JP5098781B2 - Waste liquid discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a waste liquid discharging apparatus having a waste liquid receiver that can be attached to a main body of a waste liquid discharging apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an ink jet printer or the like is widely known as a waste liquid discharge device that discharges waste liquid in an apparatus. For example, in an inkjet printer, the ink in the head is used as an ink ejection nozzle for the purpose of suppressing clogging of the nozzle (ink ejection nozzle) due to thickened ink and discharging bubbles and dust mixed in the ink in the head. So-called cleaning is performed in which the liquid is forcibly ejected and discharged.

The waste liquid discharge device has a waste liquid discharge device main body having a waste liquid discharge nozzle for discharging the waste liquid, and an insertion hole for inserting the waste liquid discharge nozzle, and is attached to the waste liquid discharge device main body. Some of them have possible waste liquid receptors (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a waste liquid discharging apparatus, when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharging apparatus body, the waste liquid discharging nozzle is inserted into the insertion hole. The waste liquid receiver is finally positioned with respect to the waste liquid discharge device main body in the radial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle by fitting the insertion hole with the waste liquid discharge nozzle.
JP 2007-130998 A

  By the way, it is desirable that the waste liquid receiver can be easily attached to the waste liquid discharger body. However, for example, adjusting the position of the waste liquid receiver so that the waste liquid discharge nozzle is inserted into the insertion hole, and holding the waste liquid receiver so as to maintain the attitude, There is a possibility that the waste liquid receiver cannot reach the position where the insertion hole is fitted with the waste liquid discharge nozzle due to the cause that the posture is broken during the mounting. That is, when trying to mount the waste liquid receiver while holding the waste liquid receiver, it becomes difficult to mount the waste liquid receiver.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to realize a waste liquid discharging apparatus that can easily attach a waste liquid receiver to a waste liquid discharging apparatus body.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the main invention is formed because (A) a waste liquid discharger body provided with a waste liquid discharge nozzle for discharging waste liquid, and (B) the waste liquid discharge nozzle is inserted. A waste liquid receiver having an insertion hole and attachable to the waste liquid discharger main body, and a waste liquid discharger having (C), wherein the waste liquid discharge nozzle has a large diameter portion and a tip than the large diameter portion. A small-diameter portion located on the side, and when the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger main body, the waste liquid receiver has the small-diameter portion while the small-diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. The small-diameter portion is guided by contacting with the outer peripheral surface of the portion, and the insertion hole is engaged with the large-diameter portion so that the insertion hole is in the radial direction of the large-diameter portion with respect to the waste liquid discharging device main body. A waste liquid discharge device characterized by positioning a waste liquid receiver.

  Other features of the present invention will become apparent from the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.

At least the following will be made clear by the description of the present specification and the accompanying drawings.
First, (A) a waste liquid discharging apparatus main body provided with a waste liquid discharging nozzle for discharging waste liquid, and (B) an insertion hole formed for inserting the waste liquid discharging nozzle, the waste liquid discharging apparatus A waste liquid receiver that can be attached to the main body, and a waste liquid discharge device having (C), wherein the waste liquid discharge nozzle has a large diameter part and a small diameter part located on the tip side of the large diameter part, When the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger main body, the waste liquid receiver contacts the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. A waste liquid discharging device that guides a portion and positions the waste liquid receiver relative to the waste liquid discharging device main body in a radial direction of the large diameter portion by fitting the insertion hole with the large diameter portion.

  In order for the waste liquid receiver to be mounted on the waste liquid discharge device main body, as described above, the insertion hole is fitted with the waste liquid discharge nozzle, and the waste liquid discharge body is disposed in the radial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle. Will be positioned. In the waste liquid discharging apparatus of the present invention, when the waste liquid receiving body is mounted on the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body, the insertion hole is fitted to the large diameter portion of the waste liquid discharging nozzle. Furthermore, while the small diameter portion located on the tip side of the waste liquid discharge nozzle from the large diameter portion passes through the insertion hole (that is, before the insertion hole is fitted to the large diameter portion), The waste liquid receiver guides the small-diameter portion by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion. As a result of the small diameter portion being guided to the waste liquid receiver in this manner, it becomes easy to move the waste liquid receptor so that the insertion hole is fitted to the large diameter portion. Therefore, a waste liquid discharging apparatus that can be easily attached to the main body of the waste liquid discharging apparatus while holding the waste liquid receiver is realized.

  Further, in the above waste liquid discharging apparatus, the mounting direction when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body is a horizontal direction, and when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body, The waste liquid receiver is tilted so that the front end in the mounting direction of the waste liquid receiver is positioned below the rear end, and the small diameter portion is passing through the insertion hole. The small-diameter portion may be guided to the position of the small-diameter portion when the insertion hole is fitted to the large-diameter portion. When mounting the waste liquid receiver to the waste liquid discharger body, if the front end in the mounting direction of the waste liquid receiver is tilted so that it is located below the rear end, the insertion hole is generally fitted with the large diameter part. In this case, it becomes more difficult to position the small diameter portion at the position of the small diameter portion (that is, to attach the waste liquid receiver to the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body). On the other hand, with the above-described configuration, the waste liquid receiver can easily mount the waste liquid receptor as a result of guiding the small diameter part to the position of the small diameter part when the insertion hole is fitted to the large diameter part. It becomes possible to do.

  Further, in the waste liquid discharge apparatus, when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharge apparatus main body, the waste liquid receiver is disposed in the insertion hole while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. It is good also as contacting with the outer peripheral surface of this small diameter part in an inner surface. With this configuration, the configuration for allowing the waste liquid receiver to come into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole becomes simple.

  Further, in the waste liquid discharge apparatus, when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharge apparatus main body, the waste liquid receiver is disposed in the insertion hole while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. It is good also as contacting the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of this small diameter part in the upper part of an inner surface. With such a configuration, the contact direction between the inner surface of the insertion hole and the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion is aligned with the direction of action of gravity, so that the waste liquid receiver can It becomes easy to touch. This makes it possible to more easily attach the waste liquid receptor.

  Further, in the waste liquid discharging apparatus, the main body of the waste liquid discharging apparatus includes the small diameter portion so that an outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion faces an inner surface of the insertion hole while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. A biasing member for biasing the waste liquid receiver, when the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger main body, the waste liquid receiver is disposed while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. The inner surface of the insertion hole may be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion urged by the urging member. With this configuration, the waste liquid receiver is surely brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion at the inner surface of the insertion hole by the biasing of the biasing member. That is, the function of guiding the small diameter portion of the waste liquid receiver is surely exhibited. For this reason, it becomes possible to mount the waste liquid receptor more easily.

  Further, in the waste liquid discharge device, when the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharge device main body, the waste liquid receiver is disposed on the small diameter portion while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. It is good also as continuing guiding this small diameter part by continuing contacting with an outer peripheral surface. With this configuration, the small diameter portion is always guided by the waste liquid receiver while passing through the insertion hole. Accordingly, it becomes easier to move the waste liquid receiver so that the small diameter portion is positioned at the position of the small diameter portion when the insertion hole is fitted to the large diameter portion. That is, it becomes possible to more easily mount the waste liquid receptor.

=== About the waste liquid discharging apparatus of the present invention ===
Hereinafter, an ink jet printer (hereinafter, printer 11) will be described as an example of the waste liquid discharging apparatus of the present invention.

<< Basic Configuration of Printer 11 >>
First, the basic configuration of the printer 11 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the printer 11. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of the overall configuration of the printer 11. In the drawing, the vertical direction of the printer 11, the conveyance direction of the recording paper P, and the movement direction of the carriage 16 are indicated by arrows.

  The printer 11 receives print data from the host computer 110, and ejects ink as a fluid onto the recording paper P in order to print an image on the recording paper P that is an example of a recording medium based on the print data. It is an injection device. In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printer 11 includes a conveyance roller 13, a carriage 16, a head 21, a maintenance unit 24, and a printer controller 100 as main components.

  The conveyance roller 13 is a roller that rotates in the moving direction inside the frame 12 of the printer 11. The conveyance roller 13 rotates while sliding on the recording paper P on the outer peripheral surface, so that the recording paper P is conveyed in the conveyance direction. Transport. As shown in FIG. 2, a transport motor 14 is provided as a drive source for the transport roller 13.

  The carriage 16 reciprocates along the guide shaft 15 that supports the carriage 16 in the frame 12, thereby transporting the head 21 mounted on the carriage 16 in the movement direction of the carriage 16. As shown in FIG. 2, in order to move the carriage 16, a driving pulley 17, a driven pulley 18, a driving motor 19 that drives the driving pulley 17, and a timing belt 20 stretched between the two pulleys. Is provided. The timing belt 20 is fixedly supported by the carriage 16, and the carriage 16 moves in the moving direction as the timing belt 20 rotates.

  The head 21 has a plurality of ink ejecting nozzles on the lower surface 22 thereof, and ejects ink from the ink ejecting nozzles toward the recording paper P. On the lower surface 22 of the head 21, a plurality of ink ejection nozzles are arranged at a constant pitch in the direction along the transport direction, and a nozzle row is formed. The printer 11 of the present embodiment is a color ink jet printer that ejects five colors of ink, and the nozzle row is formed for each ink color. Each ink ejecting nozzle is provided with an ink chamber and a piezoelectric element (not shown), and droplets of ink are ejected from the ink ejecting nozzle by contracting and expanding the ink chamber by driving the piezoelectric element. .

  In addition, a plurality of ink cartridges 23 (five in this embodiment) for supplying ink to the head 21 are provided. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16 is detachably mounted. However, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the ink cartridge 23 is mounted on the carriage 16 (so-called on-carriage type), and the configuration in which the ink cartridge 23 is attached to the outside of the carriage 16 (so-called off-carriage type). Good.

  The maintenance unit 24 is for performing a cleaning operation on the head 21 as maintenance for continuously ejecting ink from the ink ejection nozzles. The cleaning operation is forced by ejecting ink from the ink ejection nozzle to suppress clogging of the nozzle caused by ink thickened near the opening of the ink ejection nozzle or to remove dust and air bubbles mixed in the ink. It is an operation to discharge automatically. By such a cleaning operation, ink (hereinafter, waste ink) is discharged as waste liquid in the printer 11. The waste ink generated by the cleaning operation is an example of the waste liquid.

  Further, the maintenance unit 24 is provided at a home position HP formed in a non-printing area where the recording paper P does not reach at one end in the moving direction in the frame 12 in order to perform the above-described cleaning operation. The home position HP is a position where the head 21 is located when the maintenance unit 24 performs a cleaning operation on the head 21. The configuration of the maintenance unit 24 will be described in detail later.

  The printer controller 100 controls each of the above-described components (that is, the transport roller 13, the carriage 16, the head 21, and the maintenance unit 24) via a control circuit based on the print data transmitted from the host computer 110. is there. The situation in the printer 11 is monitored by the detector group 101, and the detector group 101 outputs a signal corresponding to the detection result to the printer controller 100.

<< Outline of configuration of maintenance unit 24 >>
Next, an outline of the configuration of the maintenance unit 24 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the maintenance unit 24. In the drawing, the vertical direction of the printer 11 and the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26 are indicated by arrows. For easy understanding, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 connected to the waste ink tank 27 is indicated by a broken line in the drawing.
As shown in FIG. 3, the maintenance unit 24 includes a cap 25, a suction pump 42, a waste liquid recovery system 29, and a housing part 26.

  The cap 25 abuts against the lower surface 22 of the head 21 and seals the lower surface 22 in order to prevent ink drying in the ink ejection nozzle when the head 21 is positioned at the home position HP. The cap 25 is lifted to a position where it abuts against the lower surface 22 of the head 21 when the head 21 is located at the home position HP by a lifting mechanism (not shown), and is lowered when the head 21 is separated from the home position HP. To do. An opening is formed in the upper end surface of the cap 25, and when the cap 25 comes into contact with the lower surface 22 of the head 21, the opening surrounds each nozzle row. As a result, when the cap 25 comes into contact with the lower surface 22 of the head 21, a sealed space 25a is formed below the nozzle row as shown in FIG.

  The suction pump 42 performs suction while the cap 25 is in contact with the lower surface 22 of the head 21 in order to forcibly eject ink from the ink ejection nozzles of the head 21. When the suction pump 42 is operated in a state where the cap 25 is in contact with the lower surface 22 of the head 21, a negative pressure is generated in the sealed space 25a. Thereby, the ink in the ink ejection nozzle is forcibly ejected from the ink ejection nozzle and discharged into the sealed space 25a. That is, the sealed space 25a is a space for receiving waste ink that is forcibly discharged from the ink ejection nozzle.

  The waste liquid collection system 29 is for collecting the waste ink generated by the cleaning operation, and includes a waste ink tank 27 as a waste liquid receiver and a waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 as shown in FIG. .

  The waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is for forming a flow path when the waste ink is sent from the sealed space 25 a toward the waste ink tank 27. More specifically, the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 supports the flexible tube 43 whose upstream end is connected to the cap 25, and is connected to the downstream end (connected to the cap 25) of the flexible tube 43. The end opposite to the formed side) is led into the waste ink tank 27. The waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is a resin molded product having rigidity and formed mainly with a waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 that is a substantially cylindrical body. Further, in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 supports the downstream end portion by inserting the downstream end portion of the flexible tube 43 into the inside thereof. The downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is supported by the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 so that the front end (downstream end) is positioned at the front end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. As a result, an opening is formed at the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, and waste ink is discharged from the opening. That is, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is a nozzle for discharging waste ink into the waste ink tank 27.

  The waste ink tank 27 is for receiving waste ink discharged from the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, and has a box-shaped container portion 44 that is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped as a main component. A waste ink storage space 47 for storing received waste ink is formed inside the container portion 44 (see, for example, FIG. 4). Further, an insertion hole 57 for inserting the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the container portion 44 (see, for example, FIG. 4). In a state where the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is inserted into the insertion hole 57 and the opening at the tip thereof is located at a predetermined position in the waste ink storage space 47, the waste ink tank 27 is connected to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 and receives the waste ink. It becomes possible.

  Further, the waste ink tank 27 of the present embodiment can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 11a. That is, the mounting position 31 of the waste ink tank 27 is provided in the printer main body 11a. When the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 is moved to the mounting position 31 and the mounting position. Will be set to 31. Conversely, when removing the waste ink tank 27 from the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 set at the attachment position 31 is detached from the attachment position 31. The printer main body 11a is a portion of the printer 11 excluding the waste ink tank 27 (that is, the printer 11 with the waste ink tank 27 removed), and corresponds to the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body.

  When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to or detached from the printer main body 11 a, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is inserted into or removed from the insertion hole 57. That is, in order to attach / detach the waste ink tank 27 to / from the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 is moved relative to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. Then, by inserting / removing the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 into / from the insertion hole 57, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is connected to the waste ink tank 27 or the connection state is released. Therefore, in this embodiment, the connection state between the two can be easily switched by moving the waste ink tank 27 relative to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73.

  The housing portion 26 is a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing provided at a position below the home position HP, and a housing chamber 30 for housing the waste liquid collection system 29 is formed therein. That is, since the waste ink tank 27 mounted in the printer main body 11 a is stored in the storage chamber 30, the waste ink tank 27 is mounted in the printer main body 11 a in the storage chamber 30. In other words, the mounting position 31 of the waste ink tank 27 is set in the storage chamber 30. When the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 is placed in the storage chamber 30. It is inserted and pushed to the mounting position 31.

  Here, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed into the housing chamber 30 in order to attach the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 is pushed from the front side to the back side in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26. . Therefore, the mounting direction (the direction in which the waste ink tank 27 is moved toward the mounting position 31) when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a is the same as the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26. Further, the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26 is a direction along the conveyance direction of the recording paper P (see FIG. 2) and is a horizontal direction. For this reason, the mounting direction in the present embodiment is the horizontal direction.

  The structures of the waste liquid recovery system 29 and the housing part 26 will be described in detail in the next section.

<< Structure of Waste Liquid Recovery System 29 and Housing Unit 26 >>
Next, the structures of the waste liquid recovery system 29 and the housing part 26 described above will be described.

<Structure of waste ink tank 27>
First, the structure of the waste ink tank 27 in the waste liquid recovery system 29 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5A to 5C. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the waste ink tank 27. 5A to 5C are a front view, a plan view, and a side view of the waste ink tank 27. FIG.

  In the above figure, the vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the waste ink tank 27 are indicated by arrows. Here, the up-down direction is the up-down direction of the waste ink tank 27 in a state where it is mounted on the printer main body 11a. The front-rear direction is a direction corresponding to the mounting direction when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a. Hereinafter, when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 The one located on the front side is called the front side, and the one located on the rear side is called the rear side. Further, the left side when viewed from the front side of the waste ink tank 27 is referred to as the left side, and the right side is referred to as the right side.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the container portion 44 of the waste ink tank 27 is bottomed and includes a front side wall 49, a right side wall 50, a left side wall 51, and a rear side wall 52 as side walls. An opening 48 is formed in the upper end surface of the waste ink tank 27. The aforementioned waste ink storage space 47 is formed in the container portion 44 having such a structure. The waste ink tank 27 of the present embodiment includes a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d in the waste ink storage space 47. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink absorbing materials 88 a, 88 b, 88 c, 88 d are accommodated in a stacked state in the waste ink storage space 47.

  The ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d according to the present embodiment are made of high-density fiber structure polyurethane such as felt. However, the material of each of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d may be other materials, for example, water-absorbing paper, or a foam-forming material made of cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylene vinyl acetate or the like. May be. Further, water-absorbing polymer polymers such as acrylic acid graft starch, acrylic salt graft starch, vinyl alcohol acrylic acid block copolymer, cross-linked polyacrylic acid, cross-linked polyacrylic salt, modified polyvinyl alcohol, polystyrene sulfonic acid, cellulose ether, carboxymethyl cellulose, etc. May be contained.

  As shown in FIG. 4, each of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d has substantially the same outer diameter shape as the opening 48, and a plurality of cuts 89 are formed on the outer edge. Furthermore, a circular columnar hole 90 is formed in a position slightly behind the center of each ink absorbing material 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d. When each of the ink absorbing materials 88 a, 88 b, 88 c, 88 d is accommodated in a stacked state in the container portion 44, a support rib 94 described later enters the notch 89, and a cylinder described later in the column hole 90. Part 93 is inserted. Accordingly, the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d are positioned in the container portion 44.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, among the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d stacked in the container portion 44, the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom and the third ink absorbing material from the bottom. In 88c, a rectangular hole 91 is formed at a position slightly closer to the front side than the center. The rectangular hole 91 is a discharge destination of waste ink discharged from the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, that is, the waste ink discharge port. The waste ink discharged into the rectangular hole 91 penetrates the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d from the rectangular hole 91, and diffuses in the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d. It will be well absorbed and retained. In addition, a cut groove 92 having a predetermined width is formed along the front-rear direction from the front end toward the square hole 91 in the third ink absorbing material 88c from the bottom. The cut groove 92 is a groove through which the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is inserted. By inserting the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 through the cut groove 92, the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is absorbed by the third ink from the bottom. It becomes possible to position in the square hole 91 formed in the material 88c.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, the upper end surface of the container portion 44 is sealed with an opening 48 of the container portion 44 in a state where the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d are accommodated. A liquid-impermeable film member 46 is attached. The film member 46 suppresses a decrease in the absorption capacity of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d. More specifically, when the solvent in the waste ink absorbed and held by the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d evaporates, ink residues are generated in the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d. Here, when the opening 48 is opened, the ink residue is easily fixed on the surface of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d, and as a result, the absorbing ability of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d is lowered. Resulting in. On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the opening 48 is sealed by the film member 46, sticking of ink residue is suppressed, and a decrease in the absorption capacity of the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d is suppressed. Is done. Furthermore, since the opening 48 is sealed by the film member 46, when the user of the printer 11 attaches or detaches the waste ink tank 27, it is possible to prevent the user's hand and the like from becoming dirty.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, an ink evaporation hole 46a is formed in the film member 46. In the present embodiment, the ink evaporation hole 46 a is formed so as to be located at a position away from the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in a state where the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, an ink evaporation hole 46 a is formed in the vicinity of the left corner of the rear end of the film member 46. By forming the ink evaporation hole 46a at such a position, the solvent in the waste ink absorbed by the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d is concentrated at a position away from the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. It is evaporated and discharged out of the waste ink tank 27. As a result, the diffusion of waste ink in the ink absorbers 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d is promoted.

  The position where the ink evaporation hole 46a is formed is not limited to the above position. For example, the position where the ink evaporation hole 46a is located immediately above the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in a state where the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31. It may be formed so as to. Further, the member for sealing the opening 48 is not limited to the film member 46, and may be a resin-molded lid member, for example. In addition, a member for sealing the opening 48 may be provided only during the period when the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31. Further, the opening 48 may not be sealed. Or the hollow container part 44 in which the said opening 48 is not formed may be sufficient.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, an L-shaped recess 56 is formed in the corner portion on the right front side of the container portion 44 as viewed from above. As a result, the front side wall 49 is separated into a main front side wall 49a positioned relatively on the front side and a sub front side wall 49b positioned relatively on the rear side. Similarly, the right side wall 50 is separated into a main right side wall 50a positioned relatively on the right side and a sub right side wall 50b positioned relatively on the left side. The sub front side wall 49b and the sub right side wall 50b are adjacent to each other so as to cross each other substantially perpendicularly, and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5B, the recess 56 is reinforced between the sub front side wall 49b and the sub right side wall 50b. A substantially triangular reinforcing rib 54 is provided for this purpose.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5A, the insertion hole 57 is formed in the upper part of the main front side wall 49a so as to penetrate the main front side wall 49a. The insertion hole 57 is a circular hole formed for the insertion of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, and is the third from the bottom in a state where the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d are accommodated in the container portion 44. It communicates with a cut groove 92 formed in the ink absorbing material 88c. In the present embodiment, the opening on the inner back side of the insertion hole 57 is wider than the opening of the cut groove 92. Therefore, in a state where the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d are accommodated in the container portion 44, as shown in FIG. 5A, a part of the inner back opening of the insertion hole 57 is the third from the bottom. The ink absorbing material 88c is blocked by the front end surface.

  When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11a, the insertion hole 57 is engaged with the large diameter portion 73a of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (the large diameter portion 73a will be described later), thereby the large diameter portion 73a. The waste ink tank 27 is positioned with respect to the printer main body 11a in the radial direction of the large-diameter portion 73a. Further, the insertion hole 57 of the present embodiment is such that the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is in the period during which the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (the small diameter portion 73c will be described later) passes through the insertion hole 57. It is formed so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c. Further, the insertion hole 57 is formed so that its diameter gradually becomes smaller as it goes from the opening edge 57a to the inner depth in order to easily guide the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 to the inner depth center of the insertion hole 57. .

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5C, the opening edge 57a of the insertion hole 57 slightly protrudes from the main front side wall 49a, so that the front opening of the insertion hole 57 in the front-rear direction is the main front side wall 49a. It is located in front of the front. However, the front opening of the insertion hole 57 and the front surface of the main front side wall 49a may be in the same position in the front-rear direction. The insertion hole 57 is a circular hole. However, as long as the waste ink tank 27 is positioned in cooperation with the large-diameter portion 73a of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, a triangular hole or a rectangular shape is used. Other shapes such as holes may be used.

  On the inner surfaces of the front side wall 49, the right side wall 50, and the left side wall 51 of the container portion 44, as shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of thin support ribs 94 are formed along the vertical direction. Each support rib 94 is formed to correspond to a notch 89 formed at the outer edge of each ink absorbing material 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d. As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical portion 93 is erected on the inner bottom surface of the container portion 44 at a position slightly behind the center. The cylindrical portion 93 is inserted into a column hole 90 formed in each ink absorbing material 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5C, a stepped portion 60 is formed from the left end to the right end of the container portion 44 at a position slightly closer to the front end than the rear end of the bottom surface of the container portion 44. The step portion 60 is formed to position the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the printer main body 11 a in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the step portion 60 is formed on the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26. (See FIG. 3). Further, at the lower end of the rear side wall 52 of the container part 44, as shown in FIGS. 4, 5B and 5C, an overhang part 53 projecting rearward is somewhat extended from the left end of the rear side wall 52 to the right side. It is formed in an extended state. The overhang portion 53 is formed to prevent the rear end portion of the waste ink tank 27 from floating upward due to an external force or the like. Specifically, the overhang portion 53 protrudes from the back surface of the open / close door 36 of the housing portion 26. The engaging projection 45 is engaged (see FIG. 3).

  As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical tube portion 58 projects rearward from the auxiliary front side wall 49 b, and an alignment hole 58 a is configured by a hole in the tube portion 58. The alignment hole 58a is formed in order to prevent the waste ink tank 27 from rotating around the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (in other words, for positioning in the circumferential direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73). Specifically, an alignment pin 85 (for example, see FIG. 6) of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is inserted into the alignment hole 58a. In addition, in order to reinforce the cylinder part 58, as shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5A, the cylinder part reinforcement rib 55 is provided between the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder part 58, and the sub right side wall 50b.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 5A, the alignment hole 58a of the present embodiment is a long hole having an elliptical cross section that is long in the left-right direction. However, the hole is not limited to this, and may be a hole having another shape such as a hole having a square cross section. In addition, the member that exhibits the anti-rotation function for the waste ink tank 27 is not limited to the alignment hole 58a, and a rib that exhibits the anti-rotation function by engaging with a predetermined member of the printer main body 11a. It may be a shaped member. Or the member which exhibits a rotation stop function does not need to be provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the waste ink tank 27 includes a storage element 59 that stores various types of information relating to the amount of waste ink stored. When the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31, the storage element 59 comes into contact with a contact 87 (see, for example, FIG. 6) provided in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 and is electrically connected to the printer controller 100. Connected to. As shown in FIGS. 4, 5A and 5C, the storage element 59 is positioned below the insertion hole 57 on the outer surface of the secondary right side wall 50b perpendicular to the main front side wall 49a in which the insertion hole 57 is formed. It is attached. This is because the rigidity of the sub right side wall 50b increases as it moves away from the upper end where the opening 48 is formed, and the contact state between the storage element 59 and the contact 87 is good by attaching the storage element 59 to a higher rigidity portion. It is because it is maintained. Further, since the sub right side wall 50b is reinforced by the reinforcing rib 54, the contact state is maintained better. Further, the storage element 59 is attached to the left side where the above-described overhanging portion 53 protrudes in the left-right direction, and the function of suppressing the lifting by the overhanging portion 53 is more reliably exhibited. For this reason, the said contact state is maintained still better. However, the attachment position of the memory element 59 is not limited to the above configuration, and may be attached to the main front side wall 49a, for example.

<Structure of waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28>
Next, the structure of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 in the waste liquid recovery system 29 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6, 7A and 7B, FIG. 8, and FIGS. 9A and 9B.

  FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28. 7 to 9B are views showing the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 after assembly. 7A and 7B are side views of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28. For convenience of explanation, a part of the drawings is a sectional view. FIG. 8 is a plan view when the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 shown in FIG. 7B is viewed from above. 9A and 9B are views showing a state when the nozzle portion 72 swings in the vertical direction, and a part of the drawing is a cross-sectional view as in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

  In the drawing, the vertical direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 are indicated by arrows. Here, the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 correspond to the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the waste ink tank 27, respectively. Further, in the following description, when viewed from the waste ink tank 27 in the middle of attachment to the printer main body 11a, the one located on the far side is the front side of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28, and the one located on the near side is the rear side. To do. Further, the left side when viewed from the front side of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is the left side, and the right side is the right side.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 9B, the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 includes a nozzle part 72 including a waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 and a base part 63 that supports the nozzle part 72. The waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is fixed in the storage chamber 30 of the housing portion 26 and is stored in the storage chamber 30. In order to fix the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 in the storage chamber 30, a rectangular plate-like horizontal plate portion 64 having a pair of left and right screw holes 65 is provided at the lower rear end of the base portion 63. Yes. The set screw 66 is screwed into the screw hole 65, whereby the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is fixed to the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 (see FIG. 3).

  The nozzle part 72 is a resin-molded member and is located behind the base part 63. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the nozzle portion 72 includes a waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, a flange portion 74, and a tube guide portion 75 in order from the rear side (front side) in the front-rear direction.

  As described above, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 can be inserted into and removed from the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27, and the length of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in the axial direction is set at the mounting position 31. In such a state, the length of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is such that the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is positioned in the rectangular hole 91 formed in the third ink absorbing material 88c from the bottom. As shown in FIG. 6, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 has a large diameter portion 73a, a tapered portion 73b, and a small diameter portion 73c in order from the front side (back side) in the front-rear direction. The large-diameter portion 73a, the tapered portion 73b, and the small-diameter portion 73c are arranged so that the respective central axes are coaxial, and each central axis forms the central axis of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73.

  The large diameter portion 73 a is a portion of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 that has an outer diameter equal to the inner diameter of the insertion hole 57. When the waste ink tank 27 is moved toward the mounting position 31 with the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 being inserted into the insertion hole 57, the insertion hole 57 is finally engaged with the large diameter portion 73a.

  The small diameter portion 73 c is located on the most distal side of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (that is, located on the distal side relative to the large diameter portion 73 a) and has an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the insertion hole 57. Part. For this reason, when the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is inserted into the insertion hole 57, the small diameter part 73 c is loosely inserted into the insertion hole 57 while the small diameter part 73 c passes through the insertion hole 57. . In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, the front-end | tip part (rear side edge part) of the small diameter part 73c of this embodiment is tapered. The tapered portion 73b is a portion formed so that its outer diameter gradually increases in diameter from the rear side (small diameter portion 73c side) to the front side (large diameter portion 73a side).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 has a complete cylindrical region 76 having a complete cylindrical shape at the front end (rear end in the front-rear direction), and a position closer to the root side than the complete cylindrical region 76. A non-perfect cylindrical region 77 in which about half of the peripheral wall is hollowed out is formed.

  The incomplete cylindrical region 77 is a portion of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 that supports the flexible tube 43 by fixing the flexible tube 43 with a fixing portion 78 provided on the inner surface thereof. The fastening portions 78 of the present embodiment are pinching claws that make a pair with each other, and since the interval between the fastening portions 78 that make a pair with each other is slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the flexible tube 43, the fastening portions 78 are flexible. The flexible tube 43 is fixed by sandwiching the flexible tube 43 from the side. In addition, the fastening portion 78 is provided at a plurality of locations (three locations in this embodiment) in the front-rear direction. The complete cylindrical region 76 has an inner diameter that is equal to the outer diameter of the flexible tube 43, and is fitted into the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 in the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 so that the downstream end It is a part which supports a part. The waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 of the present embodiment has both the complete cylindrical region 76 and the incomplete cylindrical region 77, but only one of the both is formed. May be.

  By the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, the downstream side end portion of the flexible tube 43 is supported substantially linearly along the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. In other words, the flexible tube 43 that is easily bent and unstable in behavior is appropriately supported by the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. As a result, the downstream end of the flexible tube 43, that is, the waste ink discharge port can be easily connected to the waste ink tank 27. In addition, since the complete cylindrical region 76 that supports the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is formed so as to be positioned at the foremost end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, the flexible tube 43 that is a waste ink discharge port. Is disposed at the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. As a result, the waste ink is discharged well. Furthermore, since the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is supported in a substantially straight line, it is easy to place the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 at a predetermined position in the waste ink tank 27. As a result, for example, waste ink can be discharged at the predetermined position.

  The flange 74 is a substantially plate-like body that is integrally formed with the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. When the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31, the flange 74 contacts the opening edge 57 a of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 at the rear end surface of the flange 74. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, an alignment pin 85 that can be inserted into and removed from the alignment hole 58 a of the cylinder portion 58 of the waste ink tank 27 protrudes from the right edge of the rear side surface of the collar portion 74. Has been. Further, a vertical plate portion 86 having a rectangular plate shape is formed immediately below the alignment pin 85 so as to protrude forward. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, a contact 87 that contacts the storage element 59 of the waste ink tank 27 is attached to one side surface (left side surface) of the vertical plate portion 86.

  The tube guiding portion 75 is a cylindrical body projecting from the center of the front surface of the flange portion 74 and is for guiding the flexible tube 43 into the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 from the base portion 63 side. That is, the inner space of the tube guiding portion 75 communicates with the inner space of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 through the hole 74 a formed in the flange portion 74. Further, the tube guiding portion 75 is inserted into a central through hole 68 of the base portion 63 described later, and is formed so that the inner diameter thereof is a diameter that allows the flexible tube 43 to be inserted. The flexible tube 43 is inserted into the tube guiding portion 75 in a state of being inserted into the central through hole 68 and then guided into the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 through the tube guiding portion 75. Note that the tube guiding portion 75 may not be a complete cylindrical body, and a part of the peripheral wall thereof may be hollowed out as in the non-complete cylindrical region 77 formed in the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. In this case, it is desirable that a pinch-like fastening part 78 is provided on the inner surface of the tube guiding part 75.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a pair of upper and lower columnar portions 79 project forward from two locations on the front surface of the flange portion 74, the upper side and the lower side of the tube guiding portion 75. The pair of columnar portions 79 are for supporting the nozzle portion 72 on the base portion 63 in cooperation with the tube guiding portion 75. Since the nozzle portion 72 is supported by the base portion 63, the upper cylindrical portion 79 is inserted into the upper through hole 67 of the base portion 63 described later, and the lower cylindrical portion 79 is inserted into the lower through hole 69 described later. Has been inserted. In addition, screw holes (not shown) are formed in the tip surface of each cylindrical portion 79.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the base portion 63 is a substantially U-shaped member as viewed from above, and includes a rear wall 61 and side walls 62 extending forward from the left and right ends of the rear wall 61. ing. A substantially U-shaped tube stopper 71 that sandwiches and supports the flexible tube 43 is formed at a substantially central position of the upper end of the rear wall 61 in the base body 63. In the present embodiment, only one tube stopper 71 is provided, but a plurality of tube stoppers 71 may be provided in the front-rear direction.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of (three in this embodiment) through holes are formed in the rear wall 61 of the base portion 63 so as to be arranged in the vertical direction. Among the plurality of through holes, the central through hole 68 is formed so that its diameter is larger than the outer diameter of the tube guiding portion 75. The central through hole 68 is coaxial with the central axis of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 when the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30. It is formed so that.

  Each of the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69 is formed so that the diameter thereof is larger than the diameter of the corresponding cylindrical portion 79. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a flange portion 70 projecting inward is formed at an intermediate position between each of the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. As described above, the corresponding cylindrical portion 79 is inserted into the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. At this time, as shown in FIG. A coil spring 80 as an urging member is penetrated on each peripheral surface. In the state where the cylindrical portion 79 through which the coil spring 80 is inserted is inserted into the corresponding through hole (that is, the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69), the front end of the coil spring 80 is the upper through hole. 67 and the lower through-hole 69 are in contact with the flange portions 70 provided on the inner peripheral surfaces, and the rear end is in contact with the front surface of the flange portion 74. Since the coil spring 80 is provided in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28, it is provided in the printer main body 11a.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a rectangular assembly plate 81 for assembling the nozzle portion 72 to the base portion 63 is disposed on the front side of the base portion 63. As shown in FIG. 8, the assembly plate 81 is attached so as to be disposed between the pair of left and right side walls 62 in the base portion 63. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, an assembly plate side through hole 82 corresponding to the center through hole 68 of the base portion 63 is formed at the center of the assembly plate 81. Furthermore, screw insertion holes 83 corresponding to the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69 of the base portion 63 are formed on the upper side and the lower side of the assembly plate side through hole 82.

  Then, the set screw 84 inserted into the screw insertion hole 83 is screwed into the screw hole formed in the distal end surface of the columnar portion 79 in a state of being inserted into the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69 of the base portion 63. Has been. Thus, the assembly plate 81 is attached to the base body (the portion of the base portion 63 other than the assembly plate 81), and the nozzle portion 72 is assembled to the base portion 63.

Hereinafter, assembly of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 having the above-described components will be described.
First, the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is inserted into the assembly plate side through hole 82 of the assembly plate 81 from the front side, and then inserted into the central through hole 68 of the rear wall 61 of the base portion 63 from the front side. Further, it is pulled out from the central through-hole 68 to the rear to some extent.
Next, the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 drawn rearward from the central through hole 68 is inserted into the tube guide portion 75 of the nozzle portion 72 before being supported by the base portion 63, and then the tube The liquid is guided to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 through the guide portion 75. Thereafter, the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is once drawn out of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 from the portion of the incomplete cylindrical region 77 of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 where the peripheral surface is cut out.
Next, the flexible tube 43 drawn out of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is loosened to an extent that it can be easily gripped, and then the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is moved to a completely cylindrical region of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. The tube 76 is inserted until the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 reaches the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. As a result, the downstream end of the flexible tube 43 is fitted into the complete cylindrical region 76 and is supported by the complete cylindrical region 76.
Thereafter, the flexible tube 43 having slack outside the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is pulled forward from the tube guiding portion 75 to remove the slack, and then a predetermined portion on the downstream side of the flexible tube 43 is removed. The predetermined portion is fixed by the fixing portion 78 by pressing against the inner surface of the incomplete cylindrical region 77.
Through the above steps, the downstream end portion of the flexible tube 43 is supported substantially linearly along the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. That is, in the flexible tube 43, a range corresponding to a predetermined length from the downstream end is appropriately supported by the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 and the tube guide portion 75.

Next, in order to support the nozzle part 72 on the base part 63, the tube guiding part 75 of the nozzle part 72 is inserted into the central through hole 68 of the base part 63, and the upper through hole 67 and the lower side of the base part 63 are inserted. The cylindrical portion 79 of the nozzle portion 72 is inserted into the through hole 69. Before the cylindrical portion 79 is inserted into the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69, a coil spring 80 is inserted in advance on the peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 79.
The cylindrical portion 79 is inserted into the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69 until the tip thereof protrudes forward from the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. At this time, the coil spring 80 inserted in the cylindrical portion 79 is slightly contracted between the front surface of the flange portion 74 and the flange portion 70 provided in the upper through hole 67 and the lower through hole 69. It becomes a state. In this state, the assembly plate 81 is brought into contact with the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 79, and the assembly plate 81 is aligned with the screw insertion hole 83 of the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 79. 81 is fixed to the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 79 by a set screw 84 (see, for example, FIG. 7A). Thereafter, a predetermined position of a portion of the flexible tube 43 drawn from the assembly plate side through hole 82 of the assembly plate 81 is fixed by the tube stopper 71 of the base portion 63.
When the above series of steps is completed, the assembly of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is completed. The assembled waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is fixed at a predetermined fixing position in the housing chamber 30 of the housing portion 26. In the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28, the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction (that is, the mounting direction) of the housing portion 26, and the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 faces the mounting position 31. (See FIG. 3).

  Moreover, in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 after assembly, the coil spring 80 penetrating the cylindrical portion 79 is in a slightly contracted state. On the other hand, the assembly plate 81 fixed to the front end surface of the cylindrical portion 79 through which the coil spring 80 is inserted comes into contact with the front surface of the rear wall 61 of the base portion 63 and is locked by the front surface. For this reason, the collar part 74 which has the cylindrical part 79 with which the coil spring 80 was penetrated exists in the state urged | biased by the said coil spring 80 toward the back side (front side). Due to the biasing of the coil spring 80, the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 maintains the state shown in FIG. 7A. That is, in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 fixed in the storage chamber 30, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is maintained in a state in which the axial direction thereof is the horizontal direction by the bias of the coil spring 80.

  On the other hand, when an external force is applied to the collar part 74 from the rear side toward the front side, the collar part 74 is pressed forward by the external force. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, the nozzle portion 72 moves to the front side while further contracting the coil spring 80 together with the assembly plate 81 while supporting the flexible tube 43. As described above, the nozzle portion 72 is supported by the base portion 63 while being movable in the front-rear direction while maintaining the posture of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (in other words, the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73).

  Furthermore, in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 after assembly, the tube guiding portion 75 and the cylindrical portion 79 are inserted into the through-holes (ie, the upper through-hole 67, the central through-hole 68, and the lower through-hole 69). It is inserted with play in the radial direction. For this reason, when an external force is applied to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 from a direction intersecting the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, the nozzle part 72 swings with a certain position on the base part 63 side as a fulcrum. It will be.

  That is, when an external force is applied to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 from below to above, the nozzle portion 72 swings so that the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 moves upward as shown in FIG. 9A. On the other hand, when an external force from the upper side to the lower side is applied to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, the nozzle portion 72 swings so that the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 moves downward as shown in FIG. 9B. When an external force is applied to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in the left-right direction, the nozzle portion 72 swings so that the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 moves in the left-right direction. Thus, in the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 can swing freely with a certain position on the base portion 63 side as a fulcrum.

  In this embodiment, since the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 can be swung freely, the coil spring 80 is inserted into the cylindrical portion 79, and the front surface of the flange portion 74, the upper through hole 67, and the lower through hole are provided. 69 and the flange portion 70 provided in 69. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the coil spring 80 may be disposed between the flange portion 74 and the front wall of the base portion 63. In such a configuration, the cylindrical portion 79 may not be provided on the rear surface side of the flange portion 74. Further, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 may not be swung with respect to the base portion 63 and the axial direction thereof may be fixed while being in the horizontal direction.

<Structure of housing part 26>
Next, the structure of the housing part 26 will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the housing portion 26 has the storage chamber 30 therein, and the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a in the storage chamber 30. That is, when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 is inserted into the storage chamber 30 and pushed into the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30.

  In order to put the waste ink tank 27 into the storage chamber 30, as shown in FIG. 3, the housing 26 can be rotated around a shaft 35 provided at the upper end thereof as shown in FIG. A supported opening / closing door 36 is provided. The open / close door 36 is opened and closed around the shaft portion 35 by gripping a knob 36a (see FIG. 2) formed on the surface thereof, so that the closed position and the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. It is possible to move between the open positions indicated by. When the opening / closing door 36 is opened, a rectangular attachment / detachment port 34 is formed through which the waste ink tank 27 passes when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to and detached from the attachment position 31.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the rear surface of the open / close door 36 has a locking projection for engaging with the overhanging portion 53 of the waste ink tank 27 when the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31. 45 is protrudingly provided. The locking protrusion 45 engages with the overhanging portion 53 to lock the overhanging portion 53 in the vertical direction, so that the overhanging portion 53 suppresses the floating of the rear end portion of the waste ink tank 27. Demonstrate the function. The locking protrusion 45 can engage with the protruding portion 53 when the open / close door 36 is closed in the state where the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31 on the back surface of the open / close door 36. It is provided at a possible position.

  The bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 forms a floor surface of the storage chamber 30 on the upper surface thereof, and becomes a placement surface of the waste ink tank 27 when the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31. . Further, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to or detached from the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 moves on the bottom wall 32. As shown in FIG. 3, the front surface 37, the intermediate surface 38, and the back surface 39 are stepped from the front to the back in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26 on the upper surface of the bottom wall 32. Is formed. The front hand surface 37, the intermediate surface 38, and the back surface 39 are all horizontal surfaces.

  The front surface 37 is a surface formed at the same height as the lower edge of the attachment / detachment port 34, and between the back side end and the front side end of the intermediate surface 38, as shown in FIG. A locking step 40 that lowers the intermediate surface 38 than 37 is formed from the left end to the right end of the hand front surface 37 and the intermediate surface 38. The engaging step portion 40 engages with the step portion 60 of the waste ink tank 27 in a state where the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31 to lock the step portion 60, thereby the step portion. 60 exhibits the function of positioning the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the printer main body 11a in the horizontal direction. Note that the member that engages with the stepped portion 60 in order to cause the stepped portion 60 to exhibit the positioning function is not limited to the locking stepped portion 40, for example, a locking convex portion that protrudes from the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26. It may be.

  The intermediate surface 38 is a surface formed in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26 so as to be slightly shorter than the length of the waste ink tank 27 in the front-rear direction. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink tank 27 set in the mounting position 31 is placed on a substantially half area on the back side of the intermediate surface 38 and the hand front surface 37. That is, in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26, the mounting position 31 of the waste ink tank 27 is located at a position where the middle half of the intermediate surface 38 and the back side of the hand front 37 are located. The back surface 39 is a surface formed lower than the intermediate surface 38 through the step portion 41, and the base portion 63 of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is fixed on the back surface 39 by screws.

  In the state where the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31, the front surface 37 and the intermediate surface are arranged so that the central axis of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 and the central axis of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 are coaxial. The height of each of 38 and the back surface 39 is set. Further, the height in the storage chamber 30 (the distance between the bottom wall 32 and the top wall 33) is determined when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed toward the mounting position 31 (or pulled out from the mounting position 31). The height of the waste ink tank 27 is set sufficiently higher so that the posture of the ink tank 27 can be tilted (see FIGS. 3 and 10B). The attachment / detachment of the waste ink tank 27 will be described in detail in the next section.

<< Removal of Waste Ink Tank 27 >>
Next, a procedure for attaching / detaching the waste ink tank 27 to / from the printer main body 11a will be described with reference to FIGS. 10A to 10H.
10A to 10H are explanatory diagrams of the procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. In each figure, the vertical direction of the printer 11 and the mounting direction of the waste ink tank 27 are indicated by arrows. ing. In each figure, each member is shown in a sectional view, but only a part of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is shown in a sectional view. In addition, the mounting state of the waste ink tank 27 sequentially changes from the state shown in FIG. 10A to the state shown in FIG. 10H.

  In order to attach the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 is introduced into the storage chamber 30, and the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30 in the longitudinal direction of the housing portion 26, that is, the mounting direction. Will push in. For this purpose, first, as shown in FIG. 10A, the opening / closing door 36 of the housing portion 26 is opened to form an attachment / detachment port 34, and the waste ink tank 27 is introduced into the storage chamber 30 through the attachment / detachment port 34.

  At this time, when the waste ink tank 27 is introduced into the storage chamber 30, the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 is already fixed on the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 (specifically, on the back surface 39 of the bottom wall 32). Has been. Further, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is in a state in which its axial direction is along the horizontal direction. Of course, the waste ink tank 27 is introduced into the storage chamber 30 from the front end in which the insertion hole 57 is formed in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the front end portion of the waste ink tank 27 corresponds to the front end portion in the mounting direction (similarly, the rear end portion of the waste ink tank 27 corresponds to the rear end portion in the mounting direction).

  As shown in FIG. 10A, for a while after the front end of the waste ink tank 27 passes through the attachment / detachment port 34, the bottom surface of the waste ink tank 27 is maintained while its posture is maintained horizontal. It is pushed so as to slide on the front surface 37 of the hand. That is, in the initial stage of mounting the waste ink tank 27, the waste ink tank 27 is moved in a state where it remains in a horizontal posture. When the waste ink tank 27 is pushed so as to slide on the front surface 37, as shown in FIG. 10A, the central axis of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 is the waste liquid discharge in the vertical direction. It is located above the central axis of the nozzle 73. Thereafter, after the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in to some extent while being maintained in a horizontal posture, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is tilted with respect to the mounting direction, that is, the horizontal direction by the user as shown in FIG. 10B.

  More specifically, after the front end of the waste ink tank 27 gets over the locking step 40, the user grips the rear end of the waste ink tank 27 and lifts the rear end upward. Thus, the waste ink tank 27 is tilted so that the front end portion of the waste ink tank 27 is positioned below the rear end portion in the vertical direction. Thereafter, the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in the attachment direction (attached to the printer main body 11a) while being held by the user while being inclined with respect to the attachment direction (horizontal direction) for a while. The inclination angle of the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the mounting direction is, for example, the upper end of the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in the mounting direction so that the inclination angle is maintained. The angle is adjusted so as to contact the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. Further, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in the inclined state as described above, the bottom front end of the waste ink tank 27 slides on the intermediate surface 38 of the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 as shown in FIG. 10B. .

  When the waste ink tank 27 is pushed further into the back side, as shown in FIG. 10C, the top end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 (that is, the top end of the small diameter portion 73c) is inserted into the waste ink tank 27 in the mounting direction. The position reaches the upper part of the inner surface of the hole 57. Here, as described above, in the present embodiment, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 can be swung with a certain position on the base portion 63 side as a fulcrum. Further, the insertion hole 57 is formed so that its diameter gradually becomes smaller from the opening edge 57a toward the inner side. With the above-described configuration, when the waste ink tank 27 in a position where the top end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is in contact with the top of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is pushed further into the back side, the waste ink tank 27 is inserted into the insertion hole 57. The tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is introduced into the inner center of the insertion hole 57 by being moved in the mounting direction while contacting the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 at the upper surface of the inner surface. As a result, even when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a while being inclined with respect to the attachment direction, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is smoothly inserted into the insertion hole 57.

  More specifically, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in the mounting direction in a state in which the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is in contact with the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73, the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is attached to the coil spring 80. The upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 slides while pushing down the front end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 against the force. That is, since the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is inclined with respect to the mounting direction, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in with the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in contact with the upper surface of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57, the waste ink tank 27 applies a downward force to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 through the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. On the other hand, a biasing force is always applied to the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 by the coil spring 80 so as to maintain the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in the horizontal direction. Then, since the downward force applied from the waste ink tank 27 exceeds the urging force of the coil spring 80, the nozzle portion 72 swings so that the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 moves downward. On the other hand, the waste ink discharge nozzle 73 is moved downward by the urging force of the coil spring 80, and the waste ink tank 27 continues to contact the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. become. When the waste ink tank 27 is further pushed in such a state, the waste ink tank 27 is disposed at the upper portion of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 that gradually becomes smaller in diameter from the opening edge 57a toward the inner depth. The tip of the waste liquid is further pushed down, and the state in contact with the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is maintained.

  As a result, while the front end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57, the waste ink tank 27 continues to contact the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. The upper portion of the inner surface of 57 slides on the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. In other words, the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is guided to the inner center of the insertion hole 57. For this reason, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is smoothly inserted into the insertion hole 57.

  After the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 comes into contact with the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed further in the mounting direction, the tip of the small diameter portion 73c is inserted into the insertion hole as described above. The waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is introduced into the insertion hole 57 by being guided to the center at the inner back of 57. Thereafter, the same diameter portion (hereinafter, the same diameter portion) of the small diameter portion 73 c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 enters the insertion hole 57. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10D, the inner surface upper portion of the insertion hole 57 slides on the outer peripheral surface upper portion of the same diameter portion.

  More specifically, after the tip of the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is guided to the inner center of the insertion hole 57, the tip of the small diameter portion 73c (that is, the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73) is pushed downward. The same diameter portion of the small diameter portion 73 c passes through the insertion hole 57 while being in the state where it is held. On the other hand, a biasing force is applied to the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 by the coil spring 80 so that the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 returns to the horizontal direction. That is, while the same diameter portion of the small diameter portion 73 c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57, the same diameter portion is caused by the coil spring 80 so that the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the same diameter portion is the insertion hole 57. It is urged toward the upper part of the inner surface. As a result, the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is placed on the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 at the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the same diameter portion of the small diameter portion 73c while the tip of the small diameter portion 73c is pushed downward. Will continue to touch.

  Explaining the above situation again from the side of the waste ink tank 27, the waste ink tank 27 is located at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 during the period when the same diameter portion of the small diameter portion 73c passes through the insertion hole 57. The coil spring 80 keeps in contact with the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c urged as described above. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 10C to 10E, the waste ink tank 27 is moved in the mounting direction so that the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 slides on the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the same diameter part of the small diameter part 73c. become.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 is in a state where the small diameter portion 73 c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57. The upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 continues to come into contact with the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c biased by the coil spring 80. Then, the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in the mounting direction while the contact state between the upper surface of the insertion hole 57 and the upper surface of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c is maintained. It will be pushed properly towards In other words, when the waste ink tank 27 is brought into contact with the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter part 73 c at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57, the insertion hole 57 is engaged with the large diameter part 73 a of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. The small diameter portion 73c is guided toward the position of the small diameter portion 73c. In the present embodiment, while the small diameter portion 73c passes through the insertion hole 57, the contact state between the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 and the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter part 73c is maintained. 73c continues to be guided to the above position by the waste ink tank 27 (more specifically, the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57) while passing through the insertion hole 57.

  Since the same diameter portion of the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57, the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is inclined so as to be positioned below the original position. As shown in FIG. 10D, the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom is crushed downward by the small diameter portion 73c.

  Then, as the waste ink tank 27 is pushed further into the back side, the waste ink tank 27 eventually reaches a position where it comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 73b at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. When the waste ink tank 27 is pushed further inward from such a position, as shown in FIG. 10F, the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 slides on the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the taper part 73b. This is because, while the tapered portion 73 b passes through the insertion hole 57, the tapered portion 73 b is urged by the coil spring 80 so that the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 73 b faces the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. Because. Then, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in such that the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 slides on the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the taper part 73b, the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 has the large diameter part 73a. The position comes into contact with the upper part of the outer peripheral surface. As shown in FIG. 10F, the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom is the small-diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 even while the inner surface upper portion of the insertion hole 57 slides on the outer peripheral surface upper portion of the tapered portion 73b. It is in the state still crushed downward.

  After the waste ink tank 27 reaches a position where the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 comes into contact with the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter part 73a, the user lowers the rear end part of the waste ink tank 27 while lowering the waste ink tank 27. The ink tank 27 is further pushed inward in the mounting direction until the opening edge 57a of the insertion hole 57 contacts the collar portion 74 of the nozzle portion 72. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10G, the waste ink tank 27 gradually returns to the horizontal posture. When the waste ink tank 27 assumes a horizontal posture, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is released from the pressure by the waste ink tank 27 (specifically, the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57), while being applied to the coil spring 80. By being energized, the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 returns to the horizontal direction. Accordingly, the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom returns to the state before being crushed from the state of being crushed by the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73.

  When the waste ink tank 27 assumes a horizontal posture, the central axis of the insertion hole 57 and the central axis of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 are coaxial, and the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is the second ink from the bottom. It comes to be located in the square hole 91 formed in the absorber 88b. At this time, the insertion hole 57 is further fitted to the large diameter portion 73 a of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. As a result, the insertion hole 57 positions the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the printer main body 11a in the radial direction of the large diameter portion 73a.

  In addition, while the waste ink tank 27 is pushed in while returning the waste ink tank 27 to the horizontal posture, the alignment pin 85 protruding from the collar portion 74 has an alignment hole in the cylinder portion 58 of the waste ink tank 27. 58a is inserted. As a result, the alignment hole 58 a exhibits a rotation suppression function with respect to the waste ink tank 27. After the alignment pin 85 is inserted into the alignment hole 58a, the storage element 59 provided on the sub right side wall 50b of the waste ink tank 27 is placed on the left side surface of the vertical plate portion 86 of the collar portion 74. It comes into contact with the attached contact 87.

  Furthermore, while pushing the waste ink tank 27 while returning the waste ink tank 27 to the horizontal posture, the opening edge 57a of the insertion hole 57 of the waste ink tank 27 abuts on the collar portion 74 of the nozzle portion 72, thereby The nozzle portion 72 is pushed into the mounting direction back side together with the waste ink tank 27. Thereby, the nozzle part 72 moves to the back side in the mounting direction while further contracting the coil spring 80. Thereafter, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is returned to the horizontal state while the coil spring 80 is contracted from the original state (the state before the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a), and the waste ink tank 27 is placed on the bottom wall 32 of the housing part 26. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10G, the stepped portion 60 of the container portion 44 of the waste ink tank 27 is located in a position beyond the locking stepped portion 40 formed in the storage chamber 30 (that is, in the mounting direction). It is located on the back side of the locking step 40. For this reason, immediately after the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is returned to the horizontal position, the waste ink tank 27 passes through the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30 in the mounting direction.

  When the user releases the waste ink tank 27 after returning the waste ink tank 27 to a horizontal position (when the state where the waste ink tank 27 is held is released), the coil spring 80 returns from the contracted state to the original state. In order to return, the nozzle 72 is pushed back toward the front side in the mounting direction by the coil spring 80. Accordingly, the waste ink tank 27 in a state where the opening edge 57a of the insertion hole 57 is in contact with the flange portion 74 of the nozzle portion 72 slides on the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26 toward the front side in the mounting direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10H, the stepped portion 60 of the container portion 44 is engaged with the locking stepped portion 40 of the bottom wall 32 of the housing portion 26. Thereby, the step part 60 comes to exhibit the function which positions the waste ink tank 27 with respect to the printer main body 11a in a horizontal direction. More specifically, the movement of the waste ink tank 27 in the take-out direction (the direction opposite to the mounting direction) is restricted.

  As described above, in the waste ink tank 27, the opening edge 57a of the insertion hole 57 is in contact with the flange portion 74 of the nozzle portion 72 on the back side in the mounting direction, and the step portion 60 of the container portion 44 is on the housing portion 26 on the near side. It will be in the state engaged with the latching step part 40 of the bottom wall 32. FIG. As a result, the front end and the rear end of the waste ink tank 27 are positioned in the horizontal direction. A position where the front end and the rear end of the waste ink tank 27 are positioned in the horizontal direction is the mounting position 31.

  When the open / close door 36 is closed with the waste ink tank 27 positioned (set) at the mounting position 31, as shown in FIG. 10H, the locking protrusion 45 projecting from the back surface of the open / close door 36 is formed. The container portion 44 comes to engage with the overhanging portion 53 protruding from the lower end of the rear side wall 52. As a result, the overhang portion 53 exhibits a function of suppressing the rear end portion of the waste ink tank 27 from floating upward due to an external force (for example, an upward force generated due to the urging force of the coil spring 80). It becomes like this.

  When all the above steps are completed, the mounting of the waste ink tank 27 is completed. When the mounting of the waste ink tank 27 is completed (that is, when the waste ink tank 27 is set at the mounting position 31), the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is the third ink absorption from the bottom in the waste ink tank 27. It comes to be located in the square hole 91 formed in the material 88c. As a result, a waste ink flow path is formed between the insertion hole 57 and the rectangular hole 91. In other words, the waste ink tank 27 can receive the waste ink discharged from the front end opening of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 in the rectangular hole 91.

  On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 set in the mounting position 31 is removed from the printer 11, the opening / closing door 36 is opened again to open the attachment / detachment opening 34, and the user inserts his / her hand into the attachment / detachment opening 34. The rear end portion of the waste ink tank 27 is gripped. Then, after the user lifts the rear end of the waste ink tank 27 upward and tilts the posture of the waste ink tank 27, the engagement state between the locking step 40 and the step 60 is released. The waste ink tank 27 is taken out. At this time, the urging force of the coil spring 80 (the urging force toward the front side) acts on the waste ink tank 27 via the nozzle portion 72. Since the urging force acts in the direction in which the waste ink tank 27 is taken out, it becomes an auxiliary force when the waste ink tank 27 is taken out. For this reason, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily taken out from the attachment / detachment port 34.

  Further, as a result of taking out the waste ink tank 27 while tilting the posture of the waste ink tank 27 as described above, the waste ink tank 27 crushes the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom by the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. However, it is moved in the removal direction (the direction opposite to the mounting direction) (see FIGS. 10F, 10E, and 10D). In other words, when the waste ink tank 27 is taken out in a tilted state, the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is in sliding contact with the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom. As a result, the waste ink remaining attached to the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 is wiped off by the second ink absorbing material 88b from the bottom. As a result, when the waste ink tank 27 is taken out of the storage chamber 30 (that is, outside the housing portion 26), the surroundings are contaminated by the waste ink remaining on the tip of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. It becomes possible to prevent.

  Through the above procedure, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily attached to and detached from the mounting position 31 in the storage chamber 30. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to easily replace the old and new waste ink tanks 27.

=== Effectiveness of Printer 11 of this Embodiment ===
As described above, the printer 11 according to the present embodiment includes the printer main body 11a including the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 for discharging the waste ink, and the insertion hole 57 formed for inserting the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. And a waste ink tank 27 that can be attached to the printer main body 11a. Further, the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 has a large diameter portion 73a and a small diameter portion 73c located on the tip side of the large diameter portion 73a. When the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 has a small diameter portion 73 c at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 while the small diameter portion 73 c passes through the insertion hole 57. The small-diameter portion 73c is guided by contacting the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the printer, and the insertion hole 57 is disposed with respect to the printer main body 11a in the radial direction of the large-diameter portion 73a by fitting with the large-diameter portion 73a. The ink tank 27 is positioned. With the printer 11 having such a configuration, it becomes easy to attach the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a.

  That is, as described in the section of the problem to be solved by the invention, the user of the printer 11 who performs the work of installing the waste ink tank 27 allows the waste ink discharge nozzle 73 to be inserted into the insertion hole 57. In some cases, the printer body 11a may be mounted while the waste ink tank 27 is held so that the attitude is maintained. In such a case, for example, during the mounting operation, the user may unintentionally collapse the posture of the waste ink tank 27. If the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is broken, it becomes difficult to insert the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 into the insertion hole 57. Thus, it is generally difficult to mount the printer main body 11a while holding the waste ink tank 27. In particular, when the waste ink tank 27 is to be attached to the printer main body 11a while the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is inclined, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 tends to be collapsed during the attaching operation, and the insertion hole 57 is provided with the waste liquid discharge nozzle. It is also more difficult to reach the waste ink tank 27 to a position where it is fitted with 73.

  On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 27 of the present embodiment is attached to the printer main body 11a, the waste ink tank 27 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c passing through the insertion hole 57, thereby reducing the small diameter portion 73c. The insertion hole 57 is guided to the position of the small diameter portion 73c when it is fitted to the large diameter portion 73a. Thus, as a result of the waste ink tank 27 guiding the small diameter portion 73c to the above position, the waste ink tank 27 itself can easily reach the position where the insertion hole 57 is fitted to the large diameter portion 73a in the mounting direction. It becomes possible. For this reason, even when the waste ink tank 27 is to be attached to the printer main body 11a while being held, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily attached to the printer main body 11a.

  In the case where the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11a in the housing chamber 30 of the housing portion 26 as in the present embodiment, the attachment state (for example, the positional relationship between the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 and the insertion hole 57). ) Becomes difficult to visually recognize, and generally the mounting work becomes more difficult. Even in this case, the waste ink tank 27 guides the small-diameter portion 73c, so that the waste ink tank 27 itself easily reaches the position where the insertion hole 57 is fitted to the large-diameter portion 73a in the mounting direction. It becomes possible. That is, according to the configuration of the present embodiment, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily attached to the printer main body 11 a in the storage chamber 30.

  In the present embodiment, the mounting direction when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a is the horizontal direction, and the waste ink tank 27 is mounted when the waste ink tank 27 is mounted on the printer main body 11a. The front end portion in the mounting direction is inclined so as to be positioned below the rear end portion. Under such a mounting operation, as described above, the posture of the waste ink tank 27 is likely to collapse, so that it is more difficult to mount the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a. Even in this case, the waste ink tank 27 guides the small-diameter portion 73c, so that the waste ink tank 27 can be easily attached.

  In the present embodiment, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73 c on the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. That is, in the present embodiment, the waste ink tank 27 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c with a simple configuration. That is, even if a member for contacting the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c is not provided in the container portion 44 of the waste ink tank 27, the waste ink tank 27 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c. It is possible to guide the small diameter portion 73c. Note that, as in the present embodiment, a member that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73 c in addition to the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 (for example, the second ink absorbing material 88 b from the bottom) is disposed in the container portion 44 of the waste ink tank 27. In the case where it is provided, the waste ink tank 27 may contact the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion 73c with the above-mentioned member instead of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 and guide the small-diameter portion 73c.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11 a, the waste ink tank 27 comes into contact with the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73 c at the upper portion of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. That is, the contact direction between the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 and the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c is along the direction of gravity action. In such a case, it is not necessary to move (lift) the waste ink tank 27 in the direction against gravity, and the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c. As a result, the mounting operation of the waste ink tank 27 becomes easier.

  In the present embodiment, the coil spring 80 provided in the printer main body 11 a is arranged so that the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73 c is the insertion hole 57 while the small diameter portion 73 c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57. The small diameter portion 73c is urged toward the inner surface. The waste ink tank 27 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c urged by the coil spring 80 on the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 as described above. That is, the urging force of the coil spring 80 acts as an auxiliary force when the waste ink tank 27 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c on the inner surface of the insertion hole 57, so that the waste ink tank 27 is surely connected to the small diameter portion 73c. It comes in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the. That is, the waste ink tank 27 reliably guides the small diameter portion 73c. As a result, the operation of installing the waste ink tank 27 is further facilitated.

  In the present embodiment, the waste ink tank 27 continues to guide the small diameter portion 73c by continuing to contact the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c while the small diameter portion 73c passes through the insertion hole 57. It was decided. That is, the small diameter portion 73 c is always guided by the waste ink tank 27 while passing through the insertion hole 57. Therefore, it becomes easier to move the waste ink tank 27 so that the small diameter portion 73c is positioned at the position of the small diameter portion 73c when the insertion hole 57 is fitted to the large diameter portion 73a. Installation work becomes easier.

=== Other Embodiments ===
As mentioned above, based on the above embodiment, the printer 11 which is a waste liquid discharging apparatus has been mainly described. However, the above embodiment of the invention is for facilitating understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is limited. Not what you want. The present invention can be changed and improved without departing from the gist thereof, and the present invention includes the equivalents thereof.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the waste ink tank 27 includes the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d (hereinafter, this example) has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the case where the waste ink tank 27 does not include the ink absorbing materials 88a, 88b, 88c, 88d (hereinafter, other examples) may be considered. Hereinafter, the configuration of the waste ink tank 27 according to another example and the procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a will be described with reference to FIG. 11 and FIGS. 12A to 12E. FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a waste ink tank 27 according to another example, and corresponds to FIG. 12A to 12E are explanatory diagrams of a procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 according to another example on the printer main body 11a.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the waste ink tank 27 according to another example positions the ink absorbing materials 88 a, 88 b, 88 c, 88 d and the ink absorbing materials 88 a, 88 b, 88 c, 88 d in the container portion 44. For example, the structure is the same as that of the waste ink tank 27 according to the present example except that the member (that is, the cylindrical portion 93 and the support rib 94) is not provided. In another example, the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11a by the same procedure as in this example.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 12A, the waste ink tank 27 according to another example is attached to the printer main body 11a in a state where the waste ink tank 27 is tilted so that the front end portion is positioned below the rear end portion. Installed. The waste ink tank 27 is located at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 while the small diameter part 73 c passes through the insertion hole 57 after the upper end of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 contacts the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. It continues to contact the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c. Therefore, in another example, the waste ink tank 27 is fitted to the small diameter portion 73c while the small diameter portion 73c passes through the insertion hole 57, and the insertion hole 57 is fitted to the large diameter portion 73a of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73. It continues to guide to the position of the small diameter portion 73c when they are combined.

  More specifically, the waste ink tank 27 according to another example is similar to the present example in that the small diameter portion 73c of the waste liquid discharge nozzle 73 passes through the insertion hole 57 at the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57. The small diameter portion 73c is pressed downward against the urging force of the coil spring 80. That is, in the waste ink tank 27 according to another example, while the small diameter portion 73 c passes through the insertion hole 57, the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73 c is above the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 by the coil spring 80. The small diameter portion 73c urged toward the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 is kept in contact. Therefore, while the small-diameter portion 73c passes through the insertion hole 57, as shown in FIGS. 12B and 12C, the waste ink tank 27 has an outer peripheral surface of the same-diameter portion of the small-diameter portion 73c. It is pushed in the mounting direction so as to slide on the upper part.

  Then, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed further into the inner side while maintaining the contact state between the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 and the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter part 73c, as shown in FIG. 27 reaches the position where the upper part of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 comes into contact with the upper part of the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 73b. When the waste ink tank 27 is further pushed in from the above position, the upper portion of the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 slides on the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion 73b, and then comes into contact with the upper portion of the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 73a. become. Thereafter, as in the present example, when the waste ink tank 27 is pushed back further while being returned to the horizontal posture, the insertion hole 57 comes into engagement with the large-diameter portion 73a. Is positioned with respect to the printer body 11a in the radial direction of the large diameter portion 73a. Finally, as shown in FIG. 12E, the waste ink tank 27 is positioned at the mounting position 31 and set at the mounting position 31.

  As described above, also in other examples, when the waste ink tank 27 is attached to the printer main body 11a, the inner surface of the insertion hole 57 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 73c, thereby reducing the small diameter portion 73c. invite. With such a configuration, even when the waste ink tank 27 does not have the ink absorbers 88a, 88b, 88c, and 88d, the waste ink tank 27 can be easily attached to the printer main body 11a.

  In the above embodiment, the fluid ejecting apparatus (that is, the printer 11) that ejects ink as waste liquid has been described as an example of the waste liquid discharging apparatus. Here, the ink may be water-based ink or oil-based ink.

  Further, the fluid ejected as the waste liquid is not limited to ink. Other waste liquid discharge devices include liquids other than ink (including liquids in which particles of functional materials are dispersed and fluids such as gels) and fluids other than liquids (as fluids) A fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects as a waste liquid (including solids that can be flowed and ejected) is also conceivable, and the present invention can be embodied with respect to these apparatuses.

  For example, a liquid material injection device that injects a liquid material in which a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, and a surface emitting display is dispersed or dissolved, and bio It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic material used for chip manufacture, or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. Examples include a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto a substrate, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects gel, and a powder such as toner. It may be a powder jet recording apparatus that jets a solid. The present invention can be applied to any one of these fluid ejecting apparatuses.

2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer 11. FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an outline of the overall configuration of a printer 11. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a maintenance unit 24. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a waste ink tank 27. FIG. 5A to 5C are a front view, a plan view, and a side view of the waste ink tank 27. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28. FIG. 7A and 7B are side views of the waste liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 after assembly. It is a top view when the waste-liquid discharge nozzle unit 28 shown to FIG. 7B is seen from the upper side. 9A and 9B are diagrams illustrating a state when the nozzle portion 72 swings in the vertical direction. FIG. 6 is a first explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting a waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a second explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a third explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a fourth explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a fifth explanatory diagram of a procedure for attaching the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a sixth explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is a seventh explanatory diagram of a procedure for attaching the waste ink tank 27 to the printer main body 11a. FIG. 10 is an eighth explanatory view of the procedure for mounting the waste ink tank 27 on the printer main body 11a. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a waste ink tank 27 according to another example. FIG. 10 is a first explanatory diagram of a procedure for mounting a waste ink tank 27 according to another example to the printer main body 11a. It is the 2nd explanatory view of the procedure which attaches the waste ink tank 27 concerning other examples to printer main part 11a. It is the 3rd explanatory view of the procedure which attaches the waste ink tank 27 concerning other examples to printer body 11a. It is the 4th explanatory view of the procedure which attaches the waste ink tank 27 concerning other examples to printer body 11a. It is the 5th explanatory view of the procedure which attaches the waste ink tank 27 concerning other examples to printer body 11a.

Explanation of symbols

11 Printer, 11a Printer body,
12 frames, 13 transport rollers, 14 transport motors, 15 guide shafts,
16 Carriage, 17 Drive pulley, 18 Driven pulley, 19 Drive motor,
20 timing belt, 21 head, 22 lower surface, 23 ink cartridge,
24 maintenance unit, 25 cap, 25a sealed space,
26 housing part, 27 waste ink tank, 28 waste liquid discharge nozzle unit,
29 Waste liquid recovery system, 30 storage chamber, 31 mounting position, 32 bottom wall,
33 upper wall, 34 attachment / detachment opening, 35 shaft portion, 36 door, 36a knob,
37 front surface, 38 middle surface, 39 back surface, 40 locking step, 41 step,
42 suction pump, 43 flexible tube, 44 container portion, 45 locking projection 46 film member, 46a ink evaporation hole, 47 waste ink storage space, 48 opening,
49 front side wall, 49a main front side wall, 49b sub front side wall,
50 right side wall, 50a main right side wall, 50b sub right side wall,
51 Left side wall, 52 Rear side wall, 53 Overhang part, 54 Reinforcement rib, 55 Tube part reinforcement rib,
56 dent, 57 insertion hole, 57a opening edge, 58 tube,
58a alignment hole, 59 storage element, 60 steps,
61 rear wall, 62 side wall, 63 base portion, 64 horizontal plate portion,
65 screw holes, 66 set screws, 67 upper through holes, 68 central through holes,
69 Lower through hole, 70 Flange, 71 Tube stopper, 72 Nozzle,
73 waste liquid discharge nozzle, 73a large diameter portion, 73b taper portion, 73c small diameter portion,
74 collar part, 75 tube guiding part, 76 complete cylindrical region, 77 non-complete cylindrical region,
78 fastening part, 79 cylindrical part, 80 coil spring, 81 assembly plate,
82 Assembly plate side through hole, 83 Screw insertion hole, 84 Set screw,
85 alignment pins, 86 vertical plate, 87 contacts,
88a, 88b, 88c, 88d Ink absorbing material, 89 notch, 90 pillar hole,
91 square hole, 92 slit groove, 93 cylindrical portion, 94 support rib,
100 printer controller, 101 detector group, 110 host computer

Claims (6)

A waste liquid discharger main body having a waste liquid discharge nozzle for discharging the waste liquid;
A waste liquid receiver having an insertion hole formed for insertion of the waste liquid discharge nozzle, and attachable to the waste liquid discharge apparatus body;
A waste liquid discharging device comprising:
The waste liquid discharge nozzle has a large diameter portion and a small diameter portion located on the tip side of the large diameter portion ,
A tapered portion located between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion ,
When the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger body,
The waste liquid receiver guides the small diameter portion and the tapered portion by contacting the small diameter portion and the outer peripheral surface of the tapered portion while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole, and the insertion The waste liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hole positions the waste liquid receiver with respect to the waste liquid discharging apparatus main body in a radial direction of the large diameter portion by fitting with the large diameter portion. The waste liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1,
The waste liquid discharge nozzle is
The waste liquid discharge apparatus, wherein when the external force is applied from a direction crossing the axial direction of the waste liquid discharge nozzle, the waste liquid discharge nozzle swings with respect to the waste liquid discharge apparatus main body. In the waste liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The waste liquid discharge device body urges the small diameter portion as the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion and the tapered portion toward the inner surface of the insertion hole while the small-diameter portion and the tapered portion is passing through the insertion hole An urging member for
When the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger main body, the waste liquid receiver is disposed on the inner surface of the insertion hole while the small diameter portion and the taper portion pass through the insertion hole. A waste liquid discharging apparatus that contacts with the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion and the tapered portion urged by the urging member. The waste liquid discharging apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
When the waste liquid receiver is attached to the waste liquid discharger body, the waste liquid receiver is kept in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion while the small diameter portion passes through the insertion hole. A waste liquid discharging device characterized by continuing to guide a small diameter portion. A waste liquid receiver that can be attached to the waste liquid discharge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A large-diameter portion provided in the waste liquid discharger main body and a small-diameter portion located on the tip side of the large-diameter portion;
A tapered portion located between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion;
A waste liquid discharge nozzle having an insertion hole formed for insertion;
The insertion hole, when the waste liquid receiver is mounted on the waste liquid discharge device body,
The waste liquid is received in the radial direction of the large-diameter portion by guiding the small-diameter portion by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion at the inner surface of the insertion hole and fitting with the large-diameter portion. A waste liquid receiver characterized in that a body is positioned with respect to the waste liquid discharger body. The waste liquid receptor according to claim 5,
The insertion hole formed for insertion of the waste liquid discharge nozzle in the waste liquid discharge apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 has an opening of the insertion hole in the waste ink receiver. A waste liquid receptor characterized by being formed so as to gradually become smaller in diameter toward the back.

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