JP2012192667A - Liquid jetting apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus at low cost which can prevent a waste liquid unit from being left to be pulled out while detachably providing the waste liquid unit.SOLUTION: An inkjet printer 1 includes the waste liquid unit 21 and a back unit 16 on the back side of the printer so that each units are detachable, the waste liquid unit storing ink left from a recording head, the back unit opening and closing an opening for exposing a sheet conveyance path. When the waste liquid unit 21 is not mounted on the printer, a back-unit engagement piece 27c advances to a detachable path of the back unit 16 and thereby a back-unit engagement device 26 prevents the back unit 16 from transferring to a close state (mounting state).

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto an ejected medium, and more particularly, to a liquid ejecting apparatus that includes a waste liquid unit that stores waste liquid discarded from a liquid ejecting head.

  An example of the liquid ejecting apparatus is a recording apparatus, and an example of the recording apparatus is an ink jet printer. In an ink jet printer, all ink ejected from an ink jet recording head does not necessarily land on a recording sheet as an example of an ejected medium, and may be intentionally discarded at a predetermined location.

  For example, in an ink jet printer that can perform so-called borderless recording on a recording sheet without margins, a groove is formed on the upper surface of a support member (platen) disposed opposite to the ink jet recording head. The ink ejected to the area off the edge of the recording paper is discarded. An ink discharge hole is provided at the bottom of the groove, and the ink discarded in the groove is discharged downward from the ink discharge hole and led to a waste liquid unit that stores the waste liquid.

  In addition, regardless of borderless recording, the inkjet printer is provided with maintenance means for maintaining the inkjet recording head. The maintenance means includes a capping unit that caps the ink jet recording head, and a pump unit that generates negative pressure in the cap. The maintenance means sucks ink from the ink discharge holes of the ink jet recording head and sucks the ink. The ink is discharged to the waste liquid unit.

  Here, when the discharge of the waste ink as described above is repeated, the waste liquid unit is eventually filled with the waste liquid. When the waste liquid unit becomes full, the subsequent recording operation cannot be executed. In particular, since an inkjet printer for business use is required to have a long life, management of the amount of waste ink stored in the waste liquid unit is important.

  In view of this, an ink jet recording apparatus has been proposed in which a waste liquid unit is detachably attached to the printer body, and the user can replace the waste liquid unit when the waste liquid unit is full of waste liquid (Patent Document 1). ).

JP-A-6-234209

  When the user is configured to be able to replace the waste liquid unit as described above, there is a possibility that the recording may be performed while the waste liquid unit is pulled out from the apparatus, or the maintenance operation of the inkjet recording head may be performed. . Then, there is a possibility that the waste liquid flows down from the ink tube that guides the waste liquid to the waste liquid unit.

  In order to solve such problems, for example, if a dedicated detection means for detecting whether or not a waste liquid unit is mounted is provided, the cost of the apparatus is increased.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and an object of the present invention is to provide a low-cost apparatus capable of preventing the waste liquid unit from being pulled out while the waste liquid unit is detachably provided. There is to get.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto an ejected medium, a waste liquid unit that stores waste liquid discarded from the liquid ejecting head, and an ejected medium. An opening / closing body provided to be able to open and close an opening that exposes a conveyance path to be conveyed, wherein the waste liquid unit is detachably provided to the apparatus main body of the liquid ejection device, When the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus body, the opening / closing body is allowed to move to a closed state, and when the waste liquid unit is removed from the apparatus body, the opening / closing body engages with the opening / closing body. It has an opening / closing body engaging means for preventing the opening / closing body from shifting to a closed state.

  Since the opening / closing body is for exposing the transport path of the ejected medium for paper jam processing, when the ejecting medium is transported with the opening / closing body opened, the user opens and closes the opening / closing body. Can easily know that is opening.

  And the 1st aspect of this invention utilized such a property, and linked | related the mounting state of the said waste liquid unit, and the open / close state of the said opening-closing body. That is, when the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus main body, the opening / closing body is allowed to move to the closed state, and when the waste liquid unit is detached from the apparatus main body, the opening / closing body engages with the opening / closing body. Since the opening / closing body engaging means for preventing the opening / closing body from shifting to the closed state is provided, the opening / closing body cannot be closed unless the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus main body.

  Therefore, it is possible to prevent the liquid ejecting operation and the liquid ejecting head maintenance operation for the ejected medium from being continued for a long time while the waste liquid unit is pulled out. It will not be washed away. In addition, there is no need to provide a dedicated sensor for detecting the mounting state of the waste liquid unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the opening / closing body engaging means protrudes on the first engagement piece protruding on the attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit and on the opening / closing path of the opening / closing body. A second engaging piece, an engaging member having a rotation shaft located between the first engaging piece and the second engaging piece, and the first engaging piece of the waste liquid unit. And an urging means for urging the engaging member in a rotational direction that protrudes on the attachment / detachment path and the second engagement piece protrudes on the opening / closing path of the opening / closing body. Features.

  According to this aspect, the opening / closing body engaging means includes the first engagement piece protruding on the attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit and the second engagement piece protruding on the opening / closing path of the opening / closing body. Since it is comprised by the engaging member provided so that rotation was possible, and the urging | biasing means which urges | biases this, the said opening-and-closing body engagement means can be obtained at low cost by making a simple structure.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, at least a part of the opening / closing body when the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus main body and the opening / closing body closes the opening. Is located in the extraction path of the waste liquid unit and covers at least a part of the waste liquid unit.

  According to this aspect, in a state where the waste liquid unit is mounted on the apparatus main body and the opening / closing body closes the opening, at least a part of the opening / closing body is located in the extraction path of the waste liquid unit and the waste liquid Since at least a part of the unit is covered, in order to pull out the waste liquid unit, the user must first open the opening / closing body. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the waste liquid unit from being pulled out carelessly and easily.

  The opening / closing body is for exposing the transport path of the ejected medium for paper jam processing as described above, and its opening / closing frequency is extremely low, and the opening / closing timing is irregular. Even more effectively, the waste liquid unit can be prevented from being pulled out carelessly and easily.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, the waste liquid unit has a clue part that serves as a clue when the waste liquid unit is pulled out, and the opening / closing body closes the opening. It covers the part.

  According to this aspect, the waste liquid unit is formed with the clue part that becomes a clue when the waste liquid unit is pulled out. Since the clue part is covered with the opening / closing body, the waste liquid unit is more effectively used. Can be prevented from being pulled out carelessly and easily.

The perspective view which looked at the ink jet printer concerning the present invention from the device front side. 1 is a schematic side sectional view of an ink jet printer according to the present invention. The perspective view which looked at the ink jet printer concerning the present invention from the device back side. The perspective view which looked at the ink jet printer concerning the present invention from the device back side. The perspective view which looked at the ink jet printer concerning the present invention from the device back side. The partial expansion perspective view of a back unit. The perspective view of the site | part which a back unit and a printer main body engage. The perspective view of a waste liquid unit. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing which shows typically the structure of the mounting | wearing site | part which mounts a waste liquid unit. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of a back unit engaging means.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiment described below, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims. Assuming that these are also included in the scope of the present invention, one embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording medium as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention, and an inkjet printer 1 as an example of the recording apparatus as viewed from the front side of the apparatus. 2 is a schematic side sectional view of the ink jet printer 1, FIGS. 3 to 5 are perspective views of the ink jet printer 1 viewed from the rear side of the apparatus, and FIG. 3 shows a back unit 16 and a waste liquid unit 21 as “opening and closing bodies”. 4 shows a state where both are mounted, FIG. 4 shows a state where only the rear unit 16 is pulled out, and FIG. 5 shows a state where both are pulled out.

  6 is a partially enlarged perspective view of the rear unit 16, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a portion where the rear unit and the printer main body are engaged, FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the waste liquid unit 21, and FIGS. ) Is an explanatory view schematically showing a structure of a mounting portion to which the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted. 9A shows a state before the waste liquid unit 21 and the rear unit 16 are attached (during attachment), and FIG. 9B shows a state after the attachment. FIGS. 10A and 10B are explanatory views showing the configuration of the rear unit engaging means 26. FIG. 10A shows the state before the waste liquid unit 21 is attached (during attachment), and FIG. ) Shows the state after wearing.

  In the following, first, the overall configuration of the inkjet printer 1 will be outlined. 1 to 5, reference numeral 2 denotes a recording unit that performs ink jet recording on recording paper, reference numeral 3 denotes a scanner unit provided above the recording unit 2, and reference numeral 4 denotes an automatic document conveying unit provided above the scanner unit 3. In other words, the inkjet printer 1 is configured as a multifunction machine having a scanner function in addition to the inkjet recording function.

  Reference numeral 5 on the front side of the apparatus is a detachable paper cassette for setting recording paper, reference numeral 6 is a paper outlet for discharging the recorded paper, and reference numeral 7 is a paper discharge for receiving the discharged recording paper. It is a receiving tray.

  Reference numeral 8 denotes a front cover for exposing the paper conveyance path when a paper jam occurs. Reference numeral 9 denotes a power button, operation buttons for performing various print settings / recording, print setting contents, preview display of a print image, and the like. An operation panel including a display unit and the like. Further, in the upper part of the apparatus, reference numeral 10 denotes a document setting tray, and reference numeral 11 denotes a document receiving tray for receiving the discharged document.

  Next, the paper transport path in the recording unit 2 will be outlined with reference to FIG. Note that FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of the recording unit 2, and does not show all configurations, and illustration of components that are not necessary for the description is omitted.

  The recording unit 2 includes two sheet feeding paths, one is a sheet feeding path from a sheet cassette 5 provided at the lower part of the apparatus, and the other is the rear side of the apparatus (right side in FIG. 2). This is a sheet feeding path from the support member 30 provided on the sheet. The broken line P1 indicates the passage trajectory of the paper sent out from the paper cassette 5, and the broken line P2 indicates the passage trajectory of the paper sent out from the support member 30.

  A roller indicated by reference numeral 36 provided at a position facing the paper cassette 5 is a feeding roller, and the feeding roller 36 can be moved forward and backward with respect to the paper cassette 5 as indicated by a solid line and a virtual line (reference numeral 36 '). The uppermost sheet is provided and rotated in contact with the uppermost sheet stored in the sheet cassette 5 to feed the uppermost sheet downstream. The fed sheet is curved and reversed by the large-diameter reversing roller 39 and then reaches the transport driving roller 45 and the transport driven roller 46. Reference numeral 40 denotes a separation roller that separates the sheet by nipping the sheet with the reverse roller 39.

  On the other hand, the support member 30 supports the sheet in an inclined posture and swings about a swing shaft (not shown) at the top so that the uppermost sheet of the supported sheet is pressed against the feeding roller 31. The feed roller 31 rotates to feed the press-contacted paper to the downstream side. Reference numeral 32 denotes a separation roller that separates a sheet by nipping the sheet with the feeding roller 31.

  The transport driving roller 45 and the transport driven roller 46 are a roller pair that precisely feeds the paper to the downstream side, and an ink jet recording head 49 and a support member 47 that supports the paper are disposed on the downstream side of the roller pair. Opposed.

  The recording head 49 is provided at the bottom of the carriage 48 that can reciprocate in the main scanning direction (the front and back direction in FIG. 2), and recording is performed by ejecting ink onto the paper while moving in the main scanning direction. .

  A maintenance unit (not shown) is provided at the home position (not shown) of the carriage 48. The maintenance unit includes a cap unit (not shown) that caps the recording head 49 and a pump unit that generates a negative pressure in the cap unit. By generating a pressure, ink is sucked from an ink discharge nozzle (not shown). Then, the sucked ink is guided as a waste liquid to a waste liquid unit 21 to be described later through a tube (not shown).

  Next, on the downstream side of the recording head 49, reference numeral 52 is a driven roller for preventing the paper from floating, reference numeral 53 is a discharge driving roller for discharging the paper by rotating, and reference numeral 54 is a discharge driving roller 53. A discharge driven roller that nips the paper between the two. By these roller pairs, the recorded paper is discharged toward the paper discharge receiving tray 7.

The above is the general configuration of the ink jet printer 1, and the mounting structure of the waste liquid unit 21 will be described in detail below.
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a back unit 16 and a waste liquid unit 21 are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 2 a of the inkjet printer 1 (recording unit 2) on the back of the apparatus.

  The waste liquid unit 21 is a box-shaped component for storing the waste liquid discarded from the recording head 49 as described above, and is attached to the opening 2c formed in the housing 2b constituting the apparatus main body 2a. When the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2a, a waste ink receiving port (not shown) provided in the waste liquid unit 21 and a waste ink discharge port (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body 2a side are connected. Thus, the waste ink can be introduced into the waste liquid unit 21.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the waste liquid unit 21 is provided with a concave portion (a clue portion) 21a that serves as a clue when the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 2a. The user can pull out the waste liquid unit 21 from the apparatus main body 2a by inserting a finger into the recess 21a. In addition, the part used as the clue for drawing out the waste liquid unit 21 is only the recessed part 21a, and the recessed part, protrusion, etc. which become a clue are not formed in addition.

  Next, the back unit 16 as an opening / closing body is a unit body that opens and closes the opening 23 that exposes the paper transport path (in this embodiment, the upstream portion of the transport driving roller 45), and the back unit 16 is the main body of the apparatus. In the state attached to 2a, the opening 23 is closed.

  If a paper jam occurs, the paper transport path is exposed by removing the front front cover 8 or the back unit 16 (opening the opening 23). In particular, in the present embodiment, the front cover 8 is opened to expose the sheet conveyance path on the downstream side (left side in FIG. 2) from the conveyance driving roller 45, and the rear unit 16 is removed (opening 23 is opened). The upstream side (right side in FIG. 2) of the paper conveyance path from the drive roller 45 is exposed.

  In this embodiment, the back unit 16 includes a guide member 41 that forms a paper transport path and a reverse roller 40, and the paper transport path is greatly opened by removing the back unit 16. .

  The back unit 16 has a lock member 17 on both sides, and the operation unit 17a formed at the end of the lock member 17 is pushed inward so that the back unit 16 is locked to the apparatus main body 2a. It is supposed to be canceled.

  FIG. 7 shows the relationship between the lock member 17 provided on the back unit 16 and the frame 18 provided on the apparatus main body 2a. In FIG. 7, other members constituting the rear unit 16 are not shown for convenience of explanation. The lock member 17 is provided on the rear unit 16 so as to be slidable in the direction of arrow a, and is provided in a state of being biased by the coil spring 19 in a direction projecting outward from both sides (leftward in the example shown in FIG. 7) It has been.

  A locking hook 17b is formed on the lock member 17, and the locking unit 17b enters the recess 18a formed in the frame 18 so that the rear unit 16 is locked to the apparatus main body 2a. It has become. Accordingly, when the operation button portion 17a of the lock member 17 is pushed against the urging force of the coil spring 19 (rightward in the example shown in FIG. 7), the locking hook 17b is detached from the recess 18a, and the rear unit 16 is moved to the device. It can be removed from the main body 2a. FIG. 7 shows the lock structure on one side, but the lock structure provided on the other side has the same configuration.

  Next, the mounting structure of the waste liquid unit 21 will be described. As shown in FIG. 8, an IC chip 22 that holds information regarding the amount of waste liquid stored in the waste liquid unit 21 is provided on one side surface of the waste liquid unit 21, and the waste liquid unit 21 is attached to the apparatus main body 2a. In this state, as shown in FIG. 9B, the control unit (not shown) of the ink jet printer 1 can access the IC chip 22 by making electrical contact with the contact 24 provided on the apparatus main body 2a side. Become.

  For example, when the maintenance of the recording head 49 is executed, the control unit (not shown) increments the assumed ink discharge amount to a value indicating the accumulated waste liquid amount held in the IC chip 22. As a result, the control unit (not shown) can grasp the amount of waste ink stored in the waste liquid unit 21, and the amount of waste ink is an upper limit of the waste ink storable amount of the waste liquid unit 21 or a replacement that is slightly less than the upper limit. When the level is reached, a warning is issued to urge the user to replace the waste liquid unit 21.

  On the other hand, a recess 21b is formed on the other side surface of the waste liquid unit 21 as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, and a plate spring as an urging means that enters the recess 21b on the apparatus main body 2a side. 25 is provided. In a state where the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2a, the mounting state of the waste liquid unit 21 is maintained by the leaf spring 25 entering the recess 21b. In addition, since the leaf spring 25 urges the waste liquid unit 21 in the upper right direction in FIG. 9, the contact state between the IC chip 22 and the contact 24 is kept good. The rear unit engaging means 26 shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B will be described in detail later.

  Here, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 9B, when the rear unit 16 is mounted, the side end portion 16a, which is a part of the rear unit 16, pulls the waste liquid unit 21 from the apparatus main body 2a. It is located on the near side that is the path and covers a part of the waste liquid unit 21. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the side end portion 16a covers the concave portion (cue portion) 21a that becomes a clue when the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out.

  With such a configuration, when the rear unit 16 is mounted, the waste liquid unit 21 cannot be pulled out, and in order to pull out the waste liquid unit 21, it is necessary to first remove the rear unit 16 (open the opening 23). .

  Hereinafter, the function and effect of the above configuration will be described. The replacement frequency of the waste liquid unit 21 is extremely less than the replacement frequency of, for example, an ink cartridge (not shown). However, since the waste liquid unit 21 stores waste ink, the user's hand is soiled during replacement, There is a risk that the inside of the apparatus may be soiled. Further, if the waste liquid unit 21 is carelessly removed during the maintenance operation of the recording head 49, the waste ink may be dripped into the apparatus from an ink tube (not shown) that guides the waste ink to the waste liquid unit 21. is there.

  In addition, if the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out during information writing to the IC chip 22, information cannot be correctly written to the IC chip 22. As a result, the amount of waste ink stored in the waste liquid unit 21 cannot be correctly grasped, and as a result, the waste ink may overflow inside the apparatus.

  Therefore, it is preferable to attach and detach the waste liquid unit 21 at a minimum and appropriate time, and should not be pulled out carelessly. Therefore, in the present invention, the waste liquid unit 21 is not prepared because the rear liquid unit 16 is to be removed by the rear unit 16 that is removed when an irregular and low frequency event such as paper jam processing occurs. And it can prevent now being pulled out easily.

  The back unit 16 is for exposing the paper transport path for paper jam processing, and is not a cover exclusively for the waste liquid unit 21, so that the cost of the apparatus is not increased.

  Since the back unit 16 is for exposing the paper transport path for paper jam processing, the paper cannot be transported correctly when the back unit 16 is open. If the paper is transported in the open state, the paper comes out of the opening 23, so that the user can easily know that the rear unit 16 is open.

  For this reason, it is possible to prevent the recording operation for the paper from being continuously performed for a long time while the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out, thereby preventing a large amount of waste ink from flowing down inside the apparatus. In addition, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated sensor for detecting the open / closed state of the rear unit 16.

  In addition, in this embodiment, the concave portion 21a that becomes a clue when pulling out the waste liquid unit 21 is covered by the back unit 16, and therefore, the waste liquid unit 21 is prevented from being unintentionally and easily pulled out more effectively. can do.

  Next, the back unit engaging means 26 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The back unit engaging means 26 includes an engaging member 27, a coil spring 28, and a holding portion 29.

  The engaging member 27 is provided so as to be rotatable in the clockwise direction and the counterclockwise direction in FIGS. 10A and 10B around the rotation shaft 27a, and from the rotation shaft 27a to the waste liquid unit 21. On the side of the attachment / detachment path, a waste liquid unit engagement piece 27b as a first engagement piece is provided so as to protrude into the attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit 21.

  Further, a rear unit engagement piece 27c as a second engagement piece is provided on the side of the attachment / detachment path of the rear unit 16 from the rotating shaft 27a so as to protrude into the attachment / detachment path of the rear unit 16. 10A and 10B, the rear unit 16 indicated by phantom lines indicates the position when the rear unit 16 is mounted, and the rear unit 16 is not actually mounted.

  The coil spring 28 as an urging means is attached to the rotating shaft 27a, the waste liquid unit engaging piece 27b protrudes on the attaching / detaching path of the waste liquid unit 21, and the back unit engaging piece 27c is open / closed path (attaching / detaching) The engaging member 27 is urged in the rotation direction protruding upward.

  The holding portion 29 abuts on the rear unit engagement piece 27c, the waste liquid unit engagement piece 27b protrudes on the attachment / detachment route of the waste liquid unit 21, and the rear unit engagement piece 27c is on the opening / closing route (attachment / detachment route) of the rear unit 16. Maintain the protruding state.

  The rear unit engaging means 26 having the above configuration is such that, when the waste liquid unit 21 is not attached, the waste liquid unit engaging piece 27b protrudes on the attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit 21 as shown in FIG. The rear unit engagement piece 27 c protrudes on the opening / closing path (detachment path) of the rear unit 16.

  Here, since the engaging member 27 is in a state in which it cannot be rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 10 by the holding portion 29, the state shown in FIG. 10A (that is, the waste liquid unit 21 is not mounted). In the state), even if the rear unit 16 is to be mounted, the rear unit engaging piece 27c is obstructed and the rear unit 16 cannot be mounted. That is, the rear unit engaging means 26 prevents the rear unit 16 from shifting to the closed state when the waste liquid unit 21 is not attached.

  However, since the engaging member 27 can be rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. 10, when the waste liquid unit 21 is attached to the apparatus, the waste liquid unit 21 is connected to the waste liquid unit engaging piece 27b. By pushing, the engaging member 27 rotates in the clockwise direction of FIG. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 10B, the rear unit engagement piece 27 c is retracted from the attachment / detachment path of the rear unit 16. That is, the rear unit engaging means 26 allows the rear unit 16 to shift to the closed state when the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted.

  Here, as described above, the rear unit 16 is for exposing the paper transport path for paper jam processing. When the rear unit 16 is opened and the paper is transported, the paper exits from the opening 23. Therefore, the user can easily know that the rear unit 16 is open.

  And using such a property, the rear unit engaging means 26 engages with the rear unit 16 in a state where the waste liquid unit 21 is detached from the apparatus, and prevents the rear unit 16 from moving to the closed state. It is possible to prevent the recording operation and the maintenance operation of the ink jet recording 49 from being continued for a long time in the state where the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out, and this may cause a large amount of waste ink to flow down inside the apparatus. Absent.

  In the present embodiment, the waste liquid unit 21 is provided with an IC chip 22, and in a state where the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2a, the waste liquid unit 21 is in electrical contact with a contact 24 provided on the apparatus main body 2a side. Thus, since a control unit (not shown) of the ink jet printer 1 can access the IC chip 22, the control unit determines that the waste liquid unit 21 is not attached when communication with the IC chip 22 is impossible. Can do. That is, the IC chip 22 can be used as a sensor for detecting whether or not the waste liquid unit 21 is attached.

  However, even when such an IC chip 22 is not provided, the back unit engaging means 26 engages with the back unit 16 in a state where the waste liquid unit 21 is removed from the apparatus as described above, and Since the back unit 16 is prevented from shifting to the closed state, the recording operation and the maintenance operation of the ink jet recording 49 are continuously performed for a long time without using the IC chip 22 while the waste liquid unit 21 is pulled out. Can be prevented. That is, it is not necessary to provide a sensor for detecting the mounting state of the waste liquid unit 21.

  The embodiment described above is an example, and it goes without saying that the rear unit engaging means 26 can be prevented from shifting to the closed state of the rear unit 16 when the waste liquid unit 21 is removed, for example. Any configuration can be used. In the present embodiment, the rear unit 16 is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 2a to open and close the opening 23 that exposes the sheet conveyance path. However, the rear unit 16 can be rotated with respect to the apparatus main body 2a, for example. The opening 23 may be configured to be slidable and open / close by turning or sliding.

  The rear unit 16 opens and closes an opening that exposes the paper conveyance path, and the waste liquid unit 21 engages with such a rear unit 16, but is not limited to this, and other open / close bodies (for example, ink cartridges) A part of another opening / closing body provided in the printer, such as a cover for opening and closing the mounting opening, may be configured to be located in the extraction path of the waste liquid unit 21 and to cover at least a part of the waste liquid unit 21.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the rear unit engagement piece 27c protrudes in the opening / closing path (detachment path) of the rear unit 16, thereby preventing the rear unit 16 from being mounted when the waste liquid unit 21 is not mounted. However, for example, the rear unit 16 may be prevented from being locked when the waste liquid unit 21 is not mounted. Such a device can be realized, for example, by providing a shutter or the like that prevents the locking hook 17b from entering the recess 18a shown in FIG. 7 when the waste liquid unit 21 is not attached. The shutter is opened when the waste liquid unit 21 is mounted, and thereby the locking hook 17b can enter the recess 18a.

  Further, as described above, in the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a recording apparatus as an example of a liquid ejecting apparatus, and further to an ink jet printer as an example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, but can be applied to other liquid ejecting apparatuses in general.

  Here, the liquid ejecting apparatus uses an ink jet recording head, and is not limited to a recording apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, and a facsimile machine that discharges ink from the recording head to perform recording on a recording medium. And a device for ejecting a liquid corresponding to the application from a liquid ejecting head corresponding to the ink jet recording head to an ejected medium corresponding to the recording medium, and attaching the liquid to the ejected medium.

  In addition to the recording head, as a liquid ejecting head, a color material ejecting head used for manufacturing a color filter such as a liquid crystal display, and an electrode material (conductive paste) used for forming an electrode such as an organic EL display or a surface emitting display (FED) Examples thereof include an ejection head, a bioorganic matter ejection head used for biochip production, and a sample ejection head as a precision pipette.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Inkjet printer, 2 recording part, 2a apparatus main body, 2b housing | casing, 2c opening, 3 scanner part, 4 automatic document conveyance part, 5 paper cassette, 6 paper discharge port, 7 discharge receiving tray, 8 front cover, 9 operation Panel, 10 Document setting tray, 11 Document receiving tray, 16 Rear unit (opening / closing body), 16a side edge, 17 Lock member, 17a Operation button, 17b Locking hook, 18 Frame, 18a Recess, 19 Coil spring, 20 frame, 21 waste liquid unit, 21a recess, 21b recess, 22 IC chip, 23 opening, 24 contacts, 25 leaf spring, 26 back unit engagement means, 27 engagement member, 27a rotating shaft, 27b waste liquid unit engagement piece , 27c Rear unit engaging piece, 28 coil spring, 29 holding part, 30 paper support member , 31 Feed roller, 32 Separation roller, 36 Feed roller, 39 Reverse roller, 40 Separation roller, 41 Guide member, 45 Transport drive roller, 46 Transport driven roller, 47 Support member, 48 Carriage, 49 Inkjet recording head, 52 Driven roller, 53 discharge drive roller, 54 discharge driven roller, P1, P2 recording paper

Claims (4)

A liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto the ejection medium;
A waste liquid unit for storing waste liquid discarded from the liquid jet head;
An opening / closing body provided to be capable of opening and closing an opening that exposes a conveyance path for conveying an ejection target medium,
The waste liquid unit is detachably provided to the apparatus main body of the liquid ejecting apparatus,
When the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus body, the opening / closing body is allowed to move to a closed state, and when the waste liquid unit is removed from the apparatus body, the opening / closing body engages with the opening / closing body. Having an opening / closing body engaging means for preventing the opening / closing body from shifting to the closed state,
A liquid ejecting apparatus. 2. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing body engaging means includes a first engagement piece protruding on an attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit and a second engagement protruding on an opening / closing path of the opening / closing body. An engagement member having a rotating shaft located between the combination piece and the first engagement piece and the second engagement piece;
A biasing force that biases the engaging member in a rotational direction in which the first engaging piece protrudes on the attachment / detachment path of the waste liquid unit and the second engaging piece protrudes on the opening / closing path of the opening / closing body. Means comprising:
A liquid ejecting apparatus. 3. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the opening / closing body is pulled out of the waste liquid unit when the waste liquid unit is attached to the apparatus main body and the opening / closing body closes the opening. Located in the path and covering at least a part of the waste liquid unit,
A liquid ejecting apparatus. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the waste liquid unit has a clue part that serves as a clue when pulling out the waste liquid unit.
The liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the opening / closing body covers the clue part in a state where the opening is closed.

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