JP5974356B2 - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid onto a target.

  Conventionally, as a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet printer that performs printing by ejecting ink from a liquid ejecting head onto a medium such as paper is known. In such a printer, when a relatively large amount of printing is performed, an ink cartridge is supplied from an ink tank having a relatively large ink storage capacity through an ink supply tube in order to stably and stably supply ink to the liquid ejecting head. A configuration has been proposed in which ink is supplied to (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the printer described in Patent Document 1, the liquid ejecting head is mounted on a carriage that can move in the scanning direction inside the main body housing. In this printer, an ink supply tube extending from an ink tank provided outside the main body housing is inserted into the carriage movement region through the upper opening of the main body housing, and is connected to an ink cartridge mounted on the carriage. . In this case, the ink supply tube is inserted into the carriage movement region in the ink supply tube by the middle portion in the length direction being supported by a support member provided so as to cross the upper opening of the main body housing. The end is guided to the ink cartridge.

China Utility Model Registration Notice CN2825289Y

  By the way, in the above-described printer, since a support member is provided as a dedicated member for supporting the ink supply tube, there is a problem that the assembling property of the apparatus deteriorates as the number of parts increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus capable of improving the assembly property of the apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejecting apparatus according to an aspect of the invention includes a liquid ejecting head that performs recording by ejecting liquid onto a target, a main body housing that includes the liquid ejecting head, and the liquid. A liquid supply tube having a deformable movable portion that guides the liquid sent from the liquid storage portion to the liquid ejecting head and follows and deforms as the carriage moves, and the liquid supply tube is provided on the main body housing. It is supported by the inside of the side wall part that constitutes the exterior.

  According to the above configuration, since the side wall portion constituting the exterior of the main body housing also functions as a support member that supports the liquid supply tube, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated member for supporting the liquid supply tube. As a result of this reduction, the assembly of the apparatus can be improved.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the main body housing may include a cover that can be displaced in a direction that opens and closes an opening that exposes an upper portion of the transport area, and includes a transport area of the target. The liquid supply tube is supported by the inside of the side wall portion constituting the exterior of the main body housing with the cover open.

According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube can be supported by the inside of the side wall portion of the main body housing with the cover opening the opening of the main body housing.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the main body housing may include a discharge port through which the target recorded by the liquid jet head is discharged, and the side wall portion is a side wall in which the discharge port is formed. is there.

According to the said structure, a liquid supply tube can be supported by the side wall part in which the discharge port of the target was formed.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the side wall portion may have a substantially U-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at an upper portion and a lower portion.

According to the said structure, the intensity | strength of a side wall part can be raised by providing a horizontal part in the upper part and the lower part of a side wall part.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the side wall portion may have a substantially L-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at a lower portion.

According to the said structure, a liquid supply tube can be stably supported from the downward direction by the horizontal part provided in the lower part of the side wall part.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the side wall portion may have a substantially inverted L-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at the top.

According to the said structure, the opening / closing member which opens and closes the opening part of a main body housing can be stably received from the downward direction by the horizontal part provided in the upper part of the side wall part.
In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the side wall portion may be disposed so as to overlap the liquid supply tube in a plan view when the horizontal portion is viewed from above, and accommodates the liquid supply tube.

  According to the above configuration, the side wall portion of the main body housing is configured to overlap the liquid supply tube in a plan view seen from above, so that the installation space of the side wall portion of the main body housing serves as the storage space for the liquid supply tube. Since it is used, space saving of the entire apparatus can be achieved.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, when the plurality of liquid supply tubes are inserted into the main body housing, the side wall portion accommodates the liquid supply tubes in a state in which the liquid supply tubes are aligned in the vertical direction. To support.

According to the above configuration, since the plurality of liquid supply tubes are accommodated in the side wall portion of the main body housing in a state where they are arranged in the vertical direction, further space saving of the entire apparatus can be achieved.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention may be provided on the side wall portion, and may be configured to restrict the liquid supply tube from moving in a direction intersecting the length direction by contacting a part of the liquid supply tube. A member was further provided.

  According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube interferes with other members provided inside the main body housing by restricting the liquid supply tube from moving in the direction intersecting the length direction. Can be suppressed.

In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, an insertion portion through which the liquid supply tube is inserted is provided on the side wall portion so as to communicate the inside and outside of the main body housing.
According to the above configuration, the liquid supply tube can be easily drawn from the outside of the main body housing to the inside of the main body housing through the insertion portion.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention as viewed obliquely from the upper front. The perspective view which looked at the printer of the embodiment from back diagonally upward. The perspective view which looked at the printer of another embodiment concerning the present invention from the front slanting upper part.

Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 10 includes a main body housing 11 having a substantially rectangular box shape having an opening 11 a opened on the upper surface. A sheet feeding unit 13 is provided on a surface portion of the upper surface of the main body housing 11 near the back surface. The sheets P as targets stacked on the sheet feeding unit 13 are fed into the main body housing 11 one by one based on driving of a sheet feeding roller (not shown). Then, the paper P supplied into the main body housing 11 is conveyed onto a rectangular plate-like support base 14 provided inside the main body housing 11.

  A guide rail 15 extending along the longitudinal direction of the support base 14 is provided above the support base 14 in the main body housing 11. A carriage 16 is supported on the guide rail 15 so as to be capable of reciprocating in the longitudinal direction. The carriage 16 reciprocates in the scanning direction while being guided by the guide rail 15 based on driving of a carriage motor (not shown) provided in the main body housing 11. That is, the space area above the support base 14 in the main body housing 11 is a conveyance area S for the paper P, and the upper portion of the conveyance area S is exposed to the outside of the main body housing 11 through the opening 11 a of the main body housing 11. ing. Note that a region on one end side in the scanning direction of the carriage 16 in the main body housing 11 (a region on the right side of the support base 14 in FIG. 1) is a home position HP where the carriage 16 stands by when not printing.

  The carriage 16 includes a liquid ejecting head that is integrally incorporated on the lower surface of the carriage 16, and a plurality (four in this embodiment) of relay adapters 17 that are detachably accommodated in the carriage 16. The relay adapter 17 is an adapter that relays between an ink tank 18 serving as a liquid container provided outside the main body housing 11 and the liquid ejecting head, and each color ink as liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting head (this embodiment). In the embodiment, cyan ink, magenta ink, yellow ink, black ink) can be accommodated. A plurality of nozzles (not shown) are opened on the lower surface of the liquid jet head. As the piezoelectric element (not shown) provided in the liquid ejecting head is driven, the ink in the relay adapter 17 is supplied to the liquid ejecting head, and the supplied ink is supplied onto the support base 14 from the nozzle of the liquid ejecting head. Recording is performed by being ejected toward the fed paper P. Thereafter, the sheet P on which recording by the liquid ejecting head is performed is discharged out of the main body housing 11 through the discharge port 11 c formed in the front wall portion 11 </ b> B of the side wall portion of the main body housing 11.

  Further, the ink tank 18 that stores ink of each color ejected from the liquid ejecting head is provided at a position opposite to the home position HP in the scanning direction of the carriage 16. One end side of an ink supply tube 19 as a liquid supply tube that functions as a flow path for ink stored in the ink tank 18 is connected to the ink tank 18. A plurality (four in this embodiment) of ink supply tubes 19 are provided corresponding to the ink tanks 18 of the respective colors, and these ink supply tubes 19 are bundled in a flat plate shape. Further, of the side wall portions on both sides in the longitudinal direction of the main body housing 11, a through hole 20 as an insertion portion that communicates the inside and the outside of the main body housing 11 is formed in the wall portion 11 </ b> A opposite to the home position HP of the carriage 16. Has been. The other end side of the ink supply tube 19 is inserted into the main body housing 11 through a through hole 20 formed in the wall portion 11 </ b> A of the main body housing 11, and is connected to a relay adapter 17 mounted on the carriage 16.

  As shown in FIG. 2, in the front wall portion 11 </ b> B, which is one side wall portion in the short direction of the main body housing 11, the horizontal direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 16 with respect to the movement region of the carriage 16. At the upper and lower ends of the opposing portions, horizontal portions 11b extending toward the moving region side of the carriage 16 are formed. Therefore, the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 is configured to have a substantially U-shaped cross section. The middle portion of each ink supply tube 19 inserted in the main body housing 11 in the longitudinal direction is bonded to the inner surface of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 by the adhesive tape 21, thereby the wall portion of the main body housing 11. 11B is supported inside. In this case, the adhesive tape 21 functions as a regulating member that regulates movement of each ink supply tube 19 in a direction crossing its length direction by contacting the outer surface of each ink supply tube 19. As a result, a portion between the adhesive tape 21 and the relay adapter 17 in the length direction of the ink supply tube 19 is defined by the adhesive tape 21 as a deformable movable portion 19 a that deforms following the movement of the carriage 16.

  Each ink supply tube 19 is routed around the inner surface of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 in a state where the ink supply tubes 19 are juxtaposed in the vertical direction. Therefore, these ink supply tubes 19 are accommodated in the wall portion 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11 by being arranged so as to overlap the wall portion 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11 in a plan view as viewed from above.

Next, the operation of the printer 10 configured as described above will be described.
Now, in the printer 10 of the present embodiment, an intermediate portion in the length direction of the ink supply tube 19 is supported by the inner surface of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 so that the ink supply tube 19 is inserted into the main body housing 11. This end is led to the relay adapter 17. Therefore, the ink supply tube 19 can be stably routed with respect to the relay adapter 17 provided in the main body housing 11 without providing a dedicated member for supporting the ink supply tube 19.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) Since the wall portion 11B constituting the exterior of the main body housing 11 also functions as a support member for supporting the ink supply tube 19, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated member for supporting the ink supply tube 19. As the number of points is reduced, the assembly of the apparatus can be improved.

(2) The ink supply tube 19 can be supported by the wall portion 11B in which the discharge port 11c of the paper P is formed.
(3) By providing the horizontal portion 11b at the upper end and the lower end of the wall portion 11B, the strength of the wall portion 11B can be increased.

  (4) The wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 is configured to overlap the ink supply tube 19 in a plan view as viewed from above, so that the installation space of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 can be reduced. Since it is used as a storage space, the entire apparatus can be saved.

(5) Since the plurality of ink supply tubes 19 are accommodated in the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 in a state of being arranged in the vertical direction, further space saving of the entire apparatus can be achieved.
(6) When the ink supply tube 19 is restricted by the adhesive tape 21 from moving in the direction intersecting the length direction, the ink supply tube 19 is provided with another member (for example, the interior of the main body housing 11). , Interference with the carriage 16) can be suppressed.

(7) The ink supply tube 19 can be easily drawn from the outside of the main body housing 11 into the main body housing 11 through the through hole 20.
In addition, you may change the said embodiment into another embodiment as follows.

In the above embodiment, the through hole 20 may be provided in the wall portion 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11.
In the above embodiment, the ink supply tube 19 moves in a direction intersecting the length direction by adhering the outer surface of the ink supply tube 19 to the inner surface of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 with an adhesive. May be regulated. Further, the ink supply tube 19 may be clamped and fixed to the inner surface of the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 using a clip or the like.

In the above embodiment, the ink supply tubes 19 may be drawn around the inner surface of the wall portion 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11 in a state where the ink supply tubes 19 are juxtaposed in the horizontal direction.
In the above embodiment, the wall 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11 is directed toward the moving region side of the carriage 16 at the lower end of the portion facing the horizontal direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 16 with respect to the moving region of the carriage 16. The extended horizontal portion 11b may be configured to have a substantially L-shaped cross section.

In this configuration, the ink supply tube 19 can be stably supported from below by the horizontal portion 11b provided at the lower end of the wall portion 11B.
In the above embodiment, the wall 11 </ b> B of the main body housing 11 is directed toward the moving region side of the carriage 16 at the upper end of the portion facing the moving direction of the carriage 16 in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the carriage 16. It is good also as a structure so that the cross-section substantially reverse L-shape in which the extended horizontal part 11b was formed may be made.

  In this configuration, when a cover that can be displaced in a direction to open and close the opening 11a is attached to the main body housing 11 so as to be rotatable, the cover is stabilized from below by the horizontal portion 11b provided at the upper end of the wall portion 11B. Can be received.

  In the above-described embodiment, the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 is formed in a flat plate shape, and the wall portion 11B supports the ink supply tube 19 without accommodating the middle portion in the length direction of the ink supply tube 19. It is good.

  In the above embodiment, the ink supply tube 19 is not necessarily supported by the wall portion 11B of the main body housing 11 and may be configured to be supported by another wall surface portion in the side wall portion of the main body housing 11.

  In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink supply tube 19 is disposed inside the main body housing 11 with the cover 30 that can be displaced in the direction of opening and closing the opening 11 a being rotatably attached to the main body housing 11. It is good also as a structure which draws around.

  In the above embodiment, the relay adapter 17 may not be mounted on the carriage 16. That is, the ink supplied from the ink tank 18 provided outside the main body housing 11 through the ink supply tube 19 may be supplied to the liquid ejecting head without using the relay adapter 17.

-In the said embodiment, the material of a target is not limited to paper, You may employ | adopt cloth, a resin film, a resin sheet, a metal sheet, etc.
In the above embodiment, a line head type printer capable of printing in the maximum paper width range while the liquid ejecting head is fixed may be used.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied in the ink jet printer 10, but may be embodied in a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects or discharges liquid other than ink. The present invention can be used for various liquid ejecting apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that ejects a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid ejecting apparatus. For example, it may be in a state in which the substance is in a liquid phase, such as a liquid with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvents, organic solvents, solutions, liquid resins, liquid metals (metal melts ) And liquids as one state of the substance, as well as particles in which functional material particles made of solid materials such as pigments and metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. Further, representative examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiment. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid ejecting apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, or a color filter in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid used as a precision pipette, a printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as an acid or an alkali to etch the substrate may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these liquid ejecting apparatuses.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 11 ... Main body housing, 11A ... Wall part which comprises side wall part, 11B ... Wall part which comprises side wall part, 11b ... Horizontal part, 11c ... Discharge port, 16 ... Carriage, 18 ... Ink tank as liquid container, 19 ... Ink supply tube as liquid supply tube, 19a ... Deformable movable part, 20 ... Through hole as insertion part, 21 ... Adhesive tape as regulating member, 30 ... Cover, P ... Target As a sheet, S...

Claims (9)

A liquid ejecting head that performs recording by ejecting liquid onto a target;
A body housing having the liquid jet head therein;
A liquid supply tube having a deformable movable part that guides the liquid sent from the liquid containing part containing the liquid to the liquid ejecting head and follows and deforms as the carriage moves;
With
The liquid supply tube is supported by the inside of the side wall portion constituting the outer of said body housing,
It said body housing, a liquid-jet apparatus characterized that you form an outlet the target recorded by the liquid ejecting head is performed is ejected to the side wall portion. A liquid ejecting head that performs recording by ejecting liquid onto a target;
A body housing having the liquid jet head therein;
A liquid supply tube having a deformable movable part that guides the liquid sent from the liquid containing part containing the liquid to the liquid ejecting head and follows and deforms as the carriage moves;
With
The liquid supply tube is supported by the inside of the side wall portion constituting the outer of said body housing,
A portion of the side wall portion that supports the liquid supply tube is configured to have a substantially U-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at an upper portion and a lower portion. A liquid ejecting head that performs recording by ejecting liquid onto a target;
A body housing having the liquid jet head therein;
A liquid supply tube having a deformable movable part that guides the liquid sent from the liquid containing part containing the liquid to the liquid ejecting head and follows and deforms as the carriage moves;
With
The liquid supply tube is supported by the inside of the side wall portion constituting the outer of said body housing,
A portion of the side wall portion that supports the liquid supply tube is configured to have a substantially L-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at a lower portion . A liquid ejecting head that performs recording by ejecting liquid onto a target;
A body housing having the liquid jet head therein;
A liquid supply tube having a deformable movable part that guides the liquid sent from the liquid containing part containing the liquid to the liquid ejecting head and follows and deforms as the carriage moves;
With
The liquid supply tube is supported by the inside of the side wall portion constituting the outer of said body housing,
A portion of the side wall portion that supports the liquid supply tube is configured to have an approximately L-shaped cross section having a horizontal portion at an upper portion . In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The main body housing is provided with a cover that can be displaced in a direction to open and close an opening that exposes the transport area while having a transport area of the target inside.
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply tube is supported by an inner side of a side wall portion constituting an exterior of the main body housing with the cover open. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the side wall portion is disposed so as to overlap the liquid supply tube in a plan view when the horizontal portion is viewed from above, and accommodates the liquid supply tube. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 6 ,
The side wall portion, when a plurality of the liquid supply tubes are inserted into the main body housing, supports the liquid supply tubes while being accommodated in a state of being arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. . The liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 ,
And a regulating member that is provided on the side wall portion and regulates movement of the liquid supply tube in a direction intersecting the length direction by contacting a part of the liquid supply tube. Liquid ejector. In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8 ,
The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an insertion portion through which the liquid supply tube is inserted is provided in the side wall portion so as to communicate between the inside and the outside of the main body housing.