JP3278416B2 - Ink jet recording head and ink jet recording system - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head and a recording medium which are detachably mounted on a carriage and detachable from an ink tank for storing ejected ink. The present invention relates to an inkjet recording system including a control mechanism mounted on an inkjet recording apparatus that performs recording.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus supplies ink through a semi-permanently usable head (hereinafter referred to as "PH") and a tube crawled in the apparatus to supply ink to the PH. In many cases, the ink cartridge is configured with a replaceable ink cartridge. However, in the case of PH, it is difficult to eliminate accidental failures due to clogging of dust in the nozzle portion and temporal failures due to deterioration of the ejection element, which is a problem in the reliability of the printing apparatus itself. There was a need for a special maintenance service system to maintain the recording performance.

On the other hand, from the viewpoint of improving reliability and reducing costs, the recording heads are periodically replaced at predetermined intervals, and the recording heads are reliably replaced at predetermined ink amounts. Replaceable recording head cartridge that integrates the ink tank and head (hereinafter,
Called DH. Ink jet recording apparatuses using ()) have also been put to practical use.

[0004]

However, the running cost of DH is higher than that of PH since the amount of usable ink cannot be set large from the viewpoint of securing reliability and the size and weight of the DH cartridge itself. When the ink is used up, even if the driving function of the head is sufficient, the head must be discarded. In particular, disposal of the head cartridge has the potential to affect environmental issues, which is a worldwide trend in recent years.

[0005] In recent years, in terms of reliability, a cartridge configuration that takes advantage of the features of the DH, reduces running costs, and takes into consideration the global environment has been developed to include a recording head and an ink tank supplied to the head. There has been proposed a cartridge of a type which is configured so that it can be separated from and separated from each other, and is integrated at the time of use, and can be replaced independently at the end of ink.

[0006] In the cartridge having this configuration, when the ink in the ink tank is exhausted, the ink tank is replaced with a new ink tank. In this case, when information such as characteristics of the ink tank is transmitted to the ink jet recording apparatus, it is easy to configure an ink ejection state according to the information,
Suitable recording can be achieved.

In this case, it is generally necessary to set a dedicated reading mechanism for the information of the ink tank in the apparatus. However, the arrangement of the reading apparatus results in a situation where the size of the apparatus is increased.

The present invention has been proposed in order to improve the above-mentioned problem, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet apparatus without reading the information of the ink tank independently on the apparatus side without increasing the size of the ink jet apparatus. Aim.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventor has proposed an ink jet recording system provided with a control mechanism mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording on a recording medium. Wherein an ink jet recording head and an ink tank storing ink supplied to the recording head are mounted, and are electrically connected to the recording head and also electrically connected to control means of the ink jet recording apparatus. A carriage having a first carriage terminal; and a first carriage electrically connected to the first carriage terminal for transmitting and receiving an electric signal.
An ink tank having a head information terminal; and an ink tank having a tank information terminal having information of the ink tank. The ink jet recording head is further connected to a tank information terminal of the ink tank. A second head terminal for transmitting and receiving information of the ink tank, and the carriage is electrically connected to the second head terminal, and transfers the information of the ink tank to the inkjet recording apparatus. And a second carriage terminal for exchanging.

In an ink jet recording head configured to be detachable from a carriage and detachable from an ink tank for storing ejected ink, the ink jet recording head includes the ink jet recording head. A first head terminal electrically connected to a first carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to a control unit of the recording apparatus, and a tank information terminal containing information on the ink tank, and the ink jet recording. A second head terminal electrically connected to a second carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to the control means of the apparatus, and information provided in the ink tank is provided through the ink jet recording head. Control means for the ink jet recording apparatus And is exchanged between

By providing a terminal for transmitting the information of the ink tank to the ink jet recording head, an independent reading terminal is not formed in the apparatus.
Since the size of the apparatus can be reduced and the information of the ink tank can be transmitted in a proper manner, printing can be performed under optimum printing conditions, and the printing quality can be maintained.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

The recording head of this embodiment is of an ink jet type which performs recording using an electrothermal converter which generates thermal energy for causing film boiling to occur in ink according to an electric signal. In FIG. 1, the main components of the recording head 1 are all laminated or bonded on the head base plate 5 by bonding or press bonding with reference to positioning projections and notches provided on the head base plate 5, and the heater board 4 is made of a Si substrate. Electrothermal transducers (discharge heaters) arranged in a plurality of rows and electric wiring such as Al for supplying power thereto are formed by a film forming technique, and receive electric signals from the main unit. Pad 6
a is connected to a head PCB 6 having a wire arranged at an end by wire bonding 7.
Connected by Ink is introduced from the ink tank 2 through a partition wall or a supply path 8 for dividing each of the plurality of ink flow paths corresponding to the discharge heaters and supplied to the ink flow path. A common liquid chamber 9 constituting the head and an orifice forming a plurality of discharge ports are pressed by a spring (not shown) against a groove top plate 10 integrally molded with polysulfone or the like and fixed by pressure using a sealant. And it is formed by sealing. In the present embodiment, the supply path 8 joined and sealed to the groove top plate 10 passes through holes provided in the head PCB 6 and the head base plate 5 to the opposite side of the head base plate 5 so as to be connectable to the ink tank 2. It penetrates and is adhesively fixed to the head base plate 5 at the penetrating portion. In addition, a filter 11 is provided at an end of the flow path 8 on the side connected to the ink tank 2 to prevent dust, bubbles, and the like from flowing into the ejection section. The recording head 1
To protect the discharge portion and the pad 6a for electrical connection,
A head cover 12 is provided to make the recording head 1 easy to hold from the handling side.

The replacement ink tank 2 has a tank case 2A having a rib 2a on the inner surface, an ink absorber 2b impregnated with ink is packed almost without gaps, and a supply path in which an ink filter 11 of the recording head 1 is provided. An ink supply portion (hole) 2c for inserting the ends to perform coupling and an atmosphere sufficient to allow the ink to flow out of the ink tank 2 are introduced into the ink tank to prevent excessive negative pressure from being generated. And a communication portion (hole) 2d. A rib 2a is provided on the inner wall of the tank in order to prevent direct air communication along the inner wall of the tank case to the supply portion and to use the ink in the entire area of the ink absorber most effectively using capillary force. The air communication part 2d is installed as far as possible from the ink supply part 2c. The rib 2a also functions as a reinforcing portion of the tank case 2A, and improves the operability when replacing the tank. The initial amount of impregnated ink in the ink absorber 2b is determined by the purpose of a function for applying a negative head pressure to the meniscus of the ejection port at the time of coupling with the recording head 1 to enable stable ejection and the ink tank. For the purpose of operability to prevent the ink from leaking even if a slight impact is given at the time of replacement, the ink is filled with a smaller amount of ink than the ink absorber 2b can absorb. Atmospheric communication part 2
The ink absorber d may be liquid-repellent or may be configured using a separate liquid-repellent absorber to restrict ink leakage from the air communication portion 2d.

The ink supply limit of the ink tank 2 is such that the amount of ink impregnated in the ink absorber 2b is very small, and the ink absorption capacity is smaller than the ink supply capacity to the recording head 1 due to the capillary force of the nozzle accompanying the ink ejection. In the case where the ink suction force of the body 2b becomes strong or the air introduced from the air communication portion 2d around the filter 11 increases and a large amount of air in the ink absorber is supplied through the filter 11 is there.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connection between the recording head 1 and the ink tank 2 is integrated by the urging force of the pressing hook 13 of the carriage 3 simultaneously with the coupling of the recording head unit 1 to the carriage 3.

Here, in order to explain the arrangement and operation of the recording head 1 in the recording apparatus, the operation of the recording apparatus will be briefly described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the recording medium S is guided upward from the bottom of the paper using a platen roller 5000,
The paper press plate 5002 presses the platen 5000 in the carriage movement direction. The carriage HC
The carriage drive pin is inserted into the spiral groove 5004 and rotated by itself to be supported and engaged by a lead screw 5005 which operates as a drive source and a slider 5003 arranged in parallel with the lead screw, and guided on the platen roller 5000. Reciprocally moves left and right along the recording surface of the recording medium P. The rotation of the lead screw 5005 is controlled via the drive transmission gears 5011 and 5009 in conjunction with the forward / reverse rotation of the drive motor. 5007,500
Reference numeral 8 denotes a home position detecting means for confirming the presence of the carriage lever 5006 in this area by switching the rotation direction of the motor 5013 and the like. The image recording signal is sent to the recording head in a timely manner with respect to the movement of the carriage on which the recording head is mounted, and the recording is performed by discharging ink droplets at predetermined positions. Reference numeral 5016 denotes a member that supports a cap member 5022 that caps the front surface of the print head. Reference numeral 5015 denotes suction means that suctions the inside of the cap, and performs suction recovery of the print head through the opening 5023 in the cap. 5017 is a cleaning blade, 5019 is a member that allows the blade to move in the front-rear direction,
These are supported by the main body support plate 5018. It is needless to say that the suction means, the blade, and the like need not be in this form, and well-known ones can be applied. Also, 5012
Is a lever for determining the timing of the suction recovery operation, moves with the movement of the cam 5020 engaging with the carriage, and the driving force from the driving motor is controlled by a known transmission means such as clutch switching. These recovery means are configured so that when the carriage comes to the home position side area, desired processing can be performed at predetermined positions at the corresponding positions by the action of the lead screw 5005. Mechanically moving the recording head to the carriage HC,
The electrical connection is made as follows.

The carriage HC has a front plate located on the platen side (front side of the head), a flexible sheet having head drive electrodes 16a corresponding to the pads 6a on the PCB of the recording head, and presses the flexible sheet from the back side. A support plate 16 for an electrical connection portion that holds a rubber pad for generating an elastic force, a head positioning portion for mechanically fixing a recording head, and biases and supports the ink tank 2 and the recording head 1 in the direction of arrow A. And a pressure hook 13 for performing the operation. The front plate has two positioning reference surfaces 3b and 3c corresponding to the positioning protrusions 14 provided on the head base plate 5 of the recording head, respectively. The pressing hook 13 of the carriage 3 is configured to generate an urging force in the pressing direction of FIG. 1, that is, in a direction inclined about 10 degrees with respect to the moving direction of the carriage. It is pressed in two directions: the front plate 3a direction and the support plate 16 for electrical connection. At the same time, the support plate 1 for electrical connection
The head positioning portion is also urged in the moving direction of the carriage with the fulcrum 6 as a fulcrum. The pressing engagement operation of the pressing hook may be any operation, but it is preferable that the operation can be performed by a lever or the like which can be operated from the upper surface side of the carriage. In any case, when the pressurizing hook is engaged, the recording head and the replacement ink tank rotate slightly on the carriage HC, and the positioning projections and the notches contact the reference surface 3b of the front plate. As a result, the positioning between the pad 6a on the head PCB and the head drive electrode 16a is also ensured.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording head 1 and the ink tank 2 are connected to each other by using a tank band having one end fixed (not shown) to the head base plate 5 of the recording head 1 in the vicinity of the ink coupling portion of the replacement ink tank 2. A ring-shaped tank band hook provided at the end of a tank band spring provided at the other end of the tank band along the outer wall is connected to the head base plate 5.
Are hooked while being urged against the band projection provided on the horn, and are integrated by the urging force of the tank band spring. More specifically, the connection of the replacement ink tank 2 can be performed outside the carriage as shown in FIG.
First, the tank guide hole 15 of the head base plate 5
Then, the procedure is started by fitting the tank guide 20 of the replacement ink tank 2. The position of this engaging portion is arranged close to the point of action of the pressing hook 13 of the carriage 3, and
By arranging the ink supply unit 2c as far as possible from the point of action of the pressure hook 13, it is possible to reduce the component of the pressing force when the carriage 3 is mounted in the ink supply unit 2c, It is possible to reliably connect the ink supply paths. That is, as apparent from FIG. 2, when considering the connection between the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2, the pressure applied to the replacement ink tank 2 by the pressing hook 13, which is the point of emphasis, is changed in the clockwise direction in FIG. When the tank 2 is rotated, the ink supply portion 2c is the point of action with the engagement portion of the tank guide 20 as a fulcrum, so that a force that inhibits the coupling is generated at the ink coupling portion. In the ink supply section 2c, the ink absorbing member 2b and the filter 11 are pressed and coupled by the coupling force of the tank band to connect the ink supply path, and the elasticity sandwiched between the head base plate 5 and the outer wall surface of the replacement ink tank. Body ring seal 19
Are pressurized and deformed so that the communication between the inside of the ink tank and the atmosphere is completely sealed in the ink supply section 2c. If the sealing is insufficient, the introduction of air into the ink tank accompanying the supply of ink to the recording head 1 is performed directly in this portion without passing through the ink absorber 2b. It becomes difficult to effectively use the ink impregnated in the ink.

However, in the present invention, the coupling force of the tank band spring at the ink coupling portion is reduced by the pressure hook 13.
, The ink can be reliably connected even when the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage 3.

As described above, the pressing hook 13 is set in a direction in which the pressing direction is inclined by 10 degrees in order to position the recording head 1 with respect to the carriage 3 in the paper surface direction. In order to hook the pressure hook 13 on the ink tank 5, the shape of the head base plate 5 becomes complicated. Therefore, it is easier to hook the pressure hook 13 on the replacement ink tank 2 which has a relatively high tolerance as in the present invention. It is. Further, when the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are simultaneously connected, a force in a direction orthogonal to the connecting direction is applied. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The engagement between the tank guide and the tank guide hole 15 receives a force in that direction. That is, the tank guide 20 is joined to the inner wall of the tank guide hole 15 in the paper surface direction, and the recording head 1 is positioned and coupled to the carriage 3 by the head positioning unit 14 by receiving the force. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent the action of an extra mechanical force on the flow path 8 directly connected to the ejection portion where high precision is particularly required in the recording head 1, the ink in the replacement ink tank 2 is used. The play of the flow path 8 in the tank supply section 2c is set to be larger than the play of the tank guide 20 in the tank guide hole 15 so that all the forces in the direction orthogonal to the connecting direction of the ink tank 2 are received by the connecting section of the tank guide 20. I have to. The coupling portion of the tank guide 20 in the present embodiment is further provided with a function of preventing rotation of the replacement ink tank 2 on the surface of the head base plate 5,
Similarly, the backlash in the operation surface is designed so that no extra force acts on the flow path 8.

In this embodiment, the ring seal 19 is formed of a somewhat thick elastic ring so that the joint portion with the outer wall of the replacement ink tank can be made wider so as to allow backlash of the ink supply section 2c.

As described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, after the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are roughly engaged on the carriage 3, the replacement ink tank 2
By urging in the direction, the carriage 3 and the printhead 1 are positioned and connected, and the printhead 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are positioned.
Can be surely and simultaneously performed. In the present embodiment, the carriage (printing apparatus main body) 3 and the printhead 1 are configured to be electrically connected at the same time.
The operability when replacing the recording head and the replacement ink tank is good, but the electrical connection is made by a separate connector connection method, etc., so that the positioning of the recording head and the connection with the replacement ink tank can be made more reliable. It is also good to increase the degree of freedom in configuration.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state before use of the replacement ink tank. In order to prevent leakage or evaporation of ink during distribution, the ink tank is detached from the atmosphere communication section 2d and the ink supply section 2c. Sealing members 22 and 23 are provided so as to be able to remove them in the direction of the arrow when using the replacement ink tank 2.

In this embodiment, a single-color recording apparatus having one recording head 1 has been described. However, a plurality of recording heads capable of ejecting inks of different colors, for example, a color having four heads of Bk, C, M, and Y It can be applied to an inkjet recording device, and can also be applied to a recording head that can eject ink of multiple colors with one recording head.In that case, if means for regulating the coupling position and direction of the exchange tank is added, good.

As described above, in this embodiment, the replacement ink tank 2 is attached after the coupling direction between the carriage 3 and the recording head 1 and the coupling direction between the recording head 1 and the replacement ink tank 2 are arranged in substantially the same direction. As a result, the operability at the time of replacement of the recording head and the replacement ink tank is good, and their mechanical and electrical connection can be reliably performed with a simple configuration. .

FIG. 5 shows the recording head unit 1 of this embodiment.
The head unit 1 is in a replaceable form, and the ink flow path is filled with ink for storage and distribution. In the drawing, the flow path and the liquid chamber are filled with ink for storage and distribution. This ink for storage and distribution used in this example is made of water and diethylene glycol in order to avoid the adverse effects caused by standing bubbles generated when the ink in the liquid chamber or in the ink flow path is left for a long period of time. The liquid with the components can be used. Also, a sufficient effect can be obtained by using a known degassed ink in which the dissolved gas in the ink is reduced.

When the print head is mounted on the printer body, the ink tank is set after removing the cap and the seal member, and the above-described suction recovery operation is performed. By this suction operation, ink for storage and distribution in the print head is sucked, and ink for printing in the ink tank is sucked. By filling the liquid chamber in the head with the printing ink, a printing operation becomes possible.

As described above, the ink of the replaceable print head is stored and used separately for distribution and printing, thereby preventing deterioration of the head when the print head is left unattended and storing the print with high print quality. Becomes

The above-described head portion is filled with ink for storage and distribution, and a method of discharging the ink will be described.

This method is called aging, in which a heat pulse is continuously applied to the discharge heater of the print head (hundreds of thousands to several millions), and an oxide film and impurities generated on the discharge heater are converted by this foaming energy. It is peeled, separated and discharged from the discharge port. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the outline of the aging operation when replacing a new print head.
According to FIG. 6, the printer body has a known print head ID.
It is confirmed in step 1 that the new head is mounted on the main body by the detecting means. When the new head is inserted, aging is started in step 2 to discharge the ink for storage and distribution in the liquid chamber and the flow path. It is determined in Step 3 whether or not the prescribed application pulse for ink ejection has reached a predetermined value, and the aging operation is ended in Step 4 upon detecting that the predetermined value has reached the predetermined value.

By using this method for the above-mentioned storage and discharging of the distribution ink, aging and storage of the discharge heater can be performed.
It is possible to perform both discharges of the distribution ink at once. When this aging was performed with printing ink,
The heater may be deteriorated by the kogation of the dye or the like, but the storage and the aging using the distribution ink can prevent the heater from being deteriorated by the kogation of the dye or the like.

Further, the storage ink in the head may be suctioned and discharged by using the suction recovery device of the recording apparatus, and the recording ink may be filled from the tank side. The ink is replaced by the suction. It goes without saying that the aging process described above may be performed later.

In this embodiment, the capacity of the ink tank is set at 8 g and the ink capacity of the recording head is set at 0.1 g. It can be replaced reliably without using a large amount. In addition, since the suction operation is designed to suck an ink amount of about 0.07 g, the ink in the head easily becomes the recording ink by performing the suction recovery operation almost twice.

Hereinafter, the form of the above-described ink jet recording means during distribution will be described with reference to FIG.

When a replaceable print head is used, it is necessary to accurately recognize the time for replacing the print head.
This is because when the quality of the printed image is deteriorated, it is necessary to distinguish whether the deterioration is due to the life of the print head or an accidental image deterioration that can be recovered by the recovery unit built in the main body. If the image quality is recoverable, it is necessary to use a recovery device to recover the image quality. Also, if the image is deteriorated due to the life of the print head, no matter how much recovery operation is performed, there is no effect, and printing ink is unnecessarily used, which is not preferable.
In this example, it is possible to clearly indicate the life of the print head by combining the printing ink and the exchange head into one package. The package includes a plurality of replacement print heads and a plurality of replacement ink tanks (containing printing ink). Here, it is assumed that the life of the print head is temporarily determined on the recording medium 2.
If the replacement ink tank capacity is 1
If 400 sheets can be printed per piece, the number of ink tanks corresponding to the life of the print head becomes five. Accordingly, by including one print head and five ink tanks in the above package, the user can easily recognize the life of the print head and confirm the replacement time.

Needless to say, the number of ink tanks accommodated in one package changes depending on the setting of the head life and the number of printable sheets per ink tank.

In another embodiment, the ink in the exchange head is filled with one kind of ink for storage and distribution, and the exchange tank is filled with a plurality of color inks for each tank. That is, if there is only one type of print head and only the color of the replacement tank is distinguished, the head can be handled without being limited by the color when a new print head is mounted or during distribution, and versatility is greatly improved.

In this case, for example, the inside of the head can be easily cleaned by accommodating the cleaning ink tank together with the cleaning ink tank.
It is also possible to use with one head.

In this embodiment, a number may be written at a position where the ink tank stored in the package is easily seen from the outside. By writing numbers like this,
It is easy to recognize how many ink tanks the user is using now. In accordance with this, information indexes 203A and 203N may be provided so that the notation number or the characteristics of the stored ink can be transmitted to the apparatus side or the head. If the number and characteristics of the ink cartridge are transmitted as information in this way, a recording state corresponding to the information can be created, or the apparatus detects the head life based on the number of the used ink cartridge and issues a warning or the like. You can also.

The information indexes 203a and 203 are stored in the ink tanks.
When n is provided, the device can be configured as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 8, the apparatus is provided on the apparatus main body via a tank information terminal TM having information on the ink tank, a signal terminal T1 provided on the recording head for reading this information, and a terminal T3 provided on the carriage. The information is transmitted to the control means CC. The transmitted information is compared with a table of a tank discriminating unit TT provided in the control unit, and is configured to perform recording by recognizing, for example, the number of the ink tank and appropriately selecting a recording condition or the like according to the number. I have.

Information on the recording head is transmitted from the head information terminal HM to the control means CC of the apparatus via a terminal T2 provided on the carriage. Further, information on recording of the head is transmitted from the control unit of the apparatus to the head via the head driving unit HD.

By mounting information in the ink tanks as described above, it is possible to achieve recording most suitable for the used ink tanks, or to achieve recording in consideration of the number of used ink tanks. Record can be achieved.

[0044]

As described above, the provision of the terminal for transmitting the information of the ink tank to the ink jet recording head eliminates the necessity of forming an independent reading terminal in the apparatus, thereby achieving the miniaturization of the apparatus. Since information on the ink tank can be transmitted in a proper manner, printing can be performed under optimal printing conditions, and print quality can be maintained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a replaceable recording head and a replaceable ink tank to which the present invention is applied are attached to a main body.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process of mounting a replaceable recording head and a replaceable ink tank.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing a replaceable ink tank.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view schematically showing an inkjet recording apparatus to which the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view schematically showing a replaceable recording head.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a configuration of an aging process after ink replacement.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a package form of an ink tank.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an outline of information transmission between a replaceable recording head and a main body of a replaceable ink tank.

[Description of Signs] 1 Recording head 2 Replacement ink tank 3 Carriage 201 Package TM Tank information

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) The inventor Kiichiro Takahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) The inventor Osamu Iwasaki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (72) Inventor Atsushi Arai 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Hiromitsu Hirabayashi 3-30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. ( 72) Inventor Hitoshi Sugimoto Canon Inc. 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Miyuki Matsubara Canon Inc. 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Masaya Uetsuzuki 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Fumihiro Goto 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo In emissions Co., Ltd. (58) investigated the field (Int.Cl. ^7, DB name) B41J 2/01 B41J 2/175

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] An ink jet recording system having a control mechanism mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus for performing recording on a recording medium, comprising: an ink jet recording head; and an ink tank storing ink supplied to the recording head. A carriage having a first carriage terminal electrically connected to the recording head and also electrically connected to control means of the ink jet recording apparatus; and an electric signal electrically connected to the first carriage terminal. An ink jet recording head having a first head terminal for transmitting and receiving the ink, and an ink tank having a tank information terminal having information of the ink tank. The ink jet recording head further comprises the ink tank Connected to the tank information terminal of A second head terminal that transmits and receives information about the ink tank; and the carriage is electrically connected to the second head terminal, and transmits and receives information about the ink tank to and from the inkjet recording apparatus. An ink jet recording system comprising two carriage terminals. 2. An ink jet recording head configured to be detachable from a carriage and detachable from an ink tank storing ink to be ejected. A first carriage terminal electrically connected to a first carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to the control unit of the printing apparatus;
A second head connected to a head terminal and a tank information terminal containing information on the ink tank, and electrically connected to a second carriage terminal provided on a carriage connected to control means of the ink jet recording apparatus; And a terminal for transmitting and receiving information held by the ink tank to and from control means of the ink jet recording apparatus via the ink jet recording head.