JP2008062530A - Housing structure, recorder and electronic device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact and low-cost housing structure which can prevent scattering of a floating substance, and to provide a recorder and an electronic device both equipped with the housing structure. <P>SOLUTION: Blocking members 103d, 103e, 103f and 103g which block opening holes 102d, 102e, 102f and 102g linked to a floating substance generating part 190 are equipped with ribs 103d, 103e, 103f and 103g which are integrally formed to housings 102, 107 and 171 and moreover partially block the opening holes. The floating substance generated in the floating substance generating part is hindered from flowing out of the floating substance generating part through the opening holes. Adhesion of the floating substance to the housing inside, outside, etc. can be prevented accordingly. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a housing structure in which a floating substance generation unit is built in, and a recording apparatus and an electronic apparatus including the housing structure.

  An ink jet recording apparatus, which is one of electronic apparatuses, is configured to record ink by ejecting ink droplets from nozzle openings provided in the recording head while moving a carriage on which the recording head is mounted. However, clogging is likely to occur at nozzle openings where ink droplet ejection is small due to an increase in ink viscosity due to evaporation of the ink solvent. Therefore, clogging is prevented by executing a flushing process in which ink droplets are periodically ejected from all nozzle openings toward the waste ink absorbing material.

  By the way, since the particle size of ink droplets has become smaller with the recent increase in image quality, some of the ink droplets may be misted and floated by air resistance before reaching the waste ink absorber. Then, the floating ink mist may be blown and scattered by the air flow accompanying the movement of the carriage, and may adhere to and contaminate the inside and outside of the recording apparatus and the paper. The ink mist is generated not only in the flushing process but also in a recording apparatus capable of a so-called borderless printing process.

  Therefore, an ink jet recording apparatus has been proposed in which a casing-like ink recovery unit is provided in the moving path of the recording head. In this ink recovery unit, a receiving opening for receiving ink mist and an air flow path connected from the receiving opening are formed, and an exhaust fan is disposed at the end of the air flow path. According to the ink recovery unit having such a configuration, by rotating the exhaust fan to generate an air flow in the air flow path, the ink mist is taken into the air flow path from the receiving opening, and the air flow path It can be made to collide with the plate-like member disposed in the frame (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2001-191557 A

  In the ink jet recording apparatus described above, since it is necessary to provide an ink recovery unit individually, the housing of the ink jet recording apparatus may be increased in size and the product cost may increase.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small and low-cost housing structure capable of preventing scattering of floating substances, and a recording apparatus and an electronic apparatus including the housing structure. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the housing structure of the present invention is a housing structure in which a floating substance generating part is built in, and a shielding member that shields an opening hole connected to the floating substance generating part is integrally formed in the housing, and A rib for partially shielding the opening hole is provided. This makes it difficult for the floating material generated in the floating material generation part to flow out of the floating material generation unit through the opening hole, so that the floating material can be prevented from adhering inside or outside the housing. it can. And since a suspended | floating matter collides with a rib and it becomes easy to adhere to a rib, scattering outside a suspended | floating matter generation | occurrence | production part can be prevented.

  Further, the rib is shielded by the rib so that the channel in the opening hole becomes a V-shaped channel over the rib. Thereby, since the flow path of a floating substance becomes long, the invasion prevention effect of the floating substance outside a floating substance generation | occurrence | production part can be heightened. Further, the opening hole is a hole for wiring or locking. Thereby, a suspended | floating matter generation | occurrence | production part can be sealed substantially.

  In order to achieve the above object, the recording apparatus of the present invention is a recording apparatus including a recording head that moves and records while discharging ink droplets, and is characterized by including the housing structures described above. Thereby, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus that exhibits the above-described effects. Further, the recording unit including the recording head is the floating substance generation unit, and the ink mist generated in the recording unit is the floating substance. As a result, it is possible to prevent a short circuit of an electrical part such as a control board and contamination of the recording medium. Further, the recording head is characterized in that a flushing process can be executed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent contamination of the ink mist in the recording apparatus capable of performing the flushing process in which the ink mist is particularly easily scattered. In order to achieve the above object, the electronic apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by including the housing structure. Thereby, it is possible to provide an electronic apparatus that exhibits the above-described effects.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiments described below do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all the combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solution means of the invention. Absent.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the entire external configuration of a recording apparatus that is an electronic apparatus having a housing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the housing structure of FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the upper part of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1 is removed, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of the recording apparatus of FIG. This recording apparatus is an ink jet type multifunction peripheral 100 having functions of a printer, a copy, and a scanner. As shown in FIG. 1, the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100 is entirely covered with a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing structure 101. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing structure 101 is divided into a middle housing 102, a slot housing 103, a panel housing 104, and an operation panel 105.

  The middle housing 102 covers the network function control unit 170, the paper transport unit 180, the recording unit (floating matter generation unit) 190 and the like shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 disposed on the lower housing 106 shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 110, a memory card slot unit 120, a disk slot unit 130, and a paper discharge unit 150 are arranged on the front side, a paper feeding unit 140 is arranged on the rear side, and further on the upper side. It is formed in a substantially box shape as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the slot housing 103 is inserted and attached from the front side of the middle housing 102 so as to cover the memory card slot portion 120 and the disk slot portion 130, and has a substantially vertical cross section as shown in FIG. It is formed in a letter shape.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the panel housing 104 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape as shown in FIG. 2 attached to the upper portion of the slot housing 103 so as to cover the operation unit 110. As shown in FIG. 2, the operation panel 105 is positioned so that the side faces the edge of the slot housing 103, and is attached so as to cover the panel housing 104 as shown in FIG. It is formed in a flat plate shape. The details of the housing structure 101 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 110 is disposed on the front side of the upper surface of the housing structure 101, a memory card slot 120 is disposed on the left side of the front surface in the figure, and a disk is disposed on the right side of the front surface in the figure. A slot portion 130 is disposed. Further, a paper feed unit 140 is disposed on the rear side of the upper surface of the housing structure 101, a paper discharge unit 150 is disposed on the front side, and a scanner 160 is disposed on the upper surface. Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a network function control unit 170, a paper transport unit 180, and a recording unit 190 are disposed inside the housing structure 101.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the operation unit 110 includes a substantially rectangular operation panel 111, and a unitized liquid crystal display 112 that displays an operation state and the like is mounted at a substantially central portion of the operation panel 111. On both sides of the liquid crystal display 112, there are a plurality of buttons such as a power system for turning on / off the power, an operation system for operating the cueing of paper and the operation for flushing ink, a processing system for performing image processing, etc. 113 is arranged. The user can operate the various buttons 113 while confirming by looking at the liquid crystal display 112, so that erroneous operation can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the memory card slot 120 is covered with a cover 121 that can be opened and closed in the direction of the arrow a. The memory card slot section 120 is formed with a plurality of slots, and is configured to be compatible with a plurality of types of memory cards. Even if the user does not connect the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100 to a personal computer, the user simply inserts the memory card into the memory card slot section 120 in the state of the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100 alone, and images stored in the memory card can be displayed. Can be recorded.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the disk slot unit 130 can support a readable / writable disk such as a CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable) or a readable disk such as a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disk-Read Only Memory). It is configured. Even if the user does not connect the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100 to a personal computer, the user simply inserts the disk into the disk slot portion 130 in a state of the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100 alone, and records an image or the like written on the disk. Alternatively, an image or the like written on a memory card can be transferred to a disk and written.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feeding unit 140 is provided in a paper feeding port 141 that is opened upward in a rectangular shape so as to be expandable and contractible, and has a function of supporting one or a plurality of papers to be fed. A paper support 142 is provided. When the user uses the inkjet type multifunction peripheral 100, the user can extend the paper support 142 by placing his / her finger on the tip of the paper support 142, so that the paper can be easily set. Further, when the inkjet type multifunction peripheral 100 is not used, the tip of the paper support 142 can be pressed and contracted with a finger, so that the paper support 142 can be stored compactly.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper discharge unit 150 is a stacker that has a function of opening and closing a paper discharge port 151 that opens in a rectangular shape toward the front, and a function of stacking one or a plurality of paper to be discharged. 152 is provided. The stacker 152 is attached so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow b shown in the figure around the rotation shaft at the lower end. When the user uses or does not use the inkjet multifunction peripheral 100, the user can put the finger on the top of the stacker 152 to open and close the stacker 152, so that the setting can be easily performed and the paper discharge outlet 151 can be set. It is possible to prevent dust from entering the inside. Further, since the recorded paper is always discharged from the front side, the user can easily take out the paper.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the network function control unit 170 has a network function board (not shown) that enables connection to a wireless LAN or TV in a board storage unit 172 covered with a detachable cover (housing) 171. It has. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the paper transport unit 180 includes a paper feed roller 181 and a driven roller 182. The paper fed from the paper feeding unit 130 is nipped and conveyed by a paper feed roller 181 and a driven roller 182 that are rotated by a paper feed motor (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the recording unit 190 includes a carriage 191, a platen 192, a recording head (not shown), a waste ink absorber, and the like. The recording head is supplied with ink of each color from ink cartridges (not shown) of, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, light magenta, light cyan, and black, which are housed inside the front side of the housing structure 101 so that full color printing is possible. Is done. The recording head mounted on the carriage 191 scanned by a carriage motor (not shown) ejects ink droplets from the nozzle openings to the paper that is nipped and conveyed by the paper feed roller 181 and the driven roller 182 and has no border. Execute print processing. In addition, nozzle openings with low ink droplet ejection tend to become clogged due to an increase in ink viscosity caused by evaporation of the ink solvent. Therefore, the ink droplets are regularly directed toward the waste ink absorber from all nozzle openings. A flushing process for discharging the ink is executed.

  Here, in the recording unit 190, during the flushing process or the borderless printing process, a part of the ink droplets ejected from the recording head is misted and floated by the air resistance before reaching the waste ink absorbing material. There is a case. The floating ink mist is also blown and scattered by the air flow accompanying the movement of the carriage 191, and is disposed in the substrate storage unit 172 covered with the cover 171 of the network function control unit 170. There is a risk of contamination by adhering to a main board (not shown) constituting a printer controller covered with a network function board or a cover housing 107 described later. Therefore, the housing structure 101 of the present embodiment has the following features in order to solve the above problems, and will be further described with reference to the drawings.

  FIGS. 5A, 5B, 7A, and 7B are perspective views showing characteristic portions of the housing structure 101, and FIGS. 6A, 6B, 8A, and 8B. FIG. 5B is an enlarged perspective view of each characteristic portion A, B, C, and D shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B and FIGS. 7A and 7B. As shown in FIG. 5A, the housing structure 101 covers the recording unit 190 and is wired with cables from the substrate storage unit 172 of the network function control unit 170, the network function control unit 170, and the like. A middle housing 102 forming a cable wiring portion 173 on which a main board is disposed, and a cover housing 107 detachably attached to the middle housing 102 so as to cover the cable wiring portion 173 are provided. An opening 102a for maintenance is provided above the recording unit 190 in the middle housing 102. Since this opening 102a is covered by the scanner 160 except during maintenance, scattering of ink mist or the like is performed. Not involved in.

  5A and 6A, the partition 102b between the cable wiring portion 173 and the recording unit 190 and the partition 102c between the cable wiring portion 173 and the network function control unit 170 in the middle housing 102 are provided. Are provided with locking holes (opening holes) 102d and 102e for fixing the cover housing 107. Further, in the partition wall 102c between the cable wiring part 173 and the network function control part 170 in the middle housing 102, wiring holes (opening holes) 102f and 102g for passing cables from the main board are formed. The locking holes 102d are drilled at three places to communicate the cable wiring part 173 and the recording part 190. Further, the locking hole 102e is drilled at two locations, and the wiring holes 102f and 102g are respectively drilled at one location to communicate the cable wiring portion 173 and the board storage portion 172. For this reason, the ink mist floating in the recording unit 190 is also squeezed by the air flow accompanying the movement of the carriage 191, passes through the locking hole 102 d, passes through the cable wiring unit 173, and the locking hole 102 e or the wiring hole. There is a risk of passing through 102f and 102g and entering the substrate storage portion 172, and adhere to the main substrate for contamination.

  Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 6B, the locking holes 102d and 102e are located at positions corresponding to the locking holes 102d and 102e and the wiring holes 102f and 102g in the cover housing 107, respectively. The locking hole ribs (shielding members) 103d and 103e for shielding the wiring holes 102f and 102g and the wiring hole ribs (shielding members) 103f and 103g are integrally formed. That is, the locking hole rib 103d has a substantially L-shaped plate in a side view and projects downward from the apparatus, and shields the upper portion of the locking hole 102d. The locking hole rib 103e has a substantially prismatic shape and protrudes from the rear of the apparatus, and shields the upper part of the locking hole 102e. The wiring hole rib 103f has a substantially U-shaped cross-section in a top view and projects downward from the apparatus, and shields the upper part of the wiring hole 102f. The wiring hole rib 103g has a substantially U-shaped cross section in a top view and protrudes downward from the apparatus, and shields the upper part of the wiring hole 102g.

  Further, in order to reliably prevent the ink mist from entering from the wiring hole 102f having a relatively large opening, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 8A, the wiring hole 102f in the substrate storage portion 172 is provided. The wiring hole rib (shielding member) 172f is integrally formed with the middle housing 102. In other words, the wiring hole rib 172f is a plate having a substantially L-shaped cross section when viewed from above, and protrudes upward from the apparatus, and shields a portion excluding the rear upper part and a part of the rear part of the wiring hole 102f. Further, in order to reliably prevent the ink mist from entering from the wiring holes 102f and 102g, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8B, it corresponds to the wiring holes 102f and 102g in the cover 171. At positions, wiring hole ribs (shielding members) 171f and 171g for shielding the wiring holes 102f and 102g are integrally formed. In other words, the wiring hole rib 171f is a plate having a substantially E-shaped cross section in a top view and protrudes from the lower side of the apparatus. Shield. The shielding member 171g has a substantially E-shaped plate shape in a top view and protrudes downward from the apparatus, and shields the upper rear portion of the wiring hole 102g.

  FIG. 9 shows a state in which the locking holes 102d and 102e and the wiring holes 102f and 102g are shielded by the locking hole ribs 103d and 103e and the wiring hole ribs 103f, 103g, 172f, 171f and 171g. It is sectional drawing shown. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view taken along line YY in FIG. 1A, and shows a state where the locking hole 102d is shielded by the locking hole rib 103d. FIG. 2C is a cross-sectional view taken along the line V-V in FIG. 2A and shows a state where the locking hole 102e is shielded by the locking hole rib 103e. FIG. 4D is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 2A, and shows a state where the wiring hole 102f is shielded by the wiring hole ribs 103f, 172f, and 171f. The figure (e) is a WW line section in the figure (a), and shows a state where the wiring hole 102g is shielded by the wiring hole ribs 103g and 171g. The arrows in each figure indicate the air flow in each part, and in each part, a V-shaped flow path is obtained over the locking hole ribs 103d, 103e and the wiring hole ribs 103f, 103g, 172f, 171f, 171g. As described above, since the locking holes 102d and 102e and the wiring holes 102f and 102g are shielded by the locking hole ribs 103d and 103e and the wiring hole ribs 103f, 103g, 172f, 171f and 171g, the ink mist enters. It becomes difficult. Further, since the wiring holes 102f and 102g are partially shielded, a cable or the like can be passed through the wiring holes 102f and 102g.

  In the embodiment described above, the locking hole ribs 103d, 103e and the locking holes 102d, 102e and the wiring holes 102f, 102g formed between the recording unit 190, the cable wiring unit 173, and the board storage unit 172 are provided. The wiring hole ribs 103f, 103g, 172f, 171f, and 171g are provided. However, the present invention can also be applied to a locking hole or a wiring hole that is formed between the recording unit 190 and other portions. Further, not only the diffusion of ink mist but also the diffusion of foreign matters such as dust and dirt can be prevented if it is a floating substance.

  Any recording apparatus having a housing structure can be applied to, for example, a facsimile apparatus, a copying apparatus, a scanner, and the like. Further, the present invention is not limited to a recording apparatus, and can be applied to a general electronic apparatus having a panel structure.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an overall appearance configuration of a recording apparatus that is an electronic apparatus including a housing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the housing structure of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the upper part of the recording device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the inside of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a 1st perspective view which shows the characteristic part of the housing of FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of each characteristic part A and B shown to FIG. 5 (A) and (B). It is a 2nd perspective view which shows the characteristic part of the housing of FIG. It is an expansion perspective view of each characteristic part C and D shown in Drawing 7 (A) and (B). FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the locking holes and the wiring holes in FIGS. 6 and 8 are shielded by a shielding member.

Explanation of symbols

  100 Inkjet MFP, 101 Housing Structure, 102 Middle Housing, 102d, 102e Locking Hole, 102f, 102g Wiring Hole, 107 Cover Housing, 103d, 103e Locking Hole Rib, 103f, 103g, 172f, 171f, 171g Wiring Hole rib, 110 operation section, 120 memory card slot section, 130 disk slot section, 140 paper feed section, 150 paper discharge section, 160 scanner, 170 network function control section, 171 cover, 172 board storage section, 173 cable wiring Section, 180 paper transport section, 190 recording section

Claims (7)

It is a housing structure with a built-in floating part,
A housing structure characterized in that a shielding member that shields an opening hole connected to the floating substance generating portion is integrally formed with the housing and includes a rib that partially shields the opening hole. The housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the ribs shield the opening holes so that the flow paths in the opening holes become V-shaped flow paths over the ribs. The housing structure according to claim 1, wherein the opening hole is a wiring hole or a locking hole. A recording apparatus provided with a recording head that moves and records while discharging ink droplets,
A recording apparatus comprising the housing structure according to claim 1. The recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a recording unit including the recording head is the floating substance generation unit, and ink mist generated in the recording unit is the floating substance. The recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the recording head is capable of performing a flushing process. An electronic apparatus comprising the housing structure according to claim 1.

Images