JP4544406B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus including an ink cartridge that is provided independently of a carriage and supplies ink droplets to a recording head, and a liquid ejecting apparatus.

Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that discharges ink from the recording head to perform recording on a recording medium. And a device that ejects the liquid corresponding to the application from the liquid ejecting head corresponding to the ink jet recording head to the ejected medium corresponding to the recording material, and adheres the liquid to the ejected medium. .
In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

An ink jet printer as one of the recording devices includes an ink jet recording head that ejects ink droplets in a carriage that is driven to reciprocate in the main scanning direction. Here, in the ink jet printer, an ink cartridge for supplying ink droplets to the ink jet recording head is detachably provided. However, the ink cartridge is not mounted on the carriage, and is independent from the carriage, on the main body side of the ink jet printer. There is a case in which a configuration provided to be fixed to the head is adopted (for example, see Patent Document 1). When configured in this manner, the ink cartridge and the inkjet recording head are connected via a flexible ink tube or the like. With this configuration, the capacity of the ink cartridge can be increased, and the carriage can be reduced in size and weight. As a result, the inkjet printer can be reduced in size and the driving accuracy of the carriage can be improved. It is also possible.

JP 2002-154245 A

Here, when a plurality of ink cartridges corresponding to a plurality of colors are arranged above the main scanning area of the carriage, the lower part of the carriage usually has a conveyance path for conveying the recording medium. When an abnormality occurs in the transport path, the ink cartridge provided in the upper part of the carriage main scanning area becomes an obstacle, and there is a problem that it is difficult to perform the recovery process. For example, when a paper jam or the like occurs, the ink cartridge becomes an obstacle, and there is a problem that it is difficult to perform an operation of removing the jammed paper.
In addition, when the ink cartridge is made independent of the carriage, the size of the apparatus tends to increase depending on the area occupied by the ink cartridge. Further, since the ink cartridge is to be replaced, it is necessary to devise the apparatus layout so that the replacement work can be performed more easily.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the problem is that, in an inkjet printer having an ink cartridge above the main scanning area of the carriage, recovery processing when an abnormality occurs in the recording medium conveyance path. The purpose is to make the work easier.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus that can prevent an increase in size of the apparatus even if the ink cartridge is provided independently from the carriage, and that the ink cartridge can be easily replaced.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention includes a recording head that performs recording on a recording medium, and is provided independently of the carriage that is reciprocated in the main scanning direction. A recording apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge for supplying ink droplets to a recording head; and a recording medium conveyance path for conveying a recording medium via the recording head, wherein the ink cartridge is subjected to main scanning of the carriage. In addition to being provided at the upper part of the region, an ink cartridge retracting means for retracting the ink cartridge from the upper part of the main scanning region is provided.

  According to the first aspect, the recording apparatus includes the ink cartridge independent of the carriage at the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage and the ink cartridge retracting means for retracting the ink cartridge from the upper part of the main scanning area. As a result, when an abnormality occurs in the recording medium conveyance path, an upper area of the main scanning area of the carriage can be secured. Therefore, even when an abnormality such as a jam occurs in the recording medium conveyance path via the recording head, the recovery processing work (maintenance work) can be easily performed.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the carriage and the ink cartridge are provided on the front side of the recording apparatus.
According to the second aspect, since the carriage and the ink cartridge are provided on the front side of the recording apparatus, it is easy to attach and detach the ink cartridge, and an abnormality occurs in the recording medium conveyance path. Recovery processing work becomes even easier.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the plurality of ink cartridges are arranged in an ink cartridge unit that detachably holds the ink cartridges along the main scanning direction of the carriage. In parallel, the ink cartridge retracting means is configured to retract from the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage for each ink cartridge unit.
According to the third aspect, since the plurality of ink cartridges are held in parallel in the ink cartridge unit along the main scanning direction of the carriage, the height of the recording apparatus can be kept low. Further, since the ink cartridge retracting means is configured to retract from the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage for each ink cartridge unit, a plurality of ink cartridges can be retracted quickly and easily.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the ink cartridge unit forms an upper appearance of the recording apparatus together with a substantially box-shaped housing that covers the recording apparatus, and the ink cartridge unit Is retracted from the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage so that the recording medium conveyance path is exposed.
According to the fourth aspect, the ink cartridge unit forms an upper external appearance of the recording apparatus together with a substantially box-shaped housing that covers the recording apparatus, and the ink cartridge unit is disposed above the main scanning region of the carriage. Since the recording medium conveyance path is exposed by retracting, the recording medium conveyance path can be maintained immediately by moving the ink cartridge unit to the retracted position, which is user-friendly. .

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the above fourth aspect, the ink cartridge retracting means slides the ink cartridge unit toward the rear side of the recording apparatus, so that the upper part of the main scanning region of the carriage is It is comprised so that it may evacuate from.
According to the fifth aspect, the ink cartridge retracting means is configured to retract from the upper part of the main scanning region by sliding the ink cartridge unit toward the rear side of the recording apparatus. Therefore, even when the upper area of the housing and the ink cartridge unit is narrow when the recording apparatus is installed, the ink cartridge unit can be retracted to the retracted position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the ink cartridge unit is configured to slide substantially horizontally along the inner ceiling surface of the housing.
According to the sixth aspect, since the ink cartridge unit is configured to slide substantially horizontally along the inner ceiling surface of the housing, the upper region of the housing and the ink cartridge unit is further increased. Even in a narrow case, the ink cartridge unit can be retracted to the retracted position.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect, the flat upper surface of the recording apparatus is formed by the plate member that forms the upper surface of the ink cartridge unit and the top plate of the housing. The ink cartridge retracting means is configured to slide the ink cartridge unit to the rear side of the recording apparatus after displacing the ink cartridge unit to a non-interference position where the plate member and the top plate do not interfere with each other. It is characterized by being.
According to the seventh aspect, since the upper surface of the recording apparatus is made flat and flat with the plate material forming the upper surface of the ink cartridge unit and the top plate of the housing, the ink cartridge unit is preferable in appearance. Since the plate member and the top plate can be displaced to a non-interference position where they do not interfere with each other, it is possible to slide to the rear of the recording apparatus.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the sixth or seventh aspect, the ink cartridge retracting means includes a biasing means that biases the ink cartridge unit in a retracting direction, and the ink cartridge unit is moved to the carriage. And stopper means for holding the upper part of the main scanning region.
According to the eighth aspect, the ink cartridge unit is configured to automatically retract in the retracting direction by the biasing means when the ink cartridge is held by the stopper means. Can be easily retreated to the retreat position.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the third to eighth aspects, the ink cartridge unit includes a main body portion on which the ink cartridge is mounted, a cover body that covers an upper portion of the main body portion, And a cap member that caps the front portion of the cover body, and the main body portion is formed with a plurality of tongue pieces so as to protrude to the front side of the recording apparatus, and the tongue pieces A locking projection is formed at the distal end, and a plurality of locking portions for locking the locking projection are formed on the cover body, and the locking projection is engaged with the locking portion by the elasticity of the tongue piece. The cover body is configured to be held by being stopped, and a plurality of the locking protrusions are mixed on the right side and the left side of the tongue piece. It is characterized by being formed.
According to the ninth aspect, the cap member is provided at the front portion of the ink cartridge unit, and the cap member is provided with the locking protrusion provided on the main body side of the ink cartridge unit. It is configured to be held by being locked to the locking portion, and the locking protrusion is mixed between what is formed on the right side of the tongue piece and what is formed on the left side. In other words, since all the locking protrusions are not formed on the same side surface, the cap member cannot be easily removed, thereby reliably protecting the inside of the ink cartridge unit. can do.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head that performs recording on a recording medium, a carriage that is reciprocally driven in a main scanning direction, and an ink droplet that is provided independently of the carriage and that is supplied to the recording head. An ink cartridge for storing the ink cartridge, wherein the ink cartridge is disposed at an uppermost part of the main body of the recording apparatus and immediately below an upper surface of a housing member constituting an appearance of the recording apparatus. It is characterized by being.
According to this aspect, since the ink cartridge provided independently from the carriage is disposed at the uppermost part of the main body of the recording apparatus and directly below the upper surface of the housing member constituting the appearance of the recording apparatus, the ink cartridge Can be easily replaced. In particular, when the recording device is installed in an installation place (for example, a TV rack or the like) surrounded on all sides, a space is relatively easily formed on the upper part of the device, so that such a space can be used. The ink cartridge can be easily replaced. Further, compared with the case where the ink cartridge is provided at the bottom of the apparatus, the ink cartridge storage chamber does not require strength, and the apparatus can be configured at a low cost without complicating the apparatus.

According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, a recording head for recording on a recording medium is provided, and a carriage that is reciprocally driven in a main scanning direction and an ink droplet that is provided independently of the carriage and is supplied to the recording head. A recording apparatus comprising: an ink cartridge to be stored; and a recording medium conveyance path that passes through an area facing the recording head, wherein the recording apparatus faces a recording surface of the recording medium conveyed through the recording medium conveyance path. On the side facing the recording surface of the recording medium across the main scanning area of the carriage, and the main scanning area of the carriage is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the recording medium. The ink cartridges are arranged in parallel along a main scanning region of the carriage.
According to this aspect, since the recording medium conveyance path, the carriage main scanning region, and the region in which the plurality of ink cartridges are arranged in parallel along the carriage main scanning region are arranged to overlap, While suppressing the width direction dimension (main scanning direction dimension), the height direction (the overlapping direction of each component) can also be suppressed by arranging a plurality of ink cartridges along the carriage main scanning region. In a recording apparatus that includes an ink cartridge independent of a carriage, the size can be reduced.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the eleventh aspect, the ink cartridge has a rectangular shape in a front view of the recording apparatus when the ink cartridge is attached to the recording apparatus. The longitudinal direction is arranged along the main scanning region of the carriage.
According to this aspect, when the ink cartridge is attached to the recording apparatus, the ink cartridge has a rectangular shape in a front view of the recording apparatus, and the longitudinal direction of the rectangular shape is the main scanning region of the carriage. Accordingly, the height direction dimension of the recording apparatus can be further reduced.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the twelfth aspect, the recording medium conveyance path is configured to convey the recording medium substantially horizontally from the rear side to the front side of the recording apparatus, The main scanning area of the carriage is arranged so as to extend in the left-right direction of the recording apparatus, the ink cartridge is the uppermost part of the apparatus main body of the recording apparatus, and the upper surface of the housing member constituting the appearance of the recording apparatus A recording medium set unit that is arranged immediately below and can set a plurality of recording media below the recording medium conveyance path. A recording surface of the recording medium to be set is substantially parallel to the recording medium conveyance path. It is arrange | positioned so that it may become.
According to the above aspect, the recording medium is transported from the rear of the recording apparatus to the front so that the recording surface is substantially horizontal, and the carriage main scanning area, the ink cartridge juxtaposed area, and the recording medium setting section are: Since the recording medium is disposed so as to overlap above and below the recording medium conveyance path, the size in the height direction of the recording apparatus can be made extremely small. Further, since the ink cartridge is disposed at the uppermost part of the main body of the recording apparatus and directly below the upper surface of the housing member that constitutes the appearance of the recording apparatus, the ink cartridge can be easily replaced. . In particular, when the recording device is installed in an installation place (for example, a TV rack or the like) surrounded on all sides, a space is relatively easily formed on the upper part of the device, so that such a space can be used. The ink cartridge can be easily replaced. Further, compared to the case where the ink cartridge is provided at the bottom of the apparatus, the ink cartridge storage chamber does not require strength, and the apparatus is not complicated, and the ink cartridge storage chamber is configured at low cost.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in any one of the tenth to fourteenth aspects, the ink cartridge is provided to be detachable from the front side of the recording apparatus.
According to this aspect, since the ink cartridge is provided so as to be detachable from the front side of the recording apparatus, the ink cartridge can be installed even when the recording apparatus is installed in an installation space surrounded on all sides. Can be easily replaced.

  According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a medium to be ejected is provided. A carriage that is driven to reciprocate in a main scanning direction, and a liquid that is provided independently from the carriage, A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid cartridge to be supplied; and an ejected medium transport path for transporting an ejected medium via the liquid ejecting head, wherein the liquid cartridge is disposed above the main scanning region of the carriage. And a liquid cartridge retracting means for retracting the liquid cartridge from the upper part of the main scanning region.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, a schematic configuration of an ink jet printer (hereinafter referred to as “printer”) 1 as an example of a “recording apparatus” and a “liquid ejecting apparatus” according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. To do. Here, FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of the printer 1, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that the printer 1 has a box shape, is approximately the size of a video tape recorder, and is used in a state of being stored in a TV rack or the like. It is configured. As shown in the figure, a front cover 8 is provided on the front surface of the box-shaped housing 3 so as to be roughly configured, and the front cover 8 is opened toward the front side (used state: not shown). A closed state (non-use state) is rotatably provided. In the open state, the recording paper on which recording has been performed can be ejected, and the disk tray 33 (see FIG. 2) can be taken in and out. A paper feed tray 30 is detachably provided at the lower portion of the front cover 8, and the recording paper can be set by being pulled out and removed. An ink cartridge unit 15 (details will be described later) is provided above the front cover 8 and forms the upper surface of the printer 1 together with the housing 3. Further, the ink cartridge unit 15 is provided with a plurality of ink cartridges 16 (see FIG. 3) in a detachable manner in parallel with the width direction of the printer 1.

  Next, the internal configuration of the printer 1 will be outlined with reference to FIG. As described above, the printer 1 includes the paper feed tray 30 that is detachable at the bottom of the apparatus. A plurality of recording papers P can be set in a stacked state on the paper feed tray 30, and a hopper 31 is provided at the bottom thereof. The hopper 31 is provided so as to be able to oscillate about the oscillating shaft 31a, and oscillates by receiving a driving force of a driving means (not shown). That is, the hopper 31 is provided at the upper portion by pushing up the set recording paper P from below. A bundle of recording paper P is pressed against the feeding roller 28.

  The feeding roller 28 has a substantially D shape in a side view, and the outer periphery is formed by a high friction member (for example, a rubber material). When the recording paper P is fed, the uppermost recording paper P in pressure contact with the arc portion of the feeding roller 28 is fed to the downstream side (right side in FIG. 2) by the rotation of the feeding roller 28. In addition, friction separating means (not shown) that presses against the arc portion of the feeding roller 28 is provided below the feeding roller 28, and a recording sheet is provided between the friction separating means and the feeding roller 28. By pinching P, the uppermost recording sheet P to be fed is separated from the next and subsequent recording sheets P to be fed.

  On the downstream side of the feeding roller 28, a conveyance driving roller 21 that is rotationally driven by a conveyance motor (not shown) and a conveyance driven roller 22 that is driven to rotate in contact with the roller are provided. The recording paper P is conveyed under the recording head 14 by nipping P and driving the conveyance driving roller 21 to rotate.

  The recording head 14 and the platen 20 are provided on the downstream side of the transport driving roller 21 so as to face each other in the vertical direction. The transported recording paper P is supported by the recording head 14 from the bottom in a state of being supported from below. Recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets as “liquid”. The recording head 14 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 13, but the carriage 13 that reciprocates in the main scanning direction is not mounted with an ink cartridge, and is located above the main scanning area of the carriage 13 as described above. A plurality of ink cartridges 16 are detachably arranged in parallel in the main scanning direction. Ink is supplied to the carriage 13 via an ink flow path (not shown).

The carriage 13 is guided in the main scanning direction by a main carriage guide shaft 11 and a sub carriage guide shaft 12 extending in the main scanning direction. The main carriage guide shaft 11 is inserted through the rear portion of the carriage 13, and the sub carriage guide shaft 12 supports the front portion of the carriage 13 from below, thereby defining the distance between the recording head 14 and the recording paper P. .
On the downstream side of the recording head 14, there are provided a discharge driving roller 23 that is rotationally driven by a conveying motor (not shown) and a discharge driven roller 24 that is driven to rotate in contact with the roller. The recording paper P is discharged to the outside of the printer 1 by nipping and rotating the discharge driving roller 23.

  On the other hand, a disc tray 33 on which an optical disc D represented by a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk) or the like can be set is disposed above the paper feed tray 30. A rack (not shown) is formed at the side end of the disk tray 33, and is configured to move substantially horizontally and straight by rotation of a pinion gear (not shown) that meshes with the rack. At the time of recording on the optical disk D, after the tray tip is transported by the moving means until it is nipped between the transport driving roller 21 and the transport driven roller 22, the recording head receives the driving force due to the rotation of the transport driving roller 21. The recording head 14 carries the recording at a predetermined pitch.

  The above is the outline of the printer 1. The configuration of the ink cartridge unit (hereinafter abbreviated as “unit”) 15 and the retracting means of the unit 15 (ink cartridge 16) will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 3 to 11. It explains in detail about. 3 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer 1, FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of the unit 15, FIGS. 5 and 6 are partially enlarged perspective views of the unit 15, and FIG. 7 is another embodiment of the cap member. It is a perspective view. 8 is a perspective view of the unit 15, FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the guide member 36, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the locking means, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer 1.

  The unit 15 is provided on the front upper portion of the printer 1 as described with reference to FIG. 1, and as shown in FIG. 3, independent ink cartridges 16a to 16f for each of a plurality of colors (hereinafter collectively referred to as “ Ink cartridge 16 ”) is provided in parallel in the width direction of the printer 1.

  The ink cartridge 16 is detachably provided. When the ink cartridge 16 is replaced, the ink cartridge 16 is pulled out toward the front side of the printer 1 to be detached from the unit 15, and when installed, the ink cartridge 16 is pushed toward the rear side of the printer 1 so The unit 15 is configured to be in a mounted state in which a liquid supply needle (not shown) provided for each ink cartridge in the unit 15 is inserted.

  More specifically, the unit 15 is provided with an ink cartridge 16 in a main body 15b having a tray shape as shown in FIGS. 3 and 8, and an upper portion of the main body 15b together with the housing 3 as shown in FIG. A decorative board 15a as a plate body (cover body) constituting the upper appearance is attached.

  Next, the cap member 50 is attached to the front portions of the main body 15b and the decorative plate 15a. The cap member 50 has a shape that covers the main body 15b and the front part of the decorative plate 15a. By attaching the cap member 50, it becomes impossible to separate the main body 15b and the decorative plate 15a, so Is not easily exposed, and safety is improved. That is, since the inside of the unit 15 is exposed, it is possible to make contact with the above-described liquid supply needle and an IC chip (not shown) that holds information (ink remaining amount, etc.) about each ink cartridge. If the configuration allows the user to easily expose the inside of the unit 15, a failure of the apparatus is likely to occur. However, as described above, the cap member 50 does not easily expose the inside of the unit 15 and ensures safety. For this reason, the cap member 50 is mounted (held) so as not to be easily detached by the following configuration.

  In FIG. 4, reference numerals 45a to 45f denote insertion openings for inserting the ink cartridges 16, and a tongue piece 47a having a substantially triangular shape in a side view protruding forward from the insertion openings 45a to 45f. To 47f (hereinafter collectively referred to as "tongue piece 47" as appropriate). On the side of the cap member 50, partition portions 51 a to 51 f (hereinafter referred to as “partition portions”) having a substantially triangular shape in side view so that the ink cartridge insertion ports corresponding to the insertion ports 45 a to 45 f are partitioned. 51 ") is formed.

FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 (A) show the inside of the partition 51 in a sectional view. In FIG. 6A, the inside of the partition 51 has a hollow shape so that the tongue piece 51 can be inserted, and a locking portion 52 is formed. On the other hand, a locking projection 48 (reference numeral 48c in FIG. 5 and reference numeral 48b in FIG. 6A) is formed at the tip of the tongue piece 47, and when the tongue piece 47 is inserted into the partition portion 51, the tongue piece Due to the elasticity of 47, the locking projection 48 gets over the locking portion 52, and a locked state as shown in the figure is obtained. The tongue pieces 47a to 47f and the partition portions 51a to 51f all have the same configuration, and thereby the cap member 50 is securely attached to the main body portion 15b.
As shown in FIG. 6B, a window hole 53 is formed at the bottom of the partition 51. By inserting a pin or the like through the window hole 53, the locking protrusion 48 and the locking part 52 are formed. The engagement state can be released.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the locking protrusion 48a protrudes toward the front side of the figure, the locking protrusion 48b protrudes toward the back side of the figure, and the locking protrusion 48c protrudes toward the front side of the figure. The locking projections formed on the tongue pieces 47d, 47e, and 47f are also formed so as to protrude in alternate directions. That is, when the locking projections 48 are all formed on the same side of the tongue piece 47, the cap member 50 is either one side where the engagement between the locking projection 48 and the locking portion 52 is released. As a result, the engagement between all the locking projections 48 and the locking portions 52 may be released, and the cap member 50 may be removed by the user. However, as described above, the locking protrusion 48 is formed so as to be mixed between those formed on the right side surface of the tongue piece 47 and those formed on the left side surface. The engagement state with the locking portion 52 is not easily released, and the mounting (holding) state of the cap member 50 is reliably maintained.

  The cap member 50 may be a cap member 60 as shown in FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 7, the cap member 60 has a recess 61 formed in the insertion opening of the ink cartridge 16. This is in consideration of workability when the ink cartridge 16 is attached / detached. When the ink cartridge 16 is attached, a region where the finger is pushed by the recess 61 when the ink cartridge 16 is pushed by the finger is secured and removed. In this case, the ink cartridge 16 can be easily grasped, and this improves the workability at the time of attachment / detachment.

  In addition, the partition portion 64 (indicated by reference numerals 64a to 64d) that partitions the ink cartridge insertion port in the cap member 60 does not have a hollow shape into which the tongue piece 62 (indicated by reference numerals 62a and 62c) can be inserted, but is illustrated. Thus, it is configured to be visible from the outside, and the locking projection 63 (indicated by reference numerals 63b and 64d) is configured to be exposed to the outside. Accordingly, the workability when removing the cap member 60 in the event of a failure or the like is excellent, and the locking projections 63 are directed in the opposite directions as described above, and thus are not easily removed by the user.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 3, the unit 15 is provided in the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage 13, but the lower part of the carriage 13 is a paper transport path for transporting the recording paper P. It is difficult to perform recovery work when an abnormality occurs, such as removing the paper when a paper jam or the like occurs. Therefore, the printer 1 includes a retracting unit that retracts the unit 15 (ink cartridge 16) from the upper part of the main scanning area of the carriage 13.

  In FIG. 3, the knobs indicated by reference numerals 17 and 18 are unit retracting knobs. By sliding the unit retracting knobs 17 and 18 to the side of the printer 1, the holding state of the unit 15 is released, and as shown in FIG. Similarly, the unit 15 is retracted to the retracted position. As a result, an upper area of the main scanning area of the carriage 13 can be secured, and a recovery operation can be easily performed when an abnormality occurs in the paper transport path.

  This will be described in more detail below. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the unit 15 with the decorative plate 15 a (see FIG. 3) removed from the unit 15 and the ink supply means from the unit 15 to the carriage 15. Guided portions 15c (left side) and 15e (right side) are formed on both sides of the main body 15b so as to protrude laterally from both sides. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a guide member right 35 and a guide member left 36 are provided on the apparatus main body side of the printer 1 so as to be positioned on the left and right of the unit 15.

  FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the left guide member 36. The guide member left 36 and the guide member right 35 have a symmetrical shape and the basic configuration is the same. Therefore, the guide member left 36 side will be described below. The guide member 36 has a column shape extending in the depth direction of the printer 1, and a guide groove 36 a extending in the depth direction of the printer 1 is formed on the side facing the side surface of the unit 15. Then, the guided portion 15c is loosely inserted into the guide groove 36a, so that the unit 15 can slide in the front-rear direction of the printer 1.

Here, since the guide groove 36a is formed substantially linearly, the unit 15 slides straightly between the non-retreat position (position of FIG. 3) and the retreat position (position of FIG. 11). Accordingly, the decorative plate 15 a is configured to be positioned below the top plate 3 a of the housing 3 so that the decorative plate 15 a forming the upper surface of the unit 15 and the top plate 3 a of the housing 3 do not interfere with each other. When the unit 15 slides, the decorative plate 15a slides horizontally so as to be along the inner ceiling surface of the housing 3 (the lower surface of the top plate 3a). Therefore, for example, even if there is any placed object on the upper surface of the housing 3, the unit 15 can be retracted to the retracted position without interfering with this.

  Next, on the left side of the guide member 36, the unit retracting knob 18 described above is provided on the front side of the printer 1, and a stopper member 41 is provided on the portion where the unit retracting knob 18 is provided. On the other hand, a fitting hole 15d is formed on the guided portion 15c side as shown in FIG. 11, and the stopper member 41 is configured to fit into the fitting hole 15d as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the unit 15 is in the non-retracted position (the state of FIG. 3), the unit 15 is held in the non-retracted position by the stopper means as described above.

  In FIG. 10, the guide member left 36 is provided with a spring 42 as urging means for urging the guided portion 15 c toward the rear side of the printer 1 (retreat position side of the unit 15). Therefore, when the unit retracting knob 18 is slid, the stopper member 41 is disengaged from the fitting hole 15d and the unit 15 becomes free, and the unit 15 slides to the retracted position side by the biasing force of the spring 42, Thereby, the unit 15 can be retracted to the retracted position by a simple operation.

As described above, since the ink cartridge 16 is not mounted on the carriage 13, the ink flow path connecting the ink cartridge 16 and the carriage 13 reciprocates in the main scanning direction of the carriage 13 and retracts the unit 15. In order to cope with the sliding operation between the position and the non-retracted position, it is necessary to be easily deformed. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the ink cartridge 16 and the carriage 13 are formed by forming an ink flow path (not shown) corresponding to each color in the belt-like members 38a and 38b made of elastomer. The ink cartridge 16 and the carriage 13 (recording head 14) are connected. Accordingly, the belt-like member 38a is deformed as indicated by reference numeral 38 'even when the unit 15 is slid to the retracted position, and the belt-like member 38b is indicated by reference numeral 38b' even if the carriage 13 reciprocates in the main scanning direction. It can be deformed as shown.
As described above, even when an abnormality occurs in the sheet conveyance path, the recovery processing work can be easily performed by retracting the unit 15 to the retracted position.

  Next, a printer 1 ′ according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 14. Here, FIGS. 12 and 14 are perspective views of the inside of the printer 1 ′ according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the guide member 35 ′. In the following description, the same components as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted, and different components are denoted by “′” or “″”. The explanation will be mainly given.

  12, in the printer 1 ′ according to the second embodiment, the decorative plate 15a ′ forming the upper surface of the unit 15 ′ is the same surface (flat) as the top plate 3a of the housing 3 unlike the above-described first embodiment. Surface). Accordingly, when the housing 3 is slid to the retracted position, the decorative plate 15a ′ and the top plate 3a interfere with each other. Therefore, after the unit 15a ′ is slightly displaced upward so that they do not interfere with each other, 14 is configured to slide to the retracted position. Therefore, in the retracted position, the decorative plate 15a 'is in a state of riding on the upper surface of the top plate 3a.

  FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the guide member right 35 ′. The guide member 35 ′ has a guide groove 35 a ′ similarly to the guide member left 36 according to the first embodiment described above, and a guided portion 15 c ′ (in FIG. 12, the unit 15 ′ is provided in the guide groove 35 a ′. 7, only the guided portion 15 ′ corresponding to the guided portion 15 in FIG. 7 is cut out and shown), so that the unit 15 ′ can slide. Further, a stopper member 41 'similar to the stopper member 41 described above is provided, and thereby the unit 15a' is held at the non-retracted position.

Here, in the present embodiment, the guide groove 35a ′ is formed to have a stepped shape. Therefore, the guided portion 15c ′ climbs up the slope 43 when sliding to the retracted position, and after this, the unit 15a ′ is temporarily displaced upward, and then slides to the retracted position as indicated by a virtual line.
According to the second embodiment, since the upper surface of the printer 1 can be a flat surface, it is possible to obtain a more preferable state in appearance.

Next, a printer 1 '' according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIGS. 15 and 16 are perspective views of the inside of the printer 1 '' according to the third embodiment.
In FIG. 15, in the printer 1 ″ according to the third embodiment, the decorative plate 15a ″ forming the upper surface of the unit 15 ″ is replaced with the top plate 3a of the housing 3 in the same manner as the second embodiment described above. It is comprised so that the same surface (flat surface) may be comprised.

However, unlike the above-described first and second embodiments, the unit 15 ″ does not secure the upper region of the main scanning region of the carriage 13 by the sliding operation, but the rear end of the decorative plate 15a ″. As shown in FIG. 15, the upper area of the main scanning area of the carriage 13 is secured by rotating about a rotation axis (axial center line is indicated by AA) formed in the section.
Therefore, according to the third embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment described above, the upper surface of the printer 1 can be made a completely flat surface, so that a more favorable appearance can be achieved.

  Next, other functions and effects of the printer 1 (and the printer 1 ') will be described. First, the printer 1 includes the ink cartridge 16 independently of the carriage 13 as described above. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink cartridge 16 is arranged at the uppermost part of the main body of the printer 1 and directly below the decorative plate 15 a constituting the upper appearance of the printer 1 together with the housing 3. . That is, this makes it possible to easily replace the ink cartridge 16, and in particular, as in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 16 is installed in an installation place (for example, a TV rack) surrounded on all sides. In such a case, since a space is relatively easily formed in the upper part of the apparatus, such a space can be used, and the ink cartridge can be easily replaced. Further, compared with the case where the ink cartridge 16 is provided at the bottom of the printer 1, the storage chamber of the ink cartridge 16 (the ink cartridge unit 15 in the above embodiment) does not require strength, and the configuration of the printer 1 is complicated. Therefore, the storage chamber for the ink cartridge 16 can be configured at low cost.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, on the side facing the recording surface (upper side in FIG. 2) of the recording paper P to be transported through the paper transport path (recording medium transport path) passing through the area facing the recording head 14. The main scanning area of the carriage 13 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) of the recording paper P, and the side facing the recording surface of the recording paper P across the main scanning area of the carriage 13 In addition, a plurality of ink cartridges 16 (16a to 16f: FIG. 3) are arranged along the main scanning region of the carriage 13. In other words, the sheet conveyance path, the carriage main scanning region, and the region (in the above embodiment, the ink cartridge unit 15) formed by arranging a plurality of ink cartridges 16 along the carriage main scanning region overlap each other. Therefore, the size in the height direction can be suppressed by arranging the plurality of ink cartridges 16 along the carriage main scanning region while suppressing the width direction size (main scanning direction size) of the printer 1. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus.

  In particular, when the ink cartridge 16 is attached to the printer 1, as shown in FIG. 8, the ink cartridge 16 has a rectangular shape when viewed from the front of the printer 1, and the longitudinal direction of the rectangular shape is the main scan of the carriage 13. Since it is arranged along the region, the height direction dimension of the printer 1 can be further reduced.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper conveyance path of the printer 1 is configured to convey the recording paper P substantially horizontally from the rear side (left side in FIG. 2) to the front side (right side in FIG. 2). The main scanning area of the carriage 13 is arranged so as to extend in the left-right direction of the printer 1 (the front and back direction in FIG. 2), and a plurality of recording sheets P can be set at the lower part of the sheet conveyance path. Since the paper feed tray 30 as the “medium setting section” is arranged so that the recording surface of the recording paper P to be set is substantially parallel to the paper transport path, this also increases the height direction dimension of the printer 1. It becomes possible to make it even smaller.

  In the above configuration, the ink cartridge 16 is provided so as to be detachable from the front side of the printer 1. Therefore, when the printer 1 is installed in an installation space surrounded on all sides (for example, as described above, a TV rack Etc.), it is possible to easily replace the ink cartridge 16. In particular, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, all the operation buttons and the like are arranged on the front side of the apparatus, and all the consumables represented by the paper feed tray 30 and the ink cartridge 16 can be attached and detached from the front side of the apparatus. In addition, the recording sheet P on which recording has been performed is also discharged from the front of the apparatus. Accordingly, it is possible to exhibit extremely excellent operability and handling in an installation space surrounded on all sides.

1 is an external perspective view of a printer according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer according to the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partially exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge unit. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an ink cartridge unit. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an ink cartridge unit. It is a perspective view which shows other embodiment of a cap member. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an ink cartridge unit. It is a perspective view of a guide member. It is a perspective view of a locking mechanism. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inside of the printer according to the present invention. It is a perspective view inside a printer concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view of a guide member concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view inside a printer concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is a perspective view inside a printer concerning a 3rd embodiment. It is a perspective view inside a printer concerning a 3rd embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 3 Housing, 8 Front cover, 11 Main carriage guide axis, 12 Subcarriage guide axis, 13 Carriage, 14 Recording head, 15
Ink cartridge unit, 15a decorative plate, 15b unit main body, 15c guided portion, 15d fitting hole, 16 ink cartridge, 17, 18 unit retraction knob, 20 platen, 21 transport drive roller, 22 transport driven roller, 23 paper discharge drive Roller, 24 paper discharge driven roller, 28 paper feed roller, 30 paper feed cassette, 31 hopper, 3
3 Disc tray, 35, 36 Guide member, 41 Stopper member, 42 Spring, 45
a-45f Ink cartridge insertion slot, 47a-47f Tongue piece, 48 (48a, 48c
48e) locking protrusion, 50 cap member, 51a to 51f partitioning part, 52 locking part,
53 Window hole, D disc, P Recording paper

Claims (4)

A carriage having a recording head for recording on a recording medium and reciprocating in the scanning direction of the recording head;
An ink cartridge that is provided independently of the carriage and supplies liquid to the recording head;
A recording medium conveying path for conveying the recording medium, and a recording apparatus comprising:
An ink cartridge retracting means for retracting the ink cartridge from the upper part of the moving area, and including the ink cartridge at an upper part of the moving area of the carriage;
A plurality of the ink cartridge move, the ink cartridge unit for detachably holding the ink cartridge, Rutotomoni provided in parallel along the moving direction of the carriage, the ink cartridge retreat means of the carriage by said ink cartridge unit It is equipped with a configuration for retreating from the top of the area
The carriage and the ink cartridge are provided on the front side of the recording apparatus;
The ink cartridge unit constitutes the upper appearance of the recording apparatus together with the housing in a state where the ink cartridge unit does not protrude upward from the top plate of the housing having a substantially box shape covering the recording apparatus,
The ink cartridge unit has a configuration that slides substantially horizontally along an inner ceiling surface that is a lower surface of the top plate of the housing,
The ink cartridge retracting means slides the ink cartridge unit along the top plate of the housing from the front side to the rear side of the recording apparatus, so that the ink cartridge unit is retracted from the upper part of the carriage movement region. The recording medium conveyance path is exposed on the front side of the recording apparatus.
A recording apparatus. A carriage having a recording head for recording on a recording medium and reciprocating in the scanning direction of the recording head;
An ink cartridge unit capable of detachably holding an ink cartridge for supplying a liquid to the recording head;
A recording medium conveying path for conveying the recording medium, and a recording apparatus comprising:
The ink cartridge unit is provided at the upper part of the moving area of the carriage, and ink cartridge retracting means for retracting the ink cartridge unit from the upper part of the moving area,
The carriage and the ink cartridge are provided on the front side of the recording apparatus;
The ink cartridge unit forms an upper external appearance of the recording apparatus together with a substantially box-shaped housing that covers the recording apparatus, and is flattened by a plate member that forms an upper surface of the ink cartridge unit and a top plate of the housing. An upper surface of the recording device is formed,
The ink cartridge retracting means comprises a configuration in which the ink cartridge unit is slid to the rear side of the recording apparatus after the ink cartridge unit is displaced to a non-interference position where the plate member and the top plate do not interfere with each other.
The ink cartridge retracting means slides the ink cartridge unit along the top plate of the housing from the front side to the rear side of the recording apparatus, so that the ink cartridge unit is retracted from the upper part of the carriage movement region. The recording medium conveyance path is exposed on the front side of the recording apparatus.
A recording apparatus. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the ink cartridge retracting means biases the ink cartridge unit in the retracting direction;
And a stopper means for holding the ink cartridge unit at an upper part of the moving area of the carriage. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 3, wherein the ink cartridge unit, and a main body portion for mounting said ink cartridge,
A cover body covering the upper part of the main body,
A cap member that caps the main body portion and the front portion of the cover body,
A plurality of tongue pieces are formed on the main body portion so as to protrude forward of the recording device, and a locking projection is formed on a side surface of the tip portion of the tongue piece,
The cover body is formed with a plurality of locking portions that are locked by the locking projections, and the locking projections are locked to the locking portions by the elasticity of the tongue pieces to hold the cover body. It is configured to
A plurality of the locking projections are formed so as to be mixed between those formed on the right side surface of the tongue piece and those formed on the left side surface,
A recording apparatus.

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