JP2011079227A - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid ejector which stirs a liquid while suppressing fall of a printing quality. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 11 includes a carriage 16 which moves back and forth in the main scan direction X, a liquid ejection head 18 which is carried on the carriage 16 and ejects a pigment ink onto a printing medium in a printing region in the moving region of the carriage 16, a magnetic body 26 which is movably held in a liquid holding chamber 17a carried on the carriage 16, and a magnet 25 arranged below the liquid holding chamber 17a in a non-printing region which becomes outside the printing region in the moving region of the carriage 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer.

  Conventionally, in a liquid ejecting apparatus such as an ink jet printer, a liquid ejecting head (recording head) and an ink tank are mounted on a carriage that can reciprocate in the main scanning direction, and forward printing is performed when the liquid ejecting head moves forward. In some cases, bidirectional printing is performed by executing a predetermined amount of paper feeding operation between the printing and the return pass printing performed during the backward movement. (For example, patent document 1).

  In the ink jet printer disclosed in Patent Document 1, pigment ink containing pigment particles is used as the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head. Therefore, in order to prevent a decrease in print quality due to the sedimentation of pigment particles, a spherical magnetic body is accommodated in the ink tank, and a permanent magnet is installed at a position below the ink tank in the movement range of the carriage. . The pigment ink is stirred by moving the magnetic body in the ink tank by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet as the carriage moves.

JP 2006-188793 A

  By the way, in Patent Document 1, since the permanent magnets are arranged in a wide range including a printing area for printing on a printing medium, the movement of the carriage becomes unstable due to the magnetic body receiving the attractive force of the permanent magnets, There was a problem that print quality deteriorated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of stirring liquid while suppressing deterioration in print quality.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a carriage that reciprocates along a main scanning direction, and is mounted on the carriage. A liquid ejecting head for ejecting the liquid, a magnetic body movably accommodated in a liquid accommodating chamber mounted on the carriage, and the liquid accommodating in a non-printing region outside the printing region among the moving region of the carriage. And a magnet disposed below the chamber.

  According to this configuration, the magnetic body that is movably accommodated in the liquid accommodation chamber mounted on the carriage and the magnet that is disposed below the liquid accommodation chamber in the movement area of the carriage are provided. The magnetic material is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet and moves in the liquid storage chamber, so that the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber can be agitated. In addition, since the magnet is arranged in the non-printing area outside the printing area in the carriage moving area, the movement of the carriage does not become unstable under the influence of the magnet in the printing area. Therefore, it is possible to stir the liquid while suppressing a decrease in print quality.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the non-printing area may be set at both ends of the printing area in the main scanning direction, and the magnetic body may intersect the main scanning direction and the vertical direction in the liquid storage chamber. A plurality of the magnets are accommodated so as to be movable along the sub-scanning direction, and at least one of the non-printing regions is shifted in position along the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction.

  According to this configuration, since the magnetic body is accommodated in the liquid storage chamber so as to be movable along the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction intersecting the vertical direction, the magnetic body is moved when the carriage moves to the non-printing area. Is attracted to a plurality of magnets while shifting the position along the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction, and moves along the sub-scanning direction. Thereby, the liquid in a liquid storage chamber can be stirred.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the non-printing area may be set at both ends of the printing area in the main scanning direction, and the magnetic body may intersect the main scanning direction and the vertical direction in the liquid storage chamber. The magnet is accommodated so as to be movable along the sub-scanning direction, and at least one of the non-printing areas is arranged in an inclined manner so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction.

  According to this configuration, since the magnetic body is accommodated in the liquid storage chamber so as to be movable along the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction intersecting the vertical direction, the magnetic body is moved when the carriage moves to the non-printing area. Are attracted to the magnets arranged in an inclined manner so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction, and move along the sub-scanning direction. Thereby, the liquid in a liquid storage chamber can be stirred.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention may include a guide shaft that extends in the main scanning direction and guides the movement of the carriage and supports one end side of the carriage in the sub-scanning direction. From the guide shaft to the non-printing area side so as to be gradually separated along the sub-scanning direction.

  According to this configuration, since the magnet is arranged so as to be gradually separated from the guide area toward the non-print area side along the sub-scanning direction from the guide shaft, the carriage is arranged from the non-print area side to the print area. When moving to the side, the moment about the guide shaft acting on the carriage by the magnetic force of the magnet can be reduced. Therefore, the influence on the print quality can be further reduced.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber is inclined so that the guide shaft side is lowered when mounted on the carriage.
According to this configuration, since the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber is inclined so that the guide shaft side is lowered when mounted on the carriage, the magnetic body is disposed on the guide shaft side in the printing region where the magnetic force of the magnet does not reach. Is done. Since the magnet is arranged at a position close to the guide shaft at a position close to the printing area in the non-printing area, when the carriage moves from the printing area to the non-printing area, the magnet is surely attracted by the magnet. Can do. Therefore, the magnetic body can be reliably moved in the non-printing area.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment. 4A and 4B are explanatory views of the configuration of the liquid storage chamber and the operation of the magnetic body, where FIG. 5A shows the case where the carriage has moved to the printing area, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the effect of the printer of the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a plan view for explaining the effect of the printer of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a schematic configuration of a printer according to a second embodiment. (A)-(c) is a top view for demonstrating the structure and effect of a magnet of 3rd Embodiment. (A)-(c) is a top view for demonstrating the structure and effect of a magnet of another embodiment.

(First embodiment)
First, a first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer that is a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, when referring to “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction”, and “up-down direction”, the direction indicated by an arrow in each figure is used as a reference.

The printer 11 shown in FIG. 1 includes a main body case 12. On the back side of the main body case 12, a setting unit 13 that can set a printing medium P such as printing paper is provided.
A guide shaft 14 having a rectangular cross section and a guide shaft 15 having a circular cross section extending in the left-right direction are installed inside the main body case 12. As shown in FIG. 2, a guide shaft 15 disposed below the guide shaft 14 is inserted and supported so that the lower end of the rear end of the carriage 16 can reciprocate in the left-right direction, which is the main scanning direction X. At the same time, the upper end of the carriage 16 is locked to the guide shaft 14. That is, the guide shafts 14 and 15 extend in the main scanning direction X to guide the movement of the carriage 16 and support the rear end side in the front-rear direction which is the sub-scanning direction Y of the carriage 16.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) ink tanks 17 are detachably mounted on the carriage 16, and printing is performed on the print medium P on the lower surface side of the carriage 16. A liquid ejecting head 18 that performs processing is mounted. A plurality of nozzle openings (not shown) are provided on the lower surface of the liquid ejecting head 18 so that the pigment ink as the liquid accommodated in the liquid accommodating chamber 17a of the ink tank 17 can be ejected downward.

  The ink tank 17 is a thin ink cartridge in which the liquid storage chamber 17a has the sub-scanning direction Y and the vertical direction Z as the longitudinal direction, and the main scanning direction X has the short direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17 a is inclined so that the rear side, which is the guide shafts 14 and 15 side, is lowered when mounted on the carriage 16.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the carriage 16 is connected to a CR motor 22 provided on the back side of the pulley 19 via an endless timing belt 21 stretched between a pair of pulleys 19 and 20. . The carriage 16 reciprocates along the main scanning direction X as the CR motor 22 is driven.

  A maintenance unit 23 is arranged at the bottom near the right side in the main body case 12. The position at which the maintenance unit 23 is disposed is on the movement path in the main scanning direction X of the carriage 16 and is a home position where the printing process for the printing medium P is not performed. The carriage 16 is moved to the home position when the power is turned off or during printing standby, and maintenance processing such as cleaning of the liquid ejecting head 18 is performed by the maintenance unit 23.

  On the left side of the maintenance unit 23, a platen 24 that supports the print medium P to be printed is fixed. Then, by alternately performing conveyance processing for conveying the print medium P by a predetermined distance in the sub-scanning direction Y and printing processing for ejecting pigment ink from the nozzle openings while the liquid ejecting head 18 moves in the main scanning direction X, Recording processing for the print medium P is executed.

  Here, in the main scanning direction X, an area where the printing process for the printing medium P is executed is a printing area. On the other hand, areas on the left and right sides of the print area in the main body case 12 and within the movement range of the carriage 16 are non-print areas. In the printer 11, since the printing process is performed while the carriage 16 moves linearly, in order to maintain print quality, the carriage 16 moves at a uniform speed in the printing area, and decelerates, changes direction, and changes in the non-printing area. Accelerates.

  Magnets 25 are respectively arranged at positions below the liquid storage chamber 17a in the ink tank 17 in the non-printing area outside the printing area in the movement area of the carriage 16. The magnet 25 is a plate-like permanent magnet in which magnetic poles appear on the upper surface side and the lower surface side, respectively, and the horizontal direction is the longitudinal direction, and is inclined so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction Y and the main scanning direction X in plan view. Thus, one is arranged in each non-printing area set on both ends in the main scanning direction X of the printing area. The magnets 25 are arranged obliquely so as to be gradually separated from the guide shafts 14 and 15 along the sub-scanning direction Y from the printing area side (inner side) to the non-printing area side (outer side). .

  Further, spherical magnetic bodies 26 are accommodated in the liquid storage chambers 17a of the respective ink tanks 17 in such a manner that they can move within the liquid storage chamber 17a. Since the diameter of the magnetic body 26 is slightly smaller than the width of the main scanning direction X, which is the short direction of the liquid storage chamber 17a, the magnetic body 26 is mainly movable along the sub-scanning direction Y. .

  The magnetic body 26 is located on the rear end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a by its own weight as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a) because the magnetic force of the magnet 25 does not reach when the carriage 16 is in the printing region. On the other hand, when the carriage 16 moves to the non-printing area, the magnetic body 26 moves along the sub-scanning direction Y by being attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 25 as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, as the carriage 16 moves in the right non-printing area toward the right side (outside), the magnetic body 26 accommodated in the rightmost (outside) liquid storage chamber 17a is The liquid storage chamber 17a moves from the rear end side to the front end side against the inclination. From the inclined arrangement of the magnet 25, the magnetic body 26 accommodated in the left (inside) liquid storage chamber 17a has a smaller movement amount. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, when the carriage 16 moves to the left non-printing area, the magnetic body 26 accommodated in the leftmost (outside) liquid storage chamber 17a moves from the rear end side to the front end side. However, the movement amount of the magnetic body 26 accommodated in the right (inner side) liquid storage chamber 17a becomes smaller.

  As the carriage 16 changes its direction and moves from the outside to the inside in the non-printing area, the magnetic body 26 is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 25 and moves from the front end side to the rear end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a. . Further, when the carriage 16 passes through the non-printing area and reaches the printing area, the magnetic force of the magnet 25 does not reach the magnetic body 26 and remains at the rear end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a by its own weight. That is, unnecessary movement of the magnetic body 26 is suppressed by gravity in the printing area, and the next time the carriage 16 moves from the printing area to the non-printing area, the inner end portion of the magnet 25 is disposed rearward. The magnetic body 26 is reliably attracted to the magnetic force.

  Thus, as the carriage 16 reciprocates along the main scanning direction X, the magnetic body 26 attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 25 reciprocates along the sub-scanning direction Y, so along the sub-scanning direction Y. The inside of the extending liquid storage chamber 17a can be stirred. Further, since the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17a is inclined so that the rear side is lowered, when the pigment particles contained in the pigment ink are settled, a large amount is deposited near the rear side of the bottom surface. Therefore, the pigment particles can be effectively stirred by moving the magnetic body 26 from the rear side toward the front side.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the magnetic body 26 movably accommodated in the liquid storage chamber 17 a mounted on the carriage 16 and the magnet 25 disposed below the liquid storage chamber 17 a in the movement region of the carriage 16 are provided, the carriage As the magnetic material 26 is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 25 and moves in the liquid storage chamber 17a with the movement of 16, the pigment ink stored in the liquid storage chamber 17a can be agitated. Further, since the magnet 25 is arranged in the non-printing area outside the printing area in the movement area of the carriage 16, the movement of the carriage 16 is not unstable due to the influence of the magnet 25 in the printing area. Therefore, it is possible to stir the pigment ink while suppressing a decrease in print quality.

  (2) Since the magnetic body 26 is housed in the liquid housing chamber 17a so as to be movable along the sub-scanning direction Y intersecting the main scanning direction X and the vertical direction Z, the carriage 16 moves to the non-printing area. Then, the magnetic body 26 is attracted to the magnet 25 arranged in an inclined manner so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction Y and the main scanning direction X, and moves along the sub-scanning direction Y. Thereby, the pigment ink in the liquid storage chamber 17a can be stirred.

  (3) The magnet 25 is arranged so as to be gradually separated from the guide shafts 14 and 15 along the sub-scanning direction Y from the printing area side (inner side) to the non-printing area side (outer side). When 16 moves from the non-printing area side (outside) to the printing area side (inside), the moment about the guide shafts 14 and 15 acting on the carriage 16 by the magnetic force of the magnet 25 can be reduced. Therefore, the influence on the print quality can be further reduced.

  (4) Since the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17a is inclined so that the guide shafts 14 and 15 are lowered when mounted on the carriage 16, the magnetic body 26 guides in the printing region where the magnetic force of the magnet 25 does not reach. It arrange | positions at the axis | shafts 14 and 15 side. Since the magnet 25 is disposed at a position close to the guide shafts 14 and 15 at a position close to the printing area of the non-printing area, the magnetic body 26 is moved when the carriage 16 moves from the printing area to the non-printing area. The magnet 25 can be surely attracted. Therefore, the magnetic body 26 can be reliably moved in the non-printing area.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment in which the present invention is similarly embodied in an ink jet printer will be described. Note that the printer 11 of the second embodiment is obtained by changing the shape and arrangement of the magnet 25 of the first embodiment, and therefore the changed part will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of magnets 25 </ b> A according to the present embodiment are arranged (four in this embodiment) while shifting their positions along the sub-scanning direction Y and the main scanning direction X in each non-printing area. Has been.

According to the said embodiment, in addition to the effect of (1), (3), (4) in 1st Embodiment, the following effects can be acquired.
(5) Since the magnetic body 26 is housed in the liquid housing chamber 17a so as to be movable along the sub-scanning direction Y intersecting the main scanning direction X and the vertical direction Z, the carriage 16 is moved to the non-printing area. In addition, the magnetic body 26 is attracted to a plurality of magnets 25 </ b> A that are shifted in position along the sub-scanning direction Y and the main scanning direction X, and moves along the sub-scanning direction Y. Thereby, the pigment ink in the liquid storage chamber 17a can be stirred.

(6) The size of the magnet 25A can be reduced.
(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment in which the present invention is similarly embodied in an ink jet printer will be described. Note that the printer 11 of the third embodiment is obtained by changing the shape and arrangement of the magnet 25 of the first embodiment, and therefore the changed part will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A to 6C, the magnet 25 </ b> B of the present embodiment is arranged at a position closer to the printing area side (inside) of the non-printing area in the main scanning direction X. That is, in the first embodiment, the magnet 25 is arranged so as to substantially cover the non-printing area in the main scanning direction X in order to keep the plurality of magnetic bodies 26 in the non-printing area. In the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, it is only necessary that the at least one magnetic body 26 is disposed within a range.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, the carriage 16 has a magnetic body 26 accommodated in the liquid storage chamber 17a located closest to the printing area (inside) in the non-printing area to the front end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a. Turn around after moving. If the state in which the magnetic body 26 is attracted to the magnet 25B while moving from the rear end side to the front end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a can be maintained in relation to the moving speed of the carriage 16, the length of the magnet 25B can be maintained. The intersection angle between the direction and the sub-scanning direction Y (and the main scanning direction X) can be arbitrarily set.

  When the liquid storage chamber 17a passes above the magnet 25B as the carriage 16 moves to the non-printing area side (outside) in the non-printing area, the magnetic force of the magnet 25B does not reach as shown in FIG. 6B. The magnetic body 26 moves from the front end side toward the rear end side by its own weight. That is, when the magnetic body 26 moves above the magnet 25B as the carriage 16 moves, the magnetic body 26 is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet 25B and moves from the rear end side to the front end side along the sub-scanning direction Y. After moving forward and passing above the magnet 25B, it moves backward from the front end side to the rear end side by its own weight.

  Therefore, when the carriage 16 changes its direction and moves inward in the non-printing area, the magnetic body 26 does not have to be attracted to the magnet 25. Therefore, the magnet 25B has only to be arranged in a range in which one magnetic body 26 moves forward in the main scanning direction X, and the arrangement area of the magnet 25B in the main scanning direction X can be reduced. In addition, when an arrangement | positioning area | region is securable, the stirring effect can be heightened by increasing the frequency | count of a movement of the magnetic body 26 by arrange | positioning the several magnet 25B.

  Further, since all the magnetic bodies 26 move from the rear end side to the front end side of the liquid storage chamber 17a, if the magnets 25B are arranged in any one of the non-printing regions, the inside of all the liquid storage chambers 17a is evenly stirred. can do. For example, in the left non-printing area where the maintenance unit 23 is not provided, one magnet 25B is arranged so that the right end side is closer to the rear and the left end side is closer to the front (an arrangement in which the horizontal direction in FIG. 6 is reversed). Becomes). In this case, the inside of the plurality of liquid storage chambers 17a can be uniformly stirred without changing the arrangement of the maintenance unit 23 and the like.

According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects (1) to (4) in the first embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(7) The arrangement area of the magnet 25B in the main scanning direction X can be reduced, and the influence on the movement of the carriage 16 can be suppressed.

(8) Since the magnet 25 </ b> B has only to attract one magnetic body 26, the influence on the movement of the carriage 16 can be suppressed.
(9) Even when a plurality of liquid storage chambers 17a are mounted, all the liquid storage chambers 17a can be uniformly stirred.

In addition, you may change each said embodiment as follows.
When the movement range of the carriage 16 in the non-printing area is wide, as shown in FIG. 7A, in the main scanning direction X so as to be continuous with the outer end of the magnet 25 (25A, 25B). You may make it arrange | position the magnet 25C along. Accordingly, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the magnetic body 26 is drawn to the magnet 25C after passing over the magnet 25 (25A, 25B). According to this configuration, if the magnets 25 (25A, 25B) and the magnets 25C are arranged in any one of the non-printing regions, the insides of the plurality of liquid storage chambers 17a are evenly distributed without inclining the bottom surface of the liquid storage chambers 17a. Can be stirred.

  In the first and second embodiments, the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17a may not be inclined. For example, if the magnetic body 26 has a shape having a flat surface that comes into contact with the bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17a, unnecessary movement of the magnetic body 26 in the printing region can be suppressed.

The magnetic body 26 can adopt an arbitrary shape as long as the sliding resistance is small, and may be a cylindrical shape, a prismatic shape, or the like.
The magnets 25, 25A, and 25B may be electromagnets, and may be excited when the carriage 16 moves to the non-printing area.

The ink tank 17 is not limited to being individually attached and detached for each color, and one ink tank 17 (ink cartridge) may be provided with a plurality of liquid storage chambers 17a.
The bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber 17 a may not be inclined with respect to the ink tank 17, and the ink tank 17 may be mounted on the carriage 16 in an inclined state.

  The liquid storage chamber 17a is not limited to one in which the main scanning direction X is the short direction. For example, even when the liquid storage chamber 17a has a width in the main scanning direction X, the entire bottom surface can be stirred if the magnetic body 26 is formed in a columnar shape or a prismatic shape extending in the main scanning direction X.

The magnets 25, 25A, 25B, and 25C may be electromagnets, and may be excited when the carriage 16 moves upward.
The ink tank 17 is not limited to the pigment ink, and the same agitation effect can be obtained when, for example, a liquid in which a plurality of types of liquids having different specific gravity are mixed is stored.

  A cartridge holder provided in the main body case 12 may be provided, and the ink cartridge detachably attached to the cartridge holder and the ink tank 17 may be connected via an ink tube. That is, the ink tank 17 is not limited to an ink cartridge employed in a so-called on-carriage type printer, but may be an ink tank that is mounted on a so-called off-carriage type carriage and that is not attached or detached.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied as an ink jet printer, but a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink may be employed. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved state. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

The technical idea that can be grasped from the above-described embodiment (mainly the third embodiment) and modifications will be described below.
(A) a carriage that reciprocates along the main scanning direction;
A liquid jet head mounted on the carriage;
A magnetic body housed in a liquid housing chamber mounted on the carriage so as to be movable along a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction and the vertical direction;
A magnet disposed in an inclined manner so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction and the main-scanning direction below the liquid storage chamber in the carriage movement region;
The bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber is inclined so that one end side along the sub-scanning direction is lowered in the mounting state on the carriage,
When the magnetic body moves above the magnet as the carriage moves, the magnetic body is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet and moves forward from the one end side to the other end side along the sub-scanning direction. The liquid ejecting apparatus moves backward from the other end side to the one end side by its own weight after passing over the magnet.

  According to this configuration, the magnetic body is attracted by the magnetic force of the magnet as the carriage moves, and moves forward from one end side to the other end side along the sub-scanning direction. Since the backward movement is performed from the other end side toward the one end side, the liquid stored in the liquid storage chamber can be stirred. Since the magnet only needs to be arranged in the range in which the magnetic body moves forward in the main scanning direction, the magnet arrangement area can be reduced and the influence on the carriage movement can be suppressed.

(B) The liquid ejecting apparatus according to (a), wherein a plurality of the liquid storage chambers are mounted on the carriage along the main scanning direction.
According to this configuration, the plurality of liquid storage chambers mounted along the main scanning direction can be uniformly stirred by the movement of the magnetic body. In addition, even when a plurality of liquid storage chambers are provided, since the magnet has only to attract one magnetic body, the influence on the movement of the carriage can be suppressed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 14, 15 ... Guide shaft, 16 ... Carriage, 17a ... Liquid storage chamber, 18 ... Liquid ejecting head, 25, 25A, 25B, 25C ... Magnet, 26 ... Magnetic body, P ... Printing Medium, X: main scanning direction, Y: sub-scanning direction, Z: vertical direction.

Claims (5)

A carriage that reciprocates along the main scanning direction;
A liquid ejecting head mounted on the carriage and ejecting a liquid onto a print medium in a print area of the movement area of the carriage;
A magnetic body movably accommodated in a liquid storage chamber mounted on the carriage;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a magnet disposed below the liquid storage chamber in a non-printing region outside the printing region in the moving region of the carriage. The non-printing area is set on both end sides in the main scanning direction of the printing area,
The magnetic body is accommodated in the liquid storage chamber so as to be movable along a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction and the vertical direction,
2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the magnets are arranged in the at least one non-printing region while being shifted in position along the sub-scanning direction and the main-scanning direction. . The non-printing area is set on both end sides in the main scanning direction of the printing area,
The magnetic body is accommodated in the liquid storage chamber so as to be movable along a sub-scanning direction intersecting the main scanning direction and the vertical direction,
2. The liquid jet according to claim 1, wherein one magnet is arranged in an inclined manner so as to intersect the sub-scanning direction and the main scanning direction in at least one of the non-printing regions. apparatus. A guide shaft extending in the main scanning direction to guide movement of the carriage and supporting one end side of the carriage in the sub-scanning direction;
The said magnet is arrange | positioned so that it may gradually space apart from the said guide shaft along the said sub-scanning direction toward the said non-printing area side from the said printing area side. 4. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to 3. 5. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a bottom surface of the liquid storage chamber is inclined so that the guide shaft side is lowered when mounted on the carriage.

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