Patent ID: 6729184
Filing Date: 2004-05-04
Classification: B41J,G01F,Y10T

Abstract:
A detector of liquid consumption condition comprising;a vibrating part that can vibrate relatively to a containing space that can be filled and refilled with a liquid, at least a portion of the vibrating part being exposed to the containing space through an opening formed in a wall part defining the containing space, the opening determining an area of the vibrating part, a piezoelectric device that can cause the vibrating part to vibrate based on a driving signal and that can generate a counter electromotive force signal based on a residual vibration of the vibrating part depending on a liquid consumption condition, and a liquid consumption condition detecting part that can detect the liquid consumption condition based on the counter electromotive force signal from the piezoelectric device, wherein: the containing space can contain only a predetermined volume of the liquid, and the vibrating part is provided in a vicinity of a liquid surface in the containing space when the containing space contains the predetermined volume of the liquid.