JP4904985B2 - Assembly structure of cartridge holder and recording apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cartridge holder assembling structure in which a plurality of cartridge holders for holding an ink cartridge are assembled, and a recording apparatus including the same.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet recording apparatus including a recording head that performs printing by ejecting ink droplets from nozzles onto a recording medium has been widely used.
The recording apparatus includes a carriage and a recording head mounted on the carriage, and ejects ink from nozzles formed on the recording head while moving the carriage relative to the recording medium. Print.

This type of recording apparatus is known in which a plurality of cartridge holders are provided in order to store and hold a plurality of ink cartridges that store printing ink (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Some ink cartridges contain an ink pack containing ink inside the cartridge case. By introducing pressurized air into the cartridge case, the ink pack is crushed to draw out ink (ink). It is derived from the supply needle) and supplied to the recording head.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 13, in the cartridge holder unit 100, a plurality of cartridge holders 100a are directly fixed to the plate-shaped flow path unit 101 by screws 102 and assembled. The flow path unit 101 is usually formed of resin, and an air outlet member 103 for pressurizing air into the ink cartridge accommodated in the cartridge holder 100a is provided corresponding to the cartridge holder 100a. One end of a flexible pipe (not shown) is attached to the air outlet member 103, and the other end is attached to an air introduction member 107 attached to the cartridge holder 100a. Thereby, the pressurized air introduced into the air flow path (not shown) in the flow path unit 101 passes through the flexible pipe and the air introduction member 107 from the air outlet member 103 to the air chamber in the cartridge holder 100a. To be supplied. Further, an ink flow path 104 for sending ink pressure-fed from the ink cartridge to the ink jet head is provided corresponding to the cartridge holder 100 a, and each ink flow path 104 is connected to the ink supply pipe 106 via the choke valve 105. It is connected to. The ink supply tube 106 is connected to an ink supply tube for supplying ink to the inkjet head.

JP 2006-82291 A

  By the way, the flow path unit as described above is a plate-like member made of resin, and thus is easily elastically deformed. In a recording apparatus using many ink cartridges, many cartridge holders are assembled to the flow path unit. In this case, the flow path unit is easily elastically deformed, and the mounting positions of a plurality of cartridge holders are Misalignment is likely to occur. In addition, when the ink cartridge is attached to or removed from the cartridge holder, the flow path unit is easily deformed because it receives a force, the attachment / detachment workability of the ink cartridge is deteriorated, and the entire cartridge holder unit is easily deformed. There was an inconvenience.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge holder assembling structure and a recording apparatus that improve the assemblability of a plurality of cartridge holders, stabilize the shape of the entire cartridge holder unit, and have good detachability of ink cartridges. It is to provide.

  An assembly structure of a cartridge holder according to the present invention capable of solving the above-described problems includes an air flow path for supplying pressurized air into the ink cartridge in order to pressure-feed ink contained in the ink cartridge. A cartridge holder assembly structure in which a plurality of cartridge holders for holding the ink cartridge are assembled in parallel to a flow path unit having an ink flow path for supplying the ink, The plurality of cartridge holders are assembled and fixed together with the flow path unit to a frame having higher rigidity than the flow path unit.

  In the assembly structure of the cartridge holder thus configured, when assembling a plurality of cartridge holders arranged in parallel to the flow path unit, the cartridge holder is fixed together with the flow path unit to a frame having a rigidity higher than that of the flow path unit. The cartridge holder can be accurately positioned with respect to the flow path unit. In addition, since the cartridge holder after assembly is supported by a high-rigidity frame, when the ink cartridge is installed in or removed from the cartridge holder, the force is received by the frame. Is not deformed, and the position of the cartridge holder is stabilized. Therefore, the detachability workability of the ink cartridge is good.

  Moreover, in the assembly structure of the cartridge holder according to the present invention, it is preferable that the flow path unit is fixed between the plurality of cartridge holders arranged in parallel and the frame.

  In the assembly structure of the cartridge holder configured as described above, the flow path unit that is easily deformed can be fixed so as to be sandwiched between the plurality of cartridge holders and the frame, so that the shape stability of the flow path unit is improved. It can be increased and the reliability of the flow path unit is improved.

  Moreover, in the assembly structure of the cartridge holder according to the present invention, the cartridge holder and the flow path unit are fixed by a first fixing member, and the cartridge holder, the flow path unit, and the frame are a second fixing member. It is preferable to be fixed by.

  In the assembly structure of the cartridge holder configured as described above, the cartridge holder is fixed to the flow path unit by the first fixing member, and the cartridge holder and the flow path unit are assembled to the frame together by the second fixing member. Therefore, since the cartridge holder and the flow path unit can be assembled first, and then the cartridge holder and the flow path unit can be assembled to the frame, the assembling workability is improved. A screw or the like can be used for the first and second fixing members.

  In addition, a recording apparatus according to the present invention that can solve the above-described problems includes an assembly structure of the cartridge holder according to the present invention, and the frame is fixed to a base of the recording apparatus.

  In the recording apparatus configured as described above, the plurality of cartridge holders and the flow path unit are fixed to a highly rigid frame, and the frame is further fixed to the base of the recording apparatus. Therefore, when the ink cartridge is attached to or removed from the cartridge holder, the force is received by the frame and the base, so that the flow path unit is not deformed and the position of the cartridge holder is stabilized. Therefore, the detachability workability of the ink cartridge is good. Further, since the flow path unit is supported with high rigidity and does not deform, a recording apparatus having a highly reliable ink supply mechanism can be obtained.

Embodiments of a cartridge holder assembly structure and a recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
In this embodiment, a case where the recording apparatus is applied to a publisher that is a media processing apparatus will be described as an example.
1 is an external perspective view of the publisher (media processing apparatus), FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the publisher with the case removed, and FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the publisher with the case removed. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a recording device portion installed in the publisher, and FIG. 5 is an internal schematic configuration diagram of the publisher.

  The publisher 1 is a media processing apparatus that writes data on a disk-shaped medium such as a CD or DVD and prints on the label surface of the medium, and includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 2. Opening and closing doors 3 and 4 that can be opened and closed to the left and right are attached to the front surface of the case 2. An operation surface 5 on which display lamps, operation buttons, and the like are arranged is provided at the upper right end portion of the case 2, and a media discharge port 6 is provided at the lower end of the case 2.

  The open / close door 3 on the right side when viewed from the front is locked in a closed state, and a reading unit for biometric authentication (not shown) such as a fingerprint sensor is arranged on the operation surface 5 and registered in advance. Only can be opened and closed. The open / close door 3 can also be opened and closed by a command from a later-described upper device 97 side (see FIG. 5) that is communicably connected to the publisher 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing door 4 on the left side when viewed from the front is for opening and closing when the ink cartridge 12 of the label printer (recording apparatus) 11 is replaced, and when the opening / closing door 4 is opened, it is arranged in the vertical direction. The cartridge mounting portion 14 having the plurality of cartridge holders 13 is exposed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the case 2 of the publisher 1, a blank media storage unit 21 capable of stacking a plurality of unused blank media MA that has not been subjected to data writing processing, and a created media MB Are stored vertically in a coaxial state. In addition, when the used media MC is disposed of, the used media MC is set in the created storage unit 22.

  The blank media storage unit 21 includes a slide plate 23 that can be pulled out horizontally forward, and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 24 and 25 arranged vertically on the slide plate 23. Thus, a stacker that can receive the blank medium MA from the upper side and can be stored in a coaxially stacked state is configured. The operation of storing or replenishing the blank media MA in the blank media storage unit 21 can be easily performed by opening the door 3 and pulling the slide plate 23 forward.

  The lower created media storage unit 22 has the same structure, and includes a slide plate 26 that can be pulled out horizontally forward and a pair of left and right arc-shaped frame plates 27 and 28 that are arranged vertically on the upper surface. Thus, a stacker that can receive the created media MB or the used media MC from above and store them in a coaxially stacked state is configured.

  When disposing of the used media MC, it is possible to open the door 3 and set the used media MC in the created media storage unit 22 to perform the disposing operation. Further, the created media MB (that is, the medium on which data writing and label surface printing have been completed) can be taken out from the open / close door 3.

  A media transport mechanism 31 is disposed behind the blank media storage unit 21 and the created media storage unit 22. The media transport mechanism 31 includes a chassis 32 that is vertically attached to the case 2, a vertical guide shaft 35 that is vertically stretched between upper and lower horizontal support plate portions 33 and 34 of the chassis 32, and the vertical And a media carrier 36 attached to the guide shaft 35. The media carrier 36 can be moved up and down along the vertical guide shaft 35 by a drive motor 37 and can be swung left and right about the vertical guide shaft 35. The media transported to the media discharge port 6 by the media transport mechanism 31 can be taken out from the media discharge port 6.

Two media drives 41 that are stacked one above the other are disposed at the side portions of the upper and lower storage units 21 and 22 and the media transport mechanism 31, and a carriage 62 (described later) of the label printer 11 is disposed below these media drives 41. (See FIG. 4) is movably arranged.
The media drive 41 has media trays 41a that can move between a data writing position on the media and a media delivery position for receiving and delivering media.

  The label printer 11 also has a media tray 51 that can move between a label printing position on the label surface of the media and a media delivery position for receiving and delivering the media.

  2 and 3, the media tray 41a of the upper media drive 41 is pulled out to the front and is in the media delivery position, and the media tray 51 of the lower label printer 11 is in the back label printable position. The state is shown. The label printer 11 is an ink jet printer, and ink cartridges 12 of various colors (black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta in this embodiment) are used as the ink supply mechanism 71, and these ink cartridges are used. 12 is mounted on each cartridge holder 13 of the cartridge mounting section 14 from the front.

  Here, the media carrier 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 moves up and down between the pair of left and right frame plates 24 and 25 of the blank media storage unit 21 and between the pair of left and right frame plates 27 and 28 of the created media storage unit 22. Possible gaps are formed. Further, between the upper and lower blank media storage units 21 and the created media storage unit 22, the media carrier 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 can be rotated horizontally and positioned directly above the created media storage unit 22. So that the gap is open. Further, when the media tray 41a is pushed into the media drive 41, the media carrier 36 of the media transport mechanism 31 is lowered to access the media tray 51 at the media delivery position. Therefore, the media can be conveyed to each part by the combined operation of raising and lowering the media carrier 36 and turning left and right.

  Below the media delivery position of the media tray 51, a disposal stacker 52 for storing the disposal media MD is arranged. For example, about 30 disposal media MD are stored in the disposal stacker 52. It is possible. With the media tray 51 retracted from the media delivery position above the disposal stacker 52 to the data writing position, the disposal media MD can be supplied to the disposal stacker 52 by the media carrier 36 of the media transport mechanism 31. .

  With such a configuration, a medium composed of a CD or a DVD has a space between the blank media storage unit 21, the created media storage unit 22, the disposal stacker 52, the media tray 41a of the media drive 41, and the media tray 51 of the label printer 11. It is transported by the media carrier 36 of the media transport mechanism 31.

  A media disposal mechanism 92 (see FIG. 5) is attached to the front side of the label printer 11. This media disposal mechanism 92 makes the projections come into contact with the media mounted on the media tray 51 moving to the rear side or the front side by projecting the projections by a driving mechanism such as a plunger, and the recording surface of the media is mechanically moved. In this state, writing and reading are disabled.

Next, the configuration of the label printer 11 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the label printer 11 includes a carriage 62 having an ink jet head 61, and this carriage 62 is supported along a carriage guide shaft 63 so as to be reciprocally movable in the horizontal direction. Yes. The carriage 62 includes a timing belt 64 that extends horizontally along the carriage guide shaft 63 and a carriage motor 65 for driving the timing belt 64.

  The inkjet head 61 mounted on the carriage 62 has a nozzle surface facing downward, and the media tray 51 can reciprocate horizontally in the front-rear direction at the lower position of the inkjet head 61. The media tray 51 has a right end supported by a guide shaft 66 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction, and a left end supported by a guide rail 67 extending horizontally in the front-rear direction in a slidable state. . The drive mechanism for the media tray 51 is also provided with a timing belt (not shown) that extends horizontally in the front-rear direction and a tray motor for driving the timing belt.

  The label printer 11 includes an ink supply mechanism 71 having a cartridge mounting portion 14 to which the ink cartridge 12 is mounted. The ink supply mechanism 71 has a vertical structure and is erected on the base 72 of the publisher 1 and arranged in the vertical direction. One end of a flexible ink supply tube 73 is connected to the ink supply mechanism 71, and the other end of the ink supply tube 73 is connected to the carriage 62.

The ink in the ink cartridge 12 of the ink supply mechanism 71 is supplied to the carriage 62 through the ink supply tube 73 and supplied to the inkjet head 61 through a damper unit and a back pressure adjustment unit (not shown) provided on the carriage 62. Is done.
The ink supply mechanism 71 is provided with a pressurizing mechanism 74 at the top thereof. The pressurizing mechanism 74 pressurizes the ink cartridge 12 and stores it in the ink pack in the ink cartridge 12. Send out ink.

  An ink suction mechanism 81 is provided on the lower side of the carriage 62 at the home position (position shown in FIG. 4). The ink suction mechanism 81 includes a cap 82 that covers the nozzles of the inkjet head 61 exposed on the lower surface of the carriage 62 disposed at the home position, and waste discharged to the cap 82 by the head cleaning operation and ink filling operation of the inkjet head 62. A waste ink suction pump 83 for sucking ink;

Then, the waste ink sucked by the waste ink suction pump 83 of the ink suction mechanism 81 is sent to the waste ink absorption tank 85 through the tube 84.
The waste ink absorption tank 85 has an absorbent material (not shown) disposed in a case 86, and the upper surface thereof is covered with a cover 88 having a plurality of holes 87.
A waste ink receiving portion 89 which is a part of the waste ink absorption tank 85 is provided below the waste ink suction mechanism 81 so that the waste ink dropped from the waste ink suction mechanism 81 is received and absorbed by the absorbent material. It has become.

  The media tray 51 is provided with a circular shallow recess 51a for placing media on the upper surface of a rectangular plate. In addition, at the center of the recess 51a, there are provided three vertical claws (not shown) arranged at 120 degree intervals on a concentric circle. Of these, the two vertical claws can move together in the radial direction, and the remaining one of the vertical claws is arranged at a fixed position. Two vertical claws are moved by a driving mechanism (not shown) such as an electromagnetic solenoid.

  When the medium is dropped into the recess 51a with the label surface on which the label or the like is printed facing upward, three vertical claws are inserted into the center hole of the medium. Thereafter, when the two vertical claws are slightly moved outward in the radial direction, the three vertical claws are pressed against the inner peripheral surface of the center hole of the media from the inside. As a result, the media is held on the media tray 51. In this state, a tray motor (not shown) can be driven to move the media tray 51 to the rear side along the guide shaft 66 to move into the print area of the inkjet head 61. Thereafter, predetermined printing can be performed on the label surface of the medium by the ink jet head 61.

  The waste ink absorption tank 85 is also disposed at a lower position in the print area of the inkjet head 61 so that the ink liquid dropped from the inkjet head 61 is received by the waste ink absorption tank 85.

Next, the internal configuration of the publisher 1 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, the publisher 1 includes a control unit 91 that controls each unit, and serves as a central control unit that performs operation control between the units in the publisher 1. Specifically, the operations of the media drive 41, the label printer 11, the media transport mechanism 31, and the like are controlled.

  In addition to a function for creating a media, the publisher 1 includes a media disposal mechanism 92 for disposing the used media MC that has become unnecessary after creation in a state in which data cannot be written or read. For example, an image sensor 93 including a line sensor having a CCD or the like for reading a printed image on the label surface of the used media MC to be disposed of by the disposal mechanism 92, and the media disposal mechanism 92 that reads the printed image on the label surface. Is provided as a media disposal history 94a.

As described above, the media disposal mechanism 92 uses the movement of the media tray 51 in the label printer 11 to mechanically scratch the recording surface of the used media MC, and discards data that cannot be read or written. Media MD.
The image sensor 93 for reading the printed image on the label surface is mounted on the media transport mechanism 31, for example. The used media MC held by the media transport mechanism 31 is rotated, and the entire label surface is detected by the image sensor 93 arranged along the media radial direction in a state where the light receiving surface faces the label surface of the media MC. The print image is read. Instead, the image sensor 93 arranged in the radial direction is rotated along the label surface of the used media MC held by the media transport mechanism 31 so as to read the entire printed image on the label surface. May be.

  Further, an operation unit 95 is connected to the control unit 91. The operation unit 95 includes a group of alphanumeric keys such as a numeric keypad for inputting an authentication password, various function keys, a status display lamp, and the like. The display group is arranged. The control unit 91 is connected to the host device 97 via a communication interface 96 through a dedicated communication line or a general communication line. Normally, based on a media creation command, a media disposal command, etc. supplied from the host device 97 side to the control unit 91, a media creation operation (data writing operation, label surface printing operation), a media disposal history creating operation (label surface print image) Reading operation), media disposal operation, etc. are activated.

Next, a specific structure of the ink supply mechanism 71 constituting the label printer 11 in the publisher 1 will be described.
6 is a perspective view of the ink supply mechanism as viewed from the side, FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the ink supply mechanism as viewed from the rear, FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the ink supply mechanism, and FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the ink cartridge. 10 is a perspective view of the cartridge holder, FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the flow path unit as viewed from the front, FIG. 12A is a rear view of the ink supply mechanism as viewed from the rear of the apparatus, and FIG. A) It is sectional drawing of a BB line.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the ink supply mechanism 71 has a frame 110 that stands vertically on a base 72 (see FIGS. 2 to 4) that is a base of the publisher 1. The frame 110 is formed in an L shape in sectional view by bending a steel plate, and has a cartridge mounting plate portion 111 and a valve unit mounting plate portion 112. Further, the frame 110 has a substrate mounting plate portion 113 on which the circuit board 118 is installed horizontally formed on the top thereof.

  A plurality of (for example, six in this embodiment) cartridge holders 13 constituting the cartridge mounting portion 14 are fixed to the cartridge mounting plate portion 111 via a plate-shaped flow path unit 114. An ink cartridge 12 of each color storing inks of black, cyan, magenta, yellow, light cyan, and light magenta is detachable from the cartridge holder 13.

FIG. 9 shows an example of the ink cartridge 12 accommodated in the cartridge holder 13.
The ink cartridge 12 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped cartridge case 151, and a pair of air chambers separated by a partition plate are formed inside the cartridge case 151. In each air chamber, an ink pack 153 for storing ink is stored. Each ink pack 153 is provided with an ink outlet member 154 communicating with the inside of the ink pack 153. An attachment hole 155 that communicates the inside and outside of the cartridge case 151 is provided at the center of the rear surface 151a of the cartridge case 151, and the outlet port 154a of the ink outlet member 154 is exposed through the attachment hole 155. Yes. An ink supply needle disposed in the cartridge holder 13 is inserted into the outlet 154a, and ink is guided through the ink supply needle. In the vicinity of the mounting hole 155 on the rear surface 151a of the cartridge case 151, air introduction holes 156 for press-fitting air into the respective air chambers are provided. Furthermore, a pair of insertion holes 157 are provided on the rear surface 151 a of the cartridge case 151 so as to sandwich the attachment hole 155 and the air introduction hole 156. These insertion holes 157 are for inserting a positioning member in the cartridge holder 13 and do not communicate with the internal space of the cartridge case 151.

  An IC chip 158 is provided at the front end of one side surface of the cartridge case 151. The IC chip 158 is electrically connected to the control unit 91 of the publisher 1 when the ink cartridge 12 is inserted into the cartridge holder 13 and mounted. The IC chip 158 stores information regarding the type and remaining amount of ink in each ink pack 153.

  The ink cartridge 12 crushes the ink pack 153 by introducing pressurized air into the air chamber from the air introduction hole 156 of the cartridge case 151, and the ink contained in the ink pack 153 is replaced with the ink outlet member 154. It is designed to be pumped through.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the cartridge holder 13 for accommodating the ink cartridge 12 described above is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped box shape having an opening 43 for inserting and removing the ink cartridge 12 on the front surface and an upper surface opened. Yes. An air supply member holding portion 45 a for holding an air supply member for press-fitting air into the air chamber of the ink cartridge 12 is provided on the rear surface 13 a of the cartridge holder 13 corresponding to the air introduction hole 156 of the ink cartridge 12. ing. Further, an ink supply needle holding portion 45b is provided corresponding to the ink lead-out member 154 for pushing out ink from the ink cartridge 12 by air press-fitting. The air supply member holding part 45 a and the ink supply needle holding part 45 b are provided in two upper and lower stages corresponding to the configuration of the ink cartridge 12. Further, a screw hole 47a for fixing the cartridge holder 13 to the flow path unit 114 and a screw hole 47b for fixing the cartridge holder 13 to the frame 110 with the flow path unit 114 interposed therebetween are provided. In this embodiment, for example, one screw hole 47a and two screw holes 47b are provided.

  Further, a locking portion 46 for connecting to the upper and lower cartridge holders 13 is provided in the vicinity of the front end portions on both side surfaces of the cartridge holder 13. The locking portion 46 is locked by a locking claw 46 a provided so as to protrude upward and outward to lock the upper cartridge holder 13 and a locking claw 46 a of the lower cartridge holder 13. There is a locking recess 46b. A cartridge holder identifying unit 44 for identifying the correct assembly position of each cartridge holder 13 with respect to the flow path unit 114 is provided on the front surface of the cartridge holder 13.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, the flow path unit 114 mounted between the cartridge mounting plate portion 111 of the frame 110 and the cartridge holder 13 is formed as a single plate, and is made of synthetic resin or the like. An ink flow path and an air flow path are formed therein. In the flow path unit 114, an ink outlet portion 53 and an air supply member insertion hole 54 are respectively provided in an upper and lower direction corresponding to the air supply member holding portion 45a and the ink supply needle holding portion 45b of each cartridge holder 13 of the cartridge mounting portion 14. It is provided on the stage. Corresponding to the screw holes 47a and 47b of the cartridge holder 13, a screw hole 55a is provided at one place and a screw hole 55b is provided at two places.

  An air introduction port 56 for introducing pressurized air is provided at the upper end of the flow path unit 114, and a pipe-shaped air flow path 57 is disposed downward. This air flow path 57 branches off at a position corresponding to each cartridge holder 13 in the middle, and is once guided to the rear surface side, and the air supply of each stage of the cartridge holder 13 from the rear surface side via the pipe 58 (see FIG. 7). It connects to the air supply member with which the member holding | maintenance part 45a is mounted | worn. At that time, the pipe 58 is disposed on the front side through the air supply member insertion hole 54 from the rear side.

  An ink supply needle (not shown) is attached to the ink outlet 53 toward the inside of the cartridge holder 13. In addition, an ink flow path communicating with the ink outlet 53 is provided in the flow path unit 114, and the ink pumped from the ink cartridge 12 is guided to the front side of the frame 110 and connected as shown in FIG. It is sent to the valve unit 122 mounted on the frame 110 through the tube 124. The valve unit 122 is detachably attached to the valve unit attachment plate portion 112 of the frame 110 and has a choke valve 121 corresponding to the ink cartridge 12 attached to each cartridge holder 13.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the valve unit 122 is formed with a plurality of connecting pipes 127 protruding to the side opposite to the side on which the connecting tube 124 is mounted. These connecting pipes 127 are arranged at a narrow interval at a substantially intermediate height position of the valve unit 122, and communicate with each choke valve 121. These connection pipes 127 are connected to flexible ink supply tubes 73 (see FIG. 4) connected to the carriage 62.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the front surface 114 a to which the cartridge holder 13 is attached in the flow path unit 114 is a position facing the cartridge holder identifying portion 44 (see FIG. 10) provided in each stage of the cartridge holder 13. Is provided with a flow path side identification portion 59. The cartridge holder identification unit 44 and the flow path side identification unit 59 are projection structures that do not interfere with each other only when the correct cartridge holder 13 is attached, and have a combination structure of a plurality of projections when an incorrect cartridge holder 13 is to be attached. Since the cartridge holder identification unit 44 and the flow path side identification unit 59 interfere with each other and cannot be mounted, erroneous mounting can be easily identified.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the frame 110 is formed of a steel plate, and naturally has higher rigidity than the synthetic resin channel unit 114. As shown in FIG. 3, the frame 110 is fixed to the base 72 that is the base of the publisher 1, and is inserted into the slit of the base 72 and locked to the lower end of the cartridge mounting plate 111. The locking portion 111a is provided. On the other hand, a mounting bracket 112 a is provided at the lower end of the valve unit mounting plate 112. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the frame 110 is attached to the base 72 by inserting the locking portion 111a from the slit of the base 72 and hooking it, and by fixing the cut-and-raised 72a of the base 72 and the bracket 112a with screws 72b. It is done. For this reason, the frame 110 is firmly fixed to the base 110 by two orthogonal surfaces on the base 110.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the cartridge mounting plate 111 corresponds to each cartridge holder 13, and a first screw 64a as a first fixing member for assembling the cartridge holder 13 and the flow path unit 114 (see FIG. 8). And a second screw 64b as a second fixing member for assembling the cartridge holder 13, the flow path unit 114, and the frame 110 together by tightening together (FIG. 8). There are two screw holes 65b for reference). The screw hole 65a is provided at a position corresponding to the screw hole 55a of the flow path unit 114 and the screw hole 47a of the cartridge holder 13, and the screw hole 65b is the screw hole 55b of the flow path unit 114 and the screw hole 47b of the cartridge holder 13. Is provided at a position corresponding to.

  The inner diameter of the screw hole 65a of the frame 110 is formed to be slightly larger than the outer diameter of the head of the first screw 64a, and the first screw 64a does not tighten the frame 110. The screw hole 55a of the flow path unit 114 is formed with a convex portion 55c that protrudes toward the frame 110 so as to fit inside the screw hole 65a of the frame 110. Therefore, when the first screw 64a is tightened in the screw hole 65a, the first screw 64a is not fixed to the frame 110, and only the flow path unit 114 and the cartridge holder 13 are fastened. On the other hand, the second screw 64 b fastens the screw hole 65 b of the frame 110, the screw hole 55 b of the flow path unit 114, and the screw hole 47 b of the cartridge holder 13 together.

Next, the assembly work of the cartridge holder 13 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of cartridge holders 13 are stacked in a predetermined order, and the cartridge holders 13 are connected to each other. At this time, the worker assembles the cartridge holders 13 in a predetermined stacking order while confirming the cartridge holder identifying portion 44 of each cartridge holder 13. Next, the flow path unit 114 is brought into contact with the rear surface of the cartridge holder 13 (the right side surface in FIG. 8). Then, one first screw 64a is passed through the screw hole 55a of the flow path unit 114 for each cartridge holder 13, and is tightened into the screw hole 47a (see FIG. 10) of the cartridge holder 13.

  After assembling the flow path unit 114 to all the cartridge holders 13, the front surface of the frame 110 is brought into contact with the rear surface of the flow path unit 114, and the two second screws 64b are connected to the two screw holes 65b of the frame 110. Through the screw hole 55b of the flow path unit 114 and tightened into the screw hole 47b of the cartridge holder 13 respectively. At this time, although the head of the screw 64a protrudes from the rear surface of the flow path unit 114, the size of the screw hole 65a (see FIGS. 7 and 12) of the frame 110 is larger than the head of the screw 64a. As a result, the screw 64a can be fastened and removed even after the frame 110 is attached.

  In the above-described assembly process, the plurality of cartridge holders 13 are first stacked and connected to each other, and then the flow path unit 114 is assembled. It is also possible to assemble with.

  As described above, according to the assembly structure of the cartridge holder and the recording apparatus (label printer 11) of the above embodiment, when assembling the plurality of cartridge holders 13 to the flow path unit 114, the rigidity is higher than that of the flow path unit 114. The cartridge holder 13 can be accurately positioned and assembled with respect to the flow path unit 114 because it is fixed together with the flow path unit 114 to the high frame 110. Further, the assembled cartridge holder 13 is supported by a highly rigid frame 110, and the frame 110 is fixed to the base 72 of the label printer 11. Therefore, when the ink cartridge 12 is attached to or removed from the cartridge holder 13, the force is received by the frame 110 and the base 72, so that the flow path unit 114 is not deformed and the position of the cartridge holder 13 is not changed. Is stable. Therefore, the detachability workability of the ink cartridge 12 is good. Further, since the flow path unit 114 is supported with high rigidity and does not deform, the label printer 11 having the highly reliable ink supply mechanism 71 can be obtained.

  Further, since the easily deformable flow path unit 114 can be fixed so as to be sandwiched between the plurality of cartridge holders 13 and the frame 110, the shape stability of the flow path unit 114 can be increased. Reliability is also improved.

  In the assembly operation, the cartridge holder 13 and the flow path unit 114 are first assembled by the first screw 64a, and then the cartridge holder 13 and the flow path unit 114 are joined together by the second screw 64b. Since it can be assembled to the frame 110, the assembly workability is good. Further, after the assembly, the first screw 64a can also be removed from the rear of the frame 110 in the same manner as the second screw 64b, so that the individual cartridge holders 13 can be easily removed.

The cartridge holder assembling structure and the recording apparatus according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiments, and appropriate modifications and improvements can be made.
For example, in the embodiment described above, the frame 110 is formed by bending a steel plate, but the material of the frame 110 may be higher in rigidity than the synthetic resin constituting the flow path unit 114, such as a filler. You may form using the resin material etc. which contain.
Further, although the flow path unit 114 is sandwiched between the cartridge holder 13 and the frame 110, the frame 110 may be sandwiched between the cartridge holder 13 and the flow path unit 114.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the recording apparatus is applied to the publisher 1 that processes media as the label printer 11 that prints the label surface of a disk-shaped medium such as a CD or DVD is exemplified. For example, the present invention can be applied to a recording apparatus such as a printer that performs printing on a sheet-like recording medium such as a sheet, a multifunction peripheral having a copy function, and the like.

1 is an external perspective view of a publisher (media processing apparatus) according to a recording apparatus of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the front side of the state which removed the case of the publisher. It is a perspective view of the back side of the state which removed the case of the publisher. It is a perspective view of the recording device part installed in the publisher. It is an internal schematic block diagram of a publisher. It is the perspective view which looked at the ink supply mechanism from the side. It is the perspective view which looked at the ink supply mechanism from back. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows an ink supply mechanism. It is a perspective view showing an example of an ink cartridge. It is a perspective view of a cartridge holder. It is the perspective view which looked at the channel unit from the front. (A) is a rear view of the ink supply mechanism as viewed from the rear of the apparatus, and (B) is a sectional view taken along line BB in (A). It is a perspective view which shows an example of the conventional cartridge holder unit.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Publisher, 11 ... Label printer (recording apparatus), 12 ... Ink cartridge, 13 ... Cartridge holder, 31 ... Media conveyance mechanism, 41 ... Media drive, 71 ... Ink supply mechanism, 61 ... Inkjet head, 62 ... Carriage, 64a ... 1st screw (1st fixing member), 64b ... 2nd screw (2nd fixing member), 74 ... Pressurization mechanism, 110 ... Frame, 114 ... Flow path unit.

Claims (2)

To a flow path unit having an air flow path for supplying pressurized air into the ink cartridge for pressure-feeding the ink contained in the ink cartridge, and an ink flow path for supplying the ink A cartridge holder assembly structure in which a plurality of cartridge holders for holding the ink cartridge are assembled in parallel,
The flow path unit is disposed between a plurality of the cartridge holders arranged in parallel and a frame having higher rigidity than the flow path unit,
The plurality of cartridge holders arranged in parallel and the flow path unit are fixed by a first screw,
The cartridge holder, the flow path unit and the frame are fixed by a second screw,
The frame has an interference avoidance hole having an inner diameter larger than the outer diameter of the head of the first screw at a position coaxial with the screw hole for the first screw in the cartridge holder and the flow path unit. Provided,
The edge of the screw hole for the first screw in the flow path unit is formed with a convex portion protruding toward the frame so as to fit inside the interference avoidance hole. Assembly structure of the cartridge holder. A recording apparatus comprising the cartridge holder assembling structure according to claim 1 , wherein the frame is fixed to a base of the recording apparatus.

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