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EP0287098A2 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Residual-ink detector and a liquid injection recording apparatus comprising the detector

Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1988-04-14
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2008-04-14
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Abstract

Abstract This specification discloses a liquid injection recording apparatus having a recording head for injecting ink toward a recording medium to thereby effect recording, an ink tank storing therein the ink to be supplied to the recording head, and an ink remain detector provided half­way in a supply path communicating the recording head with the ink tank. The ink remain detector has an ink chamber having at least one wall surface thereof formed of a flexible film member, and at least two detector means responsive to the displacement of the film member.

Inventors

  • 👤 Akihiro Yamanaka
  • 👤 Hiroshi Iida
  • 👤 Minoru Nozawa

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 23:10
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/17; B41J2/175; B41J2/17503; B41J2/17506; B41J2/17509; B41J2/17566; G; G01; G01F; G01F23/00; G01F23/14; G01F23/16; G01F23/164; B41J2002/17586

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 30
Claim 1
Independent Claim 91 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus having a recording head for injecting ink toward a recording medium to thereby effect recording, an ink tank storing therein the ink to be supplied to said recording head, and an ink remain detector provided half-way in a supply path communicating said recording head with said ink tank, characterized in that said ink remain detector has an ink chamber having at least one wall surface thereof formed of a flexible film member, and at least two detector means responsive to the displacement of said film member.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 91 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus having a recording head for injecting ink toward a recording medium to thereby effect recording, an ink tank storing therein the ink to be supplied to said recording head, and an ink remain detector provided half-way in a supply path communicating said recording head with said ink tank, characterized in that said ink remain detector has an ink chamber having at least one wall surface thereof formed of a flexible film member, and at least two detector means responsive to the displacement of said film member.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 40 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said detector means have an electrically conductive member provided on said film member, and an electrode provided correspondingly to said electrically conductive member and fixed to said ink remain detector.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 52 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said detector means have a moving member responsive to the displacement of said film member and at least one set of light-emitting and light-receiving means disposed at a position whereat the optical path is interrupted by the movement of said moving member.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 29 words
A luquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 2, wherein said fixed electrode serves also as a stopper member for controlling the amount of displacement of said film member.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 36 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, further having ink remain alarm device for informing of the amount of remaining ink on the basis of the result of the detection by said detector means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 48 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein said ink remain alarm device has means for indicating that ink remains a little in response to at least one of said detector means, and means for indicating ink-shortage in response to the other of said detector means.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 28 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said means for indicating that ink remains a little and said means for indicating ink-shortage are common means.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim 31 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein said ink remain alarm device has at least one means selected from among light-emitting means, sound generating means and display means.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim 30 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 5, further having means for stopping the recording operation on the basis of the result of the detection by said detector means.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim 24 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, further having means for communicating the interior of said ink chamber with the atmospheric air.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim 31 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, wherein said flexible film member is biased by a resilient member in a direction to increase the volume of said ink chamber.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim 18 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 11, further having adjusting means for adjusting said biasing force.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim 16 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 12, wherein said adjusting means is screw means.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim 16 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 11, wherein said resilient member is spring means.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim 25 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, further having a stopper member for controlling the amount of displacement of said flexible film member.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim 34 words
A liquid injection recording apparatus according to Claim 1, further having a stopper member for controlling the amount of displacement of said flexible film member, said stopper member being formed in said ink chamber.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim 84 words
An ink remain detector provided with an inflow port into which ink flows, an outflow port from which ink flows out, an ink chamber communicating with said inflow port and said outflow port, a flexible film member constituting at least a portion of a wall forming said ink chamber, and a plurality of detector means each having an electrically conductive member provided on said film member and an electrode provided correspondingly to said electrically conductive member and fixed to the body of said detector.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim 84 words
An ink remain detector provided with an inflow port into which ink flows, an outflow port from which ink flows out, an ink chamber communicating with said inflow port and said outflow port, a flexible film member constituting at least a portion of a wall forming said ink chamber, and a plurality of detector means each having an electrically conductive member provided on said film member and an electrode provided correspondingly to said electrically conductive member and fixed to the body of said detector.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim 24 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, wherein said electrode provided on said film member is common to said plurality of detector means.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim 23 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, further having means for communicating the interior of said ink chamber with the atmospheric air.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim 30 words
An ink remain detector according to claim 17, wherein said flexible film member is biased by a resilient member in a direction to increase the volume of said ink chamber.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim 17 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 20, further having adjusting means for adjusting said biasing force.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim 15 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 21, wherein said adjusting means is screw means.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim 23 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, further having a stopper for limiting the amount of movement of said flexible film member.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim 38 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, further having a stopper for limiting the amount of movement of said flexible film member and wherein the electrode of one of said detector means is provided on said stopper.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim 31 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, further having a stopper for limiting the amount of movement of said flexible film member, said stopper being provided in said ink chamber.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim 15 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 20, wherein said resilient means is spring means.
Claim 29
Dependent Claim 39 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, wherein said flexible film member is in a substantially undisplaced state when said electrically conductive member and said electrode of one of said detector means are in contact with each other.
Claim 30
Dependent Claim 17 words
An ink remain detector according to Claim 17, wherein the number of said detector means is two.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

DE3344447A1 Cited

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