The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 27, 2004
Filed:
Sep. 10, 2001
Shingo Takada, Tokyo, JP;
Michitaka Fukuda, Tokyo, JP;
Koji Terasawa, Tokyo, JP;
Hideyuki Kitajima, Tokyo, JP;
Canon Finetech Inc., Ibaraki, JP;
Abstract
An image forming device capable of detecting the presence/absence of ink as well as whether an ink tank is mounted. A detachable ink tank on a carriage includes a prism C, and a reflective optical sensor detects the presence/absence of ink depending on the difference in refractive index between the two states, that is, filled with ink and empty. A reflector lever movable in response to the ink tank being mounted or not, is provided on the bottom of an ink tank holder The reflector lever has one end fixed on a lower part of the ink tank and the other end that is a free end consisting of a triangular reflector D. The reflector lever is normally urged upward by a resilient member A, and it will not direct the reflection toward the sensor in the absence of the ink tank whereas it is deformed in the presence/absence of the ink tank to direct the reflection toward the sensor As a result, the presence/absence of the ink tank is detected.