is a plan view of an ink cartridge with a carriage attached when viewed from above. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ink cartridge with a carriage attached when viewed from the front. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a portion where an inclined surface is formed in the bottom of the ink cartridge and the carriage. Sectional drawing of the part in which the some inclined surface from which an inclination angle differs was formed.

(Embodiment 1)
Hereinafter, an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”), which is a kind of recording apparatus, will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the printer 10 according to this embodiment with the cover removed. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the portion of the printer 10 provided with the carriage 15 as viewed from above.

  In the printer 10 of FIG. 1, paper that can be set by inserting a plurality of sheets of paper P (see FIG. 2) on the back side of a substantially square box-shaped main body frame (device main body) 11 that opens on the back side and the front side. A tray 12 is provided. The printer 10 performs printing on the paper P fed one by one from the paper feed tray 12, and discharges the printed paper P onto a slide-type paper discharge tray 13 provided at the lower front position of the main body frame 11. To do.

  Guide rails 14a and 14b having a predetermined length are installed on the back surface of the main body frame 11, and a carriage 15 is provided along the guide rails 14a and 14b so as to reciprocate in the main scanning direction D1 (left and right direction). . A pair of pulleys 16 are provided on the inner surface of the back plate of the main body frame 11, and the carriage 15 is fixed to an endless timing belt 17 wound around the pair of pulleys 16.

  Of the pair of pulleys 16, a pulley (not shown) on the right side of the drawing is provided on the drive shaft of the carriage motor 18, and when the carriage motor 18 is driven forward / reversely, the timing belt 17 rotates forward / reversely. Reciprocates in the main scanning direction D1.

  A linear encoder 19 that outputs a number of pulses proportional to the amount of movement of the carriage 15 is provided on the back side of the carriage 15 so as to extend in the left-right direction along the guide rail 14a.

  An ink jet recording head 35 as an example of a liquid ejecting head is provided below the carriage 15. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) that eject ink as an example of a liquid are opened on the lower surface of the recording head 35.

  A plurality of ink cartridges 20 (20 a to 20 d) serving as liquid storage portions are loaded on the carriage 15. The ink cartridge 20 is a liquid storage portion that stores ink, and stores, for example, four colors of ink of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. The recording head 35 ejects the ink supplied from each ink cartridge 20 from each color nozzle.

  A support base 21 that defines a gap (gap) between the recording head 35 and the paper P is provided at a lower position in the main body frame 11 facing the recording head 35. The support base 21 extends in the width direction (left-right direction) over a range including a print area where printing by ink ejection by the recording head 35 is performed. During printing, the ink ejected from the recording head 35 lands on the paper P on the support base 21.

  A transport roller 22 for transporting the paper P and a discharge roller 23 in FIG. 2 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the support base 21 in the transport direction (forward direction) of the paper P in FIGS.

  The transport roller 22 is provided on the main body frame 11, and the discharge roller 23 is provided on a paper discharge frame (frame) 25 that is installed on the downstream side of the support base 21 in the left-right direction in the main body frame 11. The transport roller 22 and the discharge roller 23 are rotationally driven by the drive motor 24, whereby the paper P is transported to the paper discharge tray 13.

  The printer 10 performs a printing operation in which ink is ejected from the nozzles of the recording head 35 to the paper P while reciprocating the carriage 15 in the main scanning direction D1, and the paper P is transported by a predetermined transport amount in the sub-scanning direction (forward direction). By alternately repeating the feeding operation to be performed, a document, an image, or the like is printed on the paper P.

  An optical sensor 26 that detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20 is embedded as an example of a detection unit on the upper surface side of the discharge frame 25 and slightly to the right from the center of the discharge frame 25. .

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the carriage 15 as viewed from below. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the carriage 15 as viewed from above. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the ink cartridge 20 mounted on the carriage 15 as viewed from the direction of the arrow A at the position of the dashed line in FIG.

  At the bottom of each of the ink cartridges 20a to 20d in FIG. 5, a right triangular prism prism 36 that forms an optical member is provided. An entrance opening 33 and a reflection opening 34 are formed below the prism 36 in the carriage 15.

  The incident opening 33 and the reflection opening 34 are openings that penetrate the wall portion of the carriage 15 on the paper discharge frame 25 side, and are formed side by side in the main scanning direction D1. On the lower side of the prism 36 in the carriage 15, a projecting portion 32 that partitions the entrance opening 33 and the reflection opening 34 is formed.

  The incident opening 33 and the reflection opening 34 are provided at positions where the light emitting unit 26a and the light receiving unit 26b can face each other when the carriage 15 moves in the main scanning direction D1.

  On the right side of the ink cartridge 20d in FIG. 5, there is provided a reflection portion 40 having a reflection surface 41 formed thereon. The reflection surface 41 is provided on the upper side of the opening 42, and the light emitted from the light emitting unit 26a enters the opening 42, and the reflected light reflected by the reflection surface 41 passes through the opening 42 to receive the light receiving unit 26b. Is received.

  A plurality of inclined surfaces 50 that are inclined with respect to the main scanning direction D1 are formed on the paper discharge frame 25 side of the carriage 15 in FIG. In addition, an inclined surface 51 is formed at the tip of the protruding portion 32 on the paper discharge frame 25 side.

  Next, the system principle of ink remaining amount detection in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the optical sensor 26 detects the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20a among the plurality of ink cartridges 20 (20a to 20d).

  An ink chamber 37, which is an example of a liquid storage section that stores ink, is formed by the slopes that intersect the prism 36 at right angles and the inner surface of the wall of the ink cartridge 20a.

  When the bottom of the ink cartridge 20a is at a position facing the optical sensor 26, the light emitting part 26a and the incident opening 33 are in the same position in the main scanning direction D1, and the light receiving part 26b and the reflecting opening 34 Are in the same position.

  The light emitted from the light emitting unit 26 a passes through the incident opening 33 and travels toward the prism 36. When the ink level in the ink chamber 37 is sufficient as shown by the solid ink level L1, the light emitted from the light emitting part 26a and passing through the incident opening 33 is emitted. The light is not reflected by the prism 36 but is refracted inside the ink chamber 37.

  On the other hand, when the remaining amount of ink in the ink chamber 37 is reduced to the ink level L2 indicated by the alternate long and short dash line, the light emitted from the light emitting portion 26a passes through the incident opening 33 and enters the prism 36. The light is reflected, passes through the reflection opening 34, and enters the light receiving portion 26b.

  Thus, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20a is detected by detecting the reflected light of the light applied to the prism 36 provided at the bottom of the ink cartridge 20a by the light receiving unit 26b.

  Similarly, when the carriage 15 moves and the bottoms of the ink cartridges 20b, 20c, and 20d are at positions facing the optical sensor 26, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridges 20b, 20c, and 20d is detected.

  In the present embodiment, the three inclined surfaces 50 are provided between the entrance opening 33 located below the ink cartridge 20a and the reflection opening 34 located below the ink cartridge 20b. One inclined surface that continues from the edge of the opening 33 to the edge of the reflection opening 34 may be provided. By providing the plurality of inclined surfaces 50, the height at which the surface on the optical sensor 26 side of the carriage 15 protrudes can be reduced.

  As described above, the printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes the recording head 35 that ejects ink, the ink cartridge 20 that stores the ink to be supplied to the recording head 35, the recording head 35, and the ink cartridge 20. There are a carriage 15 that reciprocally moves, an incident opening 33 and a reflection opening 34, and a light emitting part 26a and a light receiving part 26b that are formed on the wall of the carriage 15 and from which the ink cartridge 20 is exposed. The light emitted from the light emitting part 26a is emitted toward the ink cartridge 20 through the incident opening 33. The light emitting part 26a is disposed at a position in the apparatus main body that can face the incident opening 33 and the reflection opening 34. And an optical sensor 26 as a detection unit that receives the reflected light by the light receiving unit 26b through the reflection opening 34. , The walls of the optical sensor 26 side of the carriage 15, the inclined surface 50 as a reflecting surface for reflecting light emitted from the light emitting portion 26a to disengage from the light receiving portion 26b is formed.

  With this configuration, the light emitted outside the incident opening 33 out of the range of light emitted from the light emitting portion 26a as a light source is reflected by the wall portion of the carriage 15 and received by the light receiving portion 26b. Can be suppressed. Therefore, the detection accuracy of the optical sensor 26 is increased, and the detection accuracy of the ink remaining amount in the ink cartridge 20 is increased.

  5 and FIG. 6 are arranged in a moving direction in which the carriage 15 is moved when the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20 is detected, and the light receiving unit 26b is moved in the carriage 15 at the time of detection. Arranged on the direction side (left side in the main scanning direction D1), the inclined surface 50 is formed so as to face the direction opposite to the moving direction of the carriage 15 at the time of detection (right side in the main scanning direction D1).

  The moving direction in which the carriage 15 is moved when the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20 is detected is the direction facing the left side in the main scanning direction D1. That is, the movement direction in which the carriage 15 is moved when the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20 is detected is a direction in which the carriage 15 is moved from right to left in the main scanning direction D1.

  According to this configuration, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 26a can be reflected so as to be removed from the light receiving unit 26b.

  The light receiving unit 26b and the light emitting unit 26a are arranged in a moving direction in which the carriage 15 is moved when the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge 20 is detected, and the direction of the inclined surface is directed in a direction crossing the moving direction of the carriage 15. You may do it.

  According to this configuration, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 26a can be reflected so as to be removed from the light receiving unit 26b.

  In the present embodiment, the inclined surface 50 is formed as the reflecting surface on the wall portion of the carriage 15 on the optical sensor 26 side. However, the inclined surface 50 may be formed as a reflecting surface. An uneven surface may be formed as the reflecting surface. Moreover, you may form a some fine protrusion part, a fine recessed part, and a convex part as a reflective surface. Further, the reflecting surface may be hemispherical.

(Embodiment 2)
In the first embodiment, the inclination angles of the plurality of inclined surfaces formed on the surface of the carriage 15 on the optical sensor 26 side with respect to the moving direction D1 are substantially the same, but a plurality of inclined surfaces having different angles may be formed. .

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a portion where a plurality of inclined surfaces having different inclination angles are formed. As described in the first embodiment, an optical sensor (not shown) having a light emitting part (not shown) and a light receiving part (not shown) is provided below the carriage 69. In addition, an ink cartridge (not shown) having a prism (not shown) provided at the bottom is mounted on the carriage 69.

  On the optical sensor side surface of the carriage 69, there are formed incident openings 63 and 66 through which incident light from the light emitting section passes, and a reflection opening 64 through which reflected light reflected by the prism passes. On the right side of the carriage 69, there is formed an opening 67 having a reflection plate 68 on the upper side and opening on the optical sensor side.

  Inclined surfaces 60, 61, 62 are formed on the surface of the carriage 69 on the optical sensor side. The inclined surface 60 is formed between the incident opening 63 and the reflection opening 64. The inclined surface 61 is formed at the tip on the optical sensor side of the protrusion 65 that partitions the incident opening 66 and the reflection opening 64. The inclined surfaces 62 are formed on both sides of the opening 67 in the main scanning direction D1.

  The carriage 69 of the present embodiment can set the height position in the vertical direction, and the height of the carriage 69 is varied with respect to the recording media having different thicknesses to form an image on the recording medium. Moreover, the support part which supports an optical sensor can change the position in an up-down direction. Accordingly, the relative distance between the carriage 69 and the optical sensor varies.

  After the power is turned on, the carriage 69 is moved to a position where the opening 67 faces the optical sensor, and the light emitted from the light emitting part of the optical sensor is emitted toward the reflecting plate 68 through the opening 67, and the light is emitted. Reflection by the reflecting plate 68 and reception of light by the light receiving unit make it possible to adjust the presence of the optical sensor and adjust the sensitivity. Then, with the height of the carriage 69 set according to the thickness of the recording medium, the carriage 69 is moved to a position where the entrance opening 66 and the reflection opening 64 face the optical sensor, and the light emitting section The light emitted from the light is emitted toward the prism provided at the bottom of the ink cartridge through the incident opening 66, reflected by the prism, and detected by the light receiving unit through the reflection opening 64. Thus, the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge is detected.

  The relative distance in the vertical direction between the carriage 69 and the optical sensor when the optical sensor is broken or sensitivity is adjusted is the maximum. That is, the relative distance in the vertical direction between the carriage 69 and the optical sensor when the optical sensor is broken or sensitivity is adjusted is determined by the carriage 69 and the optical sensor when detecting the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge. Longer than the relative distance in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, the inclination angle R3 of the inclined surface 62 formed at the edge of the opening 67 with respect to the main scanning direction D1 is the inclination angle R1 of the inclined surfaces 60 and 61 formed at the edge of the reflection opening 64 with respect to the main scanning direction D1. , Greater than R2. For example, the inclination angle R3 is 40 degrees, and the inclination angles R1 and R2 are 15 degrees.

  With this configuration, when the relative distance between the carriage 69 and the optical sensor is changed to detect the presence or absence of the optical sensor, adjust the sensitivity, or detect the remaining amount of ink in the ink cartridge, the light emitting unit It can suppress that the light irradiated on the optical sensor side wall of the carriage 69 is reflected and received by the light receiving unit. Other configurations in the present embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet printer, 15,69 ... Carriage, 20a-20d ... Ink cartridge, 26 ... Optical sensor, 26a ... Light emission part, 26b ... Light receiving part, 35 ... Recording head, 33, 63, 66 ... Incident opening part, 34, 64 ... reflective openings, 50, 60, 61, 62 ... inclined surfaces.

Claims (4)

A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid;
A liquid storage section for storing the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head;
A carriage that includes the liquid ejecting head and the liquid container, and reciprocates with respect to the apparatus body;
An opening formed in a wall of the carriage and exposing the liquid storage portion;
A light-emitting part and a light-receiving part, arranged in a position in the apparatus main body that can face the opening, and directs light emitted from the light-emitting part to the liquid in the liquid storage part through the opening; And a detection unit that receives the reflected light by the light receiving unit through the opening,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a reflection surface that reflects light emitted from the light emitting unit so as to be removed from the light receiving unit is formed on a wall on the detection unit side of the carriage. The recording apparatus according to claim 1,
The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the reflecting surface is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to a moving direction of the carriage. The recording apparatus according to claim 2,
The light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are arranged in the moving direction of the carriage, the light receiving unit is arranged on the moving direction side of the carriage at the time of detection, and the direction of the inclined surface is the moving direction of the carriage at the time of detection. A recording apparatus characterized by facing in the opposite direction. The recording apparatus according to claim 2,
The recording apparatus, wherein the light receiving unit and the light emitting unit are arranged in a moving direction of the carriage, and the direction of the inclined surface is in a direction crossing the moving direction of the carriage.

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