JP2002240260A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer in which expendables of a print means, e.g. an ink cartridge and an ink ribbon, can be replaced extremely readily and electrical connection thereof to the printer body side is facilitated. SOLUTION: In the printer 1 where an ink cartridge (expendables of a print means) 19 can be replaced with respect to a printer body 6, the ink cartridge is provided removably in an ink cartridge tray (expendables tray) 8 inserted removably into the printer body and a cartridge side connector 29 is connected with a body side connector 30 when the ink cartridge tray is inserted into the printer body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer for printing images (including characters) on paper, such as a printer, for example, a printer as a peripheral device in a copier, a facsimile, or a computer. The present invention relates to a technique that makes it extremely easy to replace consumables related to the means, for example, ink cartridges and ink ribbons, and also makes it easy to electrically connect these consumables to the printer body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the spread of computers, printers as peripheral devices have become widespread. In such printers, there are various printing means for printing on paper. System, ink ribbon system, and the like.

[0003] Such an ink-jet system,
In the ink ribbon system and the like, the ink is a consumable item, and it is necessary to replace the ink cartridge and the ink ribbon.

[0004]

However, as described above, in a conventional printer, a cover, an upper cover, a side cover, etc. of a printer body are removed, and after exposing an ink cartridge and an ink ribbon, these are removed. It has to be removed and replaced, and there is a problem that the replacement work is troublesome or that the replacement can be performed only by those who know the know-how or checkpoint.

Further, when it is necessary to electrically connect the ink cartridge and the parts attached to the ink ribbon to the printer, the ink cartridge and the ink ribbon are connected to the printer body separately from the attachment to the printer body. There is a problem that it is troublesome to connect with a cable or a connector, and the workability is poor.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it extremely easy to replace consumables relating to printing means, for example, ink cartridges and ink ribbons, and to easily make electrical connections between these and the printer body. And

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a printer according to the present invention is a printer in which consumables relating to printing means are replaceable with respect to a printer main body. The consumables tray is detachably provided on a consumables tray provided to be able to be taken in and out of the printer body, and the consumables tray is provided with the consumables or the connector provided on the consumables tray and the connector provided on the printer main body. Is connected when inserted into the printer body.

Therefore, in the printer of the present invention, the consumables can be exchanged very easily only by pulling out the consumables tray from the printer main body to the outside, and the electrical connection between the consumables and the printer main body can be achieved. The simultaneous connection can be made only by the operation of inserting and removing the consumables tray, so that a convenient printer can be provided.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 23 show a first embodiment of the printer of the present invention.

In the illustrated embodiment 1, the present invention is applied to a so-called line head type ink jet printer.

The printer 1 has an outer casing 2 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a slightly flat shape in the vertical direction.
A printer unit 6 is configured by housing a mechanism unit 5 including a transport system 4 for transporting the printer (see FIG. 2).

Most parts of the printer body 6 except for the mechanism section 5 are storage spaces 9 and 10 for storing a paper feed tray 7 and an ink cartridge tray 8, which will be described later. In addition, insertion / removal holes 11 and 12 for inserting / removing the paper feed tray 7 and the ink cartridge tray 8 are formed in portions corresponding to the storage spaces 9 and 10, respectively (see FIG. 1). Slightly behind the storage space 10 is a fixing plate 13 as a member on the printer body 6 side.
(See FIG. 2).

The paper feed tray 7 is provided in a lower space 9 of the above-mentioned space by a slide mechanism (not shown) so as to be freely inserted and removed.
Are supplied.

On the lower surface of the front end of the paper feed tray 7, paper 3,
Are pushed up by the push-up plate 14 so that the back end of the sheets 3, 3,... Stored in the feed tray 7 is slightly upward from the feed tray 7. To the pickup roller 15 described later.
2 is pressed against the top sheet 3 (FIG. 2).
reference).

The paper 3 sent by the pick-up roller 15 is sent to the inner end of the outer casing 2. The reversing roller 16 for reversing the direction changes the feed direction forward (see FIG. 2). A guide roller and a guide plate are provided around the reversing roller 16 so that the fed sheet 3 is wound around the reversing roller 16.

The ink cartridge tray 8 is provided by a slide mechanism (not shown) so as to be freely inserted into and removed from the upper space 10 of the above-mentioned space. A recess 18 surrounded by the recess 17 is formed, and a relatively large lower opening 19 is formed on the lower surface of the recess 18 (see FIG. 1).

In the recess 18 of the ink cartridge tray 8, an ink cartridge 20 having substantially the same or slightly smaller planar shape is mounted with almost no gap (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

The left and right side edges of the frame 17 are
Protrusions 21, 21 are formed for preventing erroneous mounting of the ink cartridge 20, and correspondingly, cutouts 22, 22, on which the protrusions 21, 21 are fitted, are formed on the left and right side surfaces of the ink cartridge 20, respectively. (See FIGS. 3 and 4).

A notch 23 is provided substantially at the center of the back of the frame 17.
The notch 23 allows electrical connection between the ink cartridge 20 and the printer main body 6 as described later (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

An upper surface opening 24 is formed on the upper surface of the outer casing 2 at a position corresponding to the ink cartridge tray 8 in which the ink cartridge 20 is mounted. An upper cover 25 is opened so as to open and close the upper surface opening 24. It is provided in the housing 2 (see FIG. 1).

A pressing means 26 is provided on the upper lid 25 at a position corresponding to the ink cartridge 20.
Thus, with the upper lid 25 closed, the ink cartridge tray 8 on which the ink cartridge 20 is mounted is mounted.
When the ink cartridge 20 is inserted into the printer main body 6, the ink cartridge 20 is pressed downward by the pressing means 26. Therefore, the ink cartridge 20 and the ink cartridge tray 8 are pressed downward, and the ink cartridge 20 and the ink cartridge tray 8 pressed downward are positioned vertically as described later, and the positional relationship with the paper 3 is regulated. (See FIG. 2). Although the pressing means 26 has been described as being provided on the upper lid 25,
The present invention is not limited to this, and may be provided in the printer main body 6 or the outer casing 2. In short, it is only necessary that the ink cartridge tray 8 or the ink cartridge 20 be pressed downward when the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the printer body 6.

The ink cartridge 20 includes the ink tank 2
7 and the printer head 28 (FIG. 6
The printer head 28 is a so-called line head, and is provided with a large number of ink ejection holes (not shown) arranged in the left-right direction for each color.
Line heads for the colors are arranged at predetermined intervals in the front-rear direction (paper feed direction). When the paper 3 passes through the printer head 28, a line drawing is printed. Is rendered as a desired character or image.

When the ink cartridge 20 is stored in the concave portion 18 of the ink cartridge tray 8, the printer head 28 is positioned with the printer head 28 projecting slightly below the lower surface of the ink cartridge tray from the lower opening 19 (FIG. 2). reference).

A connection connector (hereinafter, referred to as “cartridge-side connection connector”) 29 is provided on the back surface of the ink cartridge 20, and a connection connector on the printer body 6 (hereinafter, “body-side connection connector”).
That. 31), and the power can be supplied to the printer head 28, and the printer head 28 can be driven (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

When the ink cartridge 20 is mounted in the concave portion 18 of the ink cartridge tray 8, the cartridge-side connector 29 is connected to the cutout portion 23 of the frame 17.
When the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the printer main body 6, the main body side connector 30 is relatively inserted into the notch 23, and the cartridge side connector 29 and the main body side connector 30 are Are connected (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

Conical concave portions (hereinafter, referred to as "conical concave portions") 31, 31 are formed on both left and right sides of the ink cartridge 20 with the cartridge side connector 29 interposed therebetween, and these conical concave portions 31, 31 are formed. Together with a conical convex portion described later on the main body side connector 30 side, it serves as a guide member for coupling the two connection connectors 29 and 30 (see FIGS. 5 and 6).

The main body side connector 30 is supported by a support substrate 32 having a surface orthogonal to the connection direction. The support substrate 32 is attached to a holder 33 screwed to the upper surface of the fixing plate 13. As described later, the main body side connector 30 is opposed to the cartridge side connector 29. The signal line 34 is connected to the main body side connector 1.
The signal line 34 is connected to an electric circuit of the printer body 6 (see FIGS. 7, 8, and 9).

The holder 33 comprises a bottom plate 35 and two columns 36, 36 erected on both left and right ends of the bottom plate 35. The columns 36, 36 have slits 36a extending vertically in opposite surfaces. 36a are respectively formed. These slits 36a, 36a are formed with a width slightly larger than the thickness of the support substrate 32 (see FIG. 9).

The length of the support substrate 32 in the left-right direction is 2
It is formed longer than the interval between the two columns 36, 36 and shorter than the interval between the bottom surfaces of the slits 36a, 36a of the two columns 36, 36 (see FIG. 8).

Then, the support substrate 32 is inserted into slits 36a, 36a formed in the two columns 36, 36, respectively.
Are fitted from above, the main body side connection connector 30 is supported by the holder 33 so as to be movable in the left-right direction and the up-down direction, and the support board 32 is moved in the connection direction of the two connection connectors 29, 30. It will have orthogonal faces.

On the support substrate 32, conical convex portions (hereinafter, referred to as “conical convex portions”) 37, 37 are provided on the right and left sides of the main body side connector 30, respectively, so as to protrude forward. As described above, these conical convex portions 37, 37 are connected to the two connecting connectors 29, 3 together with the conical concave portions 31, 31 on the cartridge side connecting connector 29 side.
It serves as a guide member at the time of connection with 0.

That is, even when the two connecting connectors 29 and 30 are displaced when the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the printer main body 6, the tip of the conical convex portion 37 on the main body side becomes the conical concave portion 31 on the cartridge side. In this case, since the tip of the conical convex portion 37 comes into contact with the inner surface of the conical concave portion 31 and is inserted while being centered, the support substrate 32 moves in the left-right direction or the up-down direction. Thus, the positioning of the main-unit-side connector 30 and the cartridge-side connector 29 is performed.

When the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the printer main body 6, the cartridge side connector 29 provided on the ink cartridge 20 and the main body side connector 30 are connected to each other. Power is supplied to the printer head 28 (see FIG. 4).

In this embodiment, the guide means for connecting the two connecting connectors 29 and 30 is formed by fitting the conical concave portion 31 and the conical convex portion 37 with the concave and convex. The concave portion 31 may be a simple circular opening, or the concave and convex portions may be reversed between the cartridge side and the main body side.

Further, in this embodiment, the main body side connector 30 is provided movably so as to follow the cartridge side connector 29 inserted into the printer main body 6. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the cartridge side connection connector 29 may be movable and the body side connection connector 30 may be fixed. In short, it is only necessary that the configuration be such that the displacement between the two connection connectors 29 and 30 is absorbed.

The transport system 4 is provided substantially below the ink cartridge 20 in which the ink cartridge tray 8 is mounted in the printer main body 6. 3 pass under the printer head 28 (see FIG. 2).

The transport system 4 includes four feed rollers 38, 3
8, the feed belt 39 is arranged in a parallelogram as viewed from the side, and the upper portion (paper feed portion) 39a of the feed belt 39 is positioned close to the printer head 28. It has become. Although not shown, a guide roller for holding the fed paper 3 together with the feed belt 39 is provided in the paper feed section 39a of the feed belt 39 (see FIG. 2).

The paper 3 picked up by the pick-up roller 15 for each sheet is first sent in the back end direction, the feeding direction is changed by the reversing roller 16 and the direction is changed to the front. 4 (see FIG. 2).

The paper 3 sent to the transport system 4 is sandwiched between a guide roller (not shown) and a paper feed portion 39a of the feed belt 39, and passes through a position below and close to the printer head 29. In this case, printing is performed on the paper 3 by the printer head 28.

The printer 1 has a lock mechanism 40 that locks the state when the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the printer main body 6 (see FIG. 10).

The lock mechanism 40 includes an L-shaped lock lever 41 as viewed from the side and an ink cartridge tray 8.
, A lock pin 42 for locking the lock lever 41, a return spring 43 for returning the lock lever 41 to a predetermined position, and an operation lever 44 for operating the lock lever 41 on the front side of the outer casing 2. (See FIG. 10).

The lock lever 41 has an L-shaped short side 41a extending substantially upward, a long side 41b extending forward, and a bent portion 41c rotatably supported by the printer main body 6. One end of the return spring 43 is hooked on the end of the long side 41b, and is urged in a direction opposite to the clockwise direction as shown in FIG.

The lower edge of the long side 41b of the lock lever 4 has a stopper pin 4 provided on the printer body 6.
5, the rotation by the return spring 43 is prevented, and the long side 41b is substantially horizontal.

The long side 41b of the lock lever 41 has a relatively large vertical dimension, and a cam groove 46 and a lock claw 47 are formed at its tip.

More specifically, the cam groove 46 has a width substantially equal to or slightly larger than the shaft diameter of the lock pin 42, extends substantially in the vertical direction, and is formed so as to open downward.

The lower half of the cam groove 46 in the up-down direction is formed so as to be deviated forward as it goes downward, and is further opened forward at the lower end.

The lock claw 47 is formed at the upper front of the cam groove 46, the front edge thereof is formed at an inclined edge 47a which is deviated rearward as it goes down, and the rear side edge is formed at the upper portion of the cam groove 46. The upper portion of the rear edge of the lock claw 47, that is, the upper portion of the cam groove 46 is a locking portion 47b for locking the lock pin 42.

The lower portion of the rear edge of the lock claw 47, that is, the lower portion of the front edge of the cam groove 46 is an inclined edge which is deflected forward as it goes downward. The pull-in section 46a performs a pull-in operation at the final stage when the tray 8 is inserted into the printer body 6.

The lower portion of the rear side edge of the cam groove 46 is an inclined edge which is deviated forward as it goes downward. The inclined edge is an initial edge when the ink cartridge tray 8 is detached from the printer main body 6 as described later. An extruding portion 46b that performs an extruding operation in stages.

A long hole 48 extending vertically is formed at the tip of the short side 41 a of the lock lever 41, and the long hole 48 is provided with an engaging pin 4 provided at the back end of the operation lever 44.
9 are slidably fitted.

The operation lever 44 is slidably supported in the printer body 6 in the front-rear direction. The back end of the operation lever 44 engages with the lock lever 41 as described above, and the front end thereof is connected to the front panel 50 of the printer body 6. From the control button 5
1 is attached.

When the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted into the storage space 10 of the printer body 6 (see FIG. 19), the lock pin 42 is
The ink cartridge tray 8 is located in the locking portion 47b of the first cam groove 46, so that the ink cartridge tray 8 is not pulled out forward. In this state, the two connection connectors 29 and 30 are connected as described above (see FIG. 11).

Next, the drawing operation and the inserting operation of the ink cartridge tray 8 will be described.

First, the operation of pulling out the ink cartridge tray 8 is performed by operating the operation button 51 while the ink cartridge tray 8 is inserted (see FIG. 19).

When the operation button 51 is operated, the operation lever 44
Is pushed in, and the lock lever 41 rotates clockwise as shown in FIG.

As a result, the lock pin 42 moves relatively downward in the cam groove 46, and when the lock pin 42 comes to a position in front of which the cam groove 46 has disappeared, the lock of the ink cartridge tray 8 is released. At the same time, the lock pin 42 is pushed forward by the pushing portion 46b below the cam groove 46, and the ink cartridge tray 8 is pushed forward.
The two connection connectors 29 and 30 are disconnected, and the ink cartridge tray 8 is moved slightly forward (FIG. 12).
reference).

When the user releases the operation button 51 in this state,
The lock lever 41 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by a return spring 43, and the lock pin 42 is
The first lock claw 47 is pressed by the inclined edge 47a (see FIG. 13), the lock pin 42 further moves forward, and the ink cartridge tray 8 moves forward (FIG. 20).
reference). The pushing stroke of the lock pin 42 by the pushing portion 46b and the pushing stroke of the lock pin 42 by the inclined edge 47a are equal to or slightly larger than the stroke of the connection between the two connectors 29 and 30. It is preferable to keep it.

The lock pin 42 is connected to the lock lever 41.
When the lock lever 41 moves away from the lock lever 41, the return spring 43 attempts to rotate in the opposite direction to the clockwise direction. However, the lower end edge of the lock lever 41 comes into contact with the stopper pin 45 and the rotation is prevented. , Lock lever 41
Is held with its long side 41b horizontal (see FIG. 14,
Then, the ink cartridge tray 8 becomes free in this state (see FIG. 14), and the ink cartridge tray 8
Can be easily pulled out manually (FIG. 21).
reference). It should be noted that the drawing operation can be automatically performed by using a loading mechanism instead of manual operation.

As described above, the ink cartridge tray 8
By performing the initial stage by operating the operation button 51 during the pull-out operation, the ink cartridge tray 8 can be safely pulled out.

That is, until the connection between the connection connectors 29 and 30 is released, the pulling force must be relatively increased due to the resistance between the two. However, when the connection is released, the resistance is increased. Therefore, if the pulling force is maintained, the ink cartridge tray 8 is immediately pulled out as soon as the connection is released, and an unexpected accident occurs.

Then, the connection lever 29 is pulled out by the operation lever 44 until the connection connectors 29 and 30 are disconnected (FIG. 1).
1 to 13), and after the connection between the connectors 29 and 30 is released (see FIG. 14), the ink cartridge tray 8 can be pulled out manually without causing an accident as described above. Can be drawn out (see FIG. 21).

Next, the insertion operation of the ink cartridge tray 8 is performed by manually pushing the ink cartridge tray 8 into the printer body 6.

When the ink cartridge tray 8 is pushed into the printer main body 6, the lock pin 42 comes into contact with the inclined edge 47a of the lock claw 47 of the lock lever 41 (see FIGS. 15 and 22).

When the ink cartridge tray 8 is further pushed in, the lock pin 42 pushes the lock claw 47 upward, and the lock lever 41 is rotated clockwise against the return spring 43 (see FIG. 16). ).

Then, the lock pin 42 enters the cam groove 46 side so as to go under the lower end of the lock claw 47 (FIG. 1).
6). In this state, the two connection connectors 2
9 and 30 are not connected and are in a state immediately before connection is started (see FIG. 23).

When the lock pin 42 is inserted into the cam groove 46, a force is applied to the lock lever 41 by the return spring 43 so as to rotate in a direction opposite to the clockwise direction. As a result, the lock pin 42 is urged rearward by the retracting portion 46b, and the ink cartridge tray 8 moves rearward, that is, moves inward (see FIG. 17).

When the lock pin 42 is positioned above the cam groove 46, that is, at the locking portion 47b of the lock claw 47, the ink cartridge tray 8 enters a locked state in which it cannot move in the front-rear direction (see FIG. 18). .

At the same time, the two connecting connectors 29 and 30 are connected, and the ink cartridge 2
0 is electrically connected to the printer body 6 (see FIG. 1).
9).

As described above, the ink cartridge tray 8
The final stage of the insertion operation does not need to be performed manually,
The operation of inserting the ink cartridge tray 8 can be performed safely.

That is, if the ink cartridge tray 8 is manually inserted and the stroke for connecting the connection connectors 29 and 30 is artificially performed, the pressing pressure must be increased when the connection starts. When the printer main body 6 is lightweight, the printer main body 6 moves by losing the pressing pressure. for that purpose,
Unless the printer body 6 is held down, the ink cartridge tray 8 cannot be inserted.

Therefore, as described above, since the final stage of the insertion operation is performed by the turning force of the lock lever 41 by the return spring 43, there is no need for manual pushing afterward, so that the printer 1 moves. There is no.

Then, the lock pin 42 relatively inserted into the cam groove 46 is located at the locking portion 47b and is in a locked state, so that the ink cartridge tray 8 is not pulled out forward. ing.

As described above, the lock mechanism 40 as described above is used.
Is provided, the locking of the inserted state of the ink cartridge tray 8 and the pulling-out operation and the inserting operation thereof can be performed safely and reliably.

Further, in the printer 1 according to this embodiment, the pull-out operation and the insertion operation of the ink cartridge tray 8 are performed by the slide mechanism. Can be diverted as it is, and can be realized with a relatively simple structure.

Further, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the ink cartridge 20 is applied to the one in which the ink tank 27 and the printer head 28 are integrated. Since the ink flow path can be constituted by a closed space (because it is completed in the ink cartridge 20), problems such as ink leakage hardly occur as compared with a case where both are separated. Of course, the printer of the present invention is also applicable to a type in which a printer head is provided on the ink cartridge tray and the ink tank is replaced with the printer head.

In the printer 1 according to the above embodiment, power is supplied to the printer head 28 provided in the ink cartridge 20 by connecting the two connection connectors 29 and 30. The present invention is not limited to this, and communication between the ink cartridge 20 and the printer main body 6 for information on the ink cartridge 20 (consumables), for example, various information such as the remaining amount of ink, the type of ink, and the date of manufacture of the ink. May be used.

Although the ink cartridge tray 8 is described as being inserted into and removed from the printer main body 6 by a slide mechanism (pulled out or inserted), the printer of the present invention is not limited to this. The ink cartridge tray may be provided integrally. In this case, the ink cartridge tray is attached to the printer body 6
The pull-out operation or the insertion operation is performed with respect to the printer body while rotating with respect to.

Furthermore, the printer according to the above embodiment has been described using a line head as a printing means, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a serial scanning type printer head may be used. If
Serial scanning head on the ink cartridge tray,
What is necessary is just to provide so that movement is possible in the direction orthogonal to a paper feed direction.

Further, in the above embodiment, a printer as a peripheral device of a computer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and images such as printing and copying on paper, such as a copying machine and a facsimile, are used. (letter)
The printing means is not limited to the ink jet method, but may be an ink ribbon or the like.

In addition, the specific shapes and structures of the respective parts shown in the above-described embodiments and modified examples are merely examples of the embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto. Should not be construed as limiting the technical scope of the present invention.

[0082]

As is apparent from the above description, the printer of the present invention is a printer in which consumables relating to printing means are replaceable with respect to the printer main body. The consumables tray provided on the printer main body is detachably mounted on the consumables tray provided so that the consumables tray can be attached to and detached from the consumables tray. It is characterized in that it is connected when inserted.

Therefore, in the printer of the present invention, the consumables can be exchanged very easily only by pulling out the consumables tray from the printer main body, and the electric connection between the consumables and the printer main body side. The simultaneous connection can be made only by the operation of inserting and removing the consumables tray, so that a convenient printer can be provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, one of the connectors is a consumable-side connector provided for a consumable related to the printing means. Electrical connection with parts can be made directly, and the structure for electrical connection can be simplified.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the main body side connector is movably supported by the printer main body in a plane perpendicular to the insertion direction of the consumables tray, the two connection connectors are displaced. In this case, the positional deviation can be easily corrected, and the dimensional accuracy of the two connecting connectors, the printer body, and the consumables tray can be made rough, which contributes to a reduction in manufacturing cost.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a guide member is provided for aligning the connector on the main body side with the connector on the consumable side when the consumable supply tray is inserted into the printer main body. Therefore, the two connection connectors can be securely connected only by inserting the consumables tray into the printer body.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the lever for moving the consumable supply tray in the detaching direction by the stroke for disengaging the two connected connectors is provided.
The workability of pulling out the consumables tray from the printer body can be improved.

According to the invention described in claim 6, the lever for moving the consumable supply tray in the insertion direction by the stroke for connecting the two connection connectors is provided, so that the weight of the printer body is relatively light. Even if there is, the printer body can be reliably prevented from moving when the consumables tray is inserted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view showing an embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a state in which an ink cartridge tray is pulled out of an outer casing, an upper cover is opened, and an ink cartridge is not mounted. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part in a state where an ink cartridge tray is inserted into a printer main body.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a state in which the inside of the printer is shown with the ink cartridge tray pulled out from an outer casing.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state where the ink cartridge tray is inserted into the outer casing from the state of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the ink cartridge together with FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a rear view.

FIG. 7 shows the main-body-side connector together with FIG. 8, and this drawing is a plan view.

FIG. 8 is a front view.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a state where the main body side connection connector is attached to the holder.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view showing a lock mechanism.

11 is a side view showing the operation of the lock mechanism together with FIGS. 12 to 18, and FIG. 11 is a view showing a locked state.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating a state where the ink cartridge tray is pushed outward by a lock lever.

13 is a diagram illustrating a state where the ink cartridge tray is further pushed outward from the state of FIG. 12;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the ink cartridge tray is free.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a state immediately before the ink cartridge tray is pushed in and the lock pin acts on the lock lever.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating a state where the ink cartridge tray is further pushed in from the state of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a lock pin is pressed by a retracting portion of a lock lever and an ink cartridge tray is further retracted.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a locked state.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part for explaining the connection state of the connection connector and showing the insertion state of the ink cartridge tray together with FIG. 20 to FIG. 23, and this figure shows the insertion state of the ink cartridge tray; It is a figure showing an engagement state of a connection connector.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a state where the connection connector is detached in a state where the ink cartridge tray is pushed forward by the operation lever.

FIG. 21 shows a state in which the ink cartridge tray becomes free,
It is a figure showing the state where it pulled out most to the outer case.

FIG. 22 is a view showing a state in which the ink cartridge tray is manually inserted into the outer casing, the lock pin is in contact with the lock lever, and the connection connector is not yet connected.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating a final stage of the insertion operation of the ink cartridge tray by the rotation of the lock lever by the return spring, and illustrates a state where the connection of the connection connector is started from this state.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer, 6 ... Printer body, 8 ... Ink cartridge tray (consumables tray), 20 ... Ink cartridge (consumables related to printing means), 29 ... Cartridge side connector, 30 ... Body side connector, 4
1: lock lever (lever), 31, 37: guide member (conical concave portion, conical convex portion)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuyasu Takenaka 6-35 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Sony Corporation F-term (reference) 2C056 EA22 FA13 HA08 HA09 KC06 KC21 2C061 AP01 AP03 AP04 AQ01 AQ04 AQ05 AR01 AS02 BB12 BB17 CG13

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A printer in which consumables relating to printing means are exchangeable with respect to a printer main body, wherein the consumables are detachably provided on a consumables tray provided so as to be capable of being taken in and out of the printer main body. Wherein the consumables or the connector provided on the consumables tray and the connector provided on the printer body are connected when the consumables tray is inserted into the printer body. . 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein one of the connectors is a consumable-side connector provided on a consumable related to the printing means. 3. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the main body side connector is movably supported by the printer main body in a plane orthogonal to a direction in which the consumable supplies tray is inserted. 4. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a guide member for aligning the main body side connector and the consumable side connector when the consumable tray is inserted into the printer body. A printer. 5. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a lever for moving a consumable supply tray in a detaching direction by a stroke corresponding to a disconnection of the two connected connectors. 6. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a lever for moving a consumable tray in an insertion direction by a stroke for connecting the two connection connectors.