JP2011051318A - Liquid container housing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid container housing device capable of preventing a user from coming into contact with a liquid supply needle without complicating the configuration for obtaining liquid from a liquid container. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid container housing device which enables a user to obtain the liquid stored in the liquid container by inserting a liquid supply needle having a hollow structure into the liquid container when the liquid container is fitted thereto includes a slider part which can be slid according to attaching and detaching states of the liquid container, wherein, when the liquid container is fitted, the slider part is located on a position which does not prevent the liquid container from being inserted by the liquid supply needle and has a part for shielding upon the opening, which is moved to a position where the liquid supply needle is shielded as viewed from the inlet side when the slider part is moved in such a direction as to take out the liquid container. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention acquires a liquid stored in a mounted liquid container via a liquid supply needle inserted into the liquid container and supplies the liquid to a discharge head or the like, and an image including the same The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus (printer) is known. This ink jet recording apparatus performs image formation and text printing by dropping ink from a nozzle of an ejection head and adhering it to a sheet.

  In an ink jet recording apparatus, generally, a liquid container (ink cartridge) for storing liquid (ink) is mounted, and liquid is acquired from the liquid container and supplied to an ejection head. Therefore, a liquid supply unit that acquires the liquid from the liquid container and supplies the liquid to the discharge head is provided. As a general configuration of the liquid supply unit, one having a liquid supply needle having a hollow structure for sucking an internal liquid through a part of the liquid container can be cited (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  By the way, in recent years, there has been a demand for high-speed printing and long-time printing capability for inkjet recording apparatuses, and in order to meet such demands, the liquid container must be enlarged so that a large amount of liquid can be held. Is needed.

  However, when the liquid container is increased in size, the liquid container accommodating portion is also increased in size, so that the liquid container insertion port of the liquid container accommodating portion is also increased. As a result, there arises a problem that the user is likely to come into contact with a portion that should not contact, such as a liquid supply needle.

  In this regard, in the liquid ejecting apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the tip of the liquid supply needle has a rounded shape. As a result, the size of the liquid container container that accommodates the enlarged liquid container is increased, and safety can be ensured even if the user can contact the liquid supply needle from the insertion port of the liquid container.

  However, in the device described in the above-mentioned conventional patent document 1, the configuration of the ink discharge port on the ink cartridge side is not a simple configuration in which the film is penetrated by the needle, but a complicated configuration including a valve mechanism and springs. This may cause a problem that the ink cartridge itself becomes expensive.

  The present invention is for solving such problems, and can prevent the user from coming into contact with the liquid supply needle without complicating the configuration for acquiring the liquid from the liquid container. It is a main object of the present invention to provide a liquid container storage device that can be used, and an image forming apparatus that includes the liquid container storage device.

In order to achieve the above object, the first aspect of the present invention provides:
When the liquid container is mounted, a liquid container storage device capable of acquiring the liquid stored in the liquid container by inserting a liquid supply needle having a hollow structure into the liquid container,
A slider component that is slidable according to the attachment / detachment state of the liquid container,
The slider part is in a position that does not prevent the liquid container from being inserted by the liquid supply needle in a state where the liquid container is mounted, and from the inlet side when the slider part moves in the liquid container take-out direction. It has a portion for shielding when opened to move to a position to shield the liquid supply needle as seen,
It is a liquid container storage device.

  Here, the “inlet side” means an inlet side when the liquid container is inserted into the liquid container storage device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the liquid supply needle is simply inserted into the liquid container, the structure for acquiring the liquid from the liquid container is not complicated. In addition, since the slider part has an opening shielding part that moves to a position where the liquid supply needle is shielded when viewed from the inlet side when the slider part moves in the direction of taking out the liquid container, the user places a hand from the inlet side. Contact with the liquid supply needle can be prevented.

  The slider part has a function of pulling out the liquid container to be mounted to the front side (inlet side), and the slider part has a part for shielding when opened, and is dedicated for shielding the liquid supply needle. There is no need to further provide a structure (such as a mechanical part or a spring). Therefore, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified.

In the first aspect of the present invention,
For example, when the liquid container is mounted, the opening-time shielding portion is located below the liquid supply needle, and moves upward as the slider component moves in the liquid container removal direction. The liquid supply needle can be shielded when viewed from the inlet side.

in this case,
The slider component is formed so as to be substantially parallel to a direction from the back side toward the entrance side in a predetermined range on the back side, and is displaced upward as it approaches the entrance side on the entrance side from the predetermined range. By sliding along the guide rail formed in
The opening shielding portion moves upward as the slider component moves in the liquid container take-out direction, so that the liquid supply needle can be shielded when viewed from the inlet side. Good.

In the first aspect of the present invention,
The slider component may be connected to an opening / closing lid that opens and closes an opening for accommodating the liquid container, and slides in conjunction with an opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid.

in this case,
When the opening / closing lid is opened, the opening shielding portion shields the liquid supply needle when viewed from the inlet side before the gap between the outer edge of the liquid container housing device and the opening / closing lid becomes 50 mm or more. It is good also as what is characterized by moving to the position which carries out.

  In this way, it is possible to more reliably prevent the user from putting his hand from the inlet side and coming into contact with the liquid supply needle.

Moreover, in the first aspect of the present invention including an opening / closing lid,
The slider part may be formed with a long hole portion formed in a longitudinal direction in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction of the liquid container at a connecting portion with the opening / closing lid.

  By doing so, the maximum opening angle of the open / close lid is increased, and the attachment / detachment operation of the liquid container becomes easier.

in this case,
The long hole portion has a notch formed at the tip, and when the opening / closing lid is pressed in the opening direction with a force of a predetermined level or more, the notch portion connects the slider component and the opening / closing lid. It is good also as what is characterized by the structure for for removing.

  By doing so, it is possible to prevent the slider part, the opening / closing lid, and the like from being damaged.

In this case,
The opening shielding portion is located below the liquid supply needle when the liquid container is mounted, and moves upward as the slider component moves in the liquid container removal direction. Immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state, the lid may move downward as it approaches the entrance side.

  In this way, even when the structure for connecting the slider part and the open / close lid is removed from the notch, the shielding part at the time of opening becomes a position slightly lowered from the uppermost position. Therefore, it is possible to stably maintain the state in which the shielding portion when opened is shielded from the liquid supply needle when viewed from the inlet side. Further, since the slider component can hold the position when separated from the opening / closing lid, the user can easily connect the slider component when performing the operation of connecting again.

Furthermore, in this case
The slider part is formed so as to be substantially parallel to a direction from the back side toward the entrance side in a predetermined range on the back side, and is displaced upward as the entrance side is approached on the entrance side than the predetermined range. By sliding along a guide rail formed so as to be displaced downward as it approaches the entrance side immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state,
The shielding part at the time of opening moves upward as the slider part moves in the liquid container take-out direction, but immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state, It is good also as what is characterized by moving to.

The second aspect of the present invention is:
The liquid container housing device of the first aspect of the present invention,
The image forming apparatus forms an image by supplying the liquid acquired by the liquid container storage device to the discharge head and causing the liquid to drop on the discharge head.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the user from coming into contact with the liquid supply needle without complicating the configuration for acquiring the liquid from the liquid container.

It is a perspective view which shows the external appearance structure of the liquid container accommodating apparatus 1 which concerns on 1st Example of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the liquid container housing device 1 in a state where an opening / closing lid 30 is closed. It is the side view which looked at the liquid container accommodation apparatus 1 of the state which open | released the opening-and-closing lid | cover 30 from the Y direction in FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the liquid container housing device 1 in a state in which an opening / closing lid 30 is closed as viewed from the Y direction in FIG. 1. It is the perspective view which looked at the liquid container accommodation apparatus 1 of the state which open | released the opening-and-closing lid | cover 30 from the Y direction in FIG. When the opening / closing lid 30 is changed from the closed state to the open state, the center part 24 of the slider component 22 faces the liquid supply part 40 and is moved to an initial position where contact from the inlet side is prevented. is there. It is a side view which shows the external appearance structure of the liquid container accommodating apparatus 2 which concerns on 2nd Example of this invention. It is a side view which shows the external appearance structure of the liquid container accommodating apparatus 3 which concerns on 3rd Example of this invention. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a configuration example of a liquid container 100. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus 200 including a liquid container housing device of the present invention. 2 is an explanatory plan view of a printing mechanism of an inkjet recording apparatus 200. FIG. It is a perspective explanatory view of a carriage and a maintenance recovery mechanism part. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of an ink supply system in the inkjet recording apparatus 200. FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, a liquid container housing device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The following liquid container storage device functions as, for example, a part of an ink jet recording device, acquires ink from a mounted liquid container (ink cartridge) with a liquid supply needle, and discharges via a liquid path. It has the function to supply to.

  Note that a liquid container (ink cartridge) 100 attached to the liquid container storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention is an ink that is an inner bag portion for storing ink in a cartridge case 110 as shown in FIG. A tank (ink bag) 130 and an air tank (air) which is an outer bag part for accommodating the ink tank and pressurizing the ink tank 130 to feed ink by introducing a gas such as air by a pump. Bag) 140 and a double bag 120 is stored.

  FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration example of the liquid container 100. The cartridge case 110 is divided into a base 111 and a cover 112. The connecting member 122 of the double bag 120 is latched and held by the supply port portion locking portion 111A on the base 111 side of the cartridge case 110 and the supply port portion locking portion (not shown) on the cover 112 side. Further, the base 111 and the cover 112 are provided with openings for leading a part of the connecting member 122 to the outside. The connecting member 122 has a liquid supply port 124 for communicating the ink tank 130 with the outside, a filling port 126 used for filling the ink tank 130 with ink, and an air port 128 for communicating the air tank 140 with the outside. Is formed. The liquid supply port 124 is sealed with a cap member and a rubber seal.

  The communication between the liquid container storage device and the ink tank 120 is made by inserting a liquid supply needle into the sealing portion of the liquid supply port 124 of the ink tank 120 as will be described later. This is done by inserting a joint into the air port 128 of the air tank 130. In this case, the double bag 120 may be detachable from the cartridge case 110 (that is, the double bag 120 is sold as a replacement product, and the cartridge case 110 is a component attached to the liquid container storage device. The entire liquid container 100 may be sold as a single product. Further, the air tank 140 may not be provided, and only the ink tank 130 may be attached to the inside of the cartridge case 110 having high sealing performance.

  The liquid container mounted on the liquid container storage device according to the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the type in which air is pumped to the liquid container side by the pump and ink is sent out as described above. Alternatively, the negative pressure may be generated and the ink may be sucked through the liquid supply needle.

<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of a liquid container housing device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The liquid container storage device 1 includes a holding unit 10 that holds the entire device, a case 20 that surrounds the entire liquid container 100 to be mounted, and an open / close lid 30. In addition, although this figure illustrated the structure which can mount | wear the four liquid containers 100, there is no special restriction | limiting in the number of the liquid containers 100 with which it mounts, and a single number may be sufficient.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which the opening / closing lid 30 is opened. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an external configuration of the liquid container housing device 1 in a state where the opening / closing lid 30 is closed. The opening / closing lid 30 is rotatable with respect to the case 20 about the opening / closing lid rotation fulcrum 30A, and is opened or closed by the user.

  A slider component 22 is attached to the case 20. The slider component 22 is a member that surrounds the liquid container 100 from three directions when the liquid container 100 is mounted, and has a substantially U-shaped shape. The slider component 22 has a function of pulling out the liquid container 100 to be mounted to the near side (inlet side). Hereinafter, the substantially U-shaped central portion is referred to as a central portion 24 of the slider component 22 (corresponding to the “opening shielding portion” in the claims), and a pair of portions extending from the middle plate portion are referred to as the arm portion 26. Called. A hole 24A is formed in the central portion 24. The hole 24A is preferably formed above the center line of the central portion 24 (the tip side of the arrow indicating the Z direction in FIG. 1; the same applies hereinafter).

  The slider part 22 is slidably attached to the case 20 as will be described later, and the first boss part (projection part) 22A of the slider part provided at the end part is a hole part of the opening / closing lid 30. It attaches to 30B, and it can rotate with respect to the opening / closing lid 30 around the attachment location of the first boss 22A and the hole 30B of the slider part as a rotation center. The first boss portion 22 </ b> A of the slider component 22 is formed on each of the pair of arm portions 26.

  With this configuration, the opening / closing lid 30 is rotated about the opening / closing lid rotation fulcrum 30A, so that the hole 30B of the opening / closing lid 30 moves in an arc shape and is connected to the hole 30B of the opening / closing lid 30. The slider part 22 thus moved also moves. Therefore, when the opening / closing lid 30 is in the open state, the slider component 22 slides toward the near side, and the liquid container 100 is detachable.

  FIG. 3 is a side view of the liquid container housing device 1 with the opening / closing lid 30 opened as viewed from the Y direction in FIG. As shown in the figure, the case 20 is formed with a guide rail 20A on which the second boss portion 22B of the slider component 22 can slide. The second boss portion 22B of the slider component 22 is formed on each of the pair of arm portions. As described above, by rotating the opening / closing lid 30, one of the second boss portions 22B of the slider component 22 moves along the guide rail 20A.

  In addition, the case 20 is attached or integrally formed with an intermediate plate 21 serving as a partition plate between the liquid containers 100. As with the case 20, a guide rail 21 </ b> A is also formed on the intermediate plate 21. As described above, by rotating the opening / closing lid 30, the other of the second boss portions 22B of the slider component 22 moves along the guide rail 21A.

  In the case of the slider component 22 sandwiched between the two middle plates 21, both the second boss portions 22B move along the guide rail 21A.

  In this way, the movement locus of the slider part 22 is determined. The guide rails 20A and 21A are formed so as to be substantially parallel to a direction (X direction) from the back side toward the entrance side (X direction) on the back side (the root side of the arrow indicating the X direction in FIGS. 1 and 3). It is formed so as to be displaced upward as it approaches the side (the tip side of the arrow indicating the X direction in FIG. 1 and the like). The central portion 24 of the slider component 22 moves along a locus corresponding to the shape of the guide rails 20A and 21A.

  In a state where the opening / closing lid 30 is closed, the liquid container 100 is pressed to the back side by the opening / closing lid 30 and the slider component 22, and the liquid supply port is inserted into a liquid supply needle 42 described later (Claims). Corresponds to “the state in which the liquid container is mounted”). On the other hand, when the opening / closing lid 30 shifts to the open state, the liquid container 100 is pulled out to the inlet side by the opening / closing lid 30 and the slider component 22 (corresponding to “the slider component moves in the liquid container removal direction” in the claims). The liquid supply needle 42 is removed.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the liquid container housing device 1 in a state in which the opening / closing lid 30 is closed as seen from the Y direction in FIG. In this state, a liquid supply unit 40 that is attached to the holding unit 10 (that is, attached to the back side of the liquid container housing device 1) and has a liquid supply needle 42 having a hollow structure is formed in the central portion 24 of the slider component 22. It protrudes to the inlet side through the hole 24A. In this state, the central portion 24 of the slider component 22 prevents the liquid supply port 124 of the liquid container 100 from being inserted by the liquid supply needle 42 (and the air joint 46 described later being inserted into the air port 128). Absent. When the liquid supply port 124 of the liquid container 100 is inserted through the liquid supply needle 42 on the back side of the liquid container storage device 1, the ink tank 130 inside the liquid container 100 communicates with the inside of the liquid supply needle 42. The inside of the liquid supply needle 42 communicates with the ejection head via a liquid path, and the liquid inside the ink tank 130 is supplied to the ejection head via the liquid supply needle 42. The liquid supply unit 40 includes a guard unit 44 that surrounds the liquid supply needle 42.

  Further, as described above, the liquid container storage device 1 includes the air joint 46 for pressure-feeding air to the air tank 130 in the liquid container 100 (as described above, the invention is not limited thereto).

  FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the liquid container housing device 1 with the opening / closing lid 30 opened as viewed from the Y direction in FIG. When the opening / closing lid 30 is changed from the closed state to the open state, first, the entire slider part 22 moves to the inlet side, and after the central portion 24 is pulled out to a position where it does not contact the liquid supply portion 40, the central portion 24 moves upward along the trajectories of the guide rails 20A and 21A. In a state where the opening / closing lid 30 is opened, the liquid supply needle 42 is a portion of the central portion 24 of the slider component 22 where the hole portion 24A is not formed (shielding portion 24B; particularly, a portion below the hole portion 24A. ) Is shielded from the entrance side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the user from touching the liquid supply needle 42 by putting his hand from the inlet side.

  Here, it is desirable that the state in which the liquid supply unit 40 is shielded by the shielding unit 24 </ b> B occurs while the maximum opening distance between the opening / closing lid 30 and the case 20 is smaller than 50 [mm]. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which when the opening / closing lid 30 is changed from the closed state to the open state, the shielding unit 24B is opposed to the liquid supply unit 40 and moved to an initial position where contact from the inlet side is prevented. is there. At this time, the gap A that is opened to the maximum between the opening / closing lid 30 and the case 20 is smaller than 50 [mm], and the shield 24 </ b> B is placed in the liquid supply unit 40 when the gap A is 50 [mm] or more. Opposing and moving to a position where contact from the entrance side is prevented.

  Note that a technique for making the liquid supply needle 42 shielded by the shielding portion 24B while the maximum opening distance between the opening / closing lid 30 and the case 20 is smaller than 50 [mm] is as follows. In addition to increasing the distance between the opening / closing lid rotation fulcrum 30A and the hole 30B and increasing the ratio of the moving distance of the slider part 22 to the rotation angle, for example, a protrusion shape 30C is added to a part of the opening / closing lid 30 You may do (refer FIG. 6).

  According to the liquid container housing device 1 of the present embodiment described above, since the liquid supply needle 42 is simply inserted into the liquid container 100, the configuration for acquiring liquid from the liquid container 100 is complicated. There is nothing to do. Further, in the state where the opening / closing lid 30 is opened, the shielding portion 24B shields the liquid supply needle 42 when viewed from the inlet side, thus preventing the user from putting his hand from the inlet side and coming into contact with the liquid supply needle 42. be able to.

  Further, the slider part having a function of pulling out the mounted liquid container 100 to the near side (inlet side) has the shielding part 24, so that a dedicated structure (mechanism part or spring for shielding the liquid supply needle 42) is provided. Etc.). Therefore, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified.

<Second embodiment>
FIG. 7 is a side view showing an external configuration of the liquid container housing device 2 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component similar to 1st Example, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The liquid container housing device 2 according to the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in the connection structure of the slider component 22 and the opening / closing lid 30.

  In the slider component 22 according to the second embodiment, a long hole portion 22D is formed instead of the first boss portion 22A of the slider component. The slider part 22 and the opening / closing lid 30 are connected by a connecting pin 50 so as to be rotatable and partially movable. The long hole portion 22D has a longitudinal direction that is substantially perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction of the liquid container 100 (X direction in the drawing).

  As a result, the maximum opening angle of the opening / closing lid 305 becomes larger than that of the first embodiment, and the attachment / detachment operation of the liquid container 100 becomes easier.

  According to the liquid container housing device 2 of the present embodiment described above, the slot part 22D is formed in the slider part 22, and the slider part 22 and the opening / closing lid 30 can be rotated and partially translated by the connecting pin 50. Since they are connected, the maximum opening angle of the opening / closing lid 30 becomes larger than that of the first embodiment, and the attachment / detachment operation of the liquid container 100 becomes easier.

<Third embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a side view showing an external configuration of the liquid container housing device 3 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected about the component similar to 1st Example, and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The liquid container housing device 3 according to the third embodiment is different from the first embodiment and the second embodiment in the connection structure of the slider component 22 and the opening / closing lid 30.

  The slider component 22 according to the third embodiment has a long hole portion 22D as in the second embodiment, and is connected to the open / close lid 30 by a connecting pin 50, but is further cut out at a lower portion of the long hole portion 22D. A portion 22E is formed. Note that the position of the notch 22E is preferably formed on a rotation locus extension line of the connecting portion of the opening / closing lid 30 and the slider component 22.

  As a result, when the opening / closing lid 30 is rotated, when the opening / closing lid 30 is rotated with a force greater than a predetermined force or when the opening / closing lid 30 is in an open state, a force greater than the predetermined force is applied to the opening / closing lid 30. In some cases, the connecting pin 50 attached to the hole 30B of the opening / closing lid 30 is detached from the notch 22E of the long hole 22D of the slider component 22. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the slider component 22, the opening / closing lid 30, the connecting pin 50, and the like from being damaged.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the shape of the guide rails 20A and 21A for slidingly supporting the second boss portion 22B of the slider component 22 is, for example, the direction from the back side toward the entrance side at the back side. It is formed so as to be substantially parallel to the (X direction), and is displaced upward as it approaches the inlet side, but immediately before the opening / closing lid 30 is in the most open state, the lower side as it approaches the inlet side. It may be formed so as to be displaced.

  In this way, even when the connecting pin 50 is detached from the notch 22E as described above, and the slider part 22 and the opening / closing lid 30 are separated, the second boss part 22B of the slider part 22 is separated. Since the position is slightly lower than the uppermost position, the state where the central portion 24 of the slider component 22 shields the liquid supply portion 40 can be stably maintained. Moreover, since the slider component 22 can hold | maintain the position when isolate | separating from the opening-and-closing lid | cover 30, when performing the operation | work which connects again, it becomes possible to connect easily.

  According to the liquid container housing device 3 of the present embodiment described above, the notch 22E is formed in the lower part of the long hole part 22D, so that the opening / closing lid is opened from the notch part 22E of the long hole part 22D of the slider component 22. The connecting pin 50 attached to the 30 holes 30B can be removed, and as a result, the slider component 22, the opening / closing lid 30, the connecting pin 50, and the like can be prevented from being damaged.

<Image forming apparatus>
The liquid container accommodating device of each embodiment described above is used as a part of an ink jet recording apparatus which is a kind of image forming apparatus, for example.

  FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus 200 including the liquid container housing device of the present invention, FIG. 11 is a plan view of a printing mechanism portion of the ink jet recording apparatus 200, and FIG. It is a perspective explanatory view of a maintenance recovery mechanism part.

  The ink jet recording apparatus 200 is a serial type ink jet recording apparatus, in which a guide rod 203 and a guide rail 204 are spanned on both side plates (not shown), and a carriage 205 is mainly placed on the guide rod 203 and the guide rail 204. It is slidably held in the scanning direction. The guide rail 204 is configured such that a sub guide roller 206 rotatably supported on the rear portion of the carriage 205 abuts.

  A main scanning mechanism that moves and scans the carriage 203 is disposed on one side in the main scanning direction, a driving pulley 212 that is rotationally driven by the driving motor 211, and the other side in the main scanning direction. A driven pulley 213 and a timing belt (belt member) 214 wound around the drive pulley 212 and the driven pulley 213 are provided. The driven pulley 213 is tensioned outward (direction away from the drive pulley 212) by a tension spring.

  Here, the driving pulley 212 and the driven pulley 213 are arranged such that the pulley axial direction is located in a direction along the ink droplet ejection direction. A part of the belt member 214 wound between the driving pulley 212 and the driven pulley 213 is fixedly held by a belt fixing portion provided on the back side of the carriage 205, so that the main scanning direction is increased. It is arranged on one side of the carriage 205 in the orthogonal direction.

  The carriage 205 has 10 buffer tanks (sub tanks) each having a liquid discharge head having nozzles for discharging ink droplets of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). The attached recording heads 220a to 220j (referred to as “recording head 220” when not distinguished) are disposed on a head base (not shown). Here, the recording heads 204a and 204b and the recording heads 204c and 204d are used in a staggered arrangement with their positions shifted in the paper transport direction, for example, as heads that eject black ink droplets. The recording heads 204e to 204g and the recording heads 204h to 204j are staggered by shifting their positions in the paper conveyance direction. For example, the recording heads 204e and 204h have cyan ink droplets, and the recording heads 204f and 204i have magenta ink droplets. The recording heads 204g and 204j are used as heads for ejecting yellow ink droplets, respectively, so that the area in the paper feed direction for two heads can be printed by the same main scanning.

  On the other hand, in the recording area of the main scanning area of the carriage 205, the sheet 210 is intermittently conveyed by being guided by the platen member in a direction (sub-scanning direction) perpendicular to the main scanning direction of the carriage 205 by a paper feed mechanism (not shown). Is done. The platen member is disposed to face the recording head 220 at least in the recording area along the main scanning area of the carriage 205.

  In addition, a maintenance / recovery mechanism 208 that performs maintenance / recovery of the recording head 220 is disposed in one end side region of the main scanning region. The maintenance / recovery mechanism 208 includes a cap 230 that seals (capping) each nozzle surface of the recording heads 220a to 220j, a wiper member that wipes the nozzle surface (not shown), and the like.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, an ink cartridge (liquid container) 100 containing ink of each color to be supplied to the recording head 220 is detachably mounted outside one main scanning region.

  In this ink jet recording apparatus 200, the carriage 205 is moved in the main scanning direction, and the recording head 220 is driven according to the image information while intermittently feeding the paper 210 in the sub scanning direction, thereby ejecting droplets. A required image is formed on the sheet 210.

  FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of an ink supply system in the inkjet recording apparatus 200. As shown in the drawing and as described above, the ink stored in the ink tank 130 is acquired via the liquid supply needle 42 and supplied to the sub tank 222 of the recording head 220 through the liquid flow path 224. At this time, when the pump 225 is driven, air is supplied to the air tank 140 via the air joint 46, and the ink is supplied from the ink tank 130 when the ink tank 130 is pressurized.

  The ink stored in the subtank 222 is ejected from the ejection head 221 onto the paper 210 by, for example, driving a piezo element inside the recording head 220.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention has been described above by using the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And substitutions can be added.

  For example, the central part 24 of the slider component 22 is not limited to the structure having the hole 24A for allowing the liquid supply part 40 to pass therethrough, and may be a structure in which, for example, the upper half is missing.

  In the first embodiment, the structure in which the first boss 22A of the slider component is attached to the hole 30B of the opening / closing lid 30 may be reversed. That is, the opening / closing lid 30 may include a boss portion and be attached to the hole portion of the slider component 22.

  The present invention can be used in the manufacturing industry of ink jet printers.

1, 2, 3 Liquid container storage device 10 Holding part 20 Case 21 Middle plate 20A, 21A Guide rail 22 Slider part 22A First boss part 22B Second boss part 22D Long hole part 22E Notch part 24 Central part 24A Hole Portion 24B shielding portion 26 arm portion 30 opening / closing lid 30A opening / closing lid rotation fulcrum portion 30B hole portion 30C protrusion shape 40 liquid supply portion 42 liquid supply needle 44 guard portion 46 air joint 50 connecting pin 100 liquid container 200 inkjet recording apparatus 221 discharge head 222 Sub tank

JP 2005-96446 A

Claims (10)

When the liquid container is mounted, a liquid container storage device capable of acquiring the liquid stored in the liquid container by inserting a liquid supply needle having a hollow structure into the liquid container,
A slider component that is slidable according to the attachment / detachment state of the liquid container,
The slider part is in a position that does not prevent the liquid container from being inserted by the liquid supply needle in a state where the liquid container is mounted, and from the inlet side when the slider part moves in the liquid container take-out direction. It has a portion for shielding when opened to move to a position to shield the liquid supply needle as seen,
Liquid container storage device. The opening shielding portion is located below the liquid supply needle in a state where the liquid container is mounted, and moves upward as the slider component moves in the liquid container take-out direction. The liquid supply needle can be shielded when viewed from the inlet side,
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 1. The slider component is formed so as to be substantially parallel to a direction from the back side toward the entrance side in a predetermined range on the back side, and is displaced upward as it approaches the entrance side on the entrance side from the predetermined range. By sliding along the guide rail formed in
The opening shielding portion moves upward as the slider part moves in the liquid container take-out direction, and can shield the liquid supply needle when viewed from the inlet side.
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 2. The slider component is connected to an opening / closing lid that opens and closes an opening for accommodating the liquid container, and slides in conjunction with an opening / closing operation of the opening / closing lid.
The liquid container accommodation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. When the opening / closing lid is opened, the opening shielding portion shields the liquid supply needle when viewed from the inlet side before the gap between the outer edge of the liquid container housing device and the opening / closing lid becomes 50 mm or more. It is characterized by moving to a position to
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 4. In the slider component, a long hole portion having a longitudinal direction in a direction substantially perpendicular to the insertion / extraction direction of the liquid container is formed in a connecting portion with the opening / closing lid.
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 4 or 5. The long hole portion has a notch formed at the tip, and when the opening / closing lid is pressed in the opening direction with a force of a predetermined level or more, the notch portion connects the slider component and the opening / closing lid. The structure for is disengaged,
The liquid container storage device according to claim 6. The opening shielding portion is located below the liquid supply needle when the liquid container is mounted, and moves upward as the slider component moves in the liquid container removal direction. Immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state, it moves downward as it approaches the entrance side,
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 6 or 7. The slider part is formed so as to be substantially parallel to a direction from the back side toward the entrance side in a predetermined range on the back side, and is displaced upward as the entrance side is approached on the entrance side than the predetermined range. By sliding along a guide rail formed so as to be displaced downward as it approaches the entrance side immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state,
The shielding part at the time of opening moves upward as the slider part moves in the liquid container take-out direction, but immediately before the opening / closing lid is in the most open state, To move to,
The liquid container accommodation device according to claim 8. A liquid container storage device according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
An image forming apparatus that forms an image by supplying the liquid acquired by the liquid container storage device to the discharge head and causing the liquid to drop onto the discharge head.

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