JP4539690B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink cartridge set that supplies ink to a recording apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an ink cartridge set that supplies ink to a recording apparatus by being accurately attached to the recording apparatus.

  In general, an ink jet printer, which is one of the recording apparatuses, feeds a print medium such as paper set in a paper feed tray one by one by a paper feed mechanism, and intermittently places it in the sub-scanning direction by a paper transport unit. While feeding a fixed amount, ink droplets are ejected onto a print medium by a recording head mounted on a carriage that reciprocates in the main scanning direction to record characters, images, and the like. Usually, an ink cartridge that contains black ink and an ink cartridge that contains ink of each color such as yellow, cyan, and magenta are independently mounted on the carriage of a full-color ink jet printer.

  The carriage is configured to be separable into a head mounting portion on which the recording head is mounted and a cartridge mounting portion on which an ink cartridge is mounted in order to increase maintenance efficiency of the recording head. The ink cartridge is equipped with a memory for storing information such as date of manufacture, model number, ink remaining amount, etc., and is connected to the memory via the connector and to the recording head. A circuit board is disposed on the head mounting portion of the carriage. It is designed to send and receive information about the ink and the like to and from the printing apparatus. An example of the memory for storing information is a contact-type information storage unit having a connection terminal part with a connection terminal exposed to the outside and a memory part electrically connected to the connection terminal. This connection terminal is electrically connected by contacting the connection terminal on the recording apparatus side. The memory unit stores information on ink and the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

International Publication No. 99/59823 Pamphlet

  In the above-described conventional ink jet printer, the connection terminal portion of the information storage portion of the ink cartridge cannot correctly transmit and receive information unless it is in reliable contact with the connection terminal on the recording apparatus side. In particular, when a plurality of small-area connection terminal regions are arranged close to each other, the alignment with the connection terminal on the recording apparatus side needs to be very accurate.

  Further, in the conventional ink jet printer, since the circuit board is disposed on the head mounting portion of the carriage, there is a risk that the recording head may be damaged when the recording head is detached from the apparatus main body and maintenance processing is performed.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge in which the connection terminal portion of the information storage portion of the ink cartridge and the connection terminal on the recording apparatus side can reliably contact each other.

  Furthermore, another object of the present invention is to provide an ink cartridge having a degree of freedom in the mounting position of the connecting terminal portion of the ink cartridge and the connecting terminal on the recording apparatus side.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of protecting a substrate on which an element for reading and writing ink information of an ink cartridge is mounted during maintenance processing of a recording head.

  These objects are achieved by a combination of features described in the independent claims. The dependent claims define further advantageous specific examples of the present invention.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the recording head, the first ink cartridge that supplies the internal ink to the recording head through the ink supply needle, and the internal ink through the ink supply needle are recorded on the recording head. And a first storage portion that stores the first and second ink cartridges in a state of being adjacent to each other. The two ink cartridges are adjacent to the bottom wall, the first side wall adjacent to the bottom wall, the second side wall opposite to the first side wall, and both the bottom wall and the second side wall. In addition, the ink supply needle can be inserted at a position deviated from the third side wall adjacent to the other ink cartridge, the fourth side wall opposite to the third side wall, and the first side wall of the bottom wall. Have ink supply holes An information storage unit having an ink supply portion, a connection terminal portion that, the positioning ribs disposed on the second side wall has a connection terminal portion is disposed in the second sidewall, a third The positioning rib is offset from the side wall, and the positioning rib is offset from the connection terminal portion toward the fourth side wall, and the first and second receiving portions can be engaged with the positioning rib , respectively. Are formed at the positions corresponding to the ink supply holes, the positioning grooves for positioning the first and second ink cartridges, the connection terminal portions provided at the positions corresponding to the connection terminal portions of the ink cartridge, and the ink supply holes. have a, an ink supply needle, which is, first and second ink cartridges, respectively, and having a bottom wall and opposed upper wall.

In the recording apparatus, one of the first and second ink cartridges may have three ink chambers .

In the recording apparatus, the first and second ink cartridges, respectively, of the second side wall may have a convex portion provided on the top wall side of the connecting terminal portion and the positioning ribs.
Furthermore, the convex portion may be formed to protrude outward from the positioning rib , and may have a surface substantially parallel to the second wall.
Furthermore, each of the first and second ink cartridges may have a reverse insertion preventing rib on a fourth side wall facing the third side wall.

  The above summary of the invention does not enumerate all the necessary features of the present invention, and sub-combinations of these feature groups can also be the invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims, and all combinations of features described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the solving means of the invention.

(Memory element protection mechanism)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire external configuration of an ink jet printer, which is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen obliquely from the front. The ink jet printer 100 includes a rectangular parallelepiped upper housing 101 and a lower housing 102 that extend as a whole in the width direction. The upper housing 101 and the lower housing 102 are fastened by a snap fit.

  A paper feed port 103 is formed on the rear side of the upper housing 101. The paper feed port 103 is provided with a paper feed tray 110 on which papers to be fed are stacked and loaded, and a paper feed guide 111 aligned with one end of the paper feed tray 110. The paper feed tray 110 is disposed so as to protrude obliquely upward and rearward from the paper feed guide 111 and holds the paper in an inclined state.

  A paper discharge port 104 is formed on the front side of the upper housing 101. The paper discharge port 104 is provided with a paper discharge stacker 120 on which sheets to be discharged are stacked. The paper discharge stacker 120 can be stored on the back side of the lower housing 102 from the paper discharge port 104 when not in use, and can be pulled out obliquely upward and forward from the paper discharge port 104 when in use. It is supposed to be received in the state.

  Further, the paper discharge port 104 is provided with a stacker holding portion 121 that holds the non-paper discharge side end portion of the paper discharge stacker 120 along the width direction when the paper discharge stacker 120 is pulled out. In FIG. 1, a state where the paper discharge stacker 120 is housed on the back side of the lower housing 102 is shown.

  A window portion 105 is formed from the upper portion of the upper housing 101 to the front surface. The window 105 is covered with a transparent or translucent curved openable / closable cover 106. By opening the cover 106, ink cartridge replacement work, internal mechanism maintenance work, and the like can be easily performed. Further, on the left rear side of the upper housing 101, a push button type power system switch 131 and an operation system switch 132 are arranged.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire internal configuration when the upper housing 101 of the ink jet printer 100 of FIG. 1 is removed, as viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. 3 is a sectional side view of the main part. A main board 130 shown in FIG. 2 constituting the printer controller is arranged vertically on the lower housing 102, and the recording means 140 shown in FIG. 2 constituting the print engine and the paper supply shown in FIG. Means 150, transport means 160 and the like are arranged.

  The main board 130 is mounted with control elements and storage elements such as CPU, ROM, RAM, and ASIC (not shown), and various other circuit elements, and the upper end thereof has the power switch 131 and the operation system. Light emitting diodes 133 and 134 are provided so that the user can confirm that the switch is turned on by emitting light when the switch 132 is pressed.

  The recording unit 140 includes a carriage 141, a recording head 142, a carriage motor 143, a timing belt 144, a suction pump 145, a detection device, and the like. The sheet conveyed by the conveying means 160 is recorded by the recording head 142 mounted on the carriage 141 scanned by the carriage motor 143 and the timing belt 144. The recording head 142 is supplied with each color ink from a total of four ink cartridges 146, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, housed in the carriage 141 so that full color printing is possible.

  The supply unit 150 includes a paper feed tray 110, a paper feed guide 111, a paper feed roller 151, a hopper 152, a separation pad 153, and the like. The paper P stacked and placed on the paper feed tray 110 and aligned by the paper feed guide 111 is pressed against the paper feed roller 151 by the separation pad 153 as the hopper 152 rises as the paper feed roller 151 rotates, so that the topmost paper. The sheets are separated from P one by one and fed to the conveying means 160.

  The transport unit 160 includes a paper feed roller 161 and a driven roller 162, a paper discharge roller 163 and a jagged roller 164, a paper feed motor 165, a paper discharge stacker 120, and the like. The paper P supplied from the supply means 150 is nipped by the paper feed roller 161 and the driven roller 162 driven by the paper feed motor 165, conveyed to the recording means 140, and further discharged by the paper feed motor 165. The paper is sandwiched between the paper roller 163 and the jagged roller 164 and conveyed to the paper discharge stacker 120.

  4 is a side view showing the carriage 141, FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which a part thereof is removed. The carriage 141 includes a main body portion 141a and a cover portion 141b (see FIGS. 4 and 5). A recording head 142 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is mounted on the bottom surface of the main body 141a of the carriage 141, and an ink cartridge 146B (see FIG. 6) that stores black ink inside the main body 141a of the carriage 141. ), And an ink cartridge 146C (see FIG. 6) that stores ink of each color such as yellow, cyan, and magenta.

  Carriage guides 41 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) are integrally formed at both sides on the back side of the main body 141a of the carriage 141 at a predetermined interval. Then, a guide member 43 (see FIG. 4) on which the carriage guide portion 41 holds and slides on a main frame 107 (see FIG. 4) arranged in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction and in a vertical direction. ) Is formed. This guide member 43 is disposed in the same manner as the main frame 107, and is bent so that the cross-section at the tip is Z-shaped. In the bent portion of the guide member 43, the carriage guide 41 is formed with a pair of projections 41a and 41b that sandwich the horizontal portion 43a and a pair of projections 41c and 41d that sandwich the vertical portion 43b. Further, a sliding portion 42 (see FIG. 4) is integrally formed at the center of the lower surface of the front side of the main body 141a of the carriage 141. A guide member 44 (see FIG. 4) on which the sliding portion 42 slides is formed on the paper discharge frame 108 disposed in a direction perpendicular to the paper transport direction and in the horizontal direction.

  The carriage 141 is also configured to be separable into a head mounting portion 141A on which the recording head 142 is mounted and a cartridge mounting portion 141B on which the ink cartridges 146B and 146C are mounted in order to increase the maintenance efficiency of the recording head 142 as in the prior art. Has been. A circuit board 148 (see FIG. 6) including connectors 147b and 147c (see FIG. 6) is disposed on the front inner wall of the cartridge mounting portion 141B.

  The circuit board 148 is mounted on the front side of the ink cartridges 146B and 146C, and includes memories 149b and 149c (including connectors for storing ink-related information such as the date of manufacture, model number, and remaining amount of ink). 6) and connectors 147b and 147c. The substrate connected to the recording head 142 is separated from the circuit substrate 148 and disposed on the rear side inner wall of the head mounting portion 141A.

  According to such a configuration, the recording head 142 is mounted on the head mounting portion 141A, and the circuit board 148 is disposed on the cartridge mounting portion 141B. 142 and the circuit board 148 can be separated, and the circuit board 148 can be protected.

  In addition, positioning ribs 146Ba and 146Ca for connecting the memories 149b and 149c including connectors and the connectors 147b and 147c of the circuit board 148 are formed on the front side of the ink cartridges 146B and 146C. That is, the positioning ribs 146Ba and 146Ca are fitted into the grooves 141Ba and 141Bb provided on the front surface side of the cartridge mounting portion 141B when the ink cartridges 146B and 146C are mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 141B of the carriage 141. As a result, the memories 149b and 149c including the connectors and the connectors 147b and 147c of the circuit board 148 are positioned.

  Further, on the side surface side of the ink cartridges 146B and 146C, erroneous mounting preventing ribs 146Bb and 146Cb are formed so as not to be erroneously mounted on other types of carriages. That is, the erroneous mounting preventing ribs 146Bb and 146Cb are formed in the grooves 141Bc and 141Bd provided on the side surface of the cartridge mounting portion 141B when the ink cartridges 146B and 146C are mounted on the cartridge mounting portion 141B of the carriage 141. The cover 141b can be closed normally, but it cannot be mounted by colliding with other types of carriages, so that the cover can be closed normally. It is designed to prevent wearing.

  FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of an example of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 8 is a bottom perspective view of the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge 210 includes an ink cartridge main body 220, an ink supply unit 240, an information storage unit 260, and a positioning unit 280.

  The ink cartridge main body 220 contains ink therein. The ink cartridge main body 220 contains, for example, black ink. In an example of the ink cartridge main body 220, a single substantially rectangular parallelepiped container main body is filled with a porous material (not shown) that is an ink-impregnated member containing ink. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and as another example, ink is directly stored in a hollow container body, and ink is selectively supplied to the recording apparatus by an opening / closing means such as a valve provided in the ink supply unit. May be.

  The ink supply unit 240 has an ink supply hole 242 provided in the bottom surface 222 of the ink cartridge main body 220. The ink supply hole 242 is provided at a position on the bottom surface 222 of the ink cartridge main body 220 that is biased toward the first side wall 224 that intersects the bottom surface 222. Here, the bottom surface and the side wall are defined by defining the surface on which the ink supply unit 240 is provided as the bottom surface, and the bottom surface is always positioned downward when the ink cartridge 210 is in use. It does not represent that.

  The information storage unit 260 includes a storage device that stores information about ink such as the type of ink cartridge, the type of ink held by the ink cartridge, the color, and the existing amount of ink. An example of the information storage unit 260 is a contact type IC chip. The contact-type IC chip has a substrate, a connection terminal portion including a plurality of contacts exposed on the front side of the substrate, and a memory provided on the back side of the substrate. Information information in the memory is read or rewritten by the connection.

  In this embodiment, the information storage unit 260 is a contact type and has a connection terminal unit 262 including seven contacts exposed to the outside. The connection terminal portion 262 is provided on the second side wall 226 that intersects the bottom surface 222 of the ink cartridge main body 220 and faces the first side wall 224. However, the number of contacts in the contact type connection terminal portion is not limited to seven. Further, only the connection terminal portion 262 is provided on the second side wall 226, while the memory of the information storage unit 260 is disposed at an appropriate position on the ink cartridge main body 220 such as another side wall, and the connection terminal unit 262 and the information storage unit For example, a structure may be employed in which the memory is electrically connected to the memory by a flexible printed circuit (FPC). Furthermore, it is not limited to the contact type, and may be a non-contact type information storage unit using magnetism or optics.

FIG. 9A is a plan view of the ink cartridge 210 of this embodiment as viewed from the second side wall 226 side. FIG. 9B is a plan view of the ink cartridge 210 as viewed from the third side wall 227. On the second side wall 226, a positioning unit 280 having a function of mounting the ink cartridge 210 at an appropriate position on the recording apparatus is provided. The positioning portion 280 has positioning ribs 282 that protrude from the second side wall 226 and extend in the direction of the bottom surface 222. As seen in FIG. 9 (a), the positioning ribs 282 are located outside the range of the width W ₁ of the connection terminal portion. That is, the center line (one-dot chain line) of the positioning rib 282 is outside the width W ₁ (between two chain lines) of the connection terminal portion.

  The ink cartridge 210 further includes a convex portion 290 provided on the upper surface side of the connection terminal portion 262 and the positioning rib 282 of the information storage portion 260. The convex portion 290 has a surface 292 whose surface position protrudes from the positioning rib 282 and substantially parallel to the second side wall. That is, in FIG. 9B, the surface position (broken line) of the surface 292 of the convex portion 290 protrudes from the positioning rib 282 (one-dot chain line) and the connection terminal portion 262 (two-dot chain line) (left side in the figure). ). Thereby, when the user handles the ink cartridge 210, the convex portion 290 comes into contact with the outside, so that the connection terminal portion 262 and the positioning rib 282 can be protected from an external impact or the like. In particular, even if the user accidentally drops the ink cartridge 210 on the floor, the connection terminal portion 262 does not come into contact with the floor, so that the user is not damaged.

  9A, the center of the connection terminal portion 262, that is, the vertical center line of the connection terminal at the center of the upper row in the embodiment of FIG. 9A, is the central axis of the ink supply hole. It is arranged at a position deviated from (two-dot chain line). The connection terminal portion 262 is arranged in the vicinity of the third side wall 227 that intersects both the bottom surface 222 and the second side wall 226 on the second side wall 226. The ink cartridge 210 further includes a reverse insertion preventing rib 229 provided on the fourth side wall 228 facing the third side wall 227 where the connection terminal portion 262 is biased.

  FIG. 10 is a top perspective view of another example of the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 11 is a bottom perspective view of the ink cartridge. The ink cartridge 310 includes an ink cartridge main body 320, an ink supply unit 340, an information storage unit 360, and a positioning unit 380.

  FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the ink cartridge 310. The ink cartridge main body 320 has partition walls 333 and 335 provided therein. The ink cartridge main body 320 further includes a plurality of ink chambers 332, 334, and 336 that are partitioned by the partition walls 333 and 335 and store different inks. The ink cartridge main body 320 of the embodiment shown in FIG. 12 includes an ink chamber 332 formed by an outer wall 331 and a partition wall 333, an ink chamber 334 formed by the partition wall 333 and the partition wall 335, a partition wall 335, and an outer wall 337. And three ink chambers, an ink chamber 336 made of In these ink chambers, for example, the ink chamber 332 contains cyan ink, the ink chamber 334 contains magenta ink, and the ink chamber 336 contains yellow ink. Further, the ink cartridge body 320 has a common lid 339 that is substantially parallel to the bottom surface 322. FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining the partition wall and the ink chamber, and other configurations such as a porous material for holding ink are omitted.

  The ink supply unit 340 is provided on the bottom surface 322 of the ink cartridge body 310 corresponding to each of the plurality of ink chambers 332, 334, and 336, and is biased toward the first side wall 324 that intersects the bottom surface 322 of the ink cartridge body 320. Ink supply holes 342, 344, and 346 are located.

  The information storage unit 360 includes a connection terminal unit 362. The connection terminal portion 362 is provided at a position 364 corresponding to the partition wall 333 on the second side wall 326 that intersects the bottom surface 322 of the ink cartridge main body 320 and faces the first side wall 324. The information storage unit 360 has the same configuration and operation as the information storage unit 260 of the ink cartridge 210 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 13A is a plan view of the ink cartridge 310 of this embodiment as viewed from the second side wall 326 side. FIG. 13B is a plan view of the ink cartridge 310 viewed from the fourth side wall 328.

As shown in FIG. 13A, the center of the connection terminal portion 362 is arranged at a position shifted from the center axis (two-dot chain line) of the ink supply hole. The connection terminal portion 362 is disposed on the second side wall 326 in the vicinity of the third side wall 327 that intersects both the bottom surface 322 and the second side wall 326. As described above, the connection terminal portion 362 is disposed at a position corresponding to the partition wall 333 closer to the third side wall 327. A center line (a chain line) at a position corresponding to the partition wall 333 is configured to be positioned within the width W ₂ (between two broken lines) of the connection terminal portion 362 of the information storage unit 360. Furthermore, in the ink cartridge 310 according to this embodiment, the center line of the connection terminal portion 362 substantially coincides with the center line of the position corresponding to the partition wall 333.

Similar to the ink cartridge 210, the positioning portion 380 of the ink cartridge 310 has positioning ribs 382 that extend from the second side wall 326 toward the bottom surface 322. Positioning rib 382 is located outside of the width W ₂ of the connecting terminal portion. That is, in FIG. 13A, the center line (one-dot chain line) of the positioning rib 382 is outside the range of the width W ₂ of the connection terminal portion.

  Similar to the ink cartridge 210 according to the previous embodiment, the ink cartridge 310 further includes a convex portion 390 provided on the upper surface side of the connection terminal portion 362 and the positioning rib 382 of the information storage portion 360. The convex portion 390 has a surface 392 whose surface position protrudes from the positioning rib 382 and substantially parallel to the second side wall 326. That is, in FIG. 13B, the surface position (broken line) of the surface 392 of the convex portion 390 protrudes from the positioning rib 382 (one-dot chain line) and the connection terminal portion 362 (two-dot chain line) (left side in the figure). Direction).

  The ink cartridge 310 further includes a reverse insertion preventing rib 329 provided on the fourth side wall 328 facing the third side wall 327 where the connection terminal portion 362 is biased.

  FIG. 14 is a top perspective view of the carriage of the recording apparatus in which two ink cartridges are mounted. The carriage 400 includes a first storage unit 410 that stores the ink cartridge 210 that stores the black ink described above, and a second storage unit 450 that stores the ink cartridge 310 that stores cyan, magenta, and yellow ink.

In the first storage unit 410, a connection terminal unit 420 is provided at a position corresponding to the connection terminal unit 262 of the information storage unit 260 when the ink cartridge 210 is stored. Further, the first storage portion 410 has the same side wall as the connection terminal portion 420, and is a positioning groove in which the positioning rib 282 of the ink cartridge 210 engages at a position farther from the second storage portion 450 than the connection terminal portion 420. 430. Furthermore, the first storage unit 410 has a notch 440 on the side wall that faces the second storage unit 450 and with which the reverse insertion preventing rib 282 of the ink cartridge 210 is engaged.

Although not visible from the direction of FIG. 14, an ink supply needle portion 412 is provided on the bottom surface of the first storage portion 410 at a position corresponding to the ink supply portion 240 of the ink cartridge 210. The ink supply needle portion 412 has a hollow ink supply needle and an end surface on the bottom surface side of the carriage 400 in the ink supply needle.

Similar to the first storage unit 410, the second storage unit 450 is provided with a connection terminal unit 460 at a position corresponding to the connection terminal unit 362 of the information storage unit 360 when the ink cartridge 310 is stored. Further, the second storage portion 450 has the same side wall as the connection terminal portion 460, and a positioning groove that engages the positioning rib 382 of the ink cartridge 310 at a position farther from the first storage portion 410 than the connection terminal portion 460. 470. Furthermore, the second storage portion 450 has a cutout portion 480 that engages with the reverse insertion prevention rib 382 of the ink cartridge 310 on the side wall facing the first storage portion 410. Further, an ink supply needle portion 452 is provided on the bottom surface of the second storage portion 410, similarly to the first storage portion . The configuration of the ink supply needle portion 452 is the same as that of the ink supply needle portion 452 in the first storage portion 410, but corresponds to the ink cartridge 310 having three ink supply holes 342, 344, and 346. There are three ink supply needles.

  FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between two ink cartridges mounted on the carriage. As shown in FIG. 15, the ink cartridge 210 and the ink cartridge 310 are mounted on the carriage 400 so as to be adjacent to each other. In this case, the third side surface 227 of the ink cartridge 210 and the third side surface 327 of the ink cartridge 310 face each other.

  As described above, the connection terminal portion 262 of the ink cartridge 210 is located offset to the third side surface 227, and the connection terminal portion 362 of the ink cartridge 310 is located offset to the third side surface 327. ing. That is, the connection terminal portion 262 of the ink cartridge 210 and the connection terminal portion 362 of the ink cartridge 310 are disposed so as to be close to each other and mounted on the carriage. Therefore, like the carriage 400 shown in FIG. 14, the connection terminal 420 of the first housing portion 410 and the connection terminal 460 of the second housing portion 450 can be arranged close to each other, and wiring such as FPC is unnecessarily long. There is no need to run around.

  Further, as described above, the reverse insertion preventing rib 229 of the ink cartridge 210 is disposed on the fourth side surface 228 facing the third side surface 227, and the reverse insertion preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310 is disposed on the third side surface 327. It is arranged on the fourth side surface 328 facing the. That is, the reverse insertion prevention rib 229 of the ink cartridge 210 and the reverse insertion prevention rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310 are not in a position facing each other. Therefore, the carriage 400 can be mounted on the adjacent third side surfaces 227 and 327 at a very close distance, and the overall size of the carriage 400 can be reduced.

  FIGS. 16A and 16B are partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of mounting the ink cartridge on the carriage. FIGS. 16A and 16B are cross-sectional views of the second accommodating portion 450 of the carriage 400 in a plane including the positioning groove 470. FIG. Further, although an example in which the ink cartridge 310 is mounted in the second storage portion 450 of the carriage 400 will be described, the same applies to the case where the ink cartridge 210 is mounted in the first storage portion 410 of the carriage 400.

  As shown in FIG. 16A, the ink cartridge 310 is arranged in a normal direction with respect to the second storage portion 450 of the carriage 400. Here, the normal direction means that the ink supply part 340 of the ink cartridge 310 is opposed to the ink supply needle part 452 of the second storage part 450 and the connection terminal part 362 of the ink cartridge 310 is the connection terminal part 460 of the storage part 450. The direction to face. The ink cartridge 310 arranged in the normal direction is inserted into the second storage portion 450 of the carriage 400.

  As illustrated in FIG. 16B, when the ink cartridge 310 is inserted from the state illustrated in FIG. 16A, the positioning rib 382 of the ink cartridge 310 is guided to the positioning groove 470 of the second storage portion 450. Further, the reverse insertion preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310 is received and engaged with the notch portion 480 of the second storage portion 450.

  When the ink cartridge 310 is further inserted, the ink supply needle part 452 of the second storage part 450 enters the ink supply part 340 of the ink cartridge 310. The end surface of the ink supply unit 340 of the ink cartridge 310 abuts on the end surface of the ink supply needle unit 452 of the second storage unit 450, and the insertion is completed. As a result, the ink cartridge 310 supplies ink to the recording apparatus through the ink supply needle unit 452.

  FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B are other partial cross-sectional views showing the operation of mounting the ink cartridge on the carriage. FIGS. 17A and 17B are cross-sectional views of the second housing portion 450 of the carriage 400 in a plane that does not include the positioning groove 470.

  FIG. 17A corresponds to FIG. 16A and shows a state in which the ink cartridge 310 is arranged in a normal direction with respect to the second storage portion 450 of the carriage 400. FIG. 17B corresponds to FIG. 16B, and shows a state where the ink cartridge 310 is mounted in the second storage portion 450 of the carriage 400.

  As shown in FIG. 17B, when the end surface of the ink supply unit 340 of the ink cartridge 310 comes into contact with the end surface of the ink supply needle unit 452 of the second storage unit 450, the lower end surface of the convex portion 290 of the ink cartridge 310 Comes into contact with the surface 472 of the second housing portion 450.

  The ink cartridge 310 is positioned by the ink supply needle 452 entering the ink supply unit 340 and is also positioned by the positioning rib 382 engaging with the positioning groove 470. Therefore, since the positioning rib 382 positions the same second side surface 326, the connection terminal portion 362 of the ink cartridge 310 is connected to the connection terminal portion 460 of the second storage portion 450 even when the connection terminal portion 362 is away from the ink supply portion 340. And connected with high accuracy. Therefore, the information acquired when the connection terminal portion 460 of the second storage portion 450 comes into contact with the connection terminal portion 262 of the ink cartridge 310 can be reliably sent to the recording apparatus side through the wiring 462 such as an FPC.

Since the positioning rib 382 of the ink cartridge 310 is located outside the width W ₂ of the connection terminal portion, the positioning rib 382 is connected to the second storage portion 450 when the ink cartridge 310 is inserted into the second storage portion 450. The terminal portion 460 can be prevented from being damaged.

Here, it is assumed that when the ink cartridge 210 is already mounted, the ink cartridge 310 is arranged in a reverse direction other than the normal direction. That is, when the ink cartridge 310 is arranged such that the first side surface 324 is on the connection terminal portion 460 side of the second storage portion 450 and the second side surface 326 is on the ink supply needle portion 452 side of the second storage portion 450. To do. In this state, when the ink cartridge 310 is to be mounted in the second storage portion 450 , the reverse insertion preventing rib 329 of the ink cartridge 310 contacts the ink cartridge 210. Therefore, the ink cartridge 310 is not inserted any more. As a result, the ink cartridge 310 is prevented from being attached to the second storage portion 450 in the reverse direction.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the positioning portion for positioning with respect to the carriage of the recording apparatus is provided on the same surface as the connection terminal portion in the ink cartridge, the connection terminal portion is provided at a position away from the ink supply portion. Even if it is, it can contact with the connection terminal part of a carriage reliably. Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the place where the connection terminal portion is provided in the ink cartridge.

  Further, when the connection terminal portion is provided at a position corresponding to the partition wall of the ink cartridge main body, the connection of the carriage is less affected by deformation of the ink cartridge main body due to processing or pressure reduction during the manufacture of the ink cartridge. The terminal portion can be contacted more reliably.

  Although the present invention has been described with reference to various embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be applied to other embodiments within the scope of the invention described in the claims. Of course. For example, although an ink jet printer has been described as an example of the recording apparatus, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to, for example, an ink jet facsimile apparatus and a copying apparatus.

  As described above, according to the present invention, since the positioning portion for positioning with respect to the recording apparatus is provided on the same surface as the connection terminal portion in the ink cartridge, the connection terminal portion is provided at a position away from the ink supply portion. Even if it is, it can be surely brought into contact with the connection terminal portion on the recording apparatus side. Therefore, it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in the place where the connection terminal portion is provided in the ink cartridge.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, even if the head mounting portion is removed from the apparatus main body during the maintenance process of the recording head, the substrate on which the element for reading and writing information on the ink of the ink cartridge is mounted can be left in the apparatus main body. Therefore, the substrate can be protected.

1 is a perspective view of an entire external configuration of an ink jet printer that is one of recording apparatuses according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed obliquely from the front. FIG. It is the perspective view which looked at the whole internal structure when the upper housing of the ink jet printer of Drawing 1 was removed from the slanting front. FIG. 3 is a sectional side view showing a main part of the ink jet printer of FIG. 2. It is a side view which shows the carriage of the ink jet type printer of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the carriage of FIG. 4. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed a part of carriage of FIG. It is a top perspective view of an example of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application. It is a bottom perspective view of the ink cartridge. (A) is a plan view of the ink cartridge as viewed from the second side wall, and (b) is a plan view of the ink cartridge as viewed from the third side wall. FIG. 7 is a top perspective view of another example of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present application. It is a bottom perspective view of the ink cartridge. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an ink cartridge. FIG. (A) is a plan view of the ink cartridge as viewed from the second side wall, and (b) is a plan view of the ink cartridge as viewed from the fourth side wall. FIG. 4 is a top perspective view of a carriage of a recording apparatus in which two ink cartridges are mounted. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between two ink cartridges mounted on a carriage. (A) And (b) is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the operation | movement with which an ink cartridge is mounted in a carriage. (A) And (b) is another fragmentary sectional view which shows the operation | movement with which an ink cartridge is mounted in a carriage.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Inkjet printer 101 ... Upper housing 102 ... Lower housing 103 ... Paper feed port 104 ... Paper discharge port 105 ... Window part 106 ... Cover 110 ... Paper feed tray 111 ... Paper feed guide 120 ... Paper discharge stacker 130 ... Main board 140 ... Recording means 141 ... Carriage 141a ... Main body 141b ... Cover 141A ... Head mounting part 141B ... Cartridge mounting part 142 ... Recording head 143 ... Carrying motor 144 ... Timing belt 145 ... Suction pumps 146, 146B, 146C ... Ink cartridges 147b, 147c ... Connector 148: Circuit board 149b, 149c ... Memory 150 ... Supply means 151 ... Paper feed roller 160 ... Conveyance means 161 ... Paper feed roller 165 ... Paper feed motor 210, 310 ... A Ink cartridge 220, 320 ... Ink cartridge body 222, 322 ... Bottom 224, 324 ... First side 226, 326 ... Second side 227, 327 ... Third side 228, 328 ... Fourth side 229, 329 ... Reverse insertion prevention rib 240, 340 ... Ink supply unit 242, 342, 344, 346 ... Ink supply hole 260, 360 ... Information storage unit 262, 362 ... Connection terminal unit 280, 380 ... Positioning unit 282, 382 ... Positioning rib 400 ... Carriage

Claims (5)

A recording head;
A first ink cartridge for supplying internal ink to the recording head via an ink supply needle;
A second ink cartridge for supplying internal ink to the recording head via an ink supply needle;
First and second storage portions for storing the first and second ink cartridges adjacent to each other;
A recording device comprising:
The first and second ink cartridges are respectively
The bottom wall,
A first side wall adjacent to the bottom wall;
A second side wall opposite the first side wall;
A third side wall adjacent to both the bottom wall and the second side wall and adjacent to the other ink cartridge;
A fourth side wall facing the third side wall;
An ink supply part provided at a position biased to the first side wall of the bottom wall and having an ink supply hole formed so that the ink supply needle can be inserted;
An information storage unit having a connection terminal unit;
Positioning ribs disposed on the second side wall;
Have
The connection terminal portion is disposed on the second side wall and is biased to the third side wall,
The positioning rib is located on the fourth side wall more than the connection terminal portion;
The first and second accommodating portions are respectively
A positioning groove formed so as to be engageable with the positioning rib and for positioning the first and second ink cartridges;
A connection terminal portion provided at a position corresponding to the connection terminal portion of the ink cartridge;
The ink supply needle provided at a position corresponding to the ink supply hole;
I have a,
Each of the first and second ink cartridges has an upper wall facing the bottom wall .   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the first and second ink cartridges has three ink chambers. It said first and second ink cartridges, respectively, claims, characterized in that it has before Symbol second sidewall, a convex portion provided in the upper wall side of the connection terminal portion and the positioning ribs The recording apparatus according to 1 or 2. The convex portion, the recording apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that together with being formed so as to protrude outward than the positioning ribs, having the second side wall substantially parallel to the plane. Said first and second ink cartridges, respectively, according to the third any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that it comprises a fourth Gyaku挿prevention ribs on the side walls of the side walls facing the Recording device.

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