# US 10,500,868 B2 · Liquid discharge apparatus having tank to communicate with cartridge to be attached in the apparatus

> Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt

- Number: US 10,500,868 B2
- Document ID: US10500868B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 16/155,527
- Filed: 2018-10-09
- Published: 2019-04-11
- Granted: 2019-12-10
- Earliest claimed: 2017-10-10
- Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Applicants: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
- Inventors: Kenta Horade; Mikio Ogawa
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10500868B2

## CPC

- B41J 2/17566: {Ink level or ink residue control}
- B41J 2/17509: {Whilst mounted in the printer}
- B41J 2/17513: {Inner structure}
- B41J 2/1752: {Mounting within the printer}
- B41J 2/1753: {Details of contacts on the cartridge, e.g. protection of contacts}
- B41J 2/17546: {electronically}
- B41J 2/17553: {Outer structure}
- B41J 2002/17569: {based on the amount printed or to be printed}
- B41J 2002/17573: {using optical means for ink level indication}
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

A liquid discharge apparatus includes an installation case, a tank, a memory and a controller. The installation case is to be attached a cartridge. The controller calculates total liquid amount Vt sum of a liquid amount Vc in a cartridge chamber and a liquid amount Vs in a chamber of the tank. The controller reads correlated information from memory, indicating a correspondence among the amount Vt and one of the amount Vc and the amount Vs. Based on the calculated amount Vt and the correlated information, the controller determines the amount Vc and the amount Vs.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A liquid discharge apparatus comprising:
an installation case configured to be attached to a cartridge;
a tank including a chamber, the tank further including:
a first channel including one end in fluid communication with an outside of the tank and an opposite end in fluid communication with the chamber, wherein the first channel is configured to form at least a portion of a channel providing fluid communication between a cartridge chamber of the cartridge and the chamber when the cartridge is attached to the installation case;
a second channel including one end positioned below the first channel and in fluid communication with the chamber; and
a third channel including one end in fluid communication with the chamber and the other end communicated with the outside of the tank;
a head in fluid communication with an opposite end of the second channel from the one end;
a memory; and
a controller configured to:
receive a first discharge instruction for discharging liquid through the head;
update a first count value by a value corresponding to a liquid amount instructed by the first discharge instruction;
calculate a total liquid amount Vt by subtracting the first count value from an initial total liquid amount Vt, the initial total liquid amount Vt corresponding to a sum of a liquid amount Vc in a cartridge chamber and a liquid amount Vs in the chamber;
read correlated information from the memory, the correlated information indicating a correspondence among a total liquid amount Vt and one of the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs; and
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the read correlated information, determine the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:
read a first function corresponding to the correlated information from the memory; and
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the read first function, determine one of the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to:
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the first function, calculate the liquid amount Vs; and
calculate the liquid amount Vc by subtracting the updated total liquid amount Vt from the calculated liquid amount Vs.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 2, wherein the controller is configured to:
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt being lower than a first threshold, read a second function from the memory, the second function corresponding to the correlated information and being different from the first function; and
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the second function, determine one of the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 4, wherein the controller is configured to:
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt being lower than the first threshold, calculate the liquid amount Vs based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the read second function;
read a second function from the memory, the second function corresponding to the correlated information and being different from the first function; and
calculate the liquid amount Vc by subtracting the calculated liquid amount Vs from the updated total liquid amount Vt.

### Claim 6 (depends on 2)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 2, further comprising the cartridge, the cartridge having a cartridge chamber, and wherein:
the cartridge chamber includes a first portion and a second portion partitioned from the first portion by a wall; and
the first threshold indicates a value corresponding to the updated total ink amount Vt such that a surface of liquid in the first chamber of the cartridge contacts a first surface of the wall or a second surface of the wall, the first surface of the wall partially defining the first portion of the first chamber, the second surface of the wall partially defining the second portion of the first chamber.

### Claim 7 (depends on 2)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 2,
wherein the installation case is configured to be attached one of a first-type cartridge or a second-type cartridge,
wherein the controller is configured to:
read type information of an attached cartridge indicating the attached cartridge as being one of the first-type cartridge and the second-type cartridge;
based on the read type information, select one of the first function for the read type information indicating the first type and the first function for the read type information indicating the second type from the memory; and
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the selected first function, determine the liquid amount Vc and the liquid amount Vs.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to read the type information from a memory of the attached cartridge.

### Claim 9 (depends on 7)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to:
based on the updated total liquid amount Vt and the selected first function, calculate the liquid amount Vs; and
calculate the liquid amount Vc by subtracting the calculated liquid amount Vs from the updated total liquid amount Vt.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a liquid level sensor;
wherein the controller is configured to:
receive a first signal from the liquid level sensor, the first signal outputted from the liquid level sensor in response to a surface level of liquid in the second chamber higher than or equal to the predetermined level P;
receive a second signal from the liquid level sensor, the second signal outputted from the liquid level sensor in response to the surface level of liquid in the second chamber lower than the predetermined level P; and
in response to the receipt of the second signal after receipt of the first signal, setting the updated total liquid amount Vt to a predetermined amount.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to:
after setting the updated total liquid amount Vt to the predetermined amount, receive second discharge instruction for discharging liquid through the head;
update a second count value by a value corresponding to a liquid amount instructed by the second discharge instruction; and
calculate the liquid amount Vs by subtracting the second count value from a liquid amount Vs based on the updated total liquid amount Vt.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 10, wherein the predetermined level P is lower than or equal to an imaginary line along the horizontal direction, the imaginary line extending through the cfirst channel.

### Claim 13 (depends on 11)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 11, wherein:
the predetermined level P is higher than an imaginary line along the horizontal direction, the imaginary line extending through the first channel; and
the controller is configured to, based on the second count value having reached a second threshold, calculate the liquid amount Vs by subtracting the second count value from a liquid amount Vs based on the updated total liquid amount Vt.

### Claim 14 (depends on 10)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 10, further comprising an alarm;
wherein the controller is configured to, based on the second count value having reached a third threshold smaller than the second threshold, activate the alarm.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an interface,
wherein the controller is configured to store the determined liquid amount Vc in a memory of the attached cartridge through the interface.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 15, wherein the controller is configured to:
determine that the cartridge is attached to the installation case;
in response to the determination that the cartridge is attached to the installation case, read the liquid amount Vc from the memory of the attached cartridge through the interface; and
based on the read liquid amount Vc from the memory of the attached cartridge and the liquid amount Vs before determining that the cartridge is attached to the installation case, calculate the updated total liquid amount Vt.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The liquid discharge apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a display,
wherein the controller is configured to control the display to display the determined liquid amount Vc and the determined liquid amount Vs.