JP6175849B2 - Liquid supply device and liquid consumption device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid supply device that supplies a liquid and a liquid consumption device that includes the liquid supply device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer that prints an image or the like by ejecting supplied ink from a liquid consumption unit onto a sheet or the like is known as a kind of liquid consuming device. In some of these printers, the supply source of ink consumed by the liquid consumption unit is an ink cartridge disposed inside the printer or an ink tank disposed outside the printer, depending on the type of ink. There is (for example, Patent Document 1).

  That is, in the printer described above, the black ink is supplied from the ink tank having a larger ink capacity than the ink cartridge to the liquid consumption unit, and the color ink that is less frequently used than the black ink is supplied from the ink cartridge. ing.

JP 2008-238787 A

  By the way, in the printer described above, an ink supply tube for supplying black ink from the ink tank to the liquid consumption unit is routed inside the printer. For this reason, depending on how the ink supply tube is routed, there is a problem that the ink cartridge and the ink supply tube interfere with each other when the ink cartridge is replaced.

  In addition, the actual state is not limited to the ink jet printer as described above, but a liquid supply that connects the mounting unit to which the liquid container that stores the liquid is detachably mounted, and the mounting unit and another liquid container. The liquid supply device including the tube and the liquid consumption device including the liquid supply device are generally common.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems. The purpose of the liquid supply is to prevent the first liquid container attached to and detached from the mounting part from interfering with the liquid supply tube connecting the other mounting part and the second liquid container. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and a liquid consuming apparatus including the liquid supply apparatus.

Hereinafter, means for solving the above-described problems and the effects thereof will be described.
A liquid supply device that solves the above problem is a liquid supply device that supplies the liquid to a liquid consumption unit that consumes liquid, and includes a plurality of detachably mounted first liquid containers that store the liquid. More than the amount of liquid stored in the mounting portion and the second mounting portion other than the first mounting portion in which the first liquid container is mounted and the first liquid container among the plurality of mounting portions. A liquid supply tube that can be connected to a second liquid container that contains the liquid, and the liquid supply tube is outside the detachable region of the first liquid container with respect to the first mounting portion. To the second mounting portion.

  According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube is connected to the second mounting portion from outside the attachment / detachment region of the first liquid container with respect to the first mounting portion. Therefore, when the first liquid container is attached to and detached from the first mounting part, the first liquid container connects the other mounting part and the second liquid container to the liquid supply tube. Interference with can be suppressed.

In the liquid supply apparatus, it is preferable that the liquid supply tube is connected to any one of the mounting portions located at both ends in the direction in which the plurality of mounting portions are arranged.
According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube is connected to one of the mounting portions located on one end side and the mounting portion located on the other end side in the juxtaposition direction. For this reason, compared with the case where the liquid supply tube is connected to other mounting portions other than the mounting portions at both ends among the plurality of mounting portions, the first liquid container for attachment and detachment hardly interferes with the liquid supply tube. can do.

  Preferably, the liquid supply apparatus further includes a guide portion that guides the liquid supply tube toward a mounting portion to which the liquid supply tube is connected, and the guide portion is formed outside the attachment / detachment region.

  According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube extending from the second liquid container is guided to the mounting portion by the guide portion formed outside the attachment / detachment region. For this reason, even if the 2nd mounting part to which a liquid supply tube is connected is any mounting part among several mounting parts, the 1st liquid container attached to or detached from the 1st mounting part is a liquid. Interference with the supply tube can be suppressed.

In the liquid supply apparatus, it is preferable that the liquid supply tube is connected to the mounting portion from above the mounting portion.
According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube can be connected to the mounting portion from above the mounting portion. According to this, the connection aspect of a liquid supply tube can be simplified compared with the case where a liquid supply tube is connected to a mounting part from the front of a mounting part, for example.

The liquid supply apparatus preferably further includes a cover that covers the liquid supply tube guided by the guide portion.
According to the said structure, it can suppress that a liquid supply tube will remove from a guide part by covering the liquid supply tube guided by a guide part with a cover.

In the liquid supply apparatus, it is preferable that the plurality of mounting portions are provided on a carriage that reciprocates while supporting the liquid consumption portion.
According to the above configuration, even when the plurality of mounting portions are provided on the carriage that reciprocates, the first liquid can be used when the first liquid container is attached to and detached from the first mounting portion. It can suppress that a container interferes with the liquid supply tube which connects another mounting part and a 2nd liquid container.

In the liquid supply apparatus, it is preferable that the second liquid container is disposed outside a movement area of the carriage.
According to the above configuration, the carriage that reciprocates can be prevented from interfering with the second liquid container.

  Preferably, the liquid supply device further includes a shielding portion that shields the liquid supply tube from the detachable region when the carriage is positioned at an exchange position where the first liquid container is exchanged.

  According to the above configuration, when the carriage is positioned at the replacement position, the liquid supply tube is shielded from the attachment / detachment region by the shielding portion. For this reason, when attaching and detaching the first liquid container, it is possible to further suppress the first liquid container from interfering with the liquid supply tube.

A liquid consuming apparatus that solves the above problem includes the above-described liquid supply apparatus and the liquid consuming unit.
According to the above configuration, in the liquid consuming device, the same effect as the above-described effect of the liquid supply device can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an external appearance of the multifunction machine. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the recording apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a carriage of the recording apparatus. The perspective view of the cover with which a carriage is mounted | worn. It is a figure which shows a mode that a cover is mounted | worn with a carriage, Comprising: (a) is a perspective view in the middle of mounting | wearing, (b) is a perspective view at the time of mounting completion. FIG. 3 is a perspective view schematically showing a state when an ink cartridge is attached and detached. (A)-(c) is a perspective view explaining the connection aspect of the ink supply tube with respect to the mounting part in a modification. (A), (b) is a perspective view which shows the carriage located in the replacement position of an ink cartridge in a modification.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which a liquid consuming apparatus is embodied in a recording apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 11 stores a recording device 12 that performs recording on a sheet P, a scanner unit 13 that reads an image or the like recorded on a document, and a second ink that stores an example of liquid. An ink tank 14 as an example of the liquid container and an operation panel 15 for operating the multifunction device 11 are provided. The scanner unit 13 is mounted above the recording apparatus 12, and the ink tank 14 is attached to one side surface of the recording apparatus 12. The operation panel 15 is disposed on the front side of the recording device 12.

  In the following description, the side of the multifunction machine 11 where the operation panel 15 is provided is the front side, and the opposite side is the rear side. The side on which the scanner unit 13 is mounted with respect to the recording apparatus 12 is the upper side, and the opposite side is the lower side. Further, the side on which the ink tank 14 is disposed with respect to the recording apparatus 12 is the right side, and the opposite side is the left side. A direction along the front direction and the rear direction is defined as a front-rear direction Y, and a direction along the vertical direction is defined as a vertical direction Z. Further, a horizontal direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction Y and the vertical direction Z is defined as a scanning direction X.

  The scanner unit 13 includes a scanner main body 16 that is rotatably connected to the recording apparatus 12, and a transport unit 17 that is disposed above the scanner main body 16. The scanner body 16 can open and close above the recording device 12 via a rotation mechanism 18 provided on the rear end side. Further, the transport unit 17 can open and close the upper portion of the scanner main body 16 via a rotation mechanism 19 provided on the rear end side.

The operation panel 15 includes a display unit 20 such as a liquid crystal display for displaying a menu screen and the like, and various operation buttons 21 provided around the display unit 20.
Further, in the recording apparatus 12, a position below the operation panel 15 is provided with a paper discharge port 22 through which the paper P is discharged from the recording apparatus 12 and a paper discharge stand 23 that is housed so as to be drawable. . Further, on the back side of the recording apparatus 12, an extendable medium support 24 capable of stacking a plurality of sheets P and a sheet feeding port 25 for feeding the sheets P into the recording apparatus 12 are provided. . In addition, a conveyance mechanism (not shown) is accommodated in the recording apparatus 12. The transport mechanism transports the paper P fed into the recording device 12 through the paper feed port 25 and discharges the paper P outside the recording device 12 through the paper discharge port 22. That is, the front direction in the front-rear direction Y is also the direction in which the paper P is conveyed in the recording apparatus 12.

Next, the internal structure of the recording apparatus 12 will be described with reference mainly to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, a plate-shaped guide frame 31 having a scanning direction X as a longitudinal direction and a vertical direction Z as a short direction is provided in the recording apparatus 12, and an upper end portion of the guide frame 31 and A guide rail 32 is formed at the lower end. The guide rail 32 supports a carriage 40 that can reciprocate in the scanning direction X along the guide rail 32.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 40 includes a liquid ejecting head 41 as an example of a liquid consuming unit capable of ejecting ink. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carriage 40 has a plurality of mounting portions 42 (42a, 42b) to which an ink cartridge 33 as an example of a first liquid container capable of storing ink is detachably mounted. , 42c, 42d). The liquid ejecting head 41 is provided below the carriage 40, and the mounting portion 42 is provided above the liquid ejecting head 41.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an adapter 34 that can supply ink to the liquid ejecting head 41 is attached to the attachment portion 42 (42 d) where the ink cartridge 33 is not attached. The adapter 34 is connected to the ink tank 14 via an ink supply tube 35 as an example of a liquid supply tube. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink supply tube 35 is connected between the ink tank 14 and the mounting portion 42 d other than the mounting portions 42 a, 42 b, 42 c to which the ink cartridge 33 is mounted. Yes. Further, the ink supply tube 35 can be deformed following the reciprocation of the carriage 40. In this manner, the adapter 34 and the ink supply tube 35 can supply the ink stored in the ink tank 14 to the liquid ejecting head 41 supported by the carriage 40 that reciprocates.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a support member 36 for supporting the paper P on which ink is ejected from the liquid ejecting head 41 extends along the scanning direction X at the inner bottom portion of the recording apparatus 12. Behind the carriage 40, a pair of pulleys 37 (one not shown) in the scanning direction X, an endless timing belt 38 wound around both pulleys, and a carriage motor 39 for driving one pulley. Is provided.

  Further, a position below the carriage 40 shown in FIG. 2 and adjacent to the support member 36 is a home position where maintenance of the liquid ejecting head 41 is performed. In the present embodiment, a region facing the support member 36 and a region including the home position are moving regions in which the carriage 40 can move along the scanning direction X. In the present embodiment, the above-described ink tank 14 is disposed outside the moving area of the carriage 40 and outside the recording apparatus 12.

Next, a specific configuration of the carriage 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 3, the carriage 40 has a box shape having an opening on the upper side in the vertical direction Z, the first side wall 43 on the front side in the front-rear direction Y, the second side wall 44 on the rear side, and the scanning direction. In X, a third side wall 45 on the ink tank 14 side and a fourth side wall 46 on the opposite side are provided. The first side wall 43 has a lower height in the vertical direction Z than the other side walls 44 to 46.

  The first side wall 43 is formed with a guide 47 at the upper end thereof for guiding the ink supply tube 35 drawn from the ink tank 14 side toward the adapter 34 (mounting part 42d). The guide portion 47 is extended so as to draw an arc from the upper end portion of the first side wall 43 toward the fourth side wall 46 side (the opposite side to the ink tank 14 side) in the plan view. Further, a guide wall 48 that can sandwich the ink supply tube 35 from a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction Z is formed in the guide portion 47 along the extending direction of the guide portion 47. Further, a reinforcing wall 49 for reinforcing the guide portion 47 is provided in the guide portion 47 in parallel with the guide wall 48.

  The third side wall 45 and the guide portion 47 are formed with a locking portion 45a and a locking portion 47a for locking the cover 50 when a cover 50 (see FIG. 4) described later is mounted. Yes. Further, a screw hole 45 b along the vertical direction Z is formed at the upper end portion at the corner formed by the first side wall 43 and the third side wall 45.

  Further, a plurality (four in the present embodiment) of the mounting portions 42 described above are arranged in parallel along the scanning direction X in a region surrounded by the side walls 43 to 46 in the carriage 40. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the mounting portion 42 d located closest to the ink tank 14 among the mounting portions 42 is provided with an ink tank 14 containing black ink and an ink supply tube 35. The connected adapter 34 is attached. That is, in the present embodiment, the ink supply tube 35 is connected via the adapter 34 to the mounting portion 42d located closest to the ink tank 14 in the direction in which the plurality of mounting portions 42 are arranged (scanning direction). On the other hand, the remaining mounting portions 42a, 42b, and 42c are mounted with ink cartridges 33 that contain color inks (for example, cyan ink, magenta ink, and yellow ink).

  That is, in the present embodiment, of the four mounting portions 42, the three mounting portions 42 a, 42 b, 42 c to which the ink cartridge 33 is mounted correspond to the first mounting portion, and the ink supply tube 35 is connected via the adapter 34. One mounting part 42d to which is connected corresponds to the second mounting part. Here, the ink tank 14 can store a larger amount of ink than the ink amount stored in the ink cartridge 33. For this reason, in the recording device 12, a relatively high amount of ink (black ink in the present embodiment) is supplied from the ink tank 14, and a relatively low amount of ink (color ink in the present embodiment) is ink cartridge 33. It is desirable to be supplied from.

Next, the cover 50 attached to the carriage 40 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cover 50 is formed in a shape corresponding to the mounting portion 42 d and the guide portion 47 to which the ink supply tube 35 is connected via the adapter 34 in a plan view. That is, the cover 50 includes a first covering portion 51 that can cover the guide portion 47 and a second covering portion 52 that can cover the mounting portion 42d to which the adapter 34 of the carriage 40 is attached. The first covering portion 51 is formed with a locked portion 51 a that engages with a locking portion 47 a formed on the guide portion 47 of the carriage 40 when the cover 50 is mounted on the carriage 40. The second covering portion 52 includes a locked portion 52 a that engages with a locking portion 45 a formed on the third side wall 45 of the carriage 40 when the cover 50 is mounted on the carriage 40, and the carriage 40. A through hole 52b communicating with the screw hole 45b is formed.

Next, the configuration related to the ink supply system from the ink tank 14 disposed outside the recording apparatus 12 to the liquid ejecting head 41 will be described in detail.
As shown in FIG. 2, the ink tank 14 on the uppermost stream side of the ink supply system is provided with a slide cover 14a on the upper surface thereof. Ink can be injected into the ink tank 14 through an injection port (not shown) that appears when the slide cover 14a is opened.

  Then, the ink stored in the ink tank 14 is supplied to the liquid ejecting head 41 via the ink supply tube 35 routed inside the recording apparatus 12. Specifically, the ink supply tube 35 extends from the ink tank 14 side toward the opposite side in a state where it is placed on the guide portion 61 that extends along the scanning direction X in the recording apparatus 12. After being provided, the extending direction is reversed toward the ink tank 14 side. Then, the inverted ink supply tube 35 is guided by the guide portion 47, thereby changing the extending direction from the direction along the scanning direction X (right direction) to the front-rear direction Y (rear direction). 34. The convex direction of the curved portion 35a formed when the ink supply tube 35 is reversed in the scanning direction X is the direction in which the ink tank 14 is disposed with respect to the recording apparatus 12 in the scanning direction X (right direction). It is the opposite direction (left direction).

  The ink supply tube 35 is provided with a protective plate 62 that deforms along with the ink supply tube 35. The protective plate 62 has an upstream end (ink tank 14 side) end fixed to the guide portion 61 together with the ink supply tube 35, and a downstream end (liquid ejecting head 40 side) end locked to the guide portion 47. Has been.

  Thus, in this embodiment, the liquid supply apparatus that supplies ink to the liquid ejecting head 41 by the mounting portion 42 to which the ink cartridge 33 and the adapter 34 are mounted and the ink supply tube 35 that connects the ink tank 14 and the adapter 34. An example is configured.

Next, the operation of the multifunction machine 11 of this embodiment will be described.
First, an operation related to mounting of the cover 50 on the carriage 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the cover 50 is mounted on the carriage 40, the cover 50 is positioned slightly closer to the third side wall 45 than the original mounting position of the cover 50 and the carriage 40. The cover 50 is placed on the upper end surface of the third side wall 45. Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, the cover 50 is attached to the carriage 40 by moving the cover 50 toward the fourth side wall 46 with respect to the carriage 40.

  In the state shown in FIG. 5B, the locking portion 45 a and the locking portion 47 a of the carriage 40 engage with the locked portion 51 a and the locked portion 52 a of the cover 50, and the screw hole 45 b of the carriage 40. The through holes 52b of the cover 50 overlap in the vertical direction Z. Further, the cover 50 can be more firmly attached to the carriage 40 by screwing the screw hole 45b (see FIG. 3) of the overlapping carriage 40 and the through hole 52b (see FIG. 4) of the cover 50. It becomes.

  Then, the cover 50 covers the guide portion 47 of the carriage 40 from above, so that the ink supply tube 35 positioned on the guide portion 47 is suppressed from being lifted or removed from the guide portion 47. Further, since the cover 50 covers the connection portion between the adapter 34 and the ink supply tube 35 from above, the possibility that the user inadvertently touches the connection portion is reduced.

Next, an operation related to the replacement of the ink cartridge 33 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 6, when replacing the ink cartridge 33, the ink cartridge 33 (all the ink cartridges 33 in FIG. 6) to be replaced is removed from the mounting portion 42 of the carriage 40. That is, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 6, the ink cartridge 33 is removed upward from the mounting portions 42a, 42b, and 42c by the user of the multifunction machine 11. At this time, a region surrounded by a two-dot chain line is an attachment / detachment region RA in which the ink cartridge 33 is displaced when the ink cartridge 33 is attached / detached to / from the mounting portions 42a, 42b, 42c. Here, the ink supply tube 35 is guided outside the attachment / detachment region RA by a guide portion 47 formed outside the attachment / detachment region RA, and is connected to the attachment portion 42d via the adapter 34. For this reason, according to this embodiment, when the ink cartridge 33 is attached and detached, the ink cartridge 33 is prevented from interfering with the ink supply tube 35.

  The ink cartridge 33 may be attached / detached with the cover 50 attached to the carriage 40. Further, since the first side wall 43 of the carriage 40 is formed lower in the vertical direction Z than the other side walls 44, 45, 46, the ink cartridge 33 is removed from the mounting portions 42 a, 42 b, 42 c of the carriage 40. The user can easily touch the ink cartridge 33.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) The ink supply tube 35 is connected to the mounting portion 42d from outside the attachment / detachment region RA of the ink cartridge 33 with respect to the mounting portions 42a, 42b, and 42c. For this reason, when the ink cartridge 33 is attached or detached, the ink cartridge 33 can be prevented from interfering with the ink supply tube 35.

  (2) The ink supply tube 35 is connected via an adapter 34 to a mounting portion 42d located on one end side (ink tank 14 side) in the direction in which the mounting portions 42 are arranged. For this reason, compared with the case where the ink supply tube 35 is connected to the other mounting portions 42b and 42c excluding the mounting portions 42a and 42d at both ends in the juxtaposed direction among the plurality of mounting portions 42, the ink supply tube 35 and The ink cartridge 33 related to attachment / detachment can be made difficult to interfere.

  (3) The ink supply tube 35 drawn from the ink tank 14 is guided to the mounting portion 42 by the guide portion 47 formed outside the attachment / detachment region RA. For this reason, even if the second mounting portion (the mounting portion 42d in this embodiment) to which the ink supply tube 35 is connected is any mounting portion among the plurality of mounting portions 42, the first mounting portion (this embodiment). In the embodiment, it is possible to prevent the ink cartridge 33 attached to and detached from the mounting portions 42a, 42b, and 42c) from interfering with the ink supply tube 35.

  (4) By covering the ink supply tube 35 guided by the guide portion 47 with the cover 50, it is possible to prevent the ink supply tube 35 from being removed from the guide portion 47.

  (5) Further, since the cover 50 covers the connection portion between the adapter 34 and the ink supply tube 35, it is possible to prevent the user of the recording apparatus 12 from touching the connection portion.

(6) By providing the ink tank 14 outside the movement area of the carriage 40, it is possible to prevent the carriage 40 that reciprocates from interfering with the ink tank 14.
In addition, you may change the said embodiment like the modification shown below. Furthermore, you may combine modifications.

The position of the guide portion 47 that guides the ink supply tube 35 may be changed. Further, the connection position of the adapter 34 with the ink supply tube 35 may be changed.
For example, as shown in FIG. 7A, the guide portion 47 may be a through hole 45 c formed in the third side wall 45. In this case, it is desirable that the connection position of the adapter 34 with the ink supply tube 35 is the side surface of the adapter 34 on the third side wall 45 side.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 7B, the guide portion 47 may be a through hole 43 a formed in the first side wall 43. In this case, it is desirable that the connection position of the adapter 34 with the ink supply tube 35 is the side surface of the adapter 34 on the first side wall 43 side.

  The guide portion 47 that guides the ink supply tube 35 may be omitted. For example, as shown in FIG. 7C, the guide portion 47 may be omitted by connecting the ink supply tube 35 directly to the adapter 34 from above the adapter 34 (mounting portion 42a). According to this, for example, the drawing of the ink supply tube 35 can be simplified compared to the case where the ink supply tube 35 is connected to the mounting portion 42 from the front of the carriage 40. On the other hand, in FIG. 7C, when the ink supply tube 35 is directly connected to the adapter 34 from above the adapter 34 (mounting portion 42a), the ink supply tube 35 is guided to the adapter 34. A guide part may be provided.

  The adapter 34 may not be attached to the attachment portion 42d located closest to the ink tank 14 among the plurality of attachment portions 42. For example, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the adapter 34 may be mounted on the mounting portion 42a located on the side opposite to the ink tank 14 side or mounted on the other mounting portion 42c. Also good.

  -In the exchange position which replaces the ink cartridge 33, you may provide the shielding part which shields the adapter 34 and the ink supply tube 35 connected to the adapter 34 from the attachment or detachment area RA.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the adapter 34 is mounted on the mounting portion 42d closest to the third side wall 45 with respect to the plurality of mounting portions 42, the carriage 40 is positioned at the replacement position. In addition, it is desirable to provide a shielding part 63 so that at least the adapter 34 is concealed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the adapter 34 is mounted on the mounting portion 42d positioned second from the third side wall 45 side with respect to the plurality of mounting portions 42, the carriage 40 is replaced with the replacement position. It is desirable to provide a shielding portion 64 so that at least the adapter 34 is concealed when positioned in the position.

According to these, it is possible to prevent the ink cartridge 33 from interfering with the adapter 34 and the ink supply tube 35 when the ink cartridge 33 is attached and detached.
The ink supply tube 35 may be directly connected to the mounting portion 42 without using the adapter 34. For example, the ink supply tube 35 may be directly connected to a lead-out part that leads the ink in the ink cartridge 33 provided in the mounting part 42.

The number of mounting parts 42 may be two, three, or five or more.
The mounting portion 42 may be configured so that the ink cartridge 33 can be attached and detached in a direction other than the upward direction in the vertical direction Z. For example, the mounting unit 42 may be configured so that the ink cartridge 33 is detachable in the forward direction.

Any one of the ink cartridge 33 and the adapter 34 may not necessarily be mounted on all the mounting portions 42. That is, there may be a mounting portion 42 on which nothing is mounted.
As long as at least one ink cartridge 33 is attached to the attachment portion 42, any number of ink cartridges 33 may be attached. The same applies to the adapter 34.

The cover 50 may be formed so as to cover all the mounting portions 42 and the guide portions 47.
The ink supplied from the ink tank 14 may not be black ink. For example, when the frequency of use of other ink increases, the ink may be supplied from the ink tank 14. In addition, it may be selected whether the ink is supplied from the ink cartridge 33 or the ink tank 14 according to the characteristics of the ink, which is easy to thicken or hard to thicken.

The ink tank 14 may be disposed inside the recording device 12 as long as it is outside the moving area of the carriage 40.
The mounting portion 42 may be provided in a predetermined location other than on the carriage 40 in the recording apparatus 12. That is, the ink cartridge 33 may be a so-called off-carriage type ink cartridge mounted on such a mounting portion. In this case, for example, similarly to the carriage 40 shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, etc., the cartridge holding portion including the mounting portion 42 to which the ink cartridge 33 is mounted is fixed at a predetermined position in the recording apparatus 12. It is desirable. Even in this case, the ink supply tube 35 having one end connected to the ink tank 14 can be connected to such a mounting portion (second mounting portion) from the outside of the attachment / detachment region when the ink cartridge is attached / detached. . According to this, even when the mounting portion is not provided on the carriage 40, it is possible to prevent the ink cartridge from interfering with the ink supply tube 35 when the ink cartridge is attached or detached.

  In the above embodiment, the recording apparatus 12 may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or ejects liquid other than ink. Note that the state of the liquid ejected as a minute amount of liquid droplets from the liquid ejecting apparatus includes a granular shape, a tear shape, and a thread-like shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected from the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ). Further, not only a liquid as one state of a substance but also a substance in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent is included. Typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, or a color filter in a dispersed or dissolved form. There is a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting the liquid. Further, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid as a sample that is used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a micro dispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. May be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects the liquid onto the substrate. Further, it may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali in order to etch a substrate or the like.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 12 ... Recording apparatus (example of liquid consumption apparatus), 14 ... Ink tank (example of 2nd liquid container), 33 ... Ink cartridge (example of 1st liquid container), 35 ... Ink supply tube (liquid supply) Example of tube), 40... Carriage, 41... Liquid ejecting head (Example of liquid consumption unit), 42 (42 a, 42 b, 42 c)... Mounting unit (Example of first mounting unit), 42 (42 d). (Example of second mounting portion) 47, guide portion, 50, cover, 63, 64, shielding portion, RA, attachment / detachment region.

Claims (7)

A liquid supply device that supplies the liquid to a liquid consumption unit that consumes the liquid,
A plurality of mounting portions to which the first liquid container for storing the liquid is detachably mounted;
Of the plurality of mounting portions, a second mounting portion other than the first mounting portion on which the first liquid container is mounted and a larger amount of the liquid than the amount of liquid stored in the first liquid container. a liquid supply tube connectable between a second liquid container for accommodating comprises,
The liquid supply tube is connected to the second mounting portion from outside the attachment / detachment region of the first liquid container with respect to the first mounting portion ,
The plurality of mounting portions are provided on a carriage that reciprocates while supporting the liquid consumption portion,
The liquid supply apparatus further comprising: a shielding portion that shields the liquid supply tube from the attachment / detachment region when the carriage is positioned at an exchange position for exchanging the first liquid container .   A liquid supply device that supplies the liquid to a liquid consumption unit that consumes the liquid,
  A plurality of mounting portions to which the first liquid container for storing the liquid is detachably mounted;
  Of the plurality of mounting portions, a second mounting portion other than the first mounting portion on which the first liquid container is mounted and a larger amount of the liquid than the amount of liquid stored in the first liquid container. A liquid supply tube connectable with a second liquid container to be housed,
  The liquid supply tube is connected to the second mounting portion from the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium outside the attachment / detachment region of the first liquid container with respect to the first mounting portion. Liquid supply device. 3. The liquid supply according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply tube is connected to any one of the mounting portions located at both ends in the juxtaposition direction of the plurality of mounting portions. apparatus. A guide part for guiding the liquid supply tube toward a mounting part to which the liquid supply tube is connected;
The guide portion, the liquid supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that it is formed outside the detachable area. A cover for covering the liquid supply tube guided by the guide unit ;
The cover, in a plan view from above in the vertical direction in the use state of the liquid supply device, opening the first mounting portion is configured to cover the said guide portion and the second mounting portion Rukoto liquid supply apparatus according to 請 Motomeko 4 characterized. The said 2nd liquid container is arrange | positioned outside the movement area | region of the carriage which supports the said liquid consumption part, and reciprocates, The any one of Claims 1-5 characterized by the above-mentioned. Liquid supply device. The liquid supply apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
A liquid consuming apparatus comprising the liquid consuming unit.