JP2005081751A - Device for regulating excessive opening motion of opening/closing cover, and liquid injection apparatus equipped with it - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for regulating an excessive opening motion of an opening/closing cover, which is equipped with a structure not only for making a user aware that the cover is forcedly opened, without adopting a constitution of disengagement of a member, when the cover is forcedly turned in an opening direction, but also for stopping the turning of the cover in the action of a force for forcedly turning the cover in the opening direction nonetheless. <P>SOLUTION: This device is equipped with the turnable opening/closing cover 12, and a flexible member 39 which can be turned integrally with a turning shaft 37 and wherein the side of one end is connected with the opening/closing cover. In the application of the force for turning the opening/closing cover further in the opening direction with respect to an opening position, the opening/closing cover can be turned in the opening direction with respect to the opening position by deflection of the flexible member 39, without the turning of the turning shaft. When turned at a predetermined angle with respect to the opening position, the opening/closing cover abuts on an abutting part of the device equipped with an opening, so that the turning of the opening/closing cover further in the opening direction can be regulated. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a device for restricting excessive opening of an opening / closing cover in a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet recording 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 records ink on a recording medium by discharging ink from the recording head. It includes a device that ejects a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to a recording medium 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.

  For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-42254), even if an excessive force acts in the opening direction on a resin cover that can be opened and closed with respect to the resinous housing body side, the housing body side or the cover side is not damaged. A configuration to prevent is disclosed. This configuration includes a U-shaped support hinge provided on the inner side of the back surface of the housing body, and a rotating hinge provided on the printer cover and formed in a substantially arc shape. A fixed-side rotation support portion support hole is formed in the leg portion of the support hinge, and the end portion of the linear portion of the rotation hinge can be inserted between the leg portions, and hemispherical protrusions are formed on both side surfaces. The support hole and the protrusion are engaged with each other, and the printer cover is rotated around this point. In addition, wedge inclined parts are formed on both side surfaces of the linear part of the rotary hinge. When the printer cover is further rotated in the opening direction from the fully open position of the printer cover, the legs enter between the leg parts to expand the support parts and protrusions. Are separated from each other so that excessive force is not applied.

  In the above structure, when an excessive force is applied in the opening direction from the fully open state of the printer cover, the support hinge on the housing body side and the rotation hinge on the printer cover side are separated from each other. The hinges are not subjected to excessive force, and damage to the hinges and the attachment parts of the hinges to the housing body and the printer cover is prevented.

  However, in order to assemble the support hinge and the pivot hinge from the detached state, the pivot projection at the tip of the pivot hinge is moved upward through the guide groove at the tip of the support hinge, so that the pivot projection is An operation of assembling the rotation hinge and the support hinge into the support hole is required.

JP-A-6-42254

  The object of the present invention is to make the user aware that the cover is forcibly opened without adopting a configuration in which the member is removed when the cover is forcibly rotated in the opening direction. An object of the present invention is to provide an over-opening operation restricting device for an open / close cover having a structure for stopping the rotation of the cover when a force forcibly rotating the cover in the opening direction is applied, and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the same. .

  In order to achieve the above object, an over-opening operation restricting device for an opening / closing cover according to a first aspect of the present invention is attached so as to cover an opening of an apparatus having an opening, and the rotation shaft rotates to rotate the opening / closing cover. An opening / closing cover that can be rotated between a closed position and an open position around a rotation shaft, and a bendable arm portion connected to the opening / closing cover, and capable of rotating integrally with the rotation shaft. A flexible member, and when the force for rotating the opening / closing cover in the opening direction further than the opening position is applied, the opening / closing cover is not rotated and the opening / closing cover is bent by the arm portion. A contact portion of the device that is rotatable in the opening direction relative to the open position, and the opening / closing cover portion includes the opening when the opening / closing cover is rotated in the opening direction by a predetermined angle from the open position. To prevent further rotation in the opening direction It is an feature.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a force in the opening direction is not applied to the open / close cover at the open position, the open / close cover stops at the open position. When a force in the opening direction is applied to the opening / closing cover in the open position, the arm portion is bent without any further rotation of the rotating shaft and the portion of the flexible member other than the arm portion. The opening / closing cover can be further rotated in the opening direction. Therefore, it is possible to give the user an opportunity to notice that the opening operation of the opening / closing cover is excessive due to the resistance force when the opening / closing cover is pushed in due to the reaction of the bending of the arm portion. If the user is not aware of the push-in resistance of the opening / closing cover due to the reaction of the bending of the arm part, the opening / closing cover part finally comes into contact with the contact part of the device having the opening, and the further opening direction Therefore, the opening / closing cover is prevented from being damaged by an excessive force.

  An over-opening operation restricting device for an opening / closing cover according to a second aspect of the present invention is the first aspect, wherein the flexible member includes an engagement piece having an engagement surface, and includes the opening. The device includes a rotation restricting portion formed with a rotation restricting surface that contacts the engaging surface and restricts further turning of the flexible member when the opening / closing cover rotates in the opening direction. When the open / close cover is in the open position, the engagement surface abuts on the rotation restricting surface. According to this aspect, when the opening / closing cover is in the closed position, the engagement surface and the rotation restricting surface are separated by a certain circumferential angle in the circumferential direction of the rotation shaft. As the opening / closing cover rotates in the opening direction, the engagement surface approaches the rotation restriction surface, and when the opening / closing cover is in the open position, the engagement surface contacts the rotation restriction surface. Even if is rotated in the opening direction, the portions other than the rotation shaft and the arm portion of the flexible member cannot be rotated any further.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the first or second aspect of the present invention, the device including the opening is a liquid ejecting device. is there. According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus in which the opening / closing cover is less damaged.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the opening / closing cover restricting operation restricting device according to the third aspect, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is a printer, and the opening / closing cover has an opening facing the scanning path of the carriage. It is characterized by covering. According to this aspect, the opening / closing cover that frequently opens and closes due to replacement of the ink cartridge or the like is not easily damaged.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the over-opening operation restricting device for an open / close cover according to the fourth aspect, wherein the contact portion is an upper surface of a side frame of an automatic feeding device mounted on a printer. It is characterized by this. According to this aspect, since the upper surface of the existing side frame can be used as the contact portion, there is no need to newly provide a contact portion, and a more inexpensive printer can be provided.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid ejecting apparatus including the opening / closing cover over-opening operation regulating apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects. According to this aspect, it is possible to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus having the operational effects according to the first to fifth aspects of the present invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example of a recording apparatus or a liquid ejecting apparatus to which an opening / closing cover over-opening operation restricting apparatus according to the present invention is applied, and an ink jet printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer 1) corresponding to an apparatus having an opening. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer as viewed from the upper right side of the front side, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer as viewed from the upper right side of the rear side. FIG. 3 is a side sectional view showing an internal structure of the printer.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 includes a printer main body 3, a feeding unit 5 provided at the upper rear portion of the printer main body 3, and a discharge unit 7 formed in front of the printer main body 3. The feeding unit 5 includes a structure for automatically feeding the recording medium P to the printer main body, that is, an automatic feeding device. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of sheets are provided between the side frames 6 of the automatic feeding device. Of the recording medium P is provided. The discharge unit 7 is a part for temporarily stacking the recorded recording medium P, and as shown in FIG. 2, the discharge unit 7 rotates forward to provide a stack surface 8 for stacking the recording medium P. 9 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the printer main body 3 has two projecting frames 4 formed so as to sandwich the two side frames 6 on the back side, and has both sides recessed in a concave shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an operation panel 10 and an opening / closing cover 12 related to the present invention are provided on the upper surface of the printer body 3. The structure of the opening / closing cover 12 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a feed roller 13 is provided immediately downstream of the feed tray 11. The feeding roller 13 presses the recording medium P positioned at the uppermost portion of the feeding tray 11 between the opposing separation rollers 14 and feeds it forward.

  The sent recording medium P reaches a feeding roller 19 composed of a lower feeding driving roller 15 and an upper feeding driven roller 17, and receives a precise feeding operation in the recording process by the driving system, while feeding roller 19. The recording head 21 is fed to the downstream side of the recording head 21.

  The recording head 21 is supported by a carriage 23, and the carriage 23 can reciprocate in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the feeding direction along the guide bar 25. A platen 24 is provided at a position facing the recording head 21, and the platen 24 has a function of supporting the recording medium P from below when recording on the recording medium P is performed by the recording head 21.

  The distance between the recording head 21 and the platen 24, that is, the paper gap, can be appropriately adjusted according to the thickness of the recording medium P by moving the carriage 23 supporting the recording head 21 up and down. In a state where the paper gap is properly adjusted, the recording medium P is recorded on the recording head 21 while being recorded on the recording head 21 while being smoothly passed over the platen 24. P is sequentially discharged by a discharge roller 27 provided in the discharge unit 7. The discharge roller 27 includes a lower discharge drive roller 29 and an upper discharge jagged roller 31. The recording medium P is pulled out by the rotational drive of the discharge drive roller 29 and discharged onto the stack surface 8. It has become.

  Next, the opening / closing cover 12 having the characteristic configuration of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the printer showing a state in which the opening / closing cover 12 is opened, FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view around the rotation shaft of the opening / closing cover, and FIG. 7 is an upper surface of the printer in a closed state of the opening / closing cover. 8 is a side sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 7 in a closed state of the opening / closing cover, and FIG. 9 is a side sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 7 in the closed state of the opening / closing cover. FIG. 10 is a top view of the printer in a state where the opening / closing cover is opened to the open position, and FIG. 11 is a side sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 10 in a state where the opening / closing cover is opened to the open position. 12 is a side sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 10 in a state where the opening / closing cover is opened to the open position, and FIG. 13 is a top view of the printer in a state where the opening / closing cover is rotated in the opening direction to the contact position. 14 is a side sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 13 in a state where the opening / closing cover is rotated in the opening direction to the contact position, and FIG. 15 is an opening direction of the opening / closing cover to the contact position. It is a sectional side view along the BB line of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5, an opening 33 is formed on the upper surface of the printer main body 3 so as to allow access to a range in which the carriage 23 scans in the main scanning direction, and the opening / closing cover 12 can open and close the opening 33. It is. In this specification, the position when the open / close cover 12 is closed as shown in FIG. 1 is referred to as the “closed position” of the open / close cover, and no force is applied to the open / close cover 12 as shown in FIG. The position when it is opened in the state will be referred to as the “open position” of the open / close cover. The direction in which the opening / closing cover 12 rotates from the “closed position” to the “open position” is defined as “open direction”.

  The opening / closing cover 12 can be opened and closed by being rotated by rotating portions 35 provided on the left and right sides on the rear side of the upper surface of the printer body 3. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, 11, and 14, each rotation portion 35 includes a rotation shaft 37 having a cross section substantially in the shape of a competition track, and a metal flexible member fixed around the rotation shaft 37. And a sex member 39. As shown in FIGS. 9, 12, and 15, the base end side of the rotation shaft 37 is connected to the oil damper 41, and the sudden rotation of the rotation shaft 37 is suppressed by the damping action.

  The flexible member 39 has a cylindrical base portion 43 that is just fitted around the rotation shaft 37, an arm portion 45 that extends outward from the base portion 43 and can be elastically bent, A hook-like engagement piece 47 extending outward from the base portion 43 in a direction substantially opposite to the arm portion 45 is formed. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8, 11, and 14, a part of the housing 49 is formed in a concave shape on the rear side of the upper surface of the printer body 3, and engages with the engagement piece 47 in the flexible member 39 there. A possible bowl-shaped rotation restricting portion 51 is formed. An engagement surface 48 is formed at the tip of the engagement piece 47, and when the engagement surface 48 comes into contact with the rotation restricting surface 52 formed on the rotation restricting portion 51, Further rotation is restricted.

  The arm portion 45 of the flexible member 39 extends along the inner surface of the opening / closing cover 12 and moves integrally with the opening / closing cover 12 by being locked to a locking portion 53 formed on the inner surface of the opening / closing cover 12. do.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the over-opening operation restricting device for the opening / closing cover of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, when the open / close cover 12 is in the “closed position”, the engagement piece 47 of the flexible member 39 rotates from the rotation restricting portion 51 of the housing 49 as shown in FIG. 8. In the circumferential direction of the shaft 37, the circumferential angle is approximately 120 degrees apart. In this state, in FIG. 8, the rotation shaft 37, the flexible member 39, and the opening / closing cover 12 can be rotated in the clockwise direction.

  Next, as shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, when the user slowly opens the opening / closing cover 12 from the “closed position”, the engagement piece 47 rotates as the opening / closing cover 12 rotates to restrict the rotation. Approach part 51. When the open / close cover 12 is rotated to the “open position”, the engagement surface 48 of the engagement piece 47 contacts the rotation restriction surface 52 of the rotation restriction portion 51 as shown in FIG. Unless the external force is applied, the opening / closing cover 12 is kept in the “open position”.

  When the user opens the opening / closing cover 12 suddenly from the “closed position” or pushes it further in the opening direction after opening the opening / closing cover 12, the opening / closing cover 12 exceeds the “open position”. Thus, the state shown in FIGS. That is, when the opening / closing cover 12 is pushed in the opening direction beyond the “open position”, the engaging surface 48 is in contact with the rotation restricting surface 52, so that the rotation shaft 37 and the base portion of the flexible member 39 are arranged. 43 does not rotate any more, and instead the arm portion 45 bends as the opening / closing cover 12 rotates. Since the user feels resistance when pushing in the opening / closing cover 12 due to the return tendency of the arm portion in the direction opposite to the opening direction caused by the bending of the arm portion 45, the user who notices this feels resistance. Is stopped and the hand is released from the opening / closing cover 12. The open / close cover 12 with the hand released is automatically returned to the “open position” by the force of the flexible member 39 returning from the bent state to the original state.

  However, there are cases where the user is unaware of the resistance when pushing the opening / closing cover 12 or the opening / closing cover 12 rotates beyond the “open position” at once. Therefore, when the opening / closing cover 12 is rotated by a predetermined angle from the “open position”, the contacted portion 55 on the upper surface of the opening / closing cover 12 contacts the upper surface 57 (corresponding to the contact portion) of the side frame 6. Therefore, further rotation in the opening direction is restricted. Accordingly, even when the user pushes the opening / closing cover 12 beyond the “open position” in the opening direction, the contacted portion 55 of the opening / closing cover 12 contacts the upper surface 57 of the side frame 6. Stops there and can avoid breakage of the cover 12.

  Note that the contacted portion 55 of the opening / closing cover 12 may be any portion of the opening / closing cover 12 or a portion of a member that rotates together with the opening / closing cover 12. Any portion other than the side frame 6 located on the opening direction side of the opening / closing cover 12 may be used.

  The present invention can prevent the opening / closing cover from being damaged even when the opening / closing cover in a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer is opened beyond the normal opening position.

It is the perspective view which looked at the printer from front diagonally upward. It is the perspective view which looked at the printer from the front side diagonally upward. It is the perspective view which looked at the printer from the back side diagonally upward. It is a sectional side view which shows the internal structure of a printer. It is a perspective view which shows a mode that the opening / closing cover is open | released. It is an expansion perspective view of the rotation shaft periphery of the opening / closing cover. It is a top view of the printer in a closed state of the open / close cover. It is a sectional side view along the AA line of FIG. 7 in the closed state of an opening-and-closing cover. It is a sectional side view along the BB line of Drawing 7 in the closed state of an opening-and-closing cover. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the printer in a state where the opening / closing cover is opened to an open position. It is a sectional side view along the AA line of FIG. It is a sectional side view along the BB line of FIG. The top view of a printer in the state which the opening-and-closing cover rotated to the contact position. It is a sectional side view along the AA line of FIG. It is a sectional side view along the BB line of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 printer, 3 printer body, 4 protruding frame, 5 feeding section,
6 side frame, 7 discharge section, 8 stack surface, 9 discharge tray,
10 operation panel, 11 feeding tray, 12 opening / closing cover, 13 feeding roller,
14 separation roller, 15 feed drive roller, 17 feed driven roller, 19 feed roller, 21 recording head, 22 ink cartridge, 23 carriage, 24 platen, 25 guide bar, 27 discharge roller, 29 discharge drive roller, 31 discharge jagged roller,
33 opening portion, 35 rotation portion, 37 rotation shaft, 39 flexible member, 41 oil damper 43 base portion, 45 arm portion, 47 engagement piece, 48 engagement surface, 49 housing,
51 Rotation Restricting Part, 52 Rotation Restricting Surface, 53 Locking Part, 55 Abutted Part, 57 Abutting Part, P Recording Medium

Claims (6)

An opening / closing cover that is attached so as to cover the opening of the device including the opening, and is rotatable between a closed position and an open position around the rotation shaft by rotating the rotation shaft;
A flexible arm connected to the opening / closing cover, and a flexible member rotatable integrally with the rotation shaft;
When a force for rotating the opening / closing cover in the opening direction further than the opening position is applied, the rotation shaft does not rotate but the opening / closing cover rotates in the opening direction from the opening position by the bending of the arm portion. Is movable,
When the opening / closing cover is rotated in the opening direction by a predetermined angle from the opening position, the opening / closing cover portion comes into contact with the contact portion of the apparatus having the opening, and the opening direction is further rotated. An apparatus for restricting over-opening operation of an opening / closing cover, characterized by regulating movement. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the flexible member includes an engagement piece having an engagement surface, and the device including the opening contacts the engagement surface when the opening / closing cover rotates in the opening direction. A rotation restricting portion formed with a rotation restricting surface for restricting further rotation of the flexible member, and the engagement surface is rotated when the opening / closing cover is in the open position. An over-opening operation restricting device for an open / close cover, wherein the open / close cover is in contact with a restricting surface. 3. The over-opening operation restricting device for an opening / closing cover according to claim 1, wherein the device having the opening is a liquid ejecting device. The over-opening operation restricting device according to claim 3, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is a printer, and the open / close cover covers an opening facing the scanning path of the carriage. 5. The over-opening operation restricting device for an opening / closing cover according to claim 4, wherein the contact portion is an upper surface of a side frame of an automatic feeding device mounted on a printer. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: the opening / closing cover restricting operation restricting device according to claim 1.

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