Printer system, main printer and sub printer to be used therefor, and ink supply method
AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorHiroto Sugahara
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A printer system includes a main printer which has a first tank and a first head, a sub printer which has a second tank having a volume smaller than the first tank and a second head and which is provided detachably with respect to the main printer, and a supply mechanism which supplies the ink from the first tank to the second tank when the sub printer is installed to the main printer. Accordingly, it is possible to provide the printer system, which is not provided with any exclusive station that finds no way of use except for the ink supplement and requires any excessive installation space, while the sub printer is of the ink supplement type.
Claims17
A printer system which performs printing by discharging an ink onto a recording medium, the printer system comprising:
- a main printer including a first tank which stores the ink and a first head which discharges the ink supplied from the first tank onto the recording medium;
- a portable type sub printer which is detachably accommodated with the main printer, the sub printer including a second ink tank which stores the ink, the second ink tank of which volume is smaller than that of the first tank, and a second head which discharges the ink supplied from the second tank onto the recording medium;
- and
- a supply mechanism which connects the first tank and the second tank to supply the ink from the first tank to the second tank when the sub printer is installed to the main printer,
- wherein the main printer further comprises a first installing section in which the first tank is accommodated detachably and a second installing section to which the sub printer is installed detachably and
- wherein the supply mechanism comprises a detecting mechanism which detects an installation of the sub printer to the second installing section.
A main printer which performs printing by discharging an ink onto a recording medium, the main printer comprising:
- a first tank which stores an ink;
- a first head which discharges the ink supplied from the first tank onto a recording medium;
- an installing section which accommodates detachably a portable type sub printer including a second tank which stores the ink and which has a volume smaller than that of the first tank, and a second head which discharges the ink supplied from the second tank onto the recording medium;
- a supply mechanism which connects the second tank and the first tank to supply the ink from the first tank to the second tank when the sub printer is installed to the installing section;
- a first installing section in which the first tank is accommodated detachably;
- and
- a second installing section to which the sub printer is installed detachably,
- wherein the supply mechanism comprises a detecting mechanism which detects an installation of the sub printer to the second installing section.
A portable type sub printer which performs printing by discharging an ink onto a recording medium, the sub printer comprising:
- a second tank which stores the ink;
- and
- a second head which discharges the ink supplied from the second tank, wherein
- the sub printer is detachably installed to a main printer including the first tank which stores the ink and a first head which discharges the ink supplied from the first tank onto the recording medium, the second tank has a volume smaller than that of the first tank, and the second tank is communicated with the first tank when the sub printer is installed to the main printer, and
- the main printer further comprises a first installing section in which the first tank is accommodated detachably and a second installing section to which the sub printer is installed detachably and a detecting mechanism which detects an installation of connecting sections of the sub printer to the second installing section.
A method for supplying an ink for a printer system, the printer system comprising:
- a main printer including a first tank which stores the ink and a first head which discharges the ink supplied from the first tank onto the recording medium;
- a portable type sub printer accommodated detachably with the main printer, the sub printer including a second tank which stores the ink, the second tank having a volume smaller than that of the first tank, and a second head which discharges the ink supplied from the second tank onto a recording medium;
- and
- an ink supply mechanism including a first valve which regulates a flow of the ink between the first tank and the first head, a second valve which regulates a flow of the ink between the first tank and the second tank, and a pump which supplies the ink from the first tank to the second tank, and the method comprising:
- detecting whether or not the sub printer is installed the main printer;
- opening the first valve and closing the second valve when the installation of the sub printer is not detected;
- and
- disengaging the pump to supply the ink from the first tank to the second tank when the installation of the sub printer is not detected.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.