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1. An ink cartridge-attaching device, comprising:a cartridge attachment section to which a plurality of cartridges each storing an ink are attachable;a plurality of optical sensors which are provided on the cartridge attachment section, which detect the cartridges attached to the cartridge attachment section respectively, and which have light-emitting portions and light-receiving portions, each of the optical sensors having a light-emitting portion of the light-emitting portions and a light-receiving portion of the light-receiving portions; anda controller which controls the optical sensors to obtain, based on signals from the optical sensors, information about the cartridges;wherein the optical sensors are disposed such that the light-emitting portions and the light-receiving portions are arranged alternately in a row; andlight emitted from a light-emitting portion included in a certain optical sensor among the optical sensors is received by a light-receiving portion included in the certain optical sensor and received by another light-receiving portion adjacent to the light-emitting portion and included in another optical sensor, among the optical sensors, adjacent to the certain optical sensor.
2. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 1, wherein the controller obtains information about a cartridge, among the cartridges, detected by the certain optical sensor based on a signal which the light-receiving portion of the certain optical sensor outputs by receiving the light from the light-emitting portion of the certain optical sensor; andthe controller obtains information about degradation of another light-emitting portion included in still another optical sensor adjacent to the certain optical sensor and adjacent to the light-receiving portion, based on a signal which the light-receiving portion of the certain optical sensor outputs by receiving the light from the another light-emitting portion.
3. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 2, wherein the cartridge attachment section has areas, to which the cartridges are not attached, between adjacent optical sensors.
4. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 2, wherein the light-emitting portion of each of the optical sensors includes a light-emitting element and a light emitting element-case which accommodates the light-emitting element;the light-receiving portion of each of the optical sensors includes a light-receiving element and a light receiving element-case which accommodates the light-receiving element;the light-emitting portion of the certain optical sensor has a first light-emission hole and a second light-emission hole which are formed in the light emitting element-case, the first light-emission hole being open toward the light-receiving portion of the certain optical sensor, and the second light-emission hole being open toward the another light-receiving portion of the another optical sensor; andthe light-receiving portion has a first light-reception hole and a second light-reception hole which are formed in the light receiving element-case, the first light-reception hole being open toward the light-emitting portion of the certain optical sensor, and the second light-emission hole being open toward the another light-emitting portion of the still another optical sensor.
5. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 4, wherein the optical sensors are light-transmission type optical sensors; each of the cartridges attached to the cartridge-attachment section is sandwiched between the light-emitting portion and the light-receiving portion of one of the optical sensors; and the first and second light-emission holes and the first and second light-reception holes are open in an arrangement direction of the light-emitting portion and the light-receiving portion, and are arranged on a same axis in the arrangement direction.
6. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 2, wherein the optical sensors are reflective type optical sensors;the light-emitting portion of each of the optical sensors includes a light-emitting element and a light emitting element-case which accommodates the light-emitting element;the light-receiving portion of each of the optical sensors includes a light-receiving element and a light receiving element-case which accommodates the light-receiving element;the light-emitting portion of each of the optical sensors has a first light-emission hole and a second light-emission hole which are formed in the light emitting element-case, the first light-emission hole being open in an orthogonal direction orthogonal to an arrangement direction of the light-emitting portion and the light-receiving portion, and the second-light emission hole being open in the arrangement direction;the light-receiving portions of each of the optical sensors has a first light-reception hole and a second light-reception hole which are formed in the light receiving element-case, the first light-reception hole being open in the orthogonal direction and the second light-reception hole being open in the arrangement direction; andthe second light-emission hole and the second light-reception hole are arranged on a same axis in the arrangement direction.
7. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 6, further comprising a plurality of cartridges which are attachable to the cartridge attachment section, wherein each of the cartridges has a side wall facing the first light-emission hole and the first light-reception hole of the optical sensor in a state that each of the cartridges is attached to the cartridge attachment section; andthe side wall has an outer surface which is formed to be flat and which faces the first light-emission hole and the first light-reception hole, and an inner surface which is formed to have convex and concave portions with inclined surface portions inclined with respect to the outer surface at two different inclination angles respectively.
8. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 7, wherein the side wall of each of the cartridges is formed of a light-transmissive material having a refractive index which is similar to that of the ink.
9. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 2, wherein the controller controls the optical sensors such that the another light-emitting portion of the still another optical sensor is allowed to emit the light in a state that the light-emitting portion of the certain optical sensor is inhibited to emit the light; andthe controller obtains information about degradation of the another light-emitting portion based on the signal outputted from the light-receiving portion of the certain optical sensor.
10. The ink cartridge-attaching device according to claim 2, wherein the controller obtains the information about the cartridge detected by the certain optical sensor by comparing, with a predetermined threshold for the certain optical sensor, the signal which the light-receiving portion of the certain optical sensor outputs by receiving the light from the light-emitting portion of the certain optical sensor; andthe controller changes setting of threshold for the still another optical sensor based on information about degradation of the another light-emitting portion of the still another optical sensor.
11. An ink jet recording apparatus which jets liquid droplets of ink and records images on a recording medium, comprising:an ink jet head which jets liquid droplets of ink;a recording medium transporting mechanism which transports the recording medium; andthe ink cartridge-attaching device as defined in claim 2.
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