Ricoh J012 Service Manual page 368

Print Heads
The printer employs a dual-tank system.
Each ink cartridge (Y, M, C, K) is connected to a print head tank via a plastic tube.
The first tank of the dual-tank system is the ink cartridge that supplies the ink through a tube
to the print head tank unit. The second tank is the small ink reservoir inside the print head
tank unit.
The high volume ink cartridges and the carriage components are extremely lightweight.
A print head tank has four main parts as shown above:
Ink supply port. Ink enters here from the ink cartridge mounted under the operation
panel.
Ink reservoir. This is where ink collects before it is fed to the print head below.
Plastic bellows. A spring forces out the flexible, thin plastic film on the left side of the
ink tank.
Ink level lever. When the ink tank is mounted in the printer, this lever pushes the
bellows down to increase pressure in the ink reservoir. The ink level sensor mounted on
the carriage detects the position of these arms to determine the amount of ink remaining
in a tank. (The actuator spreads outward when the bellows gradually collapses as ink is
consumed.)
Air release valve. Purges air periodically to keep the ink inside the ink tank unit under
the prescribed pressure and the amount of air in the tank low.
The illustration above shows the arrangement of the print heads and print head tanks.
Two print head tanks are mounted on one print head unit.
Each print head tank unit feeds to its own nozzle array (one for each color).
Each print head tank holds 4.3 ml of ink.
J012/J013/J014
CÓPIA NÃO CONTROLADA
6-30
CÓPIA NÃO CONTROLADA
SM