JP2008110577A - Liquid storage body mounting mechanism, liquid jet apparatus, and liquid storage body - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid storage body mounting mechanism which can suitably regulate the springing-out of a liquid storage body in the direction of attachment/detachment, in the attachment/detachment of the liquid storage body detachably attached to a liquid jet apparatus in the state of being urged in the direction of the attachment/detachment. <P>SOLUTION: The mounting mechanism 29 comprises: a spring 36 which urges an ink cartridge 22, mounted in the mounting mechanism 29, in the direction of the attachment/detachment; a locking portion 30c for holding, which can hold the ink cartridge 22 mounted against the urging force of the spring 36; and a locking portion 30b for regulation, which can regulate the springing-out of the ink cartridge 22 in the direction of the attachment/detachment in the attachment/detachment of the ink cartridge 22. The locking portion 30b is displaced on the basis of an operating physical force which is imparted from the outside, so as to be put into the positional mode of regulating the springing-out of the ink cartridge 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container mounting mechanism for detachably mounting a liquid container, a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid container mounting mechanism, and a liquid container mounted on the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid from a liquid ejecting head to a target, for example, an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) is known. Among such printers, a printer that replenishes ink by replacing an ink cartridge that contains ink generally includes a cartridge mounting mechanism that allows the ink cartridge to be attached and detached. Conventionally, in such a cartridge mounting mechanism, in order to smoothly attach and detach the ink cartridge, an urging means for urging the ink cartridge in the detaching direction and an urging force in the detaching direction by the urging means are resisted. And holding means for holding in a mounted state.

  In a printer equipped with such a cartridge mounting mechanism, the urging force of the urging means causes the ink to be consumed and lightened when the holding state by the holding means is released to detach the ink cartridge. There was a problem that the ink cartridge jumped out at once, and the ink leaked from the ink cartridge was scattered and the inside of the apparatus was soiled.

Therefore, in order to cope with such a problem, a printer has been proposed in which a cartridge mounting mechanism is provided with a restricting means for restricting the ejection of the ink cartridge in the attaching / detaching direction (for example, Patent Document 1). That is, in the printer of Patent Document 1, when the ink cartridge released from the holding state by the holding unit moves in the attaching / detaching direction, the hook portion provided in the regulating unit is locked in the groove provided in the ink cartridge. Thus, the pop-out of the ink cartridge is restricted.
JP 2005-288866 A

  However, in the printer restricting means of Patent Document 1, when the ink cartridge is large or the remaining amount of ink is large, the inertial force of the ink cartridge that moves by receiving the urging force increases. There was a problem that could not be fully regulated. In order to cope with this problem, it is conceivable to adjust the urging force of the urging member. However, it is difficult to adjust the urging force so as not to deteriorate the operability when the ink cartridge is attached or detached. .

  In addition, not only in the case of the above-described ink jet printer, but also in a liquid ejecting apparatus that is detachably mounted in a state where the liquid container is urged in the attaching / detaching direction, such a situation is generally common.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. The purpose is to provide a liquid container capable of suitably restricting the liquid container from popping in the detaching direction when the liquid container detachably attached to the liquid ejecting apparatus is biased in the detaching direction. It is an object to provide a body mounting mechanism, a liquid ejecting apparatus including the mounting mechanism, and a liquid container mounted on the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention is a liquid container mounting mechanism in which a liquid container containing liquid is detachably mounted, and attaches the liquid container in a detaching direction. Urging means for urging, holding means capable of holding the liquid container against the urging force of the urging means, and when the liquid container is detached, the liquid container is moved in the detaching direction. And a restricting means capable of restricting the popping out, and the restricting means is displaced based on an operating force applied from the outside to be a position mode for restricting the popping out of the liquid container.

  According to this configuration, since the restricting means is displaced based on the operating force applied from the outside, it is possible to suitably restrict the liquid container from popping out without deteriorating the operability at the time of attachment / detachment.

  Further, the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention displaces the holding means to a position mode in which the holding state of the liquid container is released with one operating force, and restricts the restricting means from popping out of the liquid container. An operation unit that is displaced to the position mode is provided.

  According to this configuration, the holding state of the liquid container by the holding unit can be released and the liquid container can be prevented from popping out by the regulating unit with one operating force applied from the outside. In other words, the liquid container can be prevented from popping out by an operating force for releasing the holding state of the liquid container. Therefore, when the urging force of the urging means is large, the operation force necessary for releasing the holding state also increases, and therefore, the pop-up of the liquid container can be reliably controlled by the operation force according to the urging force.

  Further, in the liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention, the operation portion is provided with a holding locking portion that functions as the holding means by being locked to the liquid container, and the liquid container. A locking portion for restriction functioning as the restricting means is provided on the other end side by being locked to, and can be rotated at a portion between the holding locking portion and the restriction locking portion. The operation lever is supported.

  According to this configuration, by rotating the operation lever as the operation unit, it is possible to perform three operations of holding the liquid container, releasing the held state, and restricting the pop-out. Accordingly, the liquid container can be prevented from popping out with a simple configuration.

In the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention, the operation lever is made of a flexible material.
According to this configuration, since the operation lever is made of a flexible material, the operation lever is bent when an operation force is applied to release the holding state. Therefore, there is a time delay while the bending is eliminated, that is, until the holding state is actually released after the holding state is released. On the other hand, since the applied operating force is immediately applied to the liquid container pop-out restriction, the time interval from the release of the holding state to the pop-out restriction can be shortened. Therefore, the liquid container can be reliably prevented from jumping out.

  The liquid container according to the present invention is a liquid container that contains a liquid, and is a holding cover that engages with the holding locking portion of the operation lever provided in the liquid container mounting mechanism having the above-described configuration. A locking part and a locked part to be engaged with which the locking part for restriction is engaged are provided.

  According to this configuration, the distance between the holding locked portion to which the holding locking portion engages and the regulating locked portion to which the regulating locking portion engages, or the size of the regulating locked portion. By changing the height, it is possible to adjust the time interval from the release of the holding state to the pop-out regulation. Accordingly, it is possible to reliably control the pop-out of the liquid container, and to adjust the pop-out amount at the time of detachment according to the liquid container mounting mechanism, the shape of the liquid container, and the like.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention is a liquid ejecting apparatus in which a liquid container containing liquid is detachably mounted and ejects liquid supplied from the liquid container from a liquid ejecting head. A liquid container mounting mechanism is provided.

  According to this configuration, the same function and effect as those of the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention can be obtained.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a main body case 12 having a substantially rectangular box shape, and a platen 13 is disposed at the front lower portion in the main body case 12 in the main scanning direction. It is constructed along the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 1) of the main body case 12 which becomes. The platen 13 is a support for supporting the recording paper P as a target. The recording paper P is fed onto the platen 13 along a sub-scanning direction orthogonal to the main scanning direction by a paper feeding mechanism (not shown). It has come to be.

  A rod-shaped guide shaft 14 is installed in the main body case 12 above the rear portion of the platen 13 along the main scanning direction, and a carriage 15 is inserted and supported by the guide shaft 14. A driving pulley 16 and a driven pulley 17 are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both end portions of the guide shaft 14 on the rear side surface in the main body case 12. A carriage motor 18 is connected to the drive pulley 16, and an endless timing belt 19 that supports the carriage 15 is hung between the pair of pulleys 16 and 17. Therefore, the carriage 15 can be reciprocated in the main scanning direction along the guide shaft 14 by driving the carriage motor 18.

  A box-shaped cartridge holder 20 is provided on one end side (the right end side in FIG. 1) in the main body case 12. The cartridge holder 20 is configured so that a portion corresponding to the front wall and the front wall upper portion can be opened and closed as a lid portion 21.

  A plurality of ink cartridges 22 (four in this embodiment) can be mounted on the cartridge holder 20 for each color of ink as liquid. The ink cartridge 22 can be attached and detached by opening the lid 21 (see FIG. 3B).

  Each ink cartridge 22 is connected to the upstream end of the ink supply path 23 when mounted in the cartridge holder 20. The downstream end of each ink supply path 23 is connected to the upstream side of the valve unit 24 mounted on the carriage 15, and the downstream side of the valve unit 24 is a recording head provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 15. 25.

  Between the cartridge holder 20 and the platen 13, a home position HP serving as a retracted position of the recording head 25 is provided. Before starting printing, various maintenance processes such as cleaning the recording head 25 are performed at the home position HP.

  A pressure pump 26 is placed on the cartridge holder 20. The pressurizing pump 26 is a supply source of pressurized air, and is connected to the upstream end of the pressurized air supply path 27. The pressurized air supply path 27 is branched into the same number as the number of the ink cartridges 22 with a distributor 28 disposed on the downstream side of the pressure pump 26 as a boundary, and each downstream end is connected to the corresponding ink cartridge 22. ing.

Next, the mounting mechanism of the ink cartridge 22 in the printer of this embodiment will be described.
A mounting mechanism 29 as a liquid container mounting mechanism shown in FIG. 2 is accommodated in the cartridge holder 20. Each ink cartridge 22 is mounted on the cartridge holder 20 via the mounting mechanism 29. An operation lever 30 as an operation portion made of a flexible material is provided at a position near the top of each mounting mechanism 29. When the ink cartridge 22 is attached or detached and replaced, the operation lever 30 is operated. It has become so.

  As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the rear wall 29a of the mounting mechanism 29 is provided with an ink supply port 31 to which the upstream end of the ink supply path 23 is connected near the center in the vertical direction. ing. The ink supply port 31 is provided with an ink supply needle 32, which is a hollow needle, so as to project forward (leftward in FIGS. 3A and 3B).

  Similarly, a pressurized air supply port 33 to which the downstream end of the pressurized air supply path 27 is connected is provided above the ink supply port 31 of the rear wall 29a. In addition, a pair of positioning members 34 project forward from the lower side of the ink supply port 31 and the upper side of the pressurized air supply port 33 of the rear wall 29a.

  Further, a slider 35 slidable in the front-rear direction is provided at a position near the rear wall 29 a of the mounting mechanism 29. The slider 35 is urged in the OUT direction in FIG. 3B, that is, the direction in which the ink cartridge 22 is detached, by a spring 36 as urging means.

  The operating lever 30 provided in the mounting mechanism 29 is rotatably supported by the support portion 30a with respect to the side wall 29b of the mounting mechanism 29, and is rotated clockwise by the spring 37 (the arrow direction shown in FIG. 3A). ).

  A restricting locking portion 30b as a restricting means protrudes downward from an end portion of the operation lever 30 on the front side of the support portion 30a, and a holding portion as a holding means is provided at an end portion on the rear side of the support portion 30a. A locking portion 30c is provided. Further, a pressing portion 30d is formed on the upper surface of the front side end portion where the restricting locking portion 30b is provided.

  The ink cartridge 22 has an upper surface in the mounting state of the mounting mechanism 29 shown in FIG. A holding locked portion 22b that is a recess with which the locking portion 30c is engaged is provided. The restricting locked portion 22a and the holding locked portion 22b have the same depth and width in the left-right direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 3A and 3B), and the front-rear direction. The width of the restricting locked portion 22a is wider than that of the holding locked portion 22b.

  The inside of the ink cartridge 22 is a pressurizing chamber 22c, and an ink pack 38 filled with ink is accommodated in the pressurizing chamber 22c. The ink pack 38 is formed in a bag shape by welding three sides of two laminated laminate films and heat-welding the remaining one side with the ink lead-out member 39 protruding from the center. Is formed. The ink in the ink pack 38 is led out through an ink lead-out hole (not shown) formed in the ink lead-out member 39. The ink pack 38 is configured so that the ink outlet member 39 is disposed at a position facing the ink supply port 31 provided on the rear wall 29a of the mounting mechanism 29 when the ink cartridge 22 is mounted on the mounting mechanism 29. It is accommodated in the cartridge 22.

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), a hollow projecting toward the pressurized air supply port 33 provided on the rear wall 29 a of the mounting mechanism 29 is provided at a position corresponding to the upper side of the ink lead-out member 39 of the ink cartridge 22. An air supply needle 40 that is a needle is provided. As shown in FIG. 3A, a pair of positioning members 34 provided on the rear wall 29a can be slidably guided on the upper side of the air supply needle 40 of the ink cartridge 22 and the lower side of the ink lead-out member 39. A pair of positioning holes 41 are provided.

Next, the operation of the mounting mechanism 29 configured as described above will be described.
First, when the ink cartridge 22 is mounted on the mounting mechanism 29, the ink cartridge 22 is inserted toward the IN direction in FIG. 3B, that is, the mounting direction, and is brought into contact with the slider 35. At this time, the positioning member 34 provided in the mounting mechanism 29 is inserted into the positioning hole 41 of the ink cartridge 22. In addition, the air supply needle 40 is inserted into the pressurized air supply port 33, and the ink supply needle 32 is inserted into the ink outlet hole of the ink outlet member 39.

  From this state, the ink cartridge 22 is further inserted in the mounting direction against the urging force of the spring 36, and the holding locking portion 30c of the operating lever 30 is positioned above the holding locked portion 22b of the ink cartridge 22. Then, since the operating lever 30 is urged clockwise, it rotates in the same direction, and the holding locking portion 30c engages with the holding locked portion 22b. As a result, the ink cartridge 22 is held by the mounting mechanism 29 in a state of being urged in the attaching / detaching direction, and the mounting state shown in FIG.

  When the ink cartridge 22 is attached to the attachment mechanism 29, the downstream end of the pressurized air supply path 27 communicates with the pressure chamber 22c, and the upstream end of the ink supply path 23 communicates with the ink pack 38. To do. Therefore, when the pressurization pump 26 is driven in this state, the pressurization air fed from the pressurization pump 26 is introduced into the pressurization chamber 22c via the pressurization air supply path 27, and the pressurization air The ink pack 38 is crushed by the air pressure. Then, the ink in the ink pack 38 is sent to the recording head 25 through the ink supply path 23, and ink droplets are ejected onto the recording paper P from a plurality of nozzles (not shown) provided on the lower surface of the recording head 25. Printing is performed.

  Next, when the ink cartridge 22 is detached, the lid portion 21 is opened as shown in FIG. 3B, and the operation lever 30 is in the state shown in FIG. Pushed down.

  Then, the operating lever 30 is rotated counterclockwise against the biasing force of the spring 37, so that the engagement of the holding locking portion 30c with the holding locked portion 22b is released and the holding state is released. The discharged ink cartridge 22 is ejected in the detaching direction by the urging force of the spring 36. At the same time, the restricting locking portion 30b is displaced downward and is engaged with the restricting locked portion 22a of the ink cartridge 22 as shown in FIG. The

  That is, the holding locking portion 30c is displaced to the position mode for releasing the holding state of the ink cartridge 22 by one operation force of pushing down the pressing portion 30d provided on one end side of the operation lever 30, and the restriction engagement The stop 30b is displaced to a position mode that regulates the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22.

  At this time, since the magnitude of the operating force required to push down the one end side (pressing portion 30d) of the operating lever 30 corresponds to the magnitude of the biasing force of the spring 36, the operating force for releasing the holding state. The larger the is, the greater the ability to control pop-outs.

  Further, since the operation lever 30 is made of a flexible material, the operation lever 30 whose one end side (the pressing portion 30d) is pushed down bends, and the holding portion 30c is held by the pressing operation of the pressing portion 30d. There is a time delay until the engagement with the locked portion 22b is actually released. On the other hand, since the restricting locking portion 30b is displaced simultaneously with the depression, it is engaged with the restricting locked portion 22a without time delay. That is, the time interval from when the release of the holding state is completed until the pop-out is restricted is shortened by the time delay due to the bending of the operation lever 30. Therefore, the restriction locking portion 30b is engaged with the restriction locked portion 22a of the ink cartridge 22 that has popped out without missing the timing.

  After restricting the ink cartridge 22 from protruding in the attachment / detachment direction as described above, when the application of the operation force from the outside to the operation lever 30 is stopped, the ink cartridge 22 is again moved in the attachment / detachment direction by the biasing force of the spring 36. . However, since the urging force exerted on the ink cartridge 22 at this time is smaller than before the pop-out is restricted, the ink cartridge 22 does not jump out vigorously.

  3A, the front inner wall of the restricting locked portion 22a is located near the lower side of the restricting locking portion 30b of the operation lever 30. In FIG. In this state, when the width of the restriction locked portion 22a in the front-rear direction is increased in the rearward direction, the restriction locking portion 30b is locked after the operation force is applied to the operation lever 30. The time interval until it engages with the portion 22a becomes longer. Therefore, in this case, the pop-out regulation is more reliably performed, and the amount of movement of the ink cartridge 22 until the pop-out is restricted increases, and the momentum after the restriction is released is further suppressed.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the restricting locking portion 30b is displaced to a position mode that restricts the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 based on an operating force applied from the outside. Therefore, the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be preferably regulated.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the holding locking portion 30c is displaced to a position mode for releasing the holding state of the ink cartridge 22 with a single operating force, and the restricting locking portion 30b is restricted from popping out of the ink cartridge 22. An operation lever 30 that is displaced to the position mode is provided. Therefore, the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be restricted by the operating force for releasing the holding state. At this time, when the urging force of the urging means is large, the operation force necessary for releasing the holding state also becomes large, so that the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be reliably controlled by the operation force according to the urging force.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, by rotating the operation lever 30, three operations of holding the ink cartridge 22, releasing the held state, and restricting popping out can be performed. Therefore, the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be regulated with a simple configuration.

  (4) In the above embodiment, since the operation lever 30 is made of a flexible material, the operation lever 30 is bent when an operation force is applied to release the holding state. Therefore, there is a time delay while the bending is eliminated, that is, until the holding state is actually released after the holding state is released. On the other hand, since the applied operating force is immediately applied to the pop-out regulation of the ink cartridge 22, the time interval from the release of the holding state to the pop-out regulation can be shortened. Accordingly, the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be reliably controlled.

  (5) In the above embodiment, by changing the width in the front-rear direction of the restricted portion 22a for restriction, the time interval from the release of the holding state to the restriction of popping out can be adjusted. Accordingly, the pop-out of the ink cartridge 22 can be reliably controlled, and the pop-out amount at the time of detachment can be adjusted according to the mounting mechanism 29, the shape of the ink cartridge 22, and the like.

The above embodiment may be changed to another embodiment as described below.
In the above embodiment, the front inner wall of the restricting locked portion 22a is positioned near the lower side of the restricting locking portion 30b of the operation lever 30 in the mounted state of the ink cartridge 22. The distance between the locked portion 22b for holding and the locked portion 22a for regulation may be changed by changing the position of the locked portion 22a in the front-rear direction.

  In the above embodiment, the ink cartridge 22 is attached and detached by pushing down the pressing portion 30d of the operating lever 30 with an operating force applied from the outside. However, a control device that can operate the operating lever is provided. The operation lever 30 may be rotated based on an operation with a button or the like connected to the control device or an attachment / detachment command via a host computer or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the ink cartridge 22 is not provided with the restricted portion 22 a for restriction, and the extended operation lever 30 and the restriction engagement portion 30 b are engaged with the outer wall surface on the front side of the ink cartridge 22. Thus, popping out may be regulated.

In the above embodiment, the operation lever 30 is made of a flexible material, but may be made of another material such as metal.
In the above embodiment, the operation lever 30 may be urged counterclockwise by the spring 37. In this case, the holding locking portion 30c may be provided on the front end side of the operation lever 30, and the restriction locking portion 30b may be provided on the rear end side. In this case, the ink cartridge 22 may be attached / detached by pushing up the front end side of the operation lever 30 with an operating force applied from the outside.

  In the above embodiment, the locking engagement portion 30b is provided on the front end side of the rod-like operation lever 30, and the holding engagement portion 30c is provided on the rear end side. However, the shape of the operation lever is Not limited to. For example, the operation lever may be an L-shaped member and each tip may lock the ink cartridge 22, or the operation lever may be a gear-shaped member and the gear teeth lock the ink cartridge 22. You may do it.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is applied to an ink jet printer has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to other liquid ejecting apparatuses that are not limited to such a printer. For example, printing apparatuses used for facsimiles, copiers, etc., liquid ejecting apparatuses for ejecting liquids such as electrode materials and coloring materials used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL displays, or surface-emitting displays, etc., and biochip manufacturing It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bioorganic material to be produced, a sample ejecting apparatus as a precision pipette, or the like.

1 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge mounting mechanism in the embodiment. 1A is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 1 showing a mounting state of the ink cartridge to the mounting mechanism, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the ink cartridge is detached from the mounting mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 22 ... Ink cartridge as a liquid container, 22a ... Locking part for regulation, 22b ... Locked part for holding, 29 ... Mounting mechanism as a liquid container mounting mechanism, 30 ... an operation lever as an operation part, 30b ... a locking part for regulation, 30c ... a locking part for holding, 36 ... a spring as a biasing means.

Claims (6)

A liquid container mounting mechanism in which a liquid container containing liquid is detachably mounted,
Urging means for urging the liquid container in a detaching direction;
Holding means capable of holding the liquid container in a mounted state against the urging force of the urging means;
A regulation means capable of regulating the ejection of the liquid container in the desorption direction at the time of desorption of the liquid container,
The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the restricting means is displaced based on an externally applied operating force to restrict the pop-up of the liquid container. An operation portion is provided that displaces the holding means to a position mode for releasing the holding state of the liquid container with a single operating force, and displaces the regulating means to a position mode for regulating the pop-up of the liquid container. The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 1. The operating portion is provided with a holding locking portion that functions as the holding means by being locked to the liquid container, and functions as the regulating means by being locked to the liquid container. The restriction locking portion is provided on the other end side, and is configured by an operation lever that is rotatably supported at a portion between the holding locking portion and the restriction locking portion. The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein: The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 3, wherein the operation lever is made of a flexible material. A liquid container for containing a liquid,
5. A holding locked portion to which the holding locking portion of the operation lever provided in the liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 3 is engaged, and a restriction to which the restriction locking portion is engaged. A liquid container comprising a locked portion for use. A liquid ejecting apparatus in which a liquid container containing liquid is detachably mounted and ejects liquid supplied from the liquid container from a liquid ejecting head,
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising the liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 1.

Images