Inkjet printer
AssigneeSharp Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsYoshinobu Umetani, Hiroshi Ishii
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The amount of ink ejected from a recording head is measured using a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) method. An ink detector arranged outside an image area includes an AT-cut quartz oscillator constructed by vapor-depositing Al electrodes on both surfaces of a quartz plate, and the ink ejected from the recording head mounted on a carriage is deposited on this quartz oscillator. A change in resonant frequency caused in the quartz oscillator due to the deposition of the ink is detected, and the mass of the ink ejected from the recording head is measured based on the detection results.
Claims20
An inkjet printer comprising:
- a head for ejecting an ink;
- an oscillator on which the ink ejected from said head is deposited;
- and
- a detector for detecting a change in resonant frequency caused in said oscillator when the ink is deposited on said vibrating oscillator.
An inkjet printer comprising:
- a head for ejecting an ink;
- an oscillator on which the ink ejected from said head is deposited;
- a detector for detecting a change in resonant frequency caused in said oscillator when the ink is deposited on said vibrating oscillator;
- and
- a calculator for calculating an amount of ink ejected from said head, based on the change in resonant frequency detected by said detector.
A method for measuring an amount of ejected ink from a head of an inkjet printer, comprising the steps of:
- depositing the ink ejected from the head on an oscillator;
- detecting a change in resonant frequency caused in the oscillator when the ink is deposited on the vibrating oscillator;
- and
- calculating the amount of ink ejected from the head, based on the detected change in resonant frequency.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.