Abstract:
An ink container for retaining ink includes an ink containing body, an elastically displaceable supporting member, a light emitting portion, a light receiving portion for receiving light from the light emitting portion, a display portion for displaying the received light, and a light guide portion for optically connecting the light receiving portion and the display portion so as to guide the light received by the receiving portion to the display portion. The supporting member at least partly functions as the light guide portion. The light receiving portion is located, with a gap with respect to the light emitting portion, so as to cover the light emitting portion. The light receiving portion approaches the light emitting portion when the supporting member approaches the ink containing body by being subjected to urging toward the ink containing body. The light receiving portion moves apart from the light emitting portion when the supporting member moves apart from the ink containing body by being released from the urging toward the ink containing body.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to an ink container and an ink jet recording system. Specifically, the present invention relates to an ink container and an ink jet recording system which employ a constitution for efficiently guiding light, emitted from a light emitting member such as an LED provided to the ink container, to an operating portion(display portion) of a lever for operation. 
         [0002]    In recent years, which widespread use of digital imaging equipment such as digital camera (hereinafter referred to as “digital equipment”), such a style that data transmission is performed by directly connecting the digital equipment with a printer or directly mounting a recording medium for the digital equipment such as a memory card in the printer without through a personal computer (PC) to effect recording, i.e., so-called non-PC recording, is increasing. 
         [0003]    With respect to an ink container mountable to the printer used in such an environment, in order to improve handleability thereof by a user, e.g., a technique disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application (JP-A) 2006-142484 is employed. In the technique, the light emitting member such as LED (hereinafter referred to as “LED” or “light emitting portion”) is disposed with respect to the ink container so that the user can confirm a state of the ink container mounted on the printer by visual observation. JP-A 2006-142484 discloses, as one of embodiments, utilization of light emission at the light emitting portion as a means for transmitting a state of the ink container to the user. 
         [0004]    Further, such a constitution that light from the light emitting portion disposed with respect to the ink container is guided to a position different from a position in which the light emitting portion is disposed is proposed. For example, JP-A 2006-142796 discloses a constitution for guiding light emitted from an LED to a desired position in the case where a position in which the LED is disposed is restricted. In JP-A 2006-142796, such a constitution that a light receiving portion for receiving the light from the LED is disposed to face the LED and a light guide member for guiding the received light to a display portion for outputting the light to effect display is disclosed. The light guide member disclosed in JP-A 2006-142796 is provided to the ink container as an independent structure. 
         [0005]    As the constitution of the light guide member, in addition to the above-described independent structure, such a constitution that an operating lever itself utilized for mounting the ink container is used so that an operating portion of the operating lever is used as a display portion is disclosed in JP-A 2006-116785. 
         [0006]    Further, JP-A 2007-1212 discloses such a constitution that a substrate to which a light emitting portion is provided is equipped with a light guide member as a unit and the unit is disposed with respect to an ink container. JP-A 2007-1212 also discloses a constitution in which a light display portion is used as an operating portion of an operating lever and the operating lever connecting a light receiving portion with the display portion is utilized as the light guide member. 
         [0007]    By using the light guide member as described above, it is possible to determine disposition (arrangement) of the light emitting portion and the display portion with a certain degree of design latitude. Further, such a light guide member is constituted to cover the light emitting portion, so that the light from the light emitting portion can be transmitted to the display portion while retaining a sufficient amount of light (light amount). 
         [0008]    In either of the above-described constitutions disclosed in JP-A 2006-142484, JP-A 2006-142796, JP-A 2006-116785 and JP-A 2007-1212, the LED as the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are disposed with a certain gap (spacing). Intensity of light outputted from the display portion, i.e., the light amount varies depending on a distance between the LED as the light emitting member and the light receiving portion of the light guide member in the case where the materials constituting the light guide member are the same. 
         [0009]    Here, a relationship between the amount of light entering the light receiving portion and the distance between the light receiving portion and the LED (light emitting portion) will be described with reference to  FIGS. 10(   a ) and  10 ( b ) which are schematic views.  FIGS. 10(   a ) shows a constitution in which a light emitting portion  51   a  for isotropically emitting light in a planar shape is disposed and a light receiving portion  33   a  of the light guide member  36  is disposed with a distance r from the light emitting portion  51   a.  An amount of light, of light emitted from the light emitting portion  51   a,  received by the light receiving portion  33   a  is represented by Sa/4πr 2  where Sa represents an area of the light receiving portion  33   a.  On the other hand,  FIG. 10(   b ) shows a constitution in which the light receiving portion  33   a  placed in the state shown in  FIG. 10  ( a ) has approached a position with a distance ½ from the light emitting portion  51   a.  In this case, an amount of light reaching the light receiving portion  33   a  is represented by Sa/4πr(½) 2 . That is, the amount of the light reaching the light receiving portion  33   a  is inversely proportional to the square of the distance r, so that the amount of the light received by the light receiving portion is increased by decreasing the distance between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion. When the light guide member  36  is under the same condition, the amount of the light guided to the display portion is increased with a shorter (decreased) distance between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion. 
         [0010]    That is, when the distance between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion is large, the light from the light emitting portion cannot be sufficiently guided to the display portion, with the result that the light amount at the display portion is insufficient in some cases. On the other hand, it is easily conceivable that the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are disposed so that the light receiving portion for receiving light from the light emitting portion is brought near to the light emitting portion as close as possible for the purpose of ensuring the light amount. From this viewpoint, e.g., as disclosed in JP-A 2006-142796, such a constitution that the substrate provided with the light emitting portion is disposed with respect to the ink container and the light receiving portion of the light guide member is disposed at a position opposite to the light emitting portion is employed as a preferred constitutional embodiment. 
         [0011]    However, in the case where the amount of the received light is intended to be increased by disposing the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the light guide member so as to be closer to each other, it is necessary to constitute the light guide member with high accuracy. Failure to do so may cause breakage of the light emitting portion due to excessive approach of the light receiving portion of the light guide member to the light emitting portion, when the light emitting portion is attached to the ink container, resulting in contact between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion. Incidentally, when the LED and the light receiving portion are configured to keep a manufacturing safety distance in order to obviate such a situation, there is a possibility that the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion are moved apart from each other, thus failing to provide an expected light amount. 
         [0012]    Further, even in the case where the light emitting portion is manufactured with high accuracy and is attached to the ink container safety, there is also a possibility that such an unexpected situation that the attached light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the light guide member contact each other to break the LED due to an impact or the like caused, e.g., in the case of falling of the ink container during transportation or the like occurs. When various factors such as safety and manufacturing easiness are taken into consideration, the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion cannot be disposed excessively closely to each other. That is, ensuring of the light amount and protection of the LED have a trade-off relationship. 
         [0013]    As another means for increasing the amount of light received by the light receiving portion, the light guide member may be formed in a large thickness to increase an area of the light receiving portion. For example, as disclosed in JP-A 2007-1212, in the case where a substrate unit provided with the light emitting portion and the light guide member is disposed in the neighborhood of a supporting point portion of an operating lever to constitute a display portion, the neighborhood of the supporting point portion of the light, itself constitutes an optical path(see, e.g.,  FIG. 10  of JP-A 2007-1212). In the case, the thickness of the supporting point portion of the operating lever is increased to result in an increased operating force of the lever. Further, in the neighborhood of the supporting point portion of the operating lever constituted to have the large thickness, the supporting point portion is deformed to become white in some cases, so that a light-guiding property can be lowered by the deformation. In this regard, there is a possibility that the white deformation at the supporting point portion of the operating lever occurs similarly in the constitution disposed in JP-A 2006-116785. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0014]    A principal object of the present invention is to provide an ink container, for notifying a user of a state of an ink container by utilizing light emission from a light emitting portion such as an LED, capable of realizing not only such a constitution that a sufficient amount of light can be transmitted to a display portion with a simple structure without risking the above-described possibilities but also good protection of the light emitting portion such as the LED while avoiding risks which can occur during manufacturing, transportation, or the like. 
         [0015]    Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet recording system capable of effectively utilizing such an ink container. 
         [0016]    The present invention has been accomplished by focusing attention on such a point that a supporting member which is provided to the ink container and constitutes an operating lever utilized when the ink container is mounted and fixed to a holder is displaced before and after the mounting of the ink container to the holder. 
         [0017]    That is, by utilizing the displacement of the supporting member so as to approach the ink container by the mounting of the ink container to the holder, when a light guide member is provided to the supporting member, a light receiving portion of the light guide member is constituted so that the light receiving portion relatively moves apart from the LED in a state before the light receiving portion of the light guide member is mounted and relatively approaches the LED by the mounting thereof. 
         [0018]    According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink container for retaining ink, comprising: 
         [0019]    an ink containing body; 
         [0020]    an elastically displaceable supporting member; 
         [0021]    a light emitting portion; 
         [0022]    a light receiving portion for receiving light from the light emitting portion; 
         [0023]    a display portion for displaying the received light; and 
         [0024]    a light guide portion for optically connecting the light receiving portion and the display portion so as to guide the light received by the receiving portion to the display portion, 
         [0025]    wherein the supporting member at least partly functions as the light guide portion, 
         [0026]    wherein the light receiving portion is located, with a gap with respect to the light emitting portion, so as to cover the light emitting portion, 
         [0027]    wherein the light receiving portion approaches the light emitting portion when the supporting member approaches the ink containing body by being subjected to urging toward the ink containing body, and 
         [0028]    wherein the light receiving portion moves apart from the light emitting portion when the supporting member moves apart from the ink containing body by being released from the urging toward the ink containing body. 
         [0029]    According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink container for retaining ink, comprising: 
         [0030]    an ink containing body; 
         [0031]    an elastically displaceable supporting member; 
         [0032]    a light emitting portion; 
         [0033]    a light receiving portion for receiving light from said light emitting portion; and 
         [0034]    a display portion for displaying the received light, 
         [0035]    wherein said light guide portion is provided with a light guide portion for optically connecting said light receiving portion and said display portion so as to guide the light received by said receiving portion to said display portion, 
         [0036]    wherein said light receiving portion is located, with a gap with respect to said light emitting portion, so as to cover said light emitting portion, 
         [0037]    wherein said light receiving portion approaches said light emitting portion when said supporting member approaches said ink containing body by being subjected to urging toward said ink containing body, and 
         [0038]    wherein said light receiving portion moves apart from said light emitting portion when said supporting member moves apart from said ink containing body by being released from the urging toward said ink containing body. 
         [0039]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording system for effecting recording by ejecting ink from a recording head, comprising: 
         [0040]    an ink container; 
         [0041]    a recording head for ejecting ink supplied from the ink container; and 
         [0042]    a holder to which the ink container is mountable, 
         [0043]    wherein the ink container comprises an ink containing body, a light emitting portion, a light guide portion for receiving light from the light emitting portion and guiding the received light to a display portion, and a supporting member which is provided with the light guide portion and is displaceable by being mounted to the holder, and 
         [0044]    wherein the light receiving portion approaches the light emitting portion by displacement of the supporting member toward the ink containing body caused by mounting of the ink container to the holder. 
         [0045]    According to a still further aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording system for effecting recording by ejecting ink from a recording head, comprising: 
         [0046]    an ink container; 
         [0047]    a recording head for ejecting ink supplied from said ink container; and 
         [0048]    a holder to which said ink container is mountable, 
         [0049]    wherein said ink container comprises an ink containing body, a light emitting portion, a light guide portion for receiving light from the light emitting portion and guiding the received light to a display portion, and a supporting member which at least partly functions as the light guide portion and is displaceable by being mounted to the holder, and 
         [0050]    wherein the light receiving portion approaches said light emitting portion by displacement of said supporting member toward said ink containing body caused by mounting of said ink container to the holder. 
         [0051]    According to the above-described constitution, before the ink container is mounted to the holder, the ink container and the supporting member relatively move apart from each other, so that the light receiving portion of the light guide member provided to the supporting member is located apart from the LED or the like constituting the light emitting portion. When the ink container is mounted to the holder, the supporting member approaches the ink container. At the same time, the light receiving portion of the light guide member approaches the light emitting portion. As a result, when the supporting member is configured to relatively move apart from the ink container, e.g., during ink container manufacturing, the light receiving portion of the light guide member is also located apart from the LED, so that it is possible to reduce a degree of dangerousness such as breakage during assembling of a substrate provided with the LED. Further, when the ink container is mounted to the holder, the light receiving portion of the light guide member approaches the LED with displacement of the supporting member, so that most of light from the light emitting portion can be caused to enter the light receiving portion and therefore it is possible to ensure a large value as an amount of light outputted at the display portion. 
         [0052]    Further, also by an impact unnecessarily exerted on the ink container, such as falling, during handling of the ink container before the ink container is mounted to the holder, the LED as the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the light guide member are placed in a mutually separated state, so that the LED and the light receiving portion less contact each other and particularly it is possible to prevent damage of the light emitting portion. Further, the LED as the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion of the light guide member are configured so as to ensure the mutually separated state when the supporting member is displaced at a maximum level, so that reliability with respect to protection of the LED from an external impact is further improved. 
         [0053]    These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0054]      FIG. 1  is a sectional view, showing an ink container according to an embodiment of the present invention, taken along A-A line indicated in  FIG. 2(   d ). 
           [0055]      FIGS. 2(   a ),  2 ( b ),  2 ( c ), and  2 ( d ) are a top plan view, a side view, a front view, and a bottom view, respectively, showing the ink container according to the embodiment of the present invention. 
           [0056]      FIG. 3  is a sectional view, showing the ink container according to the embodiment of the present invention, taken along B-B line indicated in  FIG. 2(   d ). 
           [0057]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing an example of a recording head unit for holding the ink container according to the embodiment of the present invention in a detachably mountable manner. 
           [0058]      FIG. 5(   a ) is a sectional view for illustrating a state of an ink container according to First Embodiment of the present invention before the ink container is mounted, and  FIG. 5(   b ) is a perspective view showing the state. 
           [0059]      FIG. 6(   a ) is a sectional side view for illustrating a state of completion of the mounting of the ink container according to First Embodiment of the present invention, and  FIG. 6(   b ) is a perspective view showing the state. 
           [0060]      FIG. 7  is a schematic view for illustrating a state of displacement of a supporting member. 
           [0061]      FIG. 8(   a ) is a sectional view for illustrating Second Embodiment, and  FIG. 8(   b ) is a perspective view for illustrating Second Embodiment. 
           [0062]      FIGS. 9(   a ) and  9 ( b ) are sectional views for illustrating Third Embodiment. 
           [0063]      FIGS. 10(   a ) and  10 ( b ) are schematic views for illustrating a relationship between an amount of received light and a distance between a light emitting portion and a light receiving portion. 
           [0064]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state in which a main assembly cover  201  of an ink jet printer, for effecting recording, to which an ink container according to an embodiment of the present invention is mounted is opened. 
           [0065]      FIGS. 12(   a ) to  12 ( f ) are schematic views each for illustrating a constitution of a light path from a light-receiving portion to a display portion. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0066]    Hereinbelow, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 
       First Embodiment 
       [0067]      FIG. 1 ,  FIGS. 2(   a ) to  2 ( d ), and  FIG. 3  are views showing a schematic structure of an ink container according to First Embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 1  is a sectional side view taken along A-A line indicated in  FIG. 2(   d ) and  FIG. 3  is a sectional side view taken along B-B line indicated in  FIG. 2(   d ).  FIGS. 2(   a ),  2 ( b ),  2 ( c ), and  2 ( d ) are a top plan view, a side view, a front view, and a bottom view, respectively, of the ink container. Herein, a front surface (side) of the ink container is a surface (side) which is faced to the user who is manipulating the ink container (mounting and demounting operation of the ink container), which provides the user with information (by light emission of LED which will be described hereinafter). 
         [0068]    In  FIG. 1 , an ink container  1  is constituted by being provided with, as principal surfaces, a front surface la provided with an operating lever  30  utilized for the mounting and demounting operation of the ink container (hereinafter referred to as a “supporting member”), a rear surface  1   b  opposite from the front surface  1   a,  a bottom surface  1   c  provided with an ink supply port (also referred to as a “lower surface” as a matter of convenience), a top (or upper) surface  1   d,  and two side surfaces  1   e  and  1   f  connecting these surfaces. The supporting member  30  is made of resin material integrally molded with an outer casing member of the ink container  1 , and a portion  34  integrally connected with the outer casing member is supporting point portion during displacement. The ink container  1  is provided on its rear surface  1   b  side and front surface  1   a  side with a first engaging portion  21  and second engaging portion  32 , respectively, which are engageable with locking portions provided on an ink container holder  150  side which will be described hereinafter. By engagement of the engaging portion  21  and the engaging portion  32  with the locking portions, a mounted state of the ink container  1  in the ink container holder  150  is ensured. In this embodiment, the second engaging portion  32  is integrally molded with the supporting member  30  as part of the supporting member  30 . The operation during the mounting will be described hereinafter referring to  FIG. 15 . 
         [0069]    The bottom surface  1   c  of the ink container  1  is provided with an ink supply port  22  for ink supply, which port is connectable with an ink introduction opening of a recording head which will be described hereinafter, by mounting of the ink container  1  to the ink container holder  150 . A substrate  50  is provided in an inclined state on the bottom surface  1   c  side of the supporting point portion  34  of the supporting member  30  as a portion for connecting bottom surface  1   c  side and the front surface  1   a  side. On the substrate  50 , a light emitting portion such as the LED is disposed as described later. 
         [0070]    An inside of the ink container  1  is divided into an ink reservoir chamber  23  which is provided adjacent the front surface side, and an absorbing member accommodating chamber  24  which is provided adjacent the rear surface side and which his in fluid communication with the ink supply port  22 . These chambers  23  and  24  are in fluid communication with each other through a communication port  25 . The ink reservoir chamber  23  directly contains ink  2 , whereas the absorbing member accommodating chamber  24  is provided with an (ink) absorbing material (e.g., fibrous absorbing members  41  and  42  using a porous member made of sponge, fibers or the like) for retaining the ink by impregnation. The absorbing members  41  and  42  generate a proper negative pressure in a range in which the pressure is sufficient to provide balance with the force of meniscus formed in an ink ejection nozzle portion of the recording head to prevent ink leakage from the ink ejection portion to the outside and to permit an ink ejection operation of the recording head. 
         [0071]    On the top surface of the absorbing member accommodating chamber  24 , an ambient air communication portion  11  for establishing communication of the absorbing member accommodating chamber  24  with ambient air is provided, so that the ambient air is introduced so as to relax the negative pressure increased by supply of the ink to the recording head and thus the negative pressure can be kept in a preferable pressure range. 
         [0072]    The internal structure of the ink container  1  is not limited to such a partitioned structure in which the inside is partitioned into the absorbing member accommodating chamber and the reservoir chamber containing the ink alone but may also be any structure. For example, the absorbing member may be filled in substantially all of the inside space of the ink container. As a negative pressure generating means, the ink alone may be contained in a bladder-like member made of elastic material such as rubber or the like which produces tension in a direction of expanding the volume thereof, and the negative pressure is caused to act on the inside ink by the tension generated by the bladder-like member. Further, at least a part of the ink accommodation space may be constituted by a flexible member, and the ink is accommodated in the space, wherein a spring force is applied to the flexible member, by which a negative pressure is generated. It is possible to use the ink container having a constitution used in the field of normal ink jet recording. 
         [0073]    The substrate  50  is, as shown in  FIG. 2(   d ), provided with electrode pads  52   a  to  52   d  which are disposed on a surface facing the outside of the ink container and permit electrical connection with a recording apparatus. On the other hand, as shown in  FIG. 1 , on the surface directed toward the inside of the ink container  1 , a light emitting portion  51  for emitting visible light such as LED (hereinafter referred to as “LED” as a matter of convenience) and a control element (not shown) for controlling the light emission of the LED  51  are provided, so that the control element effects the light emission control of the LED  51  by an electric signal supplied through the electrode pads  52 . The substrate  50  is also provided with a memory element on the same surface side as that where the LED  51  is provided. In this memory element, information on the color (type) of the ink contained in the ink container and a remaining ink amount based on a counted value of the number of ejection operations is stored. The substrate  50  is, as shown in  FIG. 2(   d ), fixed to the outer casing member of the ink container by fixing members  53   a  and  53   b.  In this embodiment, the fixing members  53   a  and  53   b  are a pin-like member and are engaged in holes provided to the substrate  50  and then end portions of the fixing members  53   a  and  53   b  are swaged by thermo-fusion (melting) to be fixed. The fixing method is not limited to the above method but may also be performed by bonding, fitting, or the like. 
         [0074]    In this fixed state, the LED  51  is, particularly as shown in  FIG. 1 , disposed on the substrate  50  close to the supporting member  30 . In this embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , above the LED  51  disposed on the substrate  50 , a casing of the ink container is constituted so as not to be covered. Further, above the LED  51 , as shown in  FIG. 1 , a base portion of the supporting member  30  is extended so as to cover over the LED  51  with a certain distance from the LED  51 . The extended portion over the LED  51  constitutes a light receiving portion  33  for receiving light emitted from the LED  51 . Then, the light received by the light receiving portion  33  is outputted from an operating portion  31  (constituting a display portion), and a portion connecting the light receiving portion  33  and the operating portion  31  constitutes a light guide portion  36 . The supporting member  36  is, particularly as shown in  FIGS. 2(   b ) and  3 , connected with the outer casing member of the ink container at two supporting point portions  34  located on both sides of the base portion of the supporting member  30 . A central portion of the base portion of the supporting member  30  except for these supporting point portions is protruded, so that a part of an inner wall surface of the protruded portion constitutes the light receiving portion  36 . 
         [0075]    As shown in  FIG. 3 , with respect to the supporting member  30 , when a thickness of a portion corresponding to the light receiving portion  33  and its extended portion is taken as L and a thickness of a portion corresponding to the supporting point portion  34  is taken as l, L &gt;l is satisfied, so that the thicknesses are different from each other. Particularly, as shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 , the supporting member  30  is formed thickly at the central portion (a lower surface of which constitutes the light receiving portion covering the LED as described above) and thinly at both side portions corresponding to the supporting point portions  34 . The thick central portion of the supporting member  30  functions as the light guide portion  36  for guiding the light received by the light receiving portion  33  to the display portion as described above. 
         [0076]    The supporting member  30  can be displaced by being deformed in the neighborhood of the supporting point portions  34  when the ink container is mounted to the holder. At this time, as described above, the thickness of the supporting point portions  34  located at the both side portions is configured to be small, so that a force for displacing the supporting member  30  by a user is reduced and thus it is possible to ensure facility of mounting and demounting of the ink container. 
         [0077]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view showing an example of a recording head unit  105  for holding the ink container shown in  FIGS. 1 to 3  in a detachably mountable manner.  FIGS. 5(   a ) and  5 ( b ) are schematic views for illustrating a state immediately before the ink container  1  is mounted to the recording head unit  105 , and  FIGS. 6(   a ) and  6 ( b ) are schematic views for illustrating a state in which the ink container  1  is mounted to the recording head unit  105 . 
         [0078]    The recording head unit  105  is generally constituted by a holder  150  for detachably and mountably holding a plurality (four in  FIG. 4 ) of ink containers, and a recording head  106  disposed adjacent the bottom surface side (unshown in  FIG. 4  but shown in  FIG. 5(   a )). By mounting the ink container  1  to the holder  150 , an ink introduction opening  107  of the recording head disposed adjacent the bottom surface portion of the holder is connected with the ink supply port  22  of the ink container to establish an ink communication path therebetween. 
         [0079]    An example of the recording head  105  comprises a liquid passage constituting a nozzle and an electrothermal transducer element provided in the liquid passage. To the electrothermal transducer element, electrical pulses constituting recording signals are supplied, thus applying thermal energy to the ink. By pressure during bubble generation (boiling) caused by a phase change of the ink at that time, the ink is ejected. 
         [0080]    When the ink container  1  is mounted to the recording head unit  105 , the holder  150  is handled above the holder  150 . That is as shown in  FIG. 5(   a ), a first engaging portion  21  in the form of a projection provided on an ink container rear surface lb side is inserted into a first locking portion  155  in the form of a through hole provided in a holder rear surface side, and in this state, the ink container  1  is placed on the bottom surface of the holder. The resultant state is shown in  FIG. 5(   b ) as a perspective view. The ink container is in an unmounted state and thus is illustrated in a raising state. In this state, when the front side upper end of the ink container  1  is pressed down as indicated by an arrow P, the ink container  1  rotates about the engaging portion between the first engaging portion  21  and the first locking portion  155  of the holder as a rotational fulcrum, so that front side of the ink container is displaced downwardly. In the process of this action, the supporting member  30  is displaced in the direction of an arrow Q, while a side surface of a second engaging portion  32  provided in the supporting member  30  on the ink container front side is being pressed to a wall provided on the holder front side. That is, the supporting member  30  is rotationally displaced about the supporting point portions  34 . 
         [0081]    In the ink container mounting, then, the pressing down by the user in the direction of the arrow P is completed when the top surface of the second engaging portion  32  reaches a portion located below the second locking portion  156 . The supporting member  30  is displaced in a direction of an arrow Q′ opposite to the direction of the arrow Q by the elastic force of the supporting member  30 , so that second engaging portion  32  is locked with the second locking portion  156 . This state is shown in  FIGS. 6(   a ) and  6 ( b ). The upward displacement of the ink container  1  is suppressed by the first locking portion  155  engaged with the first engaging portion  21  and by the second locking portion  156  engaged with the second engaging portion  32 . This state is a mounting completion state of the ink container  1 , wherein the ink supply port  22  is connected with the ink introduction opening  107 , and the electrode pads  52  are electrically connected with the connector  152 . In this state, the ink supply port  22  is pressed against the ink introduction opening  107  with a large force by the rotation of the ink container  1 . At the connecting portion between these port and opening, an elastic member such as a filter, an absorbing material, a packing or the like is provided for the purposes of assuring an ink communication property and preventing ink leakage there. 
         [0082]    In the ink container mounting completion state, the first locking portion  155  engaged with the first engaging portion  21  and the second locking portion  156  engaged with the second engaging portion  32  prevent the ink container  1  from rising away from the holder. Therefore, the restoration of the elastic member is suppressed, and the member is kept in an appropriately elastically deformed state. On the other hand, the electrode pads  52  and connectors  152  which constitute electrical contacts are made of a relative high rigidity electroconductive material such as metal to ensure a good electrical connection property therebetween. Then, the mounting of the ink container  1  is completed, the LED  51  can emit light in a state in which the electrode pads  52  of the substrate  50  and the connectors  152  are electrically connected with each other. 
         [0083]    In this state, as shown in  FIG. 6(   a ), the supporting member  30  is displaced toward the ink container side compared with a state before the mounting of the ink container  1 , so that the light receiving portion  33  is displaced toward the LED  51  side. As a result, a distance between the light receiving portion  33  and the LED  51  is shorter than that before the ink container mounting. As a result, the light from the LED  51  can be taken in the light receiving portion  33  in a larger amount. The light taken in the light receiving portion  33  passes through the thick portion (LGP)  36 , of the supporting member  30 , provided correspondingly to the light receiving portion  33  and reaches the operating portion  31  (display portion).  FIG. 6(   b ) schematically shows a light emission state. The user can recognize information on the ink container such as a remaining ink amount or an ink container-mounted state. 
         [0084]    As described above, according to this embodiment of the present invention, by employing such a constitution that the portion at one end surface of the supporting member is constituted as the light receiving portion and is opposite to the light emitting portion, the light receiving portion is displaceable so that the light receiving portion can approach the light emitting portion side by the mounting operation of the ink container. As a result, most of the light from the light emitting portion can be caused to enter the light receiving portion, so that it is possible to transmit a sufficient amount of the light without using a separate member such as the light guide member different from the supporting member. 
         [0085]    Incidentally, the supporting member  30  descried in this embodiment is constituted so as not to break the LED  51  even in the case where the supporting member  30  is displaced toward the front surface la of the ink container  1  at a maximum level.  FIG. 7  is a partially enlarged schematic view showing the supporting member  30  of the ink container  1  and its peripheral portion and showing displacement states of the supporting member  30 . The supporting member  30  in a normal state is located at a position in which the light receiving portion  33  is most distant from the LED  51 . For that reason, in an operation for incorporating the substrate  50  provided with the LED  51  into the ink container, it is possible to avoid such a possibility that the light receiving portion  33  and the LED  51  contact each other to cause breakage. When the ink container is mounted to the holder, the supporting member is displaced to a mounted state position in which the supporting member is indicated as a supporting member  30   a.  At this time, the light receiving portion is placed in a state in which the light receiving portion approaches the LED (i.e., a light receiving portion  33   a ). In this state, the light receiving portion  33   a  can effectively receive the light from the LED to guide the light to the display portion. The supporting member in a state in which the supporting member is displaced toward the ink container side at a maximum level is indicated as a supporting member  30   b,  e.g., in the case where the ink container falls during handling. Also in this case, the surface of the light receiving portion  33  is constituted so that the light receiving portion  33  does not contact the LED  51  and the supporting member  30  is constituted so that part of the supporting member  30  contacts the ink container  1  before the light receiving portion  33  contacts the LED  51 . 
         [0086]    By employing the constitution as described above, handleability of the ink container  1  can be easily realized with high reliability. 
         [0087]    Further, the supporting point portions at which the supporting member and the outer casing member of the ink container are connected with each other are portions other than the light receiving portion constituting a spacing therebetween and are formed in a thickness less than that of the light receiving portion. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in force for displacing the supporting member by the ink container mounting while a portion corresponding to the light receiving portion is provided in a desired thickness. 
         [0088]    In the above-described embodiment, particularly, the ink container provided with the first engaging portion  21  is described but the ink container to which the present invention is applicable is not necessarily required to be provided with such a constitution. This is because, even in the case of no engaging portion  21 , e.g., the ink container can be mounted while part of the ink container on the rear surface side contacts a mounting portion of the ink container holder or the like during the ink container mounting and then the contact portion is moved. 
       Second Embodiment  
       [0089]      FIGS. 8(   a ) and  8 ( b ) illustrate Second Embodiment. 
         [0090]    Second Embodiment is identical to First Embodiment except that a constitution of a second engaging portion  132  is different from the second engaging portion  32  in First Embodiment as shown in  FIG. 8(   a ). In First Embodiment, the second engaging portion  32  is described as such a constitution that a single second engaging portion  32  is provided at a central portion of the supporting member. On the other hand, in Second Embodiment, such a constitution that two second engaging portions  132  are provided on both end sides avoiding the central portion is employed. 
         [0091]    In the case of First Embodiment, the projection constituting the second engaging portion is present at the central portion constituting the light guide portion of the supporting member and therefore reflection of the light guided through the light guide portion is disturbed at the portion, so that there is a possibility of attenuation of the amount of light reaching the display portion. The constitution in which such an attenuation of the light amount due to the disturbance in the light reflection is suppressed is employed in Second Embodiment. 
         [0092]    As shown in  FIG. 8(   b ), by deviating the projections constituting the second engaging portions  132  from a reflection path of the light at the light guide portion  36  of the supporting member  30 , a reflection surface  37   a  and a reflection surface  37   b  which are located at the central portion constituting the light guide portion  36  of the supporting member  30  can be constituted as parallel surfaces, so that unnecessary disturbance in reflection can be eliminated to provide a constitution for transmitting the light with a high degree of efficiency. 
       Third Embodiment  
       [0093]      FIGS. 9(   a ) and  9 ( b ) illustrate Third Embodiment. In First and Second Embodiments, the structure of the central portion of the supporting member itself is made thick so as to function as the light guide portion  36 . As the function of the light guide portion  36 , efficient transmission of light is required but in First and Second Embodiments, a light transmission characteristic is subjected to restriction by the material constituting the ink container. On the other hand, in this embodiment, a light guide portion  38  is constituted as a structure different from the supporting member  30  and is configured to be mounted to the supporting member  30 , thus permitting free design which is not subjected to restriction by the constituent material. Further, selection or the like of the constituent material and such a shape that the light reflection from the light receiving portion  33  to the display portion can be provided in a most satisfactory manner, so that high-efficiency light transmission can be achieved. 
         [0094]    The constitution of the light guide portion  38  shown in  FIGS. 9(   a ) and  9 ( b ) is merely as example and therefore modification of the constitution of the light guide portion within a range satisfying intent of this embodiment is embraced in this embodiment. 
         [0095]    In the constitution shown in  FIGS. 9(   a ) and  9 ( b ), an opening  39  is provided at the operating portion  31  of the supporting member  30  and constitutes the display portion for outputting the light from the light guide portion  38  mounted as the separate member. 
         [0096]    In this embodiment, in the case where the ink container constituent material is an opaque material, the light guided through the light guide portion  38  does not diffuse into the entire supporting member  30 , so that only the surface of the light guide portion  38  visible through the opening  39  emits the light and the light does not diffuse into the adjacent supporting member for the ink container. For that reason, viewability of the display portion is enhanced. 
         [0097]    In the above-described embodiments, the constitution in which the part of the supporting member is configured to function as the light guide portion  36  and the constitution in which the light guide member  38  is the separate member different from the supporting member  30  are described. 
         [0098]    In these constitutions, the light emitted from the LED  51  is conveniently described as light guided to the display portion through the light guide portion but a portion formed of a light-transmissive material functions as the light guide portion since the light passes through the portion formed of the light-transmissive material by its nature. 
         [0099]    In the above-described constitutions, a portion constituting a principal light path or a portion to be expected to constitute the principal light path is described as the light guide portion. 
         [0100]    The light path from the light-receiving portion to the display portion can be freely designed by appropriately combining shapes or materials capable of changing a refractive index of the light. For example, it is possible to employ light paths from the light-receiving portion to the display portion as shown in  FIGS. 12(   a ) to  12 ( f ). 
         [0101]    In each of  FIGS. 12(   a ) to  12 ( f ), the light path of a member constituted by a first member (e.g., the supporting member)  100  and a second member (e.g., the light guide member)  101  is represented by an arrow  102 . A light-incident portion is the light-receiving portion and a light-outputting portion is the display portion. 
         [0102]      FIG. 12(   a ) shows a constitution in which the entire second member functions as the light guide member and the constitution described in Third Embodiment corresponds to this constitution.  FIG. 12(   b ) shows a constitution in which the light passing through the second member is changed in light path to the first member at an intermediary portion and the constitutions described in, e.g., First Embodiment and Second Embodiment correspond to this constitution.  FIG. 12(   c ) shows a constitution in which the entire first member functions as the light guide member.  FIG. 12(   d ) shows a constitution in which the light path is changed from the first member to the second member.  FIG. 12(   e ) shows a constitution in which the light path is changed from the second member to the first member and then is changed to the second member again.  FIG. 12(   g ) shows a constitution in which the light path is changed from the first member to the second member and then is changed to the first member again. 
         [0103]    In order to change the light path, e.g., a desired portion to be changed is configured to face an air layer, changed in material therefor, or utilize a mirror surface  103  or total reflection, thus changing the light path. 
         [0104]    Particularly, the constitutions shown in  FIGS. 12(   a ) and  12 ( b ) are, as described above in First to Third Embodiments, capable of being simply constituted and capable of guiding the light with reliability, thus being excellent in practicality. 
         [0105]      FIG. 11  is a perspective view showing a state of an ink jet printer  200  to which the ink container described above is mounted for effecting recording and in which the main assembly cover  201  of the printer is open. 
         [0106]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , the printer  200  of this embodiment includes major parts thereof including a mechanism for scanningly moving a carriage carrying the recording heads and the ink containers and for effecting the recording during the movement of the carriage. The printer  200  also includes a printer main assembly covered with a main assembly cover  201  and other case portions, a sheet discharge tray  203  at the front side of the main assembly, and an automatic sheet feeding device (ASF)  202  at the rear side of the main assembly. There is further provided an operating panel portion  213  which includes a displaying device for displaying a state of the printer in both states in which the main assembly cover is closed and opened, a main switch, and a reset switch. 
         [0107]    As shown in  FIG. 11 , when the main assembly cover  201  is open, the user can see the movable range of the carriage  205  which carries the recording head unit  105  and the ink containers  1 K,  1 Y,  1 M and  1 C, and the neighborhood of the carriage  205 . Actually, when the main assembly cover  201  is opened, a sequence operation is carried out so that the carriage  205  is automatically comes to a substantially center position (hereinafter referred to as a “container exchanging position”), where the user can perform an exchanging operation or the like of each of the ink containers. 
         [0108]    In the printer of this embodiment, the recording head (unshown) in the form of a chip is provided to the recording head unit  105 , corresponding to the respective inks. The recording heads scan the recording material such as paper (sheet) by the movement of the carriage  205 , during which the recording heads eject the ink to effect the recording. That is, the carriage  205  is slidably engaged with a guiding shaft  207  which extends in the moving direction thereof and can accomplish the above-described movement by a carriage motor and is driving force transmitting mechanism. The recording heads corresponding to the K, Y, M and C (black, yellow, magenta and cyan) inks eject the inks on the basis of ejection data fed from a control circuit provided in the main assembly side through a flexible cable  206 . There is provided a paper feeding mechanism including a paper feeding roller, a sheet discharging roller and so on to feed the recording material (unshown) fed from the automatic sheet feeding device  202  to the sheet discharge tray  203 . The recording head unit  105  integrally provided with the ink container holder is detachably mounted on the carriage  205 , and the respective ink containers  1  are detachably mounted on the recording head unit  105  in the form of a cartridge. That is, the recording head unit  105  can be mounted on the carriage  205  and the ink containers  1  can be mounted on the recording head unit  105 , so that the ink containers  1  are detachably mountable to the carriage  205  through the recording head unit  105 . 
         [0109]    During the recording (or printing) operation, the recording heads scan the recording material by the above-described movement, during which the recording heads eject the inks onto the recording material to effect the recording on a width of the recording material corresponding to the range of the ejection outlets of the recording head. In a time period between a scanning operation and the next scanning operation, the paper feeding mechanism feeds the recording material through a predetermined distance corresponding to the width, so that the recording is sequentially effected with respect to the recording material. At an end portion of the movement range of the recording head by the movement of the carriage, an ejection refreshing unit including caps for capping surfaces of the respective recording heads where associated ejected outlets are disposed is provided. As a result, the recording heads move to the position in which the refreshing unit is provided at predetermined time intervals, and are subjected to the refreshing process including the preliminary ejections or the like. 
         [0110]    The recording head unit  105  having a holder portion for each ink container  1 , as described above, is provided with a connector corresponding to each of the ink containers, and the respective connectors contact the pads of the substrate provided on the ink container  1 . As a result, the control of turn-on or flickering of each of the above-described light receiving portions (LEDs) are enabled. 
         [0111]    While the invention has been described with reference to the structures disclosed herein, it is not confined to the details set forth and this application is intended to cover such modifications or changes as may come within the purpose of the improvements or the scope of the following claims. 
         [0112]    This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 092167/2008 filed Mar. 31, 2008 and 082769/2009 filed Mar. 30, 2009, which are hereby incorporated by reference.